STATIC; JR [2]

3.1

The next day was full on. We'd each been grilled by the police, and what we told them apparently hadn't helped our case one bit. They were more than suspicious of us, but seemed more confused by my involvement. They had even gone to the lengths to suggest that I was being sexually harassed by my best friends, and that I was now being forced to stay quiet in fear of something worse happening to me. After all, they knew Andy had been my closest friend for a long time, and that our families were also close. That accusation left my father fuming and then him ordering me out of the room, signalling the end of this area of the investigation. This also left the police feeling suspicious.

Anything we did would make things worse; it was inevitable.

We'd even been approached by the town's local news team, and they asked us a whole lot of different questions relating to Andy's disappearance. Our parents saved us from their swarms and took us home.

We'd barely gotten the chance to talk between all the chaos, but I suppose any lingering interactions would lead us into more suspicions. That was the last thing we needed; we just had to find Andy, but that didn't look like it was going to happen anytime soon now that we were going back to school.

It was our first day back since going missing and venturing into a different universe. We were all nervous, but I don't know if we were equal in that respect. There were mumbled conversations about Alice as we walked into the school, trying to go unnoticed by anyone who wasn't inside the classrooms. Talking about the witch only made my stomach churn faster, but it was a conversation we needed to have.

Apparently we had decided to sneak out of school and run to Phoebe's house before anybody knew we were gone. I don't know how we'd do it, but I had faith.

It was Jake who asked the question that was currently playing on repeat in my mind. "How do we get to Alice's without being seen?" His voice was low as we stalked through the halls of our high school.

Sam had a much different attitude toward the situation as he strolled beside me, giving us an answer to our most recent dilemma. "Easy!" He stated, a light grin on his face. "Everyone's in class." He whispered that last part, showing us how silent it really was in the hallways.

It was an unlucky coincidence, but just as Sam breathed out his last word, the bell rang. The shrill sound sent all the kids out into the corridor and also sent our hearts to our stomachs. We each stopped in our tracks, falling short of another step further.

Felix turned around and started to walk back the way we came but he didn't get very far. I was directly behind the Goth, so when he abruptly stopped in front of me, it sent me straight into his back. There was laughter around me, accompanied by a slight pain in my nose.

I stepped out from behind the taller boy and grew deeply disappointed to see Trent and his buddies standing before me. The ringleader himself spoke up as the others chuckled beside him. "What'd you do to the nerd?" He asked, a wild grin on his face. There was no pity, there was no shame; only the pure enjoyment of our despair.

One of his friends, Dylan, then added to the bullying, but his words were more intimidating to me than anything Trent could have said. I found myself cowering behind Felix's right arm as he spoke. "Which one of you is next?" Although he had no idea what our situation was, his question hit a nerve for us all.

As I looked up, I saw each of their eyes on me. It was the sickening feeling that forced me to stare back at them, for I feared what may happen if I dropped my gaze. All my confidence was lost now, although I had very little to begin with. Felix's posture changed to a position that looked like he was shielding me; protecting me from their intruding stares. I was grateful he was there, as I always am.

My fingers reached for the material on the back of Felix's school uniform as Dylan spoke to me directly. "I bet it'll be you." He said, his menacing voice causing tears to well up in my widened eyes.

Felix stiffened. He reached out in front of me in a subtle, but reassuring way. "You don't know what you're talking about." He mumbled, a new anger fuelling his voice.

Before any of us could truly react to what was happening, Dylan continued his torment. "Sure I do. We all know what happened to Andy, and we all know what would have happened to her in the forest."

I was shocked to hear these rumours once again. I had no idea where they were coming from, but then again, I could understand why people assumed it was true. Our situation was just too strange. Nevertheless, I was still appalled.

Dylan took a small, but threatening, step forward. This caused me to wince and tighten my grip on Felix's uniform; I saw my knuckles turn white as I held onto him. Dylan almost smirked as he spoke again, never breaking my gaze. "Who knows what else they do to you."

At that, I felt the ground tremble. It was small, like a flutter in the floor, but I knew it was so much more than that. I turned toward Jake and studied the hatred on his face just before he lunged forward, trying to tackle Dylan on impulse. Sam quickly stepped in, shouting in a haze of movement. "Back off!" He cried, making an effort to shove Dylan away while he did his best to restrain Jake. Other words were spoken between them, but I paid little attention as I focused my eyes toward the floor. I watched it as I felt it shake, but it didn't get worse. It was stable, but the quake was still there. Yet, as I looked around, I was sure that none of my fellow classmates had noticed, as they were all now too immersed in the fight that was brewing before their eyes.

Felix reached for my arm, tugging on the grey jacket I wore over my dress. I looked up to meet his stare, but I barely had the chance to look at him before he started dragging me away. I tried to turn back for Jake, but Felix wouldn't let me. He pulled me through the corridor, and eventually around a corner. He stopped me for a moment as he peeked around the wall, seeing what I couldn't.

"Are you okay?" He asked me, searching my face for the emotional trauma I felt ripping at my insides. I only nodded at him. "It's alright. It'll be alright." He mumbled, his hands on my shoulders. I knew he knew I was trying to go back for Jake; I had to know he was okay. Even though I couldn't see him, I knew he was doing a little better, as the ground had seemed to calm itself.

"Felix, I have to go back!" I struggled desperately in his grip to no avail.

He used more force but made sure not to hurt me as he held my shoulders. "No, Edith." He told me, shaking his head frantically. "You know Jake would never forgive me if I didn't protect you." I settled down at that, because I did know. He was right; I had to calm down. "That doesn't matter anyway, because I'm never going to let anything bad happen to you."

I looked up at Felix, finding it hard to come up with the words I wanted to say. Finally, I found them. "I'm... I'm sorry."

His head fell to the side; he was clearly confused as to why I was apologising. "Why? You didn't do anything wrong, Edith. It's okay." His words were a promise that I counted on. Before he spoke for a second time, he began to pull me along behind him once more. "We need to keep moving before someone sees us." He mentioned, stalking toward the closest exit.

I stopped, tugging him backwards. I knew he could tell what I was thinking; I worried about Sam and Jake, and what would happen to them if we actually left the school.

Felix sighed, drowning in sympathy. "They'll catch up."