Dancing to the Answers

Chapter 13 || More on Brooke & Kenz

Brooke was caught again in the act of doing something illegal. She would really have to be more careful about where she smokes.

"Spill," Kenzie demanded, looking taken back by discovering Brooke's secret. Or maybe it was just the red paint on her hand, she would explain that later.

Brooke sighed, dropping the drug she was smoking. "It all started in college."

Flashback, several months ago

"Come on Brooke, you'll like it!" Tori cried, waving the joint of weed in front of her. Brooke admitted she actually wanted to try it, but she was afraid of getting addicted.

She took it from Tori's hand anyway. She held the weed up to her lips, inhaling some. She coughed at first, but Tori patted her on the back and said it was normal the first time.

Brooke did not like it. It put her into a coughing fit, and the taste was awful, but for some odd reason, she tried it again. This time, she didn't cough, and the drug gave her a sense of peace. She shrugged. "Not bad."

The group of her friends continued to pass around the joint as they told stories about their classes earlier that day or parties they were planning on going to.

It didn't stop there.

Brooke was taking a stroll on campus when she noticed a guy holding a garbage bag. Curiously, she walked over to him. "What's in the bag?" she questioned nervously.

"Your worst nightmare, baby doll." He held open the bag to reveal plenty of illegal looking drugs.

"How much?"

The man stared at her, wide-eyed. "For you? This ain't candy, babe."

"How much?" Brooke repeated through gritted teeth, getting annoyed by the man's unneeded pet names.

"Okay, okay." He backed away, holding his hands up. "Gimme 100 bucks for the whole bag."

Brooke let the offer sink in. Digging in her wallet, she slapped two fifty dollar bills in the man's dirty hand and snatched the bag from him. "Have a nice day," she called back with a smile.

(End of flashback)

"That's how everything happened," Brooke muttered, her face in her hands.

Kenzie didn't yell at her or run away disgusted, or even threaten to expose her like Maddie did. She wouldn't care if she did, they were way farther in the game now and it would help them get closer to the answers.

"It's okay, Brooke," she cooed, enveloping her in a hug, ignoring the fact that Brooke probably smelled like smoke.

Pulling away after a few minutes, Kenzie looked down at her hand. "Now about that," she began, pointing at the red paint on Brooke's hand. "P-please tell me it wasn't you, and I don't care if it was, just tell me the truth."

Brooke sighed, hoping Kenzie wouldn't hate her after she told her this. "I put Abby on the pyramid, I painted the X over her, and it was my messy handwriting in the red paint beneath her." Kenzie's eyes widened, waiting for Brooke to finish.

"I didn't kill her, and you now that now. But she killed my father. I couldn't even look at her anymore."

Kenzie gasped, but nodded solemnly. "Did you k-kill Nia, too?" Brooke shook her head. She did not kill Nia, and she did not kill Abby, either.

"But this paint isn't from writing on the mirror," Brooke explained, "Come on."

She grabbed Kenzie's hand and they took off down the street, and they didn't stop running until reaching an older part of town.

Brooke noticed Kenzie was out of breath. "We're almost there, come on." They rounded the corner of an old building, and Kenzie stared at Brooke's artwork in awe.

"Did you make this?" Kenzie exclaimed, motioning to the large, colorful mural covering the wall of the building. Brooke nodded, a grin taking over her face. "It's amazing," Kenzie whispered.

Brooke thanked her. "That's what this is from," she explained, pointing to the red paint on her hand.

Kenzie turned to her and looked into her gray-blue eyes. "I think you should do this more often, Brooke. It might help you stop the drugs."

Brooke let Kenzie's statement sink in, and she decided it was worth a try. Painting gave her such a better feeling than doing drugs. Drugs made her numb, but painting, it made her feel so alive.

They began back to the ALDC, this time at a much slower pace. "Kenzie, what's your secret?" Brooke inquired curiously.

"If I tell you, do you promise not to tell anyone?" she whispered. Brooke nodded. Kenzie was one of her closest friends, she would never betray her like that.

Sighing, Kenzie spoke softly. "I'm the blackmailer."

--

author's note: oops I lied. both Brooke's second secret and Kenzie's crime are revealed. that leaves only two suspects. next chapter you'll find out who did it! aaaahh! *spazzes drastically*

-cai the bae (ps, sorry if this is really bad and choppy. I'm writing like three chapters at a time and trying to finish. also it's unedited bc lazy. sorry. 😂 tomorrow's my last day of summer so I'll probably finish it tomorrow! and when I have time, I might write a sequel!)