Y/n sat on the street curb, listening to the discussion he had taped. He had replayed the talk several times, attempting to comprehend every word and syllable, as if looking for a double meaning.
He suddenly remembered his interview with Alex. ' That interview. It felt weird, Alex sounded...regretful, over something.' The boy sighed and hit the record button.
"There are gaps in everyone's stories that I've heard talk about Avwery Emmons, and I'm starting to doubt who to trust. I need to find out who those friends are that Avery went to hang out with on October sixteenth.
'Something doesn't make sense.'
Y/n squinted his eyes as he listened to the audio. 'If the guys simply were arguing over some prank Nova and Roy pulled, why did they react the way they did when they discovered someone was eavesdropping?' He bit the inside of his cheek, felt a headache rise, and rubbed his temple. after a few seconds, he decided to put away the cassette recorder 'This is giving me a headache.'
He took out his phone and began idly browsing through the various applications. It was 4:08 p.m.; he had to wait another hour, a message appeared above is screen.
Nova: We will try to sneak out an hour early for you >:]
Nova: so pls wait a little while longer ♡
Y/n's face twisted into disapproval.
Y/n: Just know, if you get caught and have to stay longer I am going home.
Nova: Who do you take us for? >:o
Y/n: -_-
Y/n is typing...
Y/n was to send a message of discouragement to the male but stopped when something hard hit the back of his head and his phone fell onto a nearby concrete as he became momentarily dazed from the impact.
Nova: LOL you good?
Y/n looked to the side as he saw a rock bounce off his head onto the pavement. Someone threw a rock at his head. His head was throbbing as he lifted his head to look at the aggressor and met eyes with Harper Smith. She was glaring daggers at him.
"You've got some nerve to come back to town, Y/n." She sneered. Y/n blinked sluggishly as he took in the girl's appearance. He remembered her, Harper. She had been one of Lucia's closest friends.
And also one of the few people who blamed him for his sister's death, apart from his father. Y/n tried to form a sentence, but it didn't work, He just stared at her. "Are you just going to keep ogling at me!?" Harper snapped, "You just hit me with a rock." Y/n said blankly. Harper's face flushed with rage and she stomped up to him
"How dare you set foot in this town after what you did?" Harper glowered. Even though Y/n's mind was hazy from the blow to his skull, he knew exactly what she was referring to Nevertheless, he blinked lazily "Are you just going to bypass the fact that you just threw a rock at my skull?" He countered angrily "You knew it was dangerous to go inside that house, and still you let Lucia go in!" Harper hissed and ignored his comment.
Y/n glared at the girl. "You're acting as if I chose for it to happen." He rolled his eyes, avoiding the shadow of guilt slowly building up "Believe me when I say, do you honestly think I would let my older sister go in there if I knew it would happen?"
Harper smirked bitterly "Who knows, maybe you did." Y/n stiffened his glare. "Only you would be able to hold a grudge this absurd and irrational." He clicked his teeth. "Why you-!" Harper lifted her foot to lunge it at the boy's face.
"HEY! What are you doing?" a voice shouted, making both Y/n and Harper jump. They both looked up at the voice, There stood Roy and Nova, with vexing scowls.
"I asked what the fuck you were doing?" Roy snapped, clenching his fists. Harper scoffed and gave the h/c boy a final scowl before walking away. The two hurried up to h/c haired. "Are you alright?" "What happened?" Nova queried with concern, scrutinizing his body up and down.
Y/n gazed out vacantly. "I feel...I don't feel right," he said, making the two males look across at him with increased concern. "Can you recall what happened, Y/n?" Roy bent down to regard the h/c haired male softly. Y/n put a hand to the back of his head and drew it back, it was covered in blood.
Roy's eyes widened significantly, and Nova bent down and gently touched the boy's head, observing as Y/n flinched before drawing back his hand.
"You're hurt.." Nova whispered as he gazed down at his bloodied hand. Roy's expression became stern, and he took Y/n's face in his hands. "Did she hurt you?" he said. Y/n screwed up his face, as Roy's tone of voice raised red flags in his mind. The scarlet-haired's grip tightened on "Y/n. Did she hurt you?" he repeated.
"No." Y/n responded. Roy stared at him "Don't lie..." he trailed off and lowering his hands. His gaze shifted to a rock on the ground a meter away, and the redhead narrowed his eyes as he connected the dots. "She hit you with a rock." He stated and stood up, brushing off his knees. "What? No, she didn't-" Y/n propped himself up by his knees but lost his balance, Nova caught him up before he fell.
"Then what happened? You're bleeding, so something must've happened?" Nova asked, keeping one hand on his wrist and the other on his shoulder to balance the h/c boy. Y/n furrowed his brows, trying to recollect his memories. "Uh, um, hm i...." he mumbled.
Roy stepped towards Y/n "Do you feel dizzy or nauseous?" Y/n took a moment to reflect on the question, "I feel kind of groggy, or dizzy, I guess..and I feel like vomiting any second." he admitted. Roy and Nova shared a look. Roy pulled out his phone "Take him to the car Nova, I'll call Ezra." He threw his car keys towards the ash blond and Nova caught them. Roy typed in a number on his phone and put it to his ear.
a few seconds went by before the other line picked up. "What?" Ezra voiced out. "Y/n most likely has a concussion." silence
"What?" Ezra repeated. Roy put a hand to his forehead. "Nova and I came out of detention, and Y/n was getting harassed by some girl, he is bleeding from the back of his head, said to be feeling dizzy and nauseous, he has problems recalling his memory and maintaining his balance. There was a rock a few meters away from where he sat, possible that the girl hit him over the head with it." Roy explained.
There was once more silence. Roy didn't need be told what Ezra felt. He knew how the ash blond felt towards anyone who dared lay their dirty hands on the h/c haired male. It was a maniacal bloodlust. So different from the perfect facade Ezra usually put on, the one everyone knew and praised him for. The front that made him the 'golden child' of Runswick
And just as Roy suspected Ezra was still holding on to the front, even though cracks were appearing, threatening to reveal his true feelings towards the knowledge of Y/n's injury, he still remained falsely composed.
"Where is the girl now?" Ezra questioned in a calm tone, "She walked off." Roy admitted. Ezra hummed, "Bring Y/n home with you, We can't let him out of our sight for a few hours." Roy nodded and they continued talking.
Nova was staring at Roy while he was on the phone. Even though he couldn't hear or see his brother's response to the news,. He could accurately assume Ezra's reaction.
This wasn't going to end pretty.
He sighed and looked at the h/c haired boy. "Hey, Y/n I will walk you to Roy's car, okay?" He informed, being aware that the boy could only partially take in what he was saying. Despite this Y/n let out a non-committal answer. Nova began leading Y/n to the car, but it soon proved to be strenuous, Y/n had trouble maintaining balance and had to hold on to Nova's arm not to fall.
Not that Nova minded Y/n clinging to him. He let out a soft exhale and hooked a swift arm around Y/n's waist and under his legs, lifting him up and started to move to the car. Y/n seemed to be too out of it to notice Nova had lifted him up bridal style because he didn't respond and just stared at nothing.
Nova reached the car and took his arm off Y/n's waist to take out the car keys and unlock the door.
He sat down the boy and removed his school jacket, then laid it down under the boy's head. The boy hissed at the contact with his injured head, and Nova shushed him "Shh, you're alright, it'll will be okay, you'll be taken care of." Nova whispered and softly closed the door
Y/n had little to no clue what was going on. His mind was foggy and the piercing headache he felt prevented him from trying to understand the situation. The only thing he could grasp onto was the faint smell of the cleaning agent.
.
.
.
Nova walked back to the front of the school, where Roy was standing. Waiting for him.
"So what do we do?" Nova asked, crossing his arms. "We take him back home." The scarlet haired male shrugged and started walking back to his car. Nova raised a brow but didn't comment further. He glanced at the h/c boy's bag. He strode up to it, slung it over his shoulder, and picked up Y/n's mobile device from the concrete floor, putting it into his pocket. then followed Roy to the car.
Y/n noticed the door opened and his bag was put in the car next to Y/n, Soon after Roy and Nova stepped into the car, he looked up at the pair through his lashes, His vision was a little blurred so he shifted his gaze away.
Roy started the engine and began driving away.
.
.
Y/n felt his lashes flutter over his eyes as tiredness was about to set in from the aching pain in his skull to the lack of proper sleep the last few days and he slowly fell into a slumber
Once the duo were sure Y/n had fallen asleep, Nova reached out to quietly grab the h/c haired's bag. the ash blond put the bag on his lap, He opened the bag and began rummaging through it until his hand touched a rectangular object. "Got it," Nova smirked and pulled out the cassette recorder, swaying it in front of Roy. The scarlet haired hummed as his eyes focused on the road.
Nova twirled the recorder in his hand before pressing play.
"I am going to investigate the disappearance of a teen girl by the Name of Avery Emmons."
"She was last seen on October sixteenth ****, leaving her house to meet up with friends, but she never came back home that evening, leading people to believe she got killed by the infamous serial killer terrorizing Runswick."
" But when you look at her vanishment from a different perspective, you'll notice gaps in the story, that lead me to believe she might still be alive."
"Every serial killer has a signature way of killing, a way that is unique to them. And the Runswick Killer? They leave their victim's bodies out in the open to be found, I suspect, as a way of striking fear into innocents and a form of power trip."
Nova tilted his head to the side as he listened to the recording, then pressed the forward button.
"There are gaps in everyone's stories that I've heard talk about Avery Emmons, and I'm starting to doubt who to trust. I need to find out who those friends are that Avery went to hang out with on October sixteenth.
Nova turned off the recorder and grinned at the driver. "Our little detective is smart, isn't he?" He cooed. Roy smirked, nodding. "So, what will we do next?" Nova questioned.
Roy tapped his fingers against the stirring wheel "Ezra said to leave it for now." The scarlet-haired glanced into the rearview mirror, and his gaze softened as his eyes gazed at Y/n's form. "The poor, sweet thing just suffered a possible concussion from that b*tch." he spat out the last word.
"What will we do about it?" Roy shrugged. "Once again, Ezra said to leave it. Right now, our top priority is Y/n." Nova rolled his eyes "Y/n is always our top priority, Roy." He corrected.
"Yes, you're right," Roy said. Nova put the cassette recorder back into the bag and quietly laid it by a slumbering Y/n.
Nova leaned his elbow against the window, preparing himself for a long ride.