Present
"HEY, YOU EVER considered Tobias actually being the one who killed Maria and Kayla? You've been looking at every possible way that it isn't him, but what if it is?" Ariel slid her venomous glare towards Evelyn, the heat beneath her eyes could have possibly burnt a hole through Evelyn's face if that was possible. "What?" She seethed.
"I mean, maybe Larson really is innocent and maybe he has a reasonable explanation why he has a bloody underwear and red hair in his room. I mean Lewis did say he would make her wear red wigs. What if–what if it was just the wig and what if the bloody underwear had a very reasonable explanation." As ridiculous as this sounded out loud, it was true. There's always an explanation for something, not everything was as elaborate as everyone made it out to be.
However, despite her agreement with Evelyn's statement, it didn't lessen her anger. This theory was based on the expense of Tobias' innocence, and that sparked a fuse within her, "Tobias did not do this." She said through gritted teeth. "Ariel, we have to give Larson the benefit of the doubt. We can't go around accusing anyone of murder."
"I agree but it's ironic how much of a hypocrite you're being in that same sentence where you're declaring Larson's innocence and accusing Tobias! I will do anything to find that person whether it be Larson, Lewis. . .you. And I don't care who it hurts."
"That's crazy," Evelyn muttered. "Yeah? Well, we all have a little crazy in us." Ariel clipped coldly, her voice unable to soothe the already crippling tension that hovered between them.
The room lapsed into silence and Ariel tore her gaze away from Evelyn. The sleepover was a way to reminisce about how normal their lives once were before the murders and Tobias' arrest but even now the topic seemed to loom over their heads. "I just don't think that we should go around accusing people of murder no matter who they are."
"And that's why we need to go through with this. One moment you're all 'hell no you're not going around Larson' and the next you're freaking Judge Judy declaring his innocence. There's only one way to rule him out whether he's the murderer or not. We get that damn Ziploc bag, no matter the risks."
Evelyn sighed, she didn't need to say it out loud but Ariel was right. The two lapsed into silence once again but Evelyn's attention never returned back to the flickering lights of the television. She just wondered if not Larson then who?
And only one name stayed buried in her mind. The name she dared not to mutter again in fear that Ariel's next time snapping wouldn't be with words but instead actions. No matter what plan they had Evelyn believed that it was Tobias Aspen who did it and he deserved to be where he was, rotting away from society.
~~~
She was dressed in a pair of high-waisted black jeans, red knee-high boots and a red spaghetti strap silk top with a white kimono draped over it. She sashayed down the hallway like her personal runway. When someone had a certain goal in mind, confidence was the torchlight brightening up the dark path. And Ariel's torch was of course her sex appeal.
From down the hallway, Evelyn watched in disapproval. There was only so much she could do and whatever plan Ariel had she couldn't stop it. Before Ariel could catch sight of her looming, she disappeared, leaving the red-haired standing before her locker, ready to be fed to the shark.
When she pulled the blue locker open and shoved her bag inside, her eyes locked onto the yellow sticky note pressed against the photo of herself and Tobias. With a frown, Ariel ripped it off and turned it around, eyes finding the words scribbled messily across the paper. 'how are you positive that Larson murdered those girls, Ariel. What if it's me? ;)' Her blood ran cold. "What the hell?"
Ariel's eyes left the interior of her locker for a second and she gazed around the hallway once more to catch a glimpse of someone, just anyone staring at her sinisterly, satisfied that she was inwardly freaking out. But with no luck, she curled her fingers around her notebook and slammed the locker shut; ignoring the nagging feeling in her stomach as she silently trekked down the hallway and towards her first-period class.
Not realizing that a pair of eyes were following her every movement.
~~~
Eyes were on her like glue to a paper. It wasn't because of her dressing, no this was nothing new. But in a small town, news travelled fast. When students got wind of Larson and Ariel's separation they went into a frenzy. Both their new budding relationships hadn't been of any support to their ongoing scandal and even a year later they were still a trending topic.
That's why it was no surprise when students walked into walls or leaned into their friend's ears the moment Ariel sauntered straight towards Larson's locker. Face buried within the blue metal, the brewing drama seemed to fly right over his head. "Larson!" His head emerged from the locker, confused, only to see Ariel leaned against the one beside his, a smirk on her lips.
"Wow, you look awful." He shot her a glare, "what do you want Ariel?" He murmured, his lips moving so effortlessly that Ariel's eyes flickered down to them before she could stop herself. "Well. . ." She trailed off. As she stared into his eyes she wondered why Lewis was so hell-bent on proving that he was the murderer. What went so wrong in their relationship that it came to this?
"Well, what? You came here to lure me into whatever sick plan you and Lewis have brewing for me?" He scoffed. Ariel's eyes widened and he chuckled humourlessly, "you think I don't see you two talking in the cafeteria every day. I bet you guys are planning some sick ex-girlfriend revenge plan on me."
"Hold up there buddy!" Ariel chuckled as she waved her hands in the air exasperatedly, "do you think that this is some kind of movie? Stop living in la la land where you think your exes are thinking about you constantly. Lewis and I only eat at lunch together because we feel like it. I didn't come to your locker to argue with you or lure you into any of my plans."
If only he knew of the lies rolling off the tip of her tongue effortlessly. His mouth twitched but he concealed the string of insults that were buried deep within his chest and instead settled on an ice-cold glare, his words coming out in a snarl. "What brings your company to my locker, my little mermaid?"
Choosing to ignore the nickname that struck her harder than she expected, she feigned a smile, "I want us to be friends," Ariel could feel the anger reverberating off of him. What was scarier than a person lashing out at you was someone who concealed it with a look of nonchalance or a smile. That way, you wouldn't be able to tell how they truly felt about you compared to someone who had no problem speaking their mind.
She knew Larson long enough to be able to decipher his moods whether he looked like the Cheshire Cat or John Wick. "Get out of my face, Ariel." He cackled in amusement, unable to conceal the laughter threatening to burst through his lips. "I'm being serious."
"After a year of never speaking to me, you want us to be friends, now? Right after your pretty little boyfriend was arrested and my ex-girlfriend befriended you? Yeah not falling for it, how illiterate do you think I am? As far as I could remember, my Iq has always been significantly higher than yours. Talk to me when you remember that." He slammed his locker shut, startling Ariel who jolted at the loud bang.
However, she wouldn't let him off that easy. As he pivoted on his heels to march away, Ariel's palm enclosed around his arm tightly. With a firm grip, she tugged him back harshly until her palm could fall flat against his chest. With as much strength as she could muster up, she slammed him against the lockers, ignoring his cry of pain as she climbed between his legs, her head tilting up to meet his.
She balled his shirt up into her hand and pressed the other beside his head, her lips tugging up into a smirk, "I'm not asking."
Past
A hand gripped hers softly, stopping her dead in her tracks. Ariel turned around to face the person who dared touch her, her lips parted to call said person out. "Hey." At the sight of Tobias, she relaxed, her mouth involuntarily shifting into a smile. Ariel didn't like to admit this out loud, but Tobias was progressively growing on her. Ever since he saved her from Larson, she slowly began to shift her perception of him.
She didn't like him to the point where she'd go to the ends of the earth and back for his sake, but her dislike was slowly beginning to diminish into a simple squeal. "Tobias," she acknowledged him nonchalantly. He loosened his grip on her hand, "are you coming to the game tonight?" He asked, hoping that the first answer from her lips would be yes but instead she settles with, "I didn't know there was a game tonight."
Tobias snickered as he proceeded to nudge her in the arm lightly. "Why else would there be a party silly?" Ariel's eyes widened and she laughed in embarrassment. "Well, what if you guys lose, then doesn't that mean that there won't be any need for a party?"
"There's always a need for a party." He winked. She smiled and nodded her head softly as her eyes flickered down onto the tiled floor, "I'll let you wear my jersey." She skidded to a stop, the space between her brows creased as she peered up at Tobias, and her lips fell into an 'O' shape as shock took home on her face. "I–Tobias, you–I've never seen anyone wear your jersey." She mumbled in disbelief.
He pressed his hands to the back of his head and smirked cooly, "that's because I've never wanted just anyone to wear it. But you, I'm curious to see what it would look like on you." There was something different about him. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but the atmosphere had shifted but in a good way. What was this feeling? Ariel frowned in confusion, "Tobias, I don't need to wear your jersey. I–I'll come but you don't need to make me wea–"
He clasped his hands around hers and flashed her a sheepish smile, "I want you to wear my jersey, Ariel. I really want you to. You'll be the first and only girl to wear it and it's yours. It's clean, don't worry. I'll give it to you before the game. Just promise me you'll be in the crowd cheering me on." He mumbled as he pressed his forehead against hers.
She couldn't find it in herself to shove him away because his scent was intoxicating. It was a concoction of lavender and cologne and as weird as the combination was Ariel couldn't help but shift forward so that it overpowered her senses. "Fine. I'll wear it. But I don't need to keep it." She questioned why she was behaving like a school girl when a few days ago she had the urge to punch him. Now she wanted nothing more than to stay near him.
"You are going to keep it. It's yours now."
Before she could speak, he planted a kiss against her cheek but retreated before she could react. He threw his hands in the air as he jogged away, "see you later, little mermaid!" It took him disappearing from her sight for her to realize that eyes were piercing through her left and right. For a second Ariel forgot that they were standing in the middle of the hallway and though it was minutes before the bell rang, there were still a significant amount of students roaming the halls.
Tobias Aspen. The most beloved guy in the school and town asked Ariel Campbell to wear his baseball jersey.
She thought it was just a sweet gesture from a guy she couldn't decide whether she liked or disliked.
But it was the beginning of something more. Something that she didn't know was brewing beneath the surface. As she sauntered away, the saying ignorance is bliss had never been more fitting. To Ariel, that simple interaction was just possibly a future of a potential friendship. But in reality. . .
Well, this was only the calm before the storm.
~~~