Role Reversal

4. Home Sweet Home

As Kate, Megan and I were walking to wherever she was taking us, the same creeping thoughts kept circulating in my head. Where was Megan taking us? Why was she taking us? Why is Kate involved in this too? The questions wouldn't stop rotating in my mind, and I thought I was going to become mentally unstable. So I did my best not to think about them, and instead focused on trying to figure out where we heading.

I lifted my gaze from the pavement- charcoal grey, patterned with colourful pieces of gum- and slowly took in my surroundings. We were currently walking down a slightly busy road scattered with a few people, and the occasional car going past. A slight breeze lifted abandoned newspapers into the air and swirled them around.

I had tried to keep track of where we were headed, but once I get deep in thought, I seem to tune out. So it wasn't a surprise that I was confused as to where we were, so I turned to Kate to ask her about it.

"Kate?" I whispered tentatively. Megan was a good few feet ahead of us, but with her you could never tell. She could have the ears of a bat. "Yeah? What's up?" she whispered back, lifting her brows.

"Where're we going? Any ideas as to where we even are?" I asked, gesturing around us to the quiet road lined with trees. Kate just shook her head and mouthed 'sorry'. I shrugged and smiled at her and was about to zone out again when Megan's harsh voice stopped me.

"Ok, we're here," she said, folding her arms. I followed her gaze and looked to the right to see nothing but a brick wall. But when I looked closer, I saw that just ahead of the wall was a small alcove, where there looked to be a door. With Megan leading the way, the three of us approached the door, full of trepidation.

Megan took a key out of her skirt pocket and swiftly unlocked the scratched wooden door in front of us. "Alright, you guys in first, I'll lock it behind me," she said, glaring at me. Without looking at her, I brushed past and stepped inside, with Kate close behind. I heard Megan come in after and turn the key in the lock. We were trapped.

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I took a few more steps into the dimly lit room and took in my unfamiliar surroundings.

The room we were standing in was square in shape and quite small; the walls were painted a dull yellow and there was a tiny T.V sitting on a pile of books in one corner of the room. There was one cream leather sofa pushed up against the wall on the right side of the room, and on the left side there was a small window that was open a bit, letting in a slight breeze. A glass coffee table sat in the middle of the room and two doors lead off to somewhere I didn't know.

Where was this place? It almost looked like someone's-

"Home sweet home," announced Megan, before dumping her school bag on the floor and thumping down heavily onto the sofa. I looked at Kate, wondering how she was feeling, and she looked at me back with a puzzled expression on her face.

I cleared my throat. "Uh, okay so why did you bring us here? Are you planning on killing us and then hiding the bodies or something?"

Megan bit out a sarcastic laugh. "That's really funny! No. I wanted to- what are you doing Kate? Sit down already." Kate dropped her school bag on the floor and shuffled unwillingly over to the sofa and perched hesitantly on the edge of the couch.

"So anyway, I only needed you to come here because I need your help with something. And really, you have no choice but to say yes," she said, a smirk gracing her lips.

I sighed and wondered for the umpteenth time what I was doing here. I pressed my fingers into my eyes before looking up and speaking again.

"Fine. What do you need help with, your highness?"

Megan smiled sardonically and slowly got up from the couch, leaving a bewildered looking Kate to sit patiently by herself. "If you tell anybody, I swear I will stop your breathing." I nodded quickly. "Good. I need your help with my English homework," she stated.

I cocked an eyebrow at her in disbelief. English homework? That's it? That's it. It's just some homework. For some reason I couldn't fully comprehend, I found that funny. Really funny. I burst out into laughter, unable to stop myself.

"Homework! That's it? Thank goodness! I thought you were gonna kill me. That's actually really fu-ugh!" I doubled over in pain as Megan withdrew her first from my abdomen. I looked up at her smug face as she smiled down at me. "You were saying?" she said, in a voice dripping with poisoned honey.

"Nothing. Let's just do it and get it over with. I wanna go home," I mumbled miserably, rubbing my abused stomach.

"Um…can I go?" We both turned to look at Kate who was now standing up clutching onto her school bag as though her life depended on it. Megan looked surprised as though she had forgotten she was still there. Kate was hopping nervously from foot to foot and I immediately felt sorry for her. She didn't deserve to be here.

"What? Yeah, sure. You can go. Bye," said Megan, standing up and unlocking the door for her.

"Wait! Hold on, Kate," I said, walking over to her. "Can you get home okay? Do you want me to walk to the bus stop or something?"

"No, no it's fine. Thanks for offering, but I can find my way back." She smiled at me and gave me a little wave before walking hastily out of the door.

Leaving me alone with Megan. Great.

"Don't look so scared Ri-Ri. I'm not gonna bite you. Yet," she smirked, patting the floor next to her. I looked back longingly at the door before turning around to face my inevitable fate.

"Okay. So what exactly are you stuck on?" I asked, pulling my pencil case out of my bag. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. I mean, all I had to do was help her answer a couple of question right? No big deal.

Once I had got it out, and Megan still hadn't replied, I was forced to look at her.

I was shocked to find she was staring right at me, looking at me with those gleaming green eyes. I couldn't tell what she was thinking and I wasn't sure I wanted to know. "Why are yo-"

"I don't need help my homework. To be honest, I couldn't care less about homework. Or school in general. I just said that to get rid of Kate," she interrupted, still looking at me. It was so unnerving that I had to look away.

"So why did you call me here Megan?" I asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"It's sort of a long story, so I'll just get straight to the point. Be my boyfriend, Ri-Ri."

This time, my head snapped round to look at her so fast I think I strained my neck.

"What?"