Obsessive ~ Noah Foster [1]

Chapter Four// New Nina

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"It's a time-honored enforcement of the food chain. The weak are outed and then eaten."

--Nina Patterson

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I sat in the Grindhouse cafe, drinking a mocha latte, as I read my book. It was not interesting. But I needed to keep my mind off of the weirdo who had called me the night before. Katherine was perfectly fine. She was at home when I got there, sleeping. Peacefully. Not a hair on her head was harmed. It was probably just a prank. In front of me, Noah sat with Piper Shaw, re-hashing Halloween night in 1994. God, just thinking about it made me get goosebumps. So many... kids died that night. "--For Dara Alden and Brett Keener, victims one and two. Of course, no one knows exactly what their last words were. Except maybe Brandon James." Noah explained to Piper, who seemed to be writing down everything he was saying. "So, Noah Foster, do you think that Brandon James just snapped that night?" Piper questioned. "Nobody just snaps. I mean, a bomb doesn't become a bomb when the wick is lit." Noah said. "So, if Tyler O'Neil is behind the mask in the GIF, is this a homage?" Piper leaned over, so that she was closer to him. "In my humble opinion, nobody puts on a mask and commits a murder like that just once. The real question is, who's next?" That's when I dropped my book, and it cluttered to the floor. Who's next? I had caught Piper and Noah's attention. "Are you okay?" Piper asked. "Yeah, I'm okay... it's just..."

"No, please. Go on." Piper turned to me. "It's just, how do you know there's gonna be a next person?" I bent down, and grabbed my book, and closed it, putting it beside me. I put my latte on the coffee table, and looked up at them. "I mean, really? How do you know, unless you're the killer, and you just know when he's going to strike next." I raised an eyebrow. "She's kind of right." Piper told Noah. "Once the first body is found, it's only a matter of time before the bloodbath commences; you gotta know he's gonna think he's going to make some kind of move." Noah frowned. "Some people can think that, I guess. But... maybe--let's say this person had a hitlist, and maybe Nina and Rachel were on that lis--"

"So, you don't think Rachel Murray was a suicide?" Piper cut me off. "I mean..." I stopped myself short. "Maybe she was, and maybe she wasn't. Don't you think its a bit of a weird coincidence that she happens to die, right after Nina?"

"Weird coincidences happen all the time, right?" Noah inquired. "Yeah, they do. But not in Lakewood." I claimed. "So... you think someone hung Rachel? She did have depression, and was--"

"I don't know. Maybe it's just me who thinks this. Then again, maybe I'm not." I shrugged. "I would love to interview you sometime. Nina Patterson's cousin. It'd be big." Piper explained. "Oh, okay. I'd love to help out anyway I can." I smiled. "Wow. Look at the time." Noah checked the watch on his wrist. "We're going to be late for school." Noah stood up, and put his coffee down. I looked up at him. "I can... uhm, give you a ride...?" Noah offered. "Yeah, sure." I stood up, forgetting about my latte. "I'll see you two later." Piper waved. I smiled at her, before following Noah out of the cafe.

"So... you're a horror movie enthusiast?" I laughed. "Yeah, you could say that." Noah looked over at me briefly, before going back to looking at the road. "I like to think of myself as the brilliant and tech-savvy sidekick--the next Steve Jobs." He smirked at me. "Well, I mean, you're into the whole slasher genre, right?" I spoke. "Yeah..."

"Some would say you're a bit of a horror movie enthusiast." I said, honing in on the point. "Okay, I get it. What does that make you?"

"Uh... a socially awkward teenager." I giggled. "Fair enough." He chuckled. "So... you and Riley?" I brought up. "Me and Riley." He repeated. "You guys...?"

"Oh, no. We're not--"

"I think you are." I raised an eyebrow. "I think I'm still thinking about the possibility of Riley and I." He said. Noah pulled up to the school, and parked the car in the school parking lot. "Thanks for the ride, horror movie geek." I pointed finger guns at him, before getting out of the car. Noah got out also, shouldering his backpack. "Anytime, socially awkward teen." He finger-gunned me right back. "Hey, Arielle!" I turned my head to see Brooke sitting on the grass, in front of a big tree, accompanied by Emma and Riley. "I gotta--"

"Do they think you're their new Nina?" Noah smiled. "I definitely hope not." I smiled back.

"Everything was going great on the football field. Then he raced off like the McRib was back." Riley complained, as we all stood in the bathroom. Brooke applied lip-gloss, and Emma leaned against the wall, texting. I just stood beside Riley, who was behind Brooke. "He's clearly afraid to make a move. And you're too gorge for these romantic Special Olympics." Brooke told her. "Don't be mean." Riley chuckled. I stared at the ground. God, Brooke was a bitch. "Not mean. Brutally honest. It's a different shade of mean." Brooke shrugged. "Speaking of." Brooke raised the lip gloss she held up. "Wait, is that Nina's lipstick?" Riley asked, totally horrified. "Yeah, well, someone's got to fill the lipstick power vacuum." I raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, come on. She'd love that I was carrying on her legacy." I had had enough of Brooke for one day. "I have to go. I have-- I left something in my locker." I lied, backing up slowly. "O--okay. See you in class, Ari." Brooke grinned at me. Oh, no. I was officially Nina's replacement.

xxx

"Looking for something, Mr. B?" Brooke cut Mr. Branson off, as it was obvious he was. "We're all looking for something, Brooke. See, desire, that's at the heart of drama. Desire for love, power, money." Mr Branson walked to his desk, and looked under a pile of papers. The hell is he doing? "I'm talking about Jason and Medea. I'm talkin' about Antony and Cleopatra." Mr. Branson looked up suddenly. "I'm talkin' about Emma and Kieran." Everyone, including me, turned to look at Emma. "Excuse me?" Emma questioned. "I'm splitting you all into pairs. Uh, you and your partner will choose a dramatic scene to perform in class." Mr Branson turned to his chalkboard, and smiled, walking towards it. I frowned, and he grabbed a yellow envelope, and pulled it out from behind a picture of Shakespeare, tucking it into his pants. He thought he was slick..."Now, let's not just limit ourselves... we can choose something contemporary, like movies, Audrey and Will." He turned back to the class. Will looked startled as he turned to look at Audrey. "If you suggest the pool scene from Wild Things, I will end you." Audrey warned. "Or if that's too much for your attention span, pick a favorite TV show, Arielle and...." Mr. Branson looked around the room. "Noah." I smiled widely, looking over at Noah, as he had been smiling also. "I'll even allow popular fiction, Jake and Brooke." Brooke scoffed. "How about Fifty Shades of Grey?" Jake suggested. "In your dreams, mouth breather." Brooke taunted. Jake flicked his tongue at her flirtatiously. "Alright, everybody. Let's get going to the library, I'm going to pair the rest of you up there. Get going on these selections. Let's go." Everyone stood from their chairs.

"What do you think, Socially-Awkward-Teen?" Noah asked, grinning from ear to ear. "I think that you're psycho if you think that we're doing a horror movie." I laughed. "Aw! You know what would be great? Psycho!" Noah gasped.