why we fall apart

twenty fourth ; why we fall apart

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I SUGGEST YOU REREAD THIS BOOK CUZ I REEDITED IT A LIL AND STUFF ISNT GONNA MAKE SENSE UNLESS YOU DO

Tristan and I were on the roof once again.

"The dean is rarely ever seen outside of the administrative building. There are no photos I've been able to find of him, either. He's very private."

I lean against the jutting out edge of roof where it slopes down.

"So now what?"

"We break into his offices and try to catch a glimpse of him. Then, maybe we find a planner or schedule of some sort, pin down where he might be at certain times, and accidentally run into him."

"Then I try to make friends or whatever and pry into his personal life until I am totally trusted by the dean and he tells us what we want to know," I finished.

"Exactly. Do your thing, little miss heartbreaker," Tristan said lightly.

"You're still not letting that go?" I scoffed.

"What? It was just a joke." I didn't like the emotion hiding behind the smile playing on his lips.

"One that isn't funny. Get new jokes," I muttered.

"Sure, when you get a new attitude."

We both burst out laughing derisively. As if we could change.

After it got darker, I went to my dorm and Tristan stayed on the roof. I went to unlock my door, but found someone else there, a key jammed into the lock, and not budging.

"What are you doing?" I sighed. I was tired, and didn't have enough energy to deal with someone trying to steal stuff I didn't even have.

"I'm just trying to get into my room. My key is oddly stuck, though," the stranger said. He turned, and under my phone flashlight, I could see the wincing face of a teen around my age sporting jeans, scruffy converse, and a The Killers shirt.

"That's not your room. It's mine." I approached him warily, and he stepped aside. I could feel his height practically shrinking me, he was so tall. He was basically a giraffe. I tried to tug the key out of my lock, to no avail, and huffed with exertion. "My room is number 148 A." I showed him my key's engraving, and shone my light onto the door, the painted '148 A' becoming painfully evident to the stranger.

"Oh... I'm sorry, please do forgive me," he flushed in embarrassment. His lack of competency made me pity him.

"It's fine." It wasn't really. I shined my light on his key. "You're 148 B, not A." I gave it another good tug, then trying to twist it out. "I think your key is stuck."

Just then, my phone died, and we were left in the dark.

"This is so fun," I deadpanned.

We were left in dismal silence.

"Aren't there lights in these hallways?" Stranger danger asked.

"This is a new dorm set, they're still working on electrical," I replied. Then I turned my heel and left him standing out in the cold.

"W-wait! Where are you going?" His voice was frantic. Chill, man. I rolled my eyes.

"To find someone in charge, like the dean, who can get another room open, or a locksmith tomorrow to take your key out of my lock," I called over my shoulder.

"Th-the dean?" Stranger danger stuttered.

"Yeah. You coming with, or are you chicken? You can stay out there for all I care, but you gotta do what you gotta do if you want somewhere to sleep." I rounded a corner, and heard the patter of his footsteps following me, his own flashlight out.

"I don't fancy sleeping on the floor," he tried joking, to hide his nervousness.

Just then, I realized, "You've got an odd accent. You're not from around here, are you?"

"Er- is it that noticeable? Is it rather, er, a bad thing?"

"No, it's fine. Are you new here? I heard they were transferring people in soon," I let slip.

"Oh really?"

I shrugged. "Just the old rumor mill, not that it's ever worth listening to."

Stranger danger nodded.

The hallways were long and echoed our footsteps eerily.

"May I ask, what is your name?" Stranger danger asked.

"Grace," I replied.

"It's my pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm L-L-Liam. Yes, Liam." He seemed to be reassuring himself more than telling me. I went with it. All Crawford kids were some kind of weird.

"Cool. I think the admin building is here. Everything looks weird in the dark."

"It is," Liam said, with renewed confidence. He stepped up and knocked, and a light appeared, the door swinging open in seconds.

What happened next was a blur to me, I was so tired. Liam chatted with a teacher, I presumed, and Liam was given a duplicate key for his dorm, which is where I found myself when I woke up. Liam was fast asleep, curled up in a blanket on the floor.

I got up and looked around, due to my nosiness. And it was lucky I did. There was a planner sitting face up on the desk, bearing the name of a one Dean Lee Chesterfield. Aka Liam, aka stranger danger. Aka my target to break.