Paper Towns~ A Continuation

Chapter 2. Hide n' Seek

"Margo?" I whisper, trying to shake her out of her sleep.

She groans and throws a pillow at my face. "Q. I'm sleeping. I heard once, in an ancient tale, that you're never, ever, supposed to wake a sleeping someone up."

"Sorry," I say. "I just wanted to tell you that it's seven A.M. I'm gonna head to my classes now, you okay with that?"

"Just peachy," Margo mumbles, going back to sleep.

I sigh. Shouldn't she be a bit more grateful that I'm letting her stay at my dorm?

Just as I reach my door, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I answer it when I see the caller I.D. say Lacey.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Q? Oh, my God, did you hear about Margo?" she says frantically. "She's all over the news! She's suspected for freaking murder! Of course, I would never believe that Margo stabbed a guy with a pair of scissors, but police are out looking everywhere for her."

"Everywhere?"

"Yes, everywhere! They even came by my place to check for Margo! Then the police man- who was uber hot, by the way- started asking me questions about her and stuff! I swear, I hope they find Margo soon so she can say she didn't do anything to that boy."

"Wait," I say, my heart doing a nervous jump. "Go back to the part where they came by your place and checked it?"

"Well, yeah," Lacey says over the phone. "They're checking all her friends houses today, to see if they have any 'suspicious items'." She pauses. "Do you know anything about Margo, Q?"

"Only everything you know. Listen, I've gotta run to classes, I'm already late. Talk to you later." I hang up quickly. "Margo, get up, it's urgent."

No reply.

I take a duffel bag from my closet and empty its contents onto the floor. "Get up, now." I throw the bag at her.

"Ow," Margo says and opens her eyes. "I thought we just had a little chat about not waking people-"

"Pack your things." I nod toward the duffel bag.

She sits up, and seems taken aback. Hurt shows in her eyes. "You're kicking me out?" she asks quietly.

"No," I try and reassure. "Well, kind of. You just need to get out of here, now!" After a brief moment of pause, I realize that I'm not explaining the situation to Margo all that well. "Police are going to be coming to my dorm today to look for you. They're checking all of your friends houses, including my dorm, and seeing if any of them knows anything about your disappearance. So pack your things, we need to find you somewhere to live."

At once, Margo flings herself out of bed and starts nervously pacing. "Oh my God. Oh my God, oh my God..."

"Hey," I say. "Hey!"

She snaps out of it and stares at me.

"Listen, everything's fine," I say in a quiet voice. "Just pack your things. You won't be here when they come, okay?"

That's when I hear a loud knock on my dorm door. "Police," a deep voice says from behind it.

~

There has never, not once, been a silence that has been longer or stiller than the one Margo and I hold now.

We hear another knock on the door. "Is this the dorm room of Quentin Jacobsen?"

Margo holds my gaze. "Hide," I whisper, breaking the silence. "In the closet."

She runs into my closet and slams it close. I wince, and open my door. A young man in a police suit holds up his badge. The cop has movie star looks, with his short brown hair and green eyes. He's alone. "Officer Ackles."

"Um," I say.

"Are you Quentin Jacobsen?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I hope this doesn't take longer than it has to," he says, putting away his badge. "Have you heard about your friend, Margo Roth Spiegelman, yet?"

"Yeah. She murdered someone, right?"

He nods.

I nod, too. "My friend, Lacey, told me about it. Tragic. I really hope you guys find her soon."

Officer Ackles smiles. "Me, too. Look, I don't want to take up a lot of your time, 'cause you seem like a good kid, and I know you've got your college classes waiting. I'm just gonna ask you a couple of questions about Margo, and then search your dorm for anything suspicious, 'kay?"

I take a deep breath. "Okay."

"Alright, I'll start with the questions, first. How long have you known Margo Roth Spiegelman?"

"Well...I've practically known her my whole life. We were neighbors for the longest time," I say.

"Alright," Officer Ackles says, pulling out a notepad and jotting a few things down. "And how close, would you say, are you and Margo?"

"I..." I don't know how to finish the sentence. How close are we? "I...don't know."

He gives me a confused look. "And what do you mean by that?"

"I mean that I had a crush on her for the longest time, but now that she murdered someone, I don't know anymore?"

He nods. "Understandable. That happened to me once, too. Anyways, last question. Do you know the whereabouts of Margo Roth Spiegelman?"

"No," I say, lying through my teeth.

Officer Ackles finishes up his writing on the notepad and puts it away. "Now it's time for that mandatory house check. May I come in?"

"Yes."

He enters my dorm room. I stand nervously at the door, rethinking the whole entire situation.

Maybe Margo should just turn herself in, I think. We would get less jail time, maybe. But I made a promise to her. To keep her safe.

Officer Ackles checks my bathroom. Apparently, Margo's not in the small shower. He checks under my bed. No Margo there, either. The last place he has to check is my closet. I hold my breath, waiting for the worst.

"Hey, kid, you alright?" the cop says, walking past me and out the door. "Listen, I didn't find anything suspicious. But keep a look out for that Margo chic, she just spells trouble." Officer Ackles gives me a playful wink, and goes on his merry way.

I blink. Did he check the closet? No, he didn't.

I slam my door shut, and hear Margo creak open the closet door. "Is he gone?"

I nod, leaning against my wall.

She laughs. "What a dumb ass! He forgot to check the freaking closet, the only place big enough to actually fit a whole person!"

I begin to laugh, too. "Luck. Pure luck."

Luck is the only thing keeping us from being arrested, now.

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author's note: what will happen when their luck runs out? tell me what you think in the comments! if you're enjoying this story so far, it would help me out a lot if you voted. thanks for reading!