Decay

Cenn and Dad

We were silent as we walked to his car. I didn't want to address it, and he seemed to be searching for the words to bring it up without offending me or making my decision seem reckless. Even with being unable to read him, I could tell he thought that I had been thoughtless. What I didn't understand was why it bothered me so much. Why did I care he disapproved of my actions? Other than Dad and Cenn, I had never cared what another person thought... Was this the cost of being friends? That feeling of obligation... wanting to make them happy...

I hated it.

I guess I must have been sulking because we had just gotten into the car when he sighed, fiddling with his keys a moment. "I'm sorry... I know you were trying to help him... I just... was worried?"

I glanced over at him, surprised. "Wait, what? Why..." Why was he worried? Why was he apologizing? What was going on?

He shifted, uncomfortably, the look on his face almost like that of someone who had something uncomfortable shoved into their ass. "I dunno... You're my friend... I just don't like the idea of something bad happening, okay?" Now he looked sick. "It's... not fun losing a friend..."

My chest tightened painfully. "You... lost a friend?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. It happened a long time ago. I'd rather not talk about it." He forced a smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "So. We apparently have a Phantom?"

I snorted. "Nah. Probably some Psych messing with people. Maybe working with a Meta." I pulled out a different notebook, opening it. "There are a few Metas. I think our school has more than average, so that wouldn't be difficult. Hmm... We don't have any Psychs... That's odd. We should have at least one... Hmm... there are a few Undeclared... My guess is that most are Lovers and the like. Possibly Cooks that haven't made anything yet. We could have a Psych that hasn't notified anyone."

He snorted, putting the car into gear and pulling out of the parking lot. "Do you keep notes on everything?"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "It's important research. No one can catch you by surprise if you know about them." I flipped through the book, updating the information with a pen. "It's not just for the sake of keeping notes, though, I do see the appeal. Lists give a way to make sense of things."

"Fine fine. Your lists help. Now what do we need to know? Is there anyone who we should be concerned about?"

I frowned, studying my notes. "I mean, there are a few people who could work together to do this, but once you add everything together, it doesn't make any sense. First of all, it has to be a drama member. That limits a lot... Then, there's those who could potentially pull it off... There's a lot of Undeclareds that could potentially be an issue, but not too many who have figured their abilities out. If you narrow it further to someone who would want to hurt Robert... That leaves..." I sighed, shutting the book. "Me and Marissa. Everyone else either doesn't have the abilities required or doesn't hate him enough."

"Marissa? But they're friends." Novak seemed horrified I would even suggest that as an option. "Aren't they?"

I shrugged. "Marissa tends to switch friends a lot. It just depends on their standing with her at any given moment. They could have had an argument, and it would be enough for her to do something like this out of spite." I sighed again, letting my head fall back against the seat. "No one knows what I can do, but they do know that Robert's been messing with me from the moment we met. If Marissa keeps it up, she'll have everyone in school believing I put him up there, never mind we were the ones who pulled him back up." I tossed the book back into my bag, frustration beginning to build. "This is fucking ridiculous."

Novak reached over to ruffle my hair, ignoring my squeak of indignation. "C'mon. I'm sure we'll figure it out soon. Until then, I won't let anyone do anything, and now, you have Robert under obligation." His hand returned to the steering wheel so he could turn into the driveway of my home.