Ink and Blood [T@gged Fanfic]

#Ten

The night after the flash was a difficult one. It didn't help that Rowan had received one too. The pair met with Elisia before the first bell and awaited Hailey, who Ghost truly didn't want to see. Regardless, with her appearance in a messy state, she waited. Her stomach was turning and she had made it out the door before Ash finished his shower, making it easy for her to slip away without eating. It didn't help with the turning in her stomach, but there wasn't much for her to throw up anymore.

When the four were together again, Rowan spoke quickly to halt Elisia's parting, "I need to say something. I got a video last night. From Monkey Man."

"Me too," Ghost added.

"That's not possible," Elisia reminded.

"Monkey Man's dead, Ro," Hailey continued.

"I know," Rowan snapped.

"We were there, remember?" Ghost all-but growled, irritated that this girl had the nerve to act as if she had been the one bathed in his hot blood and forced to bear witness to his brains on the yellow paint of Nikki's house.

"Can I see the videos?" Elisia asked.

"They were flashes," Ghost explained, "They're both gone...we didn't screengrab."

Rowan glanced between the other three girls, "I messaged him back."

"You what?" Hailey snapped, her voice disapproving and disbelieving.

Elisia on the other hand bore a tone of curiosity at most, which helped to calm some of the bristling in Ghost's body as she asked, "What did it say?"

"He said he wants revenge," answered Rowan.

Hailey once again chided Rowan for her decision, setting Ghost's teeth on edge. She had never particularly liked the girl, for she had been part of the bullying that had occurred when her family lost it all and she never even apologized for her behaviors and now she acted as if she could just ignore the things that made Ghost's heart race. As Rowan and Elisia followed her, Ghost turned away and headed to her class, her hands coiled inside of each other to keep from the shaking. She was furious, but it didn't matter because no one would do anything about the 'poor, broken' Hailey.

As she sat in her typical seat, Ghost slammed her books down and sunk into her seat, grinding her jaw as Miss Dawson drifted to the front of the class. Rowan sat herself down beside the girl, glancing her way as she lowered her chin to the desk and forced her hands over her ears. She clenched her hands around clumps of her hair and only released the 'don't talk to me' position when the bell chimed through her fleshy ear muffs.

"Okay, class, I'm going to assign partners for the interview project I mentioned last Friday," Miss Dawson began, "You guys can pick any topic under the sun."

"Can I pick you as a topic, Miss Dawson?" asked Brandon, prompting Ghost to roll her eyes.

"Really?" the blonde educator raised a brow, "That's as good as you could do? Like I was saying, you guys can pick any topic under the sun, obviously, try to keep on the subject of the themes we've been discussing. I want you guys to write long form open-ended questions. Ok, so Tara Killington and Sage Elway. Let's do Derek Stockard and Jess Bowars. Rowan Fricks and Brandon Darrow. Zoe Desaul and Ghost..."