Prepsworth Academy

Chapter 46 - "Not at all."

Rose

As everyone on the table stared at me varying degrees of shock and anger, I fought to keep my smile from slipping off my face. I already felt bad, and I didn't need everyone guilt tripping me into feeling worse. I hadn't told anyone that Lily and I were friends because I didn't think it was important. She'd already begun to be more sporty and I'd found that I liked manipulation and admiration. We had begun to be more different, and if I had decided to tell anyone, the fact that we'd grown apart wouldn't be difficult to believe, even if it wasn't the truth. And it was in Year Seven, so I don't know how long she's been holding that grudge.

"It was like all old friendships. We had a fight and parted ways. There's nothing special about that." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Lily smiled mockingly.

"Oh, so don't you remember what we fought about?" Lily asked.

"No." Yes.

"Not at all?"

"Not at all." Completely and utterly.

"Do you want me to tell the story?"

"Go ahead." Please, please don't.

"Then I will." Lily began and all throughout the story, I held her gaze, not daring to back down. After all, you can't tell a story if you didn't know what truly happened. And, I knew that Lily didn't. But I never once stopped her as she spoke, her eyes darkening with the sadness of the memories. I couldn't correct her, not when it would cost me so much. And, so Lily spoke, and I did not interrupt.

Lily

"We were closer than sisters. Rose, with her golden hair and blue eyes and me, the girl with the chestnut brown hair, and green eyes. Rose, with all of her queen bee glamour and me, with the five hundred sports I was playing. We were opposites, but close. And we were infinitely excited to go to high school together." I began, before taking a shaking breath.

"What happened?' Dylan prompted, looking concerned. I replayed the events in my head, all of the secrets. I took another breath...and began to cry. Cry and cry and cry. What happened had hurt me, so badly. And the gravity of it, I still carried it around with me today. Quick as a flash, Elle's arms were around me and Emma was patting my shoulder.

"It'll all be okay!" They promised. It wouldn't be. Not until I told the truth. That's when I decided. I was going to the party.

Dylan

It was incredibly unnerving to see someone as strong as Lily break down. What had Rose done to make her so upset? It was equally as unnerving to see Elle's distraught eyes, trying to console a crying Lily. I wanted to comfort her too, but I'd already decided I wanted to be with Rose. I needed to move on. I looked up from staring at Elle to see Rose and Lukas walk out the door, arm in arm, completely unaffected. Somehow, they creeped me out that dinner, there was something undeniably sinister about them that evening. It was crazy, completely crazy; but I found myself wondering if she'd killed someone. It was a silly little idea, the type that you make up when the smallest thing happens when you're in Year One or something. Rose hadn't killed anybody. But...she'd done something. I just didn't know what.

Harry

"Guess what?" Emma shouted in my ear. I groaned and swatted her away with a pillow.

"What?" I asked groggily, without opening my eyes.

"We're going to the party." Emma exclaimed, slapping me on the cheek lightly. That time, I opened my eyes.

"What was that for?" I demanded.

"And why are we going to the party, not that I'm complaining." I added as an afterthought. Emma's expression darkened, like a shadow cast over the sun.

"Because I want to find out the truth." Emma replied slowly, carefully.

"The truth? The truth about what?" I asked, my forehead crinkling in confusion and worry.

Emma glared, her expression laced with hate.

"About what happened between Lily and Rose. About why Rose is the way she is. About why I have such a bad feeling about that party." Emma answered, her words disconnected, a sign she was thinking very hard.

"Between Lily and Rose?" I asked. Emma blinked twice and smiled.

"There's a lot you missed."

Ten minutes later, I was outside my dorm, Emma having being shoed out by one of my dorm mates.

"Are you serious?" I asked, leaning against the wall. Emma nodded.

"It's crazy, isn't it? Prepsworth's just so weird." Emma exclaimed.

"You're weird." I mumbled, still half asleep.

"Don't you see how strange this all is? It's annoying, stupid and makes no sense." Emma exclaimed.

"You're just annoyed because you don't understand it." I said, shielding my eyes from the sun.

"Maybe, but there's more. There's more to all of this, there's something behind the curtain, and we just need to whisk it away and find out what." Emma said, beginning to pace.

"Why are you so involved in all of this?" I asked.

"It's interesting. This school's rife with break-ups and meaningless scandals, but this is the only actually interesting thing to happen here, and I want to find out what's behind it. There's something behind this, something big. And, I want to find out what it is." Emma said, her voice alight with excitement. I couldn't help but smile at her, and Emma looked over at me.

"What is it?" I shook my head, still smiling.

"Nothing. You act like smiles are suspicious, some sure sign that someone's plotting something." I answered.

"Maybe they are." Emma said pointedly.

"Or maybe I just want to smile at you." I replied. Emma's cheeks flushed red.

"Sappy." She mumbled.

"Well, that's me." Emma rolled her eyes, but a smile crept along her face and I couldn't help but smile back.

"So, what do you want to do about everything that's happening?" I asked.

"I want to dig deep, find out reasons, question people. I want to do whatever I have to." Emma answered. It sounded like a bad idea, like an ideal way to get hurt or in trouble, but upon seeing Emma smile, her eyes shining bright, I couldn't care less.

"Okay. Let's go to the party and do whatever we have to do." I said confidently. Emma's face turned into one of shock.

"Are you sure?" She asked. I wasn't, not at all, but I nodded despite myself.

"Of course."