Part 15

"Alrght, let's not be too quick to place blame on people." I told Ben, who looked ready to tear the whole school down. His face was turning red and he was breathing heavily. I was starting to get worried for all those who would have to face his wrath. I never thought Ben could be so scary.

"Why not?" He fixed his eyes on me making me swallow hard in fear. I never wanted to be on Ben's bad side.

"Hey, stop glaring at my girl. She is helping you," Dash admonished. Right then, I wanted to hug him for standing up for me, despite the fact that he annoyed me to the core.

"Lauren killed Janice. I have to confront her and hand her over to the police," Ben growled, like an actual growl. I didn't know humans growled.

"And how can you be so sure? Does the diary state that Lauren killed Janice?" Dash enquired.

"No! But Janice wrote about how Lauren was not the person she thought she was," Ben answered.

"That doesn't mean anything," Tracey cut in.

"Of course it does. They were having problems. Lauren is the killer, I'm sure of it," he stated.

"You can't go around slapping labels on everyone. That is not right. We have to investigate this further. This diary was written last year. If Lauren was the killer why would she wait an entire year to kill Janice?" Dash pointed out.

What was Dash's relationship with Lauren? Why was he so quick to defend her? I would confront Lauren about this. She would have to tell me what was going on between her and my boyfriend. But first I needed to calm this crazy Ben down.

"Maybe she was looking for the right opportunity to kill," Ben said.

"Ben, calm down. It's a diary, and diaries are subjective. Maybe what Janice wrote is not true. Maybe she wrote lies about Lauren because she might be angry with her or something," I said.

"Nobody lies about something like this," Ben argued. Alright, I had to admit; being in love was looking to be scary right now.

"Of course they can. People lie about everything. You need to calm down, Ben. We will find out who killed Janice. And we will keep a close eye on Lauren. But we cannot accuse her of murder based on some diaries which might be biased," Tracey said, taking Ben's hands in hers. It took everything in me not to let my jaw drop. Was it just me or was there something going on between my best friend and Ben?

Don't jump to conclusions! Maybe she is just comforting him.

My subconscious was right. I shouldn't be jumping to conclusions, it was not logical. But I could not help it. Tracey was holding Ben's hands—comforting him in times of need. And that meant something. It had to mean something. I would ask her as soon as these two left the room.

"This is taking too long, Tracey." It looked like all the anger just evaporated as soon as Tracey touched him. Something was definitely going on. I wanted Dash and Ben to leave so I could interrogate my best friend.

"I know, but we will figure it out. I promise you. And the police is investigating as well. They are taking statements from every student, whether they knew Janice or not. So relax. If you'll get worked up then we will not be able to catch the killer. You have to stay strong, for Janice," Tracey replied. Alright, she had better tell me everything when I question her because I could tell she liked Ben.

Ben nodded, releasing a deep, audible breath. "You're right. I don't know what just happened to me. I lost my mind after I read Janice's diary."

"It's alright, she was your girlfriend. We understand that." Tracey smiled. I had half a mind to kick Dash and Ben out of the room so I could get the truth from her, but I refrained; mostly because I doubted my boyfriend would appreciate being thrown out of his girlfriend's room...by his girlfriend.

"Dash, I think we should go now. We have a lot of planning to do. I want to keep an eye on Lauren," Ben said, looking at Dash who was sprawled on my bed as if he owned it.

"I can keep an eye on Lauren for you," Dash offered. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. There was not one mystery I had to solve but two. Not only did I have to figure out who was behind Janice's murder but also find out what was Dash's relationship with our primary suspect.

"Thanks, man, but I would feel better if I personally watched her. I owe it to Janice," Ben stated.

"Alright, suit yourself. We should go now so we can plan our next course of action." I yelped as Dash pulled me on his lap and planted an open mouthed kiss on my lips. "Be a good girl for me and finish your homework on time."

"I already finished my homework. And why are you telling me to be good when you go around being as bad as you can possibly be?" I questioned with a frown.

Dash laughed before kissing me again. "I may be bad but I have to make sure my girlfriend is good. After all, opposites attract."

"Can I just say how I don't want to be attracted to you," I grumbled.

"You can say that all you want but that won't make it true. We both know how much you like me and want to stay as my girlfriend." How could someone have an ego this big I would never understand.

"I think it's past your bedtime little boy, because you are no longer talking sense. I think it's best if you go and sleep," I said, patting his head to drive my point home.

Dash narrowed his eyes at me and I knew I struck a nerve. "Tell me, do you do this on purpose so I would kiss you senseless?"

His words burned my cheeks. I scoffed in order to hide my real reaction. "Oh please, why would I want that?"

"Girls like it when their boyfriends kiss them. And the last time I checked, you are a girl," Dash stated.

I rolled my eyes. "I think the fact that I'm a girl is the reason why you made me your girlfriend."

He chuckled. The sound as smooth as maple syrup. I loved maple syrup. "Of course, but you have a lot of things that attracted me to you."

Now that made me curious. "And what are those things?" I was eager to know. I wanted to feel good about myself.

"Oh well, I cannot tell you that. You just have to be kept in the dark regarding this," he replied.

"Could you two get a room? Other people have actual work to do," Tracey snapped, stealing our attention.

"No." Dash deadpanned before kissing my cheek before pushing me off his lap and standing up. "Let's go, Ben. It looks like Tracey needs her bed. I'll see you in the morning, chocolate chip." With a wink, Dash sauntered out of the dorm room, leaving me to confront my best friend.

"Alright, spill it," I ordered as soon as the boys left.

"Spill what?" Tracey eyed me with confusion.

"That!" I pointed at the closed door. "What is going on between you and Ben?" I demanded to know.

Tracey blushed before looking away. Oh, something was definitely up with these two. "N—Nothing," she lied. My best friend was never a good liar.

"Tracey, tell me what's going on between you two. Right now," I ordered. Curiosity was clawing at my mind, and when I was curious I was bossy.

Tracey sighed. "Nothing is going on between Ben and I. It's just that...I like Ben, but he doesn't like me back."

"What makes you think Ben doesn't like you? And how long has this been going on?" I questioned. It was crazy how life took sudden turns, leaving us to do nothing but wonder where it would lead us.

"He is stuck up on Janice. And I understand that she was his girlfriend and everything, but it kind of hurts to know that he will never like me," she said, her voice betraying her pain.

"Oh, come here," I muttered before pulling her in for a hug. "He'll get over her, trust me. It's only been a few days since Janice's death, so Ben is bound to be heartbroken. But he won't stay that way forever. He'll move on and I'm sure he'll ask you out."

"I don't think so, Bri." Tracey pulled away then sighed before flopping down on the bed. "I think Ben will love Janice forever."

"That is not true. I'm sure he will see what a pretty and wonderful girl you are, and he'll be lucky to date you." I told her, meaning every word. Tracey was a really pretty girl and any guy would be lucky to date her.

"I don't know, Bri," she mumbled, closing her eyes.

"When did you start liking him," I asked, sitting down on the bed beside her.

"When you paired us up to to investigate Janice's friends. He is so sweet, Bri. Bad boys do have their appeal but Ben is sweet and nice and he is so caring." She groaned. "This is such a wrong time to be crushing on a guy."

"Well, you're right about that," I agreed. Wrong time or not, it would take time for Ben to move on from Janice.

"What do you think I should do?" Tracey asked me.

"Right now, I think you should continue to be the amazing friend that you are. And we'll see what happens," I answered. Why did things have to get so complicated so fast? We had a murder to solve and all of a sudden we had guy problems to add to the mix.

"I think you're right." She sighed.

Oh Tracey, I wish I could do something for you, I thought before smiling and patting her on the head.

"There, there. It'll be fine. Let's just focus on solving this mystery. Then we will make Ben go out with you. By the way did I tell you about the button I found?" I told her.

"What button?" Tracey threw me an accusatory look.

"I found it when Dash took me to the woods the first time. He showed me the place where they found Janice's body, half buried in the earth. We looked around, searching for clues when I found this button. I kept it safe, hoping I would find out who it belonged to," I informed her.

"You kept the button hidden all this time? That's like obstruction of justice," Tracey said, flabbergasted.

I rolled my eyes. Why did I have to get such a dramatic best friend? "It's a plain, white button fallen off a school blouse. The button could belong to anybody; it's not exactly a solid clue," I explained.

"Still, you should've told me about it," she argued. She was right, I should've told her. But Dash told me to keep quiet about the button; a fact I wasn't going to reveal to my best friend.

"I forgot. Buttons aren't exactly my top priority." I shrugged.

"I can't believe you hid this from me. Show me the button right now. Maybe I'll be able to tell who it belongs to," she ordered.

"Students do not have customized buttons on their shirts, Trace. The button is not a strong clue." I told her before getting up from the bed and bending down to pull my secret box from under my bed.

This box was given to me by my mother long before she died—after a few days when I was born. When I was old enough to understand things, she told me to keep all of my secret things in the box and to never show the box to anyone. It wasn't a particularly big box, just big enough to store little trinkets which I cherished among all others, and I kept the box under my bed because there wasn't any other hiding place since Tracey and I shared the small closet.

I pried open the lid and rummaged around for the button. I frowned when I didn't immediately find it. That's weird, it was right on top, I thought to myself before turning the box over, scattering the contents out on my bed.

"What's wrong?" Tracey asked, sitting on my bed.

"I can't find the button," I said, all thoughts of keeping my secret box a secret forgotten as I looked for the button. This could not be possible. Nothing ever went missing if I put it in my secret box. Where did the button go?

"Are you sure you put it here?" Tracey enquired, looking with me.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure I put it here. This is the safest place I have. It has to be here," I responded, but no matter what I said, I was unable to find the button. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach when I was unable to find the button after twenty minutes. Dash was going to kill me if he knew I lost the button.

"Bri, the button is not here. What are we going to do now?" Tracey asked, worry saturating her words.

I sighed, unable to comprehend the loss of such an important clue. It didn't matter that the button was not a good clue, the point was that it was a clue and I lost it. We only had one clue and it was no longer with me.

"Dash is going to kill me," I stated. There was no other scenario I could come up with.

"Who can possibly take the button? It has to be here somewhere." Tracey, not one to give up so easily stood up and jogged over to our closet. "I'll look in the closet. Don't you worry, Bri, we'll find the button."

"No, we won't, Tracey. It's gone," I muttered.

"Who could have taken it? Did you tell anyone about it?" My best friend asked, her head buried inside the closet.

"No, no one knew except Dash," I answered. Even if I had told anyone about the button, they wouldn't know to look in my secret box.

Tracey didn't reply after that, just continued to search the closet as I sat on the bed wondering what to tell Dash. He was going to kill me. He would blame me and Ben would be so disappointed, he would hate me.

After thirt minutes, Tracey flopped down on my bed. "Alright, I checked the entire closet and no button."

"I know. I told you it won't be there," I mumbled.

It was official. The button was gone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Note.

Hi guys,

Here is another update, I hope you all like it.

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Thank you for reading.

Until next time.

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Ciao.