"Is this what you like?" Shelby said softly, slowly lowering the strap of her tank top down her shoulder. She lifted her head teasingly to watch his reaction.

Sitting impatiently across from her on the edge of the bed and lit by the soft moonlight outside her window, he nodded. His pine green eyes were wide with anticipation.

"If you want me that bad, maybe you can pull down the rest," she looked him up and down before locking him into her steady gaze. She crawled to him slowly and seductively. Once close enough, she held his chin and kissed him deep.

He pulled her closer, sitting her on his lap as he caressed her silky hair. His firm hands traced down her neck, shoulders, and slim waist.

"Gosh, you're so hot Thatcher," he whispered warmly into her neck, beginning to lift her shirt. "I'd kill to hear you moan right about n—"

A door downstairs slammed closed and keys jingled.

"Shit," Shelby jumped off his lap. "You gotta go, Chad."

"I thought you said no one else would be here tonight!" He whispered aggressively, scouting the dark floor for his jersey.

"She wasn't supposed to be home til tomorrow morning!" Shelby quietly argued in her defense and tossed him his jacket before getting up to open the window.

Chad threw it on without bothering to zip it and lifted himself over the window irritatingly.

"Sorry, we'll continue next time," she blew him a kiss and shut the window quietly, not waiting to hear what he responded with. Not that it mattered, she knew he'd come back another day.

Shelby snuggled herself under the covers and pretended to sleep, listening to the sharp footsteps of her mother as she stopped outside her door.

She heard the door open slightly. Her heart began beating with terror. She knew the lights were all off, but she wouldn't dare open her eyes to confirm. Shelby kept her breathing slow and steady, feigning deep sleep. A couple seconds of silence passed before the steps retreated and the door finally closed.

***

"Shelby!" Amber waved her over as she walked out of her two story suburban house. "Hop in. We only have five minutes to get to school!"

"Shoot," she mumbled as she tossed her orange tint lipgloss back into her purse and crunched down her red leaf covered lawn.

"You look tired, what were you up to last night?" Amber lifted an eyebrow and curled her lips suggestively.

"Oh shut up," Shelby laughed, slamming the door shut and settling into the passenger seat of her friend's vintage teal Ford Mustang. "Do I really look like I missed sleep?" She pulled out a compact mirror and surveyed her eye bags.

"Nah, only if you look really close," Amber assured her.

"Where's Carmen?" Shelby asked, glancing at the empty backseats.

"I'm not picking her up today. She texted 'C U AT SCHOOL'." Amber pulled away from the curb and drove down the street between rows of matching picket fence houses behind lines of maple trees.

"Do you think she's still mad?" Shelby bit her lip apprehensively.

"Gee, I hope not.. I think we might have forced her too much."

"Maybe.." Shelby slumped into the beige leather seat and slid down her slim oval shades, leaning an elbow over the door as the biting autumn wind ruffled her dark hair.

Leaves blew off of branches and fell onto the road, crunching as the car drove over.

"We should let her decide, I guess. I don't want to force her into something she doesn't want to do, you know?"

"Maybe. By the way," she turned her head to scrutinize her friend. "What do you think of this whole sitch?"

"This sitch?"

"Yea, with finding Rain's murderer."

"Oh, the ghost. I don't know.." Amber clicked her tongue and tapped her French tip nails on the wheel. "I must admit I wasn't expecting this to get so serious."

"Me neither, to be honest. But since we went messing around her gravesite in the first place, I think we owe it to her to find her killer."

"If there is a killer. If. The old newspapers did say she was under a lot of stress. Being a senior is hard, I would know. I'm juggling FIVE AP classes plus the swim team. I'd probably lose my mind too if I wasn't so— why are you looking at me like that?"

"What, strong willed? Hard headed? That has nothing to do with taking your life, Amber," Shelby rolled her eyes.

"I, no, I wasn't going to say that," Amber stammered.

"You totally were, don't lie. Also, don't act like you're the only one who's got it hard," Shelby furrowed her eyebrows and sighed with frustration. "School is stressful for everyone, it doesn't matter how many AP classes you're taking or not taking. I still don't know what I want to do after high school, and that's beating me up inside. I only have so much time, you know? Meanwhile you have your whole life figured out. Yeah, preparing for it is stressful but I'm stressed out too!"

"Alright, alright! I was selfish for thinking that way, I'm sorry. Will you calm down now?" Amber softened her voice, partly out of concern for her friend and the other out of shame.

Shelby exhaled and shook her head. She loved Amber, but sometimes she could be so.. egotistical.

"I just.. I didn't know you felt that way," Amber passed a worried glance before returning her eyes to the cloudy road.

"I wouldn't expect you too. I don't talk about my problems very much anyway," she muttered while staring at her lap. There was something about vulnerability that always felt dangerous and uncomfortable. She didn't want anyone to see the other side of her, the side that wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.

"You know I'm here for you, right? You don't have to pretend around me. Or Carm, for that matter."

"Yeah, I know," Shelby lifted her gaze and smiled gently. "Thank you for reminding me."

"Of course," Amber smiled softly in return.

She parked in front of the school and turned off the ignition. "Perfect timing too, we're here."

"Amber! Shelby!"

The girls stepped out of the car and looked around to see who was calling them. Carmen waved them over hurriedly from the stairs leading up to their high school.

"Hey Carm, what's up?" Shelby said when they walked over.

"Guys," Carmen grabbed their shoulders and pulled them into an affectionate hug. "I am so sorry. I was in a bad state of mind yesterday, but I think I understand now. I know why I'm dreaming about her life."

"Why?" Amber questioned as they separated.

"Crap! The bell!" A shorter guy in a red beanie crashed into Amber, almost making her trip down the steps.

There was a clatter on the cement as his leather satchel bumped her shoulder.

"Hey! What the hell's your problem?" Amber yelled after him while making a big deal of brushing herself off his germs.

"Sorry!" He called back. He didn't even bother to turn around.

"Ugh what a dork!" She frowned. Her eyes fell onto a discarded calculator in front of her. "He even dropped his calculator," she rolled her eyes, bending down to pick it up. Just before she could read the writing on the mysterious piece of tape on the cover, Shelby gasped.

"Shit he's right, we're going to be late again!"

"Oh no, this blows," Carmen groaned. What excuse would she have for her teacher? "Go go go!"

Their heels tapped down the hallway as they raced to Mr. Dacus' room on the first floor. Having noticed his back was to them while making himself some coffee on the opposite side of the room, they skidded to the door and walked in as quietly as possible.

He side eyed Shelby and Carmen as they meekly took their assigned seats near the back of the class. He grunted disapprovingly and decided against giving them another lecture. Their act would not go unpunished, however.

"Alright class, today we have a pop quiz. I don't want to hear any groans from you. Take  out a sheet of lined paper and list it one through seven..."

***

"He totally had it in for us," Amber sighed as they waited for Carmen to step out of the classroom.

"Yea! I'm pretty sure he didn't assign that chapter either. I mean that last question made no sense," Shelby shook her head.

Amber clicked her tongue and shook her head in disdain as well.

Finally, Carmen appeared.

"What's with the long face?" Shelby asked as they walked with her to her locker.

Carmen sighed. "Did I mention how much this blows? I'll never get his disappointed expression out of my head now. I promised I'd have the application ready by today so he could start on my letter of recc, but I forgot and now he thinks I don't care enough."

"Wait, letter of recc? For what?" Amber leaned against the locker besides her and concentrated on Carm.

"You know, our high school's scholarship award?" She mumbled while taking out a book.

"I didn't hear about that," Amber blinked.

"Oh," Carmen bit her lip. "He did say the announcements aren't as big anymore."

"So Mr. Dacus offered to write YOU a letter of recc?"

"Correct," Carmen shut her locker loud and turned to stare right back at her. "Why do you say it like that, though?"

"What do you mean?"

"He's writing 'YOU' a letter of recc?" Carmen repeated.

"It's nothing. I was just confused— er wondering is all."

"Ok..."

"Anyway I'll catch y'all after class. I gotta head to AP Calc now," Amber smiled and waved goodbye as she headed up the stairs.

How strange, Amber thought to herself. Out of all the good students.. No no, she couldn't think like that. Of course Carm deserved an offer. It was just, undoubtedly, quite strange that she hadn't been offered one herself or even heard about such a scholarship being awarded at their school.

As soon as she entered class, she was appalled to see the beanie kid from this morning sitting in her seat.

The tables were arranged in groups of four, and set up so that two people sat next to each other and the other two faced across one another on either sides.

She adjusted her purse and stormed over.

"Excuse me, you're sitting in my spot," she stated sternly.

"Oh am I? Teach said it was empty."

Amber studied the messy blonde curls falling from under his red beanie over his medium soft angled brows. Yeah.. he was definitely trouble.

"No. The one next to me is. Scoot." She nodded to the side curtly.

"Ah well thanks..." he said, swinging his brown leather side satchel over his shoulder and sliding into the seat next to hers. "Do you have a name?"

Amber scoffed, almost choking from the unexpectedness of his question. "What? Do I have a name?"

"You don't? You must have had a sad childhood."

"Harr harr, what are you, the character creation for a game?"

"Oh so you game," his eyes lit up, a knowing smile forming on his lips.

Amber cleared her throat and looked away. The class was steadily filling up, but the rest of her table mates hadn't arrived yet. "Occasionally. It's not something I do often."

"I can respect that. The name's Hayden."

"Amber," she responded, finally taking a better look at him. Light freckles sprinkled his fair skin under bright blue eyes. Her eyes traced down his exposed collar bone. He wore a loose grey shirt under a dark green and black flannel. She was surprised to notice the tightness around his shoulders. He's pretty buff for a short guy, she judged.

"I see why they called you Amber," he broke her out of concentration.

"Oh uh, yeah, the eyes," she rolled them. Suddenly she was self conscious of how many times she rolled her eyes.

"I haven't seen many people with amber eyes," he smiled softly.

Amber felt a warmth slowly spreading over her skin.

"Ha hey buddy! I see you're trying to flirt with the Ice Queen. Don't even try, she won't crack."

They both looked up to see a tall athletic guy in a tight black short sleeved shirt. He released his grip from Hayden's shoulder and sat on the seat in front of her.

Dropping his heavy sports bag besides his desk, he quickly glanced at the mirror and ran a hand through his jet black crew cut. He turned, leaned an elbow on the table and stretched out his hand. "I'm Tatsuya."

"Hayden, nice to meet you," Hayden smiled and shook his hand.

"You'll be meeting another one of the masterminds soo- ah, there he is! Get over here doofus, you're gonna be late."

"There's approximately two point five minutes of passing period remaining, I'm certain I'll be fine," a guy of average height walked up while pushing up his glasses. He had pale skin, wispy platinum blonde hair, and a navy blue sweater.

"Who's this?" He asked, squinting.

"This one's Hayden," Tatsuya nodded, leaning his elbow over Amber's desk.

"Hey," Hayden waved and smiled.

"Please get your elbow off."

"Hello, you can call me Lance."

"Tatsuya."

"You know, you don't look like a typical calculus kid," Tatsuya ignored her.

Typical. Amber rolled her eyes.

"Uh.. thanks, I guess?" Hayden replied awkwardly.

Amber subtly shoved Tatsuya's elbow back into his own territory with her pile of books. Pushing it required a little more force than she had initially expected, but she didn't let that stop her.

"Teach, what's this?" He asked, staring at the pile of papers Ms. Moore slid onto their desk.

"Your assignment for today. You'll be working as a group for this one."

When she was out of hearing distance, Tatsuya nodded and cocked a suggestive grin at Lance. "What a babe, am I right boys?"

Amber grimaced and picked up a paper. "Whatever, let's just get this over with already."

"She's jealous we don't give her attention," Lance muttered into his sleeve.

"I literally could not care less what you think of me, Lance," she retorted while digging for her calculator in her purse. This one felt.. different. The case was glossier for one and wider. Her fingers ran over the tape and realized it was the one he'd dropped.

"Oh, Hayden—"

"Hayden! Say you're a smart dude, do the second one for us yeah? None of us can remember rates for the life of us," Tatsuya pointed.

"Ah shit, I don't seem to have my calculator with me.." Hayden made a show of scavenging through his leather satchel frantically.

"You looking for this?" Amber held up his calculator.

Hayden grinned with relief. "You have it."

Right before he could reach for it, Amber smiled back, tilted her hand away and leaned in. "I do, but I'm going to need a better apology for this morning."

Hayden chuckled and nodded. "Oh, I'll make it up to you. I brought Cosmic Brownies for snack, but I can't finish them all myself."