Now the night is coming to an end
The sun will rise and we will try again

Stay alive, stay alive for me
You will die, but now your life is free
Take pride in what is sure to die.

I hummed along to the song while I picked at my breakfast which consisted of a bowl of dry cereal because Logan―who doesn't even live here―finished the last carton of milk.

"This song is so depressing," Casey muttered.

Logan rolled his eyes. "The song stays."

"Yeah, I like it," Carter agreed, his mouth filled with cereal.

"Pig," Caitlyn scoffed. "At least swallow first."

I tuned them out and concentrated instead on the rest of the song.

I will fear the night again
I hope I'm not my only friend

Stay alive, stay alive for me
You will die, but now your life is free
Take pride in what is sure to die.

"It's poetic," I said when it was over. "I totally get it."

Logan nodded and glanced at Casey. "Okay noisemaker, it's your turn."

She scrolled through the songs on her phone and smiled when she found the one that she was searching for. It took a few seconds before Taylor Swift's voice floated around the kitchen and Carter groaned.

"Oh come on!" he cried.

I chuckled and shook my head at him. Every time it was her turn Casey chose either a Taylor Swift or One Direction song just to annoy him. I expected nothing less.

Casey laughed and restarted the song. "Took a deep breath in the mirror. He didn't like it when I wore high heels. But I do," she sang along with Taylor.

"Turn the lock and put my headphones on. He always said he didn't get this song. But I do, I do," Caitlyn joined her.

Carter buried his head in his hands. "I'll kill her. Really, I will."

She skipped the song. "You, with your words like knives. And swords and weapons that you use against me," she sang in Carter's ear.

"You're cheating!" Logan yelled and she threw a spoon at him.

"Okay, children," Tori said appearing in the doorway. "It's time to leave."

Carter groaned. "I totally forgot that we were supposed to have a team meeting before school."

"Looks like you missed it," Caitlyn smirked.

We filed out of the house and spilt up. Caitlyn and I rode with Casey to school while Logan went with Carter.

I checked my phone for the hundredth time that morning and there was a text from April. Finally. Sorry, I've been super busy. What's up?

No good morning or how've you been. Just sorry. I scowled and typed my reply, deciding to be just as curt as her. What's up with Jason? Are you two not okay?

I waited and waited but by the time Casey had pulled into the school's parking lot, April still hadn't replied.

I checked my phone again before I opened my locker and no surprise there, there were no new messages.

"What's with the frown?"

I looked up from my phone and into Aiden's inquisitive eyes. I immediately smiled.

"What frown? I'm smiling," I said, pointing to my lips.

He dropped his gaze and it lingered there for a few seconds before he offered me a smile. "What's your first class?"

"Geography," I replied opening my locker. I grabbed the textbook and closed it. "What's yours?"

"Math," he grimaced and took the textbook from me. "C'mon, I'll walk you."

"But it's on the other side of the building," I stated. "You'll be late."

"I have Ms. Klein," he shrugged. "She's always late."

"Oohh we have a rebel on our hands," I teased.

"What can I say?" he replied with a shrug. "I like living dangerously."

I laughed and then he laughed and it got really awkward after that. I racked my brain trying to find something interesting to say before the conversation officially fizzled out but he beat me to it.

"So there's this thing on Saturday that my sister is making me go to," he said when he were almost to the classroom. "I was wondering if you'd maybe want to go with me."

I slumped my shoulders and gave him a sad smile. "I'm sort of grounded, I think."

He raised his brow. "Is that so?"

"Indeed it is," I sighed. "Maybe some other time?"

He nodded and I saw Casey waving at me from the doorway. "See you later alligator," he said giving me my textbook.

"After a while crocodile," I replied with a chuckle.

He did that finger wave thing before walking back the way we came.

"Well, what do we have here?" Casey smirked when I took my seat beside her.

"What?" I asked innocently as our teacher strode in.

***

"You know what tomorrow is, right?" Caitlyn asked, leaning against the locker beside mine.

I quickly exchanged my books for the next class and eyed her warily. "Can't say that I do."

Her brows rose. "Really? Have you been hiding under a rock for the past two weeks?"

"I really don't know," I said impatiently. I had about two minutes to get to my next class and I really didn't want to be late.

"Halloween," she said. And then added, "Skye Walker usually throws a pretty kickass party but this year we've decided to stay in and have a horror movie marathon instead."

This piqued my interest. "And by 'we' you mean?"

"The usual suspects," she replied. "And possibly a few others."

"Why?" I asked, shifting my backpack to my other shoulder. "Why skip the party?"

"You mean besides the fact that I'm not sure whether we're grounded or not?"

I nodded and she smiled.

"Because dear old dad and loving mom have decided that we need to spend more time as a 'family,'" she said, making air quotes at the word family. "And since there's no way in hell that I can get through an entire evening with just you people, I need my friends there, too."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm late for class and you've just wasted five minutes of my time to tell me something that you could've told me at home," I said sardonically. "Thanks for the chat, but I have to go now."

I'll probably get detention, I thought miserably. Thanks a bunch, Cait.

"You won't get into any trouble," she said, pretending to check out her nails. "Some seniors Tped the teachers' lounge. That'll keep them busy for at least the next half hour."

"And you know this how?" I asked, with raised eyebrows.

"I just know things," she grinned. "And this gives me plenty of time to help you."

"Help me with?"

She smiled and sidled up next to me. She then took my face in her hands and squashed my cheeks. "I'm going to solve your Aiden problem," she said with a grin.

Correction: A stupid grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I mumbled. It came out weird because she still held my face captive but she understood me all the same.

She released my face and stepped back. I immediately massaged my aching cheeks while glaring at her.

"You're in denial," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "But that's where I come in. I'm going to help you conquer your fears."

"My fears..." I repeated, an amused smile playing on my lips. "Thank you for the offer. That was very uh," I paused, trying to find the right word, "gracious of you," I continued. "But as it turns out you needn't worry yourself because as luck would have it, I don't need your help."

She crossed her arms. "Is that so?"

"Yes," I replied, rolling my eyes. "I'm going to class now."

She nodded but the mischievous smile that she gave me said that she wasn't through with me yet. In that instant I didn't know which was worse, her hating me or her being nice to me? Any sane person would've preferred her civility but I actually missed the Caitlyn that I've come to know―the one who threw glares at me just because.

I'm on my knees here. It's a very, very, very tiny favor. It's rather minuscule. Really.

I glared at the text message as though it would somehow make it disappear. As I was about to delete it another one popped up. Pretty please? With cherry on top. Or whatever toppings you'd rather.

Ignoring that one too, I tucked my phone back into my jeans pocket and concentrated instead on looking at a group of kids making their way to the parking lot.

I'd been waiting on Carter for the better part of two hours and in that time Caitlyn had sent about two dozen messages. I knew exactly what it was that she wanted and my answer was no.

No―No way in hell. Not a chance. Just... No.

I must say that I've grown rather fond of the word after using it so many times in one day.

I told her no at lunch, I told Casey no when she started pestering me on Caitlyn's behalf (although I'm of the opinion that it's entirely Casey's fault that Cait was even being an annoying little bug), and I told Logan no when he asked for my last turkey sandwich before heading to practice―he still took it, but I did say no.

"There you are!" Casey sighed, plopping down beside me on the bench. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"I've been sitting in the same spot for the past two hours," I replied. "So maybe not everywhere."

She rolled her eyes as a playful smile made its way onto her face. "Cait's made it her mission to "help" you huh?"

"You should know," I said with an annoyed scowl. "It was your idea wasn't it?"

She pointed at herself. "My idea?"

"Yes," I replied simply.

"Anyone with eyes and commonsense can tell that you two have the hots for each other," she said with too much joy for my liking.

"The hots?" I asked with a short laugh. "Who even says that anymore?"

"I do," she proudly stated.

"Okay," I said.

"We're only trying to help," she assured me. "This is for your own good."

"What on earth are you talking about?" I asked. "I don't need anyone's help. Thanks, but no thanks."

"Oh, really?" she asked with a devilish grin. "Well, why don't you invite Aiden to your house for the movie marathon?"

"No."

"Why not?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"Because."

"Because, is not an answer," she said. "I'll invite him if you don't and I'll let him know that it was your idea but you were too chicken to ask him yourself," she threatened.

"You wouldn't―"

"Try me."

I switched tactic. "Please," I pleaded.

"Please invite him over? Why, of course! Anything for you."

I hit my head repeatedly onto my palms. "Please, don't," I ground out.

She laughed and hooked her hand in mine. "I won't but only if you promise me that you will."

I nodded although I had no intention of doing anything of the sort. The last thing that I needed was a boy to add to my growing list of troubles.

"Good," she smiled and unhooked her hand from mine. "Because here he comes."

Before I could stop her she was on her feet. "Hey! Aiden!" she called, eagerly waving at him. "C'mere a sec would you?"

He waved and motioned for her to give him a minute.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"Playing cupid," she grinned. "Oh lighten up!" she added when I scowled.

I glanced at Aiden. He was on his phone and from the sour look on his face I guessed that he wasn't in the mood for the person on the other line. He glanced in our direction and saw me staring. For a few seconds he just held my gaze and then he gave me a brief smile before returning to his conversation.

"I saw that," Casey said.

"Go away," I muttered.

"Can't. I'm your ride home."

"No," I said, glancing at Aiden again. "Carter is."

"Not anymore," she replied with a silly grin. "I offered and he said that it was fine."

Traitor.

I let my gaze drift back to Aiden right as he shoved his phone into his pocket and started walking towards us.

"I'll be over there," Casey said.

I didn't take my eyes off of Aiden so I had no idea where "over there" was.

"Hey," he said coming to a stop.

"Hey," I replied and motioned for him to have a seat.

He hesitated for a second before deciding to sit. "Where did Casey run off to?" he asked.

"Over there," I chuckled, pointing to nowhere in particular.

An awkward silence ensued and I inwardly groaned. I didn't want it to be awkward. Even though I was terrible at the whole small talk thing, I really hated the awkward silence thing.

"Do you have plans for Halloween?" I heard myself ask. "It's cool if you do, but..." I trailed off thinking that this was a stupid idea. He was probably going to spend the night getting wasted at Skye Walker's party, but he didn't strike me as the type to get totally wasted at a party.

His lips curved into a smile. "I was really looking forward to trick-or-treating, but I guess I can do that next year?"

I rolled my eyes and he smiled again. I could totally get used to that smile.

"Why do you ask?"

I blew on a lose strand of hair that had fallen out of my ponytail and swung my feet back and forth. I cringed at what I was about to do―the very thing that I'd spent the entire day avoiding.

"If you have nothing better planned besides competing with the neighborhood kids for candy," I paused and forced myself to continue. "I'd like to invite you over."

He quirked his brow. "Like on a date?"

I laughed and hit him on the arm. "No―not like a date."

He shrugged. "Hey, a guy can hope right?"

I looked away to hide my smile and then turned back to face him when it was gone.

The smile that he gave me nearly knocked the wind out of me. I had no idea why I was suddenly so affected by him. His smile was always a work of art but this was different. This was more somehow. It's because of Casey and her stupid idea of us, I reasoned. Yeah, that's why.

"So, you in?" I asked, trying to sound more confident than I was.

"I might be," he replied. "But you have to promise me something."

"What's that?"

"You have to let me take you out when you're ungrounded."

I wriggled my brows and grinned. "Like on a date."

He laughed and a piece of me melted. "No―not like on a date."

***

"That's it?" Casey asked, frowning in disappointment. "No kiss?"

"We don't just go around kissing people," I told her. "What's wrong with you?"

"Lots of things," she joked. "But seriously, that's all that happened?"

"Yeah," I said flatly just because I knew that it annoyed her that I wasn't excited. "He offered me a ride home after we couldn't find you―convenient really―and I accepted since there was no way in hell that I was walking." I'd conveniently left out the part about our non-date in the near future.

"You'll thank me later," she said dismissing what I said. "I can't believe he didn't kiss you goodbye!"

I rolled my eyes and hugged a pillow to my chest, smiling stupidly at my feet.

"Hey you guys? Pizza's here," Caitlyn called from the hallway.

Casey scrambled to her feet and I followed her, but in a more graceful manner. I stifled a laugh as I recalled what she did when we decided to order in. She called pizza hut and after rambling on and on about the difficulties of being a vegetarian, she promptly ordered a large pepperoni pizza with extra pepperoni on it.

I shook my head and entered the kitchen. I took a seat beside Logan and rolled my eyes when he nudged me to go away. "I like being near you," I told him with an innocent smile.

"Of course you do, cupcake," he smirked. "But I need breathing room and you're suffocating me." He then turned to Casey who was just about to take a bite of her pizza. "Speaking of suffocating, why are you still here?"

"I'll leave when you do," she quipped and returned to the task at hand―eating.

I chuckled and reached for the box only to have Caitlyn slap my hand away. She pointed to the sink and I rolled my eyes.

After washing and drying my hands I returned to my seat. There were already two slices of pizza on my plate.

"I heard that you had quite an interesting day," Carter piped up, sipping on a can of coke.

Those traitors!

"Yeah," Logan agreed. "But Aiden? Really?"

"What's wrong with Aiden?" I asked.

"Nothing. I'm surprised that's all. You don't seem like his type."

"Good thing nobody cares about your opinion then," Casey told him with the sweetest smile that she could muster.

"What do you mean 'his type'?" I asked, turning to face him. "What's his type?"

"Blonde and bitchy," Caitlyn answered. "His ex is a prime example of that."

"As opposed to brown and bitchy?."

"Look," Casey reasoned. "You two clearly like each other, even if you don't know it yet and we're just trying to speed things along."

"It's not your job to speed things along," I muttered. "I like being alone. I'm good at it."

"Nothing's wrong with letting someone into your life," Casey continued.

"I let you people in and look where it got me," I grumbled, feeling my anger surface. "I don't need you to fix me. I'm not a broken doll."

No one said anything and I picked up a slice of my pizza and began nibbling.

Logan was the first person to break the silence. "Ever wonder what a vegetable thinks about?" he asked with a serious expression as though he was honestly thinking it over.

I smiled. "The ones on your pizza probably think that you're an idiot."

"They probably do," he agreed.

I laughed and that's when I felt it. There was a lump in my throat warning me that I was about to have some unwelcome company.

I excused myself and dashed up the stairs and into my room. I quietly closed the door behind me and slinked down to the floor as hot tears streamed down my face. Annoyed that I had turned into such a crybaby, I wiped them away and groaned in misery. I was so hormonal this past week that it was driving me crazy.

Needing to let off some steam, I grabbed my phone. April still hadn't replied to my message but by that point I didn't even care. I dialed Jason's number and sucked in a breath.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out when he answered.

"Camille?" he asked groggily.

"I'm sorry," I repeated, feeling a twinge of guilt because I'd obviously woken him up.

There was silence on the other end and for a moment I thought that he had fallen back asleep. "What are you sorry for?" he finally asked.

"For being such a shitty friend," I mumbled as more tears tumbled down. "But you've been a shitty friend too."

When silence greeted me, I continued. "I know that I haven't kept in touch, but neither have you. You could have just as easily picked up the phone and called me or sent a text but you didn't. Communication is only effective if it goes both ways and I'm not taking all of the blame for this."

He sighed and my heart ached. "Look, Camille," he started. "I don't want to have this conversation right now or ever actually, so―"

I didn't let him finish that sentence. "What's really bothering you, Jase?" I asked. I knew him better than most people did and I felt like such an idiot for believing that this was only a Camille problem. I was missing the bigger picture.

"It's late," he replied. "I need to get back to sleep, I have practice before school tomorrow."

"You made the team?" I asked, feeling a surge of happiness. "Why didn't you tell me?"

There was nothing but silence on his end for a minute and then he cleared his throat. "Bye, Camille," he murmured and the line clicked dead.

If someone had ripped my belly button out it would've felt less painful than the realization that I'd probably just lost another one of my best friends.

I walked numbly to the bathroom and stood in front of the sink staring at my reflection in the mirror. I hardly recognized the girl staring back at me. She looked so sad, so beautifully broken. I played with the water flowing from the tap and splashed it on my face, trying to wash away the tear stains.

"Yo, Camille! You in here?" Logan called from my bedroom.

I stepped out of the bathroom and stood at the door. "What's up?"

"You okay?" he asked, surveying my face.

"I'm fine," I said giving him a tired smile.

"I'm sorry about the Aiden thing," he said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "It came out the wrong way."

I laughed. "It's okay, I'm not upset."

He searched my face and gave me a dubious look but nodded. "We're about to play monopoly―Mrs. P's orders. You in?"

I nodded and he pulled me in for a hug. I buried my face in his chest for a moment and then pinched him. He chuckled and when I stepped out of his embrace, he rolled his eyes. "Let's go."

Video: Truce- Twenty-one pilots.