Although the two were close friends, Rosa and Helena found themselves in a quiet dormitory more often than not. But when Rosa desired to speak it was impossible to keep her from bubbling over. Typically one could identify when she was about to burst out, which is precisely what Helena determined as Rosa walked over from her side of the room and climbed on to Helena's bed.

"Your bed is significantly more comfortable than mine," Rosa exclaimed after a few moments, unfazed by how Helena was gazing at it. "Why is it that every bed is so much more comfortable than my own?"

"I'm pretty sure they're the same bed, Rosa," Helena said. "I mean, if it's so much more comfortable you could've switched to it before I got here, before you had a roommate."

"I didn't claim the two were distinct in any manner aside that yours is more comfortable. There is nothing to question here."

"Then what are you going to do?" Helena asked, cracking a smile. "Take over my bed?"

"Well, at least for the moment it could be split among us. A compromise."

"At least for the moment," Rosa echoed as if she meant it as an agreement. "Well, I hope you're enjoying your more comfortable bed."

"I am. And I'm enjoying my more comfortable room with my kinder roommate in a safer place."

Rosa knew the conversation was swinging in a new direction, and so she decided she had to swing along with it.

"I suppose most places would be superior to your former household, though..." Rosa said, her voice soft.

"I think things would've been better if I hadn't come out as a lesbian."

"Oh?"

"Well, lesbian is an oversimplification. I'm a homoromantic grey ace. You know what that means...but most people don't."

"But lesbian is all too well known," Rosa exclaimed. "And perhaps in a more infamous way."

"All I know is that my stepfather hated it, thought he could beat it out of me. Of course, he never did, but that doesn't justify anything that he did."

"Well, of course not! It is proposterous to think that anyone who beats anyone else is justified."

"Unless you count Neville trying to fight back as beating," Helena added in. "Everyone says he has a temper, but really all he wants to do is make things right."

"I understand," Rosa sighed.

"It's interesting how that worked out. Our stepfather made me keep my thoughts and feelings on the inside while Neville projected them out."

"Maybe twins aren't quite so similar after all," Rosa said. She paused to see if Helena had anything else to say, looking at her across the bed. When she did not speak up, Rosa decided she had more to say, just on a different matter.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about this. I've been getting strange messages on tumblr for a while now," said Rosa. "All anonymous. Not strange enough that I feel it is necessary for me to seek out exactly who the sender is, but..."

"I know," Helena said. "I've been following you the whole time. They just keep coming back."

"It's intriguing to have a secret admirer, but it's also exhausting. How can I possibly think of such matters when I have so much else on my mind?"

"What do you mean by 'such matters'?"

"Oh, God. At this point, I can hardly even say. If it was simple to say I could just cast aside romantic interests and relationships I would. But it is not so simple. You understand?"

"I do," Helena replied. "All I will say is that you don't have to listen to that anon if you don't want to."

"What would I do even I was to listen to them?" Rosa asked. "Would I attempt to discover their identity and have a romantic relationship with them?"

"Honestly, I can't say I know what you would do. All I'm saying is that you don't have to listen to them."

"I trust you," Rosa replied. "And I suppose there is no reason why I must place any of my faith into this anon of mine, as many compliments as they do spout out. Thank you, Helena, for helping me to see the light."

As much as Helena wished she could simply take this thanks and move on, she had something that gnawed at her mind. The current moment was by far the best to bring it up.

"You keep telling me that you trust me, Rosa," Helena said. "Whenever you tell me anything, you always say that you trust me and that's why you're telling me. But why do you trust me so much, more than anyone else?"

"Intuition," Rosa quickly replied. "I have...I have very strong intuition. I trust those impulses, I trust thoughts and feelings which stir within me. My intuition has yet to lead me astray, and thus I have decided I can rely on it. And when I met you, I felt as if I could trust you and I have chosen to trust those feelings."

"You have friends that you've known for years, but you met me and suddenly you could tell me everything?"

"Think about it, Helena - as someone who did not know me, I was given an opportunity to allow you to build up a new perspective of me, free from the bias of knowing me from previous years. And you would not have any preconcieved notions of what I've done and what I've said."

"That's true."

"Then you understand," Rosa said.

"I don't know if I understand fully, but..."

"I shall explain further. I adore my friends, but they have chosen to see me in one way and it will be difficult to change such a point of view. Elly was, perhaps the only one left at Cloisterham who knew me quite well. The two who also knew me well graduated. Sarah Cook and Tartar. Dear Tartar. The two are gone now, and now I have found you."

"I see," Helena said, attempting to let these ideas sink in.

"And I must not forget...there is one reason more," Rosa said. "As far as I can see, you are the only one who cannot twist my words and truths around to your own advantage and to my disadvantage. Everyone else...everyone else can misuse me and what I say. Yes, even Neville, even Jasmine...but you do not have any way to do so. At least, no way that I can see."

Rosa looked down and started twisting the hem of her sleeve around her thumb. She hadn't meant to spill out so much, but at least it was something to put Helena more at ease. She told the truth about telling the truth, and yet it was making her feel as if she was exposing a fracture in her exterior.

"Thank you for sharing with me," Helena said, her voice soft. She wished she could make eye contact with Rosa from across the bed, but Rosa continued to look down and twist around her sleeve.

"Now, I must entirely shift the mood of the room," Rosa said, leaping back into motion after several more stagnant moments. "You must be aware that the Valentine's Day formal dance is occurring soon. It isn't a major deal within the halls of Cloisterham, but it is still something many of us look forward to and enjoy."

"I've heard a little about it. Why do you bring it up?"

"Well, I was wondering if perhaps you would wish to go with me to the dance. It would be quite a bit of fun, as well as something to take our minds off of the horrors which have occurred here at Cloisterham and continue to occur."

A smile curled Helena's lips up before she had time to formulate her reply.

"That sounds great," Helena finally said. "But I have to ask if Neville can come along with us. So...can Neville join us?"

"But of course!" Rosa exclaimed. "I considered asking you if that was a possibility, but now that you have brought it up yourself I must give you a vigorous yes!"

Helena seemed rather surprised that Rosa was so ecstatic about bringing Neville along, but she did not say anything about it. It was clear that her roommate would be fluttering around in joy regardless of what happened.

"We can purchase our outfits for the dance online - we can bring all sorts of things to our dorm room through delivery. I've done it time and time again."

"Rosa, I don't know if I can afford that..."

"We shall find something for you to wear, one way or another. We will make it fit whatever budget you may have."

"Thank you, Rosa. That's all I can say."

"Then all I can respond with is you are eternally welcome, Helena."

- - - - -

Helena and Rosa spent every possible moment of the day together. But, of course, the two girls were forced to separate from one another when it came to chorus class.

As if the class wasn't already hellish enough for Rosa, she also had to be separated from her best friend. However, she would always find her own ways to skew the class to her benefit.

"We need fifteen more copies of this new piece," said Mr. Jasper, releasing a sigh. "Who wants to make the copies?"

"I will gladly copy the music for you, Mr. Jasper," Rosa said, wiggling her fingers around as she flung her hand up into the air. She didn't even bother to wait for him to call on her - she would be the prime point of his attention regardless of what was going on, and she was fully aware of that.

Mr. Jasper hesitated for a moment, but Rosa made certain to keep her lips turned up. She would get out of the chorus classroom even if it was just for a few moments. She needed a moment to breathe again, and that would be impossible if she stayed within such close proximity to Mr. Jasper. No, he would let her go. He had to.

"Go ahead, Rosa. And remember, we need-"

"Sixteen copies," Rosa said, rising from her seat. "Fifteen for those who do not have it, plus an extra one in case something goes amiss. I am aware, Mr. Jasper."

"Spot on," he replied. She walked up to the front of the room and plucked the music out of his hand, beginning to scurry towards his office. For a moment, she felt almost invisible - she didn't feel any gaze following her as she disappeared into his office. No one had any desire to see what she was doing, and it was such a break from the constant worry that typically surrounded her.

Rosa released a sigh of utter relief upon closing the door the office. She was alone. Truly and perfectly alone. In Cloisterham Academy there always seemed to be some other person around and at times it could be unbearable. The worst experience for Rosa was when Mr. Jasper was hovering around her - he seemed nearly omnipresent, but in rare moments like these she could escape his gaze.

She was so overcome by relief that she very nearly forgot she needed to copy the music. Her relief could only be temporary, of course. Once the sixteen copies were completed, she would have to step back into the chorus room with its pennies and frustrating rehearsals and Mr. Jasper always watching. But now that she remembered her purpose, she decided to go ahead and avoid postponing it.

Rosa knew how to copy music and quickly made all of the necessary preparations. She did this part efficiently, but as she waited for the copies to be printed she couldn't help but feel a sense of boredom creeping in.

She realized she was in the best possible situation to further investigate Mr. Jasper. She could rustle around in his papers and he wouldn't have the faintest idea. It was an excellent opportunity, and she would not toss it aside. Gently humming a random melody, she approached his desk.

Her eyes immediately fell upon a piece of music which appeared to be handwritten in pencil. She looked up to the top to see it was called "Rhapsody of Roses" and was, indeed, written by Mr. Jasper himself. This title was enough to make her pulse quicken, but as she began to scan over the rest of it she realized it was far worse than she initially anticipated.

Rosa didn't have to read every word to know what it said. She scanned over it and saw just enough - rosebud, passion, desire, union - to understand precisely what was going on. This wasn't just a love song. It was a song saturated with lust, filled with everything Rosa prayed was not true.

"Oh, my God," Rosa gasped, taking a step back from the desk.

"Something wrong, Rosa?" asked Mr. Jasper, causing her to jolt and whip around to face him. "You've taken an awfully long time trying to get these copies made..."

"They are...they are very neary complete," she replied. "I apologize for taking such a long absence from the class. I promise, the copies are nearly completed."

"But is anything wrong?"

"No, Mr. Jasper, nothing's wrong...you simply caused me to jump in surprise, that is all. I shall return to class in a moment-"

"I needed to talk with you for a moment anyways. Privately."

"Oh?" Rosa said, a slight quiver in her voice.

"I'll keep it quick. In a week from today, an hour after classes end, meet me at the sundial. I've been meaning to talk to you for a while, but we need to just sit down and talk. Okay?"

"Oh...okay," Rosa replied. "But..."

"I believe you are already aware of my intentions for this meeting," Mr. Jasper replied. "Well, at least I think you have a basic understanding of it...that's beside the point."

"I..."

"Will you come?" he asked.

"I..." Rosa began once again, taking several moments to think through what she wanted to say, what she wanted to do. "I...I will."

- - - - -

"Rosa, is something wrong?" Helena asked, her hair cascading as she tilted her head, gazing towards her roomate.

"Wrong? No," Rosa replied. "I...I was just contemplating over how...Mr. Jasper is quite an impressive composer, I think. Quite impressive."

"Why would you say that?"

"I...I just thought of it. Rather competent at writing lyrics as well. Should he wish to make some extra income, he might consider taking up poetry on the side. Or, of course, composing and writing lyrics for songs."

"That seems kind of nice of you to say. But you don't look like you're happy with him."

Rosa refused to meet Helena's piercing eyes. She knew that her armor would immediately crumble under her roomate's stare. As much as she adored Helena, she didn't know if she could divulge the secret of what she had seen. She'd been more or less threatened to keep it hushed by Mr. Jasper himself.

But she had to tell Helena. Helena had the right to know.

"You cannot tell a single soul, living at Cloisterham or anyone else. Do not breathe even a syllable of the message I am to utter. My livelihood could well depend on it. I know it appears horribly melodramatic, but...I suppose you will understand in a moment." Helena just nodded, prepared to hear what Rosa was to say.

"I've always known he was in love with me. I've always known there was a physical element driving behind it. But it's more than just fleeting lust. He...he wrote a song. He wrote a song about us."

"What do you mean?"

"I...I only glimpsed portions of it," Rosa continued. "But he wrote a song about us. The snippets I saw...oh, I cannot bear to speak such words aloud! Even the thought of it defiles me!"

"Then write it down," Helena said. She needed to know what was bothering Rosa so immensely no matter what means she required to get these results.

Rosa couldn't recall much of what was on the music as she had attempted to block from her mind. However, the parts that stuck with her were undoubtedly the most scarring. She grabbed the nearest piece of paper and pencil in the room and began to scribble down everything she remembered as if purging herself of it. Then she handed it to Helena without taking another glance at it.

"Rosa..."

"I don't desire to talk about it. All I know is that...is that now that Elly is gone he doesn't see those same barriers which once existed. I...I loathe it. It has always been dreadful, but this...this is different."

"Rosa, you should tell someone."

"I'm telling you right now, aren't I? Mr. Jasper no longer keeps his horrifying desires within his head - now he is externalizing them within a song...he wants to make love to me and I do not know what to do."

"I'm not the only one you need to tell. I won't tell anyone else because you told me not to, but you can tell someone who can help stop this."

"I...I don't want to tell anyone else. I'm too frightened to do so. I fear he would realize I had told and then take action against me for it. But...I must say...he asked me to meet him at the sundial in a week."

"You're joking."

"No, I'm not," Rosa replied. "He seemed quite awkward when speaking about it..."

"You said no, right? Rosa. Talk to me. Tell me that you said no."

"I told him I would," Rosa replied. "It seems as if he has something vital to tell me and he shall tell me in the privacy of the sundial. I believe he may tell me something pertaining to the mystery of Elly-"

"Rosa, no-"

"Yes, he will! He feels as if he can trust me. He believes we share a closeness far greater than we do - and not just as expressed through his song lyrics - and as thus he will trust me enough to confess-"

"Confess to what, Rosa? Are you really so certain that he is guilty for Elliot's disappearance?"

"You must admit the circumstances are highly suspicious - look at how he begins to pursue me now that Elly is no longer present!"

"Yes, the circumstances are suspicious. But that doesn't have anything to do with what I'm trying to say now. I'm telling you now not to go. You've seen how he's acted in the past, and he's going to act like that again. Except you're going to be alone at the sundial."

"Well, you could stay nearby to make certain nothing goes amiss-"

"Or you could just not go," Helena said, beginning to make her way off of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Rosa asked, looking after her.

"Away. It's almost time for dinner."

"Helena..."

"You're not listening to what I'm telling you, Rosa. If you want to come with me, you can. But you need to think about what I've said. Think about it seriously."

Helena did not utter another word before grabbing her bag and leaving the door. Rosa thought she would slam the door. Helena did not. Instead she left it cracked open slightly. Rosa kept her eyes on the crack, knowing that she would return sooner rather than later. They could talk through this. They could figure it out.

But Helena was not the first person to step through the door. No, Jasmine Brown came in through the door looking more distressed than Rosa had ever seen her before.

"Jasmine, what is the matter?"

"I'm terrified, Rosa. I thought that Cloisterham was at least somewhat safe, but it's not. I see that now, now that I'm convinced that Elliot has been murdered."

"Why would you suddenly feel threatened here at Cloisterham?" Rosa asked. "There are certainly things to be afraid of, but I cannot see why it would terrify you on such a profound level."

"Good God, Rosa. I thought it would be obvious. I thought that maybe you, of all people, might understand why I'm so afraid right now. But you don't even have a clue."

"I have a clue," Rosa replied, crossing her arms in defiance. "Perhaps if you would cease this speaking in riddles, I would be able to express it to you."

"There aren't that many people around Cloisterham who aren't cis, Rosa. In fact, the only other person who I know for certain isn't cis is dead right now."

"Elly wasn't killed because of their gender. No one would do such a thing around here."

"How do you know that, Rosa?" Jasmine asked. "How can you be so sure that they aren't dead because someone didn't think that genderfluidity exists?"

"I happen to have a very strong sense of intuition."

"I don't want your intuition right now," Jasmine replied, her breathing starting to increase in intensity. "I don't care about what 'feels right' to you. I'm afraid I'm going to be killed, Rosa."

"And you think I am not afraid either?" Rosa exclaimed. "I have never witnessed such frenzy in Cloisterham Academy, and there are certain...certain stirrings which I fear may endanger me-"

"Are you fucking kidding me, Rosa?" Jasmine replied. This was enough to silence the other girl for a moment, who sat there staring over in shock. "Rosa. You are cis. I'm not. I'm trans. People don't like trans people. People think it's wrong. 'God made you one way and you should stay that way.'"

"Cloisterham has-"

"Cloisterham isn't as progressive as you want it to be. You can't prove to me that Elliot wasn't killed because of their gender, and you can't prove to me that I'm safe. And don't you dare tell me that you feel as scared as I do, because you aren't terrified someone might decide to kill you off because of your gender identity."

Rosa found tears welling up within her eyes. She'd been foolish, yes, foolish as she'd been time and time before.

"I'm sorry, Jasmine," Rosa mumbled. "I am sorry for...for acting in such a manner, for...for forgetting how your circumstances are."

"Sorry isn't what I need right now. I need to feel safe. I would leave Cloisterham, but at the moment I don't have much of anywhere to go. My parents and sister are off on vacation - part of the benefit of her being homeschooled, but of course I insisted to go to Cloisterham Academy of the Arts, all because I thought I might be able to get by."

"I have a house, by the beach. Well, it is not mine, truly, but...Mr. Greggs, my guardian, he can keep you there. If you truly feel you must leave Cloisterham in pursuit of safety, I am certain you will find it there. I may...I may go with you, perhaps, I cannot breathe properly within these walls..."

"You still don't get it, do you?" Jasmine said. "God. Shouldn't be surprised. Rosa, what the hell has got you scared enough that you think you have to leave? You're not in danger. Everyone here loves you to death."

"And that love is precisely what I fear," Rosa said. "I...I cannot fully explain it. But...but at times I have feared for my life. I...I..."

"When you think someone might be out to kill you because of your gender, then I'll listen to what you have to say about it. For now...sorry you feel so scared because you're surrounded by people who care about you. Sorry that I wasted so much of precious Rosa's time by trying to tell her what I feel."

"You must've known I would not be able to provide solace," Rosa said, her voice barely raising above a mumble. "Jasmine, why did you come to me?"

"Because I thought you might be able to listen for once," Jasmine said. "You were always the best listener out of everyone at Cloisterham, but at least for the moment...you think you understand, but you don't. You don't, really. And you probably never will. But at least you tried to listen for at least a few moments."

"I'm sorry," Rosa said. "I'll try...I'll try to determine who murdered Elly, try to reveal them to the masses and get them out of Cloisterham. I cannot guarantee your safety, but at least you know they will be gone."

"Oh, Rosa. You're not the only person trying to figure out who murdered Elliot. There's just as many suspects as there are people looking for who's guilty, and those intersect."

"Then someone must discover what occurred. Someone has to be figuring it out."

"Yes, DA is figuring it out. And so is that woman who keeps hovering around campus-"

"What?"

"We don't know who she is but she popped up just in time to start figuring out what's going on."

"But why-"

"I don't know, Rosa. No one knows anything about what's going on right now. You can try to figure out what's happening, but you don't have any guarantee it's going to work."

Rosa's lips parted as she tried to determine whether she wished to speak or not. She hadn't finished quite what she desired to say yet in her mind, but she still knew she had to speak out.

"What if I told you I'll have a definitive answer to what occurred with Elly in approximately a week?"

"Then I wouldn't believe it until I heard it."

"Then talk to me in approximately a week, unless the information has already dispersed by then."

Jasmine paused before she allowed herself to speak again, mostly to collect her thoughts. Rosa had become stubborn and could only see one potential way things could turn out. To her, there was no other way to look at the situation. But in creating clarity in one part of her vision, Rosa was clouding another.

"You're trying to help, Rosa, and I get that," Jasmine said. "But I think you're trying to find the wrong sorts of solutions. Everyone here wants to know what happened to Elliot, yeah. But there's a lot more to be done than that, and it can't all be pushed aside because we're trying to figure out what happened."

She did not give a goodbye as she turned from Rosa. Rosa anticipated that she would slam the door shut. Jasmine did slam the door shut. As soon as she was gone, Rosa burst into tears.

At that moment, Rosa made a soundless pledge to herself.

She would do whatever it took to solve the mystery of Elliot Drew.