Sam laid on the ground in his backyard, looking up at the cloudy sky, enjoying the snowflakes melting on his face. He hadn't done this since he was a kid, since snow was nothing but a reason for joy and wonder. And now, with Tom, he felt like he was a kid all over again. It was a great feeling, as if he got to reconstruct at least a bit of his childhood with his twin.

Tom lay beside him, his hands folded under his head, sunglasses off and eyes closed. There was a small smile on his face. Sam watched him and couldn't help but smile, too, even if his heart ached for all the missed opportunities, all the time they didn't spend together.

The blissful smile on Tom's face faded into a mild frown. "Angie didn't call," he said.

Sam looked back towards the sky, biting the inside of his cheeks. He tried his best not to snap, but Tom's obsessiveness regarding Angie was bugging the hell of of him. "She told you she'd forget."

"Her phone's switched off."

"Honestly, Tom, it's not the first time she runs out of battery and forgets the charge it. You do that all the time, too."

The crease between Tom's eyes only deepened. "I told her to call me. It bugs me that she never listens. I'm breaking up with her."

Sam sat up, fists clenched. "Are you an idiot or what? How could you break up with her over something as stupid as that?"

Tom sat up, too. "She knows I hate this and that I mean it every time I ask her to call. It's to make sure she's safe. Now who know where she is and with who."

"God, Tom, stop being such a jealous asswipe. She's with Christine. Tina said Christine was having a sleepover with some of her friends and most likely took Angie along."

Tom just mumbled to himself. Sam grasped his shoulders and forced Tom to look him in the eyes.

"Listen to me. You're not going to break up with her over this, no matter how unreasonably jealous you are."

"I'm not unreasonably jealous," Tom muttered, looking away.

Sam's eyes widened. He'd thrown it out there because Tom did guard Angie like the freaking Cerberus, but he never expected it to be true. "Wait, you really are jealous."

"She's a very beautiful girl."

"She loves you, you dimwit."

Tom narrowed his eyes at him and Sam pulled back. The look on his twin's face was scary.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're awfully defensive of her."

Sam punched him in the shoulder. "Really? Rein that stupidity in before Angie or anyone else for that matter hears you."

Tom rubbed his shoulder, but didn't peruse the subject for the rest of the day. At some point, Sam even forgot about it. But as the next day passed as well and they got ready for school once again, he started feeling nervous. Tom hadn't said a peep or mentioned Angie lately, and Sam was a little scared of what would happen when they finally met in school.

Unfortunately, with exams gone, the crowd was back to being one huge mess of jeering and staring people. The fact that he was once again top of the list didn't help Sam's anonymity much. He spent the first part of the day trying to focus on his lessons and not be too worried about the fact that Jessie didn't know where Angie was either. It failed horribly. He had no idea what classes he'd actually attended.

He texted Christine, but she didn't answer either. As lunch rolled in and there was no sign of Angie in the cafeteria, Sam really started to worry. Christine wasn't answering her phone either and his insides had turned into the hopping ground for a giant frog.

"Where could she be?" Jessie mumbled, stabbing her boiled potato with a plastic fork. "She's never gone missing like that. When's the last time you saw her?"

She'd directed the question at Tom, but his jaw was clamped so tightly, Sam was pretty sure it was stuck, so he answered.

"Wednesday evening. She left with Christine to go shopping."

"And you haven't spoken to her or Christine since," Jessie concluded, the slightest edge of accusation in her voice.

"I tried to call," Tom said, her voice strained. "But when she didn't answer the tenth time I got pissed and stopped. I would be giving her hell if she were here."

Jessie nodded, accepting Tom's reasoning, and her accusing eyes fell on Sam next. "What's your excuse for not talking to your girlfriend?"

The bouncing frog turned into coiling and uncoiling snakes as he shrugged. "We're not that clingy. I let her be and she talks to me whenever she wants. This isn't the first time we've gone a day without talking."

Jessie frowned and looked up at Jimmy. He hadn't touched his food, and there was a scary focus to his gaze as he seemed to be calculating something.

"I don't like this," he finally said. "I think we should get out of here and go look for Christine and Angie."

"They could be okay," Sam said tentatively, though even he didn't believe it anymore. He just wondered if hoping hard enough would make all this a misunderstanding.

"I think so, too," Jessie mumbled, typing on her phone. "Kay hasn't seen her either. She's still not home and hasn't called. That's not like Angie at all."

"I was right to be worried," Tom said between his teeth, elbowing Sam in the ribs. "I was right to want her to call."

"Okay, knock it off, you were right!" Sam said, pulling away and rubbing his side. Even if he played it brave, inside he was shaking. Because all of a sudden not taking Tom seriously and he's breeziness over not talking to Christine regularly felt idiotic to say the least.

Why would he think they were safe? Why did he find his home to be a sanctuary in which Snitch Gravel couldn't enter? He'd thought there were rules, that they had a gentlemen's agreement. It was a lie he'd fed himself to feel better.

"We should go," Jimmy said again, his voice low.

Sam nodded, though they still technically had two classes left. The schoolboy in him wanted to protest, but was quickly overturned by the worried boyfriend.

Tom stood first and headed for the exit. Sam followed, his legs unusually shaky. Jimmy and Jessie were the only ones who had a confident gait, but they both looked worried. The cold air did nothing for Sam's nerves as they walked towards Jimmy's car, and once inside, it was even worse. The closed space made him feel even more trapped.

She could be okay. We could all be overreacting. Christine spent a lot of time with different friends. But that didn't explain why Angie was not in school, because she'd never miss it, never go so long without contacting any of them. And even if Christine was somehow okay, the thought brought no solace because Angie was obviously not.

And through all these torturous thoughts, he could practically feel the unease inside Tom, mixed with a powerful wave of anger and fear. Sam's stomach turned over and his fingers dug into the backseat. Next to him, Tom was spasmodically clenching and unclenching his fists, his gaze fixed out the window, on the passing buildings.

The ride seemed to take forever as Sam's nausea heightened. He looked between the seats and almost yelped. He'd felt like they were standing still, even if Jimmy was going much faster than normal. The moment he slowed down and pulled over next to their building, Kay's head popped out the window on the second floor.

"If Angie's in there, tell her not to come out, because I'm murdering her."

Tom opened the door and got down, his frame tense and confident. Sam slid to his side and climbed down, too, his knees barely holding him up as guilt and disgust at himself threatened to smother him. His twin could at least pretend to hold it together, and Sam wondered how he could.

"Angie's not with us," Tom said, looking up towards Kay. "I was hoping you'd know more, actually."

Kay's face went pale and she shook her head. "I haven't seen or heard from her since Wednesday before I left for school."

Tom's fists clenched again, but he otherwise showed no reaction to the distressing news. Sam dropped on the sidewalk and leaned his back against the car, feeling the need for a paper bag to breathe into. Damn how Tom was dumping all his nerves on him. He didn't even know that was possible or if he was even aware of what he was doing.

"Do you have classes today?" Jimmy asked, looking up.

"Yeah, in an hour."

"Call Kyle and tell him what happened. Whatever you do, don't leave the house alone." He turned his attention to Jessie. "That goes for you too, sunshine. If you need to unlock the door, call me first."

Despite the many jokes and protests that affirmation would have normally pulled out of Jessie, she just took Jimmy's hands and nodded. It was that more than anything that had Sam realizing they were on lockdown. There was no normal, not any longer.

Tom scurried inside the car. Jimmy gave Jessie a quick kiss and waited for her to go inside the building before getting back behind the wheel. Sam kept hyperventilating like an idiot, wishing he could pull his shit together and climb in, too.

"Come on, Sam," Tom mumbled, reaching out and dragging him in. "I know you're panicking, but we have to stay focused.

Sam nodded and pulled the door closed. The moment Jessie waved from the window and confirmed that she hadn't been ambushed on her way to the door, Jimmy pulled into traffic with a screech.

"I'm such a terrible boyfriend," Sam muttered to himself.

"Join the club," Tom said, his voice hollow. "I can't believe what a bunch of self-satisfied shitheads we've all been."

"We can't go crazy either," Jimmy said, his tone strained. "We need balance and we need to trust the girls. We can't live our lives as if there's no sense to it, nothing we can be sure of."

Jimmy had a point. Sam had thought the same, forced himself to overlook the dark shadow looming over them. It had seemed like the healthy, balanced thing to do. Now it just seemed freaking naive and stupid.

"Easy for you to say," Tom said between his teeth. "Jessie's safe."

"Hey, shut it," Jimmy snapped. "Angie is my friend, too, and I'm worried about her. And Christine. Don't be a prick and try to make me feel guilty for being glad Jessie is safe."

"Ugh!" Tom knocked his head back against the seat. "You're right. Sorry. I just can't believe this happened."

Sam had to agree. The closer they got to home, the more desperate he became. He had to check, to see for himself, to make sure. So the moment they closed in on their drive, he opened the door and hopped out of the car before Jimmy stopped.

❄❄❄

This is supposed to be sooo dramatic and tense and heartbreaking and I ran out of words that basically mean the same thing.

So, shit has officially hit the fan and the plot is moving. I'm curious how you feel about the reactions to the news. Were they expected? Also did you find it believable they wouldn't panic for so long?

Thanks so much for reading. Let the voting and commenting begin!