- brutal; Olivia Rodrigo -

Aurora Holland

"What if you and I were meant to part ways, only so that we could find each other again?" Quinn read the note aloud, her perfectly trimmed eyebrows scanning over the chicken scratch written on the ripped notebook paper.

"What?" I asked aloud, unsure of the words. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, that gives us a definite answer that it's not one of the guys you haven't had a thing with in the group. This has to be one of the Jackson brothers, right?"

"No, I don't think so." I shook my head, denying it immediately.

"Why not?" Quinn asked, putting the note down. "Think about it, Ror. Both Jackson brothers had a thing for you, something happened to separate you, and now they want you back!"

"I think you're looking too much into it." I denied, "Carter and Logan both had a thing and currently have a thing with someone else, it wouldn't be them."

"Well, who else could it be? You see Miles daily, so it's obviously not him. Cameron's got... shit going on or whatever he wants to play it off as. I don't see any other potential people." Quinn explained, tapping her fingers on the table. "Or maybe it's more than one person, you ever think of that?"

"I don't think it's either of them. I think it's someone playing a horrible, terrible prank." I shook my head.

"What's a prank?" The sound of someone behind me asked.

Quinn quickly gathered the scattered notes - including the one from today - together, shoving them into the shoe box I brought them in. "N-nothing." She quickly shook her head.

Guin sent Quinn a look but sat down anyway, occupying the spot next to me. "So what are you doing then?"

"N-nothing."

"I've been getting love letters in my locker since shortly after I moved here," I spoke at the same time as Quinn, who was still trying to act as if we weren't doing anything.

"Love letters?" Guin asked, looking at me. "What do you mean love letters?"

"Exactly what it sounds like, G, what else?" Quinn asked. "Look at this. Tell me it doesn't scream someone from the friend group."

I glanced at Quinn, who didn't look at me. I didn't know if she was going to bring up to Guin about the Jackson brother theory, but I really hope she doesn't as I don't want another person shoving it down my throat that it's either Logan or Carter. The last thing I need is that when I'm currently trying my hardest to get over what happened with both of them.

And knowing me, if I do find it out it's one of them I'm going to fall right back into that hole of suffering worse than now.

"Let me see," Guin ordered, holding their hand out. Quinn handed them the box, letting them look through the contents. After reading through a few of them, Guin looked at me. "This is one person, for sure. Do you recognize the handwriting at all?"

"I feel I've seen it before, but it's not something I remember. Knowing my luck it's probably a type of handwriting that I see often, something similar with many people." I explained, twirling my ring around my finger. "I don't know who it could be, it started before I became friends with anyone roughly."

"Really?" Guin asked. They glanced around before back to the table, putting the notes back in the box. "I have an idea. Let's head to ours."

Quinn and I glanced at each other but didn't say anything, obliging. We followed Guin out of the library and to Guin's car. I climbed in the backseat while Quinn got in the passenger's seat, Guin driving.

The ride was silent at first, with none of us saying anything. Eventually, after making eye contact with Guin a few times from the rearview mirror, I let out a dramatic sigh. "I get it, it's weird," I stated, holding my hands out. "But I don't think it's someone in the friend group. The logic doesn't make sense."

"Love doesn't make sense, Ror," Guin spoke, looking from me to the road. "It's weird, it's wild, and it seems impossible sometimes."

"It's not love," I denied.

Guin and Quinn looked at each other, Quinn rolling her eyes. "Not for you, wacko. But for whoever is sending these - it is."

I didn't get a chance to argue, as we were at the Lakes residence. I followed the two siblings into the house, the immediate sound of yelling catching my attention.

In the living room sat Cameron and Griffin, playing some Call of Duty game on the screen. "Seriously? That's not fair!" Griffin exclaimed, earning a giggle from Cameron.

"The game says so, so yes."

Griffin glanced over, seeing the three of us walk in. "Hey guys, Ror."

"Hey," I greeted.

Cameron and I made eye contact, the boy sending a polite nod my way. I nodded in return before putting my attention back to the other two, seeing them walk in the direction of the kitchen.

"Wait here, okay?" Quinn asked as she tossed her backpack on the island.

"Don't forget to make yourself at home!" Guin exclaimed as the two began to head off further into the house. "We have drinks and snacks in the kitchen!"

And with that, the two were out of sight. I couldn't see Griffin or Cameron fully either, so I just scrolled on my phone as I waited for the other two to come back. They didn't exactly explain what was going on, so I had no idea how long they'd be or when they'd be back.

After what felt like minutes upon minutes, the two siblings came back into view with stacks of books in their hands.

"What's that?" I asked, jumping lightly as Guin slammed her stack on the island.

"All of our yearbooks since like forever ago." Quinn gently sat hers down, "Guin had an idea that if we were to look at the signatures we have from each year, we can conclude who it'd be."

They sat across from me, Quinn organizing the books from the thinnest to the thickest. I watched as she cleared the rest of the room off of the island, grabbing a notebook from her backpack. She pulled out a pencil as well, turning the book to an empty page. "So we need suspects."

"Suspects?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"People who could possibly be doing this," Guin answered for Quinn, resting their head against their hand. "Suspects, basically."

"Okay? I guess." I quietly responded, biting the inside of my lip. "I don't know who it could be."

"That's where these come in." Quinn tapped the stack of books. "We'll come up with anyone who's had any type of contact since you moved here, and we'll look at their signatures in the yearbook."

"Then we'll compare it to the love notes, and since this anonymous Romeo has sent dozens - this should be a piece of cake!" Guin exclaimed.

"I've even taken it upon myself to grab Griff's, as he might have signatures that we didn't since all of us have pretty different friend groups besides Logan's." Quinn then said, tapping her pencil against the paper. "So first thing's first- people. Who could have done this?"

"Well... you're always hanging out with that one boy, right? Could he be it?" Guin suggested.

"I don't think Miles would." I shook my head.

"Be real, Rory, do you think anyone could?" Quinn asked seriously, cocking her head to the side.

"I guess so. Maybe I shouldn't speak on who could and couldn't then. I'll just shoot everyone down." I shrugged, picking at the scratches on my right hand.

"Well good thing we watch people," Guin spoke with a wink. "Okay, put Miles down on the list first."

"Got it," Quinn said, scribbling the boy's name down. "Obviously the Jackson brothers are included in this."

"Of course, can't forget about Logan and Carter." Guin nodded, agreeing. "Especially with everything going on it would make sense. Although Logan seems to be more romantic than Carter, I didn't think Carter had a kind bone in his body until I saw him around Rory."

"Which makes Carter the main Jackson brother that would do it, yeah?" Quinn asked, glancing from me to Guin. "I mean, he's so in love with her obviously nobody else gets that treatment."

"But that's too obvious," Guin said with a shake of the head. "Logan would be that person."

"I'll just put both of them down, we can find out later." Quinn ended the argument, writing the two boys' names down next.

"Elijah is super in love with Katherine, so he's ruled out." Guin then continued.

Quinn made another section, writing Elijah's name on it. Then, to make sure we didn't get it confused, she put 'POSSIBLE' above the list with Miles and the Jackson brothers, putting IMPOSSIBLE above Elijah's name.

Guin glanced to the living room after another shout from Cameron and Griffin, their brows pushing together in thought. "Cameron." They said, looking back at us. "Cameron could be it."

"He doesn't know French," I said.

The two looked at me, and I rolled my eyes. "Besides the obvious reasons that it wouldn't be him, I asked him after the first note if he knew French to translate it, but he didn't."

"So impossible," Quinn agreed with me, putting his name underneath Elijah's.

"Obviously Griffin's out of it," Guin named off on their fingers. "It could be a girl, you ever think of that?"

"We didn't, actually." Quinn admitted, "If it's you, Guin, I swear to God-"

"Hey hey!" Guin exclaimed, "It's not. I didn't even know about this until you told me. I'm just saying. Maybe it's more than just the disgusting men at Riverway."

"Hey, what happened to the guy you were with at that party? Garrett from Arrowway?" Quinn asked. "You think it could be him?"

"No, he doesn't even go to Riverway. Whoever's doing this is putting them in my locker, he can't do it as often as I'm getting them when he lives that far away." I said.

"Makes sense," Quinn mumbled, putting him under Griffin's name. "And I'll add Guin and I to the impossible list. Along with Katherine."

"What if it's Ashley? She hates your guts, right? What if she's just secretly in love with you?" Guin asked, the smile on their face showing it was a bit of a joke.

"Gwen stares at her a lot," Quinn noticed. "Not you, other Gwen. Gwen with a 'w'." She explained after earning a look from Guin.

"Right, put her in possible." Guin agreed. "Let's not forget Layla or Bailey."

"I've seen Bailey's handwriting, it's not her." Quinn shook her head.

It went on like this for what felt like forever. One of the Lakes siblings named a person from our school, deciding on whether or not it was possible for them to be the person doing this. After they got a good list they began to go through all of the yearbooks, letting me look through Griffin's to give me something to do.

I continued to look through the white pages that contained signature after signature, frowning as none of them resembled the notes enough. I'd seen everyone in our friend group as well - including Logan and Carter.

"Well that was a bust," Guin sighed as they shut the last yearbook.

I yawned, leaning my head in my hand. "It's just a joke. Has to be."

"Maybe, but they're spending an awful lot of time on a joke that hasn't really worked all too well," Quinn responded.

"I think I have one more yearbook from last year, but I might need help finding it." Guin then said, looking at Quinn. "The attic."

Quinn sighed, standing up from her seat. "Okay, let's go. We'll be back."

The two walked away again to go to the attic for the last yearbook, leaving me alone with my thoughts yet again. I lightly skimmed over Griffin's yearbook from freshman year, looking to see any similarities.

"Hey," The sound of someone walking in caught my attention. I looked over to see Cameron now standing by the island, sitting on the stool next to me. "What are you doing?"

"Looking at previous Riverway yearbooks." I shrugged, shutting it. "I'm done though. What's up?"

"I assume you kinda know about my situation." He mumbled, his cheeks turning pink. "About Layla."

"Yeah. I guess considering I'm in a bit of a pickle as well - or was, at least - I was able to pick up that something similar was happening to someone else." I twirled my ring around my finger.

"I have real feelings for her, you know? Layla." He opened up, despite the fact I didn't ask him to. Not that I mind, I like talking to Cameron. "But I don't think it's that serious for her, and I know Bailey feels something for her, and that kills me."

My heart hurt, as I knew exactly how he felt. Tears welled in my eyes as I hated that he was feeling this way. He was hiding it much better than I ever did, that's for sure.

Reaching out, I put my hand over his. "You deserve someone who is so sure of you, Cameron." I shook my head. "I love Layla, she's helped me a lot and I don't believe I deserve a friend like her. But I also don't deserve a friend like you. And I told her the same thing, that she can't lead you and Bailey on. All three of you are amazing people, and none of you - not even Layla - deserves this."

"I know, and I don't want Bailey hurt, either. But how am I supposed to sacrifice my feelings all the time and be okay with it?" He asked, "Maybe I don't understand because I've never been in this situation before, but it hurts. And I don't wanna live this way forever."

"And you won't. You're in high school, Cammy." I rubbed my thumb along the back of his hand. "I know that feeling all too well. Doing everything for others and hurting yourself in return."

"I know you do," He softly said, looking at me. "I think that's why I wanted to talk to you. It's just nice having someone who will understand something like that. And I'm not meaning anything bad by that, either."

I nodded, knowing he didn't mean any harm by any of his comments. A tear escaped my eye and I cursed for being such a baby - sniffling in the process.

Cameron reached up and wiped the tear away, smiling softly. "I didn't intend to come in here and make you cry. You've cried enough."

"It's more of just hurt for you, as since I know how you're feeling I don't like that you know." I said, "Did that even make sense?"

"It's okay, I get it." He chuckled. "But to be real, as much as I really like her, I'm confused about my feelings as well. Are you okay though - after everything with Logan?"

"Oh, that-"

"I know he hurt you, and if I'm being honest I kinda drifted myself from him after finding out. Him doing what he did and Paige doing what she did - that's low." He continued.

"Cammy, it's not anything serious, I swear." I denied. I pulled my hand from his, wiping my cheeks. Just as Cameron was about to argue, Quinn and Guin came back into the kitchen.

"Hey Cameron," Quinn greeted, sitting across from us.

Guin sat down next to her, letting out a deep breath. "Took forever, but we found it."

This ended whatever conversation Cameron and I were having, which made me a little sad as it seemed we both needed to talk to each other.

"Are you guys having a party in here or what?" Griffin asked, joining us. "What the hell is this? You went through my room?" He asked as he noticed the yearbooks, looking at his siblings.

"Rory here has been getting French love letters and we're trying to figure out who it is." Guin motioned to me, opening the last yearbook.

"Really?" Griffin asked, "What kinda rom-com shit is that?"

Cameron then took notice of the letters scattered around on the table, picking a few up. I watched as he tried to read them, his brows furrowed and bottom lip pouted out slightly. His face then turned to one of realization, looking over at me. "This is why you asked me if I knew French, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I answered softly.

There was no reason to lie, and they already know about the notes anyway.

"You figure out who it is?" Griffin seemed to forget about the fact that his siblings went through his room, and instead began to look at the different handwriting.

"Nope. Nothing matches." Guin sighed, "This is a bust."

"Why don't we just go around asking people for signatures?" Griffin suggested.

"What?" Cameron asked, looking at his best friend.

"Let's just make some stupid petition - something about the cafeteria food - and have people sign it. But instead of it being the petition it's going to be so we can figure out who's doing it." He shrugged, "Surely that'll work."

"If we want to catch attention, dumbass." Cameron held a hand out, "Which I think is the last thing Rory wants."

"Right. Sorry, Ror." Griffin apologized.

"No need to apologize, you're just trying to help." I kindly told him with a smile.

"So what do we do then?" Quinn asked, "This has gotten us nowhere but wasting time."

"We just don't." I shrugged, earning looks from all of them. "Like I've said. It's probably a sick, horrible, joke. I wouldn't be surprised if it's Ashley herself doing this since she hates me so much. The more attention we pay to these, the more we're giving them what they want."

"So we just forget about it?" Cameron asked, "I don't know what these say but they gotta be something serious."

"Just a bunch of quotes and love poems." Guin shrugged, "Nothing too interesting."

"Right." Griffin said, "I think these are quite interesting."

"What do they say?" Cameron asked.

"Stuff about dreaming of her, calling her pretty, all kinds of shit." Griffin poorly explained, throwing the notes in the box. "So since we're calling this quits-" He stopped, looking between us.

"Video games?"

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Hey <3