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❝Careful who you trust, the devil was once an angel.❞

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*NOT EDITED*

Chapter Five

I wrap the towel around my body and step out of the steamed bathroom. We've spent over two hours in the pool and jacuzzi, splashing around and relaxing when I decided that I've had enough. Everyone's waiting downstairs so we can figure out what we'll be doing next.

After slipping on a pair of jeans, and a Metallica band shirt half tucked in, I loosely brush my hair and walk downstairs.

"About damned time, I almost fell asleep," Jeromy stands up from the floor and brushes his hands on his shorts.

I look around; Hunter and Phoebe are lying on the couch, flipping through my Netflix, Ruby's brushing her hair, and Heidi seems to have been talking with Jeromy, judging by the fact that they are both sitting on the floor.

"Well, I'm here and hungry," I say, patting my stomach, "what are we ordering?"

"Pizza," Hunter and Jer say simultaneously.

"Yeah, I'm with them," I vote.

Ruby groans. "Come on, you guys know I'm on a diet."

"You're always on a diet," Jeromy says with a roll of his eyes, making me snigger.

"Don't worry, girls, I have some freshly made salad from today morning. It's in the fridge along with the dressing," I announce.

"My savior," Heidi says with a giggle.

I hold out a finger. "Hug me and you won't live to regret it."

"Aw, why are you so cold hearted?"

"What type of pizzas are we ordering?" I ask, not replying to Heidi as she walks to the fridge with Phoebe.

Hunter stands up and stretches his limbs, making his shirt ride up a little and show his stomach. "Pepperoni."

"So, Plain Jane wants pepperoni, and the second pizza should be BBQ," Jeromy states.

"Okay," I nod. I pick up the phone and slump next to Hunter on the couch, ordering the pizza.

I pull the remote from Hunter's hand, much to his annoyance, and flip through Netflix. Jeromy sits down next to me and stares at the big plasma TV.

"Let's watch a horror movie."

"Which one, Don't Breathe or The Conjuring 2?" Jeromy asks.

"I've watched both, you choose." We turn around to Hunter.

Our shoulders are touching so I feel him when he shrugs. "The Conjuring 2."

"Eh, but I don't like that one," Jeromy says.

"Then, why'd you suggest it?" Hunter and I both ask simultaneously.

"I don't know, we're watching Don't Breathe."

I roll my eyes with a smile, but nevertheless, click on the movie and pause it so we can watch it whilst eating the pizza.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Phoebe says.

"I'm coming with you." Ruby stands up.

I turn around to see Heidi squirming in her seat and staring at Phoebe. Her eyes are still on her when Phoebe turns around. I feel bad for Heidi; Ruby is always spending time with Phoebe because she's kind of her sidekick. How does she feel?

I stand up to follow them to the bathroom, my bladder feeling full.

"Where are you going?" Jeromy asks as I'm about to step out of the kitchen.

"I also need the bathroom."

I leave them and quietly walk to the bathroom after Ruby and Phoebe.

Phoebe scoffs. "April thinks she got away with it easily. I'm not done with her yet."

I internally groan. Got away with it easily? April's probably traumatized for the rest of the year. I thought this was over.

"And India thinks she can just stop me from doing what I want. She doesn't know what I got for her just yet."

"It's a good thing you're doing this. Finally, you got some sense knocked into you," Ruby says and flips her bouncy, blonde hair.

They stop short and I quickly press myself against the wall.

"Do you hear that?" Phoebe asks with a perfectly manicured finger held up.

"No?" Ruby asks hesitantly.

I stay like that for I don't know how long, it feels like minutes. I hear the click-clock of their heels ring through the hallway again, and I let out a deep breath I didn't know I'm holding.

ّDeciding that I don't need to know anything else and the urge to go to the bathroom is no longer there, I walk back to everyone else. I see that Heidi took my seat on the couch.

"Jeromy, sit on the floor please." It's not a plea as I push him out of the couch. He falls, obviously not because I'm stronger than him, but because I get him by surprise.

"Hey!" he protests, rubbing his elbow.

"Hi," I say with a smile and Hunter chuckles.

Phoebe and Ruby come back a few minutes later. When the pizza arrives and we start the movie, I'm not with them at all; my mind is elsewhere.

Knowing Phoebe very well, I have bad gut feeling about what's going to happen to April. If Phoebe thinks that what happened that night at the party was nothing, then April's in big trouble.

I have to help her, but also make sure that Phoebe doesn't know that — be cunning in secret.

A while later, the movie is over and we decide to call it a night. After everyone is gone, I turn back to where we were sitting and start cleaning up.

2:30 AM, the digital clock on my bedside table read. I sigh and sit up straight, rubbing my face tiredly.

Before I jumped into bed, Phoebe tweeted something that made my stomach squirm ever since reading it. I pick up my phone and look at the dreaded tweet again

I don't know whether the message is directed to me, April, or both of us. If she wrote that message to me, then there were no problems, I could easily take her down . . . but I'm not so sure about April.

Finally making a decision, I jump out of bed and open my closet, looking for anything to wear. I choose my sweatpants and a light shirt before slipping on my Vans.

Taking my phone and a bottle of pepper spray with me, I leave my room and take the stairs, two at a time.

"Shit," I groan, realizing I have to go back up to my room to get the keys. The staff isn't here and mom and dad aren't coming back till tomorrow. . . well, a few hours, considering it was almost three in the morning.

After finally having everything with me, I leave the house and step into my car. Due to the fact that my memory is similar to Dory from Disney, I'm having a hard time remembering the route to April's house.

But I finally reach the familiar house after a half hour, and step out of the car, the distant sound of a dog barking making me more nervous.

I obviously can't just knock on their door at three o'clock in the morning, so I resort to climbing to her room.

There are so many things that can for wrong. Like, the room I climb up to ends up not being her's. Or someone's going to end up catching me inside and get the wrong idea. Then, there is this other out-turn where April will panic and kill me or scream.

Knowing my luck, every one of those outcomes that I listed will happen when I climb into her room.

Choosing not to waste any more time, I walk to the back of the house, the gravel crunching underneath my feet. I look up at the window and hear the sounds of a calm, late summer night as I start thinking of a way to get up there.

I'm surrounded by the musty, oily, salty smell of the ocean, and realize how sharp my senses become in the dark. Every place has its own scent, a peculiar mixture of organic growth and human industry, of must, paint, wood and vermin.

I run a hand through my hair as the humidity fogs my thinking and look behind me. A tree. That was my only source.

I place my foot on a part of the thick tree that stuck out, testing if it would budge. The first few steps up the tree are easy, but as I go higher, the branches get weaker.

I get to the point where I'm facing the window and that's the point where I start to question whether coming here is a good idea or not. The gap between the tree and the window is way too big for me to jump.

I place my left foot next to my right so now they are aligned and hug the tree from behind with my arms so  I'm now giving it my back. It is the most uncomfortable and awkward position I've ever been in.

The risk I'm going to take now will either get me through to the other side or I'll miss it and fall two stories down.

Feeling my palms tickle with sweat, I take a deep breath and steady myself. Biting my lip, I bend my knees and push myself away from the tree with my arms, then as quick as possible, I hook my elbows on the window sill.

I grunt as I pull myself up with the strength of my upper body, quickly hooking my knees on the window sill. My left knee follows and my whole body is finally on the thin sill.

Not wasting a second in fear of falling down, I rap my knuckles across the window. Receiving no answer, I knock rapidly and hard again.

Finally, the window is pulled up and a shocked April faces me. Before she has a chance to say anything or scream, I lean all my weight inside and push a hand on her mouth, muffling her screams. We fall with a thud on the floor, April's screams muffled under my hand.

I lean and whisper breathlessly in her ear, "Calm down, it's me, India Fengdon."

She stills under my hands and nods weakly. I pull my hands away and sit on my knees, watching her close her eyes and let out a shaky breath.

"What the actual hell, India? Is all of this because of your leather jacket? I mean-"

I interrupt her freaking out when I slap her arm hard. "No, that's obviously not the reason, you dummy," — I can't help but look around — "Wow, your room is really messy. You could've at least cleaned the bed."

"Had I known I was going to have guests at three o'clock in the morning I'm sure I would have," she snarls.

"It couldn't wait."

"What is it? We have to go to school in literally less than a few hours." She stands up and starts pacing around, freaking out.

"I had to warn you about school tomor- in a few hours. Phoebe still has it for you and if we thought what she did in the party was bad, then . . . "

"Then I'm screwed," she finishes quietly with fear in her eyes.

"I don't get it, it's impossible that all of this is because of that punch spill; there has to be another reason." I look carefully at her, trying to fish out a reaction.

Before she can say anything though, the sound of someone walking up the stairs stops us short. Her eyes wide, she turns to me in panic.

"I'm picking you up tomorrow, I have a plan," I say, already walking back to the window.

"India?"

"Yeah." I turn around to see an unreadable expression on her face like she's trying to tell me something, but something's holding her back.

The sound of someone walking to the room increases and I pull up the window.

"Tell me later," I say, already disappearing out of her sight.

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Author's Note:

Hey, guys! I just wanted to say that I've made some changes to the cast of this book. Phoebe Chung is now Jamie Chung, and Heidi is Zendaya. I also decided to change Phoebe's last name to Chung if you haven't noticed.

Another thing I wanted to say is that I'm not going to put an author's note after every chapter unless absolutely necessary.

(I know that in the tweet, the date says it was 2:39 am, but ignore it and just beat with me)

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