Scarlett stopped the car at the gates and peered into the darkness. A hatchback's red light was disappearing into the dark night. She took a deep breath and let it out through her mouth and looked at Rose, "Ready to venture into a haunted house and meet the ghosts?".

"Mm hmm!", Rose couldn't seem to form words. She looked straight ahead.

"By ghosts, I mean Ruby and her minions. Though, ghouls might be a better word", Scarlett started the car.

Rose snickered at her comment, feeling lighter. Maybe she was worried for nothing. Scarlett was her rock whenever Ruby tried to hurt her. Rose knew that Scarlett would fight for her. She also wanted to confront Rowan. What was his deal? If he ignored her today, it meant that he was just playing with her. Then she would end the relationship. It's simple. Why did it hurt though? She sighed. She did have a crush on him but that doesn't mean anything if he was just gonna walk all over her. Rose was lost in thoughts when bright headlights blinded her. She flickered her eyes and squinted. The car slowed down and she saw her brother waving at them. Scarlett stopped the car and poked her head out of the window.

"Are you just reaching here?", Rusty yelled at them.

"We had to get ready. That takes time", Scarlett yelled back. Rose got out of the car and went to her brother's.

"Of course, one entire day wasn't enough for you. Though I don't see much change", Rusty was amused. Scarlett pouted at him. He ignored her and looked at Rose, "Sis, we have just left Cyan at the manor. Don't forget to pick him up. He mentioned that he met you guys today. He's new and need friends. I promised Skye that you would be friends with Cyan. You remember Skye, right?"

"Yeah", Rose waved at Skye who waved back at her. "Was he the guy at The Bluebells today?", she asked him.

"Yeah! So, you guys did meet. Did you guys talk?", Skye asked.

"He did take our orders", Rose hid a smile. Skye heaved a breath and shook his head, "He's been avoiding people since, you know. We are really worried about him."

"Don't worry. We will take care of him", she told Skye remembering the blue-eyed guy they met earlier. He didn't seem very friendly. She wondered how to befriend him.

"Well, leave the party by ten. I will be home. And don't drink", Rusty was stern, "I don't trust your friend much. Even if she insists, don't drink. K?", Rusty whispered.

"She won't insist on anything that causes harm. She's a good person", Rose defended her friend.

"I am just saying. She's a wild one, your friend", Rusty looked over at Scarlett and said in a low voice. Rose humphed at his allegation.

"Are you coming?", Scarlett shouted.

"Yes", Rose answered. "Bye, Rusty. We will drop Cyan home. Bye Skye", Rose waved at Skye ignoring her brother. She got in Scarlett's car and they rushed to the manor without looking back. The guys waited until the car disappeared and went back to the town.

"Was your brother criticising me?", Scarlett asked Rose while parking next to a black hatchback.

"He wasn't. You know him. He always says some non-sense", Rose fidgeted with her dress.

"So, he did criticise me. What did he say this time?", Scarlett eyed her friend. She gasped, "Did he tell you that I might get you drunk or something."

"Ugh!", Rose failed to meet her friend's eyes.

"Why does he hate me so much?", Scarlett huffed.

"He doesn't hate you. He feels awkward because of your crush", Rose reassured her.

"But I hide my crush well", Scarlett hit the steering. She was frustrated. She understood why he was being weird about it. He was her best friend's elder brother, not to mention eight years older to them. But it wasn't like she acted on her crush. He either ignored her or irritated her. Always.

"No, you don't. Come on let's hit the party. Though, who will call it a party? What awful song is that? What era is the music from?", Rose stared at the manor.

"Jurassic era. I don't understand why you are surprised. What do you expect from fiends like Ruby? They probably don't have good music in hell", Scarlett winked at her friend and they both went inside the mansion, laughing.

The girls were surprised at the opulent grandeur of the ancient mansion like those before them. The grandiose chandelier in the foyer threw bright glitters at them. Except some scattered elders who wore blank, unwelcome expressions, most of their friends and classmates were chattering and squealing around them. The girls wore varying lengths of red dresses and men wore shirts and tees of various red hues, though some ditched the red for black. The mansion, despite its rotten and decaying façade, was surprisingly flourishing. Miss Blake, their beloved English teacher and Mr. Amsel, their Chemistry teacher were laughing at something.

The girls got soda and some finger foods and chatted with some of their friends about college applications and end of school life. Some had opted to go to trade schools or work as apprentices in other towns as was the tradition in Maplewood. They didn't have a college in Maplewood. The nearest one was in Green Bay. Most residents were alumni of the college, technical schools or nursing schools in Green Bay. A few exceptionally brilliant ones went to the Whiteshire University like Rose's mom. Rose had decided to take a year off to focus on writing. She was also applying for Whiteshire the next year. Scarlett had no idea what she was going to do. She was thinking of going to pastry school but was worried that she lacked experience. "You could work with Mrs. Gorman. Have you asked her?", Melanie asked while chewing on a carrot stick.

"That's a brilliant idea. Thanks Mel. I will ask her. Oh! I forgot! Aren't we supposed to

look for Cyan?", Scarlett turned to Rose.

"Who's that?", Keiran raised his brows while slurping his cola.

"That's Mrs. Gorman's grandson. Didn't you see him, K? He's gorgeous and he has dreamy blue eyes that sparkle", Raven flicked her hair and sighed.

"Really?", Douglas smirked. Raven stuck her tongue out at him.

"Did you guys see him? We are supposed to give him a lift back", Rose asked meekly.

"Ugh! I don't think he will need your help, Rose. Ruby was already hanging onto his arm", Raven said with a disdain in her voice.

Ruby felt her heart sinking. She wondered why, though. She had only met the guy today and they hadn't even exchanged more than a few words. But she felt that she failed her brother and Skye. She had promised them that she would look out for him. Well, if he fell for Ruby's charms, his loss. Scarlett squeezed her shoulder. "We will tell him his brother asked us to help him. If he would rather take the witch's help, so be it. Though, I admit, I lost my respect for him".

"Well, you can't blame him. She's pretty. Ow!", Keiran cried out when Raven hit him.

"She is plastic. Did you know that she has a nose job when she was 13?", Melanie looked at the group.

"She also has a lip job", Raven chimed in.

"Well, if you have a rich step dad, you can do all those things", Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"You girls are jealous", Keiran shook his head.

"No, we aren't", the girls chirped together. The playful banter continued while Rose was lost in her thoughts. It was her habit 'to get lost in her head' as Raven always pointed out, so her friends left her alone.

A loud laughter jerked Rose back to reality. She raised her head to see Rowan talking to one of the guys in Ruby's league and going to the dining room. She looked over at Scarlett who nodded to her, "Hey Rose, want to get some wings?".

"Sure", Rose got up.

"Hey, can you girls get me a soda?", Douglas nudged Scarlett.

"For me too", Keiran raised his hand.

"Some onion rings too", Douglas said to which Scarlett exaggerated a resigned sigh.

"You girls need anything?", Scarlett asked the girls and the girls shook their heads.

Scarlett and Rose went to the kitchen. Rowan was chatting with Mr. Ansel animatedly. Scarlett nudged Rose, "Go and talk to him".

"But he is busy talking to a teacher", Rose was hesitant.

Scarlett handed her a couple of sodas, "Mr. Ansal is not our teacher anymore. You are his favourite anyways. You can pretend that you want to talk to Mr. Ansal. Then causally ask Rowan how he was. If he mentions your chats, it means he is genuine. If he pretends that he doesn't know about it, then he is playing you. It's simple."

"But...", Rose bit her lips looking at the talking duo.

"Just go", Scarlett shoved her forward. Rose handed over the soda cans to Scarlett who was already struggling with three plates of chicken wings, bread sticks and onion rings and went to talk to Rowan. Rowan was already walking away from Mr. Ansel to the foyer. Rose hurried after him and called him, "Rowan, can I talk to you for a second?". She caught up with him in the foyer. Her friends who were huddled in a sofa stared at them. She ignored them.

"Sure", Rowan was surprised.

Rose was lost for words. Something didn't feel right to her. He looked polite but his eyes weren't friendly. They made her reluctant to talk to him. Seconds crawled by like snails.

"What do you want to talk about?", his voice was filled with impatience.

"Ugh, about the chats?", Rose tugged and curled and uncurled her hair. Dread was slowly filling her heart. This was a mistake, she thought.

"What chats?", Rowan raised his brows.

"We have been chatting", Rose stammered.

"We? When? I didn't chat with you", Rowan raised his brows.

Rose was lost for a second as to what to do. Then she quickly took out her phone and began searching and showed him the messages he sent her. A frown formed in his forehead.

"I didn't send you these messages", he looked at her with concern.

"Isn't that your number?", Rose's heart started hammering fast. Who was she chatting with then? She began panicking, thinking about the things she had told a complete stranger.

Rowan checked the number, "It is my number. But how? I didn't send you any messages, Rose. I swear".

"I believe you. I will block the number. Oh! My God! Who did I talk to then? What if it's a stalker? What am I going to do?", Rose started breathing heavily.

"Hey, calm down. You need to talk to your family about this. May be talk to the police? If someone is just pranking you, then you can just ignore it. If it's not a prank, you need to be careful", Rowan's words were drowned by a high-pitched screech of a microphone.

"May I have your attention, please", Ruby's voice filled the manor.

Rowan looked at Rose and shrugged. He walked to the yellow living room. Rose followed him along with her friends. The living room was big enough to include everyone. The chairs and tables were moved towards a corner. Ruby was standing over a small wooden coffee table in the middle. Rose wondered how she balanced herself in the four-inch pointy heels.

Ruby waved her hands over, "everyone, gather around. I want to read some love snippets to you. Did you know that there is a very creative poet wannabe among us? Mind you, she might become famous writer, though I wouldn't have much hope. So, even if you feel these words are cheesy, please forgive her for trying her best". Ruby smirked looking over at Rose. Rose felt like someone had drenched her with a bucket of ice-cold water. She shivered slightly. She was conscious of Scarlett moving towards her.

"Ahem. Listen to this:

Love is an amorphous dream

Rendered into an un-sketched portrait

Unrequited like a fathomless abyss

Darkened by our deepest desires

Yet; a ray of hope cuts through it

Filling the void with blissful

forget-me-nots.

Ruby slowly read the poem stressing each word. Rose felt that time had frozen. The world became still. She couldn't hear anything. She couldn't breathe. It was a poem she wrote one night. She had sent it to 'Rowan' after writing it. Now she understood what had happened. Scarlett had warned her the messages were a prank. She realized how naïve she was! Tears stung her eyes. She was afraid to blink.

"This is a poem Rose sent to my boyfriend Rowan to seduce him. Can you believe it?", Rose asked dramatically. A hush rippled through the crowd. "How could she think that he would fall for such cheesy words? We have been together for a year. Even after knowing this, Rose sent him messages. There are more poems of love. I am not going to read them. But I will upload them in my insta. You can all read it. Her trashy messages and her stupid poems", Ruby's words, filled with venom, fell over Rose like sharp knives. They hurt her and she whimpered. She felt everyone's eyes over her. She wanted to refute Ruby. But she knew in her heart that she was meek. She couldn't find words to defend herself. Even Ruby knew that.

"I don't know what you thought, Rose. Rowan is way out of your league. And you thought you could compete with me? Snag my boyfriend? How dare you?", Ruby spewed out words. Murmurings enveloped Rose. She burst out crying. She fell on the floor and covered her face in her hands. She felt an arm around her and Scarlett's whisperings in her ears. But Rose couldn't hear anything she said.

"Oh my God! You wronged me and now you are acting as the victim. Shame on you, Rose Redfern", Ruby screamed through the mike.

"Ruby, stop this nonsense, now", Rowan barked.

"Why are you defending her? Did you cheat me with her? How could you?", Ruby sniffled.

"You know that's not true, Ruby", Rowan clenched his teeth. He couldn't believe it. She was making him a scapegoat in her dirty game! "I know Rose, she wouldn't do anything like that".

"You don't have any idea what sort of trashy messages she sent you", Ruby threw the mike on the floor. Her beautifully made-up face was twisted in anger. She glared at Rowan.

"Well, that's the thing. I don't know. Do I?", Rowan shook his head and left the room. Ruby was flummoxed for a second. But before she could react, Scarlett got up and rushed towards her, "How dare you insult Rose like that, you wretched witch. Rose fell prey to your twisted game and you insult her?"

"I will destroy her. You think I don't know about her crush on Ro. Everyone knows it. Who does she think she is. Everyone will know who she is tomorrow when I upload her chats on social media", Ruby spat out triumphantly, getting down from the table. Scarlett pushed her calling her derogatory names she could think of. Ruby pushed her back. Whistles and catcalls were heard across the room.

Rose couldn't bear it anymore. She heard Mr. Ansel and Miss Blake shouting. She couldn't face anyone. She wanted to escape. She opened her eyes and saw an open door. She didn't think twice. She got up and staggered towards the door, desperate to escape. People gave her space. Their voices were blurred. She couldn't recognize if they were badmouthing her or sympathising. She reached the door and heard someone calling her. She couldn't bear the catcalls and names and whistles around her. She couldn't bear the incessant talks. She couldn't bear the shouts and screams. She had to escape. She ran blindly. Tears were streaming incessantly. They stung her eyes and heart. She saw French windows which opened to the cool night outside. And she stumbled through it and ran through the narrow path in front of her. She kept running till she hit something and fell backwards. "Aah!", she screamed and looked up at the figure that hit her. And she saw Cyan Gorman staring back at her in shock!