F O U R T E E N

-

"Stella, slow down. What happened?"

"Blood. Someone has blood kept in their locker and they didn't lock it properly and it spilled out. Oh my god," I spluttered, covering my face with my hands and struggling to keep calm. Who in the right mind does that? Somebody in Westfield Academy keeps blood in their gym locker. Whose blood was that? And to add fuel to the fire, Reeve and I were making out when it happened.

Caleb closed his mouth and sighed, placing his hands on my shoulders to calm me down.

"We'll talk about this at lunch, okay? Meet me at fountain at the back ten minutes before end of lunch," he said lowly, examining my face as if I had gone through an accident and he had to check for scratches.

Caleb seemed calm about everything. He wasn't freaked out at all. He looked like he pitied me. Did he know about this?

I pushed his hands off me. "You know about it?"

Caleb frowned, messing his brown hair up and looking guilty. I stepped back, widening my eyes. What did Caleb have to do with blood? Blood came from inside a human body. "I can explain, okay? Stella, please breathe."

He grabbed my arm and tugged me to the end of the hall and around a corner where nobody could see us. Kira didn't see us. She was with Lola and Jen. I snatched my arm out of his grip.

"Is this what Kelly saw?" I asked lowly, blinking several times.

Caleb opened his mouth to say something but then somebody came around the corner. The new coach. He was holding equipment to bring to the back and halted when he saw us. Thankfully, he was a nice guy.

"What are you all doing? Lesson's ended," Coach said, giving us a smile. I nodded quickly and brushed past Caleb and the coach, finding my way out alone.

→←

At lunch, I received a lot of stares from almost everybody in school. I was sitting with Reeve Whyte and his friend, Frank. Frank was tall and blonde with a voice that sounded deeper than anything I had ever heard. He had freckles on his nose area and wore woolly jumpers that looked as if his grandma knitted them. Reeve didn't even seem interested in Frank. He probably used him to not seem lonely. They probably used each other.

Reeve and I kept sharing glances that resulted in giggles and sometimes I would stare at him at he'd stare back then his eyes would flicker to my lips. Though every time I thought about that kiss, it brought me back to the spilled blood so I tried to push the thoughts out.

I didn't sit with them that day because I was freaked out. I couldn't deal another second with them after knowing Kelly was dead, probably because of them and the blood could belong to them-- after seeing Caleb's reaction. I still hadn't been told what those scars on their arms meant. And something unpleasant churned in the pit of my stomach when I thought about letting Caleb Derez sleep in my bed when he could be capable of doing very terrible things.

"Stella! Why aren't you sitting with us?" The familiar happy voice sounded, only this time it faltered and I heard something more forced.

I looked up slowly to see Lola, looking down at me with a curious look. Her hair looked a little greasy after gym class and her cheeks were flushed. I bit my lip, glancing at Reeve. I definitely didn't miss the look Lola and Reeve shared. It was almost as if they wanted to battle each other.

Frank coughed awkwardly, and he sipped on his milkshake. His teeth were yellow, I noticed as he bit on his straw, looking agitated.

"I'm-- not feeling it," I said bluntly, my heart picking up its pace. Why did they make me feel this way?

Lola frowned but she took my word. "Okay. Are you still coming to Andrew's party?"

I swallowed. Suddenly my throat felt tight and dry. "I don't know." Caleb said to me he would show me everything at Andrew's party. But what if something bad was going to happen? What if Kelly really did kill herself because of them? I had no idea what I was in for.

But I needed to know. Another day couldn't pass without me nudging at my curiosity that felt unhealthy if it wasn't satisfied.

Reeve's gaze looked away so I didn't catch his look.

"What? Why?" Lola asked. Her face dropped into a look that seemed like a small glare. "Stella--"

I cut her off. "No, I'm going," I said with a forced smile. "Don't worry; I'll be there."

The smile jumped back onto her face like it had never left. She smiled until she had creases by her eyes and she beamed. "Yay! We miss you at the table," Lola confessed, pouting her lip playfully.

I barked an awkward laugh.

Lola pursed her lips. "Okay. Well, I hope you sit with us on Monday. See you in English."

I gave her a plastered grin and a small wave and stared after her when she left to go back to the group's table further down the other end of the hall. I couldn't help but notice the stares of everybody, looking at me. Faint murmurs chorused through the hall and I breathed out, turning back to Reeve who was looking down at his lap.

→←

My heart was beating in a pace I didn't understand as I turned around the corner to the water fountain behind the school. The temperature was so cold at this time of the year, I wondered if this was going to be worth the hypothermia. What if I actually died? Students were allowed to come out during lunch, weren't they? That's one way they could find my body.

Caleb was sitting down on the side of the fountain. The water seemed to be weak enough that it didn't spray on him since he was just sitting there looking all hot even in this weather.

"Hi."

He turned around and his eyebrows rose when he saw me. "Knew you'd come. Ladies just really can't resist me," he chortled, smirking conceitedly. That was a move he really just couldn't stop doing. I wasn't complaining.

"Shut up," I muttered, walking over and sitting next to him. "I'm trusting you to not kill me."

Caleb's smirk dropped. It dropped as if it had never been there. That sent a scared feeling through my body and I knew something bad was coming. Though somehow, I trusted that he wasn't going to hurt me.

"Stella, I'm saying this to protect you," Caleb mumbled, looking like he was shivering. He looked me right in the eye. "Do not come to the party. Please don't. Do whatever you can to stay away from us. Okay? Don't--"

"What?" I spluttered. I had every intention back then or even a moment ago, to stay the hell away from them. I wanted it so bad-- to forget about them and live a life like my old one-- a carefree life with no worries about the girl who kept blood in her locker and whether it wad one of my friends or not. But hearing it directly from Caleb, I wasn't sure I wanted that to happen. I needed to find out exactly what they were hiding and what they had Excelt for.

"Don't come to the party tomorrow, Stella. I'm warning you now."

"Fine," I snapped, standing up. "I'm staying the hell away if that's what you want."

Caleb nodded and I didn't get to see what he did next because I had already spun on my heel and made my exit with a scowl permanently glued onto my expression.

→←

That night, I didn't know what to do. Was I just going to ignore them and act as if I didn't know them from that moment on? Reeve and Frank and possibly Jessica would be great enough company, wouldn't they? I thought about the kiss Reeve and I shared in the locker room. It felt unreal and every time I closed my eyes, the image of the locker door opening and the spillage of blood flooded my thoughts.

Kissing Reeve would always remind me of that. I didn't know if I wanted to kiss Reeve again.

"Mum? Can I ask Lilly to make me a coffee?"

Mum was sitting in the living room. She looked up from the magazine she was reading. She was dressed all ready in her pyjamas and slippers were snug on her feet. Mum didn't like me drinking coffee too much. She said it made me age faster.

"Uh? No. It's night-time. It'll make you stay awake," Mum retorted in a voice as if I had asked something stupid. I made a face and actually agreed with her. I did not want myself to stay up late either. Thoughts of everything would cloud my mind.

"Fine. I'm gonna go outside and take a walk."

Mum nodded and closed her magazine with a yawn, standing up. "Night, Stella." Her voice sounded exhausted and she had extra eye bags but I didn't mention that, of course. I told her goodnight, and she went upstairs to sleep.

A breath of fresh air at this time was really something I needed. I push open the sliding door to the pool and closed it, not wanting any of the warm air inside the house to escape into the dark night. Even though the temperature was extra cold during the night-time, it felt good at that moment.

That was until ten minutes later, a hand clamped over my mouth. A struggle and muffled words spilled from my mouth but I could hardly hear them. I had no idea who was doing that to me but my heart hurt with everything going on and all the rush. I stopped trying to yell and let the deep breaths come out, feeling myself slip into a panic attack.

That was all I remembered.