"Hey! I'm Drake and they're Ben and Parker," the tan boy with the facial hair growing in says, smiling at the doorway. "And you are...?"

"Uh... Brinley... Um, I'm guessing you're looking for Ian?" I ask, frowning.

"Yes! He invited us over for some football night," Parker, the tall blonde, responds.

"Right," I nod, looking around behind me. "Ian! There are people here." I want to leave this doorway as soon as humanly possible. Now that I think of it, any of these boys could know me or Jonathan. Any of them could be the one sent here to finish me off.

"Ah," Ian rounds the corner. "Hey, guys. Come inside. Where're the others?"

"Others?" I ask, eyes widening. No. No more, I can't watch them all at once.

"Yes, others," Ian smiles at me. "Phill and Jacob? Where are those guys at?"

"They're on their way, don't worry. They'll be here before the game starts," Drake says, walking inside, followed by his two friends.

"Nice to meet you, Brinley," Parker says with a nod as he walks past. I give him a short wave before hurrying off in a different direction. No fraternizing with the enemy. And in this case, all of them are the enemy. Oh my gosh, what have I gotten myself into? I'm avoiding all human contact for heaven's sake!

A hand touches my shoulder and I nearly jump a mile. "Brinley, what are you doing in the laundry room?"

I turn around and come face to face with Owen. Letting myself relax, I shrug. "I'm freaking myself out."

"Over what?" He looks me over as if to make sure I'm completely intact. "Did Ian do something?"

"Only invite over five more possibilities," I reply with a sigh. "He has friends, and I don't have a clue who they are... But one of them, or Ian, probably has a huge idea of who I am."

"Ian invited people over?" Owen looks over my shoulder and towards the living room.

"Yeah," I look over as well, where all of them are copying themselves onto the couches. "And all of them are big enough to snap me right in half."

"None of those guys are going to touch you, okay?" Owen says. "In fact, I want to know a little bit about these guys."

He starts walking over to the living room. I grab his arm to stop him. "Wait! Isn't that kind of dangerous?"

"No. It's to scope out the situation. I'm going to attend a football night," Owen says. "And you're going to join me."

My eyes widen and I shake my head. "What, no! I hate football! And I don't really feel like giving my murderer something to stare at for two hours."

"If you act like you're not scared, you might just scare them enough not to touch you. You did shoot Jonathan, right? I'm sure they heard about that. If you act unafraid, they'll notice," Owen says.

Then he proceeds to drag me towards the couches. I frown, feeling very uneasy. I hope Owen's right about this, that's all I can say. But if he is, I have to act like this is nothing. I'm not scared of these guys. I'll have to look them in the eyes and such.

"Owen! Hey, can you go answer the door for me? Someone knocked, probably Phill and Jake," Ian calls before we can step foot into the living room.

Owen obeys, giving me a reminding nod before opening the front door. Two tall guys stand in the doorway, one looking down at his phone screen and the other smiling at me. I purse my lips, looking the two of them over.

"Hey, Ian," Blondie says to Owen. "Nice hair cut."

"No, sorry, I'm not Ian," Owen says. "I'm his brother, Owen."

"Ah," Blondie nods. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jake."

The two of them shake hands, then Jake's attention is back on me. He's grinning at me like an idiot.

"And who is this pretty lady?" Jake asks, holding out his hand.

"I'm Brinley," I say, deciding it's okay to smile at him. He seems harmless enough.

"My girlfriend," Owen says, taking my hand in his, frowning at Jake.

"Right," Jake holds his hands up innocently.

"Would you mind letting us inside now?" Phill asks, sparing one look up from his phone. That's one agitated human being.

I stare at him for a moment while he glares at me. Then I step back and allow the two of them inside. Phill stomps away to the living room immediately, but Jake hangs back for a moment.

"Brinley," Jake says. I stop as well, but Owen must not have noticed because he keeps walking. "I've heard a lot about you."

I quirk an eyebrow. "And?"

"And, I'm glad I finally get to meet the famous Brinley Shane," Jake smiles.

"Brinley," Owen calls from the couch he sits on. "Come on, the game's about to start." He may sound casual, but his face tells me he's a little wary of the guy standing in front of me.

"Right, I'm coming," I call back. I leave Jake where he is and go sit beside Owen on the couch.

The other five guys are crammed on this L-shaped couch with a table covered in junk food on top of it. None of them are really paying attention to me, and I wouldn't want them to anyways. Jake has returned now, and Joey enters the room as well.

"Whoa! Look at this," Joey smiles widely. "People who like football!"

He crams himself in between Phill (who looks highly irritated) and Parker.

I look at each of them in turn, trying to decipher who I really need to stay away from. Drake seems friendly, but that could be an act so I trust him. Parker seemed interested in meeting me... Ben wasn't the least bit strange around me. Phill is a jerk. Jake is a little too friendly, but for some reason I like him. Ian is still my best bet, but any of these guys could be the one Jonathan spoke of.

Now that everyone is indulged in the game going on the screen, I'm too bored for my own good. I lean in to Owen and stare up at the screen blankly, hoping it'll end quickly.

<•>•<•>

"Night swimming," Ian suggests, looking around at the eight other people in the room.

"In the ocean?" Drake asks, looking excited.

"Yes," Ian nods, smiling. "Night swimming in the ocean."

"Let's do it," Parker nods.

"Meet on the shore in ten minutes?" Ian asks, looking around again.

Everyone agrees, dispersing in different directions.

I turn to Owen, expecting him to tell me what we're doing.

"Let's not. I don't trust those guys in the dark water," Owen says quietly.

"I agree," I nod. "Let's go upstairs."

"Are you tired?" Owen asks me, rubbing his own eyes. "It's almost ten thirty."

"Yeah," I yawn. "I'm ready for bed."

"When'll Clarin be home from her date with Lucas?" Owen asks, opening my bedroom door for me.

"She told me ten thirty, so any minute now," I reply.

"Alright, I'll leave you be then," he says, walking me into my room. He gives me a light kiss and a smile before closing the door and leaving the room.

Less than five minutes later, there's a knock on my door.

"Come in," I call, brushing out my hair before I head to bed.

It isn't Owen walking in like I expected it to be. Instead, Jake comes in wearing a huge smile like usual.

"Hey," he greets me, stopping in the doorway.

"Hi," I turn around in the chair to look at him. "What're you doing in here?"

"Just coming to see if you'll be night swimming with us," Jake sighs. "You should really come out. It'll be a lot of fun."

"I don't know..." I think back to what Owen would say, or what could happen out there.

"Come on," Jake grins at me, "I want to get to know you better, Brinley. You seem cool."

"But..." I bite my lip, looking over his hopeful face. Hopeful and harmless.

I purse my lips, thinking it over. It wouldn't be that bad would it? I could intimidate them just like Owen said! It wouldn't do any harm to spend time outside with them, and they couldn't kill me in front of all the others.

"Fine," I smile back. "Only for a while."