snap i'm outta memes

uhhh hold on

y'all, waiting on me to find a meme to post at the top of this chapter:

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y'all, tired of me putting memes at the top of every chapter:

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me to me, knowing fully well that i'm annoying all the readers, but also that i'm not gonna stop. ever.

-𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓽𝔂

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Arthur was very aware of the fact that everyone in the cabin had a motive for Rosaleen's murder. And Arthur was no exception. It was just that... no one knew about his.

It was Friday, just two or so weeks ago...

"Alright, everyone!" Arthur announced, clapping his hands together to get everyone's attention. He took a second to look around at the faces of his fellow chess-nerds. He couldn't lie, it was still really strange to have this power. To be Club President. Every time he spoke, everyone stopped what they were doing to listen to him.

He just... wasn't used to the attention, if he was being honest.

 "Our tournament is tomorrow...! Please remember to dress professionally, and don't be late! I know that 6 AM seems early, but it will be worth it when we crush West Bridge and bring home the trophy!"

Arthur opened his mouth to say more, but then there was a loud knock at the door. He shook his head, dismissing the Chess Club to return to what they had been doing, as he went to answer the door.

He swung open the door, and girl with the hair of fire pushed her way in.

"Ah, Rosaleen--!" Arthur stumbled backwards to avoid being run into by the girl. She had stopped, her greenish hazel eyes scanning the room and all of its contents.

"Hm," she said, "It's a lot... smaller... than I expected. Never mind that! What are you guys up to in here?"

Arthur pretended not to be bothered. A single glance at his chess-mates told him they had gotten distracted by Rosaleen Channing suddenly appearing.

"Rosaleen," Arthur repeated, trying to get her attention without upsetting her, "W-What are you doing here?"

"I came to sit in on one of your meetings, Club President," she said innocently enough, tapping Arthur on the tip of his nose. He blinked, flinching away from her hand as his hand immediately went up to his face.

She either didn't notice or didn't care.

"I--" Arthur paused. He couldn't say that. "Okay. If everyone's alright with that...?"

He noticed the worried glances that his chess-mates all shared. No one said anything. No one dared.

"Of course no one minds!" Rosaleen chirped sweetly. Her hand fell over her heart and her eyes softened.

So Arthur--and the rest of the Chess Club--let her stay.

What a mistake to make. 

Arthur wouldn't realize that until it was already too late.

Arthur was completely distracted. He tried his best to focus on the pieces directly in front of him, but with Rosaleen breathing down his neck the entire time it was more than difficult.

"What are you doing?"
"Setting up the board...?"

"Why can the horse only move in an 'L' shape?" 
"Uhh... Because? The knight is a very valuable piece. No other ones can move that way."

"What do you mean the king can only move one square at a time?"
"He's the most powerful piece. It would be too strong if it could move any other way."
"So the queen is less important? This game is sexist."
"Rosaleen, no--"

"Why does that piece look so... gay?"
"It's a piece of plast--It's supposed to look like a miter, because that's the bishop."
"Ironic."

Let's put it simply: Arthur had had enough. He had never been known to be the kind to hold his tongue, but with Rosaleen it had been a bit of a different situation. Until now.

He abruptly stood on his two feet, pushing his chair out with a lot more force than necessary. He turned onto Rosaleen.

"Okay, Rosaleen. Stop. I was trying my best to be nice and patient, but I think it's time for you to go. We all need to practice, no distractions, because we have a really important tournament tomorrow."

Rosaleen's eyes narrowed. Her lips slowly twisted from her falsely-innocent smile into a sick scowl.

"Oh? You do...?"

It was only the next morning that Arthur had walked into the Club Room to find all of their chessboards completely obliterated. He'd had to contact each and every member of the club and tell them not to come; they were forfeiting the tournament. He'd had to confess what had happened. 

They all knew who'd done it, but that didn't stop Emma-Kate and a few other students from refusing to speak to him for three days.

"Arthur?" a voice suddenly asked. Arthur shook his head, snapping back to the real world.

Lance was standing in front of him, looking down at Arthur with a concerned look in his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Arthur didn't even hesitate, "Yeah. I just got distracted, that's all."

Lance's eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded and just said, "Alright, then. Well... we're actually going out onto the balcony now, if you want to join us."

"Uh, sure."

Arthur was still very distracted. He hadn't been put on Lucia and Aisha's suspect, but if they knew about that incident, he probably would've been. But he was innocent!

Arthur was trying his best not to be suspicious. He knew that tensions were already high enough, even without Arthur being tossed into the mix.

Lucia was pacing back and forth. Arthur hated it when people paced. He honestly couldn't even really explain why; it was just something that really ticked him off. He rolled his eyes, then looked away and tried his best not to say anything about it. Which really wasn't very good, but hey, he was trying.

Aisha was the one who pushed open the door.

Now, Arthur would never say that he was afraid of heights or blood, but stepping out onto the balcony made his head spin. He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, trying to shake off his vertigo.

The entire balcony smelled like death and terror, and was deeply stained with crimson red splashes. He mind was spinning with possibilities. What had happened?

"What the... hell?" Aisha's voice was quiet, but still audible.

"I-I told you," Lucia was saying. "It's not pretty."

Lance was staring at the ground, his eyes dark, yet blank. Arthur didn't want to look, but he did anyway. And that's when he realized why Lance was staring.

The white outline in the grass below.

And suddenly Arthur felt even more sick, and was very highly regretting forcing Lucia to let him help. Staring down at where Rosaleen's corpse had been found, Arthur realized something. Could only think one thing.

He was in way over his head.

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okay so i spent a lot more time on Arthur's motive than i meant to in this chapter, but i think it worked out okay tbh. had to make it clear that  e v e r y o n e  has their motives.

i've made a google form poll for all of you guys to check out!! link in the comments right here, and ask if you need me to pm it to you

things are only going to get darker and more interesting from here guys ;)

-𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓽𝔂