Nalini paced back and forth in her room. She had turned off the lights hours ago, the only source of light came from the small fixture by her bed post. She didn't want her mother to come in and start snooping around, asking her questions she wasn't prepared to answer. 

Because in her parents doting eyes, their daughter had finished her homework and gone to bed at the reasonable hour of eleven o'clock which meant lights out in her house. It was now two in the morning, the dimming yellow from the lamp posts lining her street shone into her bedroom. 

She found herself staring at the road ever so often. 

Tonight was the night of the 'handover' as Damien so eloquently put it in his message to her over dinner. Anyone who saw her message would have thought she was involved with a drug dealer or something.

For someone who played it cool in school, Damien sure loved all this sleuthing around even though he was terrible at it. It was entirely his fault that this Edward weirdo had gotten involved with them. 

Who the hell made a powerpoint about a murder investigation?

In truth, Edward's involvement may be more of a blessing than a curse but then there was that thought that crept down her spine, sending prickles of fear across her skin. If Edward had found out so easily, who's to say there wouldn't be others in the future?

How long could they keep this a secret without it blowing in their faces? And it wasn't just the authorities catching them that she was afraid of. 

The investigation has been kind of fun in Damien's pool house, with the drinks, the snacks and the banter. 

But the truth of the matter was something neither of them had ever taken seriously. If Julian hadn't killed Fiona and Jason, then it was someone else who had motive. And if it was a student, was it someone they knew? A friend who smiled at them during classes?

The mere thought of a cold blooded killer sitting next to her in class was enough to make her blood curdle.

Nalini shook her head, trying to rid her herself of those horrible thoughts. Tonight they only had one mission - transport Julian to Lola's house safely. 

That's all they had to focus on but it was enough to make her jittery. So many things could go wrong; a curious cop passing by, a nosy parent or neighbour, anything. 

She texted Hanna and Lola in their chat group, just to distract herself and to pass the time. They replied in unison, both nervous and waiting for updates as well. It was now two thirty, half an hour till the 'six foot package' was to be delivered to Lola's house. 

And then he would be spending the night in Lola's room, with her, again. Nalini tried not to think about the implications of that. It only brought on another headache she wasn't ready for. 

She knew Lola would never admit it, but her friend was slowly and surely falling for that no good bad boy she had grown up hating. Sure he wasn't as bad as she pegged him to be, but Nalini had been a skeptic from the time she entered the world as a baby. 

Julian needed Lola, he needed the sanctuary and the help she was providing. Did he genuinely like her? Nalini couldn't really say, although she found it highly unlikely. Guys like Julian and Damien never sparred a glance at the three of them before. 

They went for gorgeous, popular girls like Eva and the very thought of that competitive maniac made Nalini scowl. Just thinking about her made Nalini want to finish an assignment she didn't have.

She ran a hand through her wily hair again, wondering why Damien hadn't texted her back when she'd asked him to keep her updated. 

Nalini reminded herself it was for her peace of mind, not because Damien had texted her or that he had been texting her regularly this entire week. The thought of her high school crush actually communicating with her in real life and not her imagination sometimes made her want to pinch herself. 

But Nalini knew she had to be the clear headed one because Lola was clearly losing her senses around whatever magic Julian spun from his dark ocean blue eyes. And Damien might be doing the same thing with her, because they needed the girls to help them. 

Nalini wasn't about to let some playboy use her heart like that. Her brain, maybe yes but heart? Hell no.

Something flashed across the street, making Nalini jump. She rushed over to her window, hoping she wasn't hallucinating but then the lights from a nearby jeep flashed again. 

The soft ping from her phone alerted her of a message received and she grabbed it with sweaty palms. 

'Come outside.'

What the hell? Nalini speed dialled Damien's number and cursed at him the moment he picked up. 

"Are you insane? What are you doing here?" She hissed. If her parents found him, there would be more than one dead body buried in the backyard, hers included. 

"Come outside. We're dropping him off now," Damien replied, unfazed by the venom in her voice.

"Yes, but why are you here?" She repeated slowly, as if talking to a child. 

"I thought you wanted me to keep you updated? What better way than to join me for the 'drop off'," He replied excitedly. 

"That's not what I meant and you know it," She snapped.

"Come on, don't be such a buzz kill." 

There was no sound of Julian and it made her thankful. She could only hope he was hiding somewhere in the back seat or the boot. There was only room for one fool in the car and Damien had already filled that spot. 

"My parents will kill me, bury me, bring me back to life and then kill me again," She answered.

"They're clearly asleep. It shouldn't take too long," He pressed, his voice eager and devoid of worry, like they were going to hang out at the park or something. 

Looks like the stubborn goon wasn't budging. His jeep remained by the side of her house, idly parked like it belonged to her neighbours. 

Nalini took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. The road was dark and the neighbour's houses were all devoid of lights. She prayed that everyone was still asleep before she did the unthinkable. 

Her room was on the ground floor and her parents had placed so much trust in her that it was almost too easy to open the window and slip out. Nalini hugged her sweater around her waist, and clambered into Damien's car quickly, her hair wild from the chilly wind. 

She slapped Damien's arm hard, making them both wince. 

"Ow!" 

"Shut up. My hand hurts just as much," She said, massaging her palm softly. 

"Hey Nalini." Came a whisper from behind and Nalini turned to see Julian huddled on the floor in a crouched position, with a dark blanket thrown over him. 

"Hey," She replied before she scowled at Damien. "You were supposed to drop him off alone while I minded my own business at home!"

"That was the plan," Damien paused, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "But Edward said he heard the police were patrolling and I figured it would be less suspicious if I was caught with a girl, going on a late night drive. Instead of alone." 

Nalini hated to admit it but he had a point and they had to send Julian to Lola's tonight, before Damien's aunt took over the pool house. Plus, it's not like she was going to get a wink of sleep till Julian reached Lola's house safely. 

Might as well add sneaking out of her house to the list of absurd things she'd done since these boys came blundering into their lives.

"Sorry," Julian's voice echoed meekly from behind and she told him to shush up. We were helping him out of our own accord, there was no need to apologise for it.

The atmosphere in the car turned into an intense silence as they drove along the softly lit suburban roads, passing rows of trimmed bushes and empty walkways. Lola didn't live that far away from her and soon they were turning onto the road that lead to her place. 

Nalini had practically grown up here. She'd memorised this road like the back of her hand. She saw the gnomes that belonged to that fussy old lady who always complained about noise. Even in the darkness she could make out the different landscapes in each house and the cars parked in their driveways. She knew which car belonged to whom.

Which was why she froze when she saw one she had never seen before parked by the side of the road just a few houses away from Lola's. Nalini's breath stilled as they passed by, its dark windows glinting under the moonlight, she could have sworn she saw movement inside. 

 There's someone inside. Someone watching.

Damien was about to park under the tree in front of Lola's house when Nalini grabbed his arm, her nails digging into his skin. 

He winced, shrugging out of her hold. "What the-."

"There's someone here. We have to turn around, go somewhere else." 

Julian crouched further into the floor, while Damien's eyes widened. He did as told, trusting Nalini's instincts and the sharpness in her voice. They continued driving and she looked back to see the unfamiliar car still parked there. 

"Let's drive around for awhile and go back," She said, trying to sound as calm as possible. 

Damien didn't answer but he nodded in response. His shoulders were tense, fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel like a tight coils. They killed some time by driving to the park, idling around till about five before driving back. 

Nalini prayed her parents weren't up yet because sneaking in would be much harder if they were. She turned to Julian, feeling pitiful that he had to hide so uncomfortably for so long. They turned down the same road and she kept her eyes peeled, looking for that same old looking Toyota. 

The car was gone, no sign of it anywhere along the road which only further proved her fears. 

Someone was watching them. Someone who knew where Lola lived, someone who had probably seen Nalini's face as she passed them by. 

For the second time that night, Nalini felt her blood run cold. 

Heyy sorry for the slight delay. Hope you enjoyed :) :)