Minny hated his new school. The oxford shirt that was under his sweater felt stiff and uncomfortable in the heat of the classroom, but no one else seemed bothered by it. They stared at the professor, jotting down notes like good little rich children, ready to take on the world that was handed to them.

The biggest difference from public school, Minny noted, was how serious the students seemed to be. He didn't notice anyone that was fooling around, though it was only his second day at the prep school. But even so, the attitude of these students were different. They acted more mature, more entitled, more knowledgeable.

They were, in their own way, dangerous.

When the bell rang overhead, he'd never felt so relieved. Well, that wasn't true - he actually wasn't very relieved at all, because anger still simmered in his blood at his brother, and worry ran deep in his veins for Polly. He had things building up inside of him that he wasn't very fond of. He was the first to admit his anger issues, though he usually was good at keeping that emotion in check. But now, he felt dizzy with emotions. Emotions he wanted to deal with for once, instead of pushing them back.

He slung his leather messenger bag over his body and stepped outside into the cold fall air. It was brisk, and reminded him of last night, nearly falling out of his window. It was a memory he had no interest in reliving, but when he looked down to the walkway, he was pleasantly surprised to find Polly, this time not a hallucination.

Well, he hoped.

She was standing with Tom, who looked as he usually did in his crisp oxford shirt, and the two of them were talking about something that held some sort of importance, because he noted that Polly had this determined look on her face as she nodded along to whatever Tom was saying.

Minny faltered for a moment, shocked to see the two together. He'd been shocked yesterday, but today he felt as though two worlds were colliding, and seeing Polly and Tom together, without him, seemed almost wrong.

And of course, he was shocked that Polly was even there - which meant she did trust him, enough to see him after school once again.

"Minny!" Polly called once she saw him, which was totally out of character for her. Minny was used to her being quiet, waiting for him to make the first move. But today, she seemed antsy and determined.

A hand brushed his shoulder, and he looked towards the girl behind him. Her name is Rachael, his mind reminded him, and he suddenly remembered her offer to drive him home. Since starting this school, his father had revoked all use of the car - he was afraid Minny would drive off. And Rachael, the girl from class, was eager to get to know him.

"Your friends are here," she said, almost in a distasteful tone. "so I'm assuming you don't need a ride home?"

Her bracelets clanked loudly in his ear, and he eyed the girl for a moment. He didn't know her, but admired the way she held herself, as if she was above everyone else. Her confidence rivaled that of Kenzie's, he couldn't help but think.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll ride with them. Thanks, though."

As a reply, Rachael stuck her nose in the air and passed him, stepping down the steps as if she were walking the red carpet. Minny couldn't help but notice the way Polly watched her, like a moth drawn to a light.

"I'm glad you guys are here," Minny said as he reached the walkway. Tom grinned and handed him a slip of gum, which Minny put in his mouth, relishing in the mint flavor. He bumped fists with Tom, then looked at Polly.

She was agitated, he knew that much. But, she just smiled up at him and turned for the car. "Let's go!"

When the reached the car, he held open the passenger side door again, but Polly slid into the back seat without his help. It was a typical thing for Polly to do, and so Minny didn't take offense to the action, but rather slid into the front seat. Tom started the car, and then looked at Minny.

"I have some of your clothes out back, if you want to change."

Minny glanced out back and saw a bag in the seat directly behind Tom. It disappeared out of sight as Polly sat in the middle of the back seat, pushing her head in between Tom and Minny. "We aren't bringing you home just yet," she added. "I need to talk to you first. So, we're going to the dinner on Pearl street. I hope you like diners."

Minny was almost shocked at these words, but was grateful. He grabbed the bag beside Polly and dug inside, happy to find one of his tee shirts there, looking clean and inviting. Without a second thought, he took off his sweater and oxford shirt, and pulled on the faded tee, relaxation sinking into his bones.

He decided he could change his pants when they got to the diner.

"So, you do trust me." Minny said to Polly, turning to look her in the eye. When she met his eyes, he could tell something was wrong. Not because he knew her all that well, but because the look she gave him was one of grief. It was the same look she had when Tanner came around to Tom's window.

"Enough that I need your help."

When they pulled into the diner, Tom hesitated. "I think I'll stay back. Whatever you need to talk about, I sense that it's private."

Tom was smart, and Minny just nodded at him. "Don't stick around - we'll find a way home."

Tom shook his head, a smile on his lips. "Text me and I'll be here."

Minny stepped out of the car at the same time Polly did, and the two walked into the diner together. Minny made a bee-line for the bathroom while Polly moved to pick a seat. She chose the booth towards the back of the diner, figuring it would do some good to have a little privacy.

The diner itself looked like any classic diner would, with a few booths and a countertop bar. Most sat at the bar, but Polly had always enjoyed the secluded booth seating instead, where she was less out in the open.

She'd been to the diner once, with her aunt and uncle, but she had enjoyed the food and figured it could work as a meeting spot. But, sitting in the vinyl booth made her anxious and clammy as she reached for the compact. Turning it over in her hands, it looked harmless. It looked like she was a girl sitting in a booth pretending to be an adult.

Minny slid into the booth across from her, wearing his normal clothes. Polly's focus switched from the compact to Minny, glad to have him looking normal for once. And he looked good in his normal attire.

"So, you wanted to talk?" Minny reached for a menu, turning it over in his hands without really looking at what was written on it.

"Yes." Polly opened the compact, then pushed the paper to Minny. "I found this in my locker this morning. With a rat."

Minny unfolded the paper, an eyebrow raised at the words that slipped past her mouth. "A rat? Like, a real one?"

"Yes, a real one. It was just in there, with that note."

Minny paused to read it, and Polly saw him tense up as he read it. She felt like she was being watched, and it bothered her to no end to think that someone was watching her every move and toying with her.

Devil child. That's what mom and dad called me, Polly thought to herself, but she knew it didn't make sense. Even if they were in town, she knew their style differed from rats and mysterious notes. If her parents wanted to see her, they knew where she lived.

If not her parents, Polly didn't know who it could be. Perhaps Doctor Higgins, but even that seemed a little far fetched.

"This is..."

"Terrifying?" Polly filled in. "I know. Welcome to my life." And she bristled at the thought that it wasn't an exaggeration - her life was a hellish combination of mystery and horror, all rolled into one.

Minny ran a hand over his head. "Okay. Who do you think this is from?"

Polly opened her mouth to answer, but a waitress came over to the table with a wide smile and a pink apron. "Welcome to Haven's Diner, I'm Suzie. What can I getcha folks?"

She looked straight out of college with golden hair and rosy cheeks. In her uniform and in the diner, she almost looked timeless, like she belonged there, in the diner, a hand cocked on her hip and a pretty smile on her lips.

"A water, please." Polly ordered, disorientated.

"A water for me, too," Minny added, his gaze focused on the note instead of the waitress, who jotted down their orders and disappeared from the booth. That momentary lapse of distraction was enough to make Polly confused and forgetful of the question Minny had asked, so he repeated it.

"I don't know. My parents called me devil child, but this isn't their style. I know that. So my second thought would be your brother, but it's almost too sinister for him, especially now that he lives here and could technically see me whenever. So I don't know who that is from."

Minny scratched the back of his neck, studying the words like he wanted to memorize them. And perhaps he did, for future knowledge. "The handwriting is sturdy and neat, but not girly. I think a guy wrote this. A guy who was careful with his letters. A guy that didn't want to be traced by his handwriting."

Polly felt chills run up her spine. She was no closer to finding out the mysterious person behind the note, and she was disappointed and frightened.

"But the rat. Who on earth would put a rat in a locker?"

Minny passed Polly the note just as the waitress plunked down their waters. She was cheerful as she asked for their order, and even though Polly wasn't hungry, she ordered a sandwich anyway. She figured that snacking could be a good distraction.

"Beats me. Someone who wanted to gross you out." Minny said once the waitress left again. Polly nodded at his words, but didn't believe them. She had a hard time believing that someone wanted to freak her out, especially since she wasn't afraid of rats. If someone was stalking her, surely they would know something like that.

But, then again, perhaps not.

"I'm not afraid of rats, though. And they don't freak me out."

"Then I'd say you're lucky they don't know what you're afraid of. Yet."

Polly didn't really agree - part of her felt that the rat wasn't in her locker to gross her out. She felt like the rat symbolized something, but her brain was failing to connect the dots. She couldn't seem to understand why a rat, of all things, would be there.

"It wasn't a clean rat, either. And it was sort of hostile, so it couldn't have been a pet store rat. It looked like something off of the streets."

Minny took a napkin and a pen and jotted that down. "Alright, I don't know what that means, but maybe it's important. Maybe there's a reason why it wasn't a store bought rat. Not enough money? Or, perhaps they didn't want a connection if you told the school or the police. They don't want a paper trail. They're being careful."

Neat handwriting, no paper trails... they're being awful careful. They're not stupid.

"This is getting out of control. I think you should inform the police about all of this. About the potential of someone stalking you." Minny's voice was weary and timid, like he didn't want to tell Polly what to do, but his opinion on the matter was too strong to keep to himself. He wanted her to be safe, wanted her to feel safe, and it had been engraved in him to tell the police when something wrong was happening.

This felt very wrong.

Polly agreed, but didn't agree at the same time. "My uncle is a cop. Well, more like a detective, but a cop no less. I feel safe at their house, but I haven't told him about the note yet. Or Doctor Higgins being here."

Minny tensed at his brother's title, anger coursing through his veins. His hatred for his brother was strong, but so was the unconditional love he had for Tanner. He was confused about his emotions, about his lack of the ability to hate someone.

He ran a hand over his hair, angry at how short it now was. He missed his hair.

"What did Tanner do to you?" Minny's voice was low and quiet, but interested. He needed to know what his brother had done to the girl across from him. The girl he was sure he had a crush on. The girl who definitely did not like him back.

Polly knotted her hands together and looked down at the table. She'd told him the general idea, but never specifics. She was almost worried he couldn't handle the truth of what his brother had done, but Polly knew that if Minny was asking, he definitely wanted to know.

"He did a lot of things. His favorite thing to do though was play with knives. He liked to cut me open a lot. Or, he loved to use his electricity machine. Or, he took pleasure in showing me porn."

Minny's eyes grew wide. "Porn? Why on Earth-"

"He wanted to show me how a man and woman love each other. How I should love others."

Minny grew quiet, a tense pressure building in his chest. Words died on his lips, questions like how old were you and can I see the scars? Instead, his eyes just held hers, and he let his right hand grasp one of her's tightly. He knew the truth would hurt, he knew, but he wasn't expecting it to hurt nearly as much.

"It's okay, though. I made it out alive, and while the nightmares do suck, I'm fine. For the most part. And pretty normal, for the most part."

Minny didn't care about how fine she thought she was. Minny cared about a younger Polly, in pain and in danger, and he wanted to throw a fist at his brother. At his father.

"So, not your parents, and not my brother. Who else is your enemy?" Minny rolled up his sleeves and then crossed his arms, sinking into the booth. His gaze was pensive, wondering, and at the same time, determined. On the inside, though, Minny felt terrified for Polly, mostly because the idea that she had multiple enemies was enough to make the hairs on his arm stand on end. He could never begin to understand how a girl like Polly could rack up so many enemies.

"That's the thing, I don't know. I've only ever worried about Doctor Higgins, and maybe I felt hatred towards my parents, but there hasn't been anyone else." Polly felt a lump in her throat. A lump that was far too large for her to breathe normally.

Minny reached out and grabbed her hands, a friendly gesture to reassure her. "Okay. Well, this isn't looking very good because we aren't detectives. But, you have an uncle who is, and I think it would be in your best interest to talk to him about this. About everything. He could help us."

Polly knew he was right, but she didn't want to rely on the help of her busy uncle. She, for once, wanted to do something for herself. She wanted to be finally free, but she knew that wasn't an option. Not yet.

"I think that is our only option." Polly ran a hand through her hair, angry and unsatisfied. Whoever was after her had to know her. There was no reason why a stranger would be doing this to her, but Polly knew better than to trust people she didn't know.

The waitress returned then with a large smile and two waters. She asked for what they wanted to eat, but Polly no longer felt hungry. And Minny, who realized this, smiled kindly. "My friend is actually feeling pretty sick. I don't think we can stay."

The waitress smiled sadly, and patted Polly on the shoulder. "Feel better, hun. There's a flu going around, and I'd hate for you to catch it."

Her words sounded sincere, but Polly barely registered her words, and she shrugged in response. Meeting with Minny hadn't cleared up anything, and instead left her questioning more. She needed to know more. She needed to know why someone was after her, know why someone was playing these games with her.

Minny texted Tom about a ride, and Polly pulled her sweatshirt closer to her as the two stepped outside into the brisk air. It was fall, but the nighttimes were chilly, and Polly was certainly feeling the effects.

She wasn't sure how much her shivering had to do with the cold, and felt that it actually had more to do with fear of the unknown. And the worst part was how much she hated feeling this way. Especially after being free from the clutches of Doctor Higgins, she still felt like a pawn in his games. She still felt like she was being chased.

She felt like a mouse in a maze. She thought she was free, but really, someone was watching her every move, laughing as she made the wrong turn.

"We'll figure it out." Minny tried to reassure her, but he wasn't so convincing. He sounded worried and concerned, even frightened at the aspect of someone following Polly. His words didn't make her feel better.

"Doubtful," she muttered, stuffing her hands in her coat pocket. "Doubtful, but possible."

* * *

who put the rat in the locker?????

happy friday!! I hope all of you have a fantastic day and weekend <3

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