"I bet he's dead." 

"Who would want to kill someone as hot and nerdy as Will?" 

"I can't believe that seat beside me in Calc is going to be empty." 

"Heads for dead. Tails for alive." 

My eyes bore into the coin that Chris Hedderman flipped expertly onto the cafeteria table, where his best friend sat opposite of him. I didn't dare blink in case I missed it - but even if I did, Chris's voice would've done the job. 

"Shit!" His voice rose, "heads!"

I looked away at my tray and forced myself to swallow. I was sitting at table 4 with Julia and her brother, Mark, listening to the ubiquitous conversations around me. It was my first day back at school ever since my brother disappeared, hoping that the gossip died down by now - but even as the fourth day, the cafeteria was still alive with chatter. 

Julia glared daggers at their table and rose to her feet before Mark put a cautious hand on her elbow and shook his head. "It's not worth it, Jules." 

My best friend huffed in distress as if her brother was missing and sat back down, giving me eyes full of pity. I pretended not to see the permanent words written on everyone's foreheads when they looked at me. The words said, 'we have condolence for you!'

"Ignore them, Sarah. They're just a bunch of morons who are thrilled to have a mystery going around," said Julia, trying to comfort me. Mark nodded quickly at her words to show how much he agreed. I wanted to shake them both, even though I knew they meant well. They were trying too hard. 

"Mmm," I said with sealed lips. That was the only response I had for anyone all day. 

Mom didn't make me go. Dad wasn't there all night after arguing with her. I decided to go; I wanted to pretend like everything was normal, even though I knew deep inside the school was the last I had to go for that kind of sensation. The second I stepped onto the bus an hour ago and looked at William's empty seat I nearly burst into tears.

I heard a voice behind me. "Yo, Sarah, how hard did you and your brother party that night?" 

"Fuck off, Nathan," Julia snapped at the figure behind me, and I looked around to see a smirking Nathan Derose, the only guy who hasn't given me an ounce of pity in the past hour. I turned back around and shrank down in my seat, trying to disappear into the chair. 

I saw Nathan shrug at the corner of my eye and stalk off before saying, "I was just asking." 

Julia growled and tucked a strand of her jet black hair behind an ear. She wore the same dull colors today: black, black and black. 

I looked around the cafeteria and suddenly locked my gaze with a boy who sat at the far end of the area. It was James Hall, one of William's closest friends. It was not a surprise that my brother had bonded with a quiet, scholarly guy like James. He was an observative sixteen-year-old that always double-knotted his laces, sat near the class window and liked to naturally keep to himself. 

I shivered lightly when I saw him. He was already staring at me before our eyes met. I bit my lip and forced myself not to look away. James wasn't looking at me because my hair was unbrushed, or because I had dark circles under my eyes, or even because of the water bottle that was pouring onto the floor beside my tray from Mark's clumsy hands. 

It was because he was doing what he did best; he was observing me. Not appearance-wise, but action-wise. I knew this because I saw him do it several times before in the most obscure ways. 

The bell rang, snapping me back into reality. I closed my eyes as the ear-splitting sound that interrupted my focus for a good ten seconds, and when I opened them, James was gone. 

*  *  *

A/N: I apologize for this short filler! I just really wanted to introduce some things in this chapter. Have a lovely day x