Picture is of Grant

⊕Chapter 5: A Declaration of War⊕

Monica screamed and fell to the ground, where she rubbed her jaw and cursed at me. James leaped of the couch and grabbed his shirt from the ground. He pulled it on and ran from the room without even glancing at Kate. 

She was in tears and sobbing quietly in to Haley, who was holding her. 

"Kate," I mumbled, going up to them and placing a hand on her back.

Kate groaned and wailed, "Why did he do this to me?"

"Coz he's an asshole," Haley replied. She let go of Kate, who sunk into me, and walked to Monica, who was standing.

"My turn now," Haley spat, backhanding Monica. Monica grabbed her hand before it could strike her face and pulled it downwards.

"Don't even try," she hissed. Monica shoved Haley away and came over to me. I shrugged Kate off and faced Monica. She looked ready to kill, to be honest. But then I probably did too.

We were about to begin fighting when Grant (who I'd almost forgotten about) stepped in.

"Ladies, please," he began. We glared at him. 

"Calm down. It's a party, ok? Fight on Monday at school, or tomorrow at the mall, or something," he said. I made eye contact with Haley, who nodded.

"Fine. But only for Kate. "

I stepped away from Monica. She made a small noise then scurried out, going after James probably. Grant came closer to me but I turned to Haley.

"Let's get Kate home," she said. Kate whimpered and we hauled her towards the exit. 

"Wait, how are you getting home?" asked Grant.

"Walking, my house is only a block away," I replied, motioning for Haley to keep going with Kate. His eyes widened.

"Walking? At this time of night?!" he exclaimed. I shrugged.

"At least allow me to walk with you."

"Um, no. You'll have to walk back here alone."

"I'll manage it."

"I won't allow it. Stay here."

Grant shifted uncomfortably. 

"Hey..." he started.

"Hi," I said, rolling my eyes playfully.

"Can we talk about what happened in there?" He signaled to the club. I didn't know what to say. It didn't feel like a good time to discuss the kiss.

I looked around at our surroundings. The few streetlights there were had switched on, and they cast an orange glow over the roads and houses. There were huge shadows of trees reaching towards the sky. In the sky, which was a dark indigo, shone the crescent moon.

"Grant," I begun, "this isn't really the best place, or moment to talk about what happened."

He nodded before ruffling up his hair. 

"Fine, see ya around," he left me standing outside the club and disappeared inside. 

I groaned. Why did I say that?! I shook away my thoughts and jogged to my house. I caught up with Haley and Kate, and together the three of us made it to my three-story house. Pummeling the intercom, Haley cursed.

"What is it, Hales?" I asked, holding Kate.

"I think your com's busted," she said. 

Dropping Kate, I jumped to the intercom. The red light which usually blinked was not there. I pulled out my phone and texted my mom.

ME: Intercom won't work.

MOM: Spare key is under flower pot.

ME: Which one?

MOM: Can't remember.

For the next five minutes, I lifted up every single flower pot decorating the outside of the house. After the seventeenth, I finally got it. The key was jammed into the gate, the gate was opened, the front door was opened and Haley, Kate and I collapsed into the hallway.

Our shoes were removed then placed on the rack with my mom's twenty-something pairs of heels. The three of us moved into the living room, where there were two brown couches, a tv and several old blankets lying around.

"Kate, you wanna watch a movie?" I asked, setting up Apple TV. She nodded and pointed at The Breakfast Club.

"Again?" groaned Haley, hopping onto the couch. She pulled one of the blankets off the floor and draped herself with it.

"Hey, it's my favourite movie," protested Kate.

"Yeah, but can't we watch something else? Like binge watch Shadowhunters or Teen Wolf," Haley said.

"Teen Wolf," I agreed.

"Urgh, fine," conceded Kate.

Once everything was in motion, I sat next to Haley and sighed. My eyes and ears were on Scott, Stiles, Alison and Lydia, but my mind was on Grant. I felt bad at sending him away, yet I had to for Kate. My mind shifted to Monica.

"Nah, Dylan O'Brien is way cuter with long hair," someone said. The other disagreed and they began arguing.

Just then, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the caller ID. Unknown number.

"Don't answer it, Gen," warned Kate. I listened to her and let it ring. When it had finished, it buzzed.

I opened up my messages. There were many unread messages from my other friends, and Jasmine asking me whether we sere still at Supanova Xtreme. I told her what had happened then scrolled up. The most recent message was from the same number which had just called me. 

It read: The war has just begun. Watch out, Imogen Roswell. Trust no-one.

I shivered.

⊕

©ObsidianGlowstone/ Cleo