"So here's what's happening: we're headed back to the place where we went to high school, in which only Austin lives in now. We can call our parents to tell them we're visiting for the weekend. Should we call the cops?"

"Why n-"

"No, Austin, because as much as it would possibly help, Xander's also in a gang, and they could arrest him, too. So we're not going to tell our parents either because they will for sure tell the cops."

"What are we going to do at our parents' house anyway?" I asked him.

"I don't know much about this gang shit, but they probably know that Xander was with us when he arrived, so I don't know what they'll do, but if we act like we're visiting our parents, then it'll probably lower their suspicions- hopefully."

"If it doesn't?" Austin asked.

"We better be extra careful, then."

"Alright, so let's go. Every minute we waste is a minute that we could have spent getting Xander back."

They nodded.

As we got into the car, we realize that we had no idea where we were. When we left the "party", Jacob just drove as far away as possible, and there was barely any gas left.

Jacob cursed, "Great job, Jacob. You drove yourself and your friends to an unknown place, and now you can't physically get out of here."

He turned to us, "Unless you guys want to walk."

"Let's just call our parents to pick us up." Austin suggested.

"The car?"

"I can buy a new one." I said.

"This is your car?" Jacob asked.

"I realized that half way through this trip." I told him, "But that's not the point! What I'm trying to say is, we should ask our parents to come pick us up here."

"Wouldn't they be suspicious?" Jacob countered, "Hey, mom and dad, could you come pick us up in this unknown place because our car ran out of gas?"

"It's not an unknown place anymore." I chimed, "I used the GPS on my phone to find out where we're at. Remember Christian and Tyler?"

"The weird cousins?"

"That always tried to get close to us in high school?"

"Yup." I replied, popping the p, "You remember when they threw a party for Tyler, and their house was so far away that we were the only people who attended?"

"Because Xander practically begged us to go because he didn't want to hurt their feelings," Jacob added.

"And he also begged us to stay because he didn't want to hurt their feelings." Austin added again.

"Alright, well, they actually live nearby. You know how we just took the two of them out at night to make up for their shitty party?"

They both nodded.

"Do you guys not remember that night at all?" I asked them.

"I don't." Jacob admitted.

"I know that we left the party once we saw how lame it was..." Austin replied, "It counts."

"We took went to a gas station around here," I told them, "Let me just check real quick... Oh, there we go! It's only half a mile away."

"Alright, one problem solved, then."

-

"Hi mom," I greeted her, giving her a hug.

"Kit!" She tightened the hug, "Why the sudden visit? You didn't even call me."

I gave her a tired smile, "Was out partying nearby. Jacob, Austin, and I decided to stay in our respective homes for the weekend."

"Xander wasn't with you?" She asked.

"Uh," I scratched my head, "He wasn't feeling fine."

"Oh." She simply said, "Well, it's already late, but have you eaten?"

"Not really, I just drank... sorry." I replied, sitting down on the couch.

"Are you up for a 2AM snack?" She asked.

"Oh, mom, no. You don't need to do that. I'm alright, I just want to rest right now."

She smiled, "Alright, you can get new sheets in you drawer."

"Thanks. Oh, do you have an extra charger?" I asked her.

"I think your sister left hers in the kitchen." She replied, "I'm heading upstairs."

I looked at her weirdly as she went away. Why the hell would someone leave their charger in the kitchen?

Oh, well, it is my sister after all.

I grabbed it from the kitchen and headed up to my room. I changed the sheets and plugged in my phone.

Immediately as I opened it, Jacob was already calling our group chat.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Did everyone get enough sleep at the ride?" He asked.

Austin yawned, "No."

"I was the one who didn't get any sleep at all." Jacob pointed out.

"We slept at the party." I reminded them.

"That was for only a few before Xander decided to—" He cleared his throat, "Alright, I really want to sleep, too, but we can't just sleep soundly while Xander's in danger."

"Yeah, I agree." I replied, then arched a brow at Austin.

"Hey, little man, why are you fidgeting?" I asked him.

He flinched when he heard me, but he still wasn't looking at the screen.

"What is it, mom?" He asked.

I stared intently. I glanced at Jacob to see that he was preoccupied with something, too.

"You should really be asleep right now, honey." Austin's mom said.

I looked around my own, dark room. I had instantly regretted turning off the light as soon as I got in bed.

"I know, mom." Austin replied, "Is there something wrong?"

"Jacob, why aren't you asleep yet?" Another voice asked.

It was getting hot. Everything was tense. What was happening? Was my mom or dad about to barge in my room and tell me to sleep, too?

"Da, I'm beat, but I just gotta check this first." Jacob replied.

"Who are you on the phone with?" The two voices asked simultaneously.

I was gripping my phone tighter. I looked out the window which was the only thing that illuminated my room.

"Jacob and Kitian."

"Austin and Kitian."

"They should be asleep, too. Now, I'm not leaving this room until you turn off your phone."

"Go to sleep, now, honey. You'll wake up you niece."

The two of them ended the call.

I frantically typed up a message.

To: Top Tier BOIS

KitKat: what happened ?

Osteen: i'm going donstairs rn

Commander: I can see from outside my window. There's a familiar car here, I think it's from the party

KitKat: so we're not safe after all?

Osteen: going back up. my dog just barked at the door

Commander: Kitian, there wasn't any strange activity around you?

KitKat: no. the only strange thing that's happened so far is that my sister left her charger in the kitchen even tho she always takes it to her room

The door burst open as soon as I hit send.

"Kitian." Victoria, my sister, breathed, closing the door.

"Turn on the lights, doofus." I told her.

"No, we need to make them think you're asleep. I saw this note at the front porch earlier, just a few minutes before you arrived. It said that you should be asleep by 2:30, or you'll be in danger."

I stared at her, "But mom offered me a meal."

"She didn't know, you idiot. I'm the one who knows. I left my charger in the kitchen because I knew that she'd probably make you eat. Knowing you, when you see the charger, you would have just forgotten about eating and just go on your phone in your room instead."

"Why didn't you just tell her, then?" I asked her.

"Do you really think our 'optimistic and unproblematic' mother would believe a threat like that?"

"Good point." I told her, "Did you... tell it the cops?"

"No." She replied, "I had this... instinct. It told me not to."

I sighed in relief.

"So go to sleep, idiot. Love you." She hurriedly left my room.

"Love you, too, little bug." I mumbled to myself.

We have never gotten along. This is the first time we've actually treated each other like we're from the same family.

I waited a few more minutes. I only opened my phone when I heard a car start and leave outside.

I called them again, and it barely even rung when they answered it.

"Someone left." I told them.

"Here too." Austin added.

"It looks like they followed us. If that's so, they probably saw us at the park earlier."

"Do you think they heard our plans?" I asked.

"I doubt that. We were in your perfectly sealed car, and we kept our voices hushed."

"It's so dark." I told them.

"Well, I turned off my light to convince them that I'm asleep."

"Your parents received a note?" I asked.

"Written in blood." Austin told us.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered.

"Austin, did someone die?" I could hear Jacob move around, as if he was ready to head over to Austin's.

"I'm kidding. It was written with a red marker on our window. I saw it before mom or dad could see." He told us, "It said that I should be asleep by 2:30, or I'll be dead or something like that."

"Dada received an email. 'Dr. Edwards, sleep is essential for a human to be healthy. Make sure your son sleeps before 2:30 or he'll die.'"

Jacob got used to calling his father "dada" ever since he was a kid. He's his dad's favorite, though his dad won't admit it.

"That's scary. My sister found a note."

"What time did they send the email?" Austin asked.

"I think Da mentioned that it was around 1AM."

"We spent an hour at the park."

"So they were definitely there— Why is your dad awake at 1AM?"

"He's very alert when it comes to his notifications at night since he's a surgeon and all." He replied.

"Oh, right, right."

"What do we do?" Austin asked.

"How did they figure that we'd be going to our parents and not to our dorm? I mean, I understand Austin's case, but us?"

"I think it's because we only took one car which means we'd take Austin home, and if they really saw us at the park, they'd see how emotionally worn down we were and probably concluded that we wouldn't separate." I replied.

"Should we... sleep?" Jacob asked.

"Now?" I asked.

"We have a long day tomorrow." He told us.

"What time will we head to Xander's gang?" Austin asked, fighting back a yawn.

"Maybe in the afternoon. If we go first thing in the morning, it'll probably be suspicious— Oh, and did your parents or siblings report the threats to the police?"

"I told my mom it was probably just a prank, but she was really paranoid. I made dad take care of her." Austin told us.

"Vic didn't tell anyone."

Jacob sighed, "Dada... He contacted the police."

"Well, shit." I groaned in vexation.

"Go to sleep, both of you. I'm going to be questioned tomorrow." Jacob sighed, "I'll get in touch once everything's done."

"Alright. Good morning."

"Happy daydreaming."

Jacob calling his father "Dada" is probably the best thing I've done in this book.

Yes, I'm including the first book HAHAHA.

I'm so sorry that I delayed this update for soooooo long. I felt really unmotivated to write and I've been having quarantine breakdowns oops.

The end is almost near ;)

♡~Yelly