ANGELICA GRACE SAT in her last hour history class, struggling to pay attention. On any other day, the class would have been bearable, but that was because Keira Walters would have been there. Angelica's best Friend was usually sitting by her side, but that seat was cold and empty today.

This fact concerned Angelica a bit as Keira hadn't missed a day of school in ages, but Angelica just assumed that she was sick - sick enough to stay home from school. That didn't dismiss the the annoying prick at the back of her head telling her that something was wrong, but she tried not to focus on that as it would only worry her more. She tried to focus on the class being taught by Mrs. Brown at the front of the room, even if the lecture was boring her to the extent of falling asleep.

Moments later, a distraction presented itself in the form of a balled up paper passing across Angelica's desk and landing right in front of her, reliving her of the struggle of forcing herself to pay attention. Angelica looked back at where she knew the paper came from, meeting the crystal blue eyes of Evan Blake, her other partner in crime. He had a lopsided grin on his face that was highly contagious, causing her to smile back before facing forward once again, not wanting to get yelled at for not paying attention. Focusing her eyes on Mrs. Brown, she waited for the moment she turned her back to the class. The second Mrs. Brown did just that, Angelica carefully unfolded the lined notebook paper.

Evan's untidy scrawl formed two clear sentences on the top of the ripped half sheet, obviously leaving room for Angelica to respond.

Of course, in any other town, this would have been a perfectly normal occurrence, but in Moorwood, it wasn't. It was rare for people to move into the town because of its small size and because there really was nothing that attracted people. It was very likely that people moved out of the town - Angelica's brother did so for a better shot at college. It was nice to grow up in the town, but after graduating high school, there weren't many opportunities, and that drove people out. If people did move to the town, it was few and far in between.

Angelica read the words a few times before they really sank in, and when they did, she picked up her pen and wrote back in neat cursive writing.

She then balled up the paper back up, throwing it to Evan when Mrs. Brown wasn't looking. She waited a moment for Evan to read and respond as Mrs. Brown continued her lesson, then almost jumped a foot out of her seat as the paper hit her on the shoulder.

Angelica held her breath as she grabbed the paper from off the ground, keeping her eyes on her teacher all the while. When she set the paper on her desk without Mrs. Brown noticing, she shot a glare in Evan's direction for almost making her cause a scene that would've gotten both of them in trouble. Even just smiled a sweet, innocent smile back, and Angelica turned around, shaking her head. She looked down at the paper sitting on her desk again and unfolded it, reading what Evan wrote as an answer to her curiosity.

Angelica wrote her response and passed it back to Evan.

Evan threw the paper back and the cycle continued until the paper was almost full.

Angelica smiled slightly, setting the note aside. She looked at the time - in a few minutes, the bell would ring. Turning her attention up front, she tuned into what Mrs. Brown was saying and heard that there was no homework for that night. That was music to her ears, and as class wrapped up and an excited bustle erupted throughout the school at the thought of leaving, the bell rang.

Swinging her backpack on her shoulders, Angelica walked towards Evan as she joined the crowd filtering out of the classroom. Once out of the room, Angelica and Evan joined the sea of people headed towards the doors. As they neared the exit, the temperature of the air transitioned from comfortably warm to freezing cold - December was a terribly cold month. Angelica pulled her scarf out of her pocket and wrapped it around her neck as her and Evan stepped out into cold.

The walk over to Dorothea's Place wasn't too long, but while they walked, Evan and Angelica talked about their usual topics - life, family, school, and how their days were. Angelica tried to avoid the topic of Keira being gone, but it loomed in the air - she wasn't walking with them, as per usual, and that felt a tad bit weird.

By the time the pair reached Dorothea's Place, their noses had a red tint that matched that spread across their cheeks from the cold. As they stepped inside, the warmth of the place greeted them like a big hug - in both the temperature and atmospheric way.

Dorothea's Place was the most popular restaurant in town - it was a diner-style sit-down restaurant with a lively atmosphere.

Tables were lined up at the front of the place, giving a clear view of the scene of downtown Moorwood outside of four large windows lining the walls. In the corner opposite the door, there was a booth with seats wrapping around a small square table, a seating area equipped for larger groups. Next to the corner, four booths sat back-to-back.

Behind the booths was a door leading into the kitchen and a large stretch of wall before a window-like space that the usually busy kitchen could be viewed through. A counter was nestled into the gap and heating lamps hanging from the top of the space, acting as an area to keep fresh food warm as the waitresses delivered it. A large counter with a few higher circle stools sat in front of the viewing window, creating the feel of a diner in the restaurant.

In the middle of the place sat four large booths placed back-to-back - the main attraction for groups of high school friends. The parallel seating faced the wall with the smaller booths. The wall opposite of that just had three square windows - it was an open space that made the restaurant look and feel bigger.

Angelica smiled as Willow Henderson - Keira's cousin who happened to be a waitress at Dorothea's - approached her and Evan, her curly ponytail swaying as she walked. The two knew them from their time spent Keira's house and her help she provided when the trio started high school. She had just graduated last year, taking the job straight out of high school and had been a waitress there ever since. It was convenient, too, as Evan, Angelica, and Keira were at Dorothea's almost every other day. It was one of their favorite places to be, and with their older sister figure as their waitress whenever they came, it was always a fun time.

"Back again?" Willow teased, a warm smile placed upon her face. That quickly vanished as she realized that there were only two people standing in front of her, not three, and it was her cousin that was missing, "Wait, where's Keira?"

Evan and Angelica exchanged a 'do-you-want-to-tell-her' look with each other, their eyebrows raised as they had a silent conversation with their eyes and body movements. Willow stood there, watching in utter confusion at what was happening until Angelica finally spoke up, blurting out an answer.

"We haven't seen her at school all day," She told Willow in a rush, then chuckled nervously, taking a breath before she continued, "We're planning on stopping at the Walters' house to see if she's alright after we get something here."

Willow nodded, "Alright, make sure you keep me posted," She mentioned, her tone serious, "Anyways, why don't you take a seat and I'll get you your usual."

They started to walk to a large booth as Evan spoke up, "Actually, can I get a hot chocolate today?"

"Ooh, me too," Angelica agreed as she thought about how cold it was outside.

"Changing it up, eh?" Willow joked, causing the younger duo to smile, "Coming right up."

And with that, she walked to get the hot cocoa. As soon as the pair was seated and comfortable, a steaming cup of hot chocolate was placed in front of each of them.

"Is that all for today?" Willow asked as Evan and Angelica sat, waiting for their drinks to cool.

Angelica nodded, "Thanks."

Willow smiled and walked away, leaving Angelica and Evan alone to their hot cocoa and whatever chat they were carrying through with as she walked away. In a matter of time, the two had finished their hot cocoa and were well on their way, facing the biting cold once again as they walked to the Walters' home. The walk was short - Keira lived very close to Dorothea's Place, and with the size of the town, nothing was too long of a walk.

As Evan and Angelica stood on the porch of their friends house, Evan stepped forward, raising his arm and closing his fist to knock on the door. He knocked, not even getting to two knocks before the door opened, revealing a frazzled looking Mrs. Walters. Her brown hair stuck up in multiple places and she squinted as though the light from the outdoors seeping into the house was bright.

"Oh, hello Angel, hello Evan," She forced a smile, "It's nice to see you."

Angelica was taken aback by this sight, as was Evan, but she started conversation as if she didn't notice.

"Hello, Mrs. Walters," She started, trying not to stutter, "Is Keira home?"

Mrs. Walters let out a dry sob in response to this, shaking her head as she put her head in her hands. Evan and Angelica exchanged a confused look with each other as Keira's mother invited them in. As soon as she shut the door, a solemn look overtook her features. She focused her attention on the pair standing in front of her, both of them utterly confused and baffled.

"Keira's missing," Mrs. Walters explained, cutting to the chase as her voice broke, "I can feel it, something's wrong-"

"Slow down," Angelica interrupted, only growing more confused as time went on, "Start from the beginning, tell us the whole story-"

Mrs. Walters interrupted her back as Evan nodded, "Keira ran away last night."

"Wait, what-" Angelica began again, but was cut off.

"And I'm the reason why."