"Allison, i'm just trying to understand why you were there last night. I can understand you were all in detention together, but nothing has been posted about you." Detective Wheeler spoke as Allison and her parents sat in the questioning room. Her moms hand was clamped down on her hand hard.

"Allison was clearly manipulated into going." Victor spoke up before she had the chance to. "Likely by that drug dealer, if you ask me."

"She's never snuck out before. Especially not to meet with...those kids." Brenna was next, Wheeler glanced at a sulking Allison. "I am still confused. If no post have been made about her, why is she still considered a suspect?"

Detective Wheeler knew she wasn't gonna get anything out of Allison with either of them here, giving a small smile. "You know what? I think my partner could explain it all a little bit better and with less stress. If the two of you want to go discuss that with her, i'll just run over a few things with Allison and she'll be on her way."

Brenna seemed hesitant, but Allison nodded, and the pair left. Detective Wheeler exhaled. "I figured you wouldn't want your parents in the room for what i'm about to show you."

Allison's heart sunk. "S-sorry?"

"We got a hard drive to Simons laptop." Detective Wheeler spoke, nodding her way. "You wanna tell me why you said you didn't know him well but the two of you engaged in many romantic and sexual messages, as well as implied meet ups?"

Allison didn't know what to say, what to do. She was frozen, paling by the minute, her heart was lost somewhere in her body. "I-I-"

"Oh god, how are we gonna get out of this one?" Simon asked, a toothpick on his mouth from next to her. "You gonna lie again? I'm sure i'd get a kick out of that."

"My parents would freak out if they knew." Allison swallowed, her eyes casted down. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry that you lied or you're sorry that you committed a crime?" she asked, Allison looked up. "Can't lie to the police, Allison."

She exhaled, shaking her head. "I know what you're thinking-"

"What do you think i'm thinking?" she gave a questionable look. "You think i'm judging you? Disappointed in you?"

"You think I killed him." Allison stared at the detective. "I never wanted to hurt Simon. I'd never do anything to hurt him in any way. You've gotta believe me."

"I want to." Detective Wheeler said back with a nod. "But lying to me? This whole time? It's difficult, Allison."

"If my parents found out that Simon and I-" Allison cut herself off, shaking her head. "You don't get it. You know, no one gets it."

Detective Wheeler sensed her sadness and anger all at ones. Allison popped her fingers. "Simon understood though."

"You two seemed close." she confirmed. "No one knows?"

"No one." she lied.

"Lying again. My little felon." Simon gushed, crossing his legs. "Hey, maybe if you get stabbed in prison, we can hang out in hell together."

"Are you going to charge me?" Allison gave a sad look her way.

"I don't know, you wanna tell me why you felt the need to lie? Why you think your parents reaction would be worse then lying?" she questioned on. Allison took a breath, her eyes casted down again. "I'm trying to help you here, Allison."

She looked up, meeting her eye. "You know Goodview Church on Dowlen?"

Detective Wheeler nodded as Allison inhaled. "Something really bad happens to sinners there."

The church was being roped off, the pastor arrested as well as everyone being questioned. Allison got let off when given the information she knew, because shock therapy and abuse to kids that committed sins had clearly been something to get shut down. Nothing had dropped in the reports yet, but Allison's knew sooner or later, it would reveal her relationship with the deceased.

Like Bronwyn said. Everyone loves a lovers spat.

A honk was heard. Allison looked back at TJ's jeep. She took her eyes off her emotional parents, who were ranting and raving infront of the church. She walked toward his jeep, TJ rolled the windows down. "You at a protest?"

"Not really." she said back with an exhale. "More like a pre arrest and law suit riot."

"Ah, well, who doesn't like one of those?" he shrugged in return. "You need a ride, dude?"

"Woah, he called you dude." Simon spoke up from beside Allison. "You think it's because he's barley taller then you?"

"You always said you liked that I was tall." Allison mumbled as she circled TJ's jeep.

"I do." Simon defended himself. "Which is why you'll probably travel a lot faster on your feet then in a strangers car."

Allison pulled herself into TJ's passengers seat. "Thanks for this. I seriously don't need to be seen on the news even more then I am."

"Shit, yeah. The murder investigation." TJ hummed as Allison looked over.

"There it is. The entire reason he decided to give you a friendly ride." Simon hummed from the backseat.

"That's a crazy situation." he hummed, taking a turn. "It was obviously Nate, right? I mean, everyone says so."

Allison shook her head. "Nate's my friend."

"My bad." TJ apologized. "Where am I taking you?"

"Just back to my house." Allison hummed with a nod of her head. A song on the radio caught her attention, looking down at it as her eyes shut.

"Do you like it?" Allison asked, sharing ear buds with Simon as they laid in his bed.

"It's very....Taylor Swift." he said back with a hum. "It's not so bad."

"It reminds me of you." Allison said back, the lyrics of Style playing in their ears. "It's easily my favorite one out of all her songs."

"I like it." he confirmed for her, Allison smiled. "Better then all your other songs."

"My church music playlist?" Allison asked, getting a nod. She laughed. "Helps me sleep."

"So, you can't sleep without it?" he asked, looking over at her.

"I mean, i'm sure I can." she explained with a minor shrug. "But, it's just became a habit."

"Well, do you wanna try sleeping here?" he suggested with a minor grossed out look. "You don't snore or anything, do you?"

"Rude!" Allison shoved his shoulder.

"I'll take that as a yes." he hummed, popping the ear bud out and rolling them up with his phone.

"My parents will be up in six hours." Allison explained.

"Okay." Simon gave a minor awkward look. "You wanna set an alarm?"

Allison smiled, nodding her head. "I don't snore."

"I'll hold you to it." he hummed, setting an alarm on his phone to wake them up in five hours.

"Allison." TJ reached over and touch her arm, she snapped back. He gave a scared chuckle. "You good? I've been saying your name for the past minute."

Allison gave a awkward laugh. "Sorry. Really, really, extremely, early morning."

"It's all good." he shook his head, nodding toward her house as the jeep came to a stop. "I hope all this murder slash church drama leaves you alone soon."

"You and me both. Thanks for picking me up." Allison smiled, stepping out of the jeep. A sudden hit of realization waved over ever as she stared up at her house, turning around to stare at the boy on the jeep. "TJ?"

"Yup?" he rose his eyebrows.

Allison stared, her breathing caught slightly. "How did you know where I lived?"

"Where you in the back of a motorcycle?" Bronwyn gapped as she saw Allison walk in with Nate, pulling her helmet off.

"It was freaking awesome!" Allison giggled with a wide smile. "I felt like I was dying, in a good way. But, that's probably a horrible thing to say right now. Very sorry for the bad, very bad, dark humor. RIP baby, miss you."

"She's having an adrenaline rush." Nate cleared his throat.

"Did you give her drugs?" Bronwyn asked in disbelief.

"What? No! Jesus, I know my audience." he nodded toward Allison. "She had two energy drinks."

"I'm glad you're alive, by the way." Bronwyn sassed in Nate's direction.

"Excuse me?" he tilted his head in questioning.

"You've been ignoring my messages all day." she pointed out in return.

"Yeah, I had shit to deal with and then had to deal with Allison." Nate tossed a hand toward the girl, who had been rocking on her heels. "Jumped infront of my bike and nearly got herself killed."

"Oh, that wound have been great to know." Bronwyn sassed in his direction. "Then again, I can think of a lot of things that would have been good to know."

"Okay, I think you're being a bit too intense." Nate nodded in her direction.

"See, I knew they were boning." Addy pointed out with a knowing look.

Allison gave a snort.

"We are not boning!" Bronwyn defended herself, as well as Nate.

"There what is all the weirdness?" Cooper cut in with an odd look to the pair.

"Just forget it." Bronwyn waved him off.

"Oh, now you want to forget it?" Nate asked her.

"So glad we never argued like this." Simon hummed, leaning to Allison's ear. "They really would think you killed me if we did."

Allison hummed, waving her hand in her ear to get him to shut up. Cooper gave an odd look, but Addy speaking up cut his words short. "Guys, what is going on?"

Nate hesitated. "My moms back in town."

Allison's eyes widened, looking at Simon before realizing what she was doing, facing the group. "So, you-you're seeing...ghost?"

"Make you feel a little better?" Simon grinned at her. "Maybe you aren't crazy."

"No, no. She- she's alive." Nate exhaled, Allison didn't feel so much better after that.

"You were lying about that this whole time?" Cooper asked in disbelief, glaring in his direction.

"This is what you wanted?" Nate looked to Bronwyn.

"Why are lashing out at me?" she asked with a point to herself.

"Because it's non of their business! I don't owe them an explanation, or you!" Nate rose his voice at her.

"Oh, well, you can't blame them for being a little freaking out when you can just lie about something this big." Bronwyn pointed out the obvious.

"Oh, we're talking about lies? How about who stole Simons laptop?" he shot her way, Allison's eyes snapped in Bronwyn direction.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she gapped at her. "You've had the laptop this whole freaking time?"

"Okay, I-I- I took it, I didn't steal it. And I was gonna give-" Bronwyn started to explain herself.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Addy quoted Allison.

"So, you have just known this entire time about me and Simon but acting shocked when I told you?" Allison asked in disbelief.

"No, no, I saw nothing on their about the two of you." Bronwyn shook her head in her direction. "Allison, come o-"

"You said Maeve got into the app. You didn't say you had his laptop, Bronwyn!" she rose her voice in her direction. "That's my dead boyfriends laptop, by the way. If anyone here should have it, it's me!"

"No, no, because while we're on the topic-" Cooper started as he bounced off Allison's words. "Did you look on it?"

"Yeah. Simon knew your real secret, and he was all ready to post it, and then someone changed it." Bronwyn pointed out, Allison shook her head.

"And you thought that someone is me?" Cooper almost laughed.

"At first, yeah, maybe. But-but then I knew it wasn't you." the taller girl nodded quickly.

"Simon had a code, a line he didn't cross. Outing people was apart of that code." Allison cut in with a shake of her head. "He wouldn't out, Cooper."

"Okay, can we cut the shit?" Cooper turned to her with a laugh of disbelief. "You didn't know your summer hook up nearly as much as you thought you did."

"Fuck you, Cooper! It wasn't just a summer hookup!" Allison shouted at him in defense. "And I knew enough, and I know that he wasn't gonna do that at the end of the day."

"Oh, so, what else did you share with you then?" Cooper shrugged in her direction. "I mean, if you know all about his moral code, how do you not know anything about About That?"

"I already told you. He kept that shit locked down." Allison's stated in his direction.

"Allison isn't the issues here." Addy cut in to defend the girl, pointing at Bronwyn. "You're a fucking liar, and you've been giving us all marching orders for the past two weeks, pretending like we're a team."

She looked at Nate. "And you knew she was manipulating us this whole time."

"Jake was right." Cooper spoke up in confirmation. "This is a mistake. I'll drive you home, Allison."

"I called you here to warn you, because they're gonna question you too!" Bronwyn cut in before anyone could leave, the three still headed out. "Cooper, we got rid of the laptop to protect you!"

"Except you didn't, right?" he called back to her. "Cause now the cops magically have the hard drive."

They headed out, Cooper nudged Allison. "Sorry about coming at you back there. I was just heated."

Allison shook her head. "I get it. It's a hard situation."

"The police already questioned you?" Addy looked to Allison as she nodded. "So, do they know?"

"They found some...pictures." Allison's hesitated. "Not on About That, so that's why Bronwyn probably didn't know. The police made me confess to our relationship."

"Shit, are they gonna release it?" Cooper looked at her in worry.

"Not yet, but it's coming. I can feel it." she shook her head. "I don't know what i'm gonna do."

"I heard the church you go to got shut down, so no scary therapy treatments at least." Addy grabbed her shoulder. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Get kicked out and never speak to any of my family again." Allison said bluntly.

Cooper cleared his throat. "Well, there's that."

"You're friends with TJ right?" Allison gave Addy a questionable look, getting a flustered one back. "Sorry, I mean, whatever you guys call it."

"Why do you ask?" the blonde shook her head.

"He gave me a ride home early and when I asked how he knew were I lived, he said that he got my parents signature for some petition you guys did together last summer." Allison shook her head with an odd look. "I'm just making sure that was true and he's not creeping on me somehow?"

Addy thought. "I know him and Jake got signatures to get a better side walk, but I just sat in the car."

Allison nodded her head. "Right. Got it."

•

kylie speaks

taylor swift said she wrote
style for zelleher. she confirmed
it. i've got her on speed dial.