AS SOON AS THE PAIR arrived at Bryce's house, they ran the doorbell and waited by the door for someone to open it.

"Remember, don't say something embarrassing, or else I'll kill you." she warned in a threatening tone. Adam nodded, his expression unreadable.

"You know it's really upsetting that you don't trust me around your-"

Before he could continue his sentence, the door swung open, revealing Bryce in a pair of black sweatpants and a (rather tight) blue t-shirt that showed his muscular figure. He had cute messy hair that brought out his facial figures well, and Mal assumed he didn't have time to brush it because of the thing he wanted to show her. Adam immediately stretched out his hand to greet him. Bryce greeted back with a warm smile, then reached to Mal and gave her a quick hug.

"Hey, guys. Come on in, there's something we need to see."

They entered the house, which was classic light blue colonial house with a dark-coloured roof, and a big lawn that was decorated with green bushes and different types of flowers, mostly roses. The interior looked even more modern than the exterior. There was a big black and white couch with black armchairs and a lot of pillows, and the living room led to elegant black stairs. The walls had a few black and white paintings that might've caused thousands of dollars. Nicole Gheisar was a fan of paintings.

There was also a small, black lamp next to the couch, which added more beauty to the view, and two bookcases that were filled with books and decorations.

"Hey, guys!"

"Hey, y'all, what's up?"

"Did you see the post Bryce told you about?" Arjun asked, holding out his phone.

"No, we ran out of wifi. Why, what does it have?"

Arjun scrolled through something on his phone quickly, then handed the phone to Mal. She grabbed it from his hand gently, then began staring at what was on the screen. She spotted a post made by a username she recognized very well.

melrosedash just posted a photo.

She took a look at the photo that was posted by Dash, and immediately knew that something was wrong.

The photo had three familiar people, Dash, and his parents, Juliet and Eric. Dash was sitting in the middle, with his parents' arms surrounding him sloppily. Juliet and Eric had a creepy, wide smile planted over their faces, while Dash had a little smaller one. The three members had their eyes wide open, with their nose up in the air as if their heads were forced backwards. Each member had a pattern that matched his figure, making it look like the photo was photoshopped. Underneath the photo was a caption that only made the matter worse.

Back between my family's arms. Literally.

Posted two hours ago.

Mal furrowed her eyebrows, slightly confused. Then let out her phone from her pocket, and began to scroll through something.

"Bryce, can I get the wifi password for a second?"

Bryce nodded with a small smile, then went to the bookshelf at the corner of the room, and grabbed a piece of paper from one of the shelves. Handing it over, he sat down next to his best friend as she began to type it down on her phone.

"There."

The girl then opened a tab that was clearly saved before, and let out a vintage picture with three people, two adults and one little girl. The two adults, presumably her parents, had their arms around the girl as if holding her still, while the girl had her head forced backwards, just like the photo Dash posted. The girl then put her phone next toArjun's, comparing each photo with her eyes.

"So, is it photoshopped?" Ben asked, leaning over to take a look at the other vintage photo in Mal's hand. Mal remained silent for a moment, trying to understand what was happening, then as slowly as possible, she shook her head.

"I wish it was. Looks like we have to take a trip to the Melrose Residence."

That was all she could say before she stood up, then made her way towards the car in Bryce's garage. Bryce caught up with her, taking a glance at her worried, dreadful expression.

"Mal, what's going on?"

"I-I'm not sure yet, but we need to go."

The others trailed behind her slowly, then as soon as they were all in their seats, the engine started, and the group took off.

-

About ten minutes later, the car was parked in front of the Melrose Residence, which seemed a little gloomier and less inviting than usual. Ben took a look at the mansion, then gulped in dread. Mal did the same while her eyes swam with tears, then opened the door and stepped outside. The rest soon followed, and soon enough they were standing just at the door, searching for a way to get in.

"Do you know where they hide their spare key?"

The others looked up at Mal in shock. "We are not going to break in."

"Yeah, no crap. But I have my own doubts and I won't rest until we get in there."

That escalated quicker than they thought.

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