Nicole stared at the screen on her laptop, watching robotically as the text appeared on the screen while her fingers typed away. She had put the envelope with the paper and polaroid inside the drawer of her study table and she had decided to forget about it. It could have been a prank.

Sometimes the new students from the lower years got dared to prank the seniors, it had happened with Maddy last year. Some younger student had gotten dared to click a picture of her while she and Ryder were making out on the campus grounds and the picture had gone viral on Facebook. Ryder had gotten so mad, he had hunted down that student and had beaten him black and blue. He nearly got expelled for his behaviour.

Nicole tried not to think about the envelope sitting in her drawer, under a pile of sketches, as she tried to complete the assignment due tomorrow. She was almost done with it, but she had mostly done the assignment half heartedly. Usually she loved the assignments they had to do in their Journalism classes, but suddenly, this assignment didn't seem interesting anymore.

She picked up her phone that she had kept face down on her desk. It was almost 11:30 and Maddy still hadn't returned yet. Nicole dialed her number but it went straight to voicemail. She started to worry, although she knew she shouldn't. Maddy had done this before. Usually when she was with Ryder, she lost track of time and would return late at night. And maybe her phone had died or something. That's why she wasn't picking up. Yes, this was probably the case. Nicole should really stop worrying now, but she felt scared and uneasy after that letter, and she needed Maddy to be with her now.

She sighed and went back to her assignment. Finally, after half an hour more of struggling, she completed it. A knock sounded on her door just as the clock turned twelve. She started a little and whirled around, staring at the door. Her heart started to beat faster and her mouth went dry. The door knob turned and there was a click as someone slid a key in and unlocked it. Nicole got up and picked up the lamp on her bedside table. She did the action without thinking. The door opened and Nicole raised the lamp, getting ready to swing it, but she stopped short when she saw a blonde, curly head, peek in. Maddy screamed on seeing Nicole with the lamp raised above her head and Nicole started screaming as well, on hearing Maddy scream.

"What in the world Nikki?! Will you please put that lamp down?", said Maddy, clearly shocked at her friend's behaviour.

Nicole lowered the lamp and placed it back on her bedside table, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Why the hell were you about to attack me with a lamp? And why do you look like you've seen a ghost? What is going on?"

"I'm so sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"What do you mean? Who did you think I was?"

"Nothing, no one, just forget it, please". Nicole didn't want to be interrogated further. She couldn't explain everything to Maddy, not now. She didn't want to scare her friend for no reason.

Maddy understood that pushing further would get her nowhere. The harder you pushed Nicole for answers, the more she would clam up. It was best not to ask anything. If she felt that there was something she needed to tell her, then she would in her own time.

Maddy went over to Nicole and hugged her friend, who was trembling slightly. They stood like that for a few seconds and then broke away.

"Why didn't you pick up your phone? I tried calling so many times."

"I'm sorry, my phone's dead, I forgot to charge it".

"God Maddy! Why are you so careless all the time? What if something happened to you? What if you needed help? The least you could do is to remember to charge your own phone. I was worried sick".

"I'm sorry, I know I was careless, but you shouldn't have worried, you know how I get when I'm with Ryder".

"Pathetic excuse. What if something happened to me and I needed your help?"

"Oh, don't say that. Nothing could happen to you. You're so careful and sensible, the worst that could happen is that you didn't complete your assignment until it was too late and you were freaking out. I mean, I know that you and Erik had coffee together so it's plausible that the assignment slipped your mind thinking about those blue eyes and chiseled face".

"I'm not joking," Nicole ground out. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her friend angrily.

Maddy sighed. "I know I know, I'm sorry. I won't forget to charge my phone again and I promise to pick up when you call, okay? Do you feel better now?"

"Yes". It wasn't possible for Nicole to stay mad at Maddy for long. Besides, she knew she was overreacting. "How did you know that me and Erik had coffee together?" she asked, changing the topic. Nicole sat down on her bed and Maddy curled up beside her. It had gotten windier and she could hear the wind howling. The weather was getting extremely unpredictable, like her life.

"Ryder got a call from Erik when we were together. While they were talking, Erik mentioned that you two had coffee. So, did something happen?" Maddy asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"No, nothing happened, it was just coffee. Erik wanted some help with the assignments and I agreed to help him, that's it".

"Details! I need details Nicole Winters! When did Erik ask you out for coffee?"

Nicole rolled her eyes at Maddy's enthusiasm. That girl was crazy. "I was at the library, scanning books and staring off into space when Erik suddenly came up and kept a pile of murder mystery novels on the desk and I started and tripped and fell. He apologised and helped me up and he wanted to make it up to me, and he said he needed help with something, so he suggested we have coffee and talk it over together. There, that's it. Satisfied?"

Maddy scrunched up her nose. "You're boring," she declared.

Nicole laughed and hugged her friend. She felt better with Maddy with her. Somehow, when they were together, everything seemed possible. Nicole felt lucky to have a friend like her, and Maddy reciprocated her feelings. They talked for some more and then Maddy got up and went to her bed and fell asleep.

Nicole closed her eyes, but the darkness felt cloying and suffocating and she felt scared. It's nothing, you're being paranoid. Nothing's going to happen. Go to sleep, she said to herself, mentally. She did fall asleep eventually, but the nightmares from her past haunted her, but this time, she didn't see her mother's corpse, instead, she saw another boy with fair hair getting impaled by an iron rod. That boy was from another lifetime, a lifetime Nicole hated. She saw the pair of lifeless brown eyes swimming in her subconscious vision and she cried silently in her sleep. The wind howled outside, mourning her loss with her.