As lovely as Rosa was, she was not so lovely when she cried. If she wasn't too emotional, then dainty tears would drip from her gleaming eyes. One could hardly consider that crying at the end of it all.

But when she cried, and she did cry more often then one would think, she looked as disraught as any human being would. Her face would turn a shade of red which formed in blotches across her face. Those would be interrupted by trails of tears creating rivers down her cheeks. She gasped in and out, unable to breathe.

She wept when she found out Elliot was gone. She wept, knowing that her dear friend had disappeared from her life. She buried her head into the sheets of her bed, unable to let herself see any light around. It only mocked her, only made sure to burn her eyes and make her feel even more horrid.

She found out Christmas Day.

The day started with anticipation and glee, happiness over gifts and having people she cared about around her. She had more or less shaken off the ill feelings which had plagued her the night before during dinner. Those feelings were because of her proximity to Mr. Jasper, she told herself.

But the dread didn't fade. Just because she chose to ignore them didn't mean they weren't present. No, she noticed something was amiss. She noticed that Elliot was nowhere to be found. About an hour after she first noticed Elliot's absence, she received a call from Mr. Sanders, the principal of the school.

Elliot was nowhere to be found. They had gone missing over the stormy Christmas Eve night. No one had seen them and their phone went unanswered. There was no indication they had run away. It seemed as if they had vanished completely without a trace.

She was told to keep it to herself, as she was only notified because Mr. Jasper had asked that she know. Elliot had so little family, after all, so their girlfriend seemed to have a right to know. Rosa didn't care about keeping it a secret or why she'd been alerted so soon - she only ended up wallowing in her own sadness over Elliot's sudden disappearance.

Since there were so few people remaining on the Cloisterham campus, it wasn't long before the news began to spread. However, the knowledge was let out stragetically, all helmed by Mr. Jasper. Other than the principal Mr. Sanders, he was the only one who had power to begin telling more people. He began with Mr. Criss...but not in a typical manner.

"Mr. Criss, you must find the Lanka twins immediately. I must talk to them," Mr. Jasper said, catching him in the hallway. At first Mr. Criss was going to take his time to give in to the chorus teacher's demand, but then he spotted the principal standing in the room behind him.

"Mr. Jasper? Mr. Sanders? What is going on?" Mr. Criss asked.

"We'll let you know after you call the Lankas over," Mr. Jasper exclaimed. With this somewhat threatening statement, Mr. Criss was convinced to pull out his phone. Mr. Sanders and Mr. Jasper stood by in near silence, listening to Mr. Criss. He attempted to call Helena and get her to bring Neville along.

"Okay, they're on their way," Mr. Criss said after releasing a sigh. "It would've been easier to get them to come if there was more of a reasoning behind it, but...they're coming now, anyways. Will you finally explain what's going on here?"

Mr. Jasper crossed his arms and looked over towards Mr. Sanders. When Mr. Sanders ended up in the same pose, the two looked uncomfortably similar, as if the choir teacher had stepped into a time machine to grow older and become the principal. Really, it would only take his dark hair fading into grey for such a transformation to occur.

"Are you going to tell him, Mr. Sanders?"

"I think you have more authority in this case, Mr. Jasper."

The choir teacher took a deep breath and looked down before he found it was possible for him to begin speaking. It wasn't a simple thing to just state and hope for an understanding - no, Mr. Jasper needed to take a moment to himself before he spoke up.

"As of Christmas Day, my nibling Elliot Drew has gone missing. They have disappeared without a trace. I know my nibling well enough to understand that they would never run away, so it seems clear there is something wrong here."

"Elliot's gone missing?" Mr. Criss echoed. "And you're sure that they didn't run away?"

"That's exactly what I just said. On Christmas Day, they had simply disappeared. Now we still have yet to find a trace of them. We don't know what's happened, but...well, we're trying our best. Everyone who knows is trying to find them, but for the moment there's nothing."

"God. That's horrible," Mr. Criss exclaimed. "But I don't understand what this has to do with me or either of the Lanka twins."

"Then let me explain," Mr. Jasper continued. "You know that Neville and Elliot have been butting heads from the very beginning! It would be logical to think that Neville might be responsible for Elliot's disappearance, especially considered that he was the last one seen with Elliot before this all began!"

"Neville would never..." Mr. Criss began, but his voice faded away in his disbelief.

"How do you know that?" Rosa replied, crossing her arms as she entered the room. The Lanka twins came in behind her, trying to remain stoic as possible. Rosa chose to follow in their lead in this particular aspect. Her face was blotchy and her eyes puffed from crying but at least for the moment her voice remained steady.

"There is no guarantee Neville was the last one to see them - it may have been anyone who left. Or perhaps not. The matter is that we do not currently have the knowledge to determine such a thing."

Instead of answering this display of reasoning, Mr. Jasper said, "Rosa, what are you doing here?"

"I...I have my own right to be present, as Elly is...was...was my enbyfriend. I am involved in these affairs, same as anyone else in this room," Rosa explained, her former confidence beginning to crumble.

"No, Rosa. This doesn't concern you," Mr. Jasper said. "This is about the Lanka twins and their guardian. You should go."

"No," Helena said, knowing that Rosa had already brought herself close to another outbreak of tears just by choosing to come along. "No, she will stay. She might have something of importance to say and share with the rest of us. And she is correct. She does have reason to be here, maybe more than Neville or I do."

"Maybe I should've just asked for Neville to come, as he's the only one who actually needs to be here."

"No, Mr. Jasper, I don't think so. If you're trying to figure out if any of us had anything to do with Elliot's disappearance, then all of us who are here should stay. All of us were technically 'the last to see Elliot,' as you say. You're leaping to conclusions with little base for any of it. You're blaming Neville for something you can't prove happened."

"Well said, Helena!" Rosa exclaimed, unable to help herself. (Mr. Sanders, on the other hand appeared rather taken aback at the fact a student had just reacted in such a way to one of their teachers.)

She looked quite proud of her friend who she had met up with in the past few weeks. Indeed, Helena knew how to handle herself and her twin brother at the same time - it was something she had picked up back when she was stuck within similarly bad situations.

Although Neville was pleased that Helena defended him, he couldn't shake the heavy feeling which seemed to be stuck within his chest. He was being accused of having something to do with Elliot's disappearance. He hadn't even known anything about Elliot disappearing until he'd been told it was his fault.

Yes, it was true Neville had many problems concerning Elliot. But that didn't mean that he would go so far as to try to eliminate Elliot from the picture entirely. However, Mr. Jasper didn't seem to believe anything like that. If Jonathan Jasper thought the reason his nibling went missing was because of Neville, then it was certain that most people would fall behind him.

It didn't help that standing there hearing false accusations made Neville feel furious. How dare they say such things about him, especially right before his face? His temper was only being fed more and more and more as he stood there. He did his best to contain it within himself, but it wasn't until he felt a hand on his arm that he found a way to ground himself.

"Perhaps the moment is too raw and new for us to be delving into such a serious matter," Rosa said. "All three of us should be present for such a conversation, but...but I do not believe now is the correct moment for it. Helena, Neville...I believe we should go. All of us."

"You're going to have to come back eventually," Mr. Sanders said, taking this opportunity to get a word in. "Just keep that in mind."

"I promise we will indeed keep that in mind," Rosa said, giving a slight nod. She kept her hand on Neville's arm, acting as a physical force to bring him out of the room. Helena followed behind the two. No one felt any need to spark up a conversation despite the dire situation. Conversation wouldn't go anywhere, they knew.

But after walking to Neville's dorm, Rosa pulled a disappearing act of her own. Helena was the only one to notice for the moment. She decided not to raise an alarm. She knew enough to realize that Rosa was likely trying to find a place to separate herself from everything that was happening around her.

She would not have chosen to go off by herself under the current circumstances if she did not have to. Although Cloisterham still remained as still as a ghost town, there was always a chance Mr. Jasper or Mr. Sanders might appear to give her a spontaneous questioning.

However, Helena knew that wherever Rosa was she needed support. Everything Rosa had been through after finding out about Elliot's death ended up breaking her down further and further. Helena had to find her just to be certain nothing dire would happen.

It wasn't until Helena wandered out towards the sundial that she finally looked upon Rosa once again. At first it was difficult to tell if she was really there due to the dying greenery which still hung around the arch leading the sundial. Helena had stumbled upon Rosa in a moment of quiet, a rarity after hearing the news.

Helena stepped towards the girl who had wrapped herself up into a ball.

"Rosa, do you need-"

"Leave me alone!" Rosa barked back. Her voice was raw from her thousands of sobs and muffled by the cloth she used to pacify her tears. "Just...leave me alone."

"You're going to freeze out here, you know."

"Then I would gladly freeze," Rosa said. "If I was frozen, I would have no means to return to the rest of Cloisterham. Or the rest of the world."

Helena sat down beside Rosa on the stone bench, one of the many which surrounded the now-defunct sundial. There was a blanket of clouds over an already weak sun. Thus no shadows could be cast on the stone surface to show what time it was.

"And why would you say that?"

"Everything is...off. It's augmented in the worst possible way, Helena."

"Hm."

"I feel as if I might be ill. I believe I might be ill, Helena," Rosa said, attempting to keep her voice steady. But, of course, her whimpering tone ended up shining through it all. "I believe I might be ill. I don't believe...I can't go...I won't dare go to...classes when everyone returns. I can't do it, Helena. Not now."

"Then you don't have to," Helena said. "People will find out soon enough even if you're not there, and it probably will be better if you're absent."

"I hardly know what has happened myself."

"Do you think Mr. Jasper knows about what happened?"

"Of course," Rosa said. "Closest family member to Elly, the only one who might've known them better than I did. He was most likely the prime contact, the first who knew."

"You realize he'll try to find you and talk you about this."

"Of course," Rosa replied once again. "Of course. He'll come to me. 'We were the two who knew Elliot best, and so we must work together to heal after this tragedy.' Taking advantage of his own nibling's death and then of me. I would expect nothing less from Mr. Jasper."

"Maybe it is better if you stay away from classes for a while, then," Helena said.

"By then, everyone will know that Elly is dead," Rosa cried. "Everyone will swarm around me to find out what I know. They'll seek what emotions are coursing through my veins. It will happen whether I go to any classes or not...but I feel I must take a day to rest."

"No one has said that Elliot is dead," Helena said, her voice dropping down to a whisper.

"Just because they haven't found a body doesn't mean that they aren't dead!" Rosa said, her voice erupting into a near squeak. "I know they're...I know they're dead."

Dead?" Helena echoed. "Rosa, you're overreacting - I know how much you care about Elly. I know you don't want them to be missing. But saying that they're dead is overkill..."

"I can feel it," Rosa said, squeezing her eyes shut. "It's a dark premonition, but I trust it. I've known Elly my entire life, and I can feel something dreadful has happened. They're dead, I know it. And not only that, but they were murdered."

Helena did not waste a moment in her outburst of a response.

"Rosa! That's a serious thing to say! How can you be so sure?"

"I already told you. I can feel it, in my heart."

"And that means you know."

"I know, Helena. If I was not certain then I would not be telling you. And although it burns my mouth to speak the words, I know they were murdered."

Helena gave a small shake of her head and said, "You can't trust a feeling like that for something so big. You don't have anything to back it up."

"Yes, I do."

"You do?"

"Well, yes. A person like Elly wouldn't run away. They wouldn't have any reason nor anywhere to run to. They wouldn't end up kidnapped - only fictional beings are ever kidnapped. As strange as it may seem, I am certain...I am certain that they must be dead."

"If you're certain..." said Helena, heaving out a sigh. Rosa's imagination might've been spiralling out of control. At the same time, there was a gravity to her words which seemed to root it within reality. Something about her words resonated true.

"Well, Rosa...do you believe Mr. Jasper is thinking about this sort of thing too? Do you think he knows something?"

"I think he knows all too much."

Rosa didn't reveal more about her suspicions surrounding Mr. Jasper. She could not trust that man, not even when speaking about him. The only reason she'd tolerated him for so long was for Elly's sake. Elly couldn't see anything wrong with their uncle, and so Rosa had played along.

There had been many times where Rosa had considered telling Elliot about what their uncle was like. Sometimes she'd hinted at it around her friends, wondering if anyone would pick up on the fact that she was terrified of Mr. Jasper. But she never said anything outright to anyone, least of all Elly.

She'd neglected to speak of how chills crawled down her spine when Mr. Jasper looked at her. She'd tried to ignore the way he complimented her as if he wanted something in return. She didn't dare think into it, for whenever she did she felt she no longer wished to exist. Of course, not a soul aside from dear Helena Lanka would listen to what she said.

People would mark her suspicons about how Mr. Jasper might have played a part in killing Elly as foolish, even mad. How dare she suggest a respectable man, let alone the beloved uncle of Elliot, be a killer? After all, Helena hadn't even wanted to believe there was a murder to begin with.

Helena remained silent during Rosa's moment caught within her head. Speaking out loud would just disrupt the quiet balance Rosa had managed to strike. But just because she was no longer weeping didn't mean she was stable. She continued to sniffle (which may have been aggravated by the cold air) and tears swam at the edges of her vision.

But at least for the moment, she found peace. It didn't matter how unsteady it was, how unsettling she felt pondering over Mr. Jasper and Elly and everyone else around.

Waiting until the silence felt shallow enough to be broken through, Helena spoke up again.

"Come on, Rosa. Let's go back to our dorm room. At the very least you can be warm there."

Rosa nodded to this instead of giving an audbile response. The two managed to keep the air around them quiet even though their thoughts were buzzing.

In her despair, Rosa had neglected to realize just how frozen she had been out by the sundial. Perhaps Helena was right - she would've frozen if she stayed in that spot, still sobbing to herself. Although she was far from pleased the situation she found herself in, at the very least Helena was looking out for her.

"Oh, goodness. I do believe I am thawing in the heat," Rosa breathed out as she entered the dorm. "It is almost as if I have forgotten what warm air feels like up against my skin."

"You weren't out there for that long, Rosa. I would say you were only out there for two hours maximum - it's too much, but not long enough to make you forget what heat feels like."

The two girls let out a laugh which ended up muffled by pure circumstance. It was impossible to ignore the blotches which spread across Rosa's face, or the way Helena's mind continued to race over Rosa's claim that Elliot's disappearance was due to a murder. It wasn't behind them just because they walked into the dormitory.

Once again, the two allowed a silence form between them. Neither one tried to bring the conversation up again until they had returned to the dorm room. Rosa ended up more or collapsing on her bed, but not out of sheer emotion. Rather, it was due to the fact that she was exhausted.

Her energy had been drained from the battles against unfair rumors which had already started, thanks to Mr. Jasper. Each tear which had fallen from her eyes had taken part of her drive with her. Then, of course, she had allowed herself to spend hours outside in the cold in an attempt to separate herself from everything else.

Now all she wanted to do was lay down and relax. Thoughts continued to cross her mind despite this, and she couldn't help but let them spill out of her mouth.

"Helena."

"Yes?"

"I'm going to classes when they start again," Rosa decided. "I...I can't stay here forever. And maybe I might rest for a few days, I don't know. It's not as if we'll have any major assignments after Christmas break ends. But I cannot desert the school, allowing rumors to float about before I have anything to say about them."

"Good for you," Helena said, giving a small nod. "You should do whatever you think will be best for you. We both know that rumors will be all over the place the moment other students step back on the Cloisterham campus."

"And it will be my duty to strike down those rumors which would cause further harm. I will do no good for Elly's image if I remain within this room...or if I stay at the sundial for hours once again."

"It's not just rumors that you'll have to worry about," Helena said. "But I'm glad you're willing to get out there."

"Well, what else do you believe would potentially be a matter of concern to me?"

"You aren't worried about how Mr. Jasper will try to get to you?"

"Of course I'm worried, but I'll have to face Mr. Jasper soon enough regardless of what I chose to do. I'm expected to, after all. His excuse to converse with me will be the same reasoning he'll use to push the two of us together," Rosa said, picking at the cloth of her jeans.

"Elliot's always been your common bond."

"Precisely. And now that Elliot is dead that bond will act less as something which obstructs us from one another but as a pathway he believes he can freely glide along."

"He's going to take advantage of it."

"But I'm aware he will take advantage of it, so I may do my best to catch whatever he attempts before it goes too far. I have foresight, and I shall use it to my advantage to combat his own."

"I'll be doing my best to help you with that whenever I can."

"He's going to reseat us when the first day arrives once again," Rosa said. "He'll separate you from me. We will no longer be beside one another and therefore it will not be as easy for you to aid me in this."

"As long as I'm still in the room, I'll be keeping an eye on him and you."

"Marvelous," Rosa sighed out. "I'm glad we have that sorted out. I have one less thing to fear. But even though I'm certainly going out, I cannot lie and claim I am not frightened to leave this room. Indeed I feel as such even now, before the masses return from their break."

"Then stay here for now," Helena replied. "No one will force you to go out if you're not ready, especially as we're still on break. Why would you be afraid, though?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Rosa asked, her face returning to its normal color as she scrunched up her nose. "The suspects are all within this school, I'm certain. Or, at least, they're around this school."

"Suspects?"

"Suspects for the murder of Elliot Drew," Rosa replied. "I know Elly's body must be around here somewhere. They would not have vanished overnight. And, since I am certain this was a murder, it only makes sense that it would be someone around Cloisterham Academy who committed the crime."

Considering that all of this was based off of Rosa's evidence-free belief that Elliot was murdered, Helena chose not to say anything. She didn't know whether she could believe the basis of what Rosa claimed. Beliving in this would be taking an enormous leap of faith for her.

But even as Rosa sat there in silence, it was clear that all her inner thoughts were just bringing her to the same conclusion - Elly had been murdered, the suspect was in Cloisterham. The murderer had to be near, nearer than anyone wished to admit to themselves.

"We know so little of what is going on, but I know at least that whoever killed them is nearby. For all we know, none of us could be safe. But whoever it was is a horrid soul to have plucked Elly from the world."

"Rosa, are you certain of all this?"

"Yes. What's the point of going on? They're dead, I know they are. And even if Elly, by some stretch, isn't dead, they're dying. Every last human being who has ever existed is either dead or dying. Every breath is another one nearer to our last. Elly is gone forever, and so all of Cloisterham descends with them."