AS I GO TO MY CLASSES ON MONDAY MORNING for the first time in three days, something strange happens. My mother asks me some irrelevant questions on the phone, but I immediately forget it because Kolin across the campus is staring at me and then indicating with his index finger that I should follow him.

Monday is just about to get worse.

Meanwhile, I stand there like I was ordered and not picked up with my phone pressed on my ear, wondering if it's really a good idea to go after my completely crazy and dysfunctional ex-boyfriend. Because the few times we've talked so far have been neither witty nor life-enriching.

"Syd, are you still there?" asks my mom for the fourth time, however she seems increasingly concerned.

I nod, still staring at the spot where Kolin stood a moment ago. "Yeah, I ... I'll call you later, Mom. Love you." I hang up immediately and head in the same direction Kolin went before I can change my mind.

Not really smart, I know.

But here's the thing: If I don't talk to him, I will spend the rest of the day wondering if it might have been important to hear what he had to say, and I really don't feel like doing that as much as talking to him. Also, it would be good to know if Kolin knows something about our ultimate plan for Dean because otherwise he always seems to know everything before I do. We could be even more strategic if he suspects anything, anyway.

I feel like a real agent as I follow my ex-boyfriend to the parking lot, where not many people are around.

That's a bad thing. I don't think Kolin is going to kill me here and now, but I don't feel particularly safe about that. At the same time, it really shouldn't be this way. Kolin and I have been friends for almost five years and have been together for over a year, and yet I've never felt so uncomfortable around anyone.

"Thank you for following me, Sydney-Britney."

I close my eyes in annoyance so that I don't accidentally roll them. "I'm so fucking reckless," I murmur softly.

"What?"

"Nothing," I add quickly, opening my eyes again. "Why did you want me to come?"

"Two reasons," he replies. "First ... do you have plans today?"

One of his reasons now is not really asking me to go on a date with him. "If you don't get to the point now, I'm leaving again, Kolin. Because I'm running late for my lecture right now and it's way more interesting than this conversation, trust me." Angrily, I spark at him, however, the anger quickly turns into awe as three people get out of the car next to us and stand behind Kolin.

Hunter stares at me intensely as he always does when I see him on the campus, Xander's smirk scares the crap out of me, and I would have loved to give Gavin the middle finger. In fact, why don't I just do it? I slowly raise both hands and extend my most beautiful fingers to him, whereupon he just smiles.

I want to scratch his eyes out.

"Alright, as you wish," Kolin says suddenly. "Then we'll just skip to my second reason. I need you to get something for me, Syd."

My middle fingers are still in the air. "Do I look like I'm your personal servant or something? It's bad enough that Gavin, Xander, and Hunter are."

"I like her," Xander mutters under his breath as he glances at me with a suggestive grin. "And I can understand what Dean sees in her. I'm sure he wouldn't like it if I did ─"

"Keep your hands to yourself," Hunter orders him. "Or do you want to be charged with another abuse?"

"Another one?", I repeat incredulously. So Xander really did rape Hollyn, and Hunter knows about it, which again is so .... grotesque that I can hardly believe it. "How can you even stand next to Xander and act like Dean is the bad guy?", I ask him.

He doesn't answer, but if I'm right, he really does look like he would have preferred to throw up right here and now. Right on Xander.

I think I would almost like Hunter if he hadn't beaten the hell out of Dean the night of Hollyn's death.

I'm pretty intimidated, and though I don't let it show, I can't deny it. Xander, Hunter, Kolin, and Gavin are all so tall and broad and could hurt me with just their little finger, though I hope Kolin wouldn't let them. After all, I have to mean something to him if he still wants to go out with me, right? That's the only thing I can trust at this moment.

"Do you know if Dean took anything from home?", Kolin suddenly asks me.

Confused, I look at him.

He sighs. "Did he perhaps ... Mentioned a special item? Something he had forever that meant a lot to him?"

Now I'm being interrogated here, too. "You'll have to be more specific, Kolin. I have no idea what you're talking about."

Gavin's usually innocent Ron Weasley look hides any feelings or emotions as he says, "She doesn't know about it, I told you that. If she did, Dean would have told me about it."

I snort. "He's never going to tell you shit now, Ron."

"I could just grab Dean and beat the answer out of him," Xander suggests as casually as if he is talking about the weather.

"Dean would beat you to a pulp," I hiss, and immediately regret opening my big mouth so wide. Who knows what he's capable of. If he's not afraid to rape a girl, I'm sure he has no problem beating me to a pulp.

Hunter completely disengages from the ensuing discussion between, Kolin, Gavin, and Xander. Somehow Hollyn's brother seems absent as if he is not even aware of where he actually is. Maybe he is not on their side at all? Maybe ... they are extorting him? Or maybe the naive, gullible part of me is resurfacing, trying to make excuses for a person who doesn't deserve it. At least I can't forget that Hunter thought that Dean was the murderer at first, and probably still does.

At one point, Kolin almost nervously grabs his blond hair and that's when I realize he's really desperate. It occurs to me that the item he's talking about might be important evidence that could clear Dean of his guilt. But what kind of item could it be?

Xander's gaze is suddenly on me, and he almost looks like he knows what thoughts are going through my head. A sly grin appears on his lips as he abruptly approaches me. He reminds me of an animal that has discovered his prey, and instantly I am terrified.

I feel sick as he stands right in front of me. "I just have to know. Is he fucking you?"

"What?" it blurts out of me in disbelief.

Xander's grin widens. "Don't act so innocent. I know women like you. You pretend you never have sex with men you're not dating because it makes you a slut if you do it. You all hide behind that clueless look and feigned disinterest, when in fact you're just as bad as us men, maybe even worse. All of you are sluts."

With my mouth open, I stare at him. And that's when it suddenly hits me. Xander is a psychopath. He has a completely wrong vision of what other people around him really want. He doesn't know that what he did to Hollyn was wrong, because he justifies it by saying that he can do whatever he wants with women, since we're all 'sluts,' like he said. He doesn't understand that our disinterest is not an excuse and he will never manage to get out of this thinking without professional help.

I definitely need distance from him, so I walk at least three steps backward. "Did you kill Hollyn? Did you?"

"Who knows," he returns with a strange smile. "Maybe it was me. Maybe it was Gavin or Kolin. Or maybe it was someone else."

Suddenly Hunter grabs Xander by the collar of his shirt and pulls him away from me with a violent jerk. I'm about to thank him, but then Hunter has already turned away from me again without even looking at me.

"Ask Dean if he's hiding anything, Sydney," Gavin says. Once again, nothing stirs in his stupid Ron face.

I want to punch him in the face so bad. Because then you would definitely see something and that would be my own fist mark. "The fuck I do," I say, and the next moment I widen my eyes in shock as Gavin comes toward me and raises his hand in all seriousness.

Kolin is the one who reacts with lightning speed and expertly twists Gavin's arm, almost like Dean did with him before. Shocked, I step back as Xander now tries to move toward me again. Hunter tries to pull him away from me once again, but he can't do it. Xander hits him, one time in the stomach and one time in the face, whereupon Hunter falls to the ground. Groaning, he bends over and spits blood.

I look away, my heart pounding.

Xander is standing right in front of me now, stroking my cheeks with his dirty from the ground fingertips. I step back, but he's not fazed by it. "Don't you fucking move," he growls.

"Dean will hate me even more for this, and that's exactly why I'm going to do it. Don't imagine you're my type."

"She's my type though, asshole."

Dean's voice behind me soothes me so quickly that my muscles involuntarily relax. He's here, so it's going to be okay. No one is going to touch me against my will.

I turn around and am even a shade more relieved.

He smiles slightly, however, he immediately scowls again as Xander starts making moves to put his hands on my waist. "Don't touch her."

Xander grins. "Or what? You don't want to share her? You used to share every bitch with me ─"

When I say that Dean beats Xander to the ground, it's putting it mildly. I'm almost surprised at how little chance Xander has against him and can't help smiling triumphantly. Even Gavin and Kolin don't think to intervene. In fact, they look like they're afraid of Dean.

I smile even wider.

When Dean pulls away from Xander again, it seems to take him a lot of effort and I see that his hands are shaking uncontrollably. Xander's face is covered in blood and if he wasn't still smiling, you would think he is dead. He slowly gets up and finally manages it only with the help of Kolin and Gavin.

Hunter's gaze is suddenly on me and I almost forgot he was still on the ground. "The video camera," he says so indistinctly that I can barely understand him. The video camera? What exactly is he trying to tell me?

Dean is also confused, but he apparently has no intention of figuring out what Hunter means by that either, because he pulls me away from the guys by my hand.

I need to know what he means with that, though. "What kind of video camera?", I ask quietly.

Gavin and Kolin are busy making sure if Xander is okay. They don't seem to have caught any of Hunter's words.

"The item," is all Hunter says. Still lying on the ground, I'm sure his injuries aren't even half as bad as Xander's. "The video camera is the item."

The item the four maniacs are looking for is a video camera? Questioningly, I look at Dean, who just shrugs. I want to ask Hunter something again, but Dean doesn't even let me get to it. He puts one hand on the back of my knee and the other on my back, then lifts me effortlessly and walks with me across the parking lot.

I almost had to laugh.

We definitely make a funny picture. But I'm too busy fidgeting because I can walk on my own. "Put me down, Walker." Angrily, I look at him, noticing that his face isn't really that far from mine. Why do I have to keep thinking about kissing him, anyway? It just has to be a disease. The Dean-disease.

And I'm really badly affected by it.

Just now I notice how gorgeous he looks right now. His cheekbones are protruding and a little flushed, his dark eyes are watchful, and his beautifully shaped mouth is slightly open. Lost in thought, I stroke his hair, at which he smiles.

"Someone missed me. "

I snort. " We haven't seen each other for only two days."

"And yet we can hardly do without each other." He drops me down behind campus and looks at me almost sheepishly. "Well, at least that's how I feel."

Grinning, I make sure his hood covers enough of his face. There aren't a lot of people on this side of the campus, but I still want to be careful. "How did you know where I was, anyway?"

"I was going to Peter's," he answers with a sigh. "We had an appointment. And if I walk through the parking lot, it's safer than taking the direct entrances."

"I'm sorry if you have to postpone your meeting with Peter," I say, meaning it. "But we need that camera Hunter was talking about. It makes sense, don't you think? If they want that video camera that bad, there's got to be something on there that could clear you."

Dean looks at me in silence for a moment, then runs his hand over his face one time. "I think I know what camera he's talking about. I got it as a gift from my grandpa, who passed away when I was thirteen. I took it with me to New Haven when I was nineteen, but after Hollyn was killed... I went home again for a little while. Tennessee."

"How did you get there? That's over fifteen hours, Dean. Did you drive that far?"

He nods. "Yes, and that's exactly what we're going to do now, Sydney."

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