As I open the door, the first thing I can see is the board with Aster's photo on it. I remember that day, perfectly, it was winter but the sun was shining bright as the yellow light echoed on her cheeks and danced in her hair.  We were down at the docks, and I took that photo of her. She used it as her yearbook photo last year.

It was her smile, I remembered, that made people so drawn to her; mysterious and strange but inviting. The last time I saw her was the night of the party, but I wouldn't call that her, she just wasn't herself.

I remember the night of the 2nd with vivid details. My mom turned away from the phone.

"Jack?" she asked, "Suzannah just called. Aster's gone."

I  got up from my chair and ran towards the phone, grabbing it off my mother. "Hello, hello, Suzannah? Aster!"

"Sorry, Jack," Mom said, "Suzannah just hung up. They haven't seen Aster all day, and they can't reach her."

I began to panic, and reached into my pocket for my phone, dialing her number.

"Aster, Aster! Hello? Where are you?" I ask, desperately into my phone, only to be greeted with her cheery voicemail. 

"Hey, this Aster, I'm not answering my phone, as you can see, just leave a message after the beep. Thanks." 

I turned to Mom. "She's not answering, Mom! She could be dead."

"Relax, Jack," Mom says, "her phone probably just died."

"No," I say, shaking my head, "We should go to the Evanses," I say, grabbing my coat. The kitchen is dark and ominous. The sun sets early in Eastmore, making it feel like Aster's chances of surviving are even smaller.

Mom hangs her head, "Get in the car."

The car roars up to the Evanses' estate, the streetlights making bokeh patterns, blurring into the distance. The wet, black road is shining with colors as puddles of muddy water splash up either side of the car.

Mom halts the roaring engine at the top of the hill. There are yellow lights coming from inside the Evans house, and I run to the door, pounding on it with my fist. Elsie greets me at the door, her small face covered in tears, her eyes red and puffy. "Fox!" she calls and wraps me in a hug.

"I haven't seen Aster all day!" she sobs, her face buried in my T-shirt. Mom appears behind me, and Suzannah greets her at the door. We're invited in for a cup of tea. Lian Evans is pacing around, head in his hands, while Suzannah tries to distract herself by making a cup of tea.

                                                                                           ***

"Well, if it isn't the famous Fox Grey," Midnight says, sarcastically, bringing me back to the room.

Kitty hushes her. "Do you have any leads, Fox?"

"She wouldn't answer her phone," I say, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion, remembering the night I found out she was gone. 

"She didn't speak to me or any of her family. She was never like that, you know that, Kitty, she never wanted to hurt anyone."

"I know, I know, Fox," Kitty says, putting her hand on my shoulder. "She wasn't like that," she says, turning to Midnight. "She could be mean, but she wasn't cruel."

Midnight writes it all down on the board, "So this wasn't a self-devised plan."

"Exactly!" Kitty exclaimed, "Someone must have kidnapped her."

Midnight rubs her chin, "Whose house was the party at?"

"Lila Deramaine," I answer.

Kitty scowls. "After Aster disappeared, I've stopped being friends with Lila. She's angry everyone's blaming her for the disappearance, and she doesn't seem to care about Aster."

Midnight takes a seat on the desk, and scrolls through her phone, till she finds a photo of Lila. She prints it out, and sticks it to the board. Lila had always been jealous of Aster. She was pretty with long, blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. But she was mean, it was her who spread most of the rumors and planned most of the pranks. Most people thought she was dumb, but she was far from it. She was cunning. The photo shows her in her true state, eyebrows angled and eyes fierce.

"So you think she's involved?" Midnight ponders.

"Oh, definitely," Kitty answers.

Perhaps, first I should shed some light on Lila Deramaine. She arrived in Eastmore in grade four. She was a complete outsider, new to the strange ways of Eastmore. She was pretty and cunning, but above all, mysterious. Her family was rich, and she had come from the big city, a place, that then, to us small town folk seemed enchanting. Her father was a successful businessman and her mother...well, she had recently been shot; murdered, so she and her father relocated.

She didn't have any other relatives, but with her charm, good looks and sly ways, she climbed her way to the top of the social ladder within three days. Since then, Aster, Kitty and Lila had become inseparable.

Aster's large group of followers were called The Clan, consisting of Bella, Bonnie, Rosie, Amanda, Lillian and Ella. But at the center of the clan were the core three, lead by the charismatic Aster Evans.

Lila had spent her whole life trying to outshine Aster, because Aster had a secret power. She had control over the whole school. She was powerful.

To people dominated by The Clan, such as Midnight, she was either loved and supported, or like the lavender haired cynic, hated and despised. But those closer to her saw something else in her. The source of her power. She had a magnetic pull on you, that could lure you in. Once you got to know her, she was kind and loving. And I missed her.

"Did you notice any security cameras at the party?" Midnight inquires.

"I, uh, I don't know," Kitty answers, "it wasn't exactly a tame and civil party."

Midnight pauses for a second, then a smile lights up her face. "You, Fox, are going on a date with Eastmore's new resident It-girl, Lila Deramaine."

"What?" I ask, flabbergasted, "No way, that's exactly what she wants. Do you realize what a b**** she is? Besides, Aster only just went missing, I'm not giving up on her! It's only been two weeks, she's probably out there!" I say, shocked someone would suggest such a thing with the wound of Aster's disappearance was still so fresh.

Midnight sighs, "Give the girl what she wants, Fox, besides, it's our only way in. I'll have Eilon wire you up."

"Eilon?" Kitty asks in disgust, "that nerd?!"

Midnight shoots her a look. "He's the best tech guy in  Eastmore, Kitty. Besides, he owes me a favor."