Welcome to Season 2<3 We're back in present time~!
Trigger Warning; a pretty intense chapter</3

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Robbie 23:49: i had a lot of fun today:)) hope you sleep well and CU tmrw<3

My chest felt uneasy as I stared at the single check mark below my message, cursor blinking on an empty white bar. What could I do about it? Send another message? Besides the fact that I didn't want to come off as some desperate leech, sending out another message to an unresponsive receiver seemed pretty useless anyway. It just.. felt weird. He said he would charge his phone.

"Watch where you're going, man!"

I gasped and leaped forward as some asshole crashed into me, sending my phone flying across the entire fucking corridor. "Sorry!" I yelled out for literally no reason because he crashed into me, but okay. My gaze, slightly hazy, fell on the device, soft blue case facing upward as it slid over the floor. Shit. My phone.

There hadn't been any other Monday where I'd yelled out this many half-assed apologies before nine in the morning. After pissing off most of the student population and two-and-a-half teachers by jumping over their feet like those mushrooms in those mario games, I dropped to my knees and peeled my poor phone off the linoleum floor. 

"What the fuck are you doing."

Jesus Christ. My heart halted to a stop in my throat for a second as I snapped my head up to the sudden voice, only to find Nyx staring at me through their black hair. Hands looped around the straps of their backpack, they raised a brow. A judgy brow.

"I blame society," I huffed, finally daring to flip my phone around. The universe appeared to be on my side, revealing a somehow spotless screen and god forbid.. a blinking cursor.

Nyx snorted. "Can't argue on that one." They peeked over my arm as I got up (which caused both of us to almost die, again). "Texting Seth?"

"Yeah—" we turned around the corner, into the busiest corridor during rush hour "— well, sort of."

Grabbing  onto my backpack, they hummed. "So how'd it go, yesterday. Did he like your outfit..?"

A smile spread on my face, my hand curled tightly around the polished banister as we navigated up the busy staircase, . "Yeah. He di— jesus fuck-!" Panic hurled through me as some douche right about rammed through Nyx, nearly launching them off the stairs. I clutched onto their striped sleeves with all force I had. What the fuck is going on this morning?

They gasped, clinging to me with trembling hands.

"Asshole." Throwing an arm around Nyx's shoulders, I dragged both of us up the final few steps. "You're good. I got you," I said in a hushed voice, careful not to draw even more attention to either of us.

With the heavy crowds fading and our classroom coming into sight, my heart rate slowed back to normal. I turned to Nyx. "We got the same class, right?"

They nodded, rummaging through their bag to pull out some textbooks. "Yup. Thanks for saving my ass, giant. I didn't intend to die today."

I chuckled, following their direction to the open door of 206. "I wasn't planning to let you, either."

The teacher greeted us with the usual bare minimum of human emotion before moving on to the next student— daily routine at this point. Right as I was about to sit down, my phone vibrated in my pocket and like any sane semi-adult, I almost tripped over my own feet trying to pull the damn piece of glass out of my pocket. Judgmental glances followed my movement as I unlocked the device.

Candy Crush. Of fucking course. Ignoring the heavy feeling in my chest, I switched on silent mode and pocketed my phone with a sigh. I'll just talk to him after class. He said he would show up after all.

-

"I'm just saying, how horrible would that really be?" Mason shot us a questioning look as he tossed a bouncing ball at the wall, catching it with one hand while using the other to take messy bites out of a sandwich.

Nyx snorted. "Horrible is an understatement." Pulling their knees up, they rested their chin on them with a frown. "Unless you wanna die."

I heard Mason scoff. "I don't know why I even bothered with you. You're no fun."

Their bickering voices failed to keep me focused, instead slowly drifting away to mere white noise in the back of my mind. Seth hadn't shown up to class. Heat pricked in my eyes as I kept them locked on the stupid cursor, refreshing the chat over and over again. The singular check mark remained every time. I'm so fucking dumb.

"What do you think, Robbie?"

Did he regret the bonfire? Maybe this was just his way of rejecting me, and I was too fucking stupid to realize it. Clenching my jaw, I tightened my grip on the stupid phone. The old coffee table's wooden material kept digging deeper into my back but I couldn't be bothered to move. This is bullshit.

"Robbie? Are you okay?"

"Huh-?" I almost broke my fucking neck as I jerked up at Reagan's concerned voice, only now noticing everyone staring at me. Taking another glance at my phone, I quickly nodded. "Ye— yeah. Sorry."

Furrowing her brows, Reagan dropped her head onto the couch's armrest with a gentle smile. "Are you sure? You seem a little off."

My gaze faltered. "I... Seth's phone's been off since yesterday. He said he'd come to school today," I blurted out, my eyes glued to the dusty floor. While it might not solve anything, maybe Reagan could say something that made things look less bad. She had a way of doing that.

"Maybe he forgot to charge his phone?" she suggested, earning a hum from Mason.

Spinning dangerous circles in his outdated desk chair, Mason swung closer to us. He let out a high-pitched yelp when one of the wheels got caught on the ripped carpet, causing the whole thing to launch forward. "Yeah!" he chirped, now sitting on the floor with his back against the chair, one of the wheels still spinning. "And if his phone's dead, he probably didn't have an alarm either."

Normally I would've laughed at his stupid antics, something even Nyx couldn't help but do this time around, even with their attention focused on their phone as usual. But not today. Everything about this just felt off. I attempted a chuckle. "Yeah... Maybe."

Reagan smiled, apparently satisfied with my response. She shifted around and said something to Mason, who then laughed as he hauled the chair back to his desk.

Exhaling through my nose, I dragged my white sneakers across the dirty carpet so I could rest my elbows on my knees, staring at the black screen dangling in the middle. "It just doesn't make sense," I mumbled to no one in particular, shaking my head.

"Hm?" Nyx glanced at me from behind their phone, furrowing their brows. "What do you mean."

Out of all people, Nyx was the last person I would've expected to show interest. "All of this," I said in a low voice, waving my hand as  I scooched across the carpet to sit closer to them. "He.. he invites me to a bonfire and we have so much fun— at least from my perspective we did— until like, late at night. Then he kisses me and gets into a fight with Jackson because for some reason he was there too, and—

I paused, raising a brow at Nyx's suddenly wide eyes. "..What?"

They shook their head. "Nothing. Sorry." Sliding down the couch and settling in a cross-legged position on the floor, they pursed their lips. "Did you... did you notice anything else? He fought with Jackson..?"

Nodding slowly, I chewed at my lip, racking my brain for useful information. Anything at all. "Yeah.." Flards of memories rolled around the corners of my mind like a fifth-grade slideshow— choppy and chaotic. Yet for some reason, my mind flitted back to a conversation with Seth a while ago.

"Jackson and I used to be friends, before I... moved away from my dad."

It wasn't likely that it had anything to do with this situation, but the words wouldn't leave my mind. "I... I don't know. Jackson hates Seth. But they used to be friends-?

Nyx shook their head. "No. Jackson and Seth's dad used to be friends." Their eyes widened when I furrowed my brows. How the fuck do they know that? Taking a sip of water from their stickered bottle, they waved me off.. "I might've heard some things when you and Seth were down here. You know, when Lennard found out about the hair salon. Didn't wanna interrupt so I settled on the staircase instead, until Mason came screaming at us," they explained, shooting a glare towards a busily conversating Mason.

Oh. Still catching up, I nodded as a memory came flooding back to me. "That day.. In the morning. Jackson was staring at his phone. It— it looked like he was crying."

Brows raising, they seemed to understand where I was going with this. "Seth told you his dad and Jackson used to text each other."

"..but all contact broke off when he moved." My heart dropped into my stomach. Fuck. "I literally gave Jackson Seth's address that same day."

"Oh, yeah. He lives there."  "Is that so?"

They gripped the couch's dusty material, dug their black nails into it, and released a shaky sigh. "Is there anything, and I mean anything, you did or said that could have upset him..? This is Jackson we're talking about, we know he likes to hold grudges."

This didn't make sense. As if someone had dumped a bunch of puzzles on a table and we were supposed to fix them all into one big picture. We were missing things. I ran a hand through my hair. "Other than yesterday at the bonfire, no. But I guess that makes sense-? I mean, with the whole party thing going on, he was convinced Seh and I were done."

They hummed. "Does he know you spent the night at Seth's place after the party?"

"No," I shook my head again, "I told him I was with Mason."

Mason. My chest tightened as both Nyx and I slowly turned our heads to Mason, who was still happily talking to Reagan. I swallowed. "Uh, hey Mace-?"

"Huh?" Mason paused, his hand halfway down a bag of vinegar chips. I swear he has an infinite stash of them.

Nyx snorted before regaining their composure. They tugged at a silver necklace. "Has Jackson talked to you about anything in like.. the past week?"

Lost in thought for a moment, the room filled with silence. Reagan looked at both of us with a concerned frown but didn't say anything, instead focused on Mason. "I mean," he started, wiping a hand across black jeans, "there was this one weird moment, like, right after the day you went missing." Sprawled out on his chair, he pointed a lazy finger at me. "He said he heard you stayed with me. So I told him he must've heard you wrong because obviously you were with Seth."

Fuck. Sucking in a sharp breath, anxiety began to course through my head. "That's— fuck. Shit."

"Did you really not think that maybe Jackson would've been better off thinking Robbie had been with you-?" Nyx hissed, monotone voice tinted with incredulity. They rolled their eyes when Mason simply shrugged, then returned their attention to me. "Next time don't choose him as your alibi."

Squeezing my phone, I took a shaky breath, tapping my fingers against the coffee table. Fuck. Why did I have to be so fucking stupid?

Reagan rested her chin on the lid of her bottle, lips formed into a pout. "You think Jackson's scheming something because Seth didn't show up to school.. once-?"

Nyx huffed. "Seth's a lot of things, but he's not a ghoster." They glanced at me, face tense. "Do you know why they were fighting?"

Reagan's eyes widened. "Seth was in a fight?"

I nodded, pulling my knee up to my chin. "Yeah, with Jackson. Seth said it was because he kissed me but—

A gasp. "He kissed you?!"

"Yes," I dragged out through gritted teeth, frustration bubbling in my stomach. "And he didn't forget to charge his fucking phone, okay-?!"

A look of surprise appeared on Reagan's face as her smile saddened, lips parting. "Sorry," she mumbled, "sorry, you're probably right."

"Do you really think Jackson would cause such a big scene over something like that-? I call bullshit," Nyx said, effectively snapping me back to focus.

Staring at that fucking phone, at the empty lock screen of all our bodies tangled up together at the beach (a photo I knew was saved in my dad's gallery), I wanted to scream. "Fuck this shit." The coffee table creaked as I sprang up and dusted my jeans off, tensing every muscle I had control of. A mixture of anger and fear burned in my chest, ready to explode any second now.

Copying my actions, Nyx narrowed their eyes at me. "Where the fuck are you going."

"Jackson," I spat, ignoring the raging anxiety crawling beneath my skin with every step I took toward the heavy doors, bracing myself for the bright lights awaiting me.

"Maybe we should think this through-?" I heard Reagan call out from behind me, but I didn't care to listen.

So even though she was absolutely right and I had no idea what I was throwing myself into, I kept walking until the colored sunlight slammed me right in the face and my thighs burned from how fast I ran up those deadly stairs. I'm really doing this, huh?

There, leaning against a locker with a sly smile on his face, stood Jackson. Chatting to some random student, it took him a while to notice me storming toward him. He furrowed his brows, waving the person off as he turned to me. "Bl—

"What did you do?" I seethed, shoving his shoulder against that damn locker with more force than I knew I possessed.

Eyes widening and jaw tense, Jackson quickly curled his long fingers around my wrist and snagged it away. "I'm afraid I have no idea what's going on, blue eyes."

I glared at him, shoving his arm away from me and slamming it against the locker. "Don't call me that. Where's Seth?"

 "I don't—" he winced "—I don't know."

Lies. Stupid lies. "Don't give me that bullshit!" I cried out, feeling liquid burn in my eyes as I used my free hand to shove him again.

With a groan, his eyes darkened and he finally looked at me. Void of all emotion, he stared right into my soul. "Oh, blue eyes." A smirk crawled up his face. "It's the truth," he stated simply, eyes glistening with pure evil as he smiled.

"I—

Strong hands grabbed my arms and hurled me away until my body hit the cold metal itself. Fucking hell.

"I could not care less about where your little boyfriend's hanging out." He stood hovering above me, that faux smile replaced by a murderous glare. "Although perhaps you shouldn't count on seeing him today."

Pain throbbed through my muscles, only fueling the raging anger boiling in my blood. "Why.." I paused, groaning as I shut my eyes before trying again "..why do you hate me? What the fuck did I ever do to you?!"

Jackson scoffed, shaking his head with a laugh that sent shivers down my bruising spine. "You... you're a pathetic, little, bitch," he spat, accentuating every goddamn syllable with a murderous voice. "Did you truly believe that any of this is about you? Tch." His eyes flitted to me. "Let me make this very clear, Blue."

I gulped, anxiously glancing at the growing crowd around us.

Taking a step closer, he leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "I do not give a single fuck about you. You were simply a pawn who could get me exactly what I wanted."

My head was spinning. "What...what did you want..?"

He stepped back, glancing around him at all the staring faces with a dark smirk. "Revenge." His smile widened. "So perhaps I should be thanking you?"

I glared at him as I peeled myself off the locker. "I'm not gonna ask again. What the fuck—" I huffed, "did you do to him?!"

From the corner of my eye, I could see Nyx arriving at the scene, their eyes wide and mostly hidden brows furrowed. I decided to avoid eye contact in a weak attempt to keep the tears burning in my eyes from spilling.

"Oh, I didn't do anything, dear. What's that saying again?" He fell quiet for a second, facial expressions faltering before they regained their sharpness. "Don't shoot the messenger, haven't you heard?"

Whispers and hesitant glances filled up this thick silence, something that seemed to only fuel Jackson's expanding ego. The fluorescent blue light enlightened his sharp features with an artificial hue that sent chills down my skin. "Now don't look so scared," he menaced, smiling at me. "I gave him a chance. He simply chose not to take it." His smile faded as his narrowed eyes scanned me from head to toe. "You must be rather special to him, hm?"

It sounds so different when you say it. While my heart raced a million miles per second, I started to lose my patience. I couldn't even think straight —not like I ever did so— but that didn't disregard the increasing worry hurling around my head. Something here was wrong. Horribly wrong. Afraid to look into those cold eyes, I instead focused on the blue-specked floor with my jaw clenched shut and teeth grinding against one another.

"If you're the messenger, then who the fuck is with Seth right now-?"

Low hums and gasps erupted from the gathered crowd as we all turned our heads to Nyx, who stood with their arms crossed over their chest and a dark glare on their face. They shot me a quick glance, eyeing the lockers I had been holding onto so religiously.

My eyes didn't leave Jackson as I maneuvered my way past those blue rows of metal until I reached Nyx. I'd never seen or heard them like this before, and if it weren't for the current situation, I would be horrified.

Everyone stared at him, awaiting an answer. He smirked— almost laughed, looking around before spinning toward my new position in the crammed hall. "His father."

"My dad— he worked for Jackson's dad. And Jackson, I guess he just had this image of who my dad was supposed to be. Couldn't handle it when I showed him the reality."

Reality.

"What, these? I was a pretty fucked up kid, I guess. Dad was an asshole, too."

The entire building fell silent. My stomach twisted into knots. The scars. The vague answers. The triggers. Everything. Everything led to only one dreadful possibility I'd been blind to all this time. I snapped my head up, all rationality blocked by pure rage. "His dad.. he was ab— he hurt Seth. And you fucking sent him over?!" My voice trembled as I forced the words through my throat, tears blurring my disoriented vision.

"He didn't!" A thrilling bang echoed through the building when Jackson's pale fist collided with one of the lockers, snapping everyone's attention to his fuming face. He jerked his body away from the dented blue and glared at me with burning rage. "He didn't! He never did!" he cried out furiously, blinking through tears that rolled down reddened skin. "He loved me. Seth just couldn't stand that."

I scoffed. "Are you that fucking blind?!"

Nyx tugged at my arm, muttering something along the lines of "Robbie, don't," but I didn't give a shit right then. "If he can't give a fuck about his own son, then why in the world would he ever care about you-?"

"Shut up." He placed his hands on his face, breathing excessively as he turned his back to me. "J-just shut up-!"

Whispers began flowing through the crowd, a bunch of people who apparently had nothing better to do. Their murmurs and judgemental stares seemed to drive Jackson further into insanity. He ran his hands through his now messed-up hair, gasping for air in between quick-paced steps.

"He— he said we would catch up..! I just— I only needed— he simply wanted his address-!" He kept snapping back and forth like a short-circuiting machine whose cables had been ripped out, much to everyone's concern. "Don't look at me!" he screamed, thrashing his arms around at whoever dared to stare at him a little too long.

I shook my head and scoffed. "You're actually insane."

Another tug at my sleeve. "We should get out of here, this isn't normal," Nyx whispered, their voice filled with uncertainty.

This is my fault. Conflicting emotions tangled themselves around my ribcage, tugging at different angles of my brain to find a suitable course of action. A hit 'n run didn't seem all too appropriate for the situation, but neither did anything else my absolutely fried brain could come up with.

So, with tensed jaw and a racing heart, I took one more glance at Jackson —who'd now dropped onto his knees— and grabbed Nyx's wrist, nodding toward the empty corridor close to this one. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go."

My shoes squeaked across the smooth marble of the main entrance hall— a stylistic choice that had cost a lot of janitors their backs. Normally, I would've wondered how far I could slide with just my socks on, but right now my head raced with a million anxiety-provoking thoughts.

"Can you just—" Nyx wheezed "— stop running for a second?! Jesus."

I halted to a stop and spun around, only now realizing how out of breath I was. "I have to get to Seth."

Shaking their head, Nyx pulled a loosened-up hair tie out of their hair and began to fluff up the locks of black and blond. "While that man might still be there-? That's a death wish."

"You're saying that as if Seth isn't already there, probably trapped." I scanned the empty cafeteria with narrowed eyes and huffed— this place looked like a million-dollar investment and, it probably was. Trapped because of me.

"We don't know that," they countered, arms folded across their chest. "He could've escaped. Regardless, it wouldn't make anything better if you just dead-on showed up there. Do you really think you could take down a grown-ass man-?"

Rolling my eyes, I pressed my lips together. "Well— no. But then, shouldn't we at least call the police?"

They shook their head again. "That would only be necessary if he was in danger. And we don't know if he is." Colored sunlight fell onto their monochrome colors, creating an oddly contrasting sight that would look beautiful on a canvas. They scoffed to themselves. "The police always complicate everything."

I sighed. How the fuck did we even get to this point? I never signed up for this kind of story.

"How about this," Nyx began, walking over to me with stern eyes. "If you still haven't heard anything tomorrow, we'll go over there." They sat down on one of the long, white planters that lined the fancy entrance, shiny leaves poking their neck. "And I mean, if I remember correct, Seth's from Pensacola. Which is like what, six hours away from here? No way that man would be here already."

Maybe that was true. Even if it wasn't, Nyx had been right about one thing. I couldn't just show up there without any sort of plan, because god knows whether either of us would make it out alive. And on the other hand, maybe Jackson had been right and Seth's father wasn't all that bad. I scoffed. Who am I trying to convince.. "I really hope to god you're right."

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