ISSUES:
ONE | EVERYONE
❝I. TROUBLE AWAITS.❞

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LIFE BEGINS AFTER THE PAIN ENDS.

Her eyes stared back in fear, she refused to flinch or blink as tears were threatening to spill from her waterline. Fear seeped through her system as she couldn't comprehend what had just happened. She looked back at her hands, still fascinated with a tinge of fear. She scanned the area surrounding her for confirmation; to make sure this was all real, and — unfortunately — it was real.

She cannot believe what she's just done: the place surrounding her was damaged and burnt, fire engulfed it from all sides, not leaving a section clear and not burnt. The furniture was all over the place, broken and flaming; the once bright wall was now dull, and grey colored. The doors and chairs were now nothing but a few isolated wooden parts, black-ended and charred from where the fire flames had licked them, then quickly becoming smoldering wood. The oak floor was cracked and branched, ready to break under pressure.

She looked over the two males who were laying helplessly on the ground, both's faces and hands stained with blood and decorated with bruises, scratches covering each inch of their body. She watched over them, not knowing what to do. Her breathing grew erratic and the atmosphere grew silent, nothing can be heard other than her steady heart beat that was pulsing hard and fast through her veins. The air surrounding her smelled like strong burning ashes scent, soon morphing into a strong putrid smell that spread all over the burning household. Hues of blue and orange licked every inch of the house as hot tears rolled down her cold skin.

               The girl took one last glance at the lifeless bodies laying between the burning house; she had just taken the departed's blood, their soul, their memories forever tainted on her hand — she took them away from their families and beloved ones. Her once bright eyes were now clouded over with sadness and grief, regret now running through her veins. Her makeup was smudged all over her hands from where she had furiously wiped her face whenever a tear would follow the other.

               I can't let anyone know about this. was what she thought; then quickly, she made her way out of the house, the flames flickering wildly as the blaze awakened. Soon, she heard a loud blaring of the ambulance's siren from afar. Suddenly, her heart beating quickened as panic overtook every fiber of her body. With no hesitation, she ambled through the never ending streets, careful to not let anyone notice her. The chilly air nipping at her cheeks, she pulled tightly at her jacket as she tried to hide her face to go unrecognized as much as possible. That is until, a dread thought hit her thoughts: although that she was in the middle of the flickering flames and the burning, raging house, it somehow had no affect on her; not a simple, tiny burn was produced. The fire didn't frighten or hurt her at all, in fact, it made her somehow feel at ease.

BUT WHAT IF THE PAIN NEVER ENDS?

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               IVY CLUTCHES THE STEERING WHEEL, her car zooming through the winding streets and buildings. The overall city, though, seemed empty; regardless the very few people walking and standing amongst the streets.

She soon slows down; stopping the car and pulling the keys out of the ignition. Tindra's eyes wandered to the building they were currently standing outside of, scanning it briefly. The building was a mixture color of both white and silver, with a bit of royal blue making it look more colorful and less plain; and a big sign that reads, 'Beacon Hills Airport' was glued at the top. The illuminated rays of the almost full moon that loom around the erratic haze of the azure skies, gazes down upon the car where the teenagers were seated. The saturation in the sky slowly vanished, quickly replacing it a navy, dark blue sky; and a crescent moon decorated in the inky sky. Stars painted and viewed as dots in the distance.

Maegan, on the other hand — known for being the impatient teenager she is — was holding her cell phone in between her palms; impatiently tapping on the screen, waiting for the message of confirmation from the Tanner brothers to go in and pick them up. During the few minutes of waiting; the Trio discussed different topics. That is until, Maegan's phone finally ringed — her cue to go in.

Tindra and Maegan walked down the crowded alleyways of the Airport — occasionally pumping into a few random people and mumbling a few 'sorry's, before making their way over to an empty metal bench that was adjusted in the center of the plain white hallways. They adjusted their way of sitting and waited for Diego and Dawson to arrive. They caught their gaze from a distance, their luggage trailing behind. The brothers approached the two females who were still sitting, Maegan ran a hand down her clothes, softening any crinkles that may have existed from sitting down. She then ran over to the brothers, a squeal slipping by her lips, hugging them tightly. Tindra doing the same; embracing each one in a tight hug, greeting them and whispering an 'I missed you' and any other common questions you'd ask someone who had just arrived from a long trip.

After catching up, the four teenagers decided to finally leave. Their shoes clicked against the hallways' long, marble floor that reflected a faint picture of them as they passed by the security check points for safety. Once they were done with that, they headed towards the double-doored exit. Tindra shoved them open (since she was not carrying anything; unlike the rest). Her hair curled as it fell down her shoulder in a nice wave, a coat stuck against her body in a flattering manner. They all walked down the concert sidewalk and they heard a horn's echo from afar. Maegan soon realizing that it might belong to Ivy's car, although, it didn't. In search for Ivy's car that somehow seemed to move out of the place they thought it was; it took them approximately fifteen minutes until they finally found the brunette and her car.

Ivy was sitting in the driver's seat: music blasting from all sides of the car as she held up a lipstick and applied it carefully to her lips, then moving a finger up to her mouth and runs it right under her bottom lip to remove any unwanted or over-lined lipstick that may have existed around her mouth, nonetheless, it was not an unprecedented sight to be greeted by. Her lips curved into a false smile as she rolled down the car's window as soon as Diego's fist made contact with it, making her suddenly jolt up in surprise. Her fingers traced over the lock of the car and pressed it open.

               "'Hope you don't mind us interrupting your precious time,"

               Ivy recognized the voice as soon as it spook, knowing that it belonged to none other than the infamous Diego; who is a face she hasn't seen in quit a few months, nor heard of. Then, almost unfathomably, she turned off the car's engine and her hands — which were tucked in the back pocket of her jeans — were suddenly released and hanging around the guy's neck, pulling him in a sudden embrace which caused the boy to stumble back a few steps; and resting his palm against the side-door of a random car to avoid them from collapsing to the concrete floor.

               Ivy soon pulls away, and so does Diego. Her eyes darted back and forth between the only two young men standing amongst the females for now. A smile gracing on her lips as Dawson sent a much rather fake smile her way, that anyone could point out how artificial it looked. "How you doing, Dawson? I can see that you still are an asshole; it's written all over your face — I like your new haircut, though."

Dawson breathed out an annoyed laugh soon after, "Ha, ha! Very funny, Ivy. But— thank you, I paid a lot to get it done." He admitted, annoyance laced in his tone.

"You're very welcome. Oh! And — uh — by the way, I'm not kidding. You literally have the word 'Asshole' written on your forehead," Ivy acknowledged, shrugging. Then jolting a finger towards and all across her forehead, in act of trying to make him notice. Dawson's eyes widened as he brought out his phone out of his pocket, and tapping on the 'Camera' app to view himself and differentiate between whether it was one of Ivy's typical pranks and jokes or not. And, much to his displeasure, Ivy wasn't joking this time.

               "I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume you are the one who did it, Diego?" The first person to cross Dawson's mind the second he saw the picture, was his brother, of course. Not only because Diego is notoriously known for his unnecessary pranks, but also because he's the only one to blame. And it does makes sense; considering the fact he was the only one sitting beside of the whole flight, after all. Dawson slapped Diego's side arm, as Diego had an apologetic look rested on his face, not bothering to rub the area where his brother had slapped him, guilt taking over his feelings.

"Man, what the hell?! I leave you and sleep for exactly ten minutes, and you've already managed to make my face your new painting board?" Dawson argued, moving his palm to rub off the words written on his forehead with a tissue that Tindra offered him earlier. "And you, Maegan and Tindra — you literally left me walk down the Airport looking like that, why have no one warned me? And I thought I gained attention because of my 'new haircut'. While actually, it's because I had an 'Asshole' written on my freaking face!"

Ivy shot Diego an alarmed look, obviously wary of his reactions, but did nothing to interfere.

"Sorry, Dawson, but I was offered ten dollars to stay silent. I would never turn that offer down! No offense, though — but my intention was telling you sooner, believe me," Maegan affirmed, trying her best to hold back her laugh that threatened to slip by her lips. Her and Tindra holding up the ten dollars they were offered by Deigo, as Dawson dramatically rolled his eyes at the females, expecting such actions by his friends.

"Okay, okay, Dawson! you need to chill, dude. Everyone, get in the car, we need to hurry up. I promised Tobias to be at his in less than thirty minutes now." Ivy acknowledged, checking her watch as she pointed a finger to her car, motioning for them to get in.

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THEY AWAITED OUTSIDE FOR THEIR FRIEND, TOBIAS, TO ARRIVE. Soon, they recognizes his figure; slowly getting closer to where they were seated. Ivy motioned for the rest of the teenagers to hide down, which they all disagreed to doing for a few seconds (considering the fact they were inside of a car). But it only took Ivy a glare to make them rethink their actions again. Groans slipped past by their lips as they lowered down their backs as much as possible.

"Hey," Tobias greeted his friend, as he adjusts his way of sitting — just so he would feel more comfortable.

"Hey," Ivy greeted back, showing off a big smile as she re-adjusted her seatbelt. "What's up with that cut on your arm, are you okay?"

"Let me just comprehend what had just happened for a moment — you actually care? My God, who are you?!" Diego joked, his eyes widening in surprise as a small laugh was followed by after. While Tobias almost did jump out of his seat, his eyes widening — not expecting to see either Diego or Dawson, or even Meg — as he was never informed of them coming along.

"Oh, my Gosh, I was never told you were arriving back today! I have missed you guys!" Tobias exclaimed, a big grin forming in the corners of his mouth as he jumped backseat to hug them — but before he could do anything, Tindra stopped him.

"Woah! stay right where you at, boy. We are four sitting back here and I could barely move my arm." Tindra announced, a brow raised while placing her hand on Tobias' chest as she pushed him back to his seat.

Tobias breathed out a chuckle, before questioning Ivy, "So, where are we heading to first?"

"Well, there is this thing going on at the high-school, are you going too?" Ivy questioned Tobias and the rest of the teenagers, earning a nod from each. "So, Tobias, how are you holding up?" Diego questioned, referring to the murder of Tobias' passed away girlfriend, Blake. "I'm sorry I'm bringing this whole thing up again, I just want to know how are you doing,"

         
A loud sigh escaped his lips, looking down at his lap as he messaged his forehead with his thumb, "It's fine . . ." Grief washed all over Tobias, as he trailed off, "I miss her." He mutters, rubbing his chin slightly before scrunching his eyebrows and narrowing his eyes, blinking rapidly to avoid his tears from spilling out of his waterline. He didn't want to show his friends that two years later, the brutal murder of his dear friend still affects him. And most importantly, he didn't want to show them how weak he was feeling at the current moment.

               Diego only understandingly nodded, as the rest of the teenagers' faced dropped; still in grief about their passed away friend. Dawson sympathetically rubbed Tobias' shoulder, sending him a grieving look matching everyone else's. They knew how sensitive talking about such topic is for Tobias, how much it affected him and how much the incident hurt him. It wasn't the best thing to talk about the same day of the arrival of the brothers, but they thought that it's for the best to never forget about their friend — No matter what, not a day could pass without them mentioning her — which kind of hurt Tobias, but they only thought it was for the best to never forget about Blake, considering she had a huge impact on them and over their lives.

The car then was pondering in silence, their minds ridden with thoughts. the radio playing off a random song in the background, filling in the gapes of silence that wandered all over the car, alongside their rapid breathing — and sound of rain drops falling upon the glass of the car, clicking against it roughly; piling on the car's windowsills. Indifferently, Ivy drives to the so called Senior Scribe — regarding it's now getting late.

Tobias rested his head against the windowsill, as his eyes followed every building they pass. Crowds of adults, young adults, children and cars crowded the streets, making the roads tighter. The car soon stops and all Tobias' eyes could view were cars, making the traffic slower, as raindrops started to form a big pile of water on the car's windows, much to Ivy's dismay.

"Gosh, the civilization was disappearing when I was picking you up. What the hell happened?" Ivy muttered under her breathe, pressing her fist against as hard as she can, as she started to hear the car horn echoes throughout the street, a few other cars sounding back eventually.

"Just toot the horn again or something," Dawson suggested. Ivy turned around to look at Dawson, who was much more interested in his phone, as his thumb kept scrolling down the screen while holding it up in various — and slightly peculiar directions as if it's gonna earn him one bar.

Ivy clicked her forefinger with her thumb, and then put on an ear-to-ear grin. "Yes, because of course tooting the horn will help moving a fallen tree of the road!"

Dawson's facial features morphed into a total look of mock disgust, "Can you reply to me without the usual level of sarcasm, Ivy?"

"Can you talk to me without the usual level of dick, Dawson?"

"Oh, my God! Quit crying you two!" Diego exclaimed, rolling his eyes as a heavy sigh escaped his lips.

"It's going to be a long night," Ivy said in an over-exaggerated tone

"You have somewhere to be?" Tindra questioned, trying to figure out any plausible information which could come as serious help to herself, and the other teenagers. But Ivy only ignored her, she didn't bother with any elaborate clarifications, knowing that it'd only lead to more questions.

"Is that — Kira Yukimura?" Diego questioned, his eyes narrowing as he rolls down the window, taking a better look at the girl.

"Who?"

Tobias pointed a finger towards a tall, dark haired girl. Her hair and clothes slightly wet because of the rain as she holds up her phone — in the act of trying to find a phone connection. "Kira? Scott's girlfriend?"

Those last words gathered the teenagers' attention in a matter of milliseconds, making Ivy instantly sit up taller to look out through her window. Her eyes fell upon a tall girl with long, dark hair. "Cute — what should we do? Should we approach her or. . . ?" Ivy turned her head, looking briefly at the boy as a look of concern wore her facial expression.

Tobias mindlessly nodded, not paying attention to the teenagers gossiping about the pair of teenagers. He was seated silently, indifferent, looking out of the window as he sees a tall figure standing with Kira. Soon recalling that it was Kira's boyfriend, Scott McCall, (he read it all from his motorcycle, the only way of transportation Scott handled), "I say we approach them?"

Ivy, narrowed her eyes, following after her head nodding, sending him a smile then replying, "Go ahead." Tobias rested his palm on the door's lock, ready to head out but then he spin his body around, glancing at Ivy, "Do you want to come with me? It's pretty boring in here."

"I'll wait for a bit just to know how'll this traffic end. I don't want anything happening to my baby," Ivy pointed out, her eyes glinted with malicious intent, removing her seatbelt as she tried to make herself as comfortable as possible; turning on her radio on full volume.

"Your baby?" Dawson questioned bluntly, "You just called your car, 'your baby'?" but then slowly after; a small, sarcastic grin gracing to his lips; his eyebrows scrunching, returning his full attention to Ivy as Tobias did the same. It was an up-normal action done by her, but, however, not a skeptical one.

              "You're staying, right? Since you have never spoken to them before?" The question was looking towards the direction of the redheaded female — who was now making her way out of the car —, the sudden actions that were caused by Ivy gained her full attention; causing her to spin on her heals and turn around, to face the brunette properly. Tindra hadn't officially met the so called 'McCall Pack' before, but she did often hear their name being brought up through casual conversations that her pack would ever have. They had met Tindra months after the tragic deaths of their friends (who she had never seen nor spoken to before, either). And so, tonight was her chance to finally get to meet them personally — and hopefully, learn a fee facts about them that would possibly help her further in the future, as well —.

"I would rather go than staying in here, praying on whether or not would the traffic be solved." With that, all of the teenagers left, leaving Ivy alone in the vehicle. The girl dramatically rolled her eyes at their answers (and decisions), but the teenagers brushed it off, knowing that it meant nothing. Oddly enough, Ivy discovered that she rolls her eyes almost as much as she speaks per a day.

While sitting in her car, singing along to some random song as she kept her gaze on the streets, whenever a car moves forward she would follow right after. A weird sputtering sound resulting from the engine, before the whole vehicle went off; the engineer stopped and Ivy can hear music no more.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Ivy muttered, trying to start the car but nothin changed, she rested her head on the horns as she got out her phone and kept on moving the phone in diverse direction — the same way Dawson was doing earlier — trying to earn a signal. When she finally did earn a bar, she quickly dialed Dawson's number. The connection often getting interrupted, but she couldn't careless. The uneasiness in the pit of her stomach starting to glow as her face dropped.

"Yes?" Dawson spoke throughout the phone.

"The car just went off — I think I ran out of gas. Where are you?" Ivy explained quickly, rambling each word fast; not wanting to waste any time clarification.

"Uh, don't get all snappy, but — we are following Scott and Kira behind as you suggested."

"What the f — "

"Language, Ivy." Dawson reminded, sighing.

"I suggested for you to approach them, not follow behind them!"

"I can't really see the difference," He acknowledged, annoyance laced in his tone. "Come on, Ivy, you could have come but you refused to. Besides, Ivy, you could just — wait till the traffic is solved. Go see what's wrong. It was your choice staying, after all."

"Forget it, Dawson. And by the way, unfollowing you on Instagram."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE
So, each chapter would be from a different perspective — i think it would be more interesting, and easier since I have seven ocs. (rip)

I reread this so many times, i've been working on it for like, 3 months? And im still not quite happy with the result but, i might rewrite it but we'll see.

BUT CAN YOU GUESS WHO THAT GIRL AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER IS?