THE NEXT DAY I GOT UP EARLY AND DRESSED FOR SCHOOL.

I was expecting nothing, keeping my expectations low even though the subtle hints of something very big happening rang in my head. Feeling a bit drowsy, I barely paid attention to what I wore, throwing on a pair of jeggings and an army green knitted sweater.

I pulled my hair into a ponytail and grabbed my phone and bag to meet my rather cherry brother this morning. Evan stood in the middle of the messy living room, holding two Pop-Tarts and the car keys. Dad was still asleep and we didn't bother to wake him so we just took matters into our own hands.

The drive to school was surprisingly long, longer than I remember. Every turn we took seemed rugged and unruly, the once-friendly houses of the neighborhood casting dark shadows upon one another.

We were a bit early to school, and the parking lot was still partially empty when we got out. "What has you down this morning?" Evan asked, finishing his pop tart.

I frowned, nibbling on mine. "Tell me if I'm crazy but I-"

"You're crazy" my brother confirmed before I could finish my sentence.

I frowned at him while he chuckled, rolling my eyes before continuing. "Doesn't this town give you an eerie vibe?" I asked, casting a glance over at him.

My brother shrugged, not paying attention. "Weren't you the one that was excited about this new chapter in our lives?" he questioned a hint of sarcasm in each word he said.

"My opinion on the move hasn't changed. But this town has a vibe I don't like."

Evan looked over at me for only a millisecond before shrugging. "I think you've finally been able to psych yourself out with your insanity."

I groaned, rolling my eyes. "You weren't excited about this move either? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"You've been at my throat ever since we've moved. I had a choice. Suck it up and make the best of it and face your wrath."

He paused between his words, casting a look over to me. "I chose to live."

We separated as soon as we entered the school, parting ways and heading to the first period. I sat down, opening my notebook as Mr. Rochester wrote some equations on the board for us to answer. I didn't even acknowledge Mercedes until she nudged me in the middle of my work.

"Are you still coming to the party?" she asked, twirling her pencil around her ringed fingers. Today she wore a long-sleeved denim crop top and black high-waisted plaid jeans. Her dark braids were pulled into a curly ponytail.

"I'm not sure. I still haven't asked" I replied, shrugging.

She smiled, shaking her head. "You have to come. It's a great way to meet new people. And Greyson is expecting you to be there."

This time, I frowned, raising a brow. "And why would he be thinking that?" I asked.

"Because you have seemed to capture his little heart" she replied, a hint of sarcasm intertwined in each word she uttered. Try as I much, I couldn't help the blush that coated my cheeks. A smile threatened to lift my lips, my heart beating slightly faster.

"I'll let you know. I promise" I uttered, concentrating back on my problems. She nodded, going back to her problems but bothering me once again two seconds later.

"So I see you have met Phoenix," she uttered.

I casted a look over at her, raising my brows. "He's my lab partner. Not like I had a choice controlling the circumstances of our meeting" I said, finishing the problems I had scribbled in the notebook.

"I didn't think so. He's a very strange creature" Mercedes commented, relaxing against her chair.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my interest suddenly peaking higher.

She shrugged, all of a sudden preoccupied with the equation laid out in front of her. "He's always been isolated. He refuses to mingle with the rest of the human population."

"Some people are like that. They just don't like people" I defended.

Mercedes nodded, solving equations as she conversed. "I know but it is a bit freaky. The only person I've ever seen him hang out with was Caleb and well, they didn't even last long."

At her words, I stopped, remembering the way Phoenix's eyes pooled with sympathy as he conversed with Caleb's mom. The tone he used to speak with her, the soft words he chose. It was a side of him possibly no one had ever seen.

"Were he and Caleb close?" I asked.

"They were back in middle school. Something seemed to happen between them because gradually they separated until Phoenix was once again a lone wolf" Mercedes explained with no mercy in her voice, a cold undertone to her words.

Frowning I nodded, keeping quiet as I finished my work. Mr. Rochester walked around, making sure everyone was on the right track before he proceeded to talk and review derivatives.

Turning over to Mercedes, I whispered to her, "I'll call you today if I can make it to the party."

She looked up a smile on her pretty face. "I'll make sure to tell Greyson" she teased, tapping her pencil against her notebook.

A blush formed on my cheeks just thinking about him and his piercing eyes. "Stop" I whispered to her, only prompting her to tease me further. We giggled quietly to ourselves, my cheeks burning so bright.

"Mercedes, Ivy. Would you mind telling us what is so hysterical?" The sound of Mr. Rochester's shrill voice caught our attention.

I stuttered, clearing my throat. Mercedes, however, didn't hesitate to answer back. "The fact that you're still recapping us derivatives It's not rocket science and this is an AP class. Spare us the doubt, please. We are pretty capable of knowing all of this."

Several glances and snickers fluttered around the class and the teacher frowned before turning back to the board. "When you have a Masters in mathematics, then your opinions will matter Mercedes" he shot back with a cold tone.

She let out a low whistle before snickering once more, concentrating back on the textbook in front of her. I smiled along, keeping my head down but my suspicions high

The day passed by suspiciously quickly and before I knew it, I was seated at lunch with Evan across from me.

Phoenix and I barely spoke a word to each other in Chemistry, choosing to pretend to care about the chemicals that were written across the periodic table. Chemicals both he and I could recite without a stutter.

There wasn't much to say. What could we say?

That yesterday's visit to Caleb's house was probably the most scarring and heartbreaking thing we had faced at all that day?

That the suspicion that the murderer was lurking around town was a blood pressure raiser?

Or the fact that Caleb's dead body was being poked and inspected during an autopsy at this very moment?

It was too much to think about. To even talk about.

"Are you listening to me?" Evan said, capturing my attention. I stuttered but ultimately shook my head.

He sighed, chewing his food before speaking. "I was talking about the party that is going on Friday. Are you going?"

"How do you know about the party?" I asked.

"This school isn't that big Ivy. News travels pretty fast. And besides, I made some new friends who told me about the party. We are thinking about going together in a group."

A frown settled on my lips. "Where is the party?"

"At Stephanie's house," he confirmed.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Of course.

"Are you going?" Evan asked me.

I hesitated for a moment, reflecting on the words I said to Mercedes. "Maybe. I am considering it."

"Well I hope you do," he said, finishing his buffalo wings. "It won't be fun without you." His words were comforting and I smiled at my twin brother, reaching over to steal the last buffalo wing and dipping it in blue cheese sauce. "Right back at you bro," I said, munching on the food.

We talked for a quick five minutes, laughing and smiling. It wasn't until cold hands settled on my shoulder did I jump and looked over to see Phoenix standing behind me, wearing a black shirt with an army green jacket over it.

I took a breath, forgetting that we had the same lunch together and that he resided in the back with a couple of his friends.

"Scared the living daylights out of me," I said, wiping my mouth which was covered in sauce.

He smiled, shrugging. "My specialty," he said, crouching down so that he was at eye level with me. "Don't forget, we have to meet at the principal's office after school. It's mandatory."

"Please, don't remind me" I groaned, shaking my head. "I still don't understand why I am being dragged into this. I didn't know Caleb until I moved here a week ago. This all seems too suspicious."

He agreed, nodding his head.

"I know but if we bail it's going to bring more trouble than answers trust me," he said, shaking his head. "For now, we just have to roll along with it. Who knows? Maybe it will lead us to some new clues."

Considering his slightly reasonable take on the situation, I nodded, licking my fingers clean.

I opened my mouth, hesitating to say anything but proceeded without a second thought. "How are you holding up?" I asked him. I didn't need to clarify to him what I was talking about.

By the way, his eyes grew wide and his lips pressed into a thin frown, he already knew what I was asking of.

"We don't speak of that," he said in a rather harsh tone, shaking his head before stomping away. I stuttered on my words, turning around as I watched him sit back down with his tight group of friends, not even acknowledging my brother once or the fact that we knew something that others didn't.

"He's a bit of an emo guy, isn't he?" Evan said as he eyed Phoenix. "I didn't know you were into those types of guys."

I frowned and threw one of my fries at him. He caught it in his mouth, munching on it happily. "I'm not into him. We are just lab partners."

My brother rolled his eyes. "Right, lab partners," he said, emphasizing the word. I rolled my eyes once again and threw a soggy fry at him, dreading what would happen when the day ended.

The day passed by like a blur, one blink, and already so much time had passed by.

I could barely hold my excitement when the bell rang for the last period. In a rush, I gathered my stuff and hurried out of English, rushing over to my locker to pack my belongings before heading downstairs to the basement.

Phoenix made it clear in Chemistry to meet him downstairs in The Circuit. That's what students here called the basement apparently. So I went down the musty stairs and was welcomed with a gust of dust and lemon. Voices bounced off walls, and students shuffled across the hallway to their respective clubs.

Being quick, I quickly found my way to the woodshop area where I found Lycon by his desk.

Who I didn't find however was Phoenix.

I groaned, rushing my fingers through my hair. Lycon seemed to hear me, looking up from his desk. Sawdust was on the thick black apron he wore, his gloves dirty.

"Looking for Phoenix?" he asked, as he took off his goggles momentarily.

"Yeah, he told me to meet him down here after school but as you can see, he's nowhere to be seen."

A chuckle left Lycon's lips, his blonde hair falling across his piercing grey eyes. "Check the school newspaper club. His sister is usually there so he visits her occasionally."

A sister. I never knew.

"Thanks, I'll do that," I said, taking a few steps toward the doorway. Then I stopped and turned back. "Where is the school newspaper club again?" I asked.

He chuckled once more, putting his goggles back on. "Go down the hall and make a right. The door is brightly covered in newspaper titles."

I nodded and walked out. Following his directions, I found it in no time. The graffitied door was slightly opened. The large room was dim but so many people were inside crowding around printers and typing away on computers. Graphic designers crowded around templates, sharing and screaming at each other.

It was a scene that made me scared to even venture into the room so instead, I just ended up tapping on the glass outside. A girl looked up from the computer she was standing near, her long dark hair tumbling over her shoulders. She raised her brows, frowning slightly.

The guy next to her looked up and I frowned. It was Phoenix, his startling blue eyes capturing my gaze. With a chuckle and a smile, he walked over to the door and opened it wide.

"You found me," he said casually, leaning against the doorframe.

"You could have told me that you would be here," I said.

He shrugged, smiling. "I could have but what fun is in that?"

I rolled my eyes once again. Why did he have to be so fucking frustrating?

Before I could even speak another word, the girl he was with appeared at the door. She glanced at me only once before confronting him. "I thought you were helping me with these edits" she spoke in a rather harsh tone. Phoenix didn't seem phased though, waving a relaxed hand at her.

"And I did but now I have to go deal with other matters," he said, going back inside the room to grab his jacket and bag. The girl seemed upset, crossing her hands over her chest as he walked past her.

"You are a shitty helper," she said.

"But a wonderful brother" he retorted back. "Face it, Jolie. You can't live without me."

She scoffed, waving a bunch of papers in his face. "Don't compliment yourself."

Phoenix smiled once more, hugging his sister. Although her expression of disappointment was written on her face, she hugged him back, relaxing her cheek on his shoulder. "Just promise me you'll help me at home."

He nodded, ruffling her hair. "You have my word."

And with that, he grabbed my hand and walked off with me. We didn't speak a word until we emerged from the basement and he let go of my hand. We were on the first floor and the hallways were empty. Not another soul, besides us, was in the hallway.

"I didn't know you had a sister," I said, passing a glance at him.

"I didn't know you had a brother" he replied.

I looked over at him. "Yes, you did. You met him yesterday" I pointed out.

He rolled his eyes, a smirk playing on his lips. "Was that him? I thought that was your boyfriend."

Momentarily, I stopped in my tracks, choking on his remark. "Don't insult me like that."

His laughter rang through the hallway, a rare sight for such a melodramatic guy who wore nothing but black and probably spent his nights staring up at the sky or doing whatever he did at night.

We stopped at the main office, entering the opened glass doors. The secretaries didn't pay attention to us as we walked past them and toward the back where the principal office resided. Phoenix knocked once, and waited a few seconds, before opening the door without any approval.

"Phoenix" I hissed as he trespassed. I entered immediately after him and stumbled upon the principal and Ms. Rosenberg having a very important meeting. The principal, Mrs. Earlwington, looked over at us, a smile on her face.

"Ivy, Phoenix. Come in. We were expecting you" she said, getting up from her chair. She smoothed down her blue pantsuit, her strawberry blonde pulled up in a curly updo. Phoenix pulled out a chair for me before he sat down on his own, his eyes darting quickly to both adults.

"Ms. Rosenberg and I were just discussing the designs that can be incorporated into Caleb's memorial," she said, opening the binder in front of her.

She flipped through a few pages and slid the binder over to us. In front of us were different ideas, all centering around a portrait of Caleb. I never really took a good look at him before but now I could see why he was so popular.

He had thick blonde hair, warm hazel eyes, and a smile that could melt any girl's heart. Freckles dotted his fair complexion. The varsity jacket he wore screamed power. He had this power stance with him even if it was captured in a picture.

Most of the options involved a lot of flowers and a quote engraved on a plate of silver. One idea even involved a bench in honor of his name. It also suggested posters and arranging pep rallies to encourage and unite the community.

"What do you guys think of it so far?" Ms. Rosenberg asked.

Phoenix and I looked up and then at each other. "It's a start," he said, sliding over the binder back to Mrs. Earlwington. "But can we incorporate some of our ideas?"

"Of course!" she said, her voice rising. "This is all about Caleb and uniting the student body so any ideas that you might have that you two think will benefit the school and community will be looked into."

We both nodded, not uttering another word.

Silence passed between us for a few minutes, Phoenix and I looking at each other and back down at our fumbling fingers. The adults traded looks and looked back at us, clearing their throats.

"Well, we are going to step out for a minute to discuss other faculty business but you two are more than welcome to stay here and discuss your ideas."

And with that, the two adults stepped outside of the office, cracking the door open just a tiny bit. We waited until their voices were far enough until we spoke. Phoenix was first to speak, dragging the binder back to our side.

"I didn't sleep at all last night" he whispered, flipping through the pages. "I couldn't sleep."

"Me either" I chimed in. "I just kept hearing his mother's voice in my head, taunting me."

He nodded, sighing deeply, and pushed the binder away. "Which of these designs do you like best?" he asked.

I looked through the binder, frowning at each page.

"In all honesty, I hate all of these. It doesn't seem genuine, more cliche if anything."

Phoenix nodded, running his fingers through his black locks. "Agreed but I don't want to be in here any longer. We have a hint, a clue as to how Caleb died. I want to follow up on it."

"I thought I was digging myself into a hole you didn't want to fall into," I said with a smile on my face.

He looked up at me, his piercing blue eyes staring right at me. His gaze looked me up and down, his lips pulled into a frown. "You are, don't get me wrong. But yesterday made me realize that you were right. There is a lot more to the story and everyone is hiding a secret that can help solve Caleb's case. If no one is going to do anything about it, might as well be us."

"I knew you would see it my way at some point."

Phoenix suppressed his smile, shaking his head. "So, where do we start? We know that Greyson and Tyson were the last two possible people to see Caleb alive before his disappearance."

"So we start with them," I said, taking out my phone. I unlocked it and went straight to the contacts to find Mercedes's number. "How do you feel about going to a party this Friday night?"

He groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Do I look like I mingle with those kinds of people?" he questioned. "If you haven't noticed I have very few friends and I like it that way. Less drama, more time and space to do my own thing."

"I know but it is a start. You can even bring Lycon and Jolie along if you want" I suggested. "I know my brother will be there."

He groaned once more, passing me a very tired gaze. "Do I have to?" he asked.

"It's a step in the right direction, Phoenix."

Nodding, he waved his hand at me. "Fine, I'll go. But I am not saying more than five words to anyone the entire night."

Smiling, I tapped Mercedes's name and put the phone to my ear. "I didn't expect you to speak at all, Phoenix" I replied.

He rolled his eyes, rushing his fingers through his hair. "You are one hell of an instigator."

"That I am."

  My head is haunting me and my heart feels like a ghost

I need to feel something, 'cause I'm still so far from home

Cross your heart and hope to die

Promise me you'll never leave my side

~ Follow you by Bring Me the Horizon