ROSALIE WALKED UP to one of the bathroom mirrors, humming to herself. The faint sounds of students yelling and laughing echoed in the bathroom, the walls being, quite literally, paper-thin. She released her hair tie and ran a hand through her chestnut locks. She put her phone down on the ledge of the sink and hastily began to braid her hair - she couldn't be late for her next lesson.

Moments later, she wrapped the second hair tie around her plait and pulled out a few flyaways, loosening them. She leaned down and grabbed her backpack when she felt a tight, gloved grip on her forearm and a sharp pain in her hand. Rosalie turned around, eyes darting to find a face, but her eyes fluttered shut as she abruptly fell to the floor.

She hadn't died yet, but she definitely would.

Shortly after the lunch bell had rang, a girl from Year 7 frantically ran into the nurses' office with wide eyes, holding her books to her chest.

"Miss, a girl's fainted in the first floor toilets!"

Rosalie's body lay sprawled across the cold, probably-dirty floor. Her eyes were sunken, her lips slightly chapped and agape. Her cheeks were no longer rosy and her face was pale. The senior nurse gently unclasped the girl's fingers. With a cloth, she grabbed the small, translucent bottle, two pills inside of it rattling as she picked it up. The label had been torn off.

———

Anaïs planted a small kiss on Gabrielle's cheek and flashed her a small smile before she walked off.

"Ann-"

"Really not in the mood, Abel."

"Are you still mad at me?"

"Obviously. You threatened Gabby." Anaïs kept her gaze fixed forwards, walking faster with every second. Abel knew she wouldn't let go of this so easily. "To be honest, I don't give a shit about what you have to say about her, and quite frankly it's none of your fucking business," she finished, inches away from his face before a crowd of students walked into the corridor, being ushered into the main hall by the teachers.

"Good morning, everyone."

A picture of a bright, smiling girl was projected onto the board.

"As you may know, one of our students, Rosalie Bordeaux, sadly passed away this Tuesday. She was no doubt a lovely young woman, who constantly cared for her peers and put others before herself. In her honour, a memorial has been made at the school entrance. Please feel free to leave flowers, letters, and other tokens. I understand that for many of you, this may be a difficult time, and I would like to remind you that we have a plethora of counselling services in school if you feel the need to talk to someone. Please speak to the Pastoral Care staff if you have further questions... I should also say that the Bordeaux family have requested that the details of her passing remain private. Please refrain from spreading rumours, whether they are true, or not. Thank you."

Juniper stared at the picture projected onto the board. She could almost hear her laughter. She could picture the way her plaits would sway from side to side when she was halfway through a passionate rant, or how she would always be shaking her leg, purely out of habit. She just missed her.

Juniper cleared her throat, ruffling her dark curls and taking a deep, shaky breath.

———

She stood at the doorway of Rosalie's bedroom, leaning against the doorframe. She could already feel her eyes welling up. As her eyes scanned the room, she saw the small habits Rosalie had; how the corner of her table was chipped because of when she slammed her very heavy bag against it. Her desk was always covered with revision notes and at least one textbook, and one of her pillows was always slightly wonky because of the way she slept on it. Her gaze lingered on the photograph propped up next to her bed, three bright faces smiling at her though the frame.
"Come on, Lily. I know you miss her. I do too."
"I'll be down in a sec," Lily yelled down the stairs, sighing as she gently shut Rosalie's bedroom door.

Her wife pulled her into a tight hug as they stood in the middle of the kitchen.

———

"She didn't fucking deserve this! If you tell me this is a coincidence, I'm going to rip your skull apart."

"Now is not the time to start threatening people,"  Rhys started, leaning forwards and making several excessive hand gestures.

"Move your hands any closer and I'll cut your dick off."

Devon hesitantly placed his hand over Juniper's, examining her face as she avoided his gaze.

"Rosalie wasn't killed in the game, this probably was just something else. We don't even know how she died."

"She revived me last time we played. She also covered me from that chandelier when we went to that address," Juniper grunted quietly, staring at the floor.

"So they took her instead of you."

They stared blankly at Juniper.

"You're really not helping your case here."

"Look, I think we should take a break from this, just like we said we would," Evelyn cut them off.

"Okay, we're clearly being watched, so we can't just stop playing," Anaïs interjected. "Then we all die."

"I'd rather die at this point. My stress level is at its ultimate height right now."

"You're so dramatic."

"Anyone who doesn't want to play doesn't have to," declared Anaïs.

"Bottom line, we have to finish this game. This couldn't have been a coincidence, look what was posted on her Instagram."

rosalie.bb just posted a photo.

rosalie.bb  

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rosalie.bb a slight dent in our plans.
- india_2938
9 minutes ago

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tysm for reading this chapter! hope u enjoyed

i really didn't want to kill off a character but i had to move the plot along aaah :'( i love u rosalie !!

until next time xoxo

bye <3

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