Pt. 3: When a few pranks go horrendously wrong, but at least a few people get a good laugh out of it

------

A scream echoed throughout the school, drawing the students attention. In small groups of one or two, they made their way to the source of the noise. Everyone was confused, until they saw the trio of girls standing over something.

"P-Pisces?" Aquarius gasped, tears threatening to fall. She fell onto her hands and knees as she stared down at her friend. There was a large gash on his neck, where blood had spurted out, soaking his shirt and turning his light brown hair a deep crimson.

The others begin to react. Tears fall. Others gag.

"Oh my god."

"I-is he actually... dead?"

"B-but..."

"How?"

Libra stepped forward slowly and held Evan's wrist in his hand. After a few seconds, he shookhis head slowly, letting out a few silent tears. Everyone was quiet for a minute.

"Which one of you did it?" Aquarius finally asked. "Which one of you killed him!" No one spoke, but they all stared at her in shock.

All eyes suddenly turned to Capricorn, who was mimicking the Law and Order SVU theme. "Sorry," she muttered as she stared down at her shoes.

"There's a trail of blood," Scorpio commented, pointing with his flashlight. Silently, the group got up and began to follow the trail. The trail let away from the pool and in front of a water fountain where the bright scarlet blood mixed with the water on the ground.

"He was killed drinking water?" Virgo asked, confused.

Leo let out a low whistle. "What a way to go."

"We should do something with his body. Can't just leave it here..." Taurus trailed off.

"You aren't supposed to touch crime scenes," Gemini told her.

"So you just want to leave him here?" Sagittarius said, raising an eyebrow.

"For once I'm with Sagittarius. So, where do you want to put him?" Aries asked.

"He is-he was always happy in the art room," Aquarius said quietly. They headed back to the gym where Scorpio and Libra picked Pisces up. Together, they all shuffled into the dark art room and put him down. Aquarius sniffled, and everyone left her alone for a moment. Once she was sure everyone was gone, Aquarius leaned down over her friend's body.

"Who knew you were such a good actor?"

"Right back at ya." Pisces breathed, the corner of his mouth twitching up into a smile.

"I brought a blanket," Libra said, walking in. Pisces nodded as Libra laid the blanket over his "dead" body.

"At first I wasn't sure. I joined because you two did. Then I thought it would actually be kinda funny" Libra said. "But now I think it's kinda cruel..."

"Too late now," Pisces said softly from under the blanket, and Aquarius could only nod in silent agreement.

"I think we should all talk," Virgo said, walking in. Aquarius nodded, and walked out with Libra behind her. The rest of the students were outside waiting for them.

"Look, I refuse to believe that someone here actually killed him," Aries said, more confidently than she actually felt.

"Oh really?" Taurus said. "We're the only ones here." She paused, considering her next words. "Whoever did it need to confess now."

Everyone glanced around, but no one spoke.

"Well guys, it's time to split up and look for clues," Capricorn said, trying to defuse the tension.

"That's actually not a bad idea." Gemini mused. "But let's go in pairs, you know, for safety."

"And if my partner is the psycho killer?" Aries asked.

"Then we'll know who it is once you turn up dead," Sagittarius commented dryly.

"So who goes with who?" Libra asked.

"Me and Gemini." Aries decided for the group, ignoring her cousin's glares. "Taurus and Cancer. Leo and Aquarius. Scorpio and Sagittarius. Libra and uh, Virgo. And Capricorn, um, just go with Taurus and Cancer. Okay? Now go." Slowly, the group began to head off in different directions. 

However, what none of them noticed was the security camera tucked securely in the corner of the gym.

------

"You okay?" Leo asked the black-haired girl as they walked down the hall together.

"Yeah, I guess." Aquarius shrugged, shuffling his feet.

"He's your friend. It's ok to be upset."

Aquarius wiped one of her eyes. "Libra and Pisces are my only two friends in this place. I moved here not too long ago."

Leo stepped in front of Aquarius and grabbed her by the shoulders. "I'm sure that's not true. Plus, you don't have just him."

"Who else do I have?

"Me." Leo smiled. "And Virgo. That's if you don't hurt him again."

"I wasn't the one who ran into him."

Leo raised an eyebrow as he let go of the girl's shoulders. "Sure you didn't."

Aquarius rolled her eyes, and was surprised to find a small grin on her face. "I didn't."

------

Libra and Virgo walked down the hall in silence, until suddenly Libra paused.

"Hey, I know you're gonna hate me, but I need to use the restroom." The auburn haired boy said.

"Alright. I'll meet you in the chem room?"

"Sure."

The two split off into different paths. Libra sped down the hall, though his destination was anywhere but the restroom. 

There was part two of the plan to complete.

------

"What even are we supposed to be looking for?" Taurus asked.

"Clues to prove that we're innocent." Capricorn replied.

"Hey! Why is the power still working over there?" Cancer asked. True enough, just ahead a section of the school was perfectly lit up.

"Does it really matter? Let's just kee-" Capricorn said.

At that moment, everything was plunged into darkness, even the previously bright swath of space in front of them. Capricorn looked about, confused.

What the students didn't know was that a couple of blocks away, a driver had skidded on the ice, did a 180, and promptly crashed into a utility pole. No one was badly hurt, but the power would be out for quite a while.

The trio didn't get to question this for long, when suddenly they heard banging and shouting coming from down the hall. 

Someone was very desperately trying to either get into, or out of the school. 

------

The students didn't question the power outage as they rushed to the source of the noise. As they approached the main doors, they found a large group of policemen and Mr. Orion banging at the door. 

Finally, after breaking down the locks on the doors, the policemen all rushed in, guns out. 

"Put your hands up where we can see them!"

Taurus nudged Aquarius who was standing shell-shocked in the back, and offered her a nervous smile. Though, the brown haired girl has vastly misinterpreted the reason as to why Aquarius was like this. Aquarius wasn't horrified or anything, it was the sheer amount of control it took not to burst out laughing that caused them 

Orion strode out in front of group, fixing all of them with a horrified stare. 

"I-I can't believe you guys! Not even three hours into this and you've already killed one of your classmates!?" Orion shouted. 

Leo sputtered a bit, attempting to explain the situation. When no one backed him up, he fell silent again. 

"Take them to the gym." Orion just ordered sternly. The policemen waved their guns, and they all began walking down the hall, single file.

Finally, they reached their destination, and the policemen all filed in, waving their flashlight about. One gave a shout as his beam of light passed over a crimson smear on the ground, and everyone rushed over. 

"There's blood, but where's the body?" Orion questioned, looking about. 

"We moved the body." Scorpio said solemnly. "It's in the art room." 

Aquarius shot Scorpio a glance of panic, but no one noticed.

They all marched down the hallway to the art room. 

One policeman slammed open the door, startling the two inside, and Pisces dropped the cards he was holding.

"Do you have a ten?" Libra asked him.

"No fair, you can see my cards!" Pisces protested before snatching them back up.

"You guys are...alive?" Aries asked, wide-eyed.

"Uh... no?"

"It was a prank." Aquarius said, walking forwards and drawing everyone's attention. "The three of us came up with it. It was supposed to have a humorous intent, since, well, we all know that five hours inside an empty building would've driven us all crazy."

Orion just stared around the room, taking in the various makeup paints and brushes scattered across the table while the others behind him burst into loud clamor. 

In the midst of the confusion, Scorpio slipped a small bag of weed into Gemini's coat pocket. 

"So... this is it? Just a huge prank?" Orion sputtered out. Libra and Pisces just nodded, trying their very hardest not to burst into laughter. 

"I... I can't believe you guys. Suspensions, all three of you. And who the hell made the lights go out?"

The students turned towards the trio, expecting it to be another part of their prank, but even they looked bewildered. Another few seconds passed before Capricorn slowly raised her hand, nervous smile on her face. 

"Thought it was spice up the stay, you know? Make us all bond together... better?" 

Orion sighed. "You're joining them in the suspension." 

The smile slid off Capricorn's face. 

"Hey, principal!" Scorpio suddenly interjected. "Shouldn't we do a few pat downs, like, just in case? You know, if someone actually has something."

Orion just buried his face into his hands. "Do it," he waved vaguely in the direction of the police officers, who had been silent through the whole ordeal. "I don't even know who to trust anymore."

Each student was then taken by a different policeman, who patted them down securely. 

"What's this?" Gemini's officer suddenly exclaimed loudly, holding up a ziploc bag with some dried green stuff in it. Gemini's face paled. 

"W-wait! That's... that's not mine!" He pleaded. "I swear I don't do that kind of stuff!" Gemini glanced about wildly before his eyes landed on Scorpio, and his brain connected the dots.

"I-it's him! He was the school's dealer, I swear!" Gemini pointed accusingly at Scorpio. Scorpio just shrugged. 

"Hey, you can check the bag for fingerprints. I'm just gonna say, it's not gonna match mine." Scorpio said nonchalantly. 

"Uh, there's also a phone in here." Aries' officer interjected, holding out a sleek black phone. 

Orion looked in between all the zodiacs. 

"Get out. Just... just get out. Three week suspensions, all of you."

"B-but-" Virgo protested. 

"SHUT UP, BEFORE I MAKE IT FOUR!" Orion roared. Leo clamped a hand firmly over his friend's mouth and proceeded to drag him out of the building. The others followed behind him silently, the only interaction at all being a high-five exchanged between Aquarius and Pisces. 

When the twelve stood in front of the school, mixed expressions filled all of their faces. 

"Well..."

"I HATE all of you." Aries yelled, before storming off. Gemini fumbled around a bit, before finally deciding just to shoot a glare at Scorpio and run off after his girlfriend. Sagittarius followed closely behind him, but not before walking over to the troublemaker trio and complimenting them on their prank. 

Capricorn was the next to leave, but before she went out of earshot Pisces yelled out, "The lights were an amazing idea, by the way!" 

And even though she turned her head away, everyone could see the smile on her face as she walked off. 

Scorpio shrugged. "Can't say that was a pleasure, but it was sure fun. See y'all around?" He asked, sticking out his hand. 

Libra took it with a grin. "Sure thing."

Taurus sighed, watching Scorpio drive away. 

"You know, he did actually frame Gemini. But don't tell anyone that!" She quickly said, and before anyone could say anything, she hurried off. Cancer didn't say anything as she ran after Taurus, but she did turn around and flip the trio off.

Finally, it was just Libra, Pisces, Aquarius, Leo, and Virgo left. 

"Damn. And to think I actually felt bad for you." Leo said, staring at Aquarius. "You're a hella good actor, I've got to say."

Aquarius just smiled. "Thanks."

"My friendship offer still stands." Leo grinned, before turning away, Virgo by his side.

Libra sighed. "I'm glad you included me, but, really got to say, kind of regretting doing it." 

Pisces just nudged his shoulder. "Aw, cheer up! That was fun! Hell, did you see their expressions?"

Aquarius couldn't even keep the smile off her face when she turned to the two boys.

"That was an awesome way to kick off winter break."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope you guys enjoyed the whole thing. It was a bit more darker themed than my previous specials, but I hope you enjoyed it! Hope everyone had a happy holidays!