Chapter II

Holmes and Watson

Maria tapped her foot as she sat in class. Max smirked at her, clearly enjoying the pain of her boredom. Maria sighed at him, and continued ignoring him.

It had been three months and five days since Max's birthday, since the day he discovered the strange things he could do. He eyed a kid's water bottle, and imagined a small tornado to appear in it, like they usually did when you swirled it. The swirl appeared, and spun around for a little while before stopping. Max exhaled sharply as he averted his gaze up to the board.

Mrs. Franz eyed the class. Her blue eyes shone through her spectacles, making them look more electrifying then they usually did. Her hair was a dark brown, one people would describe as black, and curled around the back of her head into a chignon. Her eyebrows were done perfectly, and her eyelashes were long. She wore enough makeup for two females. Her white place was tight fitted, even though she had a bit of stomach flab, which showed off through the blouse. She wore a checkered skirt that almost reached her knees. Max knew if she were allowed to, she'd probably dress like every bimbo here. She wore black heels on her feet, and even though the majority of the classroom was carpet, where she decided to stand at that moment was hard wood, so whenever she walked you'd hear the annoying click clack of her heels.

"Alright, everyone. Today is November seventeenth, twenty fifteen. Are you all ready for the next essay we have to write?"

Max groaned. Mrs. Franz was notorious for assigning essays every month on the seventeenth. For a younger teacher, she was hugely unpopular, unless you were some huge geek.

He frowned as the familiar face bobbed back into his mind. Sighing, he looked towards Maria. "Maria," he whispered, trying not to draw attention "Maria..." he dragged out, getting more and more annoyed with every second that passed.

Sighing, Maria turned to him. "What is it?" She whisper-hissed.

"What do you think this essay will be on?"

"Hopefully not another one on the economy, that's for sure."

Max nodded. The economy was the worst. It was so boring. He knew that soon, otherwise known as in two years he'd have to worry about it, but as of now, he was fine without knowing. He'd save all that for senior year when he'd have to cram it all into a three week window. Besides, he'd already witnessed enough to know that life was too short and he would have to enjoy it while he could.

He didn't know how long he had to live, but he hoped it would be a while. Sighing, Max ran a hand through his unruly bed head. He'd lost track of time (his alarm didn't go off) and he woke up with only ten minutes before he had to leave. He had thrown on his clothes and grabbed a piece of toast, but hadn't brushed his hair. Not that it looked bad, though. In fact, he heard a few girls call it 'stylish' or even 'sexy'.

Max knew he was one of the slices of pie everyone wanted. If anything, he was one of the more wanted ones. However, he was hidden by one person: Maria.

She turned down every girl, saying none of them were good enough for him. Even when Brittany, one of the most sweetest girls of the school, asked him out, she turned her down, saying she was too 'weak' and 'excepting'. Maria said she was afraid he'd take advantage of her, but Max begged to differ. Brittany was sweet to females, but males, now that was a different story. She was similar to a dictator whenever she spoke to anyone in the male population. Max cringed at the thought of poor Jensen Lyles being her boyfriend. He'd have to go hug him sometime and cry for him. Actually, every boy had already done that in a secret ritual they all held whenever Brittany got someone.

And yes, they actually did that.

Max immediately frowned when he thought of the day after the ceremony. It had been another day like the last three before it. Ever since he'd turn eight, they'd been happening. Perhaps if it was free-verse for the essay, he'd write about that. He knew a lot about that stuff from Maria since she'd become obsessed with it since the first time it happened when they were eight.

The last one had happened in March. It had been a girl, unlike the two before it. He frowned as he thought of the second one, that same face bubbling into his mind. He shook his head. Forget him he thought he's gone for good. However, the more he thought about it, the less likely he believed he was.

He immediately thought of his behavior before it happened. He'd been hot to the touch, and he refused to wear anything that covered excessive amounts of skin. Max frowned. He missed his nerdy humor and his comments about everything. He never understood why he'd be the target of something like that.

Mrs. Franz's annoying voice brought Max out of his thoughts. "Class, we are going to be writing essays on world events. Whether it is something in our own Big Apple or something going on, in say, Bavaria, it'll count. It can be past, but please, nothing before the twenty first century. I'll give you a bit to ponder over what you will write it about. Now, get to it."

Max grinned. He already knew what he'd write about. He took out some lined paper and wrote his name at the top. He frowned at his sloppy handwriting. He really needed to work on it.

Sighing, he began his essay.

****

Maxwell River

Period Three

11/17/15

  Most people believe that nothing bad will happen to you. They believe that nothing bad will happen to those around them. However, something always seems to worm its way into your life. Whether you're the victim, or someone you know is, it always hurts you. It works its way into your mind, forcing you to think it is all your fault, or making you go crazy over the fact that it won't leave you alone. I have this problem. What has happened to me i the past haunts my nightmares and my normal life. I can never get their faces out of my mind or out of daily conversations. If you don't already know the story, then you're living under a rock.

  Eight years ago, there was a girl named Jasmine Frost. She was in my grade, the same class as me. She didn't have friends, but I felt she was the most pretty of the girls in our school. However, all she did was ignore others and hide in a corner. She requested to have a seat alone at a table. She would sit in the corner of the playground, never saying anything to anyone or trying to converse with other students. Some kids made fun of her. Why? She wore long clothing all the time. Always long sleeves, pants, and boots. Occasionally, she'd show up with earmuffs on or a beanie covering her head. At one point, I thought she was crazy. She was wearing this during the heat of the summer, so of course I found her crazy. And then, she was kidnapped.

  Six years later, me, Maria, and my friend, Asher Burn were in grade eight. She still hadn't been found, and she was occasionally brought up in conversations. Our group were the tightest around. We'd known each other forever, and never kept anything from one another. Asher and Maria were geniuses while I was the non-categorized kid of the group. I was not a jock, I was not a nerd, and I sure as heck wasn't a prep. Asher was the typical nerd. Big, thick, black glasses, buck teeth with braces, occasional acne, and he always wore the dorkiest outfits. Plaid dress shirts with pens in the front pocket with either trousers or jeans and then dress shoes. He said his parents made him dress this way, but I knew that was false. He did it because he liked it. He always had his hair perfectly trimmed and gelled in a nerdy way. However, he began to get odder, I guess. He wore tank tops and shorts with sandals, even during winter. He grew his hair out, only running a brush through it. His acne magically vanished, and he clearly began to work out. Girls noticed him, but he wouldn't let anyone touch him. He refused to talk to us about what was happening, and he began to fail classes. And then, he was kidnapped.

  There was a boy named Killian Gold who was two years older than us. In our freshman year, he tried to get into Maria's pants multiple times. He was the son of the two richest people in Manhattan, the Gold family. He had a brother our age, but he was off at some fancy boarding school in Colorado. He was the definition of the bad boy player. He kissed many girls, and everyone believed he had sex with them, though he never said he did, and the girls didn't want to disclose anything. Maria once told me she thought he was attractive, but she would never go with him because of how he would treat her. No one knew about his life at home, but they all assumed it was heaven. His father and mother were divorced, but he had a Step-Father. Once his step father came into his life, Killian wore long sleeves all the time. He never had on anything revealing skin, unless it was his ankles, neck, or face. He stopped going after girls, but he still teased Maria. He took another teen under his wing as his protégé, but that's a story for another time. However, once we got halfway through our freshman year, he closed himself off. His protégé didn't know what was wrong with him, so he was of no help. He stopped bugging Maria, which only made her pursue him more, trying to get answers. His skin paled, losing its usual tan. His eyes turned from blue to a golden color, and his hair went from blonde to black. And then, he was kidnapped.

  After Killian vanished, we thought perhaps there would be no more kidnaps. Maria had become obsessed with the kidnaps, and she had folders on all of them. I told her she was crazy, but she didn't care what I said. The school used to have a DJ. Her name was Piper Stone. She was an outcast. She never had that many friends, and she didn't seem to care that she didn't. If I hadn't already been thinking of another girl, then I'd have probably liked her. She was a beauty, it surprised me that she had no boyfriend or friends. However, in March, she began to act weirder than usual. She was nervous around crowds of people, and she hardly spoke to anyone. Eventually, she stopped being the Disc Jockey for the dances. Her appearance didn't change much, but it was clear that she had. And then, she was kidnapped.

  Most people will think this is a stupid reason for me to have nightmares. Some will think it is a perfect example. These people clearly won't be coming back, which makes us all the more upset. During assemblies we pray they'll come home and no one else will get kidnapped, but so far those prayers have been in vain. In a way, I think these weren't kidnaps at all. What if something was going on in their personal lives? I mean, it would make sense. But at the same time, wouldn't their families have heard from them if it wasn't? Even so, this is a very touchy subject for people in my district and town as we have not been able to find them yet, which has caused many depressed families and friends. I sincerely hope that one day we will know what has happened to them.

****

Max sighed as he sat at the lunch table. Perhaps today would be different. He hoped his mother didn't pack him anything too disgusting. When he pulled out a slice of pizza, he cheered. Some people cast glances their way, but Max ignored them as he tore into it. However, upon taking his third gulp, he realized this was a pizza from the terrible pizza store that sold broccoli on pizza. He took the slice out of his mouth and saw the green pieces of poison sitting on it, mocking him. He retched as he chucked it towards the trash can. A few people laughed at his expression.

"Broccoli, huh River?" A male voice called from another table.

"Ha ha, very funny, Miles." Max said, glancing at Maria's lunch.

Maria rolled her eyes. "You're impossible, you know that, right?"

"Nu uh." Max teased.

"I feel for Ashley." Maria said, shaking her head solemnly.

He narrowed his eyes. "I thought you loved me." He countered. Maria's face immediately flushed a bright red.

"Max," she drawled out, turning to look at him.

"Yes, honey?" He teased.

Maria's face turned an even deeper shade of crimson. "Dick." She muttered under her breath.

"I'm sorry, alright?" Max said, his stomach starting to complain.

"Fine, I accept your apology."

Max smirked. "Now, can I have your chips?"

Maria picked up the to-go pringles cup. "Oh, these?" She hummed as she shook them lightly.

"Yes, those." Max said, making puppy dog eyes.

"Hmm, I'll have to think about it." She said, tapping her chin.

He frowned. "Awe, please?"

She made no gesture in response as she opened the cup. Max drooled to himself as she picked up one of the original chips. She picked up another one, making Max get excited. She turned one of the other ships over and stuck the two into her mouth. She turned to him. "Quack." She said as she moved the chips to make it look like she was a duck quacking.

Max pondered his next move. He smirked before ducking to her quickly, biting off half of the chips in her mouth. Maria's eyes widened as he pulled back quickly. Her jaw dropped, the two chips falling out of her mouth. "Did you just..."

"Better believe it." He said teasingly as he tapped the tip of her nose. Before Maria could counter anything, a male voice sounded from behind him.

"Well, if it isn't Sherlock and Watson. I'm sure all the shippers will be very happy, hmm?"

Max bit his bottom lip as he tried to calm himself. Maria smiled shyly. "Chris, we aren't in the mood..."

Chris simply laid a hand on the table as he leaned forward. "But Maria, you know how much they love their Johnlock, no?"

Max's head snapped to face his. Chris smirked at him. His milk chocolate brown eyes stared back into his blue ones. His golden blonde hair was brushing just above his eyebrows as the wind blew it into his face. His hair was slightly shorter then Max's, which only fueled Max's hatred towards him more. He had golden tan skin, which gave Max the perfect opportunity to make up a nickname for him. He called him 'tanner', which Chris absolutely hated.

Today, Chris wore a green hoodie, which was a bit too tight for him. However, that was probably what he wanted, seeing as it showed off his muscles. He wore dark jeans that rested on his black Chuck Taylors. Behind him was his two fellow popular friends, Jason and Fred.

Chris chuckled at Max as he took in his appearance. "I love the stares, but I only go for female parts, sorry."

Max scowled. "Well, it's hard to go after yourself, huh?"

"Max..." Maria said.

"Listen to your friend, Max. I'd rather not start anything, right?"

He shook his head. "You should leave then. Wouldn't want to make you Master upset, no?"

Chris clenched his jaw. "You don't talk ill about Killian, you hear me?"

Max feigned fear. "Oh no, I am so scared."

Maria laid a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, we need to go."

He didn't argue. Instead, he grabbed her apple and munched on it as he helped her gather her things. The pair made their way to the library, ignoring everyone's stares at they walked away from Chris.

"Did you finish Mrs. Franz's essay?" Maria asked as they walked.

"Yeah, you?"

"I have the first two paragraphs written."

"What's you topic?"

"The attacks on Paris." She said, looking down at the ground.

"I did mine on the kidnappings." He muttered as he finished the apple, leaving only a core left.

Maria nodded, clearly not wanting to delve any deeper into the topic. It was touchy for both of them, seeing as they were close with two of them, even if one of them was considered their enemy.

"I hope they are still alive." Maria suddenly said as Max opened the door to the library.

Max paused at her comment. "Yeah, me too." He murmured before walking in with her.

****

Max sat in his room. He was at his desk, staring out the window that was in front of it. He lived in an apartment with his family. Since there was only three of them, they never really felt the need to move into a larger house, like Maria's family had. She had two older brothers who were both in college.

Sighing, he looked down at the math homework he had to do. He tapped his pencil on the table before a flash of light hit him in the eye.

He winced as he looked up. He saw the same figure standing there, but there were more than one. His jaw dropped open when he saw the cans of spray paint they held.

Two unrolled a large, white sheet of paper before another shook a can of paint and began spraying a message on it. When he finished, Max clenched his fist.

Heed this warning, Maxwell. If you do not leave this house, we will harm your family and those around you. Best be careful, we know your secret.

Max wanted to go out there and murder those bastards, but he simply shut his blinds, not able to take it anymore.

As he sat there, he knew he had only one choice.

He had to leave.