Manipulation Room victim no. 39292
Name: Gwendolyn Raine
Age: 42 years old
Occupation: Chemist
Family Member: 21-year-old daughter, Lyra
Description: A high voltage current is passed into the victim's body which results in instant death

.......................................

I was sitting on the school fields, waiting for Ezra, Kierra and Jax. But mainly Ezra. He was in his detention with Mrs Castellar right now, but he'd agreed to come early so that we could organise our next plan before Jax and Kierra came. We were going to do it. We were going to go to the Manipulation Room.

So, I was sitting and I was waiting. I'd already agreed that it would be me who organised the plan. Mainly because I'm a control-freak and he'd already missed out on too much schoolwork for me to remain calm about it. I had my own notebook now, and it was also filled with notes and elaborately drawn diagrams. The diagrams weren't as good as his but that was expected.

I sprawled my legs out on the thick spring grass, wet under the early morning dew. The overhanging boughs behind me provided dappled shade from the almost overwhelming heat. I pulled my notebook out of my bag and stared at my notes admiringly. I'd missed out on two whole days' worth of revision to make it perfect, which doesn't sound like a lot but it really is. The notes I'd made had timetables, perfectly scaled maps, witness reports...the lot.

No one remembered walking into the Manipulation Room and no one remembers walking out. They also don't remember what happened when they were inside. This meant we had practically nothing, but we had rough measurements and locations. It was enough.

Echo waved at me from across the field, where her and her older friends were walking. The school field was dotted with groups of students, eating lunch and chatting. My phone beeped with a text and when I checked it, it was from her. From Echo. You know, ur lipstick's smudged. I laughed as I texted back, thanks for telling me, weirdo

I tried my best to wipe my lips with no mirror, no water and no tissues, and I was pretty sure I'd made it infinitely worse. I sat for what felt like years but was probably five minutes, looking through my notes again and again. It needed to be perfect. If we were going to do this, we had to do it properly.

"Nice lipstick." I looked up and saw Ezra grinning at me. He dropped his bag in front of me and sat beside me on the grass, stretching his legs out in front of him. "Don't even ask...is it that obvious?" I groaned. He shook his head, still laughing. "No! You look great. Don't worry about it."
I nodded slowly, "You're a great liar."
He smirked again, biting his lip to hold back an even louder laugh.

"I made the plan." I said swiftly, to change the subject as fast as I could. "Cool, do you know when Jax and Kierra are coming?" He asked, folding his legs and shifting closer. I shrugged, "No, but we should have time. We're not...telling them, right?"
He shook his head slowly, "Um..." He exhaled. "No. Let's...let's not. They'll only worry and try to stop us. Which is understandable, 'cause only someone who was completely crazy would do what we're doing."
"Sounds like us."

He laughed, "C'mon. Show me your masterpiece. Lemme guess...diagrams, timetables, notes...the lot. Oh, and witness and news reports?"
I grinned, "You know me so well." I threw the notebook onto his lap and he eagerly opened it to the first page. He raised an eyebrow as he flicked the pages, "Damn, Lyric...the detail in this. We should leave the note-taking to you from now on." He chuckled, scanning a page before studying the diagram. I folded my arms and laughed, "You're only realising that now?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "So...tomorrow, you're coming to mine, right?"
"Right. I don't want my Mum getting suspicious, and I know she will." I replied. He nodded, "What if...what if something happens to us? I mean, we need to do this, but it's dangerous. It's really, really dangerous."
I pulled my knees to my chest and placed my chin on it, "Both our mother's have lost so much already. I just...I don't know. This'll benefit them in the long-run, obviously, but what if it doesn't work?"

He shifted closer and put an arm around my shoulder, pulling me towards him. I leant my head against his chest and exhaled, "You know, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be doing this with."
He smiled, planting a light kiss on my head. "Me neither. We're a team."
"A team...I like the way that sounds."
"Me too."

Suddenly, he pulled away, and dropped his arms to his sides. "Credence is coming this way." He whispered, under his breath, looking stiff and awkward. I gave him an irked look back. A look that said, 'I didn't want to stop cuddling you but here we are.' Though he probably didn't interpret it that way.

Credence approached us and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Aw, cute." He did an overly sarcastic heart-clutch before dropping his hands to his side. I folded my arms, "Credence, what do you want?"
He pointed to my face, "Your lips." He groaned. "Can't you just keep that in the bed?"

Ezra cleared his throat so much that he almost choked, his eyes wide with shock. My hand flew to my lips as I folded in on myself with embarrassment. "Credence!" I yelled. "This isn't...this isn't from- actually, never mind. I don't have to explain myself to you."
He folded his arms and gave me an icy glare, his sight wavering to Ezra before returning to me. "I always knew you were... a hussy." He said the word 'hussy' with so much spite that I was almost taken aback.

Ezra rose to his feet and sized up on Credence, his teeth gritted and his eyes dark blue with fury. "What did you just call her?"

Credence gulped, subtly, his eyes stuck on Ezra. He bit his lip, "Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me you guys are just friends."
Ezra froze, clenching and unclenching his fist. Credence cackled, "Go on."
Ezra stepped backwards and fell next to me, folding his legs and picking up my notebook from the grass. He couldn't. He couldn't tell Credence we were just friends because inside, he knew we weren't. He knew and I knew. Publicly we were just friends, factually we were just friends...but emotionally, we weren't. Emotionally, we were so much more. We both knew it.

Credence chortled, clutching his sides as he did, like Ezra sitting down and refusing to do as he said was so hilarious. "Just get lost. Go on, get lost." Ezra spat, scowling at Credence as he spoke. Credence put his hands up, "Oh, honey, no. I'm not the villain here! You're sitting next to the real antihero of the story...and as it appears you've been snogging her too."

Ezra tensed up again but I put a hand on his leg to stop his punching Credence into the next stratosphere. "What did I ever do to you, Credence? Tell me, why do you hate me so much?" I demanded, glowering at him as I spoke. He chuckled, "Oh, like you don't know!"
I shook my head and threw my hands in the air, "I don't!"
"Then it'll stay that way!" He turned to Ezra and pulled a sketching pencil out of his pocket. He threw it onto the bare patch of grass next to Ezra, "You left that in detention, sweetie." I'd never heard someone say the word 'sweetie' with so much disgust.

Just as Ezra went to pick it up, Credence turned on his feet and stomped away. Ezra tucked the pencil behind his ear and exhaled, "Bloody hell..."
I turned to face him and smiled wistfully, "Why didn't you just tell him we were friends?" I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him say it. He paused, his gaze wavering before looking straight into my eyes. "Because..." He hesitated. "Because I know it's not true."

I smiled at him and he smiled back, neither of us wanted to ruin the moment by saying anything. "Why'd you think he's so angry at you?" Ezra asked, finally. It wasn't exactly the topic I wanted to talk about, but I'd happily talk to him about anything. I shrugged, "I don't know, one day he just...he just stopped talking to me and Kierra. I don't know why."
Ezra played with his fingers, fiddling with the rip in his jeans as he sat uncomfortably on the grass. "Do you..." He began. "Do you think it's because of me?"

I turned to face him and creased my forehead with confusion, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, when I first arrived, he was totally fine. You were all friends. And then the next day, one day since I'd arrive, he suddenly stopped talking to me. Don't tell me that's just a coincidence." He explained, dropping his hands into his lap. "Ezra, don't. This isn't your fault. Credence chose to ignore me and Kierra, that's his problem. Not mine and not yours." I replied, linking my fingers with his and squeezing.

He squeezed my hand back and breathed deeply, "You, Kierra and Credence were so close. Don't you...don't you miss that?"
I shifted towards him, "No, I don't. Do you wanna know why?"
He wrapped an arm around my neck, "Go on."
"Because I may have lost a good friend...but I've gained an even better friend in the process. And I'm okay with that." I replied, smiling from ear to ear. He grinned at me, leaning closer so that his head was leaning against my shoulder. "Friend?" He chuckled.

I giggled, "Okay. An even better friend that is maybe something more than a friend."
He lifted his head from my shoulder and leaned closer, brushing his nose against mine, a gorgeous smile stuck on his face. "Maybe...?"
In that moment, I pressed my lips against his, felt his body loosen and arms touch my shoulders. I smiled into his lips, "Maybe something more than a friend." 
He chuckled, leaning back for a second before pulling me into another kiss. This one was longer, softer and comforting in a way that words could never be.

I was completely unprepared. You would think that after all the hours I'd spent with Ezra – watching him talk, laugh and frown – that I would know all there was to know about his lips. But I hadn't imagined how warm they would feel pressed up against my own. As it turned out though, this wasn't like an exam. I didn't need preparation, revision or notes. I just needed him, and the feeling that was growing in my heart. That was enough.

When my phone buzzed, I pulled away. It was reluctant, but even amidst the kisses and my thoughts being a blur, I was still aware of the crowded school field we were sitting on. It was a text from Kierra. I'm sooo sorry Lyric! Me and Jax can't make it because something came up with his parents. I'm an awful bff I know...I promise I'll make it up 2 you! Tell Ezra we're sorry Xx I texted back don't even worry about it! We're totally ok on our own

I tucked my phone back into my pocket and grinned, "Kierra and Jax said they couldn't make it. They said sorry."
"Ah, it's totally okay." He responded, smiling himself. "Hey, I think your lipstick's smudged." He laughed, brushing his finger against my lips and grinning like a little kid. I beamed, "That definitely wasn't like that before."
"How about we go to our special place? We can...organise our plan."
I stood up, "Totally. Let's go and 'organise our plan'." I grinned, putting up fake speech marks with my fingers on 'organise our plan'.

He beamed, jumping up beside me like an excited little kid. He was so cute I wanted to kiss him right there, in the middle of the field. "I really am a bad influence on you, aren't I?" He laughed, grabbing my hand in his and nudging me with his arm. "Mrs Castellar would be so disappointed in me right now..." I joked; a permanent grin stuck on my face. He pulled me towards him and began walking down the field, "C'mon. Let's go and smudge your lipstick some more."