- Saturday, March 24th, -

I didn't go to our match after visiting Emma. Even if it's against team rules to cancel this shortly prior to a match, I couldn't care less.

As soon as I left jail, and turned on my phone again, I noticed I had tons of missed calls from Stan, which started late last night.

I knew I should've charged my phone sooner then in the car on my way to visit Emma. I should've charged it during the night, as soon as my battery died late last night.

But I was lazy, and I didn't mind the fact nobody was able to reach me for one evening.

So, I missed his calls throughout the entire night.

I missed the fact he was at our doorstep.

I missed the fact early this morning, while I was gone, the police visited to check in on me.

We got intercepted in the parking lot of the jail, police rushing to make sure I was doing fine since they could not reach me.

And then they took me home, where I found Oliver stressing out, and Stan curled up on the couch.

Only to find out Nathan never arrived at Stan's place and he is now officially missing.

He pressed his panic button, and they found the device outside, in besides his parked car, that was unlocked with the keys still in the ignition.

As soon as I walked inside the living room, Oliver attacked me in a hug, refusing to let me go for several minutes, telling me to never ever scare him like that, ever again.

Stan started crying and it felt weird to see him like that. He always used to be the stronger out of all of us, the one who was able to stay calm and collective.

But I guess he can't handle the fact Nathan might be in the same trouble as Finnley. He completely broke down, and I've been trying to calm him down, while his father came over, Nathan's parents called me to make sure I was still okay, and to agree to stay in touch whenever anyone had any information.

They also requested me to organize something to search for Nathan around here, like spreading posters and flyers throughout town.

But we all know we did all of that when Finnley went missing and it never got us any information about his whereabouts.

And now I just can't help but hope, wish, at least Nathan will go to the same place, so they get to be together in their situation.

Because, if we're being realistic, we all know Nathan will end up in a shitty situation, just like Finnley.

They're still investigating his case, but since he used his panic button, they are almost completely sure it has to be Jeffrey who attacked him. But since it took three minutes for police to arrive at the scene, only to find his car and his panic button, but no Nathan, it's also pretty sure Jeff had help.

How else could he take Nathan in under three minutes, managing to disappear completely?

Needless to say, Alex is now completely freaking out and he demanded Sam to pick him up and bring him here.

I'm not entirely sure why he wants to be here right now, but I guess it's a step up for him to not lock himself away in his bedroom again.

And I don't mind, because I really don't want to be alone right now.

Oliver, on one hand, keeps making sure I'm doing okay, while on the other hand, he keeps acting distant. He's been behind his laptop the entire day, while Stan is still on the couch, sobbing, sleeping, or staring at me with fear in his eyes.

Alex has been fluttering around the apartment acting uneasy, every so often asking Oliver what he's doing and if he can help. After three offers of help, Oliver sat him down in a chair and told him to sit still and not distract him.

But they keep sending each other looks and I'm not sure what to think of it. Sam left to head over to the match and hasn't returned ever since. He solely went because else there wouldn't be enough players, since Oliver and I cancelled for the day because we have more important things on our minds.

As I get up from the couch to leave a sleeping Stan behind, I find Oliver browsing the webpages that he showed me shortly after Finnley went missing.

"Is he on there?"

"Not yet... but... he will, right?" Oliver asks unsurely. "And then I'll get to trace the deal... I'll get to warn the cops in time..."

"Thanks, Oli, for doing this..." I lean in to hug him from behind, Alex looking at the embrace from the corner of his eyes. As soon as he catches me noticing his stare, he blushes and stares down towards his hands.

"What's up with Alex?" I whisper into Oliver's ear so softly, Alex couldn't possibly hear me.

"I'll tell you later." Oliver shrugs my arms off, turning towards Alex shortly. "Head out for a walk? I'll stay with you, make sure you're safe..."

I frown, since Alex jumped up in response, nodding eagerly. A part of me feels like I would be intruding on something if I'd ask them to join, another part of me doesn't want to leave Stan alone, and the last part is way too tired to go out for a walk, even though the fresh air would be nice.

"We'll be back soon, okay?" Oliver points towards the laptop. "Do me a favour and refresh the pages every so often to check for any signs about Nathan."

"Will do." I nod, watch them head outside, and then decide on sitting at the balcony; in sight of Stan. Not just to keep an eye on him, but also so that he won't freak out if he isn't able to find me within a second after waking up.

For a while, all I do is sit on the balcony until it's too cold, or sit behind the laptop, refreshing the page, over and over again, hoping to find any trace of Nathan.

All the while Oliver and Alex are outside, while Stan is asleep on the couch. After about an hour, I refresh the page, already wanting to look away to not see the disgusting offers about young children, when I find a familiar face staring back at me.

"Stan!" I call out loudly, trying to wake him up. "Call Oliver and tell him to come back right now!"

"What?" Stan sleepily mutters, rolling over on the couch, almost toppling off and onto the ground. "Huh?"

"Call Oliver!"

I see in the reflection of the screen that Stan is getting up confused, his eyes widening as soon as he notices I'm seated behind the laptop. "Did you find anything!?" He hurries upwards, grabbing his phone in one swift movement, pressing the screen frantically to call Oliver.

"Nate..." I mutter, pointing at the screen. It's the same picture they used a while ago, that was pulled off since Nathan was still safe and sound with us.

But things changed last night, and this is the proof he got into Jeff's hands.

"Get your ass home and work your magic. Cris found an ad about Nate." Stan demands with a stern voice, I assume talking to Oliver. "Get here faster. I don't want us to be too late."

I already made a screenshot, and there's already a bid done.

"Wohoaa!" I call out in shock, since they offered 50 grands for Nathan. And it's only the first bid, but this is higher then it was previously. Only Alex and I got offered more back then. "They pay big bucks..." I still stare at the screen while Stan sits down by my side.

"I'm gonna rip their hearts out as soon as we find them." Stan mutters, staring at Nathan's picture with pain in his eyes. "Those bastards hurt our boyfriends..."

"I know..." I sigh deeply and stiffen in surprise as Stan pulls me in an embrace. It's a gesture that feels heavy, since he hasn't hugged me a lot lately.

"We'll get them back, both..."

And those words feel wrong, since I don't feel like he put in a lot of effort to find Finnley. But now that it's about Nathan, he suddenly is back to comforting me?

I shrug his arms off since the embrace feels wrong and lean my elbows on the table to rest my head in my hands. "At least in Nate's case, we have a lead..."

"Cris..." Stan sounds doubtful. "This is a lead in Finn's case too... They're the same people, I just know. And Oliver will prove it."

And on cue, the front door slams shut and footsteps are running up the stairs, soon followed by Oliver barging inside the room.

"Show me." He ushers us both away from the laptop, pulling it closer, suddenly typing like crazy, starting up more programs.

One thing Oliver did once he found out his laptop wasn't strong enough the run all the needed programs, is buy a better one. He wanted to be able to take his programs everywhere, just in case he needed to.

This proves it was the right decision, because soon, there's a black screen opened, sentences full of white letters rolling over the screen as if the program is calculating.

I smile happily since Oliver is finally able to do more, maybe even giving us some answers about Finnley too.

I turn around to find Alex, his hair a little messier, his lips a bit swollen, staring down while shuffling his foot back and forth.

"Hold on..." I point at him before I swirl around on my feet to take in Oliver. His lips are swollen too, and as soon as he notices the awkward silence, he slowly looks up, smirking a bit. "No way!"

"Wh..." Stan looks back and forth between the two of them, also noticing the blush on Alex' face. "What, you two? Since when!?"

Alex shrugs a bit, biting his swollen lower lip, sending me a pleading look. "Don't make a big deal... it's nothing..."

"Oh! It's something!" I look towards Oliver. "Alex is the guy, huh? You were talking about Alex?"

"Maybe..." Oliver chuckles. "Is it important right now?"

"Yes!" Stan and I call out in unison. "We need a bit of happy news. Please tell me you two are a couple. You two both deserve a bit of happiness."

Now they're both blushing and I can't fight back a smirk. I might feel miserable, Stan might feel the same, but these are our best friends. And if they are together, or at least dating, I'm happy for the both of them.

They both went through hell in their lives, and in Oliver's case I felt like he really needed to move on from Maxie.

If Alex can take his mind off of those things, maybe Oliver will be stronger mentally again too. Maybe it'll help him to stay away from alcohol again.

"He's active." Oliver suddenly points towards the laptop. "I need to focus, so please, shut up. I'll find out where they are."

Oliver keeps trying to find the real time location of the person behind the account that put up the advertisement about Nathan. In the mean time he contacted the police anonymously to point out the fact there's an advertisement, and they would look into it themselves too.

In the mean time, the bid went up, two accounts bidding against each other.

And before Oliver managed to find the location, the advertisement is suddenly inactive, the latest bid accepted, and I guess the deal is sealed.

"No!" Stan cries out. "Please tell me you've got something!"

"I got the computer, I just need to find the location, but it's protected..." Oliver groans, tugging at his hair in frustration. "He knows what he's doing."

"Of course he does..." Alex mutters. "He's probably been doing this for a while now."

"It's sick..." I sigh, resting my head on the table top. "You think the cops got something?"

"Not sure... you'd hear something id they found Jeff, right?" Oliver stares at me. "They'd let you know."

"Right... we just have to wait for news, and try to find him ourselves in the mean time."

"And get Nate back, and then torture him into more information about Finnley." Stan grumbles, his hands bawled into fists, jaw clenched.

"We will find them," Oliver pulls me in a hug pressing a kiss on top of my head. "We'll find him, and you'll have Finn back before you know it."

"I so hope you're right."

- Monday, March 26th, -

Sometimes I wish I could just fall asleep and wake up once this is all over, or not wake up at all. I feel more alone then ever, though I have tons of people surrounding me. But with Finnley not here to calm me down, to comfort me, I feel alone anyway.

As if the world is empty and I'm floating around, awaiting people to come back, which they only will do once Finnley will be back.

I'm not the only one who feels shitty, who is a mess right now.

I've heard Alex and Oliver bicker late at night, and it had to do with Oliver drinking alcohol again. But while I want to stop him from ruining his liver, and his life, I couldn't get myself to get out of bed to tell him to stop drinking.

Stan went home to his father, because he couldn't bare to stay inside the apartment I supposed to share with Nathan for a second longer.

Oliver suggested to stay over and keep an eye on me, and when I shrugged carelessly because I didn't care who was going to stay with me, Alex said he would stay over too.

But I bet he's staying over for Oliver, not me.

I've texted Sam to inform him on the developments, or the lack of developments after we found the advertisement.

Oliver has been running programs to follow the computer that was used to place advertisement, and the computer of the account that was used to bid on Nathan, ending up with the 'winning' bid.

So far, the program didn't manage to break through the protections that are used to shield of the real-time locations, but Oliver swears it's only a matter of time before it will.

I just hope he's right, we'll find out where Jeffrey is, and then get him to spill out the whereabouts of Finnley and Nathan.

Since Nathan got abducted, the cops came over on several occasions to check in on us. I know they visited Jason and Liam as well, and both of them have contacted us because they want us to keep them updated.

My parents suggested for me to come home for a while, because they would feel more at rest if they could keep an eye on me personally. But I didn't accept their offer, since I don't want to head home and be there all by myself.

Even though Stan is there too, I know he won't feel up to hanging out a lot and he promised to call if he needed any of us to come over to keep him company.

I feel really unfocused in school since I keep wondering about Nathan's and Finnley's safety, and the fact, now more then ever, I wish Finnley would be here. I bet he would come up with ideas on how to deal with this, or how to crack the security on those computers.

Ever since I figured Finnley's intelligence would come in handy right now, I wonder if that's why he took Nathan second, instead of Alex or me, who both would've probably gotten him more money.

Nathan is really smart too, though I didn't really see him a lot. And he didn't really seem to help me to find Finnley.

But then again, none of us have been really active lately, because it's hard to look if you don't know where to start.

Late at night, I am tracking the account that bought Nathan, and find old advertisements they placed themselves.

One in particular catches my attention.

Finnley, being resold by a different account then the one that bought him in November, but the same that was used to buy Nathan two days ago.

I stare at it in shock, not knowing what to do with it. It's old, the bidding is closed and the bids that were done are deleted.

Finnley was resold late January to someone else, and I can't help but wonder why they did so. For all I know, two years ago, he brought in the most money out of the four of them.

I stare at the picture in awe a few more seconds, before I push myself up from my seat, walking over to Nathan's bedroom, knocking on the door to wake up Oliver.

It's weird Nathan isn't in there with Stan right now.

"Oli?" I call out doubtfully.

It remains silent, and I carefully open the door to make sure I'm not interrupting him and Alex, only to find them fast asleep in bed in a spooning position, Oliver protectively holding the fragile Alex that seems content in his arms.

"Oli?" I call out louder, causing him to stir and roll over to his back, releasing Alex, who instantly shudders, rolls over and places his head onto Oliver's chest.

As if they've been a couple for months.

As if they are together, and I can't fight back the smile at the thought of Oliver finally finding someone he likes enough to allow into his life on a romantic level.

"Oliver!" I call out, knowing I'll have to break their bubble of sweetness because I want him to see what I found, and to send it to the cops with his anonymous account.

"What!?" Oliver groans, opening his eyes to stare at me in annoyance.

"I found something about Finn."

"You what?" He shoots upright, waking up Alex in the process, who groans in annoyance, rolls over, and pulls the cover over his head.

"Finn... I found a different advertisement."

Oliver and I stare at each other shortly, and then he scrambles up to hurriedly follow after me towards his laptop.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went to take a look around. This is Finn... he was resold in January..."

Oliver swallows as he watches the picture, which is a newer picture of Finnley, with slightly longer, messy hair, a black eye and scratches on his throat, not looking directly at the camera. But I can tell there's pain in his eyes. In Jeffrey's picture he stared at the camera tauntingly, daringly, angry. But his eyes now only hold pain and sadness and it breaks my heart to see him like that.

But it does give me hope he's still out there, and we can find him.

"This... was two months ago..." Oliver mumbles. "How could I have missed this?" He stares at the advertisement confused, noticing it's in Spanish instead of English. "You think he's in Spain?"

"Something like that?" I shrug, sitting down next to him. "He looks terrible..."

"Anyone would look terrible if Jeffrey would want to take revenge..." We share a look, knowing the same goes for Nathan too. I don't even want to know what he's going through right now, or what Finnley went through previously.

All I can do is hope he's doing better right now, because I've never seen him as lost as he looks in that picture.

And then I think about the possibility of finding him, but him being so different from what we know, that it might not feel as if we found back the love of my life.

Who knows in what state he is once we finally find him?