Brent Daugherty as Nathaniel Vivian

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Alison's P.O.V

Last night was hectic and surreal. I had a million thoughts bottled inside of me. First of all, my brother was alive and he was in danger. Second of all, some psychotic stalker was after us for something my dad did, according to Jenna. Thirdly, Jenna apparently was alive and in hiding.

Did I mention my life was anything but normal?

"Are you up?"

I looked towards the door and saw my uncle standing there, wearing an apron with flour all over his face. I nodded, getting up.

"You've got fifteen minutes to get ready so hurry up." My uncle said.

I headed towards the bathroom and let the warm water run down my back. It, somewhat, relaxed my aching body.

Deciding on a blue dress and black converse, I got ready. I stood in front of the mirror and stared at my reflection. The dark bags under my eyes were getting prominent so I applied some concealer and headed downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Where's dad?" I asked, earning a hush from my uncle. I raised an eyebrow and went near him.

My uncle was standing near the oven, silently counting.

"Fifty eight, fifty nine and sixty." He said and turned the temperature to minimum.

"Okay...." I paused as he took his apron off and turned towards me.

"Uh... What was that?" I pointed towards the oven. My uncle rubbed his hands together before he exclaimed.

"I'm baking the famous Grandma Ester's carrot cake!" I gagged.

"Um...okay. You do realize you could've have set the timer instead of counting." My uncle laughed. He was in an oddly good mood today.

"Now... What's the fun in that?"

"As I was asking before I was rudely silenced... Where is my dad?" I asked my uncle who was taking the cake out of the oven.

"Your dad had to run some errands. You'll see him after midnight." I nodded.

What was so important? I started thinking of random scenarios but then mentally slapped myself as I remembered Walter's last words.

***Flashback***

"Well, let me just say that maybe Allie's father did something to piss him off. HE is just returning the favour." Jennith smirked.

I stared daggers at Jennith as she laughed. If looks could kill...

"Nonsense." Tris said. Jennith raised an eyebrow, mocking her.

"I know my father hasn't been the father of the year but he would never do something to hurt someone else." I said as my friends nodded.

"I'm not asking you guys to believe me. I'm just telling you what I know." She said as her smile faltered.

"I know what it's like when you find out that your dad isn't what he says he is..." Her voice trailed off leaving me to wonder what she meant.

"Look Alison, we can't believe a word she says. Don't judge your dad without hearing the truth from him." Walter said. I agreed. Jennith was a liar and a bully. I didn't know if she was lying or telling the truth.

***Flashback ended***

"Where are you lost?" My uncle snapped his fingers in front of me.

I shrugged, taking a bite from the cake my uncle just baked. A moan escaped my lips as I licked my lips. The cake was amazing!

I was so lost in munching on the amazing cake that I didn't notice the time. I was 15 minutes late and I had a feeling that Ms. Hollis wasn't going to be pleased.

Running out the front door, I unlocked my Mercedes and rushed towards the brown gate of my old school.

The hallways were empty. Their wasn't a single student in sight. I gulped before entering the classroom.

Twenty five pair of eyes stared at me as I entered. The students had bored expressions plastered on their faces while Ms. Hollis had an angry one. She glared at me.

"Which lame excuse are you going to give me?" She asked. I entered but halted in my steps when she put her hand up, stopping me.

"Did I ask you to enter?" I shook my head.

"You're twenty minutes late." She shot me a disapproving look.

I took the box out of my bag. This precious box held my entry ticket to this class. I handed her the box.

"What is this?" She asked.

"Open it." Ms. Hollis opened the box as her eyes lightened up. I always knew that she was a sucker for food.

"Cake?" She asked, taking a bite. The class roared in laughter.

"If you like it, you'll have to excuse my late arrival." I placed the offer for forward, earning an amused look. Ms. Hollis took a bite from the cake. Her eyes lightened up again.

"Go sit with the new kid." She said. My eyes searched the room before finding an unfamiliar yet familiar pair of green eyes staring back at me.

I went towards the short haired guy and sat next to him.

"Alison Fitz." I offered my hand out for him to shake. The new kid brushed his hair out of his eyes and shook my hand.

"Nathaniel Vivian." He said, smiling.

"I'm sorry... Do I know you?" I asked. His eyes seemed so familiar but I couldn't quite grasp it. It's like I've seen him. His familiar face was somewhere in the back of my head but I couldn't quite grasp the memory.

"Maybe." He said and turned his head to face the front.

"Ms. Fitz. Just because I let you pass late detention doesn't mean you get to talk during my class." Ms. Hollis squeaked, pointing her finger like an old lady. I huffed and took out my book as the day started.

***
The cafeteria was crowded with all sorts of students. I passed by the cheerleaders table and saw an empty seat that once belonged to Jennith. Her friends didn't even feel sad after her 'fake' death. They were chatting away about the latest fashion as if their friend hasn't just been shot.

I went towards the end of the cafeteria and sat down beside my new friends.

Kylie and Miley were already seated. Nina was waiting in line for her food and Hayley was heading over to us.

"Sup girl." Harley said, plopping beside me.

"Hey." I replied back, taking a bite of my apple. Kylie and Miley started laughing at some stupid joke they cracked.

"How's life?" She asked as their giggles subsided.

"Normal." Iris muttered.

I didn't even know what normal was anymore.

"The usual." I lied. I wasn't going to tell them about everything.

"We are sorry about Eric." Kylie said, getting serious. I gave her a small smile.

"No seriously, we never sent you our condolences. So let me just say that we are sorry for everything you went through. And you are really strong. If I was in your place, I'd be broken by now." Iris said as the girls nodded.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." I admitted. I saw Miley whisper something in Kylie's ear before they cracked up.

"Okay stop with all the sad stuff. Let's talk happy." Miley said making me laugh. Then we talked about normal stuff like celebrities and tv shows, funny incidents and embarrassing moments.

A light tap on my shoulder made me turn around. The new kid stood there with a shy smile. I smiled back.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" He asked. I was about to say yes but Nina beat me to it.

" Of course."

He smiled and sat down, taking his lunch box out.

"Nathaniel, right?" He nodded. We all sat there in silence, eating the rest of our lunch. Hayley decided to talk before the silence grew too awkward.

"So, Nathan...where are you from?" She asked. Nathaniel smiled, showing his perfect set of teeth as he approved the nickname given to him.

"Nathan?" I asked, stifling a laugh. Hayley shrugged.

"Have you seen his name... It's so damn long." I laughed.

"So back to the question... Tell us a bit about yourself."

Nathaniel took a breath before answering. "I grew up here in GreenMeadow. I was ten when my mother and I moved to Canada after the unexpected death of my father. My mother was then diagnosed with cancer and she left the world a few months ago. Since I was eighteen when she died, I didn't have to go to an orphanage. I decided to move here where I knew the neighbourhood pretty well. Also, my uncle lives here so I'm currently living with him."

Nathaniel took a long breath then flashed us a smile. He had gone through so much yet he was here smiling.

"I'm so sorry." Nina said as the twins hummed in agreement.

"It's okay." He continued munching on his burger and said no more. The girls also ended their chatter, and ate their lunch in silence as a way to respect his mother's death.

I put my phone on the table and got up to tie my shoelaces when Nathaniel took my phone in his hands and examined the pink glossy cover.

"Nice phone." He said to which I smiled. He gave me the phone back so I said goodbye and left the cafeteria a bit earlier than usual. I wanted to meet Walter to ask him what he did to the Jenna situation.

Walter was standing near his locker, taking something out. I went towards him and whispered, "Where is Jennith?" I asked. Last night, I had left early and Walter and Tris stayed behind to discuss what they were going to do with Jennith.

"She's in my basement." He said, casually.

I gasped but made sure my voice didn't grab any unwanted attention.

"You what?" I asked. He shrugged and locked his locker.

"I wasn't going to leave her there so I decided to take her home and I locked her in the basement. The way I'll make sure she gets food and water and we can keep her in front of us to get more answers. Plus, my parents leave early morning and come late at night. They rarely go down to the basement." He said.

"She already told us what she knows."

"No, Tris and I both think that she's knows more than she's letting on." I nodded at this. Walter, then, looked left and right before whispering.

"I have to go now? The girls are coming tomorrow at my house. My parents won't be at home. You should come too." I nodded.

"I'll text you the details." He said before leaving.

***
School ended by 3pm and I was on my way home. When I was going past the library, I saw a shadow whoosh past me.

The paranoid version of myself came online as I looked here and there. The feeling of being followed was deep in my heart as I started walking faster, eager to get home.

The words of Jennith kept ringing in my brain. "HE is watching you. HE! HE! HE!" I shuddered, thinking who could be stalking us. But then, a possibility still remained. What if is Jennith was lying?

I reached home safely. My uncle was sitting on the couch as usual, drinking coffee and watching America Ninja Warrior. I smiled remembering how Eric and I used to watch this show every day after school. Now, I think I lost interest in all this activities.

"Hey. Is dad home?" I asked. I thought about it last night and I had decided to talk to my dad and just ask him casually if he had done anything to harm someone else. My dad wouldn't lie to me...would he?

"No, he had some...uh...thing to take care of. He'll be back late so don't wait up for him." My uncle turned his face towards the tv again. I decided to get some rest before starting my homework.

When I went into my room, it was a mess. My clothes were lying here and there and my bed hadn't been made. I threw away the thought of taking a nap and starting cleaning my room. I started with the floor, throwing away all the dirty clothes into the laundry basket and picking up trash.

Within half an hour, my room had been set. There were strands of sweat on my forehead but it was worth it. I had never realized what a big room I had until now.

There was half an hour left until 5pm so I decided to take the nap that I desperately needed. I plopped onto my bed, letting out a groan as my knee hit something hard and sharp. I got off and picked up the bedsheet a little bit, checking what had accidentally come under me. There was a small box under the mattress. I took it out with a frown on my face.

Who put this here?

I took the box out and set it on the bed, plopping beside it. The box was neatly wrapped in silver wrapping paper. There was a paper attached to it with my name on it.

I opened the box and took a look inside. There was a dress and a letter inside. I decided to read the letter first.

It read, "Dear Allie, this is Ric. Meet me at the Winter Gala, tomorrow after sundown. Wear this dress and tell the guard that Ric sent you. Come alone. Love you, sis."

I read the letter twice. Ric was the nickname I used for Eric. I couldn't believe my eyes. Eric wanted to meet me. I took the dress out and saw that it was a black full-sleeved dress. The dress was knee length. It was beautiful.

My mind went back to the letter. My brother wanted to meet me at a Gala. The Winter Gala. Every year, before winter break, the Annual Winter Gala was held. For the past three years, it was held in GreenMeadow. I took out my phone and checked where the Winter Gala was being held this year.

The first thing that popped up was a picture of a flyer. It had the date and time of the Winter Gala. Apparently, the Annual Winter Gala was being held in Willow Street, tomorrow.

Was that a coincidence or not?

So that's what I wrote on my to-do list. I neatly put the dress aside and hid the box. I felt a rush of excitement in me. My mind floating with a million questions for my dead-not-so-dead brother.

Eric had mentioned to come alone, meaning I couldn't tell my friends about this meeting. That kinda made me feel like a traitor but I had to respect my brother's wishes.

The heavy sleepiness that once dawned upon me was gone. Instead, it was replaced by anxiousness as I eagerly waited for tomorrow to come.

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Hey guys. So I'm back now!!!
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-Love Amy ❤️