Y/n looked at the screen, shining artificial light into his vision, as he felt panic rise the longer he watched the screen.
His eyes snapped to the window they were sitting by, There was someone standing outside- was what the h/c haired was expecting, but there was...no one. There was no sign that anyone had been in the area. The only thing the boy saw was the outside street, a lamppost, and the hues of sunset peaking up on the horizon.
"Y/n...Are you okay?" Alex asked, noticing the boy's shift in demeanor. Y/n moved his gaze back to his company, struggling to find the words he wanted to get out. "Yeah, I just thought I saw someone I knew." Alex pulled his brows together in skepticism. "Are you sure? You look a little pale." Y/n made every effort to maintain eye contact with the green-eyed male and not avert his gaze. "Yeah, I'm fine, Alex. It's around 6:36 am now. It takes around forty to fifty to get to school on foot, I think it's best if we get moving." With that, Y/n stood up and strode up to a trash can, dumping his drink in the garbage.
You had lost your appetite.
Alex trailed behind the h/c haired male, throwing away his cup when he passed the trashcan. The blond had finished his drink. "How do you know it takes up to forty minutes to get to school on foot?" Alex inquired, catching up to the male to walk beside him.
Y/n opened the door to the cafe and walked out, the door closing with the sound of the bell. "I have walked to school before, and it took roughly forty minutes." Y/n shrugged, kicking a peddle on the ground and watching it roll onto the street. "Oh okay, alright, let's get going then." Alex happily said.
The duo walked down the streets of Runswick, the streets gradually began to come alive with activity. A few cars drove past, a lady with her dog walked past them, and a runner was jogging on the opposite street.
Alex and Y/n walked in silence until Alex spoke up "So, is there a reason you wanted to question me about Avery?" Y/n cast a sidelong glance at the blond male, he didn't want to inform Alex that his mother had refused to investigate his sister's disappearance.
"My mother requested that I question Avery's closest friends and family members because she is too busy to question people herself. She will look into any recordings I get and try to find out why your sister vanished." He lied.
Alex nodded. "Okay." It briefly fell silent once more.
"Hey, Y/n?" Alex muttered Y/n stopped in his tracks to peer back at the male, "Thank you, that you're doing this for me, for Avery." Alex's tone was soft, almost regretful. Y/n moved his eyes back in front of himself "... Of course, no problem." The h/c haired muttered.
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The building of their school came into view. Alex pulled out his phone. "You're correct; roughly forty minutes." Alex admitted, Y/n arched a brow "Were you doubting me?" He questioned. "No, not at all; I just wanted to see if you were right." Alex shrugged.
The two walked up the gate and stopped when they got into the school. "My locker is on the other side of the school, So I'll see you?" Alex gestured. The h/c haired nodded. "Yeah, see you later, Alex." Y/n waved goodbye and started walking to his own locker. Today were the two classes he each shared with Nova and Elio. He grabbed his needed books and stuffed them into his bag.
Y/n decided to get a head start and get to his homeroom class. But just as he was about to turn a corner, he paused when he heard familiar voices on the other side. He peered past the corner and quickly stumbled back when he saw who it was.
Roy was leaning against a wall with his hands in his pockets with an uninterested expression. Ezra and Elio were standing across from the redhead, Elio looked irritated, evident from his stern face and crossed arms. Ezra, on the other hand, wore a blank expression,
Y/n had an eerie feeling about the whole thing, so in an impulse of decision, he quietly opened his bag to take out his recorder. He set down his bag and pressed down on the record button.
"I don't get what the problem is." Roy contested. "The problem, Roy," Elio snapped, "Is that you and Nova were once again stupidly reckless, like you two always are together." Roy let out a grunt. "Who cares? It worked out in the end, didn't it?"
Y/n furrowed his brows as he took in the conversation
Elio took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ezra..." He regarded the ash blond. Ezra let out an annoyed sigh. "I partially agree with Elio, It was stupid, yes, but it worked, so I'm not going to condemn you on that, however, you should've let Nova do it."
"Nova wouldn't have done it in time." the scarlet haired protested.
"Well, then it would be his problem, Wasn't it his idea to begin with?" Ezra scolded. Roy stayed silent. "So it was. I'm not going to dispute this further, you two messed it up, you fix it." Ezra concluded.
'What the hell are they talking about?'
The h/c haired boy once more peeked over the corner, but he locked eyes with Elio and he shot back behind the wall, pleading that the black haired boy didn't know it was him.
Elio stared intensely at the corner; someone was listening in on their conversation. He leaned over to Ezra "Someone is eavesdropping behind that corner." He whispered into the ash blond's ear. Ezra moved his gaze to blankly stare in the direction of the eavesdropper.
Y/n felt his heartbeat in his chest and quickly stuffed his cassette recorder in his pocket. 'Why am I scared, So what if they discover I was eavesdropping?" It was silent for a few seconds, but soon footsteps were heard walking in his direction. Y/n widened his eyes and, in a moment of adrenaline, grabbed his bag and sprinted away, not caring that the trio heard it.
Y/n opened the door to an empty classroom and stumbled in before desperately closing the lock, involuntary holding his breath. Soon enough, Ezra's silhouette was seen outside the covered glass frame of the door.
"Who was it?" Elio's voice asked. "Don't know; unfortunately, they ran too fast." Ezra replied, his shadow facing the door, making Y/n feel sweat drop down his temple "They couldn't have gone far." Elio said. Roy scoffed. "Who is the one being reckless now, huh?" he mocked "Shut it." Elio Hissed. The trio walked away
Y/n exhaled heavily. 'Why did Ezra lie when there is no way he didn't see me skid down the hall?' Before stepping outside, the boy took out his cassette recorder and hit stop. he proceeded to put it back into his bag and cautiously opened the door and stuck his head out to make sure the males had really departed.
He hastily grasped his bag and strode through the halls 'What was that about?' The boy was immersed in his thoughts and suddenly collided with someone. "Whoa there, Y/n." a voice chuckled, gripping his wrists in a tight hold.
Y/n looked up and met eyes with Nova. "Where are you running off to in such a hurry?" Nova joked, trailing his gaze down Y/n's body.
Y/n ripped his wrists out of the ash blond's hold and rubbed his wrists "To my homeroom class." he responded with a frown. "Isn't that a bit early? It's around seven am right now, you know?" Y/n blinked a few times to acknowledge Nova's statement, "And why are you here then?" he rebutted.
Nova gave a shrug. "Well, me and Roy have detention today." Y/n furrowed his brow in disorientation. "What?" With a wolfish grin, Nova slung an arm around Y/n's shoulder. "Come, I'll tell you while we walk to your homeroom." Y/n bit the inside of his cheek but didn't have time to refuse the offer as Nova began pulling him away.
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"So why did you get detention?" Y/n inquired. Nova gave him a grin "Well, Yesterday, Roy and i, had to come to school because we have skipped a class way too many times, according to the teacher, But no one wants to come to school for detention when everyone is free, especially not early in the morning." There was a hint of mischief in his tone as he spoke about the previous day.
"So, the two of us decided to pull a prank, It was my idea, not to brag." Nova winked, "We attached a bucket of water to the hinges of the classroom entrance, so when the teacher walked in- boom. she got splashed with a bucket of ice-cold water." Y/n stared unimpressed at the explanation of the boy's antics. "And she got furious."
Nova giggled like a child who had just gotten away with misbehaving. "The teacher demanded to know which one of us did it, Roy took the fall for me and said he did it, I mean, he kind of did; I didn't manage to attach the bucket to the door in time, so Roy did it for me." Nova pouted in annoyance "However, we still both got in trouble, we both got another after-school detention; and on top of that, we got one hell of a scolding from Ezra and Elio." He slumped.
'Was that what Ezra and Elio were arguing with Roy over?'
"Doesn't sound like it was worth it." Y/n stated monotonously. Nova shook his head. "Hell no, that tramp deserved it, she's constantly on our backs. You should have seen her face! It was priceless!" Y/n glanced at him in doubt.
Nova and Y/n continued walking to the h/c haired's homeroom class, with Nova excitedly blabbering about his and Roy's antics and pranks.
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Y/n was sitting in his homeroom class waiting for the other students to come swarming in, and at some point, he had taken out his cassette recorder and tossed it between his hands. Soon enough, other students began coming in, and he put away the device.
After a few minutes, Clark and Kiara came in, and Clark seated himself beside the h/c haired. The teacher hadn't come in yet, so Y/n leaned over to Clark and muttered to him "Clark, pst." the brunette threw the boy a sideward glance "What do you know about Roy and Nova?" Clark furrowed his brows "Whitelock and Pierce?" Clark narrowed his eyes in consideration.
"Well, those two are the basically gremlins of the school, everyone knows they pull pranks on every teacher in the facility, and students as well." Y/n leaned forward "What?" the brunette folded his arms. "For example, a few months ago, they pulled a prank so extreme, the teacher quit his job the same week." Kiara turned around to face the pair butting in on the conversation.
"They don't even get in trouble." she whispered "Or i guess they do get in detention and get harsh scolding from their more, um, civil friends. Aka, Ezra, and Elio. But never get in trouble with their parents or anything, even when the teacher quit his job, the pranks were so bad, the man could've gone to the sheriff if he chose to!" Kiara's voice heightened with the last sentence.
Clark scoffed. "Whitelock's dad wouldn't have done anything, ever since those four moved in together, they seem to be able to avoid any type of repercussion from their actions."
Y/n shifted his eyes to the brunette. "Could you tell me about that, I didn't know they were living together." he admitted. Clark parted his lips to speak but stopped as the teacher walked in.
"I'll tell you in the lunch break," Clark mumbled before turning his attention to the teacher. Y/n nodded understandably and focused his eyes on the teacher.
"Good morning, students; let's start with today's lesson."
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After homeroom, y/n had the class he shared with Nova. He sat down in his usual seat and after a while, Nova strode in and took a seat next to Y/n.
The teacher handed out an assignment for them to do, and Y/n started working on it.
Around twenty minutes later, Y/n felt something poke his arm, He glanced to his side and noticed Nova had poked him with a pencil to get his attention. "What?" he hissed. "Could you wait for Roy and i after school? We'll give you a ride home." Nova asked, Y/n looked at him in disbelief. "What? No," he whispered. Nova pouted at his answer, "Please? Come on!" I'll buy you something from the store on the way home." the ash blond implored.
Y/n rolled his eyes "I'm not waiting for you two for two hours." Nova put his hands together "Please?" He pleaded. Y/n narrowed his eyes.
'I can analyze that conversation I recorded while I wait.'
Y/n exhaled irritated "Fine. You better buy me something good or I swear..." The boy trailed off.
"Yes! Thank you, Y/n!" Nova exclaimed wrapping his arms around the boy, enveloping him in a hug.
ââââââY/n stiffened in the boy's embrace as he felt the student's eyes and the teacher's disapproval expression on them. "Okay....Yeah, go back to your assignment Nova." Y/n sounded out shaking off the ash blond's arms.
"Don't you like hugs?" Nova teased. Y/n gave him an uncomfortable look. "Wait.. you really don't?" Nova sounded out in confusion. Y/n turned his gaze back to his paper "You figure that one out for yourself."
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After the class with Nova, Y/n walked to his chemistry class with a heavy heart, he knew who he would see when he stepped foot into that lab, and he didn't have the guts to face him. "
Y/n put a hand on the handle of the chemistry lab and rubbed his face. 'Don't be a wimp, you can do this.' the boy fixed his posture and opened the door, As soon as he crossed the threshold, he looked around the space and made eye contact with Elio. He turned on his heels and marched out the door; is what he would've preferred to do.
But since he did not want to spend the afternoon in detention with Roy and Nova, he swallowed his unease and took a seat. "Today we will not work on the essays but we will do a quiz to test your knowledge!" The teacher announced. Groans were heard across the classroom, but Y/n let out a sigh of relief.
'Thank fuck.'
The teacher started handing out papers and instructed everyone to be quiet. The boy started working on his questions, ignoring the way he felt eyes burning into his skull.
After the class ended and every student handed back their paper they were allowed to leave. Y/n took up his bag and walked out of the classroom.
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After entering the cafeteria, Y/n lined up. He proceeded to the table where Kiara and Clark were seated after getting his tray filled with food. "Hey everyone, How did your classes go? Y/n inquired while seating himself. "They're were fine," Clark answered. "My geography test went really well. I feel positive about it." Kiara spoke and smiled broadly and took a piece of her meal.
"That's good to hear, Kiara." Y/n congratulated taking a bite of his own food before regarding Clark. "Could you tell me about, yknow?" Y/n tilted his head towards the quartet on the other side of the cafeteria. The brunette put down his utensils.
"Thus, around a year prior. Those four moved in together, since their parents are all pretty much filthy rich, it wasn't hard." Clark put his hands together as he continued, "The strange thing though, is that there is a rumor, that they moved into a house, or mansion, rather, a few miles out of town."
Kiara jumped in "People thought it was weird for just them to move out of town; the rich kids of Runswick-hell, two of them are the mayor's kids-there was a huge scandal about it." Kiara rolled her eyes "You don't see them in town often, apart from when they're at school or when they visit their families." She gestured her hand to the group. "It was so...out of the blue that most people didn't even know they moved away from town." The girl threw her dark hair over her shoulder and took another mouthful of her meal.
Y/n bit his lower lip at the new information the boy was given. He glanced back at the group as though, if he stared at them long enough, he would get answers to the question swirling in his mind.
After their lunch break, Y/n dumped his leftover food in the bin and put away his tray. As he walked out of the cafeteria, his name was called, and he stopped and turned around to see Nova calling out to him. The ash blond walked up to him "How was lunch?" He smiled, "It was good." Y/n answered.
Nova pulled out his phone "Since you're going to wait for us for a while, I thought it might be wise if we exchanged numbers so I can text you when we're done." Nova rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Sure." Y/n agreed and took out his own phone. The two exchanged numbers and went on their way to their classes.
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School ended, and Y/n walked out of the building and stood by the gate, he heard a notification pop up on his phone. He pulled out the device and unlocked it.
Nova: We have detention until 5 pm. D:
Y/n: Ok. I'll wait outside the school gate
Nova: ^_^
Y/n put his back into his pocket and glanced around. 'What am I even gonna do for two hours? Damn you, Nova!' an idea popped into his mind, and stomped to the street and sat down by the curb. He opened his bag and took out his cassette recorder. Y/n twirled it around before pressing play.
"Who was it?"
"Don't know; unfortunately, they ran too fast."
"They couldn't have gone far."
. "Who is the one being reckless now, huh?"
"Shut it."
Y/n replayed the moment.
"Don't know; unfortunately, they ran too fast."
"They couldn't have gone far."
The h/c haired kept replaying the specific time over and over again until the words started mashing together and he could remember the words out of his head and recite them.
As Y/n listened to the recording, you realized one thing.
You didn't know them as well as you thought.
Thank you for everyone who is leaving and have left comments on this story! it gives me motivation to know people like this amateur story <3