âââââââY/n stared at the message Alex had sent. This was new, Avery lied? and snuck out to a frat party on October sixteenth? This opened new gaps and questions to the story. If Avery did sneak out to a frat party, what happened? His mind strayed to a rumor Alex had told him 'People were getting roofied and assaulted at the frat parties.' Y/n chewed on his bottom lip, 'Did Avery get roofied and perhaps kidnapped at the party she went to?' The boy gripped his head as he felt a headache shoot through his skull.
'I need to visit Avery if I want answers.' Y/n let out a sigh and glanced out the window. 'I should go see if I can pay her a visit tomorrow after school.' The boy skimmed his finger through his hair. A knock was heard on the front door. Y/n glared at the door. 'Are you kidding me? What now?' The boy stomped up to the front and opened the door.
There stood Elio and Ezra.
The door slammed back shut. 'Nope.' Y/n held the doorknob in a stern hold, another knock was heard. The h/c haired boy gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to tell them to go away. Another knock, this time it was harsher, The boy didn't know what to do, he didn't want to see them right now, especially not after they drugged him, He didn't have concrete proof, but he didn't need to; the absurdity of the situation was enough of a speculation.
Y/n decided to open the door a creak and peer out to the two boys, "What do you want?" He could sense something was off with them, the aura they radiated of nefarious intentions. But their offputting vibe contradicted the warm smile Ezra held on his lips, "Hey, Y/n, how are you?" If Y/n didn't know better, he would have fallen for it-that kind smile, the honeyed vocals. But he didn't fall for it, The smile Ezra wore was melting off the edges. Even Elio appeared to be tense.
'What's up with them?' Y/n moved his gaze to the ground "I'm fine." He flatly replied, trying to cover up the anxiety he felt in the presence of two of his childhood friends. "Could we come in?" Elio asked. The h/c haired frowned at the request and looked back into the house. "Well, I'm kind of alone at home right now and I don't feel that comfortable letting people in,"
don't feel comfortable letting you in.
"Wouldn't it be better if you had company, if that's the case?" Ezra countered, His smile straining off the sides.
Not if it's you.
"Um, not really. I just want to be alone for a while," Y/n mumbled, glancing up at the duo before him.
just go away.
"Well, if you really want to be alone, then we'll make it quick, we just want to talk with you. That isn't too much to ask for, right?" The ash blond softly explained as if regarding a child who just threw a hefty tantrum. Y/n hated how reasonable Ezra sounded. The boy scrutinized the words.
Y/n felt betrayed, they had drugged him, and he was sure of it. They had changed, for the worse. The extent of their downfall down a path Y/n didn't quite know the length of or understand. If they were willing to drug him, who knows what else they were capable of? What is their motive? Why did they move out to the middle of nowhere? Why do they act so unpredictably? Why do you get a foreboding gut feeling when you're alone with them?
Why are you scared of them?
Too many questions with too few answers.
Y/n let out a deep exhale and opened the door up wider "Fine, come in" He gestured to the pair.
Y/n took a few steps back as Ezra and Elio stepped into the threshold, the latter of the two closed the door behind him. The ash blond male stood before Y/n with a warm smile "Thanks for letting us in." Y/n folded his arms and stabilized his footing "So, what do you want?" He demanded. Ezra's smile turned into something more playful and he began circling the h/c haired male with a calculating gaze, Y/n tensed up at the predatory behavior, narrowing his eyes at the ash blond.
"Oh, we want a lot of things from you." Ezra cooed Before he stopped just behind the male, "But...it's best if they stay unspoken, wouldn't you agree, Elio?" He asked his black haired friend, who stood near the door with his arms crossed, as he observed the conversation between Ezra and him. Elio shot a smile to the two of them, that appeared a bit too smug for Y/n's liking. "What is the point of you coming here then?" Y/n hissed.
Ezra circled back to stand in front of Y/n with a cold expression "You've been avoiding us, why?" Y/n slightly faltered in his composure but regained it soon after "What?" Ezra stared at him, his index finger went to Y/n's neck and he trailed up the male's neck to his pulse. Ezra peered up at Y/n through his lashes. "Your pulse is beating abnormally fast," he stated. Y/n scowled, "What are you talking about?" He rebuked. Ezra clicked his teeth. "That's cute." The ash blond trailed his finger up Y/n's jugular, up his Adam's apple, to his chin, and tapped the boy's lower chin with his index before he pulled his hand away
"Do you want something to drink?" Y/n asked abruptly, he needed to stir the conversation away, by the dumbest means. "Yes, in fact, we do," Ezra answered. "Okay! You can make yourself at home in the living room." Y/n said quickly, the words nearly stumbling over his tongue.
Ezra and Elio shared a look before wandering to the living space. Y/n let out a short exhale and began moving to the kitchen, taking out two glasses from the cabinet, then turning on the faucet. water streamed into the glass. 'They're acting...tense' the faucet stopped. 'Why though?' Y/n looked up at the tinted glass in his kitchen and nearly dropped the two cups of water. Behind in the reflection of the window stood Wesley Moore, or at least what he assumed was Wesley based-- once again on the photo he saw on the news-- The auburn haired boy stood there with...not sad but more, sympathetic smile. Y/n pivoted on his heel, but no one was there.
Y/n stared dumbfounded at the space where Wesley presumably had stood, He glanced back at the window but there was nothing to be seen. 'Don't tell me I'm seeing dead people.' he shook his head to rid himself of the thought and wandered into the living room, placing the cup of water in front of the two males "Here you go." Ezra and Elio thanked him and Y/n took a seat on the couch. ''How are you finding it back in Runswick? You've been here a week." Ezra questioned, putting the glass up to his lips.
Awful.
"It has been good so far," Y/n said, he glanced up at two boys with a soft smile "But you four make it much better." Ezra and Elio gaped at him. The ash blond kept his cup to his mouth, but it still couldn't hide the hues of pink that rushed to his face, Elio let out a shaky breath and snapped his lips shut. Y/n raised a brow at the reaction he got. 'Huh?' Elio composed himself faster than Ezra and cleared his throat "That's...That's good to hear, Y/n." he muttered. Y/n hummed in response too focused on the boys' demeanor to his teasing comment. A comprehension drove through his mind.
'Do they?...'
"I saw you, Nova, and Roy, at the search party, I thought you guys wouldn't show up. since you guys live out of town" Y/n stated he didn't want to decipher the meaning behind their reaction right now. Ezra put down his cup, he appeared to have regained his composure "Our parents asked if they could participate." Y/n watched Ezra closely "If I may ask, why weren't you there?" Ezra moved his gaze to momentarily stare vacantly in front of him but in the blink of an eye his vacant stare was gone and he held a polite smile "As eldest. Mother asked me if I could meet with her to discuss some matters about my and Nova's school results." Y/n raised his eyebrows "What did she say?" Ezra rolled his shoulders "She said our grades are fantastic but that Nova's....antics are...inadequate. And that I need to tell him to, how do I put it? tone it down, at least." Ezra explained.
Elio let out a snide scoff from his throat "Good luck with that, getting Nova to 'tone down' his mediocre behavior is close to impossible; believe me, I've tried. Don't waste your time. Roy and him are beyond saving." The black haired emphasized the last words. Y/n watched Elio with an amused expression. "It seems that you have been getting the short end of the stick with their antics, Elio," Y/n interjected. Elio turned to the h/c haired with a pained look "Don't even get me started. It's like babysitting rebellious toddlers." He uttered tiredly.
"They're not that bad..." Ezra objected with a scrutinizing face. Elio stared in disbelief at his friend. "That's because you only step in when they mess up real badly, I have to deal with every stunt and prank they pull!" Ezra shrugged at Elio's rant. Y/n giggled as he watched the two males bicker.
.
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Meanwhile
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A girl with golden blond hair was sitting in her hospital bed and stirring a bowl of soup she had been provided by the medical staff. on the table next to her were dozens of cards, balloons, and flowers sent to her by family, classmates, and friends. she let out a sigh, she had been informed Detective Evans would come by any moment to question her, she didn't know where Detective Grey was, and frankly, she didn't wish to know either. She just wanted to put everything behind her, her mental state was already at rock bottom, and she wanted to get out of this town, fast.
The sound of footsteps where heard coming in her direction. Avery put her bowl of soup to the side and sat up straight. A woman with h/c hair walked into the room "Hello Avery, I am Detective Evans, I am here to ask a few questions if you wouldn't mind?" Avery shook her head. "Thank you, Avery, You are allowed to not answer questions you feel uncomfortable with, but every piece of information is important, so I would beg to to answer every question truthfully." The woman sat down by a chair close to the blonde's bed with a notepad in hand.
"First of all, do you know how long you've been missing?" Aver solemnly shook her head. "You've been missing since October sixteenth, five months, to be precise." Avery gave no verbal reaction and just stared out. She knew she must have been trapped for a long time, but since October? It meant she missed the holidays, the New Year, and Alex's nineteenth birthday. The hatred that burned in her heart for her captor only fueled. She clenched the fabric of her blanket in her fists.
'Damn you, damn you!'
Detective Evans took note of this reaction and wrote it up "Could you tell me what happened? Did you run away from home?" Avery sent her a sharp glare "Why the fuck would i do that?" she hissed. The woman put her hands up "I'm only trying to understand." Avery's glare didn't waver, after a while she growled and looked away "No, I didn't....I was kidnapped." The woman's pen hovered over the paper "You got kidnapped?" She repeated, The blonde girl nodded firmly.
"Yes. i went to a frat party and....and I was going home with two friends, when i got kidnapped." Detective Evans continued writing "Could you tell me what exactly happened that night between the time you left the party to the time you got kidnapped?" she inquired. Avery glanced at her before letting out a deep exhale to prepare herself to remember that night.
It was late in the night, and Avery had snuck out to a frat party. But after that happened, all she wanted was to go home, She was still not fully aware of her surroundings, she was stumbling through the house; people were making out, drinking, and joking all around, and no one took notice of her state. She needed to get out. But her vision was disoriented, her limbs felt heavy, and she just wanted to lay down and sleep, but she knew she couldn't until she was back home.
Avery gripped the railing and slowly walked down the stairs to the main floor She walked through the crowd, trying to navigate herself through drunk teens, but bumped into someone, and fell to the ground. "I'm sorry..." She slurred. A hand reached out to her "Don't worry about it, woah, you look like you're really intoxicated." The voice nervously jested. Avery took the hand and pulled herself up. "..Yeah, I am." The blonde lied. "I need to go home," She mumbled.
"Come, I'll help you out of this crowd, my friend is waiting outside, We don't want to stay any longer as well." A feminine voice replied and took Avery's hand, guiding her away. The blonde let the stranger guide her out of the house, and soon enough, she felt the nighttime air hit her face, instantly clearing her mind a little. "I'm here." The feminine said, assumably, to someone else.
"Okay, Let's go-- Whose this?" A male voice replied, "I don't know, she bumped into me inside after I returned from the toilet, she seems pretty drunk, so I took her outside." The male voice let out a groan "Isn't it her problem if she drank too much?" The male rebuked, "Yes, but she appears, really out of it; I couldn't leave her there!" The girl countered. "And what now?" He replied defiantly.
"Well, she said she needs to go home, so perhaps we could go with her, to make sure she doesn't faint or something from too much alcohol!" The female suggested.
"You..."
"Oh, come on! You would have done the same for me, so why can't we do this for her?" She whined. It was silent for a while. "Fine." Avery heard the males' footsteps come closer "Hey." The male lightly hit her on the cheek. "Do you know where you live?" Avery nodded slowly "Yeah..I..I do.'' She answered. "Okay, then let's get going." The male bitterly exclaimed.
The trio walked together, not really saying much. They didn't know each other and Avery was almost completely out of it. The girl held her hand as they walked. Eventually, they reached the sign that indicated they were back in Runswick, The frat parties were held a small bit out of Runswick, this was so the sheriff couldn't easily infiltrate the parties if the police ever found out there was alcohol and drugs served and dealt.
Avery stopped in her tracks, Her mind was more cleared up now, She was certain she could make it home alone. "Thank you for walking with me, I could make it home from here." Avery thanked the pair, "Are you sure? It's pretty late.." the girl questioned. Avery waved her hand in dismissal "Yes, I live around fifteen minutes from here, I'll be fine." She assured. The trio bid their goodbyes and Avery went on her way.
Avery walked through the streets, it was late at night and the only light that illuminated the streets was the lampposts, despite this, she wasn't scared, her house was only about ten minutes away now. Suddenly she caught something in her peripheral vision and she stopped in her steps to take a clearer look.
On the other side of the road, someone was walking down the street, Avery tilted her head, she could only see their silhouette, they appeared to be wearing all black, which would explain why she couldn't make out anything but their figure. The person seemed to notice her staring, because they stopped, right under the light of the lamppost.
This gave Avery the opportunity to see the stranger, they wore all black, and they had a hood pulled over their head.
The stranger angled their head towards Avery. They were now staring at each other. Avery furrowed her eyebrows, They were wearing a dirty beige mask, 'Odd.' Her face lit up in realization 'Wait, it's almost Halloween; they must be dressed up to go to a party or something' The stranger turned their body towards Avery, And the blonde's eyes shifted to their hand, they were holding something.
a brute-forged butcher knife. Avery knew this because, before her family moved to Runswick, her dad used to work at the butcher. She squinted her eyes when she noticed that the butcher knife was covered in..blood? fake blood surely, they must want to really scare their friends. Still, She couldn't help but feel a shiver run up her spine, People do everything to scare others these days.
The stranger didn't turn back to proceed going wherever they needed to be, they just stood there. Avery snickered and turned her gaze away to keep walking home. Suddenly, the girl heard footsteps hit against the pavement. She didn't turn around, But then rabid footsteps were heard, and Avery turned around confused, just in time to see the stranger lifting up the butcher knife and stabbing it into her rib cage.
The girl let out a piercing scream and stumbled back to hit the concrete. She grabbed her side, blood coated her hand, and she let out a cry of pain and horror. She looked up, mortified, at her attacker. They lifted up the butcher knife again, preparing to strike the poor girl again. but abruptly stopped.
Avery blinked away tears from her e/c eyes and stared at the sudden pause in attack. The individual lowered the weapon and stared down at Avery. Before she could take in the situation, the stranger grabbed her head and slammed her skull into the pavement.
Rendering her unconscious.
Avery was fighting tears as she reminisced the events that night, months ago. "After that, I woke up in a basement, tied up...and...and the months after that, I was tortured almost every day." a sob escaped her throat and she bit down on her lower lip "They never spoke, never said a word, I never got to know why I was there, I tried to ask what I had done wrong, to deserve..." The girl inhaled shakily. "They never told me anything, they always came in with that same beige mask." Detective Evans had been listening intensely to the girl's statement and wrote up everything in her notepad.
"And you weren't on any form of substance that could've made you hallucinate these events?" The woman inquired. Avery glared at her. "What?! No! what- What the hell?! why would you?-" The woman raised her hand "I'm sorry. I don't mean to insinuate that you might've not experienced what you went through." The blonde crossed her arms in fury "That's exactly what it sounds like to me." She sneered.
"I'm sorry, it's standard procedure, especially if the victim says to have experienced some type of intoxication or drugging." Avery narrowed her eyes 'Like hell, it is' The older woman stood up "Thank you for your cooperation. I wish you a steady recovery." She bowed her head and walked out of the room.
'She doesn't believe me'
Avery rolled her eyes and laid back onto the mattress, glancing up at the ceiling, and unconsciously began counting the cracks in the ceiling. Before slowly drifting off to sleep.
.
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An hour passed with Y/n dodging the topic of him having been avoiding his childhood friends. Suddenly, Ezra stood up. "I think it's time for us to take our leave, we have some business to attend to," he stated, and Elio followed suit.
Y/n lead them to the front door "Bye, guys." He greeted. The black-haired haired waved him goodbye and began walking out of sight. Ezra stayed behind by the door. "Bye, Ezra, see you at school." Y/n greeted, Ezra gave him a warm smile and put a palm on the top of his head. "See you tomorrow, Y/n." The ash blond's smile turned into a straight line and hs steel blue eyes glossed over the h/c haired male with disappointment.
Y/n looked with puzzlement. "You won't avoid us anymore...right?" Ezra's tone was cold and it made Y/n scowl at the seemingly ominous sentence but he quickly put on an airy grin "Of course not." Ezra stared intensely at the male and lightly tightened his hand on the boy's head.
In a split second, his kind demeanor came back, and Ezra gave Y/n a pet on the head with an eye-closed smile. "Good boy." With that, Ezra turned around and walked away.
Y/n closed the door to his residence. 'What the actual hell was that?' He ran a hand through his h/c hair in contemplation
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Timeskip
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Avery woke up from her nap and slowly blinked her eyes open. 'I'm still at the hospital.' The girl was scared for a while that she would wake up in that damned basement again. Avery looked around her room, and her eyes landed on the table full of things she had gotten from everyone she knew.
There was a new gift on the table. A considerably large package, a brown wrapped present with a white ribbon. In curiosity, The female reached out for the box and put it down on her lap. She looked at in scrutinizing before beginning to tug loose the ribbon woven around the present. The ribbon fell and she opened the lid.
Avery let out an audible gasp.
Inside the box was a dead bird. It's glossy, blank eyes stared right into her own, and it's feathers were coated in a layer of dark red blood. There was a letter on top of the bird, written in blood.
Better off dead.
Author note: so this chapter was originally meant to be around 6k words but i realised if i propped everything into chapter 19 i wouldn't have enough uhhh plot to write for chapter 20,