Joker

ELEVEN - Amaya

"Please don't ever leave me." Avery whispered.
"I'd have to be mad to do that." I smiled, even though I knew she couldn't see my face. Her head rested on my chest beside my heartbeat. The sound of her breathing made me feel more safe than I ever had before. I could feel my arms starting to go numb but I didn't dare move in fear that I'd wake her up. If life had a replay button, I know for certain that I would always come back to this very moment, and pause it to live in it forever.

"You two are being awfully quiet today, and Axel was here on time. What's going on?" I said to the boys.
"Nothing." they replied in unison.
"Hey, Aiden-"
"Mind your own business, Avery." he snapped.
"Keep your hair on! I was only going to ask what time you got home yesterday."
"Late."
"Where did you even go? It must have been important if you felt the need to leave school for it."
"Why don't you ask Axel?" There was almost a hint of annoyance in Aiden's voice. I didn't like what was going on here. Something had clearly happened between the boys but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it could be.
"He came looking for me." Axel muttered. I gave him a blank expression. "Because I wasn't in school yesterday." he added.
"Oh. So you guys were together?"
"Kind of, not really." Aiden was now the one keeping quiet whilst Axel did all the talking (not that he was saying much, though).
"I don't understand." Avery was obviously as lost as me.
"I found him, made sure he was okay and then we left each other alone. That's all that happened, nothing interesting. Are you happy now?"
"Calm down! There's no need to be so snappy."
"Well there's no need for you to be so nosy." Aiden stormed off back into the building, leaving Axel, Avery and I stood shocked in the middle of the yard. "Axel, what really happened? I'm sorry, but I don't believe Aiden for a second."
"Avery, don't..." Axel warned.
"I just want to know wh-"
"I said don't!" he shouted. I'd never seen him like this before. It was normal for Aiden to be in a bad mood, but not Axel. Avery's eyes grew glossy as Axel rushed off in the opposite direction to Aiden. I pulled her into a hug. "Something definitely happened between them," she said quietly. "I'm determined to find out what."

The lunch bell rang, sending a wild crowd of students rushing to the hall. Corridors were packed, therefore making it difficult to move. As Avery and I arrived at our table, the boys were sitting in complete silence. Uncomfortable by the lack of conversation, we took our seats. Axel picked at his food and Aiden's head was (unsurprisingly) in his phone. "So..." Just as I began to speak, a piercing 'ping' rang in my ears. Every last ounce of colour had drained from Avery's face. The boys' heads shot up and we all glanced at one another. "Who- who's phone was that? Mine's on silent, it wasn't me." Avery stammered.
"It was mine." Aiden, Axel and I all spoke at the same time.
"Oh my God. No, no. I don't want to go through this again. Please, I don't want to." Avery shook her head in denial. Tears sat at the bottom of her eyes, threatening to fall down her cheeks at any moment. "It's okay, it might not be. Remember what I said yesterday? He's dead. It's not him." I reassured her.
"You're right," Aiden said in a low voice. "It's not him."
"See! I told you, it's all good."
"No, no it's not all good." Axel's face was filled with sorrow. I pulled my phone out; the notification on the screen made my stomach churn. Avery peered over my shoulder and she began to tremble as she read:

"Hello my lovely little Aces, how are you on this fine day? You might not know me, but boy, do I know you! I'm actually quite a big fan. What happened last year with that X guy was really tragic, wasn't it? Amaya, or should I say hearts, I heard you have a big athletics competition coming up; one that you might need proof of to become an athletics coach? Well, if you don't solve this mystery soon enough, I hate to break it to you, but there'll be no coaching for you: what a shame! I may or may not have Avery's/diamond's good friend Sadie with me here, and I know you don't like her or whatever, but surely you'd do anything to make your girlfriend happy. I'm not cliché like that guy from last year (that was far too boring), so there's no time limit. However, if anyone besides you four manages to find out, you'll face the consequences. Have fun!
Love from your good friend,
Joker"

I felt sick. Avery buried her face in my shoulder as she wept. Even though I knew this was yet another attempt to get rid of me and potentially destroy my entire life, I comforted her the best I could. The boys watched with sympathetic eyes as she begged to wake up from this nightmare. "Hey Avery, look at me." Axel instructed. "We're going to catch whoever this 'Joker' person is, and I promise, Sadie's going to be just fine when we get to her."
"She's such a good person, she doesn't deserve this." Avery sniffed.
"I know, but we won't let anything bad happen to her." I put my arm around her, rubbing her shoulder gently.
"We promise we're going to solve this, okay?" Aiden gave what could've been the most genuine smile I'd ever seen on his face. The others may not have been showing it, but I knew for certain how terrified they were too. Someone died last year, and we all blamed it on ourselves. I thought being an Ace was a blessing, but it's proved itself to be a rather gruesome curse.