THE UGLY DUCKLING, nate macauley

chapter six: suspenseful thinking

MALIA, ADDY, COOPER AND BRONWYN sat in silence in an abandoned theatre. Nate had suggested the place to meet up so no one would find them but he was no one where to be found. The silence was slightly uncomfortable as they ll were awkwardly placed around the front near the stage. Addy and Cooper were sitting quite a distance apart on the stage. Bronwyn and Malia were sitting in the seats across from the stage, also very far apart. Bronwyn kept checking her watch every two minutes, which was starting to annoy the fake blonde.

The group of four turned to look at the entrance when they heard the emergency exit door open. Nate came up the stairs all dressed in leather holding his motorcycle helmet in his hand. "Your late," Bronwyn commented looking away from her watch. Nate made no comment walking over to the seats. "You're the one that told s to come here."

Addy rocked her legs back in forth, "How'd you even know about this place?"

"My mom worked at the concessions stand," Nate told them pointing to the door he'd just come through. "She'd leave that back door open, we would sneak in and watch the old classics." He gave a quick glance to Malia who bit the inside of her cheek. Bronwyn looked at him funnily noticing the we in his sentence. Nate sat one chair over from Malia. "Yeah, those were the days."

"Charming," Cooper muttered sarcastically. "Why are we here?"

Bronwyn stood up from her seat. "Because Addy's right? No one can see us meet." She looked around at the group. "Because the police think we did it together. That's what you said." Bronwyn gave Ady a pointed look.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah." She shrugged slightly. "Heard the cops talking to Simon's mom, in the kitchen." malia frowned at the slight pause from Addy when she said the location but brushed it off.

"If there's one thing we know isn't true, it's that we worked together," Nate stated.

Cooper gestured to him. "Now that we can actually agree on."

There was a slight pause, and then Bronwyn started talking again. "Okay, okay, but what if we need to work together now? What if it's the only way to get out of this?"

"And why should we trust you?" Cooper asked mockingly. Malia rolled her eyes knowing someone was going to start an argument.

Bronwyn nodded slowly. "Okay, you're right." She looked around the group. "I haven't been completely honest with you guys." Malia furrowed her eyebrows confused. "One of Simon's posts was gonna be about me, I think."

Addy slowly stood up sharing a nervous look with Cooper as Malia leaned forward in her seat slightly."What did you do?"

"Okay, I'm not ready to be that honest yet." The fake blonde rolled her eyes and sunk back down in her seat.

"Okay, well, then you have a motive, but I don't." Cooper defeated himself for what seemed like the ninth time today. "None of those cues were gonna be about me, no matter what some people say." The last bit seemed very targeted.

"I said I was sorry." Addy defended her own self. "I was worried Jake would suspect me and ask, and I just wanted to-"

"There's something?" Bronwyn asked, suspecting that Addy might've been hiding something.

"No."

"What were you so nervous of, then?" Cooper asked also sceptical.

"Her shitty boyfriend getting ideas." Nate stood up from his chair and surprisingly started to defend Addy.

"Nate Macauley calling my friend shitty?" Cooper sarcastically questioned.

"Right, sorry, man, it's not like football players have a tendency for violence or anything." Nate fired the sarcasm right back. Malia stood from her chair and stood next to Bronwyn.

"Hey, leave him out of this," Addy yelled at the boy.

"I'm trying to help you here."

"Well, don't. Okay? I cheated on him" She blurted out. Malia's eyes widened, and the entire group went silent. "I cheated n him, okay? And he asked me, and I lied. I thought we were over. I thought he didn't love me anymore. He'd gone on that People to People trip in Greece." The girl took a deep breath in. " He was gone all summer, and he wasn't texting me back, but he was still posting on his story every day, and, like, what am I supposed to think? And I was drunk and sad and mad, and Tj was there and..." Malia felt her stomach drop. She knew exactly how the blonde girl was feeling. "Now I'm gonna end up single and alone and a murder suspect, because now I have a motive."

Malia didn't know what had taken over her. She just walked over to the blonde girl and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Addy leaned into the fake blonde sobbing quietly into her chest. Nate walked over to them. "Hey." Addy looked up at him. 'It's only motive if people know about it, and they don't." he stated flatly. The other three all knew where he was going. "That secret died with Simon, okay?"

"Because someone killed him." Bronwyn butted in. "and now they're trying to frame us."

"Okay, but do you really think that Ms Avery stole Simon's laptop?" Cooper asked. Nate and Malia both looked to Bronwyn knowing she was the one who had stolen it. "I mean, I don't even think she would know how to log in."

"I don't know who's doing this, but whoever's doing it hated Simon." Bronwyn skillfully dodged the question.

"A lot of people hated Simon," Cooper stated.

"Yeah, but who also hated us?" Bronwyn genuinely asked.

・❥・

The group of five became a group of two very quickly. Malia sat back down on a seat staring at the empty stage. Well, technically it wasn't empty with dusty old props and costumes sitting cluttered across it. "Do you remember the reason it was shut down?" she asked the boy in the row behind her.

"Bankruptcy or rats probably," Nate suggested. Malia hummed in response. "Look," He started. "I know you hate me and everything but-"

"-I don't hate you." She cut him off. "I don't think I ever hated you," Malia admitted softly.

Nate sat there shocked slightly. "Let's restart," he said.

Malia shifted in her seat so she could look at him properly. She nodded her head for him to continue. "Nate Macauley." He held out his hand for her to shake.

She looked at his hand contemplating it then shook it. "Malia Kennedy." She responded. He gave her one of those rare Nate smiles. Malia felt her phone buzz in her jean pocket. Nate's phone beeped and Malia felt worry pool into her stomach. She let go of his hand and pulled her phone out. An About That notification was staring directly at her.

With slight hesitation, she opened it and immediately regretted it after.

Don't you just hate a cliffhanger? Simon may have left you high and dry, but making you wait for a good reveal? That's not really my style.

Malia frowned down at the device.

Seems Addy Prentiss is no good at waiting either. She didn't last a week before finding a new boy toy to play with while jake was in Greece this Summer.

Ah, that's better. Wasn't the suspense just killing you?

Malia turned and looked at Nate. "You can not tell me this is a coincidence."