We All Fall Together

-thirty one-

Oh no. No! Shit. I knew we were in trouble. It felt like our world was crashing as all of us stared at Cole. We all wanted peace, but with three of them gone, I knew that this will be the cause of our mental death. I don't even know who Ramona is. I had the courage to break the sorrowful silence and ask, "Who's Ramona?"

Cole looked up at me and told me that this was the girl in his Math class that he told me about, the girl he's been trying to impress that's why he was studying so hard. I could see him break little by little. I could see his eyes turn from it's so vibrant color to a really dull one even if he's just wearing conta- no. He's not wearing his contacts anymore!

"You took off your contacts?" I asked.

Cole nods, too angry to even speak. None if us moved, until the bell rang. Jorge, Vester and Jordan didn't stand when I thought they would. They look so devastated with their eyes looking on the table and their hair falling down on their faces. "I have to do something. We all do," Vester said. "We have to find them, but how?"

"The boys told me that they just got them a few minutes ago when they found them walking outside campus. They'll keep... they'll keep them hostage until Ron, Conner and I follow whatever they want us to do," Cole explained. "I'm sorry."

I found myself in tears, and I also noticed that we were the only people left in there. My friends are in bad hands and I'm one helpless teenage girl, 17 year old girl with no plan. There's nothing running in my head. My mind was blocked, but instead of thinking too much in my seat, I told them, "Guys, we have to get back to class now."

As I stood up, everyone else followed.  We head to our classrooms, but I could feel someone tailing behind me. When I looked back, it was Cole who's following me. "Why are you following me, Cole? You should head the other way."

"I'm sorry, Em, but I have to get out of here and find a way to get all three of them. They're harmful, Em. It's... It's dangerous."

I took Cole in an embrace. I wanted to comfort him as much as I could. Even if we had an ugly past, I still want to be there in the midst of this terrible battle we're having between the gang that's after us.

Cole hugged back, and I knew he didn't have enough time, so I let him go. He jogged down the hallway, and he's out gone at that second without turning back. He thinks that this is all his fault, and I feel really bad for not telling him how it was all our fault: me, Cole, Conner and Ron. This started with 2 boys threatening then followed by a few messages, and it started when I cared about it too much.

I felt so dull in the next hours as I never even felt okay with going to class knowing that my friends were out there somewhere suffering while we're in the good hands of our teachers.

It felt kind of lonely without Beth with me in my History class. She usually sits next to me, and she would whisper things until our History teacher gets annoyed by her whispering and moves her to another seat. It's those funny little things that made me love my best friend too much.

As for Wesley, he's one of the clowns in my Health and PE class. He's actually the number one clown in both classes. Although we've known each other for only 2 years, it felt like our connection was as great and deep as his connection with Ron. He's one to sit beside me in Health because he knew that I haven't made so much friends in the past years that I've been here. Since our PE was about dancing, my class and his class had to combine so that we'd have partners and let me tell you. He's my partner and he's great at dancing.

My thoughts of my friends came crashing when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I don't even want to know who this is as it could be one of those gang losers. But then it felt weird to have my phone vibrating in the pocket of my skinny jeans. I excused myself from Health class to answer my phone.