behind the glass

nowhere

The body wasn't there.

William stood at the end of the hallway, in clear view of where Adelia's body was sprawled out on the floor the previous day. Now, she seemed to have mysteriously disappeared.

He crept down the hallway, carefully stepping onto the metal floor in his bloodstained loafers- he would have to scrub those later- and praying that nothing was hiding around the corner as he entered the other room.

Silence.

He looked to his left.

He looked to his right.

There was nothing more than an empty room, an empty tomb where Adelia was destined to live out the rest of her days. In truth, William didn't particularly care where Adelia's body ended up, as long as she was never found by the authorities. He wasn't trying to get himself arrested, after all.

He turned around, no longer minding his steps as he proceeded toward the elevator, only stopping when he noticed the lights flickering above him and the distant sound of a music box growing louder by the second.

"William?"

No one else was home; Michael had just left school, standing on the curb and waving down the only car that he would recognize anywhere.

"Scott!" He ran across the other lane of traffic, standing in the middle of the road as he knocked on Scott's car window, demanding his attention.

"Oh my god, Michael," Scott groaned, rolling the window down as fast as his arm could stand. "Get in, don't just stand in the road!"

Michael nodded breathlessly before running around the front of the tiny car, half climbing over the hood to get to the passenger side door, which was already unlocked. He practically threw himself inside the car, pushing his book bag into the backseat.

"If you needed a ride today, you could have just told me." Scott must have pressed on the gas pedal too quickly, because his car stalled right as the light turned green. "Shit- Not again-"

"You were already out the door before I got the chance to ask-" Michael was cut off by car horns blaring behind them.

Scott managed to start the car again and pass through the intersection.

"You haven't been at school for the past week, and I never heard from you." He slowed down at another stop light.

Michael was about to respond before he heard someone tapping the window beside him. He turned around.

There was Vincent, wrapped in a leather jacket and ripped jeans, pulling the helmet away from his face to yell something that Michael couldn't hear over his deafening motorcycle engine.

"Just ignore him." Scott wasn't even looking. "I'll talk to him tomorrow or something."

"God, Scott..." Michael spared one last glance at Vincent before the car began to move again. "What happened?"

"We got in a fight; I think it was the second day you were gone." Scott's tone was empty, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes that Michael managed to pick up on. "He's such an asshole. I don't know why I put up with him."

"You told me that you're in love with him."

"Yeah. I am."

For a moment, they were both silent. Michael considered asking what Scott and Vincent had fought about- it certainly wasn't their first fight- but he decided against it. If Scott wanted to talk about it, he would.