Edge of the Dark // Noa Olivar

x. an unfortunate turn of events

They weren't necessarily drunk when they came back inside — at least not on Joey's part. She had to be sober enough to drive home, so she made sure not to drink from the bottle too much. She returned to the gym with Bennett by her side and they danced for the remainder of the night. Well, mostly. There were a few slow songs where they simply laughed and joked around, but it was turning out to be a great night for them.

She didn't allow the thoughts about her brother's mess up, Dani's offer, or having seen Noa sneak inside one of the classrooms with Shawn dampen her mood. Joey tucked them away and accepted Bennett's request of returning to the party and giving him that dance he asked for earlier in the day.

His hands were respectfully placed at her hips as hers were wrapped around his neck, moving to the slow beat of the song. Bennett was leaned down a little as he told her the story of how him and Shawn met, the largest grin on his face as he reminisced the day. He told her all of it and in return, Joey explained how she and Noa met a year ago in their freshman year of high school when they got partnered up together for an English project.

During one of the slow songs, Joey caught Tabby's eye who was motioning over to where Imogen was standing by herself, appearing to still be looking for Karen and not enjoying the dance whatsoever. She got all the girls, including Joey, to go over to Imogen who smiled broadly at their attempts to get her to dance.

"May we have this dance?" Tabby asked, as she extended her hand over to the pregnant girl.

Imogen accepted her hand and the girls led her over to the dance floor as an up beat song began playing. They danced around each other, the girls smiling at one another as they enjoyed their time at the dance instead of worrying about finding Karen. She grabbed Bennett's hand to pull him into the dance circle and noticed how Shawn got comfortable enough to join in as well.

At some point during the night, their dancing was cut short and the music was lowered down so Principal Clanton could walk up to the stage and reveal which student was voted as Spirit Queen.

"Good evening." He greeted cheerfully, tapping the mic to make sure it was loud enough for the crowd. "May I have your attention, please? The time has come to announce Millwood High's Spirit Queen!"

The crowd roared, clapping loudly for him to continue. "That's right!" He shouted, smiling at his student as he continued on. "So, without further ado, let's welcome her to the stage. . . Imogen Adams!"

The girls went wild beside her, along with the rest of their classmates. There was a bright spot light that focused in on Imogen as her name was called out.

"There she is! Come on up!"

Joey clapped her hands as Imogen got up on the stage and watched proudly as Principal Clanton placed the crown on her head. Their classmates cheered her on, clapping their own hands and yelling excitedly for the winner. She felt a bump against her shoulder and turned to look at Tabby who was staring up at the rafters. She followed her frightened gaze and noticed there was someone up there.

Karen Beasley was planning to pull a Carrie on Imogen whilst she was up on the stage in front of everyone. The blonde held a menacing grin on her face as she scooted the bucket of paint closer to the edge, but right behind Karen there was a shadowy figure.

Joey's breath was knocked right out of her lungs when she realized there was someone else up there with her — the same guy in the mask she had seen outside her bedroom. The blonde girl must have noticed the fear on all of their faces because she turned around hesitantly and tried pushing the man back to get away from him, but it was too late, she was pushed over the edge and landed with a devastating crushing sound right on the stage beside Imogen.