The Midnight Manifest

✬- 2

Leo - October 13th, afternoon

The cafe buzzed quietly with the soft murmur of conversations, an espresso machine whirring in the background, and gentle jazz drifting from an unseen speaker. Raindrops pattered against the window, each one gliding slowly down the glass as if weighed down by secrets. Leo stirred his coffee absentmindedly, his gaze lingering on the girl sitting across from him.

She was the "crazy girl from the memorial"—he still didn't know her name, but the label had stuck, passed between him and Ivy with knowing smirks. There was something about her, though. A quiet intensity in the way her dark eyes followed every word, her energy coiled like a spring, as if she were just waiting for the right moment to pounce on a new lead. Why am I even paying attention to this? Leo thought, but the truth was he'd been low-key fascinated since she'd crashed their group with wild ideas and even wilder confidence.

Ivy nudged him under the table. "Leo," she whispered, nodding in the girl's direction. "You're staring."

Leo blinked, straightening. "Sorry," he muttered, hoping his cheeks weren't giving him away. He leaned back and tried to focus on Ivy, who was sipping her tea with that contemplative look he knew all too well.

The girl—still "crazy girl" in his mind—was the one to break the silence. "Look," she said, glancing between them with a serious expression. "You two think I'm nuts, don't you?"

Leo's eyebrows lifted, but Ivy beat him to a response. "We wouldn't say nuts, exactly," she said carefully.

The girl raised an eyebrow, lips curling into a slight smirk. "It's fine. I get it. Funerals aren't usually the best place to make friends."

Leo leaned in, clearing his throat. "So, earlier, you were saying you think Beck is hiding something about Dr. Holloway's death?"

"That's exactly what I was saying," she replied, her voice low but sure. "You saw him, didn't you? The way he was watching Lila, Dr. Holloway's daughter. The guy was practically in pieces, and I doubt it was just because he respected her as a mentor. He knows something."

Ivy sighed, putting down her tea. "Alright. Say you're right. What do you suggest we do?"

"We talk to him?" the girl said, as if it was so obvious, as if she had just been asked if grass is green. Her gaze moved between the two of them, locking on Leo just long enough to make his pulse pick up. "Find out what he knows, get him to open up."

A nervous silence followed. Leo glanced at Ivy, who gave him a subtle nod, then back to the girl. "Okay, I'm in," he said, watching the way her smirk softened. "But maybe we should get your name first?"

She hesitated a second, as though it was a rare gift she was about to offer. "Ruby," she said finally. "Ruby Marshall."

Ruby, he thought, the name rolling around in his mind with an odd warmth. Somehow, it suited her.

The rain had slowed to a drizzle by the time the three of them made their way to the student commons where Beck was holed up in one of the study rooms. They found him alone, hunched over a notebook, staring intensely at the page. When they entered, he barely looked up.

"Beck," Ivy said gently. "Can we talk?"

He glanced up, eyes hollow and rimmed with fatigue. "You're that girl from the funeral," he said, frowning at Ruby, who responded with a sharp nod.

"Yeah. Ruby Marshall. And you're Beck, the guy who didn't exactly handle the whole 'grieving boyfriend' thing well."

Beck's jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed. "She was my professor, nothing more."

Ruby's smirk widened, as if she was trying to hold in a laugh. "I didn't say you were lying. Just saying you seemed... invested."

Leo shifted uncomfortably but kept his eyes on Beck. "Look, we're not here to make this harder for you. We just want to know if there was anything... strange about her death."

Beck hesitated, his eyes searching each of theirs, and finally sighed, his shoulders slumping. "It's Lila," he admitted. "I've known her since my first year—she's Dr. Holloway's daughter. We're... close, I guess you'd say." he looked between the three of them, as if he was trying to get something out of them, then he cracked. "Okay, fine. I guess that's a lie. I knew Lila, she hadn't met me yet. And now, were not super close... but we talk. Mostly about her mom..." then he muttered something like "Fucking David,"

Leo's gaze sharpened. "So, you know what this 'big case' Dr. Holloway was working on?"

Beck frowned, eyes drifting toward the window. "No, but it's weird, isn't it? One day, she was talking about it like it was going to change everything. Then the next day... gone. And now there's no record of it."

"What do you mean, no record?" Ivy asked, leaning forward.

Beck pulled out his phone, hesitating before glancing at them. "Lila told me. She's searched everywhere—her mom's office, her emails, everything. It's like all of her notes on the project just vanished."

A long silence stretched between them, filled with the quiet hum of the room's fluorescent lights. Ivy glanced at Ruby, who nodded, eyes gleaming with the same intensity Leo had seen at the funeral.

"Can you call her?" Ruby asked quietly. "Lila, I mean. Maybe she knows more."

Beck looked at her, his face tight with resistance. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and finally nodded. He dialed Lila's number, putting the call on speaker. After a few rings, a soft voice answered.

"Beck?"

"Lila, hey. Listen, I'm here with some... friends." He hesitated, looking at the three of them. "They want to help find out what happened to your mom. Is there anything, anything at all, that you remember her mentioning about this... project?"

Lila's voice came through, quiet and broken. "I don't know, Beck. I keep going over it in my head, trying to remember... but there's nothing left of it. Not in her notes, her computer. Even her backup drives... all blank. Whatever it was, it's like it was erased."

Ruby's voice broke in softly. "Lila, I know it's hard, but if you could think of anything, anything she said that seemed strange, it might help."

For a moment, there was only silence. Then Lila's shaky voice returned. "She told me once that it was dangerous—dangerous for us, for anyone who might get involved. I thought she was exaggerating... but maybe she wasn't."


Ruby - October 13, afternoon

As Beck ended the call, Ruby leaned back, the weight of Lila's words settling heavily on her. She'd expected something strange, but hearing about this case being "dangerous" felt like something out of a crime novel.

"So... we have nothing?" Ivy asked, frustration clear in her voice.

"Not nothing," Ruby replied, a spark of defiance flaring in her. "We know she was onto something—something big enough that someone wanted it gone. I'd say that's a start."

Leo looked at her, something curious in his gaze. "Ruby, what exactly are you getting us into?"

She met his gaze steadily, her confidence solid as steel. "The truth. Isn't that why we're here?"

Beck shifted uncomfortably, glancing from her to the others. "I don't know what you all think you're going to find, but if you're serious about this, we'll need a plan."

Ruby's lips curved into a smirk as she watched the nervous glint in his eyes. "Who's 'we', Beck?" she asked

Beck opened his mouth to say something, but he was clearly at a loss for words. He got a few words out. "I-I just thought that I could..."

"Ignore her, Beck," Ivy stepped in, shooting a disapproving look in Ruby's direction, causing Ruby to put one hand up slightly in a mock surrender. "And, yes, you can be apart of this... investigation. But, you're right. We need to start making a plan. In my eyes, we have a lot of secrets to uncover."

Outside, the rain began to pick up again, beating against the windows as if echoing the urgency that was building within each of them.

A/N: yeeaaahh, sorry that took so long to get to you guys... anyyywaayyy, lets hope you make it to the next chapter