Framed

Four.

A/N: Hello again. Sorry for the long wait, but I am back! (cue author rising from ashes like Mushu from Disney's Mulan) 

Saturday. Five days after the double homicide.

Camila was the first one to arrive at the church. Located within San Diego's historic Old Town area, the Church of the Immaculate Conception was among one of the older churches in now booming city. Camila had wanted to go to Old Town for a while - home of America's most haunted house and a hubhub for history aficionados, Old Town was one of the more well known tourist attractions in San Diego.

Camila just never had foreseen that she would be here for the funeral of one of her new friends. 

She paused and stared at the wooden doors of the church until her sobs couldn't be held in anymore. Hunching over herself, Camila sat on the front steps and just let the tears flow. Her friend was dead, and all she could do was cry and wish that she was still there. When grief strikes like a hawk, you don't take the time to care who is watching. She cries until a voice interrupts her - one that she recognizes, surprisingly. 

Dinah Jane must have had the same idea in mind because she too arrived at the church two hours before the funeral. Sighing as if the weight of the Swiss Alps was on her lungs, Dinah took a seat next to Camila and murmured, "She had been one of my best friends since middle school. It was her and me against the world. And then we met Mani and Lauren and Zayn and the rest is history."

"Is it true? That you, Normani, and Lauren are singing for her at the funeral?" Camila sniffled, but allowed her tears to glide down her chin and drip on the yellow dress she had been wearing.

Dinah nodded, tears welling up in her eyes as well. "Yes. We're singing that song For Good. It's from the Wicked musical or something."

"I'm so sorry. If I'm sad then I can't imagine how you must feel. She was your best friend for a lot longer."

Dinah shook her head slightly, reaching into her purse for one of the many tissue packets that she had brought with her. "No. You knew her, she was friends with everyone. She just wanted to live and laugh and enjoy life and sing. God, she freaking loved to sing. She had an amazing voice - I don't know if you ever got to hear her sing, but her voice - it was beautiful. She never had a problem with anyone, and she was never a problem to anyone. It's such a mad world - that someone so bright and so good is taken so quickly away from us."

"Only the good die young."

"Truest shit I ever heard." Dinah replied morosely. 

"How long until Ally is out of the hospital? She must be upset that she couldn't come to Ari's funeral."

"She's pissed off. She's been in there for almost a week and is furious that she wasn't allowed to come and pay her respects. She'll be discharged around Monday, but she'll have to take it easy in her house for a while."

"Oh. How long until she's back at school?"

"Mila. She was shot in the chest. The bullet was less than half an inch away from her heart. It's gonna take her a while to recover fully."

"Heh. Ally's never been one to take it easy, has she?"

"Actually, she's a pretty easygoing person most of the time. It's just that in all this shit, her friends are at stake and she wants to help them as much as she can. Not to mention, she said she'll miss the Bible Study Club. She really doesn't want to let the Vice President of the club take charge."

"That's really nice of her. Trying to get out of bed rest just to help us solve some murders."

"That's Ally for you. Always ready to help." Normani said as she too took a place by the steps.