The Disappearance Of Will Black / REWRITING /

⸢ xiii ⸥

"Why're you sitting alone?"

I was crouched by myself over a tray of food in the cafeteria when I heard a voice behind me. I ignored it. Wasn't the answer all too obvious? I was the freak sister of William Black.

Someone dragged the chair from under the table, and the uninvited stranger sat beside me. I tore my gaze away from my food to the stranger.

"James Hall," I muttered, figuring he wasn't worth my attention and switched back to the meal.

He nodded cursorily in my direction, eyes never meeting mine. "Black."

"What do you want?" I said after stuffing my mouth with a spoonful of yogurt.

He looked slightly uncomfortable to be here despite his crude comment he made before sitting beside me. I secretly enjoyed his discomfort, vaguely recalling the time he pushed me away to avoid talking about his best friend, my brother.

"He's probably dead, you know."

I didn't ask who he was talking about. "What makes you say that?"

His strange green eyes finally searched mine. He looked cute up-close in an irksome way, but in a puppy-cute manner. It annoyed me. He annoyed me.

"I know who that guy was. The man who died with him," he lowered his voice and inched closer to me. I stiffened. "You know the guy. The guy with the badass tattoos, big frame and I-would-shit-myself-if-he-had-something-against-me type of vibe?"

"Yeah, James, I know who you're talking about," I harshly shout-whispered. "How do you even know him? Did you tell the police?"

"What do you think I am, stupid?"

"Then why are you telling me this?"

James opened his mouth to speak, but his knowledge hit me like a bus. "Holy shit, what were you involved in, James? Were you there?"

"Lower your voice," he snapped, breaking eye contact with me. The cafeteria was buzzing with noise, but I knew that all eyes were on us. After all, the sister and best friend of the so called dead guy, united, was something unheard of. "He was a dealer."

I matched my voice to his. "Like...drug dealer?"

"And a gun dealer. I saw him talking to Will before about some fucked up shit. I didn't understand the half of it, and hell, I don't even want to."

I cursed under my breath. Why would Will want to be invoked by a dealer? "Where did you see them talking?"

"Out of school. Two days before the bonfire. Told the guy I'd meet him twenty minutes before school started and caught him talking to the tattooed creep. They were talking about...guns."

His eyes glazed and I knew I was losing him, so I spoke quickly. "What else?"

"Sarah, I think he needed a gun to protect himself. To protect himself from something he knew could hurt him," he remonstrated, and the way he spoke set a dark feeling in my gut.

"B-but Will's smart. He's quick; he's strong. He can outwit anyone. Who would he be afraid of, and why?" I breathed out, frustrated. "I have way more questions than answers. So why are you telling me this?"

James responded immediately. "You asked me that day if I could help you find Will. It looks like he got into a bigger problem than I imagined. Look, I don't think we know him as well as we think."

"Yeah," I zoned out, thinking about his non-erratic behavior and how he was too perfect. "We don't."

* * *