Last night hadn’t been very eventful. Eating the small amount of junk food in the house, as no one could be bothered to go down to get more and watching some films. That was it, and then they were to all fall asleep hours after their arrival. For once; a dreamless sleep. She sat up. Sweat dripping down her forehead. This wasn't her house. Her back ached from sleeping against the wall. She looked up towards the ceiling and caught sight of a picture. They were all happy then. They didn't have a psychotic friend then. This picture was from the summer before all of this had happened, a day at the park; a sunny day which is unusual for where they lived. A group shot that they had gotten a stranger to take. They were smiling, that didn't happen very often anymore. And then it clicked that she was in Astrid’s house, she must've fallen asleep here like Ava and Tom had as she looked over at their lifeless bodies, curled towards each other as if protecting each other. Astrid wasn't here. She looked over at the clock which read 5:37am, slowly getting up from her previous seat she left the room. Walking into the living room is where she saw her, she lay on her side, back against the couch, book beside her head. She walked over and sat on the floor in front of her, and that's when she noticed the terror in her eyes. That's when it hit her that she was off in space she didn't even know she had sat down right in front of her. "Astrid?" It was a gentle whisper but it was enough to bring her back to reality. Alice took in every aspect of her face, her tear stained cheeks, her tired eyes. "Everything is wrong, and I can't fix any of it" she said barely above a whisper, she watched as her friends teary eyes travelled to the lit candle on the table beside her head, the flame so still, so hypnotising. "None of this is your fault, stop-" at that point any tears Astrid had been holding back were now rolling freely down her face taking any make-up she had forgotten to take off with it. She sat up; hair flung into a ponytail. Alice stood up and held her hand out for her to take and Astrid taking her hand stood up too. Shaking slightly Alice pulled her in for a hug; they stood there for a good 5 minutes in the one spot and then suddenly burst out in laughter. "What's so funny?" Alice asked trying to hold back her own laughter, "it's just.. I don't know.. I've been so depressed and I just needed to laugh or something I don't know.." She trailed off. The door opened to reveal a tired looking Tom walking into the room followed by a confused Ava. They must've been woken by the shriek of laughter that had come from both of them. They looked down on Alice and Astrid who were now on the floor clutching their sides from laughter both trying to explain that they weren't quite sure why they were laughing. A small smile crept up on their faces, slowly turning into a howling laugh like the others. They were all such idiots. These idiots loved each other, but these idiots didn't realise that they didn't know each other as much as they thought. They didn’t get back to sleep that day. Once it finally hit 10 o’clock they decided it was time to get up, make it a productive day. Nope. Walking through to the kitchen Astrid noticed her mother had left her some money for food. Nobody was expecting them to go to school, so they decided it was best for them to live up to those expectations. As usual they sent Tom to get the food but with everything going on no one would be going anywhere themselves. As Tom and Astrid left to get the food which would later disappear and be questioned to how four teenagers could eat so much, they left the oh so curious Ava with Alice who to be quite frank still didn’t seem bothered, almost as if all she cared was that she was getting a day off school for this.
Alice & Ava P.O.V.
Alice sat in front of the mirror applying her newly found love for eyeliner carefully making sure her hand didn’t shake. Beginner. Ava taking in every movement she made, she’d become so cautious since the first death, it was someone she knew; her friend, two was pushing the limit. “Do you think it’s strange?” she asked quite innocently, “Do I think what’s strange?” “The fact that not only have two people died so suddenly but they are both our friends, good friends?” she was searching, not yet knowing what for. “Em.. I guess. I don’t really want to talk about it.” replied Alice ‘choking up’ with ‘tears’. “Oh okay, eh.. I’ll just put some music on then.” And with that she put on the newest ‘Fall Out Boy’ CD she had lent to Astrid and the conversation was now over.
Tom & Astrid P.O.V.
Shutting the door firmly behind them they walked in silence until it was unbearable. “So..” Tom said interrupting the silence. “Do you know my mum is scared?” she replied as if it had been part of a past conversation, “Why?” “She got a call from the police that have been looking into Be-“ she stopped mid-sentence, tears welling up in her eyes. “Into Bella and Aimee’s Case. He thinks it’s been murder; that someone has been out to intentionally kill them.” Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks, gaining the attention of the passers-by. At that moment Tom stopped in his tracks and pulled her into a hug. She cried to him for what could’ve been the 100th time that week. She kept saying “What if it’s true? It can’t be coincidence. What if it’s one of us next? I need you, I need Ava, and I need Alice. I can’t lose anyone else.”
They soon arrived back at the house. They walked in to the music up full blast, Astrid lived in a flat and had neighbours, which one of them had recently had a baby it would be the best to turn it down and respect their lack of sleep. Nope. Once the album had finished they watched a film. And then they watched another, and another and another. It was pretty late by now, Astrid’s mother had come home earlier that evening but had left the teenagers to themselves simply checking if their parents knew their whereabouts. Ava had earlier texted her mum to say she was staying another night, Tom the same whereas Alice just waited. It was as if she wanted to worry her mother, god knows why. Ava later excused herself to get a drink of water, swiftly picking up the phone without anyone noticing on her way out. Quickly calling Alice’s home number she was greeted to a tearful father, “Hello? This is Ava, Alice’s friend.” She said in hushed whispers so the others didn’t hear her. “Oh Alice” there was muffled shouting as if he had put his hand over the speaker, she then heard footsteps and was then greeted with an even more tearful mother. “Ava, Ava is she okay? Where is she? Oh god.” Her frantic voice making goose bumps appear on every inch of Ava’s skin, her mum was a nice person, she didn’t deserve this. “She’s fine she stayed at Astrid’s house last night and we are all staying here again tonight.” “Oh thank you so much honey” she could hear the sigh of relief on the other line “Please call me if anything happens okay? Okay.” And with that she hung up. She walked back into the room, Alice and Tom’s eyes glued to the TV screen and Astrid’s on her. Ava gave a slight nod to her before taking her seat again.
