Swims | □

C

Dedication to foreveryoung_13 because she's lovely.

EDIT: The time frame for this has been editied. The prologue takes place in August, 2012. Oh, and I updated the bio. Check it out! UNEDITED

Last time, on Swims:

Declan had just finished fixing himself something to eat when his phone buzzed with a new message. He slid his thumb across the screen and blinked in surprise, the sandwich almost falling out of his mouth.

There was one new message from an unknown number and it said,

You will do as I say Declan Qarr.

~~~~~

No, I won't. Declan typed back. Almost instantly, he received a reply.

Yes you will.

Why? He typed back.

Because Declan Qarr both of us have seen what is behind the third bookshelf.

Declan almost stopped breathing. No one knew about that - not even his own brother. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes trying to make sure he had read him properly.

There's nothing there...

Declan's mother was a police officer. He had grown up around the law. If anybody else found about this, his family would be finished.

Oh Declan... You lie to yourself.

Who are you?

Your worst enemy.

Do you to go my school?

No. But I know you'll have no problem with my tasks.

~~

Declan arrived in school the following morning looking like a ghost. He had been up all night afraid of what the next day would bring. After that last cryptic message - they were all cryptic but that one sent chills own his spine - he had had a staring match with his phone. It was almost as if he was daring it to show another message. To his relief (but also panic), no other message had come in.

From his four friends, Natasha was the first to notice his discomfort at everything that day.

"Declan?" She pulled him aside. Natasha was pretty. Her family was Indian and her dad worked as a professor in the community college. She almost always smelled like marigold flowers.

"Natty, hey." He jerked his hand away but Natasha didn't seem to care.

"Are you alright?" Out of his four friends, Natasha held on to everything. She was paranoid but her observation skills surpassed the average mark.

"Fine, why?" He sounded out of breath and this was not lost on Natasha. She nodded warily. She suddenly lunged for something on the ground and Declan jumped a mile. He put hand to his chest and tried to steady his breathing and his pounding heart.

"That's why." Natasha opened her empty fist. She had tested him and he walked right into her trap. "Is something bothering you?"

"No..." Declan had saved the unknown contact as Potential Rapist in his contacts. Now, Potential Rapist hadn't mentioned anything about telling people about their conversations but Declan wasn't stupid. If he breathed a word to anyone, they'd ask for proof. And the proof would lead to the thing behind the third bookshelf.

"Is someone bothering you?" She lowered her voice and glanced behind him and frowned in distaste. He didn't need to turn around to know what she was looking at: Malia.