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| brass plates |

Halfway out on her expedition, she realised that she didn't even know which dorm room was his.

Mentally cursing herself, she questioned if she should even go.

Oh well, she's come so far.

There was no going back now.

With brisk steps, she led herself towards the boys' dormitories, earning a few odd looks from the guys hanging around the building. Most of them, didn't bat an eye. But she knew that soon rumours would be flying left and right.

Most sadistic students derived pleasure from ruining other people's lives with false rumours. Rue didn't care. Right now the only thing on her mind was that she was looking out for... as much as she hated to say it... a friend.

A friend who she hadn't seen for a week.

No calls, no messages, nothing.

Her footsteps slowed down, her heart racing at unnaturally high rates due to the adrenaline of her own cruel thoughts. She cared about him. Did he even care about her?

'Rue?'

It wasn't Avery.

It was Tom.

She sighed with relief to see Tom standing beside a dorm with the brass plate "112" fixed onto its front. His dark hair was still as messy as it had been on the day of the lacrosse match. His eyes had something else. Regret? Or maybe guilt.

'Thank god, I was losing my mind trying to look for your dorm...' Rue caught herself, 'I mean, I wanted to check up on Avery. Is he okay?'

Tom looked down at the floor.

Then opened his mouth, with a reaction she had seen before. The kind someone has on their face when they tell you to kindly go away. She was almost regretting her decision, when he closed his lips. He'd made up his mind. Any second now, she would be asked to go away.

'I think... I think you should see for yourself...'

That wasn't what she had expected.

Tom slowly opened the door, letting her enter first. She could feel the numbness in the air. It didn't feel like Avery was there at all. Tom shut the door behind him, a sigh escaping his lips.

'I'm sorry, I should have told you when it happened. I just... I didn't know if it would make it better or worse and this is his issue.'

'What are you talking about?'

They spoke in hushed tones, almost as if they were in some sort of graveyard.

'He'd left last week after he got the news. The Headmaster's granting him a few days on break...'

'What news? What are you talking about?'

Rue followed Tom to the door of what she assumed was Avery's room. Before he knocked the door, he said a single heartbreaking sentence to her.

'His mum passed away, Rue.'

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