Tattler || 5sos

One

~Emery~

-six years later-

The officer yanks me out of the backseat and into the chilly air.

"Officer," I gasp in the frigid air. "I don't understand what I've done wrong!"

The man is silent, and with a sudden burst of energy, I pull away from him. He seizes forward until he realizes I'm not running.

"Am I being arrested?" I ask with a laugh. "Because if so, your deputy you sent to pick me up did not read me my Miranda Rights. I could be released just like that," I snap my fingers.

The officer stares at me for a long time, and I wonder if they even knew what the Miranda Rights were.

"You're not being arrested," he says simply. I breathe out in relief.

"Then why did you drag me down here?" I question, annoyed.

"We're bringing you in for questioning."

"For?"

"The murder of Tara Oakes."

I haven't heard that name in a long time. I remind myself to breathe as I squint like I'm confused.

"Isn't that the girl that was killed about five years ago?"

The officer takes my arm again. "No more questions."

- - -

The officer closes the bars on the holding cell and turns to leave.

"Wait!" I yell out. "Don't I get a phone call?"

It's the officer's turn to laugh. "You're not arrested."

He leaves, and I huff in annoyance. I needed to call and tell the firm I was interning for that I wouldn't be able to make it today. I needed this internship! I couldn't get into law school without their recommendation!

"Emery Baker," a familiar voice behind me says. I close my eyes for a moment, they couldn't have all of us, could they?

"Luke Hemmings," I purse my lips as I turn around.

"I thought you'd be taking on cases at Supreme Court by now," he stands up from his place on the metal bench.

"And I thought that by now you'd be in a real cell!"

"Not if you were my lawyer, huh?" he laughs opening his arms for a hug. I laugh and embrace him. He takes a step back, looking me over. "You know," he says, his face becoming serious. "I haven't spoken to you since that night."

I look around nervously. He can't talk like that in the open!

"Relax," he says. "Michael already checked the place for bugs," he gestured at the boy sitting in the corner with dark purple hair. The last time I saw him at high school graduation he was a blonde.

"Is it just you two?" I ask.

"Yeah," Luke replies, sitting back down. "But I think they're looking for the others."

I try to swallow but my mouth is too dry. Luke pats the bench beside him. Despite my shaking hands, I sit.

"Now, Emery, I know you didn't tell," he says, but his face tells me otherwise.

"I haven't thought about that day in almost four years," I snap, not wanting to be accused of something so ridiculous.

"Someone tattled," Michael spoke up from the corner, and I turn to look at him. He looks a lot happier than he did in high school, I wonder what he's doing.

"So," Luke changed the subject, not looking thoroughly convinced. "How's law school treating you?"

"I haven't gone yet," I say, glad to talk about something safe, like my career. "I just finished undergrad, I'm an intern at a firm this year. I'll go to law school in the fall, hopefully."

"Didn't you take a lot of art classes in high school?" Michael says, squinting at me. "I know I saw you in the art department when I was at music classes."

I don't even blink. "That was just an elective," I say smoothly, thinking of all the unused canvases in my apartment. "What about you two?" I say, not wanting to talk about myself anymore.

Michael sits up. "I'm so obviously a rock star," he says, rolling his eyes.

I wait, but he doesn't say anything else. "He told me he works at the Apple store," Luke says for him.

I look back at Luke curiously. "And you? Are you finally the astronaut you wanted to be when we were six?"

Luke doesn't laugh, but instead leans his head against the tile wall and sighs. "I am a math tutor for middle school kids," he says, closing his eyes in embarrassment.

I have to bite back a laugh. "A tutor? For seventh graders?"

Luke doesn't open his eyes. "Yeah, well, life doesn't always end up like we plan it."

- - -

We must have sat in silence for ten more minutes before the door opened again and a different officer came in, towing a girl with short blonde hair and a boy who looked Asian, but I knew he wasn't. The officer throws them in without a word and exits, and once they stop yelling for him to some back, I decide to speak up.

"Britt? Calum?"

They both turn around, giving each other a dirty look as they do so. Britt's eyes linger on Luke, who was staring back at her. "Hey Emery," she says sourly. Calum nods at both of us before going to shake Michael's hand and sitting beside him uncomfortably. Calum and Michael had always been best friends up until the weekend before junior year started, the same time all of us stopped talking.

"How are you?" I ask Britt. We too had been best friends before it happened.

"Fine," she says sharply. "Other than the fact I could be kicked out of med school for missing my classes today."

"You're in med school?" Luke asks, still staring at her. Britt glances at him before looking down at her feet and nodding. I could have been wrong, but I thought I saw a faint smile on Luke's face. "I knew you would be."

I look away from the two of them, knowing their history. "Calum," I say, even though back in high school we had only been acquaintances, in the same honors classes. "How have you been?"

Calum must have been catching up with Michael, because he glanced over to me briefly. "Doing fine, I'm working toward being a physical therapist."

That's right, Calum and Michael were a year older than us. Luke was the same age as-

The door opened again, this time the officer was yelling at the person they were bringing in. I couldn't catch all of it, but I did hear some unprofessional language. I watch the officer shove the boy into the cell with us and slam the door before exiting. After the officer left, the boy ran his fingers through his messy, dirty blonde hair and grin at all of us.

"Damn," he laughs. "What a morning, huh?"

Then his eyes fall on me, and his grin fades. I bit down on my lip, hard.

"Emery," he says, swallowing.

"Ashton," my voice is quiet. "Hi."

- - -

So that's chapter one! the main perspective will be Emery's (duh) but it will switch up.

omg i love writing this so much

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