you're next | dolan twins

s e v e n t e e n

Getting ready for another day of school makes me feel a few different emotions. Of course I still feel terrified to walk down the halls, but today a calming sense takes over my body.

Having Grayson helping me is a good and bad thing. It's good because he may be able to piece the rest of the diary together in the ways that I can't. It's bad because if Amanda's killer finds out he's helping me, it's game over for both of us. Once my morning routine is complete, I head out of my room to start my dreadful day.

My mother hounds me about eating breakfast, but I tell her I need to talk to my teacher about homework. Of course, that's a lie. The second I enter my jeep, I let out the deepest breath possible. Before I back out of the driveway, my phone starts ringing. An incoming call from my partner in crime fills my screen as I press the accept button.

"Hey." I say as I start to move the car.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Grayson's voice radiates the small space as I put the call on speaker.

"I'm okay, just heading to school now." I sigh as I keep my eyes straight.

"Same, Ethan's still in the hospital. He should be back soon, I'm probably going to leave early to visit him." He explains.

"How is he?" I force myself to ask.

"He's doing better," his voice trails off, "so, I've been thinking about Amanda's diary. I might ask some of the stoners where I can buy the best weed. Maybe this will lead me to boy number two."

"That's so risky." I let out a loud groan. "I don't want you to get caught trying to buy drugs."

"How else are we going to find him?" He asks with a sigh.

"I'm trying to think of anyone who might have seen Amanda buying it." I tap my fingers against the steering wheel.

"What about Zachary?" Grayson's voice gets slightly louder.

"What about him?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"He follows everyone around with his camera. I'm sure he has a million candids of Amanda."

"I guess so." I mumble.

"I'm going to talk to him today, see if he knows anything." Grayson's determination to figure out who this person is keeps me at ease.

"No, I'll talk to him. It might seems suspicious if you do it." I quickly shut down his idea.

"What if he's the killer? I want you to try to keep as much distance from the horrible kids in our school as possible."

"Last night Mr. Porter emailed me telling me the memorial is being put up on Wednesday. I'll simply ask Zachary if he has any pictures for me to include at the assembly." The plan seems smooth in my head, hopefully it goes just as easy in person.

"I don't know, Rachel." Grayson sighs.

"It'll be fine. He can't pull anything at school." I gulp as I get closer to the destination. "Do you know where I can find him throughout the day? I can't talk to him in the cafeteria."

"Try the dark room, I've seen him go in there during fifth period to develop his photos. It's across from the library."

"I seriously don't know what I would do without you." I say the words out loud, even though they were meant for my thoughts.

"Good thing you don't have to find out." I can tell a smile is appearing over his face.

"I'm pulling up to the school now." I sigh as I turn onto the block.

"I'm two minutes away. Now that I know the killer goes to our school I feel even more uncomfortable than I normally do." He sighs.

"Trust me, I know the feeling." I mumble as I pull into my parking spot. "We can't be seen talking during the day so I'll text you."