𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑 ⟶ Original

ten.

THE NEXT THREE days passed faster than Angelica ever thought days could pass by. They consisted of many people stopping her in the hallways, asking if she was okay and asking what happened. The talk of the town had shifted over from Tyler to Keira once again, but Angelica and Evan had been dragged into it this time. Everyone knew that Angelica and Evan were Keira's closest friends, and they provided a direct source to what happened to Keira. It was pressuring and annoying, but Angelica pushed through it. With each question of how she was doing or if she was okay, she answered with a firm 'I'm fine' and left it at that. Every single person that asked if she was okay was only trying to get information on Keira's death out of her, and she didn't want to disclose any information. It was Keira's personal life, after all, and death wasn't a joke. Rumors would only start and spread if Angelica told anyone anything descriptive about Keira now, so she avoided the subject at all costs. Angelica kept to herself and in her inner circle, and that's how she liked it.

As the news of Keira's death spread like wildfire, it was announced on December fourteenth that the town would hold a memorial on December seventeenth in honor of Keira. It would be held in the parking lot of Bear Claw Academy at five o'clock sharp on the Friday of that week. It was on that Friday that Angelica was sitting in her math class, Tyler beside her. She was scribbling notes in her notebook, making sure she understood everything presented to her as it was an AP math class. She was a Junior, but in a Senior math class since the subject came naturally to her. Because Angelica had understood the material this far, she was paired with Tyler, who was struggling in the class. Over the course of the two weeks that had passed since Tyler transferred, she'd been talking with him about her personal life here and there as she helped him with the work assigned. They were acquaintances now, and Angelica was glad for that.

On that Friday, though, Angelica didn't say anything other than what was related to math, as she hadn't done since the day she heard Keira's news. She helped him with math, and that was strictly it unless Tyler asked her a personal question, to which she answered as vaguely as she could. It wasn't an act of withdrawal, but she feared that Tyler would want to know what happened with Keira - that is, if he didn't already know. For all she knew, he could've been a threat to her and those around her. Plus, her mood hadn't improved since when she found out, and she didn't want to say anything she would regret, resulting to taking the time to solely focus on her work.

In the middle of the class, Angelica sensed movement beside her and looked over to see that Tyler had leaned closer to her. This made her slightly uncomfortable because she didn't know him that well yet, but her wasn't exactly doing anything report-worthy, so she let it go. She solved the minute problem by moving away from him slightly, looking at him as he suddenly spoke.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Angelica sighed, forcing a small smile, "I'm hanging in there."

Tyler nodded, "I bet. I know the pain, it sucks."

"You've lost a friend?" Angelica inquired, tilting her head to the side out of curiosity.

Tyler looked down, his golden eyes showing evident pain, "I lost my dad," He paused, suddenly realizing that he couldn't just leave it at that or it'd be awkward for him, "A-and I know it's not the same situation, but it seems that Keira was important to you."

"Yeah," Angelica nodded, turning her full attention towards Tyler, feeling empathetic towards him, "It's hard, you know?" She stared ahead, eyes glazed over as a smile overtook her features. She was obviously in thought, savoring memories she held with Keira, but that moment quickly dissolved, the smile fading as she turned back towards Tyler, "She's been there since before time, and now she's... gone. Just like that."

In the midst of her talking, Angelica had started to cry, and Tyler responded as she used her sleeves to wipe her eyes.

"I know," He assured her, "It was the same with my dad. My parents were never perfect, but I wouldn't ever ask for anything else. When my dad died in that car crash, it practically killed me," He looked Angelica in the eye as she nodded, "I recovered, though, I mean, I'm here," He forced a laugh, "It was like ripping a bandaid off, but over a long period of time. It hurt at first, but it slowly got better, and now the pain isn't there. I miss him, yeah, but grieving and feeling all of the emotions associated with his passing won't get me anywhere. I recovered, and you will too," Angelica sniffled as he paused, "It'll get better, I promise."

Angelica inhaled a shaky breath, nodding once again, "Thank you."

With that said, Angelica looked back down at the papers and front of her and continued her task, the rest of the class spent in silence.

>>>>>>>

Evan pulled his hand through his hair one last time, not succeeding in taming it in the slightest. It was still unkempt, the blonde strands sticking up in every direction possible. After a certain point, he finally gave up, walking out of his room. He was ready to go and meet up his friends before walking to Keira's memorial, and as he thought of it, he tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest. It was going to be a heartbreaking night of mourning in the cold, but it was to honor his best friend.

As he walked towards the stairs, Evan stopped at Stephanie's bedroom. The door was open, giving a straight view of Stephanie laying on her bed. As he leaned on the doorframe, he could see that she was on her phone, scrolling through something that was apparently intriguing on her screen. She laughed after a moment, finding something moderately funny, and that's when Evan spoke.

"I'm headed to Keira's memorial. Are you coming?" He asked, catching his sisters attention.

She raised her eyebrows and made a face almost as if to say 'that's a really stupid question', responding almost immediately, "No, why would I?"

The words hit Evan hard, stinging a little as soon as they left her lips. He let out a sigh as the word 'respect' repeated like a mantra in his head, but the words that came out were much different.

He shrugged, "No reason. I was just wondering if you were going or not."

Evan wasn't really in the mood to argue, letting the next words that Stephanie said pass right through him with no effect whatsoever.

"I'm not," She snapped, "Now leave me alone."

"Alrighty," Evan nodded, turning away and descending the stairs.

What Evan didn't know was that when he walked away, Stephanie began to cry.

<<<<<<<

It seemed the odds were in Evans favor because the events of the night started off in a rushed blur. In what felt like no time at all, he had met up with Angelica and was waking to the memorial before he could even process a reaction to all of it. Jen ended up joining the walk, talking to them about how she knew Stephanie wasn't going from the moment the school announced the promise of a memorial. She said that she blew off the Friday plans she had with Evan's sister, saying she was 'decorating for Christmas with her mom.' Apparently, Stephanie believed this lie, or Jen wouldn't have been walking with Angelica or Evan at the moment and would have missed the memorial.

In mere moments, the trio joined the half of the town gathered in the parking lot, and the memorial had begun.