Not a Night for Clowning Around

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"THAT WAS A mess," Shawn said as we walked out of the classroom.

"What the hell possessed me and made me take calculus?" Kellen grumbled.

"Maybe you're both just dumb asses," Aaliyah taunted. Shawn threw his arm over her shoulder and ruffled her hair. "Shawn!" she screamed, swatting his hand.

"How'd you guys do?" Shawn asked Jake and me.

Jake shrugged. "Praying for a ninety, hoping for a fifty."

"What about you, Carter?"

"Carter?"

"C, you okay?"

"Huh...what?" I sputtered, snapping out of my thoughts.

Jake looked at me with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

Kellen and Shawn started talking about the upcoming lacrosse game and the attention diverted from me. We walked to our lockers, which were conveniently all near each other. On the first day of school we bribed the original locker owners to swap so we could all be beside each other.

I spun my lock, putting in the combination and opened my locker door to retrieve my textbooks. A small slip of paper fluttered out and landed on the floor. My heart immediately stopped, my breathing getting heavy.

Everyone else was immersed in their own conversation, but Aaliyah noticed my startled reaction. "Another one?" she asked in a low voice.

The conversation died as they all surrounded me. Shawn bent down and picked up the note. His eyes scanned over the paper, his face morphing into a grimace. "I'll just throw this out," he murmured.

"No. Let me read it." I took the note from his hands and read it.

Carter, my love,

Without you I am a wreck,

I want to wrap my hands around your neck.

Squeeze until you can't scream or cry,

Until then this is my temporary goodbye.

See you soon.

A wave of nausea coursed through me after reading the note. My back hit the lockers, and I felt my head start to spin. Kellen reached out to steady me, but I just trembled in his arms.

"Does this mean we aren't going for food anymore?" Shawn asked.

Aaliyah smacked her boyfriend's arm. "Shut up, idiot."

"You guys go, I'll walk her home," Jake offered.

"I don't wanna ruin the fun," I protested.

"Your well-being is more important than feeding Shawn's bottomless stomach."

"Screw off," Shawn grumbled.

"Text me when you're home," Aaliyah said before the three left.

"How bad was it?" Jake asked as I packed my stuff. I handed him the crumpled note, feeling a sense of shame wash over me. Jake skimmed it, his forehead creasing with worry lines. "What the hell? Carter, we gotta take this to the cops."

"They won't do anything about it."

"This person's threatening you! We have to—"

"Just drop it," I snapped. "Can we go home?"

Jake silently walked with me out the building, and down the path to our neighbourhood.

The notes started a couple months ago. At first we thought I just had a shy admirer, but as time went on the notes got gorier and more threatening. My parents got the police involved, but there was nothing they could do about anonymous notes. Every once in a while I'd find a note in my locker, but there was nothing anyone could do about it.

After ten minutes we reached my house. I took the key out of my pocket and unlocked the door. My parents worked full time in the day and I was often home alone, which I absolutely hated. My stalker didn't know where I lived, but it was only a matter of time before they'd figure it out.

"Will you be okay?" Jake inquired.

"Stay with me?"

His lips curved up into a slight smile. "Of course."

We went to my living room and Jake plopped on the couch while I grabbed two cokes for us. I tossed him a can and sat beside him. "My parents left twenty bucks. Anything you want to eat?"

"I'm good with pizza."

"Sounds good." I dialled the number of the local pizza place and ordered a pizza for us.

"Got any movies?"

I shrugged. "You can pick something."

Jake looked at me with the same concerned look from before. "It's okay, Carter. I won't let anything happen to you."

I smiled grimly. "Thanks, Jake."

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A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of the story I've been writing and rewriting and publishing and republishing on Wattpad for the past 7 years lol... here's the final version (I hope)