Roses And Daggers

Everything Is Not What It Seems

Zeke felt bad. Like, really terrible. He should withdraw the game. This has gone too far. This wasn't what he planned. Yet, everytime he thought about calling Vic to tell her that their bet was off, he imagined Celeste smiling back at him. Smiling one moment; then found dead at the bottom of a river.

She was so happy when the girls had invited her to a sleepover. "I'm gonna be a cheerleader like Amanda and Victoria Stone!" She had exclaimed on her way out. She had never returned home.

But this was becoming too difficult, he was starting to understand Victoria. He was starting to actually like her. Zeke did not know if she liked him back. But he hoped she didn't. Things would get complicated. He could not hurt Victoria, but what about his little sister, who died because of their stupid prank? It broke their family apart. Did she not need to be avenged?

Zeke somehow managed to pull himself out of bed; he was already late. He pulled on a shirt and once he had showered and dressed, he went downstairs for breakfast.

"Hey, mum."

Mrs. Brand did not reply. She had been doing this for quite some time now- going distant and silent. Her french toast sat in front of her, untouched. Zeke sat beside her, biting into his own toast. Sometimes, she was conscious long enough to make breakfast, like today. Other days, she would lock herself in her room. She became this way after Celeste died. Zeke thought she was getting better- apparently not. He wondered if this had anything to do with his being with Victoria. His breath hitched in his throat. He would never be able to forgive himself if he was the reason for his mum's suffering. "Mum? I might be home a little late today. Is that alright?"

She clenched her fist, but remained silent. Zeke sighed, and put both their plates into the sink and picked up his bag. He managed a sad smile, which seemed to droop every few seconds, as if it was too heavy to hold up. A horn honked outside. He brushed his mother's stringy brown hair from her face. "Take care of yourself, yeah?" His face crumbled and he choked back a sob.

But it was getting late, he had to go pick up Amanda and Victoria. He wiped his wet cheeks and washed his face. Then, plastering on a winning smile, he walked out to the car where Victoria and Amanda had been waiting for him.

Victoria smiled. Today was a good day. Hopefully it will last. (Well, you guessed it- that is so not going to happen.)

They drove to school mostly in silence. Amanda tried to keep the conversation going, but they soon drifted into silence again. It was not uncomfortable though, for each of them had their own thoughts to figure out.

Victoria couldn't stop thinking about Zeke, even though he was sitting right next to her. She felt really happy, but there was a weird heavy feeling in her chest, which she couldn't place.
It's your fault. Victoria shut her eyes for a moment and tried to drown out the soft voice in her head.

Zeke had his head against the window, trying to untangle the various thoughts and things in his mind. A lot of them were irrelevant, like wondering what was for lunch or if he would get time to do his homework after football practice. But some of them had been troubling him for days, and he just couldn't seem to get rid of his feelings.

Amanda was not thinking about anything in particular, but was really sleepy, so she just closed her eyes and tried to rest.

They reached school and the day droned on as usual. The principal wanted to make an announcement about the upcoming Prom. The classes were not particularly interesting either, except when they had the History pop quiz and watched a movie in English.

Then came lunch and suddenly the course of the day changed. Things were not looking so good anymore.
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