When Crista made her way to lunch that day, she was more than a little surprised to find that the only person at their usual table that day was Alana, who they had grudgingly given a second chance to now that the whole world knew about what had happened to Sky anyway. And Sky and Star were honestly still worried about Alana’s safety as well, considering that last life, as well as her part in helping Curt get arrested in this one too.

“Alana?” Crista greeted her warily as she took a seat. “Where is everyone else?” she asked worriedly.

Alana sighed sadly, “Me and Sky have science together fifth period. Someone in class was talking about how Curt was going to be allowed to come back to school on the 23rd unless the trial gets moved up; which it probably won’t,” she added with further sadness.

“I take it Sky didn’t like hearing that news any more than the rest of us do?” Crista replied, her own eyes falling to the floor at the sound of the information.

“Sky just bolted from the classroom, didn’t even ask to be excused. After ten minutes or so, the teacher sent that band kid, Paul, after him to give Sky a chance to come back and explain himself before getting written up. Only, Paul came back looking all freaked out and whispered something to the teacher, who then rushed from the room too.” Alana continued, taking a breath before offering any further explanation, “After the teacher took off, I sent Paul a text asking what the hell was going on. He sent me one back,” she sighed shakily, then just offered her phone to Crista, rather than explaining it out loud.

Crista took the phone and looked down at the text which read, “Sky was in the restroom stall. I saw blood on the floor. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Shit,” Crista whispered as she handed the phone back.

“He wouldn’t actually try to kill himself here at school, would he?” Alana asked with alarm.

Crista sighed and sniffled, “I doubt it, but...” she just shook her head.

“But what?” Alana asked desperately.

“Now don’t open your mouth this time,” Crista warned the older girl as she wiped at a tear, “but Sky cuts himself. Think he’s done it for a long time now. And hearing that Curt’s gonna be back...” Crista just shook her head again. She then took a breath to compose herself, “And where are Kole and Star?”

Alana sighed again as she put her phone away, “when I told them about Sky getting sent to the office and stuff, but that all I knew was what was in that text; Kole said something about needing a cigarette, and Star took off for the bathroom in tears.” She then looked quickly back at Crista, “god, you don’t think she’s in there hurting herself too right now, do you?” Alana asked the younger girl with further worry.

Crista sniffled again, “as long as Sky’s still breathing, Star will be too. And she hates pain. She just cries and cries when he does this. Even she doesn’t know what to do to help him through all of it anymore” she whispered as she wiped at another tear. “None of us do” she added even more quietly. Not able to bite back her own tears any longer either, Crista then quickly got back up from the table and left the cafeteria once more.

Meanwhile Kole was outside, also quite upset by what was happening with Sky right then, as well as the news about Curt. Through his worry, he didn’t even seem to notice the minutes of the lunch period ticking away. Instead, he continued to try to calm himself by smoking behind the school, angrily staring down at his phone as he waited to get more information on what exactly was happening at all. Or more importantly, what the consequences would be for Sky. Like Crista and Star, he assumed that Sky had been in there cutting himself. After all, being Sky’s lovers, all three of them were quite aware of the scars that were normally hidden from everyone else’s view, underneath all that dark clothing of Sky’s.

That was when Kole’s worried and angry vigilance of his phone was interrupted as he heard footsteps approaching. Just then remembering that all of them were breaking their ‘never be caught alone’ rule, he let out a heavy sigh as his eyes fell on where Curt’s friend Scott now approached from the football field on the other side of the back lot of the school.

“I’m so not in the mood right now, Scott” Kole warned him as he shook his head and flicked away an ash. Though his green eyes remained locked on Scott as he made his way from the lot to the sidewalk where Kole waited just outside one of the back entrances to the high school.

“Good, cause neither am I” Scott mumbled as he moved to lean back against the wall on the opposite side of the door, searching for his own cigarette.

Kole simply raised a brow at that particular response, and took another wary drag off of his own cigarette. Though, he still knew better than to take his eyes off of Scott for even one moment. “Isn’t smoking bad for you athletic types?” Kole asked after another moment and another drag.

“Thought it was bad for everybody” Scott continued in the same mumble as he found and lit his cigarette.

Kole just shook his head and took another drag as he also leaned back upon the wall on his own side of the door. He cast only another momentary glance at his phone before continuing to watch Scott out of the corner of his eyes. “Better be careful though. Your friends down by the field might see us and think we have something or other in common” Kole couldn’t help returning, easily remembering the homophobic slurs this boy had tossed at him on more than one occasion.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Scott then let out a derisive laugh, “we actually do.”

Kole blinked as he glanced back up at the other boy, “we do... what?”

“Have something in common” Scott returned quietly as he took a drag.

“Well you’ve finally managed to make me wanna actually speak to you” Kole smirked, “what on earth could we possibly have in common?” he had to ask as he allowed his eyes to move over the burly boy, wondering if there was going to finally be a confession from Scott after almost eighteen years of homophobia and self-hatred after all.

“Not that” Scott scoffed as he noted Kole’s eyes pointedly moving over him, “I mean, the girl I was dating this summer.”

“You and I couldn’t possibly have ever dated the same girl. Cheerleaders just don’t do it for me” Kole offered with another smirk.

Scott sighed as if pondering whether or not to offer any further explanation, “I mean, the girl I was dating at the end of eleventh, the beginning of this summer...” he looked down as he took another drag.

“What about her?” Kole asked with a wary interest then.

“She’s one of them” Scott stated, though his voice barely made it out of his throat.

“One of who?” Kole asked slowly, his full attention now on Scott’s words.

Scott took a deep breath, glanced out across the lot at the football field in the distance, then finally answered, “one of the girls who are saying Curt did shit to them.”

Kole was more than a little surprised by that, as so far Star hadn’t given he and Crista too many of the details just yet about what she had seen in Curt’s head. He then took his own breath and responded, “so your ex-girlfriend?”

Scott then made himself look back at the tone of Kole’s voice, “she never told me. Just like Tim’s girl never told him. At least I don’t think Chloe told him. I never even heard about it at all til after the charges were filed. I just know that Sarah changed overnight, and I thought she just was tired of being with me. I didn’t know...” he shook his head, “and no one ever knew why Chloe tried to off herself. But after Brandi came forward, and Curt’s other exes, Georgia, and Caitlin... that’s when Chloe and Sarah finally also came forward too. But by then, Sarah and I had broken up and Tim had actually already killed himself. I mean maybe Chloe did finally tell him” Scott shrugged as he looked down.

“I don’t think that’s why Tim killed himself” Kole returned quietly as he took another drag, then looked back, “and Tim’s ex-girlfriend, Chloe; she tried to kill herself too?”

“Yeah, summer of last year; which I guess is when it supposedly happened. Seven months after your Sammi killed herself” he then looked up at Kole again, “guess you have something in common with Tim too” Scott returned as Kole flinched ever so slightly at the reminder of Sammi’s fate. “They at least were supposedly passed out for most of it; but they were both virgins at the time, so it had to have still been pretty bad” he then quickly added, “I mean, if any of it actually happened like they say it did.”

“One tried to kill herself, the other changed overnight” Kole retorted, “do you honestly still think it didn’t happen?” Kole bit out before tossing his cigarette and heading back inside once more.

By then, Crista had made her way from the cafeteria to the nearest ladies’ room. Once she stepped inside, she easily found Star’s heavy platform boots under one of the closed stall doors. As she moved closer, Star’s sobbing also became apparent. “Star?” she stated softly as she moved to the stall door, sadly running her fingers over it.

Star sniffled and looked up from where she had been sitting on the toilet in tears, panicking and despairing over what was going to happen as a result of Sky hurting himself like that on school property instead of the privacy of their own bathroom or his bedroom at home.

“Crista?” she whispered back through the stall door, her voice hoarse with tears.

“Do you know any more yet?” Crista whispered back, only to quickly step back from the door and wipe at her cheeks again as another girl entered the restroom and gave her a disparaging look before moving past her to enter one of the other stalls.

Hearing the other girl enter the bathroom, Star sniffled once more, gathered her belongings from the floor around her, and emerged from the stall, the black streaks obvious on her now reddened cheeks. “Car” was all she said as she took Crista’s arm and led her from the restroom with her.

When they reached the car after a quick and silent walk from the restroom, Crista looked up at Star, “doesn’t Sky usually have the keys?” she asked sadly.

“Don’t need keys now that you’re here” was Star’s simple response as she reached down to take hold of the handle of the driver’s side door. A moment later, the lock clicked and she opened it and got inside. Crista blinked a moment before moving around to the passenger side, where that door also seemed to unlock of its own accord.

“That’ll definitely be handy if he ever loses his keys” Crista attempted a smile as she got into the car, though that smile fell short. “So, was he really cutting himself?”

“Like I’ve even had the chance to talk to him?” Star returned sadly, “but after hearing that Curt’ll be back here in eleven fucking days...” she just shook her head and wiped at her cheek again. “Like it wasn’t already unbearable for him here?”

“At least he’ll still have the cast on for another month. And he might be stone cold crazy by then, too” Crista tried to offer hopefully. Though Star’s sadness seemed incurable.

“If Sky’s not here... I don’t know how it will be bearable for any of us then” she whispered.

“What?” Crista asked with her own panic. “What do you mean, ‘not here?’ I thought you said he was probably just cutting himself, not...” Crista just shook her head with even more panic then.

“He was” Star assured, “I’m pretty sure of it anyway” she had to add, as she didn’t truly know what Sky had actually been doing. Though she did tend to know him better than herself in most things. “What I mean is that he’s in the office right now. And these fucking teachers, and principals and counselors and whoever the fuck else; they’re gonna see this as a suicide attempt. And on school property! Even if he was just cutting!” Star shook her head with equal parts anger, despair, and her own panic. “He’ll at least get suspended. And forced to do counseling. And they may even put him on some bullshit lock-down in a psych ward for forty-eight hours, if not longer. This is so fucking bad, Crista” she added as her tears started once more.

“They can really do all that?” Crista whispered.

“Yes! They can at the very least suspend him. And they’ll sure as hell try to do the rest, too” Star returned tearfully, “especially after he already told Burke he wanted to end it all. This is so, so fucking bad” Star repeated with a near lack of all hope more than clear in her voice then.