By the time Nicolas got halfway through his narration, it was taking all of my self-restraint to keep from sending huge blasts of electricity across the entire neighbourhood. 

“…And then, Jake told everyone he was going to confess and give chocolate to a special someone,” Nicolas was saying, “Guess who ended up with roses, a card and a box of chocolate in their locker?”

“Damian, huh?” Oops, I needed to fix my smile.

“Right! You know, Damian and I were neighbours when we were little kids, which means we kind of grew up together. I had to move away in fifth grade, but that’s another story. Anyways, I know him like the back of my hand, so let me tell you one thing: Damian is, like, super dense. He’s as dense as a rock.”

Dense? Was Nicolas on crack or something? Damian was anything but dense. He was brilliant, and also perceptive. Perhaps, Nicolas did not know him as much as he claimed he did.

Or maybe I was the one who didn’t know Damian well enough.

No, no, no. Scratch that. I knew everything about Damian, from his measurements to the exact number of hairs he had on his head, thanks very much.

“Damian’s so blind to other people’s actions, he couldn’t even tell Jake had taken an interest in him. He even tried to kiss Damian on Valentine’s Day, and then...”

WHAT? EXCUSE ME?!

“…But of course, after the plushie was found in the toilet, Damian had to brush it off like it were nothing. You know, maybe that’s why Jake’s been such a pain in the butt, ever since. He's still salty about the rejection and you know what, despite everything, he - ”

Tony picked up a pillow and threw it at Nicolas. “Okay, stop blabbering, you chatterbox.”

“I was getting to the best part!” Nicolas complained. 

Tony ignored him, and regarded me in a suspicious manner, “Jude, before Nicolas starts spewing again, would you be so kind as to tell us where Damian is?”

I raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

Tony said, “Look, we haven’t seen or heard from him, for a few days. Nicolas even went to his house yesterday, but no one answered the door. He’s missed several days of school and that by itself is worrisome because Damian rarely misses school, let alone during final exams. If this keeps up, he’s going to have to repeat his year or take summer school.”

“Oh,” I said casually, picturing Damian floating inside the container, “That sucks.”

Tony narrowed his eyes, as I simultaneously held my breath to keep from electrocuting him by accident. “Where is Damian? What’s going on?”

I was beginning to suspect that Nicolas was not aware of anything. Zero, zip, zilch. His friend had disappeared, yet he could not see the bigger picture.

Yet.

However, Tony was different. While Nicolas merely gossiped until next season, Tony could grasp that the situation was a complicated one. He was too smart for his own good.

As Tony’s dark brown eyes lingered upon me, countless thoughts pondered inside my head.

What to do? What to say? How was I supposed to get out of this situation without hurting Marie-Yvette's feelings?

“Oh, right!” Nicolas suddenly piped up, saving me from having to answer Tony’s questions, “Mr. Miller gave me back my phone, and strangely enough, he also gave back Damian’s. He wants me to bring it to him. My mom confiscated my phone last night, so I’ve been trying to get into Damian’s phone. Do you happen to know his passcode?” 

What a stupid question. Of course I knew his password.

“No,” I fibbed.

“Sheesh. He up and disappeared the day after you caused that big fiasco. Oh, speaking of fiasco, what was the point of that? It was really stupid of you to lead the whole school into thinking you and Damian were in a gay relationship.”

“Nicolas…” Tony rolled his eyes.

“What? You were surprised when you realized Damian also liked guys.”

“Also?” I asked, my interest peaking. Interest and jealousy, mind you.

“Yeah. He has a thing for older women too. In third grade, he was all over our math teacher. In fourth grade, he had a crush on one of our classmate’s mothers. In fifth grade, the lunch lady was under his radar.”

I guess I could not really be mad at him for that. He’d barely hit puberty when all those “crushes” took place, so he probably had not been aware that I was the only one for him.

And of course, he was the only one for me.

“Where is he anyways?” Nicolas wondered aloud, “I miss him. I want to apologize for my behaviour. Get him to understand that Tony and I weren’t thinking with our heads on that day, right Tony?”

A loud snore broke into the room. Tony had fallen asleep.

“When he’s tired, he stays knocked out. Nothing can wake him up.” Nicolas said, “Well, I was going to leave, but I guess I should stay the night too. It’s getting late.”

Was I really going to have to spend the night with a blabber mouth and a guy who snored like a running tractor?

Man, fuck my life.

All of a sudden, Marie-Yvette blasted the door open. What was up with people not knocking before opening doors? Was this some sort of weird custom I was not familiar with?

Either way, I didn't mind this time because Marie-Yvette's lovely smile melted my anger.

“Boys, I'm going out for a while. I need to pick up my husband from work, because his car’s malfunctioning. Be good okay?”

“Marie-Yvette, can I sleepover?” Nicolas asked.

“Yes, my love, but remember to let your parents know.”

While Nicolas used Tony's phone to contact his parents, I looked around, trying to digest everything they’d told me. Damian’s disappearance was troubling to the eyes of the school, though nothing too extreme had happened yet. They probably weren't even aware of the grandmother’s condition.

To keep my mind occupied from thinking about the one thousand and one ways I could make Jake suffer, I grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

I clicked away, trying to find something entertaining, but there wasn't much to see. 

Click. Click. Click.

Middle-Aged Woman Found Dead in Her Hospital Room.

The headlines from tonight's live national news. Curious, I turned up the volume. 

“This morning, the body of a woman, Danielle Catalina Kara, was found severely mutilated, in the Joseph-Lewis Hospital,” the reporter was saying, “Upon investigating, the police has caught the presence of a suspect on camera, a wounded person who appears to be a thirteen to sixteen year old male.”

Oh, shit.

“Police are asking anyone if they have heard of, or seen this boy. It was also highly suggested for individuals living around the area to stay vigilant, as the wanted suspect is still on the loose.”

Ah, hell no.

The reporter proceeded, “And now, with us we have Chief Romanov, leader of the city’s police department,” the camera turned towards a rough, burly-looking man with a crazy mustache, “He and his team have been on the Kara family’s case, since the mysterious death of thirteen-year old Daphne. Chief Romanov, what do you have to say about the case?”

Romanov's answer was drowned out by the dozens of journalists who flashed cameras and microphones on his face.

“Chief, does this mean that the Kara case will be re-opened?”

“Chief, what have you found out so far?”

“Was the young girl's death really a suicide?”

“How far have you looked into the case?”

“Were you aware that the mother of Danielle Kara was found unconcious in her apartment?”

Romanov brushed the questions off, turning away from the cluster. 

“Amateurs!” a whiny, bratty voice broke out from the background, “It’s so obvious. There’s this boy in my class who was acting really suspicious before. He would black out, have multiple temper tantrums and did not act normal for a couple of months. I think you should try and interview him. Maybe he knows something.”

“Who are you talking about?” Romanov asked. 

“Oh, simple. I’m talking about my classmate, Damian Kara.”

“Jake Romanov!” Romanov angrily waggled his finger at the fucking piece of shit I wanted to kill with my bare hands, “How many times have I told you not to meddle in the police's affairs? And wait, what are you even doing here?”

“But, Dad!” he said, “The weird thing is that Damian vanished after some other student switched into our classroom. And you know what’s the strangest part about all of this? The two of them were supposedly an item.”

One of the journalists quickly placed a microphone in front of Jake's face, “How exactly does that connect to the case?” they asked. 

“My theory is this: Damian’s boyfriend, the suspect who was caught on camera, killed Danielle out of spite. Damian was an accomplice in the crime and - ”

“Oh. My. God.” 

I turned back, shocked. I had not heard Nicolas approaching. The phone dropped out of his hand, landing with a loud THUD! on the ground.

Romanov had dragged Jake out of the crowd, but judging by the reaction on Nicolas' face, I knew he had heard everything.

“Y-you…” he stuttered, his eyes nearly bulging out of their orbits, “You and Damian are wanted fugitives? You’re a criminal?” With each word that came out of his mouth, his voice rose higher and higher.

Before I could do anything, before I could pounce on him, he opened his big mouth, took a deep breath and –

“Dude…That’s awesome!”

___________

This adorable drawing was done by Hoku. Thanks again for the fanart! ❤️