A girl with wavy brown hair and slightly red eyes looked away from her, as if about to cry, shielding her face.

"Did you touch her? You didn't, did you?" another girl asked, eyes wide with curiosity. Chloe recognized her as Jana, the girl she had caused to spill her drink at the party.

Chloe was speechless. The girl with the wavy brown hair was looking at Chloe intently now, unnerving her almost with her gaze. She seemed to want to speak, but seemed wary of those around her. Jana put her hand on the girl's arm in a comforting gesture.

"I bet you screamed," a thin boy with unruly hair chimed in.

"How do we know you didn't do it?" a serious girl with brown eyes asked.

Chloe felt her cheeks burn pink. She felt intensely uncomfortable as they all turned to sit silently staring at her, awaiting her answers.

Chloe smiled uneasily, "Actually, I see a girl I know. It was nice to meet you all."

"Wait," the wavy brown haired girl said as Chloe abruptly got up and moved away from the table. Chloe didn't look back to respond. She wasn't sure where to go and she definitely didn't want to sit at another table only to get barraged by questions again.

Chloe was seriously contemplating throwing out her lunch and spending the rest of the lunchtime in the bathroom until she spotted the girl she had met at the party the night before, Emma, sitting alone at a table on the other side of the cafeteria. Chloe rushed toward her, feeling the eyes of her cla.s.smates on her back as she walked.

Chloe sat down and without taking a breath said, "Hey! I hope you don't mind me sitting here. We met last night. Emma, right?"

"Yeah. And, you found Lora Kelly dead," Emma said, with definite interest.

"Oh, not you too!" Chloe was dismayed, although she knew realistically that everyone was curious about her experience.

Emma shrugged, "Hey, it's interesting. The whole school is talking about it, you know. You've practically taken over as the most popular girl in school, now that she's dead."

"Don't remind me," Chloe nodded, "Believe me, I know. It's like I can feel the whispers and eyes of the entire school every time I move. I just want to blend into the wall."

"It probably didn't help that you just sat in Lora Kelly's seat, at her lunch table. Trying to take over for her?" Emma said.

"What?" Chloe asked horrified. No wonder that group had all looked at her in shock at first. Could she have made a worse move? The girl who found Lora Kelly dead sits in her seat at lunch. It was going to be all over the school by the end of the period.

Emma smiled ruefully, "I've been there. It'll go away."

"You've been there?" Chloe asked.

Emma shrugged, "Yeah, last year, I got myself into a bit of a scandal. Plus, the funky red streaks in my hair don't make me blend in or anything. Whatever. I gave up on the popular thing a long time ago. I pretty much consider popularity evil."

Chloe's curiosity was peaked, "What happened last year?"

Emma paused as if unsure that she should tell her story, but then said, "Funny enough, I got caught by Lora Kelly making out with her then boyfriend of the moment. She made a big s.h.i.t. She hated me anyway and it was her excuse to try and decimate me. She loved to do that. She called me a s.l.u.t to the whole school and basically made me a huge outcast that everybody loved to gossip about. Funny enough, nothing happened to the guy. How is that fair?"

"Wow, that's crazy. That really happened?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, but it's not that big of a deal anymore. I got used to it. People here will have you believe I'm a s.l.u.t, but the truth of the matter is, I'm not and I actually didn't know he was dating Lora Kelly at the time. She seemed to have a different boyfriend every other second. Who can keep up and why would they even want to?" Emma paused, cheeks pink and looked directly at Chloe, "Well, except for your friend Jake. He and Lora had a major thing. They were the couple soph.o.m.ore year."

"Jake dated Lora?" Chloe asked, mind whirling, thinking that would explain Lora's enthusiastic hug at the party. Still, why didn't Jake mention that he had dated Lora, especially after she was found dead?

"Yeah, people were saying that they were the epitome of true love that year. Everyone thought it was so romantic. Jake didn't mention it to you?" Emma looked at Chloe, eyebrows raised.

Chloe shrugged, noncommittally. "We haven't had that much time to talk since everything that's happened. I only got home after four. It was sort of an insane night."

"Still, you think he would have mentioned it to you, but then again, they have been broken up for over a year. Maybe he could care less. He should care less if the rumors about how they broke up are true," Emma said.

"Maybe it was just a little weird for him to mention it to me. You know, with being upset about her dying and all..." Chloe said.

"Maybe," Emma paused in thought, "I would think he might end up being a suspect, though. Their break-up was pretty terrible."

Chloe was riveted. "What happened?"

"That's the thing. n.o.body knows for sure except the two of them. People said that she broke up with him for someone else. I don't know who for sure, if that's even what really happened. There were rumors, but... Regardless, he was certainly devastated when it happened. Like, seriously depressed and mad about the whole thing. Lora Kelly definitely drove him to an insane place in his head for a few months," Emma said.

"Wow," Chloe thought back to the night before and Lora's suggestive glances at Jake. They may have broken up, but he had still intrigued Lora.

Emma nodded, "I know."

"So, who was the guy who was two-timing her with you?" Chloe asked curiously.

Emma ducked her head, "I'm sure you wouldn't know him."

"But, do you think it was him that was dating Lora at the same time as Jake? Maybe he's the killer," Chloe said.

Emma frowned, "I don't think Grey would do a thing like that."

"Grey?" Chloe felt her mouth go dry. Emma had dated the arrogantly handsome guy that had helped her open her locker this morning? Was he the killer?

Emma's frown deepened, "Have you met him?"

"Yes, yes I have," Chloe said thoughtfully.

Emma's eyebrows shot up. "And?"

"He just helped me with my locker this morning," Chloe said lamely and then immediately changed the subject. "So, how are your cla.s.ses going?"

Emma gave her a curious look, but let the subject drop. Chloe felt instantly relieved, although she wasn't sure why. As Emma rambled on about her cla.s.ses, Chloe's mind was still dwelling on Grey and the story of Jake and Lora's dramatic prior relationship. Surely, Jake didn't have anything to do with Lora's death. Chloe dismissed that immediately. Regardless of how long it had been since she'd really known him, he wasn't a killer. Still, her mind kept traversing the details she had learned from his past and she wondered what more there was to the story of Lora Kelly's death.

Chloe finally had a cla.s.s with Jake sixth period. She hadn't even seen him in the hallways all day. It was good to see a familiar face waiting for her in the cla.s.sroom when she walked in. The cla.s.s was Biology and Chloe sat down next to Jake at his lab table.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Chloe asked, suddenly feeling shy. Maybe he didn't want her as a lab partner.

"Not at all. This should be fun!" Jake said cheerily, unlike the moody guy he had been that morning when he had obviously been lost in thoughts about Lora.

The bell rang then, silencing the cla.s.s as their Biology teacher, Mr. Edwards, started to lecture on cla.s.sroom safety.

Two hours later after her seventh period cla.s.s, Chloe was happy to hear the final bell ring. She had been longing for the day to end. The whispering was getting to her again and she just wanted to go home and go to sleep. It felt like it had been an excruciatingly long day. She gathered up her books and walked out of the cla.s.sroom without talking to anyone. The hallways were crowded with people, but Chloe felt alone amidst the crowd. People were talking and yelling to one another, but she was in her own world. Her focus was on going to her locker and then going home.

Chloe set her books down on the floor and looked at her locker. She hoped she wouldn't have trouble opening it again. She wasn't in the mood. Chloe spun the dial according to the combination and tried the door. It swung open. She sighed in relief, until she took a look at what was inside the locker.

Chloe froze in horror. Attached to the doorway of the locker was a torn out yearbook page. Lora Kelly's face was crossed out in blood red marker and underneath, in chilling letters, Chloe read the following words, "Watch Your Step."

Chapter 4: The Scared Girl.

Jake and Kate were in the front seat of his car talking about a teacher that they both had this year and lamenting the amount of homework that they had already received on this, the first day. They didn't notice Chloe's silence behind them.

Chloe's thoughts were on the torn out yearbook page marked in red that she had quickly torn off the wall of her locker and stuffed in her backpack. Who had put it there? How did they get into her locker? And, why were they threatening her?

Questions that she had no answers to kept flowing through Chloe's mind. She had to start with what she knew. She definitely knew that it had something to do with Lora Kelly's death. Did the killer think she knew something? She didn't know anything. She had just found the body. Did the killer think she saw something? Chills ran up her spine. She didn't want Lora Kelly's killer to think about her at all. What was she going to do?

Chloe puzzled over this. Should she tell someone that she had been threatened? It was only a note and it had said, "Watch your step." Well, she would watch her step. She didn't want to talk about the murder. In fact, she wanted the whole school to stop talking about it. If she brought this to anyone's attention, the whole school would know about it. The whispers would only increase. Chloe couldn't tell anyone. She needed to be able to bear going to school.

And, how did someone get into her locker? The only person that knew the combination was the school, herself, and...Grey! He had helped her that morning. Had he come back and put the malicious, threatening yearbook page in her locker? She didn't want to believe that, yet he did have the means to get her locker open...

Chloe paused in thought. Maybe it was a prank. Someone could have gotten her combination from the princ.i.p.al's office. That made sense too. Maybe it was a funny joke pulled by one of the kids who had whispered about her in the hallway. It would be completely normal for someone to torment the new girl, especially since the new girl had found a dead body the night before the first day of school. Chloe wanted to believe that line of thought, but there was still something very creepy about that yearbook page. She couldn't quite shake the feeling that someone had put it there specifically as a warning to her. Watch your step...

"What did you think Chloe?" Jake interrupted her thoughts.

Chloe looked over at him, "About what?"

"About the first day of school? Do you like PV High?"

"Well..." Chloe hesitated, "It was an interesting day. Most people were talking about the murder."

There was a sudden silence from the front seat that seemed to last for an eternity.

"Yeah, well, n.o.body will miss her anyway. She was a b.i.t.c.h," Kate said, turning to look at Jake.

Their eyes met and a form of silent communication seemed to take place. Chloe watched, intrigued. Jake said nothing and then turned away to watch where he was driving. A moment later, Kate turned and stared silently out toward the side of the road. They drove the rest of the way home in silence.

Chloe took a much-needed nap when they got back home. She awoke just as dusk was falling outside, the air turning cooler with the advancing night. She glanced at the clock. It was almost seven. She walked out of her room and into the kitchen, wondering if she had completely missed dinner. Jake was sitting at the kitchen table alone eating a sandwich.

"Where's your mom?" Chloe asked as he chewed away on his meal.

Jake paused in eating, "She takes cla.s.ses a couple nights a week. She's really getting into arts and crafts. I think tonight is basket weaving or something."

"Cool," Chloe said.

"Yeah. She's happier going to do something after work after everything with my dad. Anyway, if you're hungry, feel free to raid the fridge. I usually just have a sandwich or something," Jake said, mouth full and chewing.

Chloe walked to the fridge and opened it, pulling out bread, mustard, and an a.s.sortment of lunchmeat and cheese. She put together a ham, turkey, and provolone cheese sandwich with mustard and sat down across from Jake, who was onto a second sandwich.

"I can barely eat one sandwich," Chloe said, taking a bite of her concoction.

"I worked out in my room after school. Working out makes me hungry," Jake replied.

Chloe nodded, "Makes sense."

"Oh, actually, I'm starting regular football practice tomorrow," Jake looked up from his sandwich.

"Okay?" Chloe said after a moment.

Jake continued, "It means I won't be able to drive you home right after school. You can take the bus or wait the couple hours for me. Your choice. Sorry."

"How long are the practices?" Chloe asked, thinking that she'd loathe taking the bus home.

"About two hours. Sometimes a little more," Jake managed between chews.

Chloe thought for a moment, "Is there a coffee shop or something nearby? I can just go do my homework and wait for you."

"There's a coffee shop literally down the street called The Latte," Jake said.

"Okay," Chloe said.

Jake nodded as if the matter had been settled. They ate in silence for a few minutes. The only sound in the kitchen was the monotonous ticking of a kitchen clock and the sound of crunching potato chips.

"I heard you and Lora Kelly used to date," Chloe said tentatively breaking the silence.

Jake looked up from his food. "I don't want to talk about it."

Then to Chloe's surprise, he got up, took his sandwich, and walked out of the kitchen. Chloe heard his bedroom door shut a moment later and music start to blare. Chloe continued to eat her sandwich in silence, sh.e.l.l shocked by Jake's reaction. She hadn't meant to upset him. Chloe just wanted to talk to him and let him know that she was there to listen if he needed her.

The next day, Chloe and Jake rode to school without talking. Jake had turned the music on in his car to an ear splitting decibel level as soon as they got into the car. Chloe wanted to apologize for asking Jake about Lora the night before, but she wasn't sure where to begin. She also admitted to herself that she wasn't sure there had been anything wrong with asking Jake about his relationship with her. Still, she hadn't meant to upset him so much. He seemed to be taking Lora's death pretty hard and for that she felt bad. She still wished he could talk to her about it.

They got to school after what felt like eons and when they parted ways, Jake still hadn't said anything to her. He just got out of the car and without a backward glance, walked into the school, leaving Chloe alone to make her way to her locker. She watched him go, sadly, vowing to try and speak to him during Biology cla.s.s when they would have no other choice but to talk to one another to do the day's a.s.signment.

Chloe had spent the night tossing and turning, visions of a dead Lora Kelly intermixing with the graffitied yearbook photo and then her locker drenched in red. It had not made for a relaxing night's sleep. Chloe felt just as tired as she had the day before, even though she had gotten many more hours of sleep.

She was lost in the fog of early morning, so she only noticed Grey standing at her locker when she was a few steps from it. Her stomach flipped, nervously. Chloe stopped and then walked toward him cautiously.

"Hi," Chloe said, tentatively, watching him from the corner of her eye, as she twisted the dial of her locker combination.

"I need to talk to you," Grey said softly, almost whispering.

"About what?" Chloe asked, opening her locker, relieved to not find a new surprise left for her.

"About Lora Kelly," Grey started.