Chloe felt a knot of dread tighten in her stomach and she looked directly at Grey, "What about her?"

Grey paused and looked intently into Chloe's eyes, "I don't feel comfortable talking about it here. There are too many people. Can you meet me after school? In the photo room? I have a cla.s.s there last period and the teacher likes me. He'll let me stay if I tell him I need to finish a project."

"On the second day of school?" Chloe asked, suspiciously.

"I like to take pictures. I work on my own stuff all the time. He likes to help me out," Grey shrugged.

"I don't know," Chloe felt unsure about this meeting. Surely, if she were in a public place like the school she'd be safe. Although, Lora Kelly had been at a crowded party and the crowd hadn't managed to save her.

"Please. I really need to talk to you," Grey said, putting a hand on her arm and drawing her closer.

Chloe looked into his eyes and felt her breath catch slightly. His grey shirt brought out the grayish blue of his eyes. Grey was the perfect name for him a those eyes. Her stomach was suddenly full of a pleasant sensation of b.u.t.terflies.

She smiled and without thinking said, "Okay."

At her confirmation, Grey stepped away and air rushed between them. Chloe blinked as if waking up from a trance. Grey was already down the hallway, disappearing amongst the crowd of students before Chloe could second-guess herself.

Chloe made her way straight toward Emma after she had purchased her food from the lunch line. Emma was already sitting at her usual table against the wall, on the far side of the cafeteria.

"That looks tasty," Chloe commented, walking up to the table, as Emma took a bite of a cheese fry.

"It's not healthy, but it tastes good," Emma quipped.

Chloe sat down across from Emma and took a tentative bite of her grilled cheese.

"I saw you with Grey this morning. What's going on with you two?" Emma said suddenly.

Chloe looked over at her, unsure, "He wanted to talk to me about something."

"What?" Emma asked.

Chloe wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want to make her one and only friend in the school upset, "He wouldn't say exactly. He wants me to meet him after school in the photography room."

Emma paused and then continued awkwardly, "You know he and I dated briefly..."

Chloe remembered and felt instantaneously guilty, specifically at the emotions she had already been feeling toward Grey. She couldn't lose her first friend in this school over a guy she barely even knew.

Emma continued, "But if you're into him we really didn't date very long and it was over a year ago. After Lora made a big s.h.i.t about the kiss, it was over. We're kind of friends now. I'll say hi when I seem him in the hall and it's better that way, but...yeah."

"So, you don't hate him?" Chloe asked, wondering if Emma was lying to cover up any residual feelings for Grey.

"No, what happened to me after wasn't his fault. It's weird, though, because even he denied dating Lora at the same time as he was dating me. Still, you know guys. Lora was making life horrible for me at that time and I just didn't want to deal with any of it. She could make anyone's life a living h.e.l.l and she loved using her popularity to do it. We parted ways, but I never felt mean toward him," Emma shrugged.

"Do you still like him?" Chloe asked tentatively, but she had to know. It wasn't like anything was going to happen between her and Grey, but in case it did, she didn't want to step on any toes.

Emma frowned, "I was just so turned off by the whole situation. Just be careful. I mean, he obviously was not honest with me and if you're interested at all...be careful."

"You don't think he had anything to do with Lora's murder, do you?" Chloe asked intently.

"No, I don't think Grey's a murderer," Emma paused, in thought, "Although, he has gotten into a bit of trouble. Right before I started dating him there was a rumor that he got arrested. I don't remember for what, though. So, he's a definite bad boy, but I don't think he's dangerous."

"Good to know," Chloe said, mind curious about what Grey might have been arrested for and if she should worry about it despite Emma's rea.s.surances.

Chloe walked into Biology cla.s.s feeling a slight surge of trepidation. She needed to make things right with Jake and she still wasn't sure how to do that.

Chloe walked in and sat down at their lab table, but Jake wasn't there yet. The minutes ticked by too slowly and the bell rang, but Jake still hadn't shown up for cla.s.s. The teacher started lecturing, but Chloe couldn't help but let her mind wander. Where was Jake? Why wasn't he in cla.s.s? She knew he was at school today. Would he ditch cla.s.s just to avoid her?

Chloe barely focused on the teacher's lecture as the minutes ticked by and her eyes watched the clock. With ten minutes left of cla.s.s, Jake walked in, handing the teacher a pa.s.s. The teacher looked at it and nodded, gesturing for Jake to sit down at his lab table.

Chloe watched as Jake walked past her, without a glance, and sat down next to her. His eyes immediately went to watch the teacher. He made no move to even acknowledge Chloe's existence.

Chloe felt a surge of annoyance. There had been nothing wrong with asking him about his relationship with Lora! Why was he treating her as if she had done something horrible to him? It just didn't make sense.

Chloe watched the last few minutes of cla.s.s tick by and as soon as the bell rang, she turned to Jake.

"Hey, what's going on?" Chloe said, putting a hand on his arm.

Jake turned, his eyes focusing on her, "What do you mean?"

"Why are you not talking to me?" Chloe demanded.

"It's just been a rough week. I don't want to talk to anybody. I'm sorry," Jake said, face crumpling for a brief moment before he recomposed himself.

"Oh, okay," Chloe said, taking a step back and reaching for her books. She felt suddenly remorseful for thinking about herself when he was obviously hurting. She just didn't want awkwardness between them. Still, if he needed time, she'd give it to him, "I'll leave you alone then."

"Thanks," Jake muttered, reaching for his own books.

"Oh," Chloe turned back toward Jake, "I'll meet you at the coffee shop after your practice today. I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget."

"I didn't forget. See you there," Jake said, walking out of the cla.s.sroom without her.

Chloe followed, wondering if there was anything she could do for him. She finally saw his real sadness about Lora's death and she wasn't sure what she could do to help him.

The last bell rang and for the second day in a row, Chloe was glad for the end of the school day. Today she was glad for a different reason. She was excited about meeting Grey. She didn't want to be, but her stomach was flittering, in pleasant, nervous antic.i.p.ation.

Chloe ran to her locker and took her time organizing her books and putting some of them in her backpack. She was waiting for the hallways to clear out a little before she went in search of the photography room.

Emma had told her that it was on the first floor of the school, past the gym and the weight room, where all the other technical cla.s.ses were ranging from art to mechanics to wood shop to photography. By the time she reached the gym, there was almost n.o.body else in the hallways. She pa.s.sed by the gym and heard the shouting of the cheerleaders.

She looked in through the small gla.s.s windows in the door and saw Jake walking out of the locker room toward the weight room at the back of the gym. He joined some of the other football players, who were stretching within a good view of the cheerleaders before they went out to the field. Jake didn't see her. Chloe turned to look away and continue down the hallway, but paused and looked around the gym and saw Kate standing with a group of girls practicing cheers. Kate had stopped practicing, though, and was staring at Chloe intently. Chloe felt a chill run up her spine. A cheerleader with wavy brown hair, the same girl from lunch the other day, Chloe thought, tapped Kate on the arm and she turned to look, saying something to the girl in response, and breaking her gaze with Chloe. Chloe quickly turned and continued down the hallway, glad to get away from the gym.

As Chloe continued down the hallway toward the photography room, she noticed an abrupt, unexpected desolate silence. The sounds of the gym had long since faded behind her and the fall of her shoes started eerily echoing down the hallway. Chloe hurried down the hallway, suddenly afraid, feeling almost watched by the stillness of her surroundings.

She made it to the photography room and yanked the door open, hoping to set eyes on Grey in order to relieve her anxiety. Unfortunately, the door opened into an empty room. It was a small cla.s.sroom, with only a dozen or so desks. The fluorescent lighting felt eerie despite its brightness.

"Grey?" Chloe said tentatively into the vacant room as she stepped inside the doorway. "Are you here?"

She walked in a little further, the smell of photography fumes a.s.sailing her nose. There was a black door at the back of the cla.s.sroom. That must be the dark room, Chloe thought, as she started for it.

"Grey?" she called again.

There was no answer, only silence. Chloe walked closer to the door and noticed that it was a revolving door, like those in hotels, except this one was painted black. She pushed on the door and felt it start to revolve. Chloe pushed harder and moved with the revolving door into the dark room.

"Grey?" she tried again, as the door opened into a dimly lit, glowing red room.

She pushed the door and walked all the way into the cramped room. Grey wasn't there. It was empty. The red tone and the film prints hanging everywhere to dry gave the room an eerie quality. Chloe felt a chill crawl up her spine. It was obvious that Grey wasn't showing up and she was still feeling scared from the warning she had found in her locker the day before.

Chloe turned to walk back through the revolving door when she noticed a backpack lying on the ground next to one of the sinks. Maybe it was Grey's, she thought, maybe he had just run to the restroom and thought he would be back in time to meet her. She walked over and looked down at it. She wouldn't know if it was his, unless she opened it, she reasoned.

As Chloe bent down to un-zipper the backpack, she felt a twinge of guilt. She pushed it away. She would wait for him if he was coming back, but otherwise she wanted to get out of this room. The bag opened, revealing the usual set of books and notebooks.

She pulled out the notebook closest to her and looked at the inside cover. In cramped, scribbled letters, was written "Grey Mitch.e.l.l." She shut the notebook and put it back into the backpack before she was tempted to look through it any further. As she stood up, a drying photo print caught her eye. Chloe moved closer, to take a better look in the dim red light. There, as if it was only moments ago, was a picture of Lora Kelly, laughing at the party on the night she died.

Chloe felt a chill crawl up her spine. She felt gooseb.u.mps rise up on her arms. Suddenly, it didn't matter if Grey was coming back for his backpack or not, to meet her or not, Chloe wanted nothing more than to get out of there.

She rushed back toward the revolving black door, pushing toward it with all her might, in her sudden panic. It didn't move. Chloe pushed harder. Nothing happened. The door wasn't budging. She stepped back a few feet and ran at the door as hard as she could. It didn't shift an inch. She ran again, panic taking hold, throwing her shoulder full force into the doorway.

She fell to the floor, holding her right shoulder, which now throbbed in pain.

"Help! I'm stuck in here!" Chloe yelled, as loudly as she could.

Even as she did, though, the doubts about anyone finding her until morning ran through her mind. She had gotten locked in somehow. A frightening notion crept into her thoughts. What if someone had purposely locked her into this room? But why? Was she in danger? She looked around the room. The fumes were definitely on the toxic side, but she didn't think she'd die from them by morning. Still, her brain was in full panic mode. She had to get out of the darkroom.

She pulled out her cell phone. There were no bars. She tried calling Jake. Nothing happened. She moved to another corner of the room and tried again. Nothing. She walked around the room holding the phone, looking for reception. She tried again anyway. It was useless. What was she going to do? She put the cell phone back in her pocket.

Chloe tried to listen for any sounds coming from the other room. There was only silence. She waited a minute and then another, scanning the small dark room for an alternate method of escape. There was no audible sound coming from the next room. She didn't know how thick the doors were and if she could hear someone on the other side, much less if they could hear her. Fear rose in her throat at the realization of her situation.

"Help!" Chloe cried again, unable to stay silent. She wasn't normally claustrophobic, but the thought of spending the night in the tiny, red, cramped darkroom frightened her beyond rationale.

Chloe took a deep breath. She had to stay calm. Think, she had to think. Chloe got up off the floor and started pacing back and forth along the tiny room. Her thoughts were racing so much that they were hard to discern. She didn't know what to do. She could keep yelling and trying the door, but she was afraid of what might be on the other side and yet, the thought of spending the night in the darkroom was extremely unpleasant too. Besides, if someone had locked her in, they could come back later and get to her then, in the middle of the night. It was terrifying.

Then she remembered the picture hanging near Grey's backpack. She walked over to it and took a closer look. There was more than one picture hanging near it and Chloe looked more closely at all of them. There were about eight pictures in all of the party. Chloe didn't recognize most of the shots, but three were extremely familiar.

One was the picture of Lora Kelly laughing that had originally caught her eye. It had most definitely been taken within hours before her death. She had still been on the deck, by the pool, before she had made her way down to the beach and her death. Lora was the focus of this picture. It was not at all obvious with whom she was talking to or laughing at when it was taken.

The second was of herself, standing slightly apart from Emma near the snack table. She, not Emma was the focus of the picture. Emma was in the background. It was a good picture of her, Chloe thought, although she also thought she looked a little lost and lonely. That meant that Grey had been on the deck within fifteen minutes or so of Chloe finding Lora's body.

The third picture unnerved her. It had been taken on the beach, in theory it was taken in the time immediately surrounding Lora's death. It was of the beach, shot from somewhere near the foot of the stairs and depicted a nondescript couple in a huge fight off to the right side. The girl seemed to be pushing the boy and he was turning away from her with his arms up. Chloe immediately thought that it could easily be Jake and Kate fighting in the picture, the way they had disappeared to do that, that night, although the details were fuzzy in this print. The bonfire and the people surrounding it were the focus of the picture. They too were nondescript in this particular print, though, since it was so dark. What was eerie about the picture was the blue scarf that was flittering in the left hand corner. Chloe would never forget that scarf and the dead eyes that went with it for as long as she lived. This picture had been taken within minutes of Lora Kelly's death. The killer might even be in the picture...or taking it, Chloe thought chillingly to herself.

The sound of the sc.r.a.ping of the revolving door turning brought Chloe immediately out of her thoughts. Terror surged through her body. A cold sweat broke out over her skin. There were no weapons within reach. Chloe swung her backpack onto one shoulder, prepared to swing it with all her might at her incoming potential attacker.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The black door seemed to be turning forever as Chloe waited to see a hint of her attacker. She saw a hand and a flash of a blue shirt and swung her backpack with all her might.

Chapter 5: The Kick a.s.s Girl.

Chloe felt her backpack connect with her target. She let go and allowed the backpack to swing fully into him. He grunted and double over, clutching the bag to his stomach as it knocked him to the floor. Chloe had been hoping to see his face, but there was no time to waste. This was her chance. Chloe ran for the revolving black door, hoping to push through it into the next room, where she had the chance to run for safety. If she didn't get out of the darkroom, she was dead.

As Chloe ran past him, the interloper managed to grab the hem of her jeans. Chloe struggled against him, kicking out crazily, finally connecting enough so that he grunted in pain and let go. Chloe pushed at the door in blind panic.

"Chloe! It's me, Grey!" Grey managed, voice hoa.r.s.e, mangled with pain.

Chloe hesitated, hands against the black wood, seconds away from freedom. Should she trust him? He had obviously been with Lora in her final moments. Was he the killer?

"Chloe, please. I didn't mean to scare you," Grey said, sitting up, clutching the side of his mouth, where Chloe realized she had kicked him.

Chloe turned toward him, hoping she was making the right decision. She mentally pushed away the sound of warning bells that were blaring away in her mind.

Chloe sat down on the ground next to Grey, peering at him in the dim red light, "Are you okay? I'm sorry I kicked you. I got locked in here somehow and I didn't know if you were coming in here to kill me."

Grey looked puzzled, "Why would I come in here to kill you? I had to run to my locker for a second and figured I'd be back in time to meet up with you. Mr. Sweeney stopped me in the hall, though, and that's why I was late. He thought I was up to no good."

"Someone locked me in here," Chloe said simply.

Grey nodded, "I know. There was a chair wedged in the doorway. I thought you had stood me up and then I saw that."

"I can't believe it," Chloe shook her head, her mind still on the terror she had felt moments ago.

"Why would someone do that?" Grey asked.

"I think someone's after me," Chloe admitted, unable to look at Grey and instead, stared at the floor.

"What? Why?" Grey said, lifting Chloe's chin to look into her eyes. "What's happened?"

Before she realized it, Chloe was telling him the story of the yearbook page in her locker. She was terrified and she felt herself almost bursting into tears as she told the story.

Grey listened and nodded thoughtfully after she was finished, "The killer obviously thinks you know something you shouldn't."

"But I don't know anything! I only met Lora that night! I can't help that I found the body! I didn't see anything," Chloe felt herself rambling.

"I know," Jake nodded. "If anybody saw anything it was me."

Chloe froze and thought back to the pictures she had seen moments earlier hung up above Jake's backpack. "I saw your photos."

"It's proof that I was near her minutes before she died. I realized I hadn't developed them yet. I may have taken a picture of her killer," Grey looked horrified.