"Then you didn't kill her?" Chloe said before she could stop herself.

"No, I didn't kill her," Grey said in all seriousness. "She did something pretty terrible to me, but I would never have killed her."

"But you were right there," Chloe pointed out. She wanted to believe him, but she also knew that Lora's murderer would definitely lie about killing her. She may have thought Grey was cute, but she wasn't totally blind to reality.

Grey looked scared, "I know. And, that's why I need to get rid of these photos and their negatives. They put me too close to the scene of the crime."

"But like you said, you might have a picture of the killer! One of those pictures might be really important! They might tell the police what happened," Chloe wished she had taken a better look at those pictures.

"That's why I wanted to talk to you. I think the police think I'm a suspect," Grey ran a hand through his hair, anxiously.

"What?" Chloe was incredulous, even though she herself had already considered him a suspect too.

Grey sighed, "The cops came to my house last night. They wanted to ask me about my relationship with Lora and where I had been around the time she was killed."

"What did you tell them?" Chloe asked.

"I told them I was with you," Grey said taking her hand and looking into her eyes. "We met on the stairs, remember?"

Chloe's mind was whirling, "But you were on the beach before that. We were only together a couple of minutes at the most. That's not enough for an alibi."

"That's why I need you to tell them that we talked for a while and then you went down to the beach and found Lora and I went up to the pool deck," Grey pleaded to her with his eyes.

Chloe was unsure, "Why should I do that? If you didn't do it, surely they can't find proof that you did."

Grey sighed, "Then why do innocent people go to jail for crimes they didn't commit? I know the cops around here, Chloe. They have it in for me. I did something I regret last year. I broke into a house. I didn't need the money. I did it for the thrill, a dare actually from the ill.u.s.trious Lora Kelly. I wanted to impress her. Well, I got caught from a silent alarm going off in the house. They arrested me and charged me and were none too nice to me when they found out I was from a wealthy family."

"Wow," Chloe said.

Grey was caught up in the memory and kept talking, "And, you know what Lora did when I called her to tell her that I had been arrested? She laughed. She thought it was hilarious. She didn't care about me at all. I tried to impress a girl who didn't have a heart, who had just used me for her amus.e.m.e.nt."

Chloe kept silent at the bitterness she heard in his voice. She wasn't sure what to say, so she just listened. As he spoke, she couldn't help but think that such abject humiliation would be a good reason to commit murder.

Chloe felt unsure about asking her next question, but she felt she had to know, "So, how did Emma fit into the Lora Kelly situation?"

Grey looked surprised at the mention of Emma's name, "How do you know Emma? Have you been checking up on me?"

Chloe felt her face burn pink, "No, no I haven't, but Emma and I have been having lunch together and she mentioned seeing you and me in the hallway. She said you went out on a few dates and then Lora Kelly found out and made her out to be a s.l.u.t."

Grey shook his head, "I liked Emma. I wasn't dating Lora at the time, no matter what Lora said or Emma thinks. Don't get me wrong, I had been interested in Lora for a while, but she always kept me at a distance. I never even got to kiss her. When she dared me to rob the house, it was stupid. I thought the thrill was pretty s.e.xual, but Lora Kelly just thought it was amusing to have someone do her bidding. So, when I started pursuing Emma instead, she felt insulted. To Lora, n.o.body rejected Lora Kelly. Lora Kelly only decided when she was done with them. So, she made things miserable for Emma. We had only gone out a few times, but Lora's rumors about me and Emma and her, ruined any sort of relationship Emma and I might have had. I feel sorry about that. Emma got the raw end of the deal."

"Why didn't you say anything to set the record straight?" Chloe asked.

"n.o.body would have believed me or cared if I was telling the truth. Lora Kelly was the popular girl and her word was law. She decimated a lot of people with that power. You should ask your friend Jake. She ripped his heart out."

"He won't talk about it," Chloe said, frowning.

"Yeah, Lora had that effect on people," Grey seemed lost in his own thoughts for a moment.

"Yes, she definitely did," Chloe said.

Grey focused his gaze back on Chloe, "So, if the police ask you, will you be my alibi?"

"I don't know, Grey," Chloe said, conflicted. "I need to think about it and anyway, I already told them about that night."

"So? Just tell them you didn't know my name. You're only lying a little. We did talk that night," Grey reminded her.

"I don't know," Chloe said again, feeling herself wavering.

Chloe looked into his eyes and still found herself wondering if he was telling the whole truth. Grey's eyes continued pleading with hers, as Chloe gathered her things and went to go wait for Jake at the coffee shop he had told her about, The Latte, so that she could catch a ride home with him. To distract herself, she asked about getting a job there, filled out, and handed in an application. Only later did she realize she had forgotten to fill in a whole section that she had meant to get back to because she was still too busy thinking about Grey and murder.

Chapter 6: The Other Girl.

Chloe was glad to do something mundane like Calculus homework after the craziness of the last few days. It was finally Friday night and she didn't have to be at school again until Monday. She hadn't seen Grey since their talk in the darkroom, except in brief pa.s.sing in the hallways. He always smiled, but before she could figure out what to say to him, he was gone. Chloe had slightly hoped that he might ask her out for the weekend, but he hadn't said anything to her. Maybe she had been mistaken that there was something there between them and perhaps, she hadn't encouraged him by not promising to be his alibi.

The police hadn't talked to her since the murder. She had antic.i.p.ated hearing from them after Grey's plea, but so far they hadn't contacted her. She felt relieved about that. After everything, she wanted to get as far away from the murder as possible. She just wanted everything to be normal again.

Jake had been busy with football and Kate all week. Their car rides to and from school had continued to be silent. Chloe didn't want to push the issue, but if he didn't talk to her soon beyond a "Ready yet?" in the morning and again in the afternoon, she was going to have to have a talk with him.

In the first week of school, Emma had become her only friend. Lunch was easily the best part of her day now and she looked forward to it all day, despite the large group of morbid gossip seekers who were still curious about her finding Lora Kelly's body. Even that stigma seemed to be disappearing. Chloe found that less people paid attention to her as she walked through the halls now. She had given them nothing to gossip about, so they were slowly forgetting about her.

And, to her relief, Chloe hadn't received any more mysterious notes in her locker or felt stalked. It seemed that whoever was hara.s.sing her had lost interest. She was safe, she hoped and after all, maybe it had all been just a mean prank to begin with.

Chloe had been spending the last few nights at the coffee shop Jake had suggested. The Latte seemed to be a popular after school hang out. They had food in addition to coffee drinks, so you could even eat there if you were hungry. Chloe had taken to sitting at a small table in the corner and doing her homework, while sipping on a cup of hot chocolate. n.o.body bothered her and she was glad for the alone time even if the other kids laughing at their tables and throwing fries at one another made her a little envious.

Chloe looked at her math problem again. It was a difficult one and her brain wanted to think about other things. She forced herself to focus on the problem instead and started scribbling calculations down on the paper with her pencil.

"Can I talk to you?" a female voice said from above her.

The girl looked slightly familiar. She had wavy brown hair and a pretty face. She was wearing a PV High School cheerleading uniform with a designer jacket over it that Chloe quickly deduced she'd never be able to afford. Had she seen her cheerleading with Kate that night that she had been stalked in the darkroom? She could definitely have been the girl that broke the staring contest between her and Kate, but Chloe had seen her somewhere else as well. Suddenly Chloe realized where she had seen her. This had been the girl with the crying red eyes that Jana was comforting at the lunch table she had tried to sit at on her first day of school. The girl who had seemed to want to talk to her even then, but was almost afraid of the people surrounding her.

"Sure," Chloe said, moving some of her notes so that the girl could set down her cappuccino with ease.

The girl sat down across from her and looked her squarely in the eyes, "I know we don't know each other, but I've been wanting to talk to you."

Chloe was curious, "Okay."

"I was a good friend of Lora Kelly's, some would say her best friend. I'm Elizabeth. Liz for short," Liz ran a hand through her hair, nervously.

"I'm Chloe, but you probably already know that," Chloe said, putting her pencil down and shutting her Calculus book.

"Yeah. I need to ask you something. It's about Lora's death," Liz looked on the verge of tears as she said Lora's name.

"Okay?" Chloe said, not minding because this girl seemed sincerely troubled by Lora's pa.s.sing and not just a general curiosity seeker.

"Did you see anyone who might have done it? I really need to know," Liz said.

A variety of potential suspects flashed through Chloe's brain, but it was possible none of them had done it, "I didn't see anyone. I just walked down the stairs, tripped, and then saw her...already dead. The killer had already left the scene. It could have been anyone at the party."

The color drained out of Liz's face, "Are you sure? You have no idea? n.o.body you suspect?"

Chloe was growing more puzzled at Liz's behavior. Certainly it was understandable that she was upset about her best friend's death and wanted to know who might have killed her, but this seemed to go beyond that. It was as if it was a matter of life and death that Liz find out who was Lora's killer. "Why? Are you okay? You seem a little freaked out. Did something happen?"

Liz stood up suddenly, "Never mind. I need to go. I'm sorry I bothered you. Forget about it. I'm just freaked out about my friend's death. That's all."

Chloe stared open mouthed as Liz backed away, physically shaking and ran out of the coffee shop. Something bizarre had just happened, but Chloe wasn't sure how to interpret it. She didn't feel right following Liz out into the night, but she'd definitely seek her out at school on Monday. Something was most definitely wrong with her.

Chloe re-opened her Calculus book, but found that she couldn't concentrate anymore. She shut the book and put it and her notes back into her backpack, pulling out a novel she had started reading. Before she could get into it, though, Jake walked into the coffee shop, beckoning her to follow him to the car for their now routine nightly, silent drive home.

"Where's Kate?" Chloe asked, sliding into the pa.s.senger seat.

Kate had been in their presence almost every night during the week. Jake would drop Chloe off at home and then go somewhere with Kate with the pretense of studying until almost midnight every night.

"She said she had some things to do. So, we're not hanging out tonight," Jake said, flipping through channels on the radio before he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Everything okay?" Chloe asked, concerned.

"Completely fine. We're meeting up tomorrow morning to go to the beach. You can come with us if you want," Jake offered.

Chloe was surprised at the invitation, "Does that mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

Jake turned to look at her for a moment before returning his attention to the road and saying, "No, I was never angry with you. It's just that Lora brings up a lot of unresolved feelings and it's really unreal that she's actually dead. I mean, we were definitely over and we had grown apart, but I still cared about her in her own way. Even if it was just in the memories, you know? She was the first girl I ever really loved. I can't forget about that and I don't want to."

Chloe remained silent, sensing that Jake had more to say.

Jake looked at Chloe again, "Lora and I dated for over a year. I was madly in love with her. I would have gone to the end of the earth and back for her on my knees through coals. I would have done anything for her. It took me a long time to see that it was not the same for her. I feel like I should have noticed sooner, but I was so caught up in how I felt about her, I think, that I didn't."

Chloe watched Jake talking about Lora and felt an old sadness emanating from his voice as he spoke. "It's not your fault, you know. You're only human and you were in love with her."

"I know, but it still hurts when it ends badly and you feel really stupid about all the feelings you had for someone who never really cared about you at all," Jake said.

"What happened?" Chloe asked quietly.

Jake looked sad, "You know what? I don't even know. That's the worst part of it. I thought things were great and then one day, it was like a poof, she stopped caring. One morning, I went to meet her at her locker before school and she never showed. We always met before school. Then, I went to sit with her at lunch and she turned her back on me and wouldn't hold my hand. I didn't know what to do. I thought maybe she was mad at me for something. She spent the whole lunch hour talking to Liz instead of me. Then, after school she just straight up told me that she didn't want to see me anymore. I was devastated. It came out of nowhere. I heard a lot of rumors after that. That she was dating someone else. I just, I just don't know."

Chloe felt sad for Jake, "I'm really sorry."

Jake forced a smile onto his face, "Yeah, it was a long time ago now. Still, I wouldn't have wished what happened to her, to happen to her, no matter what her reason for breaking up with me. Even if there was another guy."

"Yeah," Chloe said.

Jake pulled over and turned the music down. Chloe watched him silently. Jake turned toward her, "You know what? Let's do something tonight. Just me and you."

Chloe was surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah. I know I haven't told you this, but I really missed you when we moved," Jake said.

Chloe felt a warm glow in the pit of her stomach, "I missed you too. You were my best friend."

"I was really excited when I heard you were going to come stay with us," Jake looked into Chloe's eyes and smiled.

"Me too," Chloe smiled back.

"I thought it would be great to become friends again. I've never had another friend like you," Jake said, taking Chloe's hand.

His hand felt soft in her own, a perfect fit. She ran her fingers over his absently, relishing in the simpleness of the moment. Chloe looked up into Jake's eyes.

"I've never had a friend quite like you again either," Chloe said, squeezing his hand. "I'm glad we got the chance to get to know each other again."

Chloe leaned toward Jake and he responded by embracing her in a gentle hug. Chloe felt the smoothness of his cotton T-shirt under her cheek and she inhaled the sweet smell of soap on his skin. His arms felt comfortable around her, safe and warm.

He pulled away, "Okay, enough of the gushy stuff. Up for a movie?"

Chloe nodded, "Have anything in mind?"

Jake grinned. Chloe smiled at him, curiously. Jake grinned even more, "There's one thing that I remember about you and movies."

Chloe giggled, "Oh no."

Jake's eyes were dancing with amus.e.m.e.nt, "Oh, yes and I know for a fact that the old theater around here plays double feature horror movies on Friday nights. So, we're in luck."

When they were children, they used to sneak horror movies from the local video rental store when their parents weren't looking. They would dare each other with who could watch the movie and be less frightened. For a while there were a lot of nights that Chloe had to sleep with her bedroom lights on. She was sure that Jake had suffered similar sleepless nights too. His room had soon after acquired a nightlight.

Chloe laughed at the reminiscence, "As long as you don't let me completely freak out. I'm not as brave as I used to be."

"Well, that's okay because I'm braver. I'll make sure Freddy and Jason don't get you," Jake smiled.

"Man, those movies were scary," Chloe admitted.

"Definitely," Jake said, pulling the car back onto the road and driving to the movie theater.

It occurred to Chloe as they drove that perhaps a horror movie wasn't exactly the kind of movie she needed to see this week, but it felt like a perfect bonding experience for her to reconnect with Jake. In the back of her mind, though, she couldn't quite forget the real life horror of Lora Kelly's vacant, dead eyes.

The end credits rolled with jarring rock music blaring. The lights in the theater came on and people started getting up to leave. Chloe turned toward Jake.