Stalker High (4 *re-edited)

Two days later I was woken by a very perky1

"Hey cheerleader! Do you want a lift to school?" I had answered my phone at the ungodly hour of...6.30 AM. Well, maybe not such an ungodly hour then. I blinked and then rubbed my eyes. The chipper voice on the other end of the phone line was Kristen. I yawned as her words made am impact in my brain.2

"Wait- what? Cheerleader?" I was very confused now- but that couls have been due more to my lack of sleep and the fact that I'd just woken up more than anything else. I hadn't slept well last night, I was too worried about what might happen tonight when Ryan and his mum came over. Yes, it was Friday. Now, this meant two things. The first, obviously, was the get-together that Ryan had orchestrated, the second being that the results of tryouts for cheerleading were announced today. Apparently, Kristen wanted to be the first to congratulate me. "I got it?" My sleepiness wore off immediately and I scrambled out of my bed excitedly. 3

"You sure did! With flying colors- well done, miss superstar!" She semi-squealed the last part and I squealed with her.4

"Are you serious?! Omigosh, that's wicked!"5

"I know!" Kristen squeaked. "I wanted to be the first to tell you. Alright, that's all- I'll talk to you at school now that I've woken you up." She sounded smug as she said this and I smiled,6

"That's so great- thanks Kris!"7

"Oh, don't thank me- thank you awesome skills! Before I go, do you need a lift to school this morning?"8

"If you don't mind, I so need to get my driver's license!" I groaned and Kristen responded sympathetically.9

"Yeah, don't worry- we'll get you sorted in no time. Alright, enough chit-chat. I'll see you in an hour!" Kristen sang the plast bit before hanging up, causing me to chuckle at her under my breath, putting the phone back on the holder. I'd discovered the other day that Kristen lived only a few houses up from me, so I wasn't worried that Kristen would be going out of her way.10

Today was important. I was being introduced to the school as a cheerleader and I needed to look my best. I didn't have time for breakfast. I dived in the bathroom before Emily could get there and made sure my hair was tangle free and smoothly conditioned, using my straighteners to tame my hair fully. I decided less is more where make-up is concerned and went for the natural look with just the basics- foundation, mascara, eyeliner and, of course, Very Berry lipgloss. What to wear took me longer, but I settled on jeans and a red tank-top, with a plain black jacket.11

I dashed into the kitchen, gathering up my bag and picking up an apple on my way out of the door.12

"Where's the fire?" My mum yelled after me, amused.13

"I made the team! Kristen rang me this morning to tell me and she's coming to pick me up in..." I paused to look at my watch but stopped when I heard a car honk from outside. "...now." I shrugged, giving my mum a quick peck on the cheek and shouting bye to my sister as I wlaked out the door waving to Kristen. She was sat with her windows down singing along to the stereo. She waved at me, smiling brightly as I walked towards the car. She stopped singing as I swung myself into the car, turning down the volume on her stereo before she pulled out. 14

"So, how is life as a cheerleader? Is it different yet?" She quizzed me mock-seriously. I laughed, saying that- aside from it taking me twice as long to get ready this morning- nothing much had changed. She sighed,15

"Ah, yes. A cheerleaders appearance is very important. You are learning, young grasshopper." She bowed her head to me, mimicking a line from a film. "We all must make sacrifices for the benefits of others." I was laughing at her all the way through her spiel and she finally cracked up laughing. 16

She pulled into the school car-parking lot to see a crowd of students had gathered in a circle. Kristen glanced at me frowning, unbuckling her seatbelt as soon as she had parked the car. I mirrored her movements, grabbing my bag and slamming the door behind me as I hurried over to see what was going on. The ever-original chant of "Fight! Fight!..." gave me some indicator of what was happening. I looked at Kristen stood next to me and she looked at me. Simultaneously we both started shoving our way through the crowd, using our elbows for all they were worth. She reached the front a split second ahead of me and gasped. I pushed through the last gap and froze. It was Ryan and Dean who were fighting.17

"Somebody's got to stop them!" I whispered urgently at Kristen as Ryan punched Dean in the jaw. Dean retaliated by tackling him and the crowd took several steps back, moving like a wave. I looked to my other side and saw Paul stood next to me. "Can't you stop them?" I asked him, 18

"Are you kidding? They'd kill anyone who tried to get into that!" Paul shook his head at me, adding worriedly, "Don't you go trying anything yourself, Amy! You'll only get hurt." I winced as I watched Ryan knock Dean to the ground. That was enough, Dean lay on the ground, gripping his jaw, looking dazed.19

"Ryan!" I shouted from the sidelines. I had heeded Paul's advice- I wasn't going any nearer, but I could try and get Ryan to stop from here. "Ryan!" I shouted again, successfully this time. He looked around the crowd, realising someone had shouted him amongst the cheers of 'FIGHT!' He locked eyes with me and I shouted, "He's not worth it, Ryan! Come on!" He frowned, seeming reluctant. I added, "You're better than this Ryan!" A stern tone entered my voice- it was my babysitting voice, I realised with a jolt- but it seemed to do the job. With one last jerk on Dean's shirt, Ryan stood up and walked out of the fighting space past me. I cast a look towards Kristen before following him. I waited until we got inside before I began the Inquisition. 20

"What the hell was that all about?" Only I didn't say hell, if you catch my drift. I hadn't received any more notes or phone calls since the note in my locker, and there hadn't been anyone outside my house since either. I still hadn't told Ryan about the note in my locker either, so I couldn't figure out why Ryan would snap now.21

"Payback," Ryan grunted at me.22

"You promised me, Ryan! You said you wouldn't do this!" Ryan sighed, then pounded his locker with his fist. I jumped back half a step, startled.23

"I know. I know I did. I didn't mean for that to happen, he just- he said something... about Clarissa. I just wanted to knock him back to whatever hellhole he crawled out of." Ryan still looked angry, but more at himself than at Dean now. "Oh, god. I shouldn't have reacted like that. Now, he's got something over me." 24

"Hey," I stroked his arm to comfort him, talking quieter in a calming way. "It's alright. It's human nature, but you need to learn to control it. Beating yourself up isn't going to help. Maybe anger management might, though." I added jokily. I pulled a packet of tissues out of my bag and handed them to him. "Here, you've got blood everywhere." I scrunched my nose up and closed my eyes.25

"Thanks," Ryan muttered before he noticed my reaction. "What's up?"26

"I'm not good with blood. Well, looking at it anyway." I turned away from him, squirming.27

"Since when?" Ryan wanted to know. "You never used to be weird about blood." 28

I nearly answered him saying, well, that was before I saw my own on a regular basis. But I stopped myself, shrugging. "For a while. I need to get going anyway. You might want to..." I gestured that he needed to clean himself up more, "...before you go to homeroom."29

"Thanks, Amy. Not just for the tissues, but...you know." I smiled at him as I backed off down the hall,30

"Oh! I nearly forgot to tell you!" I had turned away, but span back around as I remembered some inportant news. "Kristen told me I made the cheer squad." 31

"That's great, Ames! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"32

"I only found out this morning, and you seemed pretty busy a few minutes ago." I bit my lip and shrugged again. "See you later, Ryan." I walked off down the hall, quickly disappearing in the crowd that had appeared from nowhere. I gathered that a member of faculty had dispersed the crowd outside, and everyone was rushing to make roll call on time- myself included. Dean wasn't in his seat when I slipped into mine, and Mr. P made no comment on his absence, so I could only assume that the staff knew about the fight this morning. I grimaced for Ryan's sake- he was going to be in trouble if Dean said who it was. 33

"Hey, sorry I'm late, Mr. P." Dean spoke from the door, slightly breathless, with the beginnings of a vicious black eye. Mr. Patrick nodded at him, obviously aware of what had happened because he didn't reprimand Dean for being so late. At Dean's appearance, the class- previously talking amongst themselves animatedly- fell silent. Every student had either turned to stare at Dean unashamedly, or to stare away from Dean, evasively, shuffling their feet and staring at their desks. I decided to stare at him for twenty seconds and then stare at my desk. Dean, however, completely ignored everybody's staring except my own. This may well have been the reason that I averted my gaze as he walked across the silent classroom, but I wasn't about to admit that. 34

As Dean walked across the classroom to his seat, Mr Patrick reclaimed the class' attention with a subtle cough. 35

"Alright, people. That's enough staring- eyes in front. Okay, so the results of the tryouts are all being posted on the bulletin board at noon, I wish you all the best of luck." Mr Patrick nodded at us, smiling. As the bell rang and everybody clattered their way to their feet Dean stayed in his seat, his eyes on me. I closed my eyes briefly before turning towards him, running a hand through my hair. 36

"Just so you know-" I cut Dean off saying,37

"You say that a lot, you know?" Dean stopped, sidetracked.38

"What?" He asked me, displaying an excellent use of the english language.39

"You said 'Just so you know...' the other day. You say it a lot."40

"I- yeah, I do, don't I." Dean shook his head and I started to turn away. "I didn't tell them." He said hurriedly, standing up. I stopped, surprised. Now it was my turn to display excellent use of the english language.41

"What?" 42

"I didn't tell them it was Ryan." I frowned, puzzled as to why he would do this.43

"Why didn't you tell them? I thought you'd enjoy getting him in trouble." I raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously, wondering what he was up to.44

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a completely bad guy. And besides, no one wants to be a snitch." Dean shrugged. I looked at him, trying to figure out what he was trying to do, or what was going on. I shook my head and turned to the door again. I only then realised that Lily had been stood watching us. I smiled at her as I walked out the room, stopping when she called my name. 45

"I just wanted to be the first to congratulate you." I smiled, realising what she meant, then pulled an apologetic face.46

"I'm afraid Kristen beat you to it." Lily's face dropped into annoyance, as I said this. She quickly smiled again, disguising her irritation.47

"Oh, that's a shame. Never mind, though. Well done." 48

"Thanks," I smiled at her again. "I better get going or I'm going to be late." 49

"Are you coming to the party tonight?" 50

"No, I'm not, sorry. My mum's invited some people over tonight and there's no way I can get out of it." I apologised. "Anyway, I'll see you later." I smiled again, then turned and started walking down the hall.51

"I didn't realise you were so well connected." Paul snickered at me, stepping into pace with me.52

"Sorry?" I asked, confused,53

"Lily's the head cheerleader. By talking to her you're showing how well connected you are." Paul shrugged, laughing at the expression on my face. 54

"Yeah, that's the reason I was talking to her," I replied sarcastically. "I'll be talking to her a lot more from now on, though," I added.55

"Oh?" Paul asked as we walked into English together. "Why's that?"56

"Can you keep a secret?" I didn't bother waiting for his answer. "You know I tried out for cheerleading? Well, Kristen told me this morning that was picked for the squad." I smiled at him happily. Paul chuckled, rolling his eyes.57

"Ah. Now it all makes sense. Except for the fact that you want to be a cheerleader."58

"What's that supposed to mean?" I frowned, 59

"Nothing, really. You just don't...you don't seem like a cheerleader," Paul shrugged. I raised my eyebrows at him, trying not to take that offensively.60

"Meaning, what exactly? That I don't look like a cheerleader?" 61

Paul backtracked very quickly at this point. 62

"Of course not. I just wouldn't have thought you'd be a cheerleader. You're too nice..." Paul faded off seeing that he had just put both feet in his mouth. I was too nice. Too nice to be a cheerleader. I huffed,63

"Maybe, I've had it with being nice. It's not like being nice has helped me at all." I scowled down at my desk, tapping my fingers. Paul reached over and grabbed my hand to stop me tapping.64

"Whoa, hey...Ames. I didn't mean to offend you, I swear. In fact, I'm going to keep my mouth shut from now on." I glanced up at him and smiled, shaking my head- for what felt like the billionth time that day- at the concerned look on his face.65

"Oh, just ignore me. You struck a chord with 'nice' but you didn't offend me, don't worry." I smiled at Paul again to reassure him. He still looked concerned but, thankfully, dropped it, and took his hand of my own. He hadn't offended me- not really. 66

"Are you going to Lily's party?" 67

"No, I'm obligated to be elsewhere," I told him mysteriously.68

"Anywhere interesting?" 69

"Not in the least," I told him, laughing. "My mum wanted to get to know some of the neighbours and has invited some people round."70

Paul nodded, "Anyone I'd know?" 71

"Yeah, a couple of people. Kristen lives a coule houses up from me, so mum's invited her and her parents, and Ryan and his mum- did you know me and Ryan used to go to school together?" Paul replied that he didn't know that. 72

"You could come round if you want, with your parents- or without, I suppose," I shrugged. "I'm sure my mum wouldn't mind."73

"Sure, that sounds cool." Paul smiled at me crookedly, causing me towonder what he was thinking- in fact, I didn't want to know. The teacher walked in just then, so our conversation ended there. 74

At home, my mum was in the kitchen sorting out food for tonight. 75

"Hey, mom." I blinked in surprise at that- what happened to mum? Oh, well. 76

"Mom? Since when did I become a mom?" She asked me, chuckling.77

"I don't know- it just came out like that," she chuckled again. "I invited a couple more people round for tonight."78

"Well. This is turning out to be quite a party isn't it. Emily did, too. Who did you invite?" 79

"This guy called Paul. He's in my history and english class. I've invited his parents as well, but I don't know for sure about them. I said with or without, so we'll see." I shrugged, popping a grape in my mouth from the bowl in front of me. 80

"Well, there's enough food to feed the five thousand here, so don't worry." She smiled at me, swiftly moving the bowl of fruit away from me as I ate another grape. "Oh, you don't have to stay down here with us old folks tonight, but keep your bedroom door open at all times," she warned me.81

"Mom!" I shrieked, "What on earth is that supposed to mean?" I was genuinely shocked that my mom would say that. 82

"I know what teenage boys are like, Amy. And teenage girls," She shook her head at me, smiling. "Go on, anyway. I think Emily's in your room again." She added as I heard a clump from upstairs. I scowled and sprinted out of the door, hearing my mom laughing as the door swung shut to the kitchen. 83

Emily was, indeed, in my room. I leant against the doorframe, completely bemused. Emily was stood looking at my books, earphones playing full blast, singing loudly. I crept up behind her and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up as she squealed.84

"AMY! Put me down!" I laughed and let go of her. She dropped to the floor, pouting as I laughed at her. She stood up and took her earphones out. "When you're quite finished," she said disapprovingly. 85

"What's up, Em? Since when have you been interested in books?"86

"Oh, I'm not. I was just bored." She said casually, collapsing on my bed. "I've been hearing some stuff at school."87

"Could you be any vaguer?" I rolled my eyes at her.88

"This Ryan you were telling me about? The one you used to go to school with in England?"89

"Yes, I do." Now we were getting down to the gossip.90

"You said he was friends with someone who was killed?" I nodded, raising my eyebrows waiting for her to get to the point. "Did he happen to mention that he was a suspect as well?" I froze, stunned. "Take that as a 'no' then, shall I?" I stuttered, 91

"Wha-bu-what?" 92

"Yeah. His fingerprints were found on the watch she was wearing. He said that was from a couple of days previously, but it sounded pretty dodgy to me. The cops searched his room and found a necklace that belonged to her. He said that she gave it to him, but why would you give a guy your necklace? It didn't make sense." She paused, looking over to see how I was taking this news. I was sat completely still on my windowseat, my legs pulled up underneath me. I suppose my expression was one of shock but, truth be told, I have no idea what emotion I was experiencing at that point. 93

"Anyway, I did some investigating and it turns out that Ryan and Clarissa used to date. They got together not long after he started here and broke up sometime in the summer. When she started dating Dean, Ryan wasn't happy. Clarissa and Ryan were still friends then, they apparently broke up because they 'mutually' felt more like friends than boyfriend, girlfriend." Emily had stood up and was pacing around my room as she spoke. "Ryan had joined the basketball team in his second year- last year- and started dating casually, so it didn't make sense for Ryan to be upset that Clarissa was dating. You said Clarissa had become 'withdrawn' and unsociable, and that was true in one respect, but not technically right. She changed crowds, she quit the cheerleading team and took part in the school play." 94

"Is this going anywhere?" I asked her, snapping myself out of the trance I was in.95

"Did you tell me everything the other night? Did you know anything that I just told you?"96

I shook my head slowly. "How'd you find all this out?" I asked Emily, her investigative skills had impressed me, I had to give her that.97

"I dug around, might have spoke to Clarissa's brother after I invited him tonight." Emily blushed, and I smirked, saying,98

"Hold up- are you blushing?" Emily scowled at me, 99

"No, I'm not blushing."100

"Yes, you are! Is he cute?" I asked her, smirking.101

"I'm leaving now." She marched towards the door, stopping to pull it closed. "I was right, though, wasn't I? You didn't know any of that. And why wouldn't Ryan tell you that he was a suspect in her murder? Just be careful, Amy. I would think you'd had enough of guys like that." She shut the door with a click, leaving me to ponder what she'd told me. I'd have to ask Kristen about what happened. It was time for an impartial spokesperson. 102

“Hey, honey,” Kristen bounced up the path. I put the lid on the bin and straightened up, smiling at her. "So what was so urgent you needed to talk to me about now?" My smile faded and I replied,103

"Let's go inside. It wasn't so much now as privately." Kristen raised her eyebrows at me, and grabbed my hand as she ran past. 104

"Come on, then- I'm dying to know!" I laughed as she dragged me in the house and up the stairs, stopping as she realised she had no idea where my room was. I laughed once at her confused expression- she looked a little bit like a deer caught in the headlights- then pulled her along to my room. She made a beeline for my window seat and I pulled the door shut. 105

"So, what's up?" She asked me again,106

"Hold on," I replied, walking over to my stereo and pressing play, adjusting the volume so that we'd be able to talk without anybody else overhearing us. "Okay, this may sound really random but, trust me, I wouldn't be asking unless a) it was bothering me or it was very important. In this case it's c) all of the above." 107

Kristen chuckled at me, but didn't say anything, letting me continue uninterrupted. 108

"The other day, Ryan told me about Clarissa, and what happened with Dean." Kristen lost her usually bubbly demeanor, her face becoming very solemn and serious. "He said that Dean was a prime suspect but they couldn't prove anything." Kristen nodded at this, so I assumed that part was correct. "A couple of days ago I found two notes warning me, got this really weird phone call and there was a guy standing outside of my house all night. I guessed it was Dean, from Ryan's accusations, but now I'm not so sure- I mena, why would he stalk me?" Kristen frowned at this part.109

"I told my sister what Ryan told me- she was getting really freaked out by this guy stood outside- and, without me knowing, she did some digging around. She only told me earlier today what she found out." I paused before carrying on. "Apparently, what Ryan didn't tell me, was that he was a prime suspect too. His fingerprints were on his watch or something..." I added, muttering.110

"That's true," Kristen interjected. "And they used to have the most horrendous fights as well. Even after they broke up!" I was distracted by this previously unknown fact, and that must have registered on my face because she added, "Hadn't you heard about that?"111

"Emily said that he wasn't happy when she started dating Dean, but she didn't say anything about arguments," I frowned.112

"Okay, I have to meet this sister of yours! How does she know all this?" I flapped my wrist at her,113

"You'll meet her later- what was that about arguments?"114

"Oh, yeah. One night they went home together, having this really heated argument- as in could be heard two streets away loud- and the next day she turned up to school with a bruise on her arm and he had scratches on his cheek, like fingernail scratches." I pondered this for a couple of seconds, rubbing my forehead with the back of my hand.115

"Are you saying that they came to blows?"116

"It definitely seemed that way. And Dean was out of town for the weekend," Kristen shrugged. "The question is, what other details did he skimp on?"117

I told her what Emily had said about her just changing crowds, instead of being a social recluse. I also told her that he hadn't once mentioned they'd dated. 118

"No!" Kristen gasped when I told her that. I was pacing around my room, somewhat angrily at this point.119

"I know!" I threw my arms into the air in a gesture clearing indicating a 'What the heck?!' moment. " He said that he was the one really close, best friend that she told about Dean hitting her."120

"Dean never hit her. Well, that's not true. He hit her once- but he was so disgusted with himself for doing it that he tried to OD."121

"Really?" I absorbed this as well.122

"Yeah. Rissa cared about him too much so she forgave him, on the condition that he never touched her like that again. If he did she'd go to the police and he would never see her again. Once is a mistake, twice is the end."123

"Wow, the news is really coming thick and fast tonight, isn't it? One thing I can't work out though, is why Ryan would lie about when he joined the basketball team? He told me that he joined the team when he first moved here. Now, I find out he didn't join until his second year. Why would he lie about that? It doesn't make any sense." 124

We sat, not talking, for a few minutes as we both thought about this. As the doorbell rang downstairs, Kristen asked me why I'd called her earlier.125

"Because Ryan and Paul are coming tonight aswell, and I wanted to know the truth before they did. But I'm even more confused now that I know more of the facts. So, she wasn't turning up to school covered in bruises?" Kristen shook her head,126

"After that one time, he never hit anybody again- not even guys, unless they hit him first. Like this morning."127

The doorbell rang again. 128

"I'd better go and greet all these neighbours that mom invited. She said it was fine to clear off upstairs after a bit- as long as the door's open." I rolled my eyes at htis last bit and Kristen laughed.We stopped half way down the staircase.129

"Whoa. Your mom must have invited a lot of people. How did we not notice them arrive?" Kris looked at me, astonished. There was people everywhere. 130

"I have no idea." I replied, looking around with an expression that mirrored hers. I smiled and waved as Paul walked in with two younger girls and, presumably, his parents. He said something to the girls and then worked his way through the crowd towards us.131

"Uh-oh, incoming hottie," Kris muttered out of the corner of my mouth.132

"Hey," Paul arrived a second after that and I desperately hoped he hadn't heard that. "Apparently, your sister invited my sister and her friend aswell?" He said, querying it.133

"Mom said she had," I shrugged in reply. "Do you two want a drink? I didn't even ask when you got here, Kris!" She laughed, replying,134

"It's okay- you had more important stuff on your mind." I shot her a look, but Paul hadn't really heard her. 135

"Kitchen's through here," I said, leading the way towards the drinks.