Canteen-

Awkward. Several pairs of eyes were staring at me while I ate my sandwich. With them looking at me in awe, I could hardly swallow my food. It was a typical movie scene when everyone couldn't digest the fact that the school hunk was dating a nerd. I kind of missed Stace at that moment because she would've made it less awkward for me by sitting with me, although I didn't expect her to sit with me after knowing I was dating Edwin.

I was wondering what they were surprised about - That a nerd like me was dating him or that someone was dumb enough to fall for that arrogant stud.

Emma, my desk-mate, along with her few girl-friends walked past my table, whispering to each other and giving me judgmental looks. I happened to hear one of them say 'She's not even hot.' when she walked away.

I formed my hand into a fist and suppressed the anger inside me, telling myself it was no big deal and I didn't care. I didn't want to date him anyway, so it didn't matter if I was good enough to stand next to him or not.

Suddenly, Edwin occupied the space beside me on the bench, brushing his shoulder against mine.

"Look what I've saved you as." He showed me his phone screen. My number was saved as 'Girlfriend' in his phone.

I shifted away from him while sipping my drink.

"What was that?" He asked a little seriously so I looked up at him," What's what?" and realized I was almost talking the way he did. I flinched at that and quickly covered up," We're dating?"

"That shouldn't come as a question." He said.

"We just went out together," I gulped before I completed my sentence, not sure if I should've said it or not," That doesn't mean we're in a relationship."

"We kissed and went out on a date."

"But- Edwin, a relationship is so much more than that." I explained.

"Aren't you making me mad now?" He raised an eyebrow and I knew it was the end of my life, yet my mouth wouldn't stop talking.

"This is why I avoid you." I spoke," You're going to force me again, right?"

"Fine I won't." He gave me a nudge on my shoulder," Why did you want to meet me?"

Did he actually say 'Fine I won't' ?

I sighed with relief before I explained him the problem with Tyler.

"I'll talk to him." He said and leaned closer," And Gwen, if you're thinking about cheating on me..."

"Why would I dare to?!" I laughed to make it less serious because when Edwin gets serious, things get tough for me.

"Just to let you know...In order to stop you from thinking such things, I'll crush...this pretty head of yours." He said, pressing his finger tip against my head right in the middle," Literally."

I stayed motionless as he stood up and left the canteen.

"Your brother just gave me a death threat." I murmured," Of course you're not here when you should be."

I almost jumped out of my skin. Without saying a word, I picked up my sandwich and left the canteen.

I thought it was better to eat in the classroom than being stared at. Edwin was just a guy, dating a girl, and still everyone was making a big deal out of it. And we weren't even dating...yet.

I plopped on my chair, chewing on the soft bread while staring out of the window. I had left the window half open to allow cool breeze to enter. I wanted winters to be over. The days were dull and depressing, the nights were lonely and cold. I liked spring better. I liked sitting on the warm and dewy grass. I liked watching Ethan draw sketches under the warmth of the sun and the brightness of the sky. I liked the scenery of his smile and the way his smile made me smile without even realizing it.

He was the first distraction I'd ever had.

I turned my head around, making sure there was no one except me," Are you here now?" I asked in a low voice.

"Wow..." I smiled," So, don't you feel hungry or thirsty or tired?"

"Right, I was just curious." I shrugged," Um...what do you do when I'm asleep since you don't have anyone to follow or speak to then?"

"You watch me sleep?!" I almost shouted in shock.

"That feels creepy you know?" I asked as I met with silence.

"And how would I know that you're not watching me?" I questioned, remembering that I didn't feel his presence anymore.

"Huh?" I asked, looking at the door and Elijah entered the classroom, wearing a furry violet sweater over a white shirt and black jeans. He was holding a paper bag in his hands as he approached my seat.

He sat on the seat in front of me, facing sideways, rubbing his palms that looked very pale. He slid the paper bag towards me," Thanks for lending me your muffler the other day." He said.

"You're not dressed up warmly. Borrow it for today." I said. From what Stace had told me earlier, he had low immunity and yet didn't pay much attention to his health. She had to force him to wear warmer clothes all the time. No wonder after she left, he couldn't even do that for himself and went around wearing light clothes even in the month of December.

"I'm good." He stopped rubbing his palms, making eye contact with me, so I immediately looked away. I could never look into the eyes of the person I was talking to, especially with guys.

"Dad wanted to see you at 3 this afternoon. Shall we head there straight after school if you're free?" He asked.

"S-sure but everything's good right? Have we got a clue?" I asked intriguingly because his dad wouldn't call me casually.

"He'll tell us both together later." He stood up to leave.

"Are you...leaving already?" I mumbled.

"Yes. Is there something?" He asked and I shook my head bluntly, swallowing my next words. Him and I only talked about the investigation and Ethan and I wasn't asking for anything much but just talking about something other than those two things. My life was only filled with Ethan and the investigation. I couldn't even dream about having a casual small-talk with someone. No one asked whether I had breakfast or lunch or dinner. No one asked why I was roaming around like a loner. No one cared.

The sound of Elijah's footsteps faded slowly and I was left all alone again.

My...heart. Why is it suddenly beating so fast?

"Yeah, I- I shouldn't waste it." I uttered and continued eating with a wide grin on my face.

Turns out, I'm not alone.

Elijah

Home-

Gwen and I were patiently waiting for dad to join us in the room. I could read the expression on her face. She looked overly worried about something. I was studying the papers all over again, sitting at dad's table. I was battling with my thoughts on whether to tell her or not that Ethan was severely hit on his head, because Ethan might be there and hear it too. He was most likely to be present there, since all of us were going to discuss something important. I wasn't planning on hiding it from him, of course. I was just unsure of how it would affect him.

"Sorry for the wait." Dad emerged through the doorway, still wearing the apron. I emptied his seat and sat beside Gwen on the couch as he sat at his table.

"Hello, Mr. Cooper." Gwen greeted him and he nodded with a smile," Firstly," He cleared his throat," Thank you for offering us help."

"Don't mention it." She replied.

"Secondly, I'm sorry for causing you all the trouble until now and in future." He continued," This time, it's a really hard job."

I sat up straight when Gwen looked at me anxiously and back at dad," What...is it?" She asked in her little voice.

"I need you to go to Ethan's room, in the Miler's mansion and bring anything suspicious." Dad answered.

"What?" I questioned." And how exactly will she do that without getting herself in trouble?"

"Elijah, wait." Dad glared at me. I had almost forgotten he hated it the most when someone interrupted him.

"Since you're close to Edwin, you can easily do it." He told her while I kept quiet and processed the whole deal carefully in my head.

It was true she could get into the mansion by just requesting Edwin, but how would she get the keys to the room and how would she be able to get out of Edwin's sight to be able to search the room thoroughly? It was risky as it is, and on top of that, she looked nervous.

Even the greatest man would make a mistake when he's nervous.

I could see the fear in her eyes as she listened to dad intently. She was fidgeting with her fingers, tapping her foot and breathing heavily as if air had been knocked out of her lungs. She was trying really hard to not say that she couldn't do it.

"Isn't there any other way?" I asked dad.

"Richard will never voluntarily hand me the keys, so this is the only way." Dad answered," Can you do it, Gwen?"

"Is it...really that important?" She asked with a slight tremble in her voice.

"Without having any skills, she can't do it." I said.

"She just needs to stay calm." Dad said.

"Does she look calm to you right now?" I shot up," What if she gets nervous and gets caught? What's gonna happen to her then? Edwin is a monumental jerk. We need to consider the consequences first."

"I get you're worried, my boy. But once we find the murder weapon, we'll reach somewhere with the investigation." He said," The knife is useless now, but if we find what his head was hit with and send it to the lab, we'll be able to track down the killer."

"His...head was hit?" Gwen stood up," Wasn't he just-"

I sighed and told her the details. Her eyes were welling up as she listened to me and then sat down in one corner quietly, like a little girl.

"This isn't right, dad." I tried the last time to convince him to drop that idea," Look at her. Do you think she'll be able to do-"

"I'll do it."

I turned around hearing her confident voice. She wiped away her tears and got to her feet," For Ethan."

"Have you considered what'll happen to you if you fail?" I asked her.

"I haven't. I'll think about it if or when I get caught." She answered, taking a step forward," When do I have to do it?"

"As soon as you can." Dad answered.

"Dad, searching a whole room is a big deal when you don't even know what could've been used to hit him. There are so many things in a room that may look heavy and sharp like a weapon. What if the weapon is too big to carry? Where will she hide it? And what if she brings out the wrong thing? She won't visit it again and again for us, would she? We need to do a thermal scan of the whole room to see the wiped off blood and only then it'll be of some help." I paused to recollect my breath.

Gwen was looking at me in awe, as if impressed by all the scenarios I put front, and dad was scratching his chin, looking in the other direction.

"I mean, he isn't totally wrong." She spoke.

"I didn't consider these things myself." Dad nodded," Then, how about you provide a solution to the problems you've pointed out?"

"Me?" I asked, pointing at myself and sighed." There's no absolute solution so just give up on this plan."

"It's decided then." Dad stood up from his chair and walked towards Gwen, placing a hand on her shoulder," I entrust you." He said.

"How?" I asked," Did I say all that for nothing? Dad you-"

"She'll bring us the key to his room." He asserted," And you, calm down." He told me before he went downstairs again.

Gwen was looking at me and smiling, as if thanking me for worrying about her and also laughing for overly worrying about her. I hadn't noticed how beautiful she looked while smiling all that while. It was almost as if her smile was contagious. The way her lips formed into a perfect curve and eyes glistened, I noticed my heart beats getting louder.

"Well...you...you'll be fine right?" I asked.

Gwen

Elijah's house-

"Well...you...you'll be fine right?" He asked, scratching his head softly. He looked especially cute when he was embarrassed. I couldn't stop myself from smiling at him. His face was so refreshing even when he kept a straight face. His perfect looks almost dazed me and I forgot to respond to his question.

"I'll be fine." I said," Trust me."

He pursed his lips together when I asked him to trust me with the job. He still seemed to disagree on that part due to my safety. Yes, Edwin was scary and I didn't know what he would do to me once he found out about the secret investigation and me spying on him. I knew he wasn't serious about me and was just playing with me, but that meant he could make me miserable in seconds if I got on his bad side. Yet, I agreed on doing it after knowing that Ethan was brutally, heartlessly, painfully hit on the head and later stabbed twice mercilessly...

He couldn't remember anything because of his head injury.

How helpless would he have felt? What did he think about when the whole world was asleep and he had no company? How many times did he blame himself for not remembering or being able to take advantage of his formless soul? The doors of afterlife were closed for him until he had unfulfilled desires. I knew...that once we'd find the killer, he'd have to leave, but it was better that way. I didn't want him to live formlessly and non existently. He could be much more happier with others like him than with conscienceless humans.

"Anyway, Is he here right now?" Elijah asked.

"I don't know about his presence. I don't get the chills anymore." I answered," Does it mean something?"

Ethan suddenly spoke, as if he was standing right next to me. I could never guess which direction his voice used to come from. It just seemed it was in my head. But this time, I really felt he was beside me.

I shot my head to my right," Are you standing here right now?" I asked him.

"I don't know. I felt it." I replied to Ethan.

"What is it?" Elijah asked me.

"I can tell where his voice is coming from. He's right here." I pointed at the empty space next to me," He's asking whether he's disappearing..."

Elijah looked at where Ethan was standing and smiled," You're not disappearing."

"Then why are these changes happening?" I asked him.

"He's getting stronger." He answered,"Because of his desire of finding out his killer, he's making himself stronger. He cannot and will not leave before that. It's nothing to worry about."