~

You know there are times when your parents say they won't buy you an item you want because it's too expensive, but two days later, they purchase it just to make you feel happy.

Yeah, this was not one of those times. Mr. Smith didn't come back for us.

A guard opens our cell after a few minutes, not to let us out, but to allow us to place a call to our parents.

Ashley bolts out first, grabbing the cell phone to make a call. She pauses while typing, turning her head to hand me the phone.

"Aren't you going to call your mum?" I raise a brow at her but collect the phone anyway.

"I never bothered to memorize her number. I only know my dad's," she shrugs, placing her hands into her back pocket, walking back into the cell.

My dad picks up almost immediately. "Hey, baby, " His voice comes out muffled, followed by chewing sounds.

"Hey, Dad," I say in a sweet voice. The type of voice I use when I want to stay out late or get an expensive Birkin bag. "So, something happened."

"Yeah, I know. You are in a cell," He says with a laugh.

Did he just laugh? I'm behind bars for the first time since I popped out a stranger's vagina, and my dad laughs?

"How did you know?"

"Mr. Smith sent a message to the group chat," he replies, chewing loudly on his food.

Group chat? I thought old people couldn't work cellphones.

"Anyway, I heard you guys took a stance against Mr. Baker. I'd like to say I'm proud of you, but all the other parents are against the scene you kids caused, so, " He swallows and clears his throat. "How could you disrespect Mr. Baker like that. I know you care about your friends, but there are other ways to go about it."

I roll my eyes, sighing into my phone. Everyone knows logic doesn't work with Mr. Baker. He's a determined man who always liked to have things go his way.

"Dad, can you just come pick me up?" I ask, leaning against the wall.

"Uh- No. Mr. Baker said you'll be out in 24 hours," Dad replies, nonchalantly.

"You're kidding, right?" I widen my eyes in disbelief. Why are we being held? A lot of people were in the wrong during this incident. From Mr. Baker to the old lady and her caregiver or daughter, but they chose to put us behind the cell.

Ageists. They are discriminating against us because we are young and our parents don't care.

"Or visit forty-eight? At least you're with your friends," Dad chirps, and I hear voices in the background.

"Dad, the chairs are metallic and cold. I have classes to attend, " I bring up the issue of school because I knew how serious my dad takes my education.

"It's just a day. you'll be fine."

I raise a concerned eyebrow, pulling my phone from my ear to recheck the number. Yep, it was my dad.

"What did you do to my father?"

"Dove, I need to go. I have to get to work. Don't catch a cold on those metallic chairs. Love you."

He ends the call without giving me a chance to say another word. My dad doesn't care if I miss a day of school. I believe the world is finally coming to an end.

"What did he say?" Gray asks when I turn to him.

"He said I shouldn't catch a cold on the metallic chairs," I speak with glazed eyes, staring into the air.

"Who is next?" the officers asks, waving the phone in our faces.

"Don't look at me. I don't have a father, " Zyair crosses his arms, leaning his back on the wall.

"Neither do I, " Aaron pipes.

We all turn to Elliot, whose phone call was our only hope of getting out of here.

"I would love to call my parents, but I can't. I never memorized their numbers, " He shrugs his shoulders at our anticipating faces.

My smile falls, and a scowl settles on my face. "You don't know your parent's cell phone numbers?"

"It's the twenty-first century! What's speed dial and Siri for?"

I run a frustrated hand through my hair, retreating into the cell with Gray's arm around my shoulders.

"If the chairs are too cold for you, you can sit on my legs," He whispers in my ear.

"Don't want you to get a boner in public, " I smirk, patting his chest.

The officer locks the cell behind us, leaving the six of us alone in an enclosed space.

"Whenever I think of prison, I never imagine it this way. I think prison break when I think of prison," Ashley says, breaking the silence.

"Do you think we should call Scofield?" Elliot's eyes light up sarcastically.

"Scofield's gonna take ten years to get us out. His brother should have just spent his initial years. He'd be out by now, " Gray crosses his arms, sighing into his chair.

"Then what do we do? I tired of your faces, " Zyair points at every single one of us.

"Close your eyes, " Gray deadpans.

This felt like another detention, but worse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eight hours. A solid eight hours passed before my dad remembered he had a daughter in holding cell.

By the time the third hour passed, I really started to believe our parents were going to leave us overnight, but thankfully, they didn't.

"So, how was it?" Sheila turns her head to smile at Gray and me as we walked out of the airport building.

"It was great. We made all sorts of new friends. There was this drug dealer. Pretty sick," Gray clicks his tongue, gesturing with his hands.

"I do feel bad for his girlfriend, though. She got arrested because she was traveling with him, " I shake my head.

"And the human trafficker that got caught too. She seemed friendly," Gray shrugs.

A look of panic flashes in Shelia's eyes and she glances at my dad, silently begging him to speak.

Dad places a hand on her back, rubbing her shoulders. "Don't mind them. It's just another story of things that never happened, " he turns to glare at us.

Gray pulls my hands, directing us away from our parents. "We'll drive with Zyair," he raises his hands with a wave.

I laugh as we walked away from them and towards Zyair, who was leaning on his car, a crossed look casts on his face.

"Can you believe these bitches?" He turns his phone, showing Gray and me the screen.

Squinting my eyes, I see a video of Jake, Fawn, and a few other guys in a house, laughing, drinking with loud bass music playing in the background.

My eyes widen. "Is that a party? They are throwing a party?"

"They called it a staying in New York party for Aaron, " Zyair snarls, a look of disgust on his face.

"I never pegged Fawn to be the ditching type," Elliot shakes his head, walking towards us, staring down at his phone.

Me neither. Fawn disappeared faster than a bolt of lightning when the cops showed up. It was some Merlin magic type of disappearance.

"Where is this party going on?" Gray asks, narrowing his eyes.

"Fawn's house. They've been posting multiple videos and shit, " Ashley replies before Zyair could get a word out.

"While we were in the cell paying for the crimes Zoe committed," I roll my eyes.

"Let's crush it," Gray shrugs, a smirk forming on his lips. "Like literally."

"You mean crash it, " Elliot rolls his eyes.

Gray shakes his head, running his tongue over his lower lip. "We crush their party and bolt. Just like they did to us."

A mischievous grin forms on Zyair's face, and I could tell he was enjoying the idea way too much. "So do we get bats, or do we call the police?"

"What if we get arrested this time?" Ashley looks from Zyair to Gray.

"At least we'd actually be guilty."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon getting to Fawn's house, we had a change of plans about crashing the party, especially since we received warm welcomes from everyone.

Fawn and the guys had told them that we went to jail for the rest of them. Although it was a wrong narrative, it wasn't that bad. They had lied to save themselves from being the runaway cowards, inadvertently making us the heroes.

I sink into a sofa in the far corner of the room, watching people dance to the ear-pumping music, drinking, and playing games.

When we got to the party, Kelch left me to go check out some cute boots Fawn bought yesterday.

I'll be back, she said. It's been ten minutes, 23 seconds, and counting. She's still not here.

"Smoke?" Jake, a friend of mine, hands me his hookah stick.

I shake my head and close my eyes. "No."

"Come on. Just a little smoke. You guys went through a lot today, " He urges.

"I'm fine, Jake, " I reply, pushing his stick away from me, getting up, and walking towards the bar.

Fawn had really gone all out with this party, ordering a bartender, hookah sticks, and I think I saw some kids doing drugs.

"I'll get-, "

I stop mid request. Kelch would be back very soon, and I didn't want my mouth smelling like alcohol when she gets closer. She hates the smell of alcohol and cigarettes.

"Hey-y-y," a voice that wasn't Kelch's purrs from behind.

With a sigh, I turn my body, coming face to face with a slightly sweaty, slightly drunk Amy.

"Hi, Amy."

She purses her lips and shakes her head. "You've been avoiding me. Why have you been avoiding me? Is it because of Dove?" she furrows her brows, slightly hiccupping.

"Yes. I've got a girlfriend now."

"Why her? I keep thinking-, " She stops, swallowing before peering at me through her lashes. "What does she have that I don't?"

It's not about her. There's nothing wrong with her. Kelch was just my puzzle piece. She fits me perfectly. No one else could ever take her place. They could never fit my puzzle, and even if they did, they'd never complete the picture as Kelch does.

And I don't know how to explain that to Amy without making her feel worse.

"Amy, it's not about you. I'm just not the right guy for you."

"You didn't even give me a chance. You never completed the five dates," She whines.

"Even if I did, I'll still choose Kelch. It's always been, Kelch."

Amy looks up at me, her eyes filling with tears. As much as I didn't want to hurt her feelings, I realized it would be better to put it out there. It might hurt now, but she'll survive it.

Fawn walks towards us, and my eyes light up when I see her. I search behind her for signs of Kelch, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Where's my girlfriend?"

"She was out at the veranda a few minutes ago, staring at the stars," Fawn says with a small giggle, gesturing dramatically with her hands. "I came to grab some drinks."

I run a hand through my hair and walk up the stairs in search of Kelch. Stargazing was cool, but it would be better to do it together.

As I walked towards the veranda, I realized that I've been making her do my things without asking what she wanted. I had decided what was fun for both of us.

If she wanted to stargaze, she should have told me. I could find a great spot in ten minutes. We could spread a blanket, lay on the grass, cuddle, and stare into the sky.

The thought made me giddy, although I wasn't a fan of stargazing. Knowing myself, I'd probably fall asleep in fifteen minutes.

When I get to the veranda, she's not there. My panic rises at the thoughts of her getting kidnapped again.

I bring out my phone to call her number. It rings, and I hear it ringing. My head snaps in the direction of her ringtone. My eyes widen when I look through the transparent door, and my phone drops to the floor.

Dove is in the room, next to Luca, and he had his dirty lips pressed on hers.

His hands and lips were on my girl.

Fucking bastard.

••••••••••••

QOTD: How was your day?

>> My days have been really shitty this past week, and I feel drained.