"Once upon a different life."

-Hold Back the River, James Bay

________________________________

I lie in my bed that night, staring at my ceiling as if it will swallow me up and take me away from these wandering thoughts. But nothing has happened since I left Alec in the corridor earlier. Just this feeling of emptiness.

You didn't expect things to be so complicated, a smooth voice says quietly, as if wary of waking the other sleeping students in their dorms.

"No. I didn't," I reply in a whisper.

You should find the killer. It will clear this distrust you have for the people around you.

"I trust Alec and Jasper. More than I trust myself," I whisper.

And who do you trust more?

"Both of them. Equally."

Kissing them both has left your mind scattered. You should focus on finding the killer before risking losing both of them. You need all the help you can get right now.

Sometimes the voices give me advice, sometimes they give me snide comments to throw me off. But this one. This one is good. Like I have a mother, a real mother, talking to me, helping me. A mother unlike the one that sent me here.

"You're right. Which means that I should start as soon as possible," I say, jumping up from my bed and heading straight for the window at an alarming rate.

I swing it open, and hoist myself out, not afraid of falling. I don't think much scares me anymore. I've seen too much. I step along the ledge, until I make it right to the edge of the roof, where Jacob would have fallen from (although 'fallen' seems a little loosely used).

I glance over to see his body has been moved, thankfully, and all that is visible is the ground, far below. But there's nothing that stands out. Okay, he fell. He died. Nothing strange about that. People die, people get over it.

But there's something not right about it. This time, as I narrow my eyes to focus them in the dark, I look at the roof.

And I find what I think I'm looking for.

The closest tiles of the roof have been cracked and pushed to the side. Signs of a struggle. Which means that Jacob was, in fact, pushed. But who would do it?

If anyone, it would be a Fighter, someone still vengeful from the girl that fell a year ago from this same spot. I just need to find out who, so the murders stop here, and they can stop framing me for it.

And maybe life at this school will be easier. Maybe things will even be...good.

As I walk back along the ledge to my dorm, I consider my next moves with this investigation. For one, I can't tell anyone. If Rosa finds out I'm curious, she'll be suspicious of why. But I know I can tell Jasper and Alec. I trust them.

But my next moves rely entirely on my assumption that the killer is a Fighter. I just need to find out which Fighter would have a grudge against Jacob bad enough that they were willing to throw him off the roof. And that's going to be hard enough without people thinking I had something to do with it.

***

I swiftly head down for breakfast the next morning, looking out for Alec. If I can find him, I can sit with him and maybe ask his Fighter friends a few questions.

But when I see him talking with a boy with olive skin and golden hair in hushed voices, I decide against interrupting.

So instead I approach the table where Sky, Louise, Thomas, Jessica and Daniel are sat at. When I sit down, they all shoot me a confused look.

None of them say anything, so I say bluntly, "If you guys don't want me sat here, just say something."

But I realise they're not looking at me. They're looking at something behind me, advancing through the door.

The room falls silent. I turn around in my seat.

At the door, stands a large group of Sosios. They're angry, but not a vicious angry, more like a hurt angry. But they're covering it up with aggressive stances and clamped fists.

Everyone knows about Jacob, that's for sure.

You could hear a pin drop.

But while they have everyone's attention, somebody weaves through the crowd and to the front, taking ownership of whatever is going on. And that person just so happens to be Jasper.

He's wearing a white shirt with white jeans and white sneakers, and it seems a little off before I notice every Sosio is wearing complete white. And I suddenly realise why- it is the complete opposite to the black that the Fighters are known for.

Jasper's hair is messier than normal, and even from this distance, I notice the bags hanging under his eyes. He hasn't slept, that's for sure. His blue eyes are icier than normal. But even in his anger, I notice sorrow. It's unmistakable. Well, why wouldn't he be sad? His best friend is dead.

You know how that feels, a voice says quietly, the only sound in the room and it's only in my head. You know how much it hurts.

"Whilst we have your attention," Jasper starts loudly, facing only the Fighters, who are beginning to stand, "we want to tell you about a good friend of ours."

The Fighters slowly approach the Sosios, Alec naturally leading the crowd until the two groups are only meters apart.

Him and Jasper face each other with scowls on both of their faces. I stand up, but Sky grabs my hand and pulls me back down, shaking her head in warning.

"He died last night. His girlfriend, a valued member of our group, Lydia, found his body. Dead. He had fallen from the roof. Although 'fallen' makes it seem like I'm saying it was an accident." Jasper pauses, his brow furrowing further. "But it wasn't an accident."

A thin layer of muttering drifts over the Fighters, all of them swapping glances with each other. The Wallflowers just sit and watch, faces empty but their eyes full of curiosity.

Alec frowns and shushes them, before asking calmly, "You seriously think one of us did it?"

Jasper stretches out his arms, like he is welcoming Alec in for a hug. His tone is forceful, but it is still smooth and powerful. "I don't think it. I know it."

The tall boy with olive skin that Alec was speaking to earlier steps forward aggressively, but Alec puts his hand on the boy's chest, holding him back.

He then turns back to Jasper, his voice soft like a thunderstorm, "And you have evidence to prove, do you?"

Jasper scoffs. "Evidence? We don't need evidence. We simply need to remind you of the hate you had for us when you thought one of us pushed Elena from the roof last year. Revenge is sweet for a Fighter."

The mention of the girl's name seems to trigger something in Alec's once composed expression. Pain. Pure pain.

The crowd of Sosios nod to each other in agreement. The Fighters look ready to...well, fight.

Alec shakes off the pain, but a little lingers on his sculpted features. He takes a step closer to Jasper, until only a foot separates them.

I'm so on edge that I don't have enough self-control or any concern for self-preservation left, and abruptly stand up. But after taking a few steps towards the confrontation, I'm gripped my two strong arms. I turn to see Thomas holding me back. Trying but failing to get out of his arms, I squirm at my human restraints. When I stop fighting, he gently lets go, and I watch from afar.

"Jasper, I'm giving you one chance to leave. No one gets hurt," Alec warns, expression darkening and dangerous.

Jasper presses his lips together, and this time there is no hint of mock in his features. There is only pain. "One of ours is dead. And we know it's at the hands of one of yours. The opportunity to leave is long gone," he replies in a low voice.

Alec chews on the inside of his cheek, before nodding to himself. "Then I guess no one is leaving." And before I know it- or anyone knows it, for that matter- Alec's fist meets Jasper's face.