* Alexis *

Minutes have passed- and it feels like an eternity.

Carson was feeling me up and I flinched as his touch burns my skin.

"I- I want to pee!!" I blurted out, making him pull away.

"What? Oh, that trick isn't working on me, Alexis," He laughed, as he tried kissing me again but I couldn't hold it anymore so I did pee.

"Oh, god, gross, Alexis!!" He flinched, pulling away when he saw me pee on the spot.

"I told you," I say, rolling my eyes and trying to untie the ropes from my hands. I've been working on it for minutes now and I even felt my fingers bleeding but it doesn't matter. I want to get out of this place - fast.

"I'll just face this direction then. Don't even think about me releasing you so that you can go to the bathroom." He hisses, going to the corner of the wall.

"Oh, that's fine." I say, finally untied myself from the ropes.

"Are you done yet?" He asked, not facing me.

"Just a minute," I say, taking the chair and charging towards him, slamming it on his head.

"Shit!!" He screamed, as he touches his head, now dripping with blood while I, take this chance to escape.

I swiftly ran. Clutching the door knob and twisting it open only to find the cool night air greet me.

I ran as fast as I can, to the hallways, but when I turned around, I flinched to see him, running and catching up with me.

"You ain't getting away, Reed." He threatens, licking his lips.

There was a gun shot coming from him, making me screech.

The place is still dark and I forced myself to run faster, turning right around the corner and slamming the girl's bathroom shut. Locking it and then locking myself on one of the cubicles vacant.

"You won't be getting away now, Alexis." I hear him and then there were two loud gun shots.

"What the fuck?!" Carson shouted,

What's going on?

Gun shots are continuous and I cupped my ears because I was scared.

I'm shivering and shuddering, thinking of the many ways of Carson killing me.

= Darren =

I checked the time and it's already ten in the evening.

This is insane, I say to myself.

I tried calling Eve and we spent minutes on the phone because of this.

Alexis hasn't come home yet. And as much as I was upset about the things she said to me, I'm still worried about her. I admit, I wanted to come for her but then my pride is restraining me from it. I was also thinking what she'd say if I came and waited for her.

But things have changed now, I'm actually terrified.

Eve even told me that she tried calling Alexis' phone but nobody's picking up.

Then we decided to come and fetch her. But of course, I told Eve to call the cops for back up just in case.

Unfortunately, the cops won't oblige if we weren't *sure* that something dangerous is cooking since they're busy in other stuff.

I snorted when Eve told me this. What? Busy gulping down all the donuts and coffee their big, fat bellies can take? Get real.

"Let's just wait and see for ourselves if there is something dangerous going on.. we're not even sure -"

"And be too late again like last time?" I cut Eve off, tears prickling my eyes. "We should go."

Eve simply nodded her head. Fear is also evident in her eyes.

Danny tagged along, starting the engine of his pick-up truck, zooming down the dark streets.

The cold air hit me, making me twinge.

It's a bad sign.

I can feel it.

Oh, Alexis, I hope you're okay.

~

We arrived the school and the place is empty.

I guess the meeting is actually over.

"It's dark..." Eve says, fear evident in her voice.

"Let's all stick together, okay?" I whispered to them, as the three of us walk slowly down the hallways.

That's when we saw dark shadows, one swiftly running, the other tagging along behind.

We hid behind the corners, examining the figure, as the shadows disappeared when I turned.

Then there were gun shots so loud, the hair on my arms started to stand up.

"W-What was that?" Eve asked, flinching and hiding behind Danny.

I sighed, trying to be optimisticfor them.

"Call the police, Eve. Call them right now. Tell them to surround the place. We heard gun shots and if they won't believe us- try to stall them for as long as you can, okay?" I say, turning my back on them.

"Wait - where are you going?" Eve asked.

"I'm going to save Alexis. Just do what I say." I say, smiling weakly.

"I'm coming with you -"

"No!" I snapped at her, "We can't risk anyone anymore. If there's someone who's going to die then that's going to be me."

"Darren... no....." Eve sobbed.

"Take care of her, okay?" I say softly, turning to Danny, who looks hopeless, as Eve, nodding his head. "Give me twenty minutes. If I haven't returned by then...... run and let the police in."

They both obediently nodded. And I bid my goodbyes, walking down the dark hallway all alone.

I followed the sounds of the gun shots, each step I take, making the sound louder and clearer.

Then I spotted the shadow.

I hid behind the corner, as I tried to match the shadow's features in the dark.

And my face went pale.

It was Carson.

The person I feared the most.

The person I gave the chance and yet... he blew it.

Anger filled my veins.

But where's Alexis?

Without a question, I charged towards him, my fist meeting his cheek hard.

I know I did him good because the impact was so strong it hurt my fist.

"What the fuck?!" Carson screamed, as his hand touches his now bruised cheek.

But I didn't stop.

I punched him more and that's when he pulled a trigger from his gun making me duck.

That was so close!

I tried to get the gun from him, so we rolled over, punching and kicking each other.

I winced when his fist met my cheek. I counter-attacked him by kicking his crotch, making him throw his gun towards the opposite side of the hall.

Both of us flinched, and raced to the gun as fast as we could.

* Eve *

"Twenty minutes have passed..." I say to Danny. "What should I do?"

"Call the cops. NOW." Danny demands.

"Should I follow -"

"No." Danny cuts off. "Let us not lose hope. Darren will make it."

I crossed my fingers in hope.

I hope Danny's right.

= Alexis =

There were a couple more gun shots but then it was silence again.

What's going on? I wonder.

I counted to ten.

10.. 9.. 8...

7...

After ten, I'm going out, I will run towards the exit if I can.

6.. 5..

4..3... 2...

I unlocked the cubicle, heading towards the main restroom door.

1...

I unlocked the door, about to run when I saw two figures, rolling over, bleeding, reaching for the gun on the other side.

That's when it hit me.

Darren...

He came for me.

I cried a bucket of tears, and no, maybe this ain't a metaphor.

"Alexis!!" He cried out, making Carson look at me as well.

"I'm sorry, Darren.. I really am." I sobbed,

"RUN!" He demands me, punching Carson smack on the face when he tried to escape his grip.

"No!! I can't leave you here -" I say.

"Don't be stubborn!!! JUST RUN!" He cried out, struggling on holding down Carson.

But I am stubborn, I say to myself.

As I reached towards the gun and pointing it at Carson.

His lips turned into a smirk as he shoved Darren off of him.

"Go on. Shoot me if you can." He said, cocking his head to the side.

"I can shoot you!" I growled at him.

That's when he pulled another gun and slammed Darren's head on the floor using his free hand, pointing the gun on Darren's head.

"No...." I mumbled.

"Go on, shoot him now!" Darren says.

"But you will die...." I say, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"It's okay.. I mean.. I can die in happiness now.. since you already returned my feelings." He smiles, tears also forming from his eyes and even if it's dark, I can see its watery state.

"No... Darren, how can you say that? I have other goals in mind.. like.. marrying each other... have children.. helping each other raise our kids... watch them grow.. grow old together...." I sobbed, tears streaming down my cheeks as I gripped the gun tighter. "Carson, I won't shoot you but please don't shoot Darren.." I finally say.

"Don't, Alexis!! You know he's still going to shoot me if you don't shoot him." Darren says.

"I... I can't." I replied, my chest tightening. I slowly faced the gun on my chest, making them both flinch.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Darren angrily shouted.

"If... if I'm the reason for this... for all this... then might as well die, right?" I say, trying to smile. "I mean... I'm the reason why you're both fighting... why this happened. Besides, you are planning to kill me anyway, right Carson?"

"You've got to be joking, Alexis." Carson says, "If there's anyone who's going to kill you then that's going to be me."

"Fine then, shoot me." I say, opening up my arms. "I dare you."

"No!! Alexis! You know he can do it!!!" Darren shouted.

I see lights coming from the end of the hallways and I know this is all about to end.

"That's why I dare him to shoot me." I say, trying to make my voice confident. "Go on, Carson, shoot me!"

With that, he pointed his gun to me, with a baffled look on his face.

"No!!! " Darren says, holding up Carson.

"Darren!! Out of the way!!" I say, shooting his ankle, making him lose balance.

"FUCK!" He shouted.

"SHOOT ME NOW!" I demanded Carson. "Or else, I'll shoot myself."

But then, the most unexpected thing happened.

Carson smiled, putting both of his hands in surrender.

"I lose." He says, "I can't take this drama anymore." And then he points the gun to his chest and shoots himself.

"NOO!!!" I screeched, tears streaming down my cheeks.

I'm supposed to be happy, right?

He's gone now.

The person who started this all.

But why do I feel... heavy? My chest feels heavy.

My head is spinning and the lights from the outside became brighter.

I saw Eve and Danny running towards us, along with the police.

Everything was bloodshed.

I'm covered in blood, I stink of it, and so does Darren.

Everything happened so fast.

"Alexis..." I hear Darren say.

But I couldn't respond.

I can't say anything.

I was supposed to die, not him.

I was pulled into a tight hug making me twitch.

"Are you alright? We're so worried!! Thank God we came just in time!" Eve says, kissing my cheek then pulls away.

Her gaze then went to the floor where Carson's body lies.

"What happened here?" She asked.

"He... he shot himself..." I replied softly.

"Oh, Alexis!" She says to me, hugging me once again. "Let us get you home. All this drama is too much for one day."

I nodded my head and pulled away, snapping my head to Darren's direction where the nurses are treating his ankle on the spot.

"My, that's one deep wound you have here." The nurse says.

Darren faced me, smirking and replied,

"Yeah, someone did me good this time."

I laughed and went to him, hugging him tight.

He returned my hug, stroking my hair as I cried.

"Shhhh, don't cry..." He says.

"I'm sorry for not listening to you... This is all my fault...." I sobbed.

"Shhhh, past is past. Let us not discuss the past." He replied. "Atleast we're free now. We can now love each other freely." He smiled.

"Yeah..." I nodded, "And oh, I'm sorry for err... shooting you...." I say, feeling embarrassed.

"It's okay. I know you didn't do it on purpose." He laughs, "God, I could've died, you know."

"I said I was sorry," I say, nudging his arm playfully.

After our wounds were both treated, and a few interrogations from the police, the four of us hopped inside Danny's pick up truck.

"What a day!" Eve exclaimed, rubbing her temples.

"Some day it is, indeed." Danny added.

"So, we can go back to our normal lives now?" Eve says, shrugging, "I mean - no more drama?"

"But what's not to love about drama?" I joked.

"You almost got killed because of it." Eve pointed out. "God, I seriously need a milkshake after all this drama."

"Wanna go to iHop?" Darren suggests, intertwining our hands together.

"Really? Doesn't that place serve breakfast?" I laughed.

"Breakfast at midnight. Sounds perfect!" Eve clapped, "Just reminded me of Taylor Swift's song '22'."

"IHop it is then." Danny winked, swerving the pick up truck to the opposite direction.

I faced Darren and smiled.

Every worry I have is now gone.

No one's going to hinder our relationship anymore.

"Hey Darren." I say, poking his cheek, making him turn to me.

"What?" He asked, laughing, poking my cheek too.

"I love you." I say to him, my eyes fixated on his.

He was silent for a bit and then smiled,

"I love you too." He whispers, kissing the back of my hand, his gaze fixated on mine.

Then my gaze fell on his lips and he did the same.

Our faces were centimeters apart, our lips almost touching.

God, I missed kissing him.

I haven't kissed him for so long already--

"STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE, HERE I COME!" Eve suddenly shouted, making the both of us pull away.

Damn, we weren't even able to kiss!

Instead, we laughed so hard I almost cried.

"Why are you laughing?" Eve asked cluelessly.

Both Darren and I exchanged glances and shook our heads.

"Nothing." We both said in sync.

I miss this.

The four of us hanging out together.

I'm so happy we're living normally now.

And I'm so happy I can finally love Darren with all my heart without anyone stopping me.

This ends my story then, a happy ending, I suppose?

Well, errr.. except for Darren's shot ankle, but it's going to be fine in a few days.. or weeks... or months.. Anyway, he's going to be fine, I'm sure. ;)

Toodles now! And well, see you sooooooooon in kimpyvon's other books!

Bye now! Eve's pestering me on her milkshake craving.

**

So this is probably the end -

Oh wait, there's an epilogue coming up!

I cried while making this -

Yes, because it's the end!

Well, officially not the end since there's still an epilogue but still -

Love lots everyone,

xx

Thanks a bunch for supporting this book 'til the end!

You are all awesome readers!! ;)

'Til next time - 'til the epilogue.