"Maybe you ate some bad steak." My mom gave me a worried look as she stood over my bed. She pressed her hand to my forehead and frowned. "You don't have a fever..."

I shook my head. "No, I don't think I do. I just have a stomachache... and cramps," I made up quickly.

Immediately my mom smiled with realization. "Ah. I understand completely. I'll call the school and let them know you'll be absent today then."

"Thank you."

"No problem, honey," my mom responded with a smile. "Rest up though. I'm sure Lance and Casey will be very disappointed if you can't go to the festival tonight."

"Oh crap! I forgot about that," I responded with a frown. "Yeah, I'll rest up then..."

My mom chuckled. "Okay. Make sure you eat something too. I've got to go to work now, so have a good day."

"You too, be careful," I said as she headed out of my room. "See you later."

"Bye."

As soon as she closed my bedroom door I fell back on my bed and pulled the covers over my head, feeling my face heat up. I was such a chicken! Eventually I'd have to go to school and face Mr. Heywood in class. But after last night, how could I act the same in class? To act as if he was only my teacher and nothing more? Could I do it? Surely it wouldn't be any different than before... except now I knew he thought of me as more than a student.

Erg. Why did Mr. Heywood have to be my teacher?

And why did I wait to have these feelings until now? When we were already in love with each other? I could have gotten used to them if I had them from the beginning! What if he looked at me in class? Obviously I was going to blush since I had a horrid habit of doing so.

A small groan erupted from me as I pressed my comforter harder into my face. Mr. Heywood and I didn't even have a chance to talk about what happened last night because my mom and Jeremy never left us alone again. I hadn't even looked at him after that- I was too embarrassed. I shook my head violently, trying to dismiss my thoughts. I needed more sleep, I could think about this later.

My phone ringing woke me up. It was a muffled sound I could barely hear. I glanced at my side table, wondering why my ring tone was so quiet. Then I remembered my phone was in the living room where I accidentally left it last night after eating. Pushing myself out of the warmth of my bed, I stomped down the hall way and down the stairs to where my phone was.

"Hello?" I mumbled sleepily, not bothering to check the caller I.D.

"Holly! It's my first day back in school and you're not here?" Lance demanded at once.

I pulled the phone away from my ear in surprise. "Ow, you don't need to yell."

"I'm not!"

"Sure."

Lance sighed. "Why aren't you in school?

"Umm," I hesitated, feeling my face heat up again. "You know... Girl problems."

"Say no more," Lance responded quickly.

I laughed. "Okay."

"Are you still going to the festival?"

"Yup."

"Okay, just making sure. Are you getting a ride, or should I pick you up?"

I shrugged, but then remembered he couldn't see me. "I don't know. I'll probably walk. The fair grounds aren't that far away and-"

"I'll pick you up," Lance interjected before I could finish. "It's too dangerous for you to be walking alone at night."

I frowned slightly. Now he was starting to sound like Mr. Heywood. And he didn't even know about the whole kidnap situation. "I can handle myself, Lance."

"If they shoot you?"

"Lance! Don't say things like that so easily! Who are you with?"

I could imagine Lance rolling his eyes. "I'm by myself, outside. No one will overhear us."

"Still," I growled. "What time are you picking me up?"

"Seven," Lance told me. "Be ready."

I nodded; once again forgetting Lance couldn't seem me. "I will."

Suddenly I heard another voice that wasn't Lance's on the other side of my phone. I thought he said he was alone! Lance spoke to the person and after a minute of Lance and the person arguing quietly I heard a weird noise. Then a new person spoke.

"Holly?"

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes widened. "Mr. Heywood?"

"Yeah, it's me. Why aren't you in school today?"

Suddenly my palms felt widely and I looked around widely, not knowing what to say. I didn't want to lie to Mr. Heywood, but there was no way I could tell the truth!

"I just don't feel well, but I've got to go now, bye!" I said in a rush before pulling the phone away and snapping my phone shut.

My heart was pounding as I stood stock-still, feeling embarrassed again. Why did I hang up so quickly? I hadn't even said goodbye to Lance, who was the one who called me in the first place... Wait. How could Lance have called? He didn't have his phone.

Flipping open my phone again, I meant to check my recent calls but my eyes widened surprise when they landed on my phone's background. Instead of Mr. Heywood making a funny face like it was before, it was something else. Mr. Heywood was still there, but now he was in a suit, and he was raising an eyebrow and holding up his phone. I could just barely make out the picture of myself making a funny face on his phone. My face heated up as I quickly hit the menu button. When had Mr. Heywood got a chance to change my background?

My recent calls showed that Lance had used Mr. Heywood's phone to call me. I frowned, feeling bad for hanging up now. Clicking on his name, I started a text message and quickly wrote an apology for hanging up. I hit send and quickly stuffed my phone in my pocket.

Not even a minute later my phone buzzed in my pocket. After a brief moment of hesitation I pulled it open and read the text message from Mr. Heywood.

We need to talk.

I read his message over in my head a few times. For a moment I panicked, thinking something was wrong. But there couldn't be. I didn't do anything, nor did he. Anyway, he was right. We did need to talk... I hit the reply button and wrote out an agreement before tossing the phone onto the couch.

I could really use a long, warm shower.

Time passed as I curled up on my couch with a book when I was done showering. When my stomach started to rumble, I decided it was time to get something to eat. Going back downstairs, I passed the living room, glancing quickly at the couch where my phone still lay. I'd check it after I ate.

After a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup I trudged to the couch and picked up my phone. One new text message. I opened it; already knowing it was from Mr. Heywood.

Are you going to the festival tonight? Maybe I'll see you.

My brows furrowed in confusion. Did I tell Mr. Heywood I was going to the festival? I couldn't remember. When I clicked reply, I noticed that it was not Mr. Heywood's number who sent the text message. It was Lance's.

Instantly my heart beat increased and I gripped the phone harder. What did Shawn mean by that? Was he going to the festival too? Was he going to try something? Suddenly I felt sick. I collapsed onto the couch, staring dumbly at my phone. Should I tell someone? Or was Shawn just trying to mess with me?

After a few moments of indecision I finally snapped my phone shut. Shawn was just trying to play games. Why would he try something right after one of his followers was thrown in jail? It was too risky. If I didn't reply to his messages, he'd eventually figure out I wasn't going to play along. Smiling, I turned on the television. I had nothing to worry about... And yet, the worry was still there. It was a knot in my stomach, an increase of my pulse, a whispering voice in my head...

Seven o'clock really needed to come faster. I needed to have fun and take my mind of things.

Five knocks on my front door made me jump violently; dropping the book I had started up again to waste time after I finished getting myself ready for the festival. I quickly grabbed my bag and headed to the door, opening it to reveal Lance grinning at me. He quickly pulled me into a hug and I laughed.

"Excited much?"

"Hey, you try sitting in a hospital for nearly three weeks. It's awful," Lance retorted, nudging me in the side with his elbow. "Let's go. Casey's already in the car."

Lance started down my driveway as I quickly locked and shut my front door. Casey grinned at me as I approached the car, waving from the back seat. I walked around to the other side of the car and climbed in the back with her as Lance slid into the driver's seat.

"You're not sitting up front?" Lance asked, looking at me through the rear-view. "Great. Now I feel like a chauffeur."

"Technically you are," Casey pointed out.

Lance rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Put your seat belts on."

I did as Lance commanded and snapped my buckle. He pulled out of my drive way and onto the main road, heading towards the fair grounds. Casey continued to grin at me as the three of us sat in silence in the car.

"What?" I finally asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Nothing," she responded, still grinning. "Nothing, nothing!"

I pursed my lips at her. "Obviously it's something, otherwise you wouldn't be grinning like an idiot."

Casey laughed. "I'm just thinking. That's all."

"Oh, that's new," Lance joked from the front. "I'm proud of you, Case."

"Shut up, Lance," Casey said, rolling her eyes. "I'll have you know I'm smart."

"Really?"

"Smarter than a person who gets himself shot by gang members," Casey snapped, a smug smirk appearing on her face. "You can't deny that."

Lance and I quickly exchanged apprehensive looks. Unfortunately, Casey caught it. Her smirk fell, and was replaced by a frown.

"There was a reason why Lance was attacked, wasn't there?"

My eyes shot open, and so did Lance's. Another look was passed between us, once again caught by Casey, who narrowed her eyes. "Tell me," she demanded.

"Dime," I joked.

She didn't think it was funny.

"It's nothing," Lance assured her, his eyes flicking to her for a split-second before returning to the road. "It was purely- Holy shit!"

Suddenly I was flung against the door and my head made contact with the hard, glass window. A small groan of pain escaped my lips as I pushed myself away from it. There was the blaring of a horn, the squeal of tires, and constant swearing from Lance. It felt like we were spinning, but I didn't have the courage to look out the window to find out for sure.

"Lance!" Casey screamed, pushing forward in her seat. "Go forwards! Go forwards! Car!"

I turned to look at Casey and my eyes flew wide when I realized there was a large, black truck heading straight for us. Lance slammed on the gas pedal and I was jolted back in my seat, gasping in surprise. The truck missed us by inches. Casey and I let out relieved sighs, but those were caught off when we were suddenly jerked forward and our seatbelts dug into our chest. I heard the engine cut off.

"What... the hell happened?" I demanded, falling back against my seat. "Lance?"

Lance turned around in seat, looking worried. "Are you guys okay?"

"I'm okay," Casey said shakily.

"What happened?" I repeated.

Lance shook his head. "Some asshole switched lanes at the very last second, cutting me off... Hey! They're coming up behind us now. When did they get there?"

Lance was looking behind me and I turned around to see a small, black car creeping up behind us. It was going slow, and looked like it was going to stop.

"Maybe they're going to apologize?" Casey guessed.

"Doubt it."

The car grew closer and I squinted my eyes to try and make out the driver, but it was to no avail. I turned back to Lance, who was frowning slightly, his eyes narrowed at the car. When I turned back, I realized the car was now next to us, and stopped. The window stated to roll down and horror filled my veins when I realized who was in the car that nearly made us crash.

"Lance," I whispered, unable to draw my eyes away from Shawn, who was smirking and gesturing for us to roll down the window.

Casey leaned across me, attempting to reach for the window control button. "He wants us to open-"

"No!" I cried, quickly slapping her hand away. "Lance, drive!"

"On it!" he responded, turning back around in his seat.

A smirk slipped onto Shawn's face as his attention went from me, to Casey. Casey smiled at him. It took all my will not to shove Casey away and flip off Shawn. Right now wasn't the time to make Casey suspicious. But I had the feeling she was anyway.

There was a roar from the car's engine, and soon we were speeding away from Shawn's car. I turned around quickly to see if he was following us. Luckily, he wasn't. I breathed out a sigh of relief, slumping back into my seat.

"What's he doing here?" Lance hissed, glancing at me through the mirror.

"Who's he?" Casey asked.

"No one," I told her. "And I don't know!"

Casey rolled her eyes. "He's obviously someone."

"Forget about him."

"Holly."

"Casey, please."

"Why are you keeping a secret from me?" She asked, pursing her lips at me and frowned.

I knew at once she was trying to play the guilt game. However, I couldn't blame her. If she and Lance were keeping a secret from me, I'd want to know too. But this was the kind of secret that could end up saving her life if something were to happen. Still, I did feel guilty about having to lie to her. She was my best friend...

"Okay," Lance sighed from the front. "Since Holly won't tell you, I will."

"Lance!"

"Holly, it's fine. Casey should know."

"But..." I protested, trailing off with a frown.

Casey turned to Lance, looking curious. "Did you know that guy?"

Lance nodded. "Awhile ago, he was following Holly around."

What? I gave Lance a confused look, but he ignored me. Casey blinked at Lance in confusion.

"Like a stalker?" she asked.

"Not like a stalker, a stalker," he told her. "And that's it. That's how we know him."

"Creepy," Casey muttered, glancing at me. "How come you didn't tell me about your stalker? I could have helped."

"It was, um, not a big deal," I told her, shrugging. "Next time I can tell you."

Casey laughed. "Hopefully there won't be a next time."

"Hopefully," I agreed, looking at Lance once again.

Why was he lying so flat out to Casey? Sure, it was better than telling the truth, but that lie was a bit much. I felt worse about lying to her now than before. But we couldn't tell her about the gangs! I was positive it'd put her in danger. Letting out a sigh, I shook my head. For now, I'd just stop thinking about it. Casey bought the lie, so she'd be satisfied.

"Well, if he bothers you again, you can tell Mr. Heywood," Casey suggested, nudging me in the ribs. "Eh?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Again with Mr. Heywood?"

Casey snorted. "Please, Holly. I already know you're heels over head for him, and he's definitely got something for you. Don't try to tell me that something won't be going on."

"Don't be nosy," I scolded, feeling my face redden. "Nothing..." I trailed off, frowning slightly.

What was going on? Sure, I professed my love for him a week ago, and last night he made it obvious he loved me. But that was it. Nothing else had happened. I wasn't his girlfriend or anything like that.

"She's not being nosy, Holly," Lance commented, rolling his eyes. "She's being concerned."

I glanced at Casey. To my surprise, she looked hurt by my comment.

"Casey, I'm not trying to be mean..."

"I know," she responded with a sigh. "You don't have to tell me anything. I just thought you'd want a girl to talk to about, you know, things you wouldn't want to Lance about. Things that were bothering you, or things you wanted to get off your chest. Mr. Heywood is a teacher after all, so I'm sure there's some kind of trouble you're feeling. But like I said, you don't have to."

I smiled slightly. Leave it to Casey to care about something she shouldn't have to. "Casey, you're my best friend-"

"And as your best friend, I can wait until you're ready to tell me about you and Mr. Heywood," she finished for me. "I'll stop prying."

"Casey, it's fine-"

She held her hand up, silencing me. "Nope. Don't say anything. I am being kind of nosy."

"But that's why we love you," Lance interjected. "Your nosiness comes in handy sometimes."

Casey grinned at him. "I hope so."

Lance suddenly took a sharp right, once again sending me into the window. "Hey," I protested, pushing myself away. "That hurts..."

"Sorry," he apologized, sounding amused. "I almost missed the entrance to the fair grounds."

I peered out the window and realized that we were indeed at the fair grounds. The only thing I could see though was the back of a fun house, and the lights of various rides in the distance. A smile crept onto my face as I located the Ferris wheel. The very same one Mr. Heywood and I had our first major conversation, even though now I knew he was lying the whole time...

"I can't wait to get some cotton candy," Casey chirped excitedly, unbuckling her seatbelt in anticipation.

"I want a baked potato," Lance and I commented at the same time. We exchanged looks and grins in the mirror quickly.

When Lance finally found a place to park, we all piled out of the car and he locked it, shoving the keys into his pocket. Cool air nipped at my face as I stretched, pausing to run my sore forehead. Lance and Casey went ahead of me, laughing and talking in excited voices. Pulling my jacket tighter around me, I took a few steps towards them but stopped when my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I quickly pulled it out and flipped it open, clicking the new message.

Oh, you finally made it. I didn't realize how much further ahead of you I got. Can't wait to talk to you in person!

I froze, my eyes staring at the message on the cell phone screen. The name next to the message read "Lance". Which meant Shawn. Which meant he could see me. Which meant he was close. Which meant I was in danger.

My head snapped up and I quickly spun in a circle, my eyes wide and wary. Where was he? Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. But then again, it was dark, so he could very easily be hidden. Instead of standing still like sitting target, I hurried towards Lance and Casey. The bright lights and crowds from the festival would keep me safe. Shawn wouldn't try anything while there were so many people around, would me?

For a split second I thought about texting Mr. Heywood and telling him Shawn was here. That idea was out of the question when I realized he might call the police. That was the last thing I wanted him to do. What about Jeremy? No, he'd probably tell Mr. Heywood anyway. I just had to be cautious, and never leave Lance or Casey.

"How much does it cost to get it?" I heard Casey asking Lance as I grew closer.

"Five."

The feeling of being watched suddenly washed over me. Great, I thought dryly, now I was going to be paranoid all night. Stupid Shawn. He had to ruin all my fun. I finally caught up to Lance and Casey at the gate, and paid for my admission into the festival. I hooked my arm through Casey's arm and Lance's- a sure fire way that we wouldn't get separated.

"Where to first?" I asked cheerily, trying to get my mind of Shawn.

"Should we just walk around and see what there is?" Lance suggested.

"Sounds good to me."

A familiar buzzing from my pocket made my heart leap into my chest. I debated on whether to ignore the new message or not, but curiosity got the best of me and I let go of Lance to pull out my phone. What did Shawn want now?

Don't make any plans for tomorrow. You and I are going to talk.

My eyes narrowed in confusion. What was Shawn talking about now? If he wanted to talk, wouldn't he just demand to do it tonight since he seemed to be here anywhere?

"Oh, so you text Mr. Heywood now too?" Casey asked me, making me jump in surprise. "And you're meeting tomorrow?"

I glanced at the top of the message and realized that it was indeed from Mr. Heywood and not Shawn. Relief washed through me, and I didn't even feel embarrassed about the fact Casey had read the text message, and Mr. Heywood wanted to see me tomorrow.

"Oh shoot," Casey suddenly muttered. "I'm prying..."

I laughed. "Casey! Don't worry. It's fine. I'll tell you what's going on when I know exactly what's going on."

"So something could be going on?" Casey and Lance asked at the same time.

I gave Lance a questioning look. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious about how things will turn out," he told me with a shrug. "Good for you."

Now I blushed. "It's not... It's..."

Casey laughed, slinging an arm around my shoulder. "Holly, you're too cute."

I sighed as a large crowd of people walked by us. Lance grabbed my hand quickly so he wouldn't be separated. There were a lot of people out tonight, which made me feel much more safer. I could easily lose Shawn in the gaggles of people easily if I had to, or if I screamed someone would hear me...

But nothing is going to happen, I told my self firmly.

Right?

Right.

My phone vibrated again, and I rolled my eyes.

"You're popular tonight," Casey commented.

"Guess so."

I quickly typed an "okay" to Mr. Heywood and closed his message before going to the next one. My heart skipped a beat when I realized it was from Shawn. He wouldn't leave me alone, would he?

If you think you can lose me in the crowds, you're wrong. I can still see you.

I nearly dropped my phone.

It was going to be one, long, paranoid night.

_____________________________

No Mr. Heywood in this chapter! Sorry, but I have to involve the gang more so everyone will be prepared for the awesome finale :} That won't be coming up for quite a few chapters, but we need the gang back in the picture.

Thank you for all the feedback last chapter! My mind was /blown/. I've never seen so many votes or comments, and APR was number 6 on What's Hot :o Now I just wish you guys were like that for every chapter xD

One moreee thing! If you haven't already checked it out, I'm holding a contest for APR. So make sure you check it out! It's got a separate post on my profile, so just click my user name and go to my works and click "APR contest"

Join my facebook page. Do it. :3 Link in external link!