"We can destroy what we have written, but we cannot unwrite it."

~ Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

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Alice's P.O.V

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"I take it by your reaction that I've chosen the wrong time to drop by?" The dark-haired girl asks.
I shake my head. "No. No, I just didn't expect you to drop by."
"Yeah, I guess I should've told you that I'd be visiting but I wanted it to be a surprise," Jo tells me.
"Consider me surprised," I reply.
Jo shifts her weight from one leg to the other. "So... Can I come in?"

I shake my head, clearing my thoughts.
"No- Yes. I mean, of course, come on in," I reply, opening the door up wider.
Jo laughs. "You're more flustered than usual."
She plops down on the couch and dumps her backpack on the floor. "I'm assuming that your trip here didn't help?"

I sit down next to her. "Um, it did. Then it didn't."
She scrunches up her nose in confusion. "I have no idea what you just said."
I sigh. "It's complicated."
"Sounds like it-" she begins, but then stops smiling.
"What?"
"You've been crying," she states. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine," I lie. "I was just re-reading The Fault In Our Stars."
"Okay, now I know you're not okay."
"I am, I swear." I protest.
"No, you're definitely not alright," she states, looking serious. "You only talk about TFIOS when you're trying to cover up the real reason why you're crying."
"It's nothing. Seriously-"
"Alice," Jo interrupts. "What's wrong?"

"Why does something have to be wrong for me to want to cry?" I ask.
"Because in the two years that we've been friends I've never not seen you get defensive whenever you're upset about something. So, what's wrong?"
"Cassie's-"
"Alice, Ray, we've got a problem!" I hear Lewis shout.

The sound of his footfalls soon follow, and I hear him run down the stairs. "Alice-"
He stops at the base of the staircase when he sees his girlfriend. "Jo?"
"Hey, Lewis," Jo replies, casually waving her hand as if she does this often.
"What are you doing here?" He asks, shocked.
"Don't tell me you're not happy to see me, because that would be really awkward."

Lewis stumbles down the last step as he rushes to make his way to her. "No. Yes, I mean yes, I'm very happy to see you. I just wasn't expecting you to drop by."
"Well, what can I say?" Jo kisses Lewis on the cheek. "I missed my boyfriend."
Lewis smiles, giving her a hug. "And I missed you, too. I would've called you more often but Alice here" -he gestures towards me- "confiscated my phone."

I roll my eyes at his weak attempt to push the blame to me.
"Anyways, where are you staying?" Lewis asks, pulling away.
"Some inn near Granny's Diner, I can't remember the name of it though."
"I'd invite you to stay with us but we don't have any available rooms, unless you don't mind the couch?" He asks.

"Nah." Jo shakes her head. "The inn's only a ten minute's walk away, and I wouldn't want to intrude."
Lewis shakes his head fervently. "Oh, don't worry, you're not intruding."
"Okay, as much as I love seeing you guys talking in person again instead of on the phone, I think there's still a problem that Lewis hasn't told me about."
Lewis gives me a confused look. "What problem?"

I sigh. "The one you were going on about until you saw Jo and forgot your own name."
"Oh. Oh." His eyes widen. "That problem."
"Yeah, that problem. Care to tell me what it is?" I ask.
"Um, -ill -caped."
I fur row my eyebrows. "Come again?"
"Will 'caped," he repeats.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, sighing in annoyance. "That was less comprehensible than your first sentence."
Jo gives me a look. "You've been friends with him for, what, eleven years?"
"Give or take a few months."
"And you still can't understand his incoherent words?" She asks.
"Let's be honest, no-one can."

Jo lets out a sound that's a cross between amusement and agreement.
I turn back to face the boy. "Lewis, could you possibly repeat that?"
"Try to make sense this time," Jo adds.
"Will escaped," Lewis blurts out.
"He what?"
"What do you mean by "escaped"?" Jo asks, confused.
"I mean, he climbed out the window."

"We're on the second floor how did he" -I shake my head- "Never mind. It's Will, forget I said anything."
I run my hand through my hair. "What time do you think he left?"
"I'd say a little after five a.m because I felt a draft around five in the morning," Lewis says. "What do we do now?"
"Just give me a second to think," I reply, pacing in the tiny living room.

"I can stay back and look after the twins," Lewis offers.
"Aren't they old enough to be on their own?" Jo asks. "I mean, Asa's definitely mature enough to take care of himself and Isaac."
"In normal circumstances I would be comfortable with leaving the both of them alone, but with all that's happened recently-"
"What do you mean?" Jo asks. "What happened recently?"

Maybe Ray could look after the twins-
I shake my head, dismissing that thought. Ray would want to be one of the people who was looking for Will.
"Alice, what's going on?" Jo exclaims, jarring me from my thoughts.
I tune her out, focusing on the problem at hand.
Maybe I could take them with me when I talk to Tia?

I shake my head again. No, that wouldn't do.
"Alice!"
I jerk my head up at the sound of my name. It takes me half a second to register who called me and I turn my attention to Jo.
"Alice," she repeats. "Tell me what's going on."
"Jo, I promise I'll explain everything to you, but right now our main priority should be finding Will."

I turn to face Lewis, not waiting for Jo's reply. "Lewis wake Ray and the twins up. I'll take Jo with me to see Tia. Fill Ray in on what happened."
Lewis nods and proceeds to rush up the stairs. He stops half way up the staircase and turns to face me. "Wait, who's going to watch over the twins?"
I mull over all the possible options. "Would you be alright if the twins tagged along with you?"

"Yeah, that's okay with me," he replies. "I'll call you if I find him."
I throw on my jacket then grab my phone and keys. "Come on, Jo."
"Wait, what's wrong with Will? And where exactly are we going?" She asks, slinging her backpack onto her right shoulder.
I turn around to face her. "I'm going to introduce you to my friend, Tia."

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Ares's P.O.V

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Buzz.
I glance down at my phone, feeling it vibrate for the hundredth time in that hour. I look at my phone screen for a split second, then look back at the road once more.

Nine missed calls from Hestia at 1:00 a.m, 1:35 a.m, 1:42 a.m, 2:00 a.m and 2:24 a.m
Sixteen texts from Hestia at 3 a.m
Seven missed calls from Unknown Contact at 5:22 a.m.
Four texts from Unknown Contact at 5.25 a.m.

I furrow my eyebrows at the notification as I pass the "Welcome To Storybrooke" sign.
Unknown Contact?
I shake my head, clicking on the icon anyway. It's probably just a glitch.

Unknown Contact: I know about your contact.
Unknown Contact: They're coming here, aren't they?
Unknown Contact: We have to tell someone.
Unknown Contact: I don't care if you're against it.

What the hell?
I turn my attention back to the road as I pull into the parking lot. It's too bizarre to be by sent by a stranger and too detailed to be accidental. Which means that whoever sent this must've seen what I did or was a victim because no one else knows that I left town. I pull the keys out of the engine before I open the door, leaving it ajar so that the air can circulate.

I then grab my phone, my eyes scanning the Unknown Contact in case there's a possibility I might recognize the contact. Unfortunately, the number doesn't seem familiar to me and I'm left wondering who this mysterious person is. A few names pop into my head but I dismiss them as soon as I think of them.
"That's not possible anyway," I mumble. "All of them are either dead or incarcerated."

A part of me says that it's probably just a coincidence, but the logical side says that there's no such thing as coincidences.
What if the person who sent me this is a survivor?
I rake my hand through my hair, contemplating if it I should remain in the car until I figure out who this mystery person is or go back home to make sure Hestia's alright.

Speaking of which, Hestia is probably freaking out right now since I didn't come home last night, but it might just freak her out more if I came back looking like this. Although the bruises on my knuckles and face have faded, they're still quite obvious of you stare at me for a few seconds. If I go home like this she's going to freak out, but if I stay away she's probably going to call the sheriff station.

So, basically I'm screwed no matter what.
I groan at the thought, burying my face in my hands. All of this could've been avoided if I wasn't given the wrong information. The texts I received flash in my mind and I'm left wondering if I should grab Hestia and leave town. If they really know that we're here then she's not safe. None of us are.

But I can't leave town now, someone else knows and until I find out who that person is, I guess I'll have to stay here until they mess up and make themselves known or until I manage to figure out who they are. Either way, everything's either going to go downhill soon or is already going downhill. I had a backup plan, but not one in case things went drastically wrong.

Calm down, Ares. You can't concentrate with a cluttered mind.
I take a deep breath, clearing my thoughts. The way I see it I only have five options. Leave town with Hestia and hope this all blows out. Contact my friend and persuade him to help me. Look for the person who sent me those texts and shut him up. Go after the bastard in case he manages to persuade the others to come after me or stay here and keep Hestia from finding out about what I did.

I can cancel out the first two options because there's no way I'm leaving Hestia alone again and I can't contact my friend because the first time was risky enough. I might be able to figure out who the person who texted me is but there's a high chance that he used a burner phone so that's off the list. And I can't go after the bastard for the same reason why I can't leave Hestia alone.

Which leaves the last one. Stay put and keep this from Hestia. As much as I hate keeping things from her, it's the only way to keep her safe and to keep the others from finding out about us.
So it's settled then, I'll go back home and try not to get slapped by Hestia from not answering her calls.
I sit back up, then grab my backpack from the seat beside me.

I open up the zip and dump my phone inside, taking out my handgun immediately after I've kept my phone. I shove the gun into my back pocket and pull my jacket down so that it hides the shape of the gun. I scan my surroundings and wait until I'm sure that no one's in the parking lot before getting out of the car.

I make my way off the streets and onto the sidewalk as I sling my backpack over my left shoulder. The sound of another pair of shoes hitting the pavement almost makes me look back but I shake my head and continue walking. I pull my backpack higher up my shoulder, casually glancing behind me as I do so.
There's no on there.

I my shrug my shoulders, turning back to face my front.
That's strange. I thought I heard something.

I shake my head, blaming my paranoia. But the sound just keeps getting louder and louder. I look over my shoulder once more, but there's still no one there.
There's definitely someone tailing me.

I force myself to continue walking so as to not make it obvious that I know that someone is tailing me. I notice the path in front makes a sharp left which might help me. I can either give the guy the slip or double back and take him by surprise.

Definitely take him by surprise. I need answers.

I slip my hand into my back pocket and reaching for my gun as I approach the alley.

My fingertips barely graze the hilt of the gun when I feel someone grab me by the collar, pulling me into an abandoned building. I throw my elbow up, trying to jab my attacker in the throat so I'll have a chance to overpower him but he anticipates my blow and grabs my forearm before I manage to touch him. I make another attempt to get him off me but he stops me again.

I cry out when he shoves me against the wall, knocking the wind out of me. I shake my head, dazed. I try to get a glimpse of my attacker but the dim lighting prevents me from seeing anything and I'm forced to squint my eyes. All I can tell about him so far is that he's roughly of the same build as me and he towers over me by at few inches. And the fact that he managed to block my hits show that he's skilled in hand to hand combat.

I bring my knee up to get him off me, feeling satisfied when he groans, doubling over me in pain. But instead of letting go of me he just tightens his grip on my collar after regaining his composure.
"Stop it!" He snaps, annoyed.
Wait- I know that voice.
I

crane my head upwards, my eyes widening when I finally get a good look at my attacker.

"Will?"

-

You guys shouldn't even be surprised that I left another cliffhanger tbh. I've kinda gotten used to writing them ever since the ending of Pan's Game (sorry again about that) but it keeps things suspenseful, which is what I'm trying to do. I really liked the edit I made for this chapter. It makes me happy seeing an aesthetic that doesn't look awful unlike the last chapter.

Which kinda inspired me to make some edits for Alice and two other boys, you'll see them later. Anyways, what are you guys doing for Halloween? I'm going to an amusement park with my cousin. I'm going to be dressed as the female version of Nico Di Angelo (well, I'll try to wear something that he would wear) Well, that's all for this A/N, bye guys.

~ Alice xx

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Why do you think Will ambushed Ares?

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"She's the flowers. But she's also the rain. She's the beauty of day, but also the nights full of pain."

Will Christian Robertson

Ares Collins

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Vote, comment, rate, do whatever you want <3

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