^ the beautiful Mel ;) ^

"So many times, I've been so close. In fact, sometimes I could feel your fingertips. But maybe I was just dreaming."
—Twas me
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H o l l o w s   I n
T    I    M    E
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The answer, of course, like any big life decision, was in my pocket. For it held two glossy tickets to the Crystal Ball, and then soon after, the New Years Ball.

I grinned at Cassie before standing up. "Well, it looks like the time has come; it's dinner time." I said, watching the girls give me eye rolls or grunts.

Saph jumped up, "Enjoy your meal." She told me with a wink. I shoved her playfully in response and she laughed.

Avery approached me next, "Good luck," she said before she pulled me into a hug. "And don't get food poisoning." She gave me a stern look as we pulled away. I shook my head at her but still held my smile. It was hard not to.

We all looked to Cassie, waiting for her farewell and luck. She smiled at me. "You're Sky Forest."

We all laughed. "That is so encouraging." I told her through the laughter.

We exchanged more hugs and farewells before I opened the dorm door, ready to depart when I walked straight into someone.

I took an involuntary step backwards in surprise. "Kim," I said, a grin on my face. She smiled and gave me a short wave, but that wasn't what confused me, it was the person next to her. "..and Mel." The girl gave me a sly smile, her eyes shining under the corridor lights.

"You didn't want to stay for dinner?" Kim asked once she put her dorm key back in her pocket.

I tore my gaze away from Mel and shook my head as I wore a sheepish smile. "No, I'm just going to eat with my Guardians." I told her and she let out a short laugh in response.

"I bet that's fun. You've earned yourself a fan club." She said. I laughed at her joke, but the laugh sounded more strangled than humoured, which earned me a strange look from Kim. Mel was putting me on edge, and I couldn't help but show it.

Alexi had showed her who was boss the other day, but I'm not Alexi, I can't do that kind of stuff. When it comes to good cop and bad cop, it's obvious who is who. Stereotypically, you'd find me selling rainbow stickers, and you'd see Lexi hijacking cars and motorbikes in her high-heeled stilettos that she complains hurts her feet but we all know she adores the way they make her feel.

I let out a physical breath, although the rambling had been mental. Calm down, Sky.

"Hey," Kim drew me back to reality, "are you okay?" She asked.

I tried to muster up my best 'everything's okay' face, but by the looks on their faces, I think I accidentally just brought out the 'I love Jesus' face.

I disregarded it quickly, trying to relax my face as much as possible. "I'm fine." I told her.

She frowned but didn't let it go. "Are you sure? Do you want me to walk you to your dorm?" She offered.

"Kim! I need your fingers!" Cassie yelled suddenly. Kim frowned and I chuckled.

Avery suddenly popped her head out into the hallway. "Her zip is stuck, and she insists that you should be the one to unzip it." She told Kim, and then she noticed me.

"Sky?" She asked, looking surprised. "I thought you were going–"

"–to eat dinner," Avery frowned at my interruption. "I was just leaving." I muttered to myself as Avery finally noticed Mel.

"Oh!" She said, grinning as she pulled her Guardian in for a hug. "Hey there." She said, earning an actual genuine smile from Mel.

More words were exchanged before Avery pulled Kim into the room, leaving me with only Mel's company as I turned to walk off.

"I really don't think you should walk back alone." Mel said.

With no ears to hear and no eyes to see, I spun around and threw her one of those 'I don't like you but I have no reason for that' glares. "Like I told Kim, I'm fine." I said, retreating backwards before rotating on my heel.

I started walking, but was pulled back my Mel as she grabbed onto my arm. I had no choice but to turn around and face her.

"Let me go." I commanded in my most deadly voice, which probably just sounded like a voice box malfunction to her.

"I don't think it's safe." She said, eyes narrowed to slits.

Trying to keep my cool was hard. But I tried it anyway. "Well, that's why I have two Guardians." I said, dialling the first Guardian that was in my contacts list.

I pressed the phone to my ear, listening to the call go through. I begged the Lord to force the receiver of my call to just pick up as Mel glared at my phone, as if she'd run my phone out of its battery before the person picked up.

"What, so you can sleep with both of them?" Mel responded to my earlier effort to try to seem calm and cool.

"Hey, Sky?" I couldn't answer the voice on the phone as I stared at Mel. My breathing became laboured.

"Sky?" I heard next, followed by a few taps against what sounded like her phone.

"Jonah and Owen made it clear that we would not work for Eden. But they never said that we had to keep her secrets." Mel told me, the threat clear in her tone. My heart started to pound in my chest.

"Sky, is that Mel?" I responded with a gulp.

"Sky?" I heard over multiple shuffles and bangs. I heard muffled talking on the other side of the call, but I was no longer concerned with it.

With all the courage that I could draw out, I lowered my shaking voice into an almost equalled threat. "Those aren't yours, or Eden's, secrets to tell."

Mel laughed. "Aw, the chicken squalls."

"Tell her that she's a cow, and I'm not a fan of animal cruelty, but we all do things that we don't like sometimes." Lexi's voice came through the speaker, although it was barely clear. I nearly laughed. But I was frozen in my spot.

"What's the slut saying?" Mel taunted, stepping closer to me.

"The slut thinks that her new label belongs to you." I didn't just hear the remark in my ear, but down the corridor too. Lexi stormed down the hall, ending the call as she approached Mel.

She came to a stop suddenly, as if she'd just walked into a glass door.

"Did she hurt you?" She asked, turning her body towards me but keeping her eyes on Mel.

"I didn't touch her pathetic–"

"–I wasn't talking to you." Lexi shot at her, making even me flinch as her deadly-toned voice shot off the walls of the corridor and pierced into our skins.

"No. I'm fine." I reassured Lexi, who spun around so that her body faced Mel. At her obvious attention change, a figure stepped in. Jameson. So I guess they'd figured out a Guarding dynamic after all.

"I thought I told you to stay away." Lexi threw at Mel, who sized Lexi up before deciding that she was worth the battle. And that was the worst decision she'll ever make.

Mel shrugged. "Some people just can't. It's nature." She said innocently, eyes flitting to the figure behind me.

Lexi scoffed, but swallowed anything she might say, that she'd regret. "I figured it out." She said.

Mel frowned, "What do you mean?" She asked, confused but keeping her defences up.

"I know what you did this summer." Mel's frown was struck off her face. I frowned, not understanding what was going on. Jameson took steps forward, so that I had a clear view of him.

"Or rather, who. And why." Mel broke out into laughter suddenly, surprising us all.

"And you just figured it out?" Mel asked, trying to belittle Lexi in her moment of weakness.

"Wait, what's going on?" I asked.

Lexi ignored me. In fact, everyone ignored me. "There was always one question that haunted me. How comes no one ever knew that Sky wasn't safe?" Hearing my name, I leaned in to hear the conversation, although I could hear it perfectly fine from where I already stood.

"I always knew there was a reason that went way past 'I just didn't know'—and when I heard the rumours that you ruffled your sheets, it was only a matter of time to know who with." Lexi's voice was laced with so much poison that it almost sounded rehearsed.

"Alexi." Jameson warned.

Lexi huffed. "Look, I'm on your side, partner, but I do love my best friend. So are you going to tell her or is she?" She demanded, jerking a finger in the direction of Mel.

I stepped forward. "What's going on?" I asked, feeling suddenly left out of a very unstable loop.

"Jameson?" I prompted, trying to get a better look of his face. He clenched his jaw.

"You heard that a girl purposely distracted me, so that I wouldn't save you." He said, not facing me. I readied myself for the absolute worst.

"And you asked who the girl was." I glanced at Lexi and Mel, seeing Mel roll her eyes briefly before I turned back to Jameson.

"It was Mel."

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Oh

Shit

He didn't ?!

Did he ??

He did.

Well then

If you enjoyed this chapter please read on though I'm guessing you all will anyway; that was some cliffhanger lmao 😂

-no one will read on

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Next update: Wednesday
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CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR SPOILER:

The heart wrenching moment
When you realise
It was never just you

And all the tears and explanations that come after that

THE FINAL CHAPTER IS:
19 chapters away