^ listen to our angel (Madison Beer, casted as Bria) ^

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H o l l o w s I n
T I M E
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I stared at her. Her eyes flickered over to mine, and the moment they met mine, they filled with tears. A large grin overtook her features and she stifled a laugh. She pulled me in for a tight embrace. I was limp in her arms. I couldn't help it. The last time I had seen her, she failed to save my life. But isn't that just the same with Jameson?

Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm just blaming people I shouldn't be blaming. Maybe I'm getting distracted.

She pulled away but held me at arms length. Then, she grasped onto my left hand and turned me around, closing the door behind her.

I couldn't form words. She was the embodiment of a past I could no longer reach. But she was still my best friend. And I couldn't deny that.

Then Jameson decided to make an entrance.

"Hey, Sky, if Harry is here then–" he froze when he saw that it was not Harry who accompanied me. Jameson's eyes remained on her longer than I thought necessary. So I deemed that moment the right to time to introduce the two pillars of my life, both past and present, to each other.

"Jameson," he looked over at me. "This is Alexi." I told him, but he just stared at her.

"Alexi," neither of them broke their eye contact. "This is Jameson." They didn't say anything.

"Now onto more pressing matters," I said, seeming to draw Alexi out of her trance. "Why the hell are you here?" Alexi laughed as she turned to face me, then her laughter halted. She stared at something behind me.

"Have you cut your hair, Sky-High?" She asked, fingering the shortened locks of hair.

"Yes. But that wasn't the pressing matter I was talking about." I remarked. Alexi held up her hands in surrender, then shoved them in her jean pockets.

"That's not important right now." She said, glancing over at Jameson and holding the gaze for a moment too long. Then her eyes flitted back to mine, and she flashed me a wide grin. "I just want us to have some friend time. I've missed you, Bug." She spoke, her eyes glossing over.

I threw a wink her way, as if slipping into old habits. As if we had never been torn apart. "You too, About." I teased tauntingly.

Alexi made a face. "Let's stop insulting each other's surnames on this glorious day of reunion." She threw her hands up in the air and I laughed, then pulled her in for a tight embrace. Her fingers weaved through my blonde hair, whilst my face was cloaked in her thick, almost black, cascading waves. I'll tell you only once, and it can't be forgotten, Alexi Abbot wins the most beautiful friend award.

"I'm so sorry about what happened–" Alexi whispered into my ear.

"–it's fine." I interrupted. "It's all okay now." I squeezed her tight, tears dropping from my eyes as I realised that what I told her was a lie.

She stared at me for a while, just watching the tears fall. Then tears of her own formed in her eyes. I frowned, trying to pinpoint the moment she grew upset, and why.

"Sky," she began, looking more scared than I had ever seen her look. Terror is not something Lexi knows. Except for that one day. March twenty-eighth, last year.

Then I knew why she was scared. She was scared to see what damage she had caused when she failed to save me. I didn't know how to tell her that it wasn't her fault, so I just waited for her to continue.

"That day–" she gulped. Tears fell. I watched them with sorrow. Alexi never really cried. She grew out of it the way that a normal child grows out of toys. It was weird to see, but it happened. She was the strongest person I had known until I came to the Academy—inside and out. I thanked God everyday that I had her sane brain to protect me—even if it was just from pointless bullies back home at school.

"I am so sorry, Sky." Her body shook as she cried. I thought about pulling her into an embrace. But my muscles didn't cooperate.

"I tried. But I should've tried harder." Her eyes flickered over to someone behind me and then she held her head in her hands and cried carelessly.

"Hey," I soothed, "it wasn't your fault, what could you have done?" I asked. And it really wasn't her fault. The Guardians who, actually weren't, on the perimeter should've helped. Or the police. Not a seventeen year old girl, who may be strong, just not strong enough for this kind of matter. She isn't a Guardian. Or a police officer. She couldn't have helped even if she tried. The odds were stacked against her.

"No," she shook her head and wiped tears away, "you don't understand." She told me, albeit muffled by her hands.

"Why don't I understand?" I asked, and watched Alexi freeze. I frowned, watching her hands freeze over her mouth as her eyes flitted around the room.

Her eyes found Jameson's. And they seemed to silently ask a question. I looked between the two before realising that the attempt was futile since neither of them were speaking. Jameson must be deciphering her unspoken words by using his Guardian skills, and Alexi—she's good at reading people.

"I–" She began, but her voice crumbled out awfully. I watched her with confusion; she'd never behaved like this before. What is wrong? Could it be the guilt of her part in what had happened to me? It couldn't be. One, there was nothing she could do. Two, she has no idea what has happened to me. She doesn't know if it was bad—or if it was an absolutely calamitous atrocity. Not knowing what happened to me affects the amount of guilt she experiences—so why does it seem like she feels more worry than she should do?

"I can explain later." She told me. I furrowed my brows.

"Why not now?" I asked curiously.

Lexi laughed, "Well, because we've only just caught up with each other—let's settle down and then continue." I narrowed my eyes at her. She held my gaze unwaveringly.

"Are you trying to avoid the subject?" I asked pointedly as Jameson edged away quietly and slipped into his room.

"No." Lexi responded adamantly as Jameson began to shut the door, "Why would I–" but she cut herself off as she spotted something in Jameson's room. She leaned around my shoulder and peered in.

"What's that?" She asked, and I followed her gaze to see that she had spotted the map and investigation board. Well, if she didn't know what happened when I was abducted, she was sure to know now.

"Nothing." I told her quickly, flashing Jameson a look of uncertainty.

"Oh, really?" Alexi laughed, trying to peer around my body. I stepped in the way of her view. She can't know what happened to me. I wouldn't let the guilt destroy her. It wasn't her fault. But I knew all too well that she'd take the blame.

"Because it looks like a–" At that moment, someone decided it would be a great idea to interrupt our meeting.

"That must be Harry." Jameson announced. Alexi stayed suddenly silent as Jameson pulled open the door.

"Hey, man." Harry breathed as he walked through the threshold, papers slipping out of various folders that he held in his grasp.

"It took me a long time to get these, and then I had to get out of the–" Harry froze as his eyes noticed Alexi. I frowned, glancing between the two of them, trying to understand what was happening. Silence fell as Harry audibly took in a breath, but Alexi stood unnervingly still, not reacting to Harry's presence as obviously.

Silence rushed over us like waves in a steady ocean that was getting angrier and angrier. Soon, the silence was overwhelming, and I felt as if I was drowning under the thick cloak of it.

Then, Harry's lips parted, he took in a breath, and then let it out. I watched with a burning anticipation to find out what he would say to break the strong current of silence.

He blinked.

"Lex?"

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"..."

"Benjamin?"

WHO THE F BENJAMIN MY BRAIN HURTS

–y'all bc this book gets more confusing by the minute

Who else guessed it was Alexi 🙋🏼

Idk why I did that emoji as if I guessed myself like

Wouldn't I already no

-know

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Next update: tomorrow, of course
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CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN SPOILER:

Ah, unexpected it was, that Alexi Abbot was the mystery we were all waiting for.