(unedited)

Just tell me you've found,

A way to stop believing.

Everything you say is a lie,

You keep yourself so tightly wound,

It's about time you break.

"I Keep My Secrets Safe" -Saosin

When Ashton burst into Skylar's room, Nathan was already there, talking to one of the doctors.

"What happened?" Ashton demanded. The doctor glanced at him, but then Nathan said something, drawing him back into the conversation. As Ashton walked to Skylar, Nathan shot him a look that clearly said 'be patient'. I hovered awkward by the door, unsure of what to do.

A couple minutes later, Nathan dismissed the doctor. "You brought Elena," was the first thing he said once we were alone.

"She was with me when you called," Ashton said. Nathan smirked, his eyebrow arching a little, but he didn't comment. Ashton glared at his brother. "What happened?" he repeated.

Nathan ignored him, turning to me. "Hi Elena, how are you?"

I bit back a smile as Ashton growled. "I'm good, Nathan, you?"

He shrugged. "Been better. How was dinner?"

"Nate," Ashton ground out through gritted teeth.

This made Nathan sober up. "Someone came into her room and injected her with Methanonel. Near-lethal does," he explained.

Ashton stiffened. "How?"

Nathan shrugged. "They don't know."

"It's private access," Ashton said.

"I know," Nathan replied.

"The list of approved people isn't long. Me. You. Keira. Vanessa. Jacen. Skylar's parents. Cameron." Mr. Sullivan. But Daniel, Skylar's supposed boyfriend, wasn't on there.

"They think the person snuck in."

"There are cameras," Ashton pointed out.

"They didn't catch anything strange," Nathan admitted.

This caused Ashton to pause. "Unless," he said. "That person didn't need to sneak in. They could've been let in." It didn't take long to figure out what he was saying.

He thought one of his friends had done it.

Nathan realized it at the same time as I did, and froze. Then he glanced at me. "Uh, Elena...Could you check the waiting room to see if anyone else is here for Skylar? I think it's three people at a time." I rolled my eyes at the blatant lie, but didn't call him out on it. Nice as Nathan was, subtlety definitely wasn't one of his strengths.

"He means get out," Ashton said bluntly when I didn't move.

I blinked. I think I preferred Nathan's horrid attempt at being subtle over Ashton's insensitive bluntness.

Nathan groaned, slapping a hand against his forehead. "Don't be rude, Ash," he scolded.

"Don't be soft, Nate," Ashton retorted, but there was no fire in his tone.

"Out of curiosity," I said, drawing their attention to me. "Who's the older twin?"

Nathan exchanged a glance with his brother, shrugged, then raised a hand. "Me."

I nodded. "It shows." Then without waiting for a response, walked out. As I closed the door -might as well spare them the effort- I heard an enraged 'hey!' which made me grin. Took him long enough.

I started to walk away, then froze at the sound of voices. They were talking- and I could hear them. I thought the hospital rooms would be somewhat soundproof but clearly not.

To listen or to not listen?

Curiosity won out. I would probably feel guilt later, but for now, I was content with pressing an ear against the door, straining to hear more than quiet murmurs.

I was a horrible person, I know, Raine, Devon, Kaden and even Shawn had all reprimanded me for eavesdropped, but I couldn't help it. Okay, I could, but I didn't want to. The Elite made me curious, especially about what happened behind closed doors. And with them being who they were, I really didn't want any surprises.

"-think it's one of them?" Nathan was saying.

Someone sighed. Ashton, I think. I had heard him do it enough to recognize it, which was pretty sad. "I don't know."

"They're out friends." For the first time since I had met him, Nathan's voice was hard as steel.

No reply.

Another sigh. Nathan, this time, I think. "Talk to me, Ash."

A moment of silence.

"Who would try to kill Skylar?" Ashton actually sounded... Vulnerable. Lost, frustrated, confused, uncertain. So unlike his typical low, confident tone.

"I don't know." Another sigh from Nathan. "Maybe this has nothing to do with us. The Blaire's have a lot of enemies."

A snort. Probably Ashton. "And it just happened to happen in the same week she was pushed down the stairs?"

"That could've been an atte-"

"Elena's note," Ashton said, reminded both me and his brother of the slip of paper I'd love nothing more than to forget about. But I couldn't. Forgetting, or ignoring, depending on how you looked at it, meant being unprepared and the threat was serious enough that I didn't want to be unprepared.

"That could've been just for Elena."

"And they chose to use Skylar Blaire to deliver the message?"

Nathan groaned. "I can't win with you."

This seemed to cheer Ashton up a bit. "I don't why you try anymore," he teased.

I didn't hear what they said next, because a familiar voice distracted me. "Eavesdropping, Elena?" Keira asked. I had been focusing on Ashton and Nathan so much that I hadn't even heard her approach. She didn't look angry, though, more amused than anything. It seemed like Keira Winston was always either bored, or amused.

Should I deny it?

I shrugged. "They never said I couldn't listen."

A small smirk flashed across her face, but it was gone so fast I almost though I had imagined it. "I think there's someone hear for you in the waiting room."

What? I hadn't told anyone I was at the hospital. The people who knew where I was -Ashton, Nathan and now Keira- were already here. Before I could ask who it was, Keira walked into Skylar's room, causing me to duck so Nathan and Ashton wouldn't see me.

I headed to the waiting room, not just because of what Keira said, but also because there would be no point in sticking around. I wasn't sure if Keira would tell the guys I had been eavesdropping, but even if she didn't, she'd probably be more careful about what she let them say, since she knew I might be listening.

I was expecting to see Raine, or Kaden, or Devon, but they weren't there. In fact, there wasn't anyone I recog- Jenna. She was sitting in the corner, playing a game on her phone, I think. Except I doubt she was here for me, like Keira said.

Either Keira had lied, and this was a coincidence, or she had known I had been talking to Jenna recently. And since it was Keira Winston, both were about equally likely.

"Jenna?" I sat down across from her.

"Hey Elena," she said, glancing up briefly. "I'm starting to think you stalk me.

"I'm here for a friend," I replied. "You?"

She pocketed her phone. "Getting my legs checked."

"Everything okay?" It was a little strange, making small talk with Jenna. Our conversations before had been about the Elite, or the message she had left me. The message she still hadn't explained.

"Yeah, I think." She paused. "But I'm doing dance auditions for university soon, so I don't want any surprises."

Why would she come to the hospital, though? And not a specialized clinic? Or hire a professional to go to her house? Anyone who went to Blaire Academy would definitely have enough money to do so.

I didn't ask that, though, even I knew it was rude. Besides, even if I had wanted to, I didn't get the chance. Jenna's eyes moved to something over my shoulder and she stiffened.

I felt the faint sensation of a warm breath brushing the back of my neck, and I could guess who it was even before he spoke. "Elena," Ashton said.

I didn't turn around.

"Elena," he called again, a little louder this time. I sighed. Evidently, he wouldn't get the hint and go away so I could ask Jenna about the message.

"Sorry, just give me a sec," I told Jenna.

"No problem," she replied. I blinked. Her tone was completely different from before. It was colder, harder, sharper. All because of Ashton?

I stood up, allowing Ashton to lead me down an empty hall. If Keira had told him and Nathan about my eavesdropping, he didn't say it, or show it.

"Why are you talking to her?" he demanded, stopped once the waiting room was out of sight.

I blinked. "Her name's Jenna."

"I know who she is." I wasn't sure whether or not I was really surprised. On one hand, Jacen knew her. On the other hand, this was Ashton.

"She goes to our school."

"A lot of people go to our school, Elena," he said flatly. "Why are you talking to her?"

"Why can't I?" I replied.

He scowled. "Don't answer my question with a question."

"You do it all the time," I shot back. "Why can't' I talk to Jenna?"

"She hates us." Another flat response. Another half-surprised. I had guessed that Jenna was either obsessed with them, or she loathed them. So it was the latter, then.

I rolled my eyes. "Is that a crime?"

"You shouldn't believe anything she says."

I narrowed my eyes. What the hell? What had Jenna done to get so much attention from the Elite? Was it really just because she hated them? Were they actually that conceited? I narrowed my eyes. "Just because she hates you?"

"You don't know everything, Elena." His tone was sharper now. Harsh. "Don't pretend you do."

"Are you willing to explain it to me?" I already knew his response.

His jaw worked. "No."

"Then don't expect me to follow everything you say," I said. "Now, I'm going to go continue the lovely conversation I was having with Jenna before you so rudely interrupted." Without waiting for a response, I whirled around and stomped back to the waiting room.

Except, when I got there, Jenna was gone.

♡ the trouble with love ♡

I didn't let Ashton drive me home.

Instead, I made him take me to the restaurant, where my car was, and drove myself home. Ashton Sinclair driving me home would provoke questions from Raine and Kaden and I wasn't in the mood to answer them.

It turned out to be a good choice. As I was waiting for the garage's automatic doors to open, I saw the curtain move, a flash of light creeping outside. I wasn't surprised.

Raine and Kaden were pretty easy going, as parents, but leaving the way I had -hurriedly, with no explanation- had probably aroused some suspicion. But strangely enough, they didn't ask me any questions when I walked on. Or maybe I had left too fast for them to do so.

I was itching to find out what I could about Jenna and the Elite. Google probably wouldn't give me much, but it was worth a shot. Booting up my laptop seemed to take longer than usual.

The results were disappointing.

Jenna's family wasn't very well known, so there wasn't much media coverage on them. They owned a common brand of chocolates and sweets, but that was it. Her Facebook page hadn't been used in over three years. It had barely been used at all- she had friended one person.

Her sister.

Her missing, presumed dead sister.

Curiosity made me click the image of Olivia's smiling face.

Despite the fact that she was missing, her page has been used more recently than her sister's. Not surprising, considering Olivia had always been the more outgoing one, at least at school.

I scrolled through her photos, grimacing a little. She was the kind of person who took, and posted an extensive amount of selfies. Her page probably wouldn't give me answer, not that I had really expect any. Just as I was about to close the window, one of her pictures caught my eye.

I clicked on it. It was dated back to last March. She had disappeared eight months ago. I counted back; it was just a month after she had taken this picture.

She had taken it in a bathroom, using the mirror. She was in a red bikini, her hair tied back in a loose ponytail. That hadn't been what had caught my eye, though. It was the bathroom itself. Pale, pink, porcelain. Vanessa's.

Olivia had been hanging out with the Elite just a month before she disappeared.

-- ♡ --

Nathan --->

Teaser: "Don't forget this is a game, Elena," she said.

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