(unedited)
Open up your skies,
Turn up your night.
To the speed of life,
Turn up your night.
Put your love in lights,
Turn up your night.
"Find You" -Zedd (ft. Matthew Koma & Miriam Bryant)
I should've known Jacen wouldn't give any more answers after that.
I was starting to think he and Ashton had some kind of limit on how many clear answers they could give at a time. Either that, or they were playing some kind of game to see who could leave me hanging on a cryptic remark the most.
Wouldn't be the first time the Elite played a game.
It has gone past a game, though.
It had stopped being a came when dead bodies came into the picture. It was way too fucked up to be called a game now.
"You okay?" A voice asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I looked across the table littered with various breakfast foods to see Nathan give me a concerned look. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." It wasn't a complete lie.
After Jacen has taken his biggest swig of alcohol yet, and basically turned incoherent, I had headed back to my room. But I hadn't been able to fall asleep. Jacen's words haunted me.
You're dead either way.
It wasn't like those four little words had a hundred vastly different meaning, but had he really meant it? Or has it simply been something he had said to make me worry, throw me off? If I could, through some strange turn of events, make Ashton fall in love with me, was it a pass out? Or did I really still end up six feet under the ground? I wasn't sure I could put it past the Elite -or whoever was going this- to create a game where they couldn't lose.
Hell, at this point I would've willingly believed they were three hundred year old vampires who sparkled in the sunlight. Minus the fact that I had already seen them in the sunlight. And while some of their fans glowed, there was definitely no glitter.
"You're quiet this morning," Vanessa remarked, nudging me lightly with her elbow.
"Headache," I replied. Also not a lie. My head did hurt a little from the sip I had taken from Jacen's bottle. But it was my thoughts keeping me silent, not the minimal hangover.
Keira glanced at me. "Would it happen to be liquor induced?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she gave me a slightly accusing look.
That was another thing. Jacen was noticeably absent from this morning's table. Probably hungover in bed from everything he had drunk last night.
"No," I lied, widening my eyes to look a little more innocent. "Just from lack of sleep, that's all."
Jacen stumbled into the room then, thankfully stalking the conversation. He headed straight for the coffee, then grabbed a plate and took a seat beside Skylar.
"What?" he snapped, finally noticing all of our eyes on him.
"That's it," Keira said. "I'm dumping all of your alcohol down the drain when we get home."
Jacen rolled his eyes, clearly not taking her seriously and scooped some bacon onto his plate. A stilled silence fell over the table until Vanessa finally decided to speak up after a couple awkward moments.
"So, we're going on the yacht after breakfast," she said.
"Yacht?" I repeated. I wasn't entirely sure why I was surprised. This was, after all, the Elite.
Skylar nodded. "Everyone else is usually up by eleven so we exchange presents on the yacht."
"Then we take the jet skis. Whichever you want," Vanessa added with a wide grin.
"I've never gone jet-skiing," I admitted. "Is it hard?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"Sky can show you everything, since she's been doing it the longest," Ashton told me, glancing at his best friend.
"I should go wake Dad up. He as a Skype meeting at ten-thirty," Vanessa interrupted, standing up. "After that we can go."
The rest of us finished breakfast, then headed upstairs to change and grab the presents. I was the second one ready since I had already changed before coming down for breakfast, so all I had to do was grab the bag containing the Elite's presents.
Shopping for the Elite had been hard. I didn't know them well enough for any sort of homemade or personal gift, and I wasn't sure about material goods since they probably had everything they wanted. For some of the presents that I had been really stuck on -Nathan, Jacen, Skylar- I had to go to Ashton or Vanessa for help. But I had managed to get them all something I thought -hoped- they might like.
Nathan was already in the foyer when I got downstairs, though he seemed distracted.
"You okay?" I asked, noting the small frown on his face.
He looked up. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"You seem annoyed," I said. He was tense, and it certainly looked like something was bothering him.
He shook his head. "Just 'Ness' dad."
"Again?" He had been bothered by her dad yesterday as well.
He shrugged. "He just gets on my nerves." He paused and glanced at me. "She just deserves better, you know. I watched her put up with this shit for years."
"You guys were best friends, right?" I asked. I knew Ashton and Skylar had been. They still were, though it didn't seem like Vanessa and Nathan had followed the same path. Evidently, Nathan still cared about her, and they talked, but they didn't seem close enough to be best friends.
He nodded, though the slight grimaced stayed on his face. "We grew apart after I started dating Keira, though."
Before I could reply, Vanessa walked in. "Hey guys," she said, flashing us a wide smile.
"How'd it go with your dad?" Nathan asked. He gave her an encouraging smile, even thought I had just listened to Nathan talk about how much he disliked Mr. Merrick.
So even Nathan Sinclair can be two-faced.
Vanessa frowned. "He wasn't there."
I tuned out on the conversation, briefly wondering if Nathan's dislike for Vanessa's dad and her family, in general, was somehow related to the case, but that didn't make sense. It wasn't about either of them, really. It revolved around Ashton more, since he was the one who was supposed to fall in love. Or get seduced. Whichever you wanted to call it.
The Elite had a lot of secrets, but I guess it didn't mean every single one of them matter right now, or was related to the case.
It took another couple minutes for everyone else to show up, then we were ready to go.
Though I had never gone jet-skiing before, it wasn't my first time on a yacht. The Merrick's yacht was huge, as expected. It was white and dark grey, with gold accents and lining. The name of the boat, Monica, was also on the side in gold letters.
It also sailed very smoothly. I didn't notice we had set out until we were a pretty long way from shore. Vanessa had dragged us all onto the main deck and made us sit in a circle to exchange presents.
I volunteered to go first, so I wouldn't end up following after someone who gave jet planes as presents. Just in case.
Keira gave me a flat look as I passed Jacen his present. "I don't need you encouraging his alcohol abuse, Elena."
I hadn't bothered trying to hide the shape of Jacen's present. I wanted him, and everyone else, to expect it to be liquor. Under Keira's watchful eye, Jacen opened his first. He glanced at the bottle, and what was wrapped around it, then rolled his eyes.
"Contrary to what you all believe, I'm not that much of an alcoholic," he said, pinching the recovering alcoholic pamphlet I had stolen from Devon's office between his thumb and forefinger as if it dripped acid.
I shrugged, grinning. Keira seemed more at ease now, and Vanessa, Skylar, and even Ashton had little smiles on their face.
I had gotten him the biggest bottle of Jack Daniels I could find -five litres, I think, it was. Then emptied all of its contents into another bottle -which I had put in Kaden's liquor cupboard since I had no use for it- and washed it. Now, instead of alcohol, it was filled to the brim with what was apparently his favourite kind of candy. And among the Twix bars, there may or may not have been a couple 'say no to alcohol' messages as a joke.
Keira and Skylar opened theirs next. Their presents had been more serious, and I guess not as personal, since I wasn't really sure what to get them. I got Skylar a bottle of her favourite perfume -a suggestion from Ashton- and Keira a variety of spa-like body things -all recommended by Raine and Kallie.
Nathan got a pair of tickets to see his favourite band, again something Ashton had told me. The convert was small, supposedly only for radio contest winners, but I had asked Kaden to pull some strings and get them for me. I knew Nathan could probably get them for himself if he wanted, but I had been stuck on what to get him.
I got Vanessa a heart-shaped picture locket from Tiffany's. To me, she seemed like the kind of person who should have one, but as far as I knew, she didn't.
And finally, Ashton. He had been kind of tricky as well, since I wasn't sure whether I should get him something serious, or a joke gift. In the end, it was a bit of both.
"You got me an Omega watch?" Ashton asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked between me and the fancy watch he held.
"You seem like the uptight kind of person who should have a Rolex," I said with a shrug. "But they're a little mainstream, you know?"
He let out a quiet chuckle and rolled his eyes before placing it back in the box and going to the second part of his gift. This one was more of a joke. "Living with a mental illness," Ashton read from the cover.
I bit back a grin. It was another thing I had seen in Devon's office. Strangely enough, I had gotten a lot of ideas for the Elite's gifts from him.
"Something you want to tell me, Ash?" Nathan asked, sounding amused.
Ashton shook his head. "I think you should be asking Elena that."
I shrugged. "I thought it'd be useful for him:" It was a joke, of course, but who knows? Maybe Ashton would end up using it to figure out what the killer had.
"Well," Ashton said. "Thank you, Elle; I'm sure it'll be very useful."
"Especially for those projects in Health," I replied. The rest of the Elite gave us confused looked, but I didn't elaborate, and neither did he. Instead he stared at me, eyebrow raised.
"Alright," Skylar said, drawing the word out a little. "Feeling a little like a third wheel right now."
"Here, Elena, open mine," Vanessa interrupted, handing me a medium white box with a pink bow on top. I broke eye contact with Ashton to look down. "Close your eyes," she instructed.
I let my eyelids drop, then untied the bow and lifted the lid, but all I felt was tissue paper. I dug deeper into the box, and since it wasn't too big, my fingers brushed against fabric seconds later. I pulled it out of the tissue, trying to guess what it was. It was sort of smooth, but there were gaps in the fabric, or something. Maybe straps, or lace-
My eyes flew open. She did not!
But Vanessa did.
I immediately dropped the La Perla outfit back into the box, a flush already started to creep up my cheeks. I turned to glare at Vanessa accusingly. "You said you were getting it for Skylar!"
"Why would she get it for me?" Skylar demanded, giving me an incredulous look. "Cameron and I broke up!"
That sneaky little...
"Hey, I'm sure you can put it to good use," Vanessa said.
"But with who is the qu-" Skylar started.
"Okay, no!" I exclaimed, cutting her off. "We are not discussing this!"
"You could take a page from her book," Skylar said, turning to give Keira a sly look.
"Hey," Keira protested, straightening. "I don't publicize. You just feel the urge to involve yourself in people's sex lives."
"It's not like you keep it a secret..." Skylar retorted.
I glanced around as the two argues. Nathan was shaking his head and, along with Vanessa, watching in amusement, Ashton was flipping through the psychology book, and Jacen...
Jacen had rolled over and covered his ears, half a Twix bar in hand.
-- â¡ --
Teaser: "This wasn't accidental," he said. "Someone tried to hurt you."
QotC: What do you think you'll be most surprised to find out? (Who it is, the reasons why, how it all started, who might be involved, etc.)
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