The Death of a Swan

Clearview Academy, Volume 3

Amy Richie

Published by Amy Richie, 2020.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

THE DEATH OF A SWAN

First edition. March 26, 2020.

Copyright © 2020 Amy Richie.

Written by Amy Richie.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

**CONTINUED IN BOOK 4; THE DEATH OF A CHEERLEADER**

About the Author

For all the teens in my life, you have all given me valuable advice on what Avery and her friends would say.

The third book is dedicated to Alissa. You speak your mind, no matter what other people say or think. Always be that brave.

Chapter One

The guest room at my parent's house wasn't big or anything fancy, but it was bigger than the room Laney was used to. She might have been my vessel, but we were nothing alike. The full sized bed was draped with a large turquoise comforter and several pillows. Matching curtains hung on the single window. This bedroom was the only one located on the first floor.

Although it was simple,my sister Lindsey had added a certain flair with the full length mirror, large cork board, and desk. There was no room for the desired vanity, but she deemed it good enough for Laney.

"Oh my gosh," Laney declared, coming into the room with a duffle bag over her shoulder. "This room is so nice."

"You act like you've never seen it before," I chided playfully.

"Every time I come in here, there's something new." She dropped her bag on the bed. "See," she gushed, picking up the trash can, "this wasn't here this morning."

Laney was so easy to like. "How exciting," I teased, rolling my eyes. "I've never seen such a gorgeous trash can."

Chuckling, she put the trash can back in the corner. "Your mom is so nice," she ran her hand along the soft bed. "She's letting a stranger stay in her home."

"It doesn't have a very big closet," I pointed out. A girl needed a big closet. "And you're not a stranger, you're our friend."

Laney flashed a wide grin. "There's a dresser," her eyebrows furrowed, "why would I need a closet too?"

"Are you even female? I know Clark is your twin, but that doesn't mean you have to act like him."

Choosing to ignore me, she unzipped her bag. "You excited for tomorrow?"

"First year of senior year," I shrugged. I should have been looking forward to it, I probably would have been more excited if I wasn't dead. Using Laney as my vessel to get through senior year just wasn't quite as exciting.

"Did Lindsey show you the outfit she picked out for tomorrow?" She danced lightly towards the closet.

My eyes narrowed. "I don't need my sister to pick out my clothes for me."

"It's a really pretty skirt, I think you'll like it."

"Like what?" Lindsey asked, barreling into the room without knocking.

"I was just going to show Avery the outfit you bought for us."

"She's throwing a fit that I picked it out, isn't she?" Lindsey clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

"No."

"You're a terrible liar."

"Well," Laney shot me a worried look, "I think she just..."

There was no reason for Laney to tell Lindsey what she thought I meant. I hurried over and walked into her. "I don't need your fashion help," I snarled to Lindsey, using Laney's body as my own.

"Avery," she smiled in a lazy way. "It's too easy to tell when you take over. You need to work on that."

"No one at school will know Laney well enough," I shrugged, unconcerned.

I walked over to look into the mirror. A thin girl looked back at me with wide blue eyes. Thanks to a recent trip to the salon with Lindsey and mom, she now had light brown hair with several honey colored highlights. It was still straight as straw, but I had often wished my hair wasn't so bushy; Laney was lucky. The eyebrows were the right thickness and in the right place above the eyes, thin lips were plumped out with the perfect gloss.

"She does look a lot better," I murmured, turning to see the view from the side.

"She could lose a few pounds," Lindsey pinched my side, "if she hopes to join the squad."

"Some of the girls are fatter than this."

"They have the right last names," she tsked.

I hated that she was right.

“I'm taking her to the mall this morning”

“Why?” I groaned. We had spent the entire weekend at the mall, shopping and giving Laney a much needed makeover. I loved shopping just as much as the next girl, but enough was enough.

“She needs fitted for some bras. Big boobs are fine, as long as they're contained properly.”

Running my hand over Laney's ample chest, I had to admit that Lindsey was right again. “You two are on your own, me and Clark are going to watch a movie.”

“You're so disgusting.”

“He's really nice, Linds. Too bad you couldn't give him a makeover too.” Clark would never agree to it though.

~

“ARE YOU HAVING FUN playing dress up with my sister?” Clark's deep voice rumbled against my temple, making little butterflies erupt in my stomach.

“More fun than this show,” I informed him, snuggling deeper into the warmth of his body curled up behind me on the bed.

“I told you we could watch something else,” he laughed, nuzzling his face into my neck.

“I knew you were looking forward to seeing how to change a...” I squinted at the screen, trying to remember what the man on the screen said he was doing with the car. The man had his head half buried under the hood, Clark often had a similar position. He was trying to build a car from spare parts.

“Fuel pumps are exciting,” he purred.

Oh my word. Did he have any idea what he was doing to my senses? “I never realized how exciting,” I whispered back, barely able to get any volume into my breathy voice.

“Is Laney excited for school?”

Why did he want to start talking about school for? “Umm...,” I focused on getting my head straight again, “she seems happy. She likes the room.”

Clark wrapped himself more securely around me, tickling me with the hair on his face. “I'm starting to like my room more these days too.”

“I wish you would shave that animal off your face,” I complained, not for the first time. “It makes you look so old.”

“I thought you like the way I look,” he teased, catching the tip of my ear between his lips briefly then letting it go again.

“I do,” I wiggled away from him as more chills chased their way up and down my arms. “But can you imagine how hot you would be with a hair cut. Mmm,” I wiggled my eyebrows – which he couldn't see.

“You know, for a ghost, you think an awful lot about...”

“Clark,” I smacked at his hand. “I do not. I was just saying...”

I didn't get to finish my denial though. Clark rotated my body so that I was on my back and he slid himself on top of me. “I wasn't complaining, Princess,” he said quietly.

A familiar thrill of excitement started low in my stomach and moved throughout my body as he lowered his face to mine. I thought my heart would explode right out of my chest when our lips finally met. Kissing Tyler was never like this; did being a ghost change things like that? Or was it because I was kissing Clark?

I would probably never know.

“What's wrong?” Clark whispered when we parted.

“Nothing.”

“I can feel your sadness.”

With a deep sigh, I pushed him off of me and sat up on the side of the bed. “I'm not sad, not really.”

“Then what are you?” He sat up next to me and pushed my hair away from my shoulder. “Besides beautiful. And dead.”

I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth. “I'm worried.”

“What are you worried about? Are you scared we won't find out who killed you?”

“Your dad couldn't see me earlier.”

His eyebrows lowered on his forehead. “Why would you care about that? It's not like you'll be missing out on any good conversations.”

Clark's dad was always a sore subject with him. The man was never sober, in all the times I had seen him – I had never seen him without a beer in his hands. And he was usually stumbling all over the place. I didn't blame Clark for being embarrassed.

"It's not like I'm missing his lively chats," I snorted. "But do you realize what it means that he couldn't see me?"

"That you don't have to deal with him?" He wrinkled his nose darkly.

I took a deep breath and moved my tongue across my bottom lip. "Do you think I'm disappearing?"

"How can you disappear?"

"The Reaper said I might not have much time."

The truth was, we didn't know what would happen to me when my time was up. Maybe I would just disappear from existence one day without any warning. Maybe that was already happening. Clark's dad used to be able to see me and now he couldn't. Why wasn't Clark worried?

"Don't think like that," he tsked gently. "We just need to focus on finding out what happened to you, not focus on my dad seeing you. You're going to be fine."

"You don't know that."

"You want to know how I know that?"

Eyes wide, I nodded my head.

"I know that you aren't going to disappear because I'm not going to let you go."

My lips pulled up automatically. "As sweet as that it, I don't think you're stronger than a Reaper."

"She doesn't have anything on us." He pressed his forehead to mine. "You know what I think?" he whispered.

I couldn't unstick my throat enough to reply.

"I think I'm strong enough to hold you here. Love is stronger than anything else."

"Including death?"

"Especially death."

I was too nervous to call him out for using the L word. I was afraid to break whatever spell we had fallen under, because maybe I felt the same thing. And it was nice to believe Clark that our feelings for each other were enough to keep me here. Maybe they were.

I didn't have to move far to feel the softness of his lips. When he sighed deeply into me, I knew he was right. I wasn't going anywhere.

Clark was smiling when we pulled apart. "So beautiful," he murmured.

"If you look here," the man on the TV said loudly, breaking the tension between us, "the flat part goes..."

"Oh," Clark turned to see the man. "This is the part I was waiting to see." Engrossed in the tutorial again, he pulled me back beside him on the bed. "That's the part we got yesterday," he gushed.

"Ohhh." He didn't notice my sarcasm.

Despite my concerns, he was right about one thing: we needed to focus on finding out what happened to me. It would do me no good to obsess over what was going to happen now or when the Reaper was coming back. It was better to use my energy on something that would make a difference.

School was starting. There was no better place to find my killer. Behind me on the bed, Clark moved so he could kiss my temple. "Don't worry, Princess," he whispered.

“I'll try,” I whispered back.

~

“HOW ARE YOU CHANGING in there?” I called through the bathroom door.

Laney had gone into the closet sized bathroom of the guest room a while ago to try on her new jeans for me to check out. Since she hadn't come out yet, I could only assume she had hit her head on the wall and passed out. It was one of the smallest bathrooms I had ever seen, beaten only by a camper we once had to endure for almost two weeks the summer when I was thirteen.

“It's really not that bad,” she called back, but I could hear the strain in her voice. When she finally emerged again, her face was beet red.

“Are you alright?” I asked, my forehead wrinkling.

“Do you like them?” She twirled so I could see the back of the jeans.

They were tighter than I liked but I knew they were the fashion. “Did Lindsey pick them out?”

“I picked out the color.” Her bottom lip jutted out. “Are they ugly?”

“Of course not, Lindsey would never let you get ugly jeans.”

“True.” She hurried to the mirror and did a complete spin.

“Did you have fun?”

“Mmm,” she shrugged her shoulders. “Shopping is exhausting but Lindsey seemed happy with what we found.”

“Where is Lindsey?” I hadn't seen her when I came back to Laney, which was surprising. She had been spending most of her time with Laney lately, preparing her for the first day of school. Considering that Laney hadn't been to a proper school since seventh grade – it was probably time well spent.

“I don't know,” she shrugged again. “She said she had something to take care of right when we got back.”

“Oh.” I fingered through the stack of bras on the bed. “She always has something to take care of.”

“You're so lucky to have a sister like Lindsey.”

“Mmm.”

“Want to see this one?” Laney held up a pale pink shirt proudly.

“Of course,” I grinned, infected by her excitement.

Laney was so excited about going to Clearview High. Well, about me going to school in her body. It felt like I was taking something away from her though, by not letting her go herself.

She had never been to school before so maybe she would be great at it. She might even love it. Was I being selfish for taking this from her? Even if she did ask me to, maybe I shouldn't let her give this up.

"You know Laney," I started cautiously when she came out the bathroom in her new pink shirt, "you could go to school as yourself tomorrow."

"Why would I do that?" she asked without looking at me. She was busy going through the bags on her bed.

"It might be fun," I shrugged. "You could try."

"No thanks."

"Laney." Why wouldn't she even consider it? "Me and Lindsey will both be with you the entire time." Well, Lindsey would have her own classes but I wouldn't leave her side.

Laney's hands stopped moving. "What are you talking about?" she asked quietly.

"I just don't want to take any experiences away from you. Life is short." Just because my own experiences were cut short didn't mean hers had to be.

"The only reason I enrolled in school was for you," her voice rose several alarming octaves.

"I know." I picked at a loose thread on the comforter. "I'm just worried about you."

"If you're worried about me, don't make me do this." Tears stained her bright eyes.

"Ok." There was no need for her to cry.

"Don't you want to go to school? I thought you wanted to go."

"I do Laney," I took a deep breath, "but I don't want to steal your life from you."

"You're not," she sniffed.

"If you say so." But she didn't know what she was talking about. I understood where she was; thinking that life would go on forever, but it didn't.

"Are you going to school?"

"Yeah."

"Do you promise?"

"Yes," I replied more forcefully, allowing a small smile to form on my lips. "Personally, I can't wait to walk those halls again." She was right, we had already agreed. There was point in making her panic.

Laney took a deep breath and blew it back out. "Please don't scare me like that again."

She was so dramatic. "Show me your new bras."

“Ladies,” Lindsey greeted loudly as she came waltzing into the room. “At least, I assume Avery is here too?”

“Yeah,” Laney smiled at her but I saw her lips trembling still, “we were just looking at me new bras.”

“Nice huh?” Lindsey sat on the bed close to me and crossed one leg over the other. She was sipping on a chocolate drink that she wanted people to think was coffee. I knew she hated coffee though.

“There's so much lace.” Laney pulled a pouty face. “I normally just wear white ones.”

Lindsey rolled her eyes. “There's no need to be so much like a grandma,” she scoffed.

“This time, I agree with her,” I giggled lightly.

“You two can't gang up on me.” Laney pointed to both of us.

Lindsey turned to where she pointed, surprised that I was sitting so close. “At least she's on my side,” she declared, a little uncomfortable. “Anyways,” she shook herself and focused back on the one person she could see, “we are going to make you popular.”

“Avery is going to be going in my place and she's already popular.”

“Yes,” Lindsey agreed readily, “she's also dead so we can't exactly use any of her cred to help.”

And I worked so hard for my place at that school. At least I wouldn't be starting at the bottom. We had Lindsey.

“I don't think I'm the popular type,” Laney frowned.

“Being popular is a mental game,” Lindsey chided. “You tell people what to think of you and they'll fall in line.”

“So I just go up to people and tell them I'm popular?” Laney's eyebrows puckered comically.

“No,” Lindsey scowled while I laughed. “You hold your head high and be confident. People will take notice, most of them want someone to follow. You just need to give that to them.”

“I don't know...”

“Don't worry,” I told her, “I know what to do.”

“Avery says that she's got this.”

“The thing I'm most worried about,” Lindsey sighed dramatically, “is Clark.”

“Clark?”

“Avery is going to want him around, right?”

I nodded.

“And you had to register with your real name so people will know you're related to him.”

“And?”

“So we'll have to figure out a way to make our friends accept him too. And that one will be much, much harder.”

If not impossible. Lindsey liked a challenge but making Clark be friends with our crowd was not going to happen. No freaking way.

“I think it's so funny that the school here is called Clearview Academy,” Laney giggled, making her voice go high with a fake British accent, “like they want everyone to think it's a posh private school.”

“Our town is posh,” Lindsey retorted sharply. “Besides that trashy trailer court where your family lives, the rest of the town is quite rich.”

“Don't listen to her,” I hurried to tell Laney before her lip trembled any more, “she doesn't know how to talk to people. She seriously has a mental condition.”

“Ok,” Lindsey plucked a purple bra off the bed, “go try this one on for us.”

~

I SAT AT MY VANITY and stared at the now familiar face in the mirror. Light brown hair hung in attractive curtains down a round face. Light brown eyes stared at me, bright with excitement. “Senior year,” I whispered, “here I come.”

“Laney,” Lindsey screamed from downstairs, “let's go.” We had agreed that she wouldn't call me Avery anymore so she didn't slip up in public.

“I'm coming,” I sang back to her. “I just need to grab something.” From a small box on the vanity table, I pulled out the single earring I had found on my dead body and slipped it into my pocket. I wanted to be reminded all the time what I was doing this for. It was time to catch a killer.

Chapter Two

"Are you nervous?"

"Yes." Lindsey had parked as far from the door as possible so everyone would see the two of us going into the school together.

There was no reason for my mouth to feel dry, no reason for my heart to be thumping so hard. This was my school. I had nothing to be scared of.

"Ready?" Lindsey asked, not moving her hands from the steering wheel.

"Yep." I didn't move either.

But one of us had to.

"Ok." Lindsey let go of the steering wheel and pushed her door open. "It's time."

Why did she have to sound so ominous? "Right." I nodded once and followed her lead.

It was a strange feeling, seeing everyone stare at me when I stepped out of that car. In my old life, I loved when people stared – I lived for it. I went out of my way to make sure people looked at me.

So why did I want to duck back inside the car?

“Come on,” Lindsey called me back to reason. “Why are you just standing there?”

“I was just...um,” I mentally shook myself. “I'm coming.”

Moving slow enough that no one would say I ran to Lindsey's side, I went around to the front of the car where she was waiting for me. Across the parking lot, a group of girls that we never talked to stopped laughing with each other and focused their eyes on me.

“People are staring,” I muttered from the corner of my mouth.

“That's the point,” Lindsey laughed loud and fake; she wanted everyone to think we had a secret that they wanted to know. I knew the drill.

“It's kind of freaking me out,” I grinned wide, making sure to show my teeth off.

"I have Biology first period," Lindsey announced at the door after the longest walk of my life.

"I have to go the office for my schedule."

"If I don't see you, I'll meet you for lunch."

"Alright," I nodded confidently. Nerves were for cowards.

Two girls stood outside the office, whispering angrily at each other. I knew those girls but they didn't know this body. The pretending was just beginning.

Nadine and Brynn Orson looked up at me a few seconds before I pushed the door open. They were twins, but more different than night and day. It was weird; maybe they looked alike but it was hard to tell under the dark makeup and hair dye on Nadine.

Brynn was on the squad with us but I wasn't used to seeing her with her sister. Not wanting to embarrass her, I didn't wave or smile. I just kept walking.

I entered the office and went straight to the counter to get my schedule. I had gone to the school long enough to know the lady who worked behind the counter in the office. She was middle aged and obviously hated her life, but she smiled enough to make up for it.

"Hi," I grinned uncertainly at the woman. "I'm here to pick up my schedule."

"Name?" she snapped out without looking up.

I took a nervous breath of stale office air. "Laney Daniels."

At this, she did look up. “Your parents were supposed to come in and sign some papers.” Her lips pursed out so tightly, they looked painful.

“Oh. My mom is...they're ...my mom is just busy. She works a lot.”

“What about your dad?”

“I...don't know him,” I blew air through puffed out cheeks. Why was that her business anyways? “Can I have my schedule now? I don't want to be late for first period.”

“You can not attend this school without the proper documents,” the flab on her cheeks quivered with the force of her words.

“I'm seventeen.”

“And?”

“And Lois,” I widened my eyes at her, “the law says I have to go to school. Seeing that this school is in the district I live in, you kind of have to let me in. Besides, it isn't my fault what the adults in my life fail to do for me.” I had seen that in a movie once.

“Wait over there,” she sighed grumpily. “I'll talk to the principal.”

“Thanks,” I smiled tightly. Luckily, she didn't ask how I knew her name.

There were three chairs lined next to the wall facing the desk. Huffing, I plopped down on the only empty one – the one in the middle. A girl and a guy that I didn't recognize sat on either side of me.

“Laney Daniels?” the girl on my left asked, her top lip snarling up.

“Yeah.” Was she really going to start something with me right here in the office?

“Are you related to Clark Daniels?”

Oh my word.

“I'm not sure I understand.”

“Related,” she broke each syllable into a separate word. “As in family.”

“I meant to say, I don't understand how that is any of your business.”

Before she could sputter any more insults, Lois called my name. “Here's your schedule,” she said when I stepped up to the counter. She slid the thin slip of paper across to me along with a thick stack of papers. “You'll need to have one of your parents sign these and bring them back by the end of the week.”

“Sure,” I smiled tightly and scooped the pile up. I was too irritated at the girl sitting there on her red chair to pay attention to the papers. Whatever, I would get Lindsey sign them for me. She was really good at forging signatures.

It wasn't until after the office door closed behind me that I was able to get a decent breath of air. Why were people being so rude to me? That was not something I was used to. How did normal people get through their day? Lindsey needed to hurry up and make me popular again.

It was probably best just to focus on getting to class and get used to being Laney, no matter how hard it was. It wasn't like I had a whole lot of other options, no other options actually. I squared my shoulders and looked down at my schedule. Biology, first period.

Perfect.

Maybe Lindsey wasn't in class yet. If I just headed towards Mr. Lee's class, I'd probably run into her. I just needed to find my locker first so I could drop off my school bag; you couldn't have a bag in the classes.

Seniors' lockers were on the first floor, the prime spots of the hall – closest to the doors and the cafeteria. I made my way there first, scanning the crowds for Lindsey as I went. She wasn't down in the hall though.

“001?” I read off the top of the schedule.  Did I really just get the very first locker?

Being the new girl wasn't easy. Heads turned as I walk down the hall. In my attempt not to run, it felt like I was going in slow motion. There wasn't one single friendly face in the crowd. It was either blatant curiosity or open hostility that met me from every direction.

Had our school always been this bitchy? If only these people knew who I really was, they would be falling over themselves to impress me. The rudeness was only because I was wearing Laney's face. Doubt started to creep into my mind; what if this was a bad idea?

"Clark!"

My head snapped up at the name. Glancing around, I saw him almost directly across the hall from me getting into his own locker. My heart sped up at the sight of him – at the changes I saw in him. His shaggy face was cleaned up, with only the hint of a beard and mustashe. The long hair that he had the day before was trimmed and neat by his ears. Even his clothes were different. Someone had clearly given him a makeover. Oh my word.

"Hey," I mouthed with a tiny wave.

Although he stared at me, he gave no sign of greeting - not even a smile.

This morning was quickly going from bad to worse. People already knew we were related, he didn't have to pretend not to know me. Even if they didn't know, I still didn't want him to ignore me. Things were already hard enough without that added to it. I needed Clark.

That stupid jerk.

“Clark,” I yelled across the hall, not caring what people thought. As soon as I made up my mind to cross over to him, I was cut off by Doris Freed.

"Are you Laney Daniels?" She grinned at me with a mouth full of crooked teeth.

Right. I was Laney.

"Yeah." I didn't return the smile. Over her shoulder, Clark was still avoiding my eye contact.

"I'm Allison," she introduced herself. "Allison Freed."

"No you aren't," I snapped out, caught off guard by her lie.

Her grin faded to a confused sort of smile. "Do you know me?"

Only for my entire life. She had always hated her name, and for good reason, but she couldn't just change it because she wanted to. That's not how names worked.

"My friend Lindsey told me your name was Doris," I sputtered.

She pressed her lips tight together until little while lines appeared on her olive toned skin. "Lindsey Lewis doesn't know anything about me."

"Not even your name?" One eyebrow raised up on my forehead.

"I'm here to show you to your first class," she smiled again - forced this time. "Can I see your schedule?"

I didn't need her help though. Walking down the hall with Doris Freed wasn't going to do any favors to Lindsey, who was on a mission to make me popular in this body. "I..."

Doris snapped her hand out. I couldn't tell her I already knew where biology was since this was supposed to be the first time I went here. How was I going to get away from her?

"Laney!"

Doris and I both swiveled around to see Lindsey coming towards us. She was practically freaking glowing, I could almost see the stars shooting out from around her face like a cheesy cartoon. I had never been so happy to see her.

"There's Lindsey," I unnecessarily explained to my would be tour guide.

"I know," her nose snarled up.

"Did they give you a schedule?" Lindsey asked, swinging her body around to purposely exclude Doris.

"Yep," I waved the paper between us. "The lady in the office was so rude."

"The first day of school is always pretty busy for her," Doris tried to explain.

"Whatever," Lindsey rolled her eyes. "She probably just needed some chocolate."

"I have Biology first period," I wriggled my eyebrows, knowing we had the same class.

“It's like somebody knew,” she grinned, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from Doris without a word.

“Wait,” Doris yelled, “I'm supposed to show Laney to her first class.”

“Obviously I have it under control, Doris,” Lindsey snarled. “Go away.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled as I let myself be hauled away.

“Why would you say sorry to Doris Freed?” Lindsey hissed angrily.

“I felt bad just leaving her like that.”

“Felt bad?” In her shock, she almost stopped. “What is wrong with you, Avery?”

“Maybe it’s because I died.” I raised both eyebrows at her, hoping she could feel my irritation at her for never understanding me. She never got me when I was alive and she really didn’t get me now that I was dead.

As we passed by the lockers, I looked up in time to see Clark again. He was rubbing his cleaned up face, I longed to do the same. The little stubs of hair would feel amazing under my fingers.

He didn’t even glance my way.

“Did you see Clark?” I whispered to Lindsey.

“Kind of hard to miss,” she grumbled.

“He looks good, huh?”

“There’s no need to be ridiculous.”

“He didn’t even talk to me. I tried to say hi and he acted like I wasn’t even there.” Clark had a way of making me feel insecure, no one else had that power over me. I didn’t like it.

“Stop thinking about him,” Lindsey ordered without changing direction. “Everyone is going to know you two are related so don’t make things weird. The twins in this school already have a bad rep.”

That was true, I conceded. We had two sets of twins in our grade – three if you counted Laney and Clark. Nadine and Brynn – who went out of their way to be as different as possible. If I hadn’t grown up with them, I wouldn’t even know they were related.

Then there were the Metz twins – Madeline and her brother Matthew. At a party in seventh grade, during a game of spin the bottle, they got each other. Instead of respinning, they disappeared in the closet for the allotted two minutes.

“I thought we were going to say we’re cousins.” Had that story changed?

“Doesn’t matter,” she snapped. “Just focus on you while we’re at school. You can’t forget what you’re here for. It isn’t to drool over Clark.”

As usual, she was right.

Lindsey paused outside of Mr. Baird’s open door. “You ready?”

I ran my tongue across my bottom lip. “Yeah.”

Taking a final breath, she led the way into the classroom. The room, which had been buzzing excitedly when we entered, went completely silent when people started to notice us.

Although my mouth felt dry and my heart was racing, I forced myself to keep calm and follow Lindsey to the first row of tables that made up the biology room. "You can sit by me, Laney," she trilled, patting the empty seat next to the one she had taken.

Every stare that was on me felt like lasers boring into my very soul. I wondered if any of them would be able to see through the vessel and actually see the real me. Anyone besides Clark, that was. It was a horrible feeling, one that I never hoped to feel again.

"Perfect," I exclaimed a little too happily, plastering on my fake smile like the pro I was.

"Who's your new friend?" Nina asked, coming into the room after us.

Oh my word. I hadn't given much thought to her or Billie. If I wasn't careful Nina would know exactly who I was. We had spent almost every day together for years. How could she not know? Then again, I didn't know how nasty she really was to me.

"This is Laney," Lindsey responded without missing a beat. "You met her at my birthday party."

"Oh yeah," Nina grinned wide. I didn't trust that smile. "I forgot you said you'd be going to school here."

I had never said that, we didn't even know I was going to school at the party. We decided later - after we realized Tyler wasn't the killer. Unless Laney said it herself after I left her body.

"You see any cute boys in the hall yet?" Clementine Richards asked, joining the swarm of girls around our table.

Poor Clementine, so awkward it was almost cute.

"Not really," I ducked my head.

"Speaking of cute boys," Macie whistled, "anyone get a look at Tyler Minx and Cassie Andrews?"

"It looks like they're vying to be the new power couple," Madeline continued. "No offense Lindsey."

"Why would I be offended by Tyler and his ho?"

"Well," she blushed a deep red, "I know Tyler and Avery were dating..."

"Yeah well," Lindsey took a deep breath and let it out again loudly, "we'll see about Tyler and Cassie."

"I saw you talking to Doris," Clementine nudged my shoulder accusingly.

"She told me her name was Allison."

"What?" There was a chorus of giggling all around me.

"She is such a loser," Lindsey laughed loudly. "Does she really think changing her name is going to make things better for her?"

"The only thing that could make things better for her is a nose job."

"And a shower."

More giggling sounded. It was a little uncomfortable, especially when Clark walked in with her a few moments later. The girls held in their laughter until the pair passed us. Then the sound erupted again. I didn't turn around.

"What a perfect couple," Madeline snorted. "Clark Can't and Dora the explorer."

"Who does he think he is with that ridiculous haircut?"

My ears burned. What right did these girls have to talk about Clark? He hadn't even said anything to them. Pressing my lips tight together, I shifted my gaze to Lindsey. Although I saw her slight shake of the head, I couldn't control myself.

"I like his haircut," I declared through pursed lips, "I think its cute."

The silence fell over me like a heavy curtain. Next to me, Lindsey had sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. I never would have called Clark cute in my life, but in my death - I was saying whatever I wanted.

"Clark and Laney are cousins," Lindsey declared airily. "He came to my party over the weekend."

"We saw him," Nina scowled. "Why would you invite Clark or his cousin?"

"Laney was friends with my sister." Silence again. "That makes her my friend too."

So. Awkward.

“And Clark,” she purposefully looked around the semi circle around us, “has potential.”

No one dared contradict Lindsey; it was probably her that told each of them to dislike him in the first place. They all found seats as the teacher came into the room carrying a large stack of folders.

Lindsey stared straight ahead, knowing the girls were still watching us. I longed to turn and see what Clark was doing. Had he heard what they were saying? Was he angry? And why was he walking with Doris anyways, now that I thought of it? Were they friends?

They better not be, I thought savagely. I didn’t trust Doris Freed as far as I could throw her. She would do anything to be popular – everyone knew all the things she would do. Most of them were plastered all over the girl’s bathroom.

Clenching my back teeth together, I stared resolutely at Mr. Baird and his ridiculous white hair.

Chapter three

"These will be your partners for the year," Mr. Baird called loudly over the whispers that had broken out ever since he informed us that he would be assigning our lab partners for biology this year.

"Some assignment," Clark snorted. "He just went alphabetically."

"Mr. Baird has never been known for his creativity," I rolled my eyes. Usually he just let us sit where we wanted. "At least we're partners now though," I grinned.

On the other side of Clark, at the next table, was Doris Freed. There was a glint in her eyes as she watched Clark, a glint that I didn't like. Since when did she look at him like that?

Sighing to the point of a growl, I sat back in my seat. I hated that I cared. And I hated that I couldn't hold his hand when we walked down the halls and tell her to back the hell off. Is this what jealousy felt like?

Oh my word.

“Hey,”Doris hissed over to him.

“Yeah?”

I leaned forward so I could hear. “What class do you have next?”

Clark shrugged. “I haven't looked yet.”

“Well, let me see your schedule,” she grinned, dropping one eyelid into a lazy wink.

“Clark,” I jabbed his hand hard with one finger. “You're supposed to be my partner, not hers.”

“We don't have an assignment yet,” he grumbled, turning more fully to Doris.

He was absolutely infuriating. Was he seriously going to ignore me so he could talk to Doris? What the hell did he see in her anyways? Her boobs weren't even big; she was a tall stick of nothing.

She giggled loudly, the sound shooting through the class like the bray of a donkey. The sound certainly fit her perfectly.

Jackass.

“There will be no lab today,” Mr. Lee continued to speak despite the din of conversation that hadn't quieted down. “We'll just be looking over the class syllabus. Everyone should have one on their tables.”

Sure enough, I found the boring paper lying in front of me and Clark. He didn't even glance down at it, instead choosing to look at Doris.

The longer I looked at her, the lower my eyebrows dropped on my forehead. Her lips pursed and she slapped at Clark's broad shoulder. “You shouldn't say that,” she squealed happily. Whatever he said, it must have been good; and most definitely he shouldn't have said it.

“Hey,” I tugged on Clark's arm lightly, “we're supposed to be looking at this.”

“It's just the same shit every year,” he huffed, rolling his eyes. Still, he turned back in his seat to at least pretend to pay attention with me.

The class, where we weren't doing anything but looking over a sheet of paper with bulleted highlights of the coming school year, seemed to go on and on. Mr. Baird was one of those teachers that seemed to not notice that no one in the class was paying attention to him. He forged ahead bravely, keeping his eyes on his own paper. Every once in a while he cleared his throat to quiet the din of conversation when it got to loud but it didn't stop those first day catch ups among the students.

Finally, after forever, the bell rang to signify the end of the period. Mr. Baird jumped, taken by surprise at the sound. "Well then," he muttered as the class began to gather their things, "look over chapter one tonight. We'll be starting there..."

"Clark," I shot out, grabbing his arm to stop him from leaving, "I need to talk to you, will you wait a second?"

He looked over at Doris and they both shrugged. The gesture did nothing to improve my mood.

"It'll just take a minute," I promised through clenched teeth.

"I'll see you later," he told Doris; after a last giggle his way, she left with the rest of the class.

"What was all that about?" I fired as soon as we were alone.

"What?" he shrugged, heat gathering in his cheeks. "We're friends."

My hand automatically came up to rest on my hip. "Since when?"

“Since we were little,” he shrugged defiantly. “She lives out in the trailer court too, you know?”

How could I not know? Even if we didn't talk to them, we all knew the filth that lived out there. Not that Clark was filth, I quickly amended my thoughts. I only thought he was, before I knew him. “Just because she lives there doesn't mean you guys have to be BFFs.”

“Are you jealous?” His lips turned up into the first grin he had bestowed upon me all morning.

“Of Dora the Explorer,” I snorted, crossing my arms over my chest, “absolutely not.”

“It sounds like it to me.” One of his eyebrows rose up, conveying his amusement.

“Clark,” I forced myself to stay calm, “I just don't want you to ignore me. We already talked about this.” We had agreed that we were allowed to talk to each other at school.

“I talked to your sister,” he admitted without meeting my eyes.

“Lindsey? Why would you talk to her? She hates you.”

“I don't like her either,” he snapped, momentarily forgetting to not look at me. Our eyes locked, all my unasked questions hanging in the air between us. “Look,” Clark finally sighed deeply and took my hand in his, “she said we can't be friends here at school.”

“She doesn't get to make all the rules,” I sputtered.

“I don't like this any more than you do, but she has a point. You're here for one thing,” he let go of my hand to hold up a finger, I immediately felt the loss of his warmth. “To find your killer.”

“Obviously,” I growled.

“I know this is hard for you,” he said, lowering his voice and smoothing out his forehead.

“You don't know anything,” I denied. I could hear the tears gathering in my throat. Unacceptable. “You're still alive, Clark. You have your whole life ahead of you.”

“Clark,” Doris popped her stupid face back into the room, “are you coming?”

My hand gripped the edge of one of the tables tight enough to turn my knuckles white. I was losing control of myself and I knew it. “Yeah Clark,” I hissed, “better run along with your girlfriend.”

“Yeah,” he grunted in reply, “catch you later, Princess.”

And just like that, he left me alone. He was always leaving me.

~

THE MORNING PASSED in a blur of familiar faces that gawked at me like I was a stranger. Having grown up in Clearview, I had gone to Clearview Academy since I was a freshman; I had never been the new girl.

Lunch was always proof of the social hierarchy in school; your rank rose depending on how close you sat to the center table. The students who sat at the center table were in the very top ranking; cheerleaders, the top football players, the cool kids. Mostly seniors.

I was so close to the center table last year and now it didn't look like I would ever have that honor.

My back teeth clenched together as soon as I spotted Lindsey in that coveted spot at the center table. Lindsey Lewis; whatever was thrown at her, she seemed to land on her feet. Several seats down from her, Tyler sat, laughing obnoxiously at something Jimmy Vale said. Cassie was no where to be seen.

Lindsey wouldn't have let her sit with them, my sister told everyone what to do. My anger bubbled near the surface when I remembered Clark in the biology room that morning. He ignored me all day because Lindsey told him too.

Ignoring the wave of invitation, I found an empty table near the back of the room and plopped down with my full tray. It wasn't my body, I was eating the fries.

Sitting at a large table in the corner of the cafeteria, Doris and Clark were leaning way too close together. All the Grady's trash sat at that table – they did every year – but I never noticed them very clearly when I was just Avery Lewis.

Clark managed to peel his eyes away from Doris for a few seconds, looking at me instead. Our eyes locked across the room. Honestly, in that moment, he looked about as miserable as I felt.

Despite all of our careful planning, things were not going well. I had made no friends as Laney – the best I could claim was curiosity. Lindsey helped but being related to Clark Daniels definitely worked against me.

I was foolish to think I could waltz in here and command the school the same way I did when I was alive. It had taken work to get to the top; three summers at a fat camp, hundreds spent in the salon every few months to get my hair just right, hours of gym time.

Did I have enough time to get back to the top now? I needed to find my killer before the Reaper came back.

As I sulked over a pudding cup, Lindsey rose fluidly from her table and crossed the cafeteria like a damn ballerina. Had she always walked like that and I just never noticed?

My eyes, like everyone else in the room, followed her as she dumped her tray and placed it happily on the rack where the dirty trays went. She had to pass me on her way to the door. “Hey Laney,” she greeted, waving several dainty fingers in the air.

“Hey.” My teeth were still clenched too tightly to allow a wide enough smile.

Her nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed. “You didn't have to eat alone,” she purred, “you could have joined our table.”

“Mmm,” I grunted, fully aware of the stares around us.

“Tomorrow, you'll eat with me,” she winked, then continued on her way out of the cafeteria.

My breath hitched up several notches, making my chest feel tight. I had lived with Lindsey my whole life and I was still scared of her, it wasn't hard to see why she sat at the center table and why she got her way all the time.

Girls like her didn't know how to fail. A shudder started in my back, making my shoulders tremble. “I'll eat where I want,” I whispered to my milk carton. “She can't tell me what to do.”

~

I PULLED MY SWEATER closer to my body, silently calling Lindsey every name I could think of. After lunch, she had made it a point to make sure I knew she was mad at me. I wasn't surprised that she left me after school to find my own way home.

As Avery, it wouldn't have been a problem. Anyone would have been happy to drive me home last year. But Laney was an unknown. There was no one willing to put their own ranking at risk, they didn't want to be on Lindsey's bad side. I didn't blame them.

But it really sucked that I had to walk home alone with the cold wind trying to rip my sweater off. “Stupid Lindsey.”

All in all, the day was a disaster. Clark ignored me, Lindsey left me at school, no one was friendly. Nina was in my sixth period class so I hoped that I would be able to talk to her. We were best friends before, surely I knew what to say to get her to like me. But when I tried, she promptly told me not to waste her time.

What was wrong with the world?

Tired of my own thoughts, I stepped out of Laney so I could have someone else to talk to. Blinking her eyes rapidly, it took her a few seconds to realize where she was. “Why are we walking?” she frowned. “Is school over?”

“Yeah,” I huffed, waiting for her to catch up again.

“How was it?”

“Awful.”

“Why?”

“How do normal people make it through every day?”

“It was only the first day. I'm sure tomorrow will be better,” Laney muttered.

“Yeah,” I grumbled back; neither one of us believed it. “I just don't understand it, I've known these people all my life. They're all cowards, with no opinions of their own.” We thought it would be easy to make Laney popular.

“They don't know my face though,” Laney pointed out. “You have to give them a little bit of time.”

“We don't have much time.”

How was I supposed to find out who killed me if I was kept out of the crowd of people who were the most likely suspects? I had to be able to follow those people; hear them talk and watch where they went. As much as I hated to admit it, Clark was right to keep himself at a distance for now. Sharing a last name with him was bad enough, being seen with him would end it all.

Lost in my own thoughts, I walked next to Laney in heavy silence. Luckily, it wasn't that far to get back home.

A small red car passed us as we walked in silence. When it slowed to a crawl, I glanced curiously at it. I had never seen the car before. “Who is that?” I whispered, forgetting again that no one else could hear me.

“I have no idea,” she, who could be heard, didn't whisper. “Don't you recognize the car?”

I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth, annoyed. Just because I grew up here didn't mean that I knew every car that drove these streets. “No, I don't.”

The car  stuttered to a stop and the window rolled down, revealing a familiar – and unwanted – face. “Hey, Laney,” Tyler grinned. “You need a ride somewhere?”

“No thanks,” she squeaked.

“Where did he get that car?”

“Where did you get the car?” she echoed my question out loud to him.

Not a good idea to make him think we were interested.

“You like it? It has a big backseat too.” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Ew.” A shudder traveled all the way up to my shoulders.

“My dad got it for me, a senior year gift.”

“Celebrating that he actually made it to senior year,” I grunted, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Why don't you get in,” his lips turned up into an unattractive smile.

“Do not get in his car,” I ordered through teeth that were still closed. “Tell him to get lost.”

“Go away,” Laney called out, not sounding brave at all.

“Oh come on,” Tyler purred. “You're not still mad about what happened at Lindsey's party, are you? I had a little too much to drink that night. It was all harmless.”

Harmless?

Just as I was deciding to take over for Laney, a loud rumble sounded. A motorcycle that I recognized immediately roared past, the engines revving threateningly as it got close to Tyler's new car.

“Isn't that Clark Daniels?” he scowled.

“Yeah.”

I was pleased at the panic I saw gathering in his eyebrows.

“Well,” his tongue slid over his top lip, “too bad for us, I have plans today. It looks like the back seat will have to wait.”

“I'm going to throw up,” I gagged. “Seriously.”

“Umm, ok,” Laney said awkwardly. Her eyes went wide as they darted between me and Tyler. “I have to go too.”

“See you around, Gorgeous,” he winked, then pulled away again with a hearty laugh floating out from his open window.

“What a creep.”

Chapter Four

“Can you believe him?” I huffed, following Laney through our front door. “He's damn lucky we didn't press charges after what he did.”

“I thought you said he didn't kill you.” Laney glanced back, her forehead creased. But Laney wasn't there when Tyler attacked me at Lindsey's party. I was inside her body at the time so she didn't feel him pulling my hair and dragging me towards that shed.

A shudder ran through me.

“Even if he didn't kill me, he's still dangerous.”

“He doesn't seem dangerous,” she pushed open her bedroom door. My feet still wanted to automatically carry me up the stairs to my own room but I stayed with Laney.

“Who isn't dangerous?” We both jumped at the unexpected voice; Lindsey was sitting on the bed, her lips thinned out. If anyone was dangerous, it was her.

“Tyler offered me a ride home,” Laney fluttered into the room, flapping her arms like a frightened pigeon.

“Laney,” Lindsey's frown deepened at the realization that she wasn't talking to me, only my Vessel. It was one of the few times that I was glad she couldn't see me.

“Yeah?”

“Where's Avery?”

“Uhhh...” I shook my head frantically.

“I need my sweet sister to come talk to me.” Her tight smile froze. I knew she wouldn't give up until she got her way.

In a few steps, I was back inside Laney's body, glaring at Lindsey. “What do you want?” I demanded.

Her fake smile disappeared. “Did you have a nice walk home?”

“Not really.”

“What's your problem, Avery?”

“My problem?” In my anger, I jabbed my fingers into my chest. “You're the one that left me today. I had to walk home alone like a loser.”

“Speaking of loser.” Unlike my own, Lindsey's voice lowered more and more as she got angrier. When her voice got real soft – that's when you knew you were in trouble. “How dare you ignore me at lunch?”

“I don't answer to you.”

“You're risking everything for some boy who is nothing to you.”

“No, I'm not.” I couldn't tell her how much Clark actually meant to me.

“You need to shape up, little sister,” she hissed. “You have an audition tomorrow after school at the field. You better make the squad. Don't embarrass me.”

“I...”

“One of those bitches at school killed you. Don't you want to find out who it was?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then stop making googly eyes at Clark Daniels. It's so messed up that I even have to say that,” she huffed on her way out of the room.

Stay away from Clark. Easy for her to say – she didn't like him. Oh my word, things were so complicated.

~

MY LEGS DANGLED OFF the edge of Clark's desk. Although he kept flipping pages at a steady rate, I doubted he was really reading anything. His bedroom was too small not to feel the tension between us.

“You didn't have to come over today,” he glanced up very briefly. “I told you that I had a lot of homework.”

“I  missed you.” Why didn't he miss me too?

His shoulders slumped, he flipped another page. “Today was hard.”

“Really hard,” I echoed. “Not only was everyone a bitch to me, I also had to watch you make out with Dora the Explorer.”

“You shouldn't call her that,” he tsked. But at least he looked fully at me. “And we didn't make out, we're just friends.”

“I saw you at lunch. Your faces were so close you couldn't even get your fork to your mouth.”

The corners of his lips twitched. “I don't think I've ever seen you jealous. It's kind of cute.”

“It's not cute.” I kicked my feet out. “You ignored me all day.”

Clark stood up from his fake studying and forced my legs apart so he he could press his body close to me. “You know why we can't be friends, Princess,” he cooed, brushing my hair away from my shoulders so he could trace my jaw line with his large thumb.

“I didn't agree to that though.” I wanted to stay angry but goosebumps erupted on my skin from his touch – giving me away.

“Lindsey said she's going to make me popular.” His thumb traveled down my neck and across my collar bone. “So we'll be able to talk at school soon.”

“Hmm.” His touch was wreaking havoc with my ability to form words.

Ever so slowly, he lowered his face until his mouth covered mine. Despite my resolve to stay mad, my lips worked together with his in an ageless dance that left me breathless. Clark and I were born to kiss each other. It helped that he was so cute now without all the facial hair.

“Everything is going to be alright, Avery,” he whispered with his lips still on me.

Oh my word.

~

THE BLEACHERS FELT cold against my bare skin. It was just into September and the air had a bite in it already. There were enough warm days to warrant the short black pleated skirt though.

Considering that I was trying out to be a cheerleader, I wanted them to see that I could pull off the skirt. Laney's legs weren't as toned as mine but they were more than passable.

“New girl,” Brynn Orson crinkled her nose in my direction before sitting next to Madeline Metz. The two instantly shoved their heads together to buzz away – probably about me.

“It's kind of late for you to be trying out,” Clara noted daintily. She surprised me by sitting next to me. Clara was only a softmore but she was pretty and smart, so we let her join.

“Yeah, but there is an opening now.” Clementine sat on the other side of me. “Rest in peace, Avery.” Both girls made crosses over their chests like they were the Pope or something.

It was impossible to contain my eye roll. Luckily, the rest of the squad was filing into the bleachers so the girls didn't notice my eyes. It was annoying for them to pretend they cared that I was gone; they were such lemmings.

Annoying bitches.

“Something smells out here,” Cassie Andrews snarled in my direction as she stomped up the bleachers to join our group.

“Funny. All I smell is a dirty bitch,” I retorted without thought. Next to me, Clara stiffened.

“What did you say to me, new girl?”

“You heard me,” I stood up so she couldn't look down on me, “and the name is Laney. Pretty sure you knew that too, your boyfriend should have let you know.”

Cassie's eyes widened but before the claws could really come out, Lindsey and Macie stepped put on the field. “Ladies,” Macie clapped happily. Macie might have been the official captain of the squad but we all knew who led us.

“Sit down, Cassie,” Lindsey ordered, her eyes narrowing in on her until she obeyed. “We're here to see if Laney has the skills to take Avery's place.” That shut everyone up. “So come down here Laney and show us what you got.”

Right.

I had gone to the unofficial cheer camp out at Varner's hotel over the summer so I knew the routines that the girls were using this year. This audition was not going to be a problem, there was no excuse for the nerves.

So why were my knees knocking together as I walked out on the field?

“I taught her a little something,” I heard Lindsey explain smugly. “She's so good.”

Everything went quiet. All eyes honed in on me. My heart thundered in my chest.

As soon as I opened my mouth I knew I had it. Even in my borrowed body, the moves of the familiar cheer came naturally to me.

“Wow,” Macie gushed when my cheer was over, “that was so good. Lindsey was right about you.” She ran out to the field to wrap her arm around my waist. “Alright ladies,” she continued to gush, “what do we think?”

Cassie was the one to speak up. “She's not part of the squad, Mace. She doesn't get to sit in while we decide.” There was a gentle murmur of consent within the ranks directly around her.

Lindsey shot her daggers but let it go surprisingly fast. “Fine,” she shrugged. “Laney, you can wait over there by the fence for a minute, right? It has a good view.”

“Sure,” I rolled my own shoulders. I wasn't worried – annoyed – but not worried.

Cassie was an awful human being, I realized as I settled myself far enough away from the bleachers. We had never been friendly or anything but I had spent years ignoring her existence. Then Tyler decided to shove his tongue down her throat.

Ugh.

Over in the practice field, the boys were slamming into each other with audible grunts. Some view. Weird how that used to impress me. These days, car parts were more my thing.

“Laney!” My head jerked at the tap on my shoulder. “I was calling you from clear over there,” Macie panted. “Didn't you hear me?”

Not used to the name, I guess. “Uhh...I was watching the guys practicing.”

“Oh,” she grinned knowingly, “you can come on back now.”

Nodding, I followed her back to the other girls to see if I had embarrassed Lindsey. Not likely.

“Here Laney,” Lindsey patted the place next to her on the lowest bleacher, “you can sit by me.”

There was a dramatic gagging sound from behind her but neither of us turned to see who it was. I already knew anyways. Cassie was sitting up there, whispering to Brynn. Madeline had two fingers up to cover her giggles.

“If you skanks don't shut up,” Nina hissed at the trio, “I'll make you shut your damn mouths.”

Lindsey stood up then so she could turn around. “You're on my radar, slut.” Her eyebrows arched gracefully as she stared Cassie down. “Keep it up and you're off the squad.”

“You can't kick me off,” Cassie flared back. I didn't want to be impressed that she talked back to Lindsey.

“Would you like to take it to a vote right now?”

Cassie shifted uncomfortably on her seat as we all scanned the group – silently counting votes. She would lose, by a lot.

“No one is going anywhere today,” Macie yelled forcefully, calling our attention back to her. “Laney killed her audition so she's in.” Obviously. “We have work to do now, everyone up.”

That's why Macie was our captain, she never let drama deter from getting us into shape and making sure our routines were perfect. Cassie and our goons were good, even I could admit that. I didn't like them, but those bitches could cheer.

I had to admire Macie for knowing that.

“I knew you were going to make it,” Lindsey smiled confidently. It was always easier to say that after the deal was done.

~

“MY LEGS HURT SO BAD,” Laney groaned, letting her head fall forward until it rested on the scratched wood of her kitchen table in the trailer.

“Cheer leading hard?” Clark teased, one side of his mouth lifting up.

“Yes,” Laney whined, not moving her head.

It had been three days since we made it on the cheer leading squad and each of those days were grueling, especially for Laney. Macie agreed with a few of the other girls that Laney's body needed to lose a few pounds so I was being forced to do laps every day after an already full practice. It wasn't surprising that her legs hurt. 

Clark could tease all he wanted, but it really was hard work.

Cheer leading practice hadn't been the hardest part of going to school as Laney though. Some of the other girls were starting to defrost but I still had a long ways to go.

Being Laney was proving more difficult than I anticipated. I had to be very careful how I looked at Clark or talked to him or felt about him; we were supposed to be cousins. And he was still as unpopular as ever.

I could feel him slipping away from me and I didn't like it at all.

“I'm going home,” Laney announced suddenly, dragging herself upright again, “well, to Avery's home.”

“It's a little early for bed,” Clark scowled, glancing at the clock on the wall. It wasn't even seven yet.

“I just want a shower,” she pouted, “a really hot shower. Are you coming, Avery?”

“I'll meet you there soon,” I promised, smiling tightly.

“See ya,” she saluted as she left me and Clark there alone.

“Are you going to tell me why you're sad?” he asked as soon as the door clicked shut.

“Because,” I pulled my shoulders close to my chin, “school sucks. I feel...alone there. You're the only person who can see me.”

“Just wait until I'm one of the popular kids,” he promised yet again, “then...”

“But you're not even trying,” I cut him off.

“I am.” But it wasn't a very enthusiastic argument.

“You keep sitting at that stupid table with Doris Freeman. You'll never leave that table if you keep sitting there.”

“I know.” He ran his hands roughly across his face. “I know, Princess. I hate seeing you pretend to smile with those idiots that your sister calls friends.”

“One of those idiots killed me,” I pointed out. Wasn't he the one who reminded me that I was going to school to find that killer? I didn't like them any more than he did, but it would be so much easier if I had him to talk to. I needed the reminder that I was still Avery Lewis.

“I'll try harder,” he nodded firmly. “Don't worry.”

~

THE NEXT DAY AT SCHOOL didn't start out any better than the previous three. By the time the lunch bell rang, my nerves were on edge. It didn't help when I walked into the bathroom and Madeline and Brynn were in there.

“I know who you are,” Brynn sang out, laughing wickedly.

“Congratulations, did you figure that out during cheerleading practice or English? I've been here almost a week.” Despite the hammering of my heart, I tried to sound confident. I was better than Brynn – in every way – there was no need to be self conscious.

“You're Lindsey's little puppet.”

“I'd rather be her puppet than Cassie's puppet,” I snapped back. “At least I picked the winning side.”

“Winning?” she shot out a short bark of amusement. “That girl is broken. Ever since her sister got herself killed.”

“That's a bit harsh.”

“You were at the party,” she crossed her arms in a self satisfied way. “I heard she lost her damn mind.”

“I was there,” I agreed forcefully. “So I think I know more about it than you do.” My hands had started to shake; I needed to get out of the bathroom.

“Aww,” Madeline stuck her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout, “is Lindsey's little pet going to cry?”

“Let me pass,” I ordered as firmly as I could manage. “I'm not standing here in the bathroom with you two.”

“Let her pass, Brynn,” Madeline continued in her fake baby voice. “We don't want her to go tell mommy.”

“You two are just so brave,” I growled sarcastically, pushing my way out of the bathroom.

It was a good thing the duo didn't follow me; I wouldn't have seemed so brave when I had to lean against the wall for support. How could girls be so mean? Had I really been as bad as those girls?

I was worse.

“You alright?” Clark's familiar voice gave me a flare of hope that was immediately squashed when I remembered where we were.

“Yeah,” I sniffed, pushing myself upright again. “I was just heading to lunch.”

“You should probably go .. powder your nose or whatever.”

Was that his way of saying I looked like crap? “Not in a hurry to get back in there,” I jerked my thumb in the direction of the closed bathroom door.

He nodded. “I'll see you later, then.”

“Yep.” Although we were going to the same place, Clark and I went in opposite directions down the wide hallway.

Chapter Five

I took a deep breath of stale cafeteria air. I had eaten lunch in this room hundreds of times before, it was probably my favorite place in the school. Social ladders were climbed and lost at these very tables.

It had been my dream, since that first day of freshman year, to sit at the center table. Now that it had happened, it wasn't what I expected it to be.

I was in Laney's body, my own body was dead. Every smile was fake – both the one on my face and the ones directed to me.

“It's your first game tomorrow night,” Lindsey squealed to me. Her excitement actually felt real. “Laney just made the squad,” she announced to the rest of the table – the guys who might not have known me.

“Thank goodness it's going to be warm enough so we don't have to wear those hideous track pants,” Billie shuddered.

“It's a home game, right?”

Taking small bites of food, I tried to pay attention to the conversations going on around me. They didn't exclude me exactly but no one said anything directly to me either.

I needed to jump in.

“You're Laney, right?” Colby Zeke, a fellow senior, asked from across the table. He wasn't the best that the football team had to offer but he was definitely cute and he had enough cred to make it to this table at least.

“Yeah,” I ducked my head to pretend that I was shy. Guys like Colby preferred shy girls.

“You're friends with Lindsey?”

“I was good friends with her sister,” I explained, swallowing hard. Maybe bringing up a dead girl wasn't the best idea.

“I heard about what happened to her,” he narrowed his dark eyes. “Crazy.”

“For sure.”

“So, do you have a boyfriend?”

“Nope,” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You know anyone who's looking for a girlfriend?”

As I shifted my eyes away from him, they fell instead on another pair of narrowed eyes. Clark was sitting alone at a table near the back of the cafeteria, watching me as I flirted with Colby. Heat flashed up on my cheeks; he wasn't sitting at his normal table. Maybe he really was trying. More than anything, I wished I could go sit with him.

Tyler, who I hadn't realized was missing, passed by the table. His mouth was set in a firm angry line. Momentarily forgetting both Clark and Colby, I followed Tyler's path with my gaze.

Waiting in the corner for him was Cassie and she didn't look any happier than he did. He stopped directly in front of her with his back towards me. I could only see part of her face.

Even with my limited view, it was clear that the pair were fighting. The cafeteria wasn't huge or anything but with the din of all the students talking and laughing, it was impossible to hear anything they said.

Cassie threw her hands out wide while she yelled enough to turn her face red. When she stormed out of the room, Tyler followed right behind her.

Oh my word. What were they fighting about? Did it have anything to do with me? What if they were talking about the night I was killed?

I had to hear for myself.

“Did you see that?” I whispered to Lindsey.

“See what?”

“Tyler and Cassie were just fighting.”

“So?”

“So,” my eyes bulged out, “I'm going to follow them.”

“Stay where you are,” Lindsey ordered out of the side of her mouth. It was amazing that she could maintain her bright smile with her tone to me.

“I want to see what they're talking about.”

“Why? We already know it wasn't Tyler.”

“I still don't trust those two.”

“Obviously.”

It was no good though. Now that I knew they were out there arguing, I couldn't think of anything else. I had to know what it was about.

Sucking in a quick breath, I stood up and left Laney sitting there beside Lindsey. “Wh..?” she gasped, looking around with wide eyes.

“Shhh,” I hissed at her. “You're at lunch with Lindsey.”

She peered next to her.

“I have to go check on something.”

Her eyes widened to take up most of her face.

“You'll be fine; I'll be right back.”

She didn't blink.

Guilt twinged at my heels as I ran from the cafeteria. I didn't have time though, I had to hurry if I hoped to find Tyler and Cassie. Laney would be fine, we had gone over our class schedule for just in case so she knew where to go after lunch. Well – she had a pretty good idea.

From an open classroom, I heard the unmistakable sounds of Cassie's shrill voice.

The closer I got to the fighting couple, the lower I crouched. They couldn't hear me and I knew it but it was hard for me to feel like I was dead.

“You're stupid,” Cassie growled. “I can't believe you would do that.”

I sucked in a quick breath. This was it, I was finally going to get a clue about what happened that night. All I had so far was one earring and a fuzzy memory of getting stabbed in the woods out at Jimmy Vale's.

“Why is it so hard to believe?” Tyler fired back. He had used that exact argument with me and I hated it.

But what did he do?

“Smoking is disgusting,” she crossed her arms over her chest, “if you think I'm ever going to kiss you again, you're so wrong.”

Smoking? I stood up straighter so I could get closer. There had to be more than that.

“A lot of people smoke, it's not a big deal.”

“It's gross.”

Oh my word. Had I really just followed these two to hear about Tyler's new smoking habit?

Utterly disappointed, I let my body sag against the wall. The two in front of me did a quick make up dance, kissed, and then left the room. What a waste of time. I had been so sure I would hear something about what happened the night I was killed.

Why did I care if Tyler was smoking. Cassie was right, it was gross; but I didn't care. With no other reason to stay in the room by myself, I left shortly after them.

The absence of my heels clacking against the linoleum in the hallway made my shoulders slump forward. Everything felt like it was falling apart; I couldn't catch a break.

I wasn't a freaking detective, why did I think I would be able to do this? Self pity crept in and settled inside of me, making me feel heavy despite my ghostly appearance.

“Hey,” a hiss sounded from just behind me. I spun around and came face to face with Clark.

“How did you know I was out here?”

“I watched you leave the cafeteria earlier.” Of course he did. “Is everything alright?”

“Not really.”

“Come in here with me,” he whispered, tugging on my hand.

My tongue clicked angrily against the roof of my mouth when I realized he had led me into the boys locker room. “What are we doing in here?”

“I can't keep talking to myself out there.”

“Someone is going to come in here,” I pointed out.

But Clark was already shaking his head. “This gym isn't being used right now, they're repainting it.” He grinned like a child who just got an extra scoop of ice cream.

“Why did you bring me in here?” I repeated.

He moved suddenly, taking me by surprise when his lips crushed against mine. Startled, I took several steps back until I was pressed against the wall behind me. Clark's kiss was relentless though, deepening naturally when my lips parted.

As his mouth moved down my neck and across my collar, his fingers splayed out along the bottom of my back. His hand moved up until it cupped my side, pulling me tight to his trembling body.

Oh my word. I was so glad he brought me in here where it was private.

~

I SPOTTED LANEY AT the same time that she saw me. Her eyes widened frantically and she ducked into the girls bathroom just as the bell started ringing.

“You're going to be late to class,” I sang out, meeting her in the bathroom

“Where have you been?” she cried dramatically.

Seeing the panic in her face, I felt a little guilty for spending so much time with Clark. I figured Laney could handle our government class but maybe I had been wrong.

“Did something happen?” I squeaked.

“Everyone was talking.”

“About what?”

“I don't know, they all acted like they knew me.”

Not knowing exactly how things would work, we had spent many hours pouring over old yearbooks – making sure Laney knew names and faces. And she did all the homework after school so she could keep up. It's not like I just left her blind.

“It's fine,” I assured her. “I had...something to do,” I hastily explained, “but I'm here now. I'll go to English.”

“You were gone too long,” she sniffed.

“Let's just go.” She was being a little over the top, it was just school. What was there to be afraid of? Of course, in this school, there was a killer loose.

I couldn't wipe the smile from my face when I had to pass Clark later that day to get to my locker. It didn't help that he was biting back his own grin. Now that school was over for the day, maybe I would go to Grady's with him.

I had heard in a cheesy movie once that it didn't matter where you were, but rather who you were with. I had rolled my eyes then. Now, I understood it perfectly.

“Hey there.”

At the unexpected greeting, my books slipped from my fingers and crashed to the floor. Colby bent forward and scooped them up for me before I could. My face drained of it's color; did he just see me making eyes at Clark?

“Hey,” I replied, my lips trembling.

“What's up?” He handed the books back to me.

“Nothing, really.”

“You have any plans after school?”

My thoughts drifted to a certain bedroom in a certain trailer. “Cheer leading practice at 4:30,” I shrugged.

“I was going to head to the library to get in some work on that essay for Miss. Dane. You want to come hang out?” His thumb rubbed vigorously on his other fingers.

“I...I can't today,” I stammered lamely. “I need to get home.”

“Oh,” his face fell dramatically. “Maybe some other time?”

“Sure.” I nodded, a little too enthusiastically. It was a relief when he left quickly.

It wasn't  quite as pleasant when Lindsey took his place. “What was that,” she practically growled – grabbing my locker door so I couldn't close it.

“Nothing,” I squeaked. Why was my mouth so dry all of a sudden?

“He asked you out?” she accused. “And you said no?”

“He asked me to go to the library.” That wasn't exactly a date.

“You're starting to really piss me off,” she huffed. “Are you trying to fail?”

“No.”

“Me and Laney are trying so hard for you.” She swallowed past any emotion that almost showed. “Shape up, forget Clark, date Colby.” She held three fingers in front of my face.

“In that order?” I had to bite back my own emotion.

“Pretty much.” With one last glare, she marched away from me.

It didn't sit well with me that she was right.

Sighing heavily, I pulled myself away from Laney and watched while she sputtered back to reality. “Avery,” she gasped. “We're still at school.”

“I know,” I grumbled, criss - crossing my arms over my chest. “I just got yelled at by Lindsey.”

“Why? What did you do?”

Why did she automatically think that I did something? Maybe Lindsey was just a bitch, why wasn't that her first thought? Irritated, I gestured to the still open locker. “Get our books, people are coming this way.”

“Aren't you going to?”

“Classes are done. You go on home.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have something I need to do. I'll meet you later at cheer practice.” I had driven Laney's car to school ever since Lindsey left me on that first day so she wouldn't have any issues getting home and back in time for practice.

“Are you going to tell me what happened with Lindsey?”

“Later,” I scowled. “You can't stand here and talk to yourself.” Besides, there was someone else I needed to see first.

~

I PULLED MYSELF TO the middle of Clark's comfortable bed and tucked my legs under themselves, Indian style. Clark wasn't home from school yet but it wouldn't be long. It's not like he had friends to hang out with.

When the door was finally pushed open, I was lost in thought about Lindsey and all she had been saying to me. I knew she was right but I didn't want to forget Clark. I had never liked anyone as much as I liked him.

“Avery?” he called out, waving one hand in front of my face. “Are you alright?”

“I think I need to date Colby Zeke,” I blurted out.

“What?”

“I...”

“I saw the two of you flirting at lunch,” he grumbled, turning away from me so he could very carefully put his bag on his desk.

“I wasn't flirting,” I immediately denied.

“Why do you have to date him?”

“I think I should. Don't you?”

“No,” he spun back around. “I don't want you to.”

“Oh.” My heart thudded in my chest. “I don't want to,” I admitted out loud. “I didn't even like him when I was alive.” As Avery, he would have never even dared to ask, but Laney was an unknown and this was the best stepping stone that was likely to come around. If I turned him down...

“So you're not going to date him?” Clark asked, his mouth turning up hopefully.

“No, of course I'm not.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I closed my eyes tight. It was confusing when I looked at Clark. I was torn between what I knew I should do and what I wanted to do.

When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer in Clark's bedroom.

An empty field stretched as far as I could see in any direction. I knew the fields outside of town where Varner's hotel was, but this wasn't it. I didn't recognize this place.

“Hello?” I called out. The sound echoed all around me, over and over again until I felt like I was drowning in the sound.

“Avery.” The woman's voice was one I recognized and it immediately cleared the echo away.

The Reaper was suddenly in front of me, dressed in the same black skirt. “You,” I breathed out. I was glad the echo was gone at least.

“And you.” She grinned wide, showing off all her perfect white teeth. “It's been a while, Avery Lewis.”

“Not really.” As much as I was dreading our next meeting, now that I saw her I could hardly stop myself from running to her. “What ... what are you doing here,” I stumbled over the several questions that tried to get out all at once. “Where are we?”

She shrugged, suddenly businesslike. “Have you found your killer yet?”

“Not yet.” I swallowed hard. Had she come to tell me that I was out of time?

“I figured,” she rolled her permanently annoyed eyes. “I called you here today to make sure you remembered why I let you stay.”

“The paperwork?” I squeaked. Last time I saw her she said a trouble making Reaper crashed an entire bus and caused a lot of paperwork.

“And,” her lips twitched, “to give you a chance to find your killer.”

“Right,” I nodded quickly.

“I can't stay,” she glanced at the sky as if she were disappointed that we couldn't stay and hang out. “Things haven't slowed down at all yet. But,” she pointed one finger at me, “I'll be watching you, Avery.”

Then, in a blink, she was gone again.

In the next instant, I was back in my own bedroom – gasping for air.

The Reaper.

What was wrong with me? How could I let myself get so engrossed with Clark that I could practically forget the stupid Reaper? Lindsey had been trying to tell me and I was fighting her the whole time. Seriously, what was wrong with me?

Besides being dead, of course.

Still shaken, I threw my legs off the side of my bed and let my feet rest on the familiar floor. Standing up, I crossed the room and sank onto my vanity seat.

Whenever I was sad or confused, I'd sit at this vanity and brush my hair until I was calm again. It was the place I could find myself when I felt lost.

This was no different.

All around the mirror, photographic faces from my past looked down at me. They didn't judge me though, they only reminded me who I actually was.

Avery Lewis.

I yanked down a picture of me, Lindsey, and Nina. It was taken at a football game last year. All three of us were grinning stupidly – unaware of what was coming. Just over Nina's shoulder, in the background of the picture, was Cassie.

My eyebrows furrowed as I pulled the photo closer. I had never noticed her before, obviously, or I would have never left it up there. Cassie was talking to one of the football players – both of them looked really angry. My stomach dropped when I recognized the guy.

Colby Zeke.

~

“LOOK AT THAT,” I PUNCHED the picture from my vanity with one finger.

“So?” Lindsey barely glanced at the picture I held.

Using Laney's body, I had grabbed the picture and went to find Lindsey in her room. Clearly, she wasn't impressed. “You didn't even look,” I accused angrily.

“I know the picture, Avery,” she rolled her eyes. “And I told you a million times to take it down; my hair looks ridiculous.”

“I'm not talking about your hair.” I slammed the picture on her desk so she was forced to look. “Do you see who Cassie is arguing with here?”

“What?” Finally interested, she plucked it up and looked closer. “Oh my word.”

“I know.”

“It's Colby.”

“I know.”

“What do you think they're fighting about?”

“No clue.”

“Did they date last year?”

“No. We would have heard about it.”

“For sure.” Lindsey's eyes narrowed. “Cassie is such a slut, she would want everyone to know if she had Colby.”

“Agreed; we need to find out more.”

Lindsey nodded. “Good thing he wants to date you.”

“It does kind of work out, huh?”

Granted, it wasn't much to go on – a fight that happened a year ago. But I had no idea that they were that close. Why was that a secret? What else did those two keep secret?

Chapter Six

“Do you remember what he looks like?” I asked from the passenger seat of Laney's car.

“I remember,” she assured me. The night before, I had explained what we saw in the picture and told Laney we would be dating Colby.

Now, on the drive to school, she seemed so much calmer than I felt. Probably because she wasn't worried about what Clark would think.

I couldn't either.

Laney pulled into an empty spot and killed the engine. Lindsey had wanted her to drive my car since it was nicer but she was quickly shot down. Driving around in a dead girl's car would raise too many eyebrows.

“There he is,” she declared, nodding in the direction of the front door. Sure enough, there was Colby walking towards the school.

“Yep.” The word came out with a heavy sigh.

“Are you ready to go inside?”

“Yeah.”

“You have a plan?”

Not really a plan. I was just going to go in and pretend I didn't turn him down. Simple enough. “Of course.” As my eyes scanned the parking lot, the fell on Cassie. Maybe I had been looking for her. She wasn't looking my way though; she was staring after Colby.

As soon as I was through the front door, right behind Cassie, my eyes scanned the familiar hallway for the face that I was looking for. I didn't find Colby right away though, instead my gaze fell on Clark.

He was staring at me so intently it felt like he could see right through me. His eyebrows furrowed low on his lined forehead, making his dark eyes narrow.

Don't look at me Clark, I wanted to tell him. This isn't how I want things either, it's just the way it is, so just stop glaring at me and making things worse.

"Hey," a deep voice cooed next to my ear.

I whirled around and came face to face with Colby. "Hey yourself," I trilled back breathlessly. "Will you walk me to class?"

He tilted his head, his grin growing wider by the second. "Where are you heading?"

"Does it matter?"

Colby's face lit up into several shades of red. "I guess not," he admitted.

I had him; that was easier than I expected.

With a small confident tilt of my chin, I grabbed Colby's hand up into mine. It wasn't surprising that he squeezed tight to increase the bond in our fingers.

"What is this?" Lindsey approached us from the other end of the hall and tapped lightly on our joined hands. "Do I smell love in the air?"

"It's probably just stale donuts from the teacher's lounge," Nina scowled dramatically, joining the three of us in the hall. Billie and Clara were with her.

"Ugh," Billie rolled her eyes. "I hate the smell of coffee."

"I don't think it's the coffee we smell," Nina grinned wickedly as someone passed us.

Doris Freed.

"Oh my word," Lindsey sang maliciously. "What the hell is she wearing?" Doris pulled her dark green sweater closed tight over an extremely tight purple dress that cut off well above her knees.

"You think her grandma knitted that sweater," Nina snickered.

"Cute sweater, Dora," Billie catcalled.

Doris didn't look back to acknowledge us.

A small part of me felt bad for her, the part of me that sounded a lot like Clark's voice. I pushed that little voice down as far as possible, vowing to deal with him later.

For now - the game was on.

"Oh my word," I laughed into my cupped fist. "Did she even look into a mirror this morning?"

A chorus of laughter echoed all around me. I was very careful not to meet Clark's unfriendly gaze.

We stopped right outside the biology classroom, still holding hands. The other girls had went their own ways, leaving me and Colby to walk alone down the hall.

"Have fun in there," he wriggled his eyes in the direction of the classroom behind me.

"What class do you have?"

"Government."

"Ew." I crinkled my nose at his misfortune.

It probably wouldn't be such a bad class if Miss. Berry didn't teach it. She was in her early fifties and the highlight of her life was when her husband dropped dead in his cereal one morning. She swore she didn't kill him and since there was no real proof, she went free. Now she spent her days getting a little to hands on with the boys at our school.

"At least its an easy A," he shrugged with a low chuckle.

"I'll meet you for lunch?"

"Of course." He leaned forward and pressed his lips lightly to my cheek.

Putting forth the right amount of shy delight, I spun around and entered the biology room. It was only when I was half way to my table that I remembered who my biology partner was.

"You two make a cute couple," Clark commented through tightly pursed lips.

"Mmm," I simpered, setting my chair as far away from him as possible.

"Colby Zeke," he scoffed, making a gagging sound in the back of his throat.

"What's wrong with Colby?" I shot back.

"Besides that he's taken one too many hits in the head during football?"

"He's really nice."

"Spare me the details."

Like I was going to give him any. How weird would that be?  Wasn't it just a few days ago that I was fighting my own green eyed monster over him flirting with Doris?

Mr. Baird came in then, pushing a cart of ominous looking jars with things floating in them. Ever since he made us dissect frogs in our freshman year, I had never trusted him.

Next to me, Clark was still grinding his teeth together and looking murderous as hell. Maybe I should add him to the list of suspects, I mentally noted.

"Alright boys and girls," Mr. Baird called, "each table needs to come up and collect a jar."

Clark and I silently battled with our glares over who would go. I lost. Slouching up to the front of the class, I grabbed up the first jar I saw. This wasn't going to be a fun class, I inwardly groaned.

First Clark, now this.

I stacked my books neatly on my desk and glanced again at the big clock over the door. The bell would be ringing any second. The jars, it turned out, held different organs of an adult pig. I had picked the liver for me and Clark to study, but it was put away now.

The bell rang suddenly, making me jump even though I expected it. I jumped up along with everyone else, ready to escape the room and all the tension my partner brought with it.

"Avery," Clark called out, "can you wait a minute? I want to talk to you."

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "Don't call me that here."

"No one can hear us," he pointed out, looking around at the rapidly departing students.

"What do you want?" I hissed. Since I knew I couldn't have Clark, being close to him kind of sucked.

"What I want," he replied forcefully, "is to know why you're dating him. You said you weren't going to."

"You already know why." As if we were in a battle and I needed to protect myself, I crossed my arms tightly over my chest.

"Being popular is this important to you?"

"Of course it is, Clark."

"I was starting to think..." He clamped his mouth shut angrily.

"Starting to think what?"

"Just forget it."

"Forget what?" Colby came into the room, his gaze going expectantly to Clark.

"Nothing," Clark growled. With one last seething glare at me, he stalked past us and out into the busy hallway.

"What was that about?" Colby asked me.

"No idea." Plastering a smile on my face, I threaded my arm through his. "What are you doing here?"

"Just passing by." His boyish giggle was hard not to respond to. "I'll walk with you to your locker."

Hopefully Clark had already gotten his books exchanged for the next class's and was on his way. It was so much harder to flirt with Colby when he was glaring at me.

"So," Colby began from above me while I squatted to gather a notebook from the bottom of my locker. Clark, thankfully, was no where in sight.

"So," I wriggled my eyebrows playfully.

"Do you have any plans tonight?"

How lame. "We both have plans," I laughed unnaturally high. "Game tonight."

"Oh, right."

Did he really forget it was Friday? "I'll for sure see you there. I'll be the one in the tiny skirt."

"What about after the game?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I've been staying with Lindsey so I'll probably just go back with her."

"What about fifth quarter? Do you want to go with me?"

Fifth Quarter was an after party that the town held in the basement of an old church that was turned into a theater years ago. It was usually an ok time despite its PG rating. "Ok," I replied quickly, standing up again. "Sounds fun."

"Awesome."

Indeed.

~

COLBY PULLED OPEN THE heavy grey door that led straight to the church's basement. Being a Friday night, an old movie was playing in the main part of the church, where the theater was now. But down in the basement, where a room full of students lounged on various couches and chairs, the movie couldn't be heard at all.

At the far end of the room were two pool tables that had definitely seen better days. Still, they were functional. Clark was bent over one of them with a long wooden pool stick in his hand.

Shocked, I paused just inside the door. I had never seen him at Fifth Quarter before. I didn't even know he knew it was a thing.

As per the unspoken rule, Colby and I split up in the middle of the room. I went to sit with the other girls on the squad and he went to sit with a group of guys.

"Hey Laney," Clara greeted before anyone else. "You and Colby, huh?"

"Yep, me and Colby," I sighed, letting myself sink into a soft chair.

My eyes shifted on their own accord to the shabby pool table. Clark was done with his turn and was waiting on Ray Morris, one of the football boys, to take his turn. My breath caught in my throat when his eyes moved subtly to meet mine. For some reason, I couldn't look away.

"Clark Daniels," Clara suddenly declared his name as if she could read my thoughts.

"What about him?" Clementine asked, following the younger girl's gaze.

"He's so hot now."

"Hot?" a chorus of disbelief followed.

"Well," she shrugged awkwardly, "he does look different now and Lindsey said..."

"What did I say?" Lindsey swept suddenly into the room.

"Clara was just talking about Clark," Nina informed her, her eyes shining with something akin to malice.

"He's alright." Lindsey's words wiped Nina's grin off her face. "Move over, let me sit down."

My teeth clenched tight together as I willed myself not to say anything stupid. To these people, I was Laney Daniels - Clark's cousin. Jealousy would be weird. Don't be weird.

"You could set me up, right Laney?" Clara jabbed my shoulder with one boney finger.

"What?"

"You can set me up with your cousin," she winked.

"You...probably know him better...than me," I stuttered. Not being weird was getting harder. "You should just...ask him...or something."

"I wouldn't even know what to talk about," she giggled. "What does he like?"

"Did you come with Colby?" Lindsey asked me, cutting off Clara's babbling about Clark.

"Yeah."

"Good job on that," she lifted one eyebrow.

I wanted to feel good, like I had accomplished something, but I just felt like a traitor. "It's not like it was difficult," I muttered, sweeping my gaze back to Clark.

The door opened again, letting in a quick burst of chilly air. Along with the cold came something else that put a shiver in my spine. Cassie and her two shadows - Brynn and Madeline.

Oh my word.

I craned my neck to see around the girls, expecting to see Tyler coming in behind them. The door didn't open though, he wasn't with them.

Lindsey was staring at me when my eyes went back to her. I wasn't the only one to notice the absence of Tyler. Why wasn't he here? This is where everyone came after the games. Even Clark was here.

"Ladies," Cassie purred after she had sauntered up to our group.

"Slut," Lindsey returned the greeting.

"Nice to see you too, Linds," Cassie growled. "As always."

"I was hoping we'd have a skank free night," Lindsey pursed her lips delicately, "but I guess we can't have everything."

"Where's Tyler?" I blurted out.

Cassie's eyes honed in on me. "I don't see how that is any of your business."

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" Nina sneered at Cassie. "I'm pretty sure Brynn's mom wants her home." There was a murmur of laughter from the girl's around her.

Brynn's mom was the most nervous person I had ever met. When we were young, she never let Brynn go anywhere without her twin, Nadine. These days, Nadine was most definitely not invited.

"Hey Laney," Colby approached our group with a nervous smile and an offer of chocolate chip cookies on an outstretched napkin. "They have cookies; do you want some?"

"They put those same cookies out every single week," Nina snarled. "No one eats them."

"Ew," Billie echoed.

"Oh," his childish grin faltered. "I just..."

"I'm not hungry," I hurried to tell him before the girls could say anything else. "Thanks anyways."

As Colby turned to go back to his side of the room, he came face to face with Cassie. Both of them stopped moving and stared at each other for enough seconds to make it uncomfortable.

What was going on with these two? They obviously had a secret; a secret that I was going to discover. It could have had something to do with that night at Jimmy Vale's. I was stabbed by someone and no matter what - someone knew what had happened to me. Did these two know something?

"Are you two dating?" Cassie asked him. She didn't look at me but it was clear who she was talking about; it was also clear that she didn't approve.

"Umm..."

In one graceful movement, I was up and had my arm threaded through Colby's. "I don't see how that is any of your business," I threw her earlier words back at her.

"Whatever," she growled. Still glaring, she spun away and stalked across the room with her two sidekicks trailing behind her.

~

“DID YOU HAVE FUN TONIGHT?”

Not really. “Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Especially since I got to go with you.” I ducked my head in the darkness of the car. Flirting with Colby was easy because he believed it so readily and yet difficult because I didn't like him in that way at all. I had gone with him though, so I didn't have much choice but to accept his offer to drive me home.

I wanted to be with Clark though; I needed to see what he thought of Colby and Cassie. I hadn't been able to talk to him much about it yet.

Without meaning to, I disentangled myself from Laney's body and found myself in the back seat of Colby's car. It was lucky for both me and Laney that it was so dark inside the car – and that Colby was focused on driving. He didn't notice the confusion all over Laney's face when she found herself alone.

“Where are we going?” she blurted.

“I'm...” he glanced quickly at her and then at the road again, “I'm taking you home.”

“Don't panic,” I warned her quickly. “Colby is driving us home from Fifth Quarter. Remember I told you we were going with him?”

“Oh...right.”

“Are you ok?” Colby asked, worry thick in his voice.

“Fine,” Laney trilled back.

"Laney, I need to go find Clark."

"Clark?"

"What?" The car jerked slightly with Colby's surprise. "Clark Daniels?"

"Umm...I think I'm just really tired," she cleared her throat lightly. She was usually so much better at being calm.

"Colby will take you home," I pointed out. "I need to see Clark."

"Why?" she hissed through the side of her mouth. As if Colby couldn't hear her.

"You'll be fine." She didn't look like she would be fine but since we weren't alone, she couldn't say much.

With a slight twinge of guilt, I popped out of the car. The next thing I knew, I was standing outside of the old church again. The movie must have just let out, there was a steady stream of people coming from the front doors. Most of them weren't students.

Colby and I had left early after the awkward greeting with Cassie. I had hoped I could get some information from him but he wouldn't say anything. I scanned the crowd for Clark; he wasn't coming out though.

Fully irritated, just when I was ready to go inside to check, I noticed a familiar form sneak around the side of the building. It was Brynn Orson and she looked like she was upset.

Chapter Seven

There was something in the air, a tension that I could almost taste. Something bad was coming. I wrapped my arms around my body and shivered, despite being a ghost.

I didn't like Brynn, she was a bratty little sheep, but she didn't deserve to have anything really bad happen to her. Not like it had happened to me.

Gathering my waning courage, I hurried to follow Brynn into the alley behind the old church. Why the hell would she come here on purpose? Huffing lightly, I scanned the heavy shadows in the alley. I couldn't pierce the darkness though, it was like she just disappeared.

I was finally able to find her by honing in on the sound of her crying. There, crouching so low she was practically sitting on the filthy ground, was Brynn. Her hand was pressed tight against her mouth to stop the sounds from over taking the silence. It wasn't working all that well.

Something very close to fear started to swell up in my chest. Why was she crying? I had never even seen her sad before.

"Why did you call me?" she gasped. "What are you doing?"

My head whirled around, searching for who ever she was talking to. It took me a minute to realize she was on the phone.

"I told you not to call me," she hissed into the small square device that she held tight to her ear.

Holding my breath so she wouldn't hear me, I took several steps forward. Then, realizing how stupid that was, I blew the air out and hurried the rest of the way forward.

“I'm with the girls,” she wailed into the phone, “you can't just call me whenever you want.”

My eyebrows dipped low. I was glad she couldn't see me but at the same time, I longed to ask her who she was talking to. She would lie to me, of course. It seemed that there was an awful lot of that going on in Clearview. Searching for my killer was opening my eyes to so much more.

Who ever she was talking to, she didn't want us to know about it. Secrets. Lies. Murder. How the hell did all this happen in the same town I had lived in my whole life?

“Don't call me again,” Brynn suddenly growled, loud enough to make her voice echo in the empty alley. With a low grunt, she flung the phone away from her. It landed with a metallic clank against the other wall of the alley.

The screen was still lit up. When I ran over to see who she had been talking to, “The Bitch” was sprawled across the top of the screen. “Ugh,” I groaned, “that could be anybody.” Her sister, her mom, her boyfriend, Cassie...

It was probably Cassie, I concluded with what little information I had. Cassie seemed to be at the heart of every lie and secret I had uncovered so far. It made sense that she was the one who made Brynn cry. I couldn't help but feel bad for her, all alone and crying in some dirty alley way. Her and Cassie were supposed to be best friends.

This was so similar to what had happened to me; goosebumps erupted along my arms and the back of my neck. The people who had said they were my friends ended up not actually being my friends at all. And one of them had killed me, or at least knew who did. Someone knew something, someone had seen something. I had been left alone in an alley.

Just like Brynn.

The air around us got suddenly very cold. A steady stream of white breath came from Brynn's trembling lips, but she didn't seem to notice the danger she was in. At the far end of the alley stood a large dumpster, the perfect size to hide a body behind.

Oh my word.

“Brynn,” I screamed out. I knew she couldn't hear me; I needed her to get out of here and back to where people were. “Get up,” I screeched. “Don't just sit there and cry.”

Just then, from somewhere in the far shadows, came the unmistakable sound of something or someone knocking against the brick of the old church. Luckily, I wasn't the only one who heard it.

Brynn's pitiful cries stopped in her throat and her head snapped up. "Hello?" she called out nervously.

Don't say anything. Just stay quiet and run.

"Is someone there?"

"Well, well, well," a scathing voice called back, "what do we have here?"

I was watching Brynn so I didn't see where the girls came from, I only saw the widening of her eyes when she recognized them. Heart beating wildly, I turned as if I were moving in slow motion.

Three girls stood there, looking extremely out of place in their short cheerleading skirts. Nina, Billie, and Clementine wore matching grins, their eyes all on Brynn.

"What are you doing here?" Brynn asked, sliding up the bricks to stand up again.

"We were just about to ask you the same thing," Billie taunted. "What's Brynn Orson doing back here bawling her eyes out?"

"Did you and your boyfriend get in a fight?" Clementine jeered.

"More like her girlfriend."

All three of them laughed at this. It was no secret that Brynn liked the short skirts for an entirely different reason than any of us did but so what? We all made a game of guessing who would be her crush of the week.

Of course, she never admitted to liking girls. And Nina's accusation certainly didn't sound like a game. Oh my word, how did I not know these girls at all? 

“I...” Brynn looked wildly around her, as if hoping a believable excuse would fall from the sky. “I hurt my ankle at the game earlier,” she lied lamely.

“And you're crying about it now?” Billie snorted. “Whatever.”

“I smell a little liar,” Clementine sang maliciously.

“You really shouldn't be out here alone.” Nina suddenly got serious, but it wasn't a friend warning another friend. “I heard there's a killer in town.” It was a threat.

But no, we had ruled Nina out. She wasn't smart enough to kill someone and then get away with it. She was a bitch, for sure, but not a killer.

Still...

I couldn't deny the shiver of fear that traveled the length of my body, making me shudder. Being a lawyer, dad had seen many criminals. He always said that people never stopped surprising him, you couldn't tell just by looking at someone if they were capable of doing horrible things.

A memory flashed through my tension filled mind, a flash of a knife slicing through the air and plunging into my body. Could I be absolutely sure that one of these girls hadn't been holding that knife? No. One of them could have been the killer. Anyone could be.

Brynn swallowed so hard that I actually heard her throat working. "I just came down here for a second." Her bravado slipped quite a bit.

The girls noticed.

"You decided to come down this alley to have a nervous breakdown?" Billie smiled wide, showing off all her perfect - paid for- teeth.

"I'm not having a breakdown," Brynn jutted her chin out.

If I had been alive and there, I would have told the girls to screw off. Hopefully.

"That's not what I see." As one, they came closer until they were barely a foot away from Brynn.

"What are you three doing down here anyways?"

Wasn't it obvious? It wasn't like this was a perfect hang out spot.

"We followed you." Clementine didn't bother trying to hide it.

It was a good thing that I was already dead. I was having trouble catching my breath, my lungs weren't working. I had no idea how Brynn was just standing there so calmly. These girls were going to kill her. One of them have done it to me and threw me behind a dumpster.

My eyes moved on their own accord to take in the large dumpster behind them. They wouldn't even have to go that far to get rid of the body.

I had to do something. But what? No one could see me, no one could hear me, I didn't even have a phone. What the hell was I supposed to do? I considered leaving Brynn and trying to find help but quickly discarded that idea. Clark was the only one who could see me and I didn't know where he was. For all I knew, he was too far away to help.

I was on my own.

Brynn was on her own.

When Nina lunged forward, Brynn cowered away. "Stop," I screamed out loud, despite knowing they couldn't hear.

Not knowing what to do, I swung my arm blindly at a stack of boxes that were leaning precariously against the dumpster. To my surprise, and everyone else's, several of the boxes went flying. At the same time, a high pitched scream split the night air. The temperature in the alley dropped significantly.

"What the hell?" Billie moved her head wildly, trying to find the source of whatever had happened. When her eyes found the boxes, they widened. "Let's get out of here," she suggested nervously.

"Good idea," Clementine seconded.

The trio practically ran back to the street where people were still finding their cars and leaving the church. Visibly shaken, Brynn retrieved her phone and followed them.

Even after I was alone in the alley, the deep feeling of dread didn't go away. If anything it got worse. My beloved town wasn't what it used to be. Things were getting scary.

The boxes that lay on the ground creaked in the frigid wind that sailed down the alley. Too bad I couldn't manage to knock things over all the time.

Head down and heart in my throat, I made my way out of the alley and back out to the main street. People were standing around in small groups still; talking and laughing. Typical Friday night in a small town. If they weren't ready to go home to their boxed families, this was the place to be.

In the distance, I saw Clark's head pop out of the crowd. Relief washed over me and a smile formed on my trembling lips. I could tell him all about the things that happened in the alley, he would know what it all meant. He always made me feel better.

The smile froze like a block of ice in the next second though. He was getting in a car with Clara.

Clark was leaving me there alone so he could go with her.

Defeated and alone, I let myself get pulled back into the shadows behind me. Why did everything feel like it was falling apart all of a sudden? I was dead; who knew that being dead was so hard. Everyone had left me behind, I was forgotten.

Self pity had never been a favorite game of mine but it was coming in waves now until I felt like I was actually drowning.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to prevent the tears that I could feel coming on. I was Avery Lewis – I did not cry in dark alleyways because my friends all left me. I was...I was...dead.

When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in front of my house. It wasn't surprising that I ended up there. Where else did I have to go?

Puffing my cheeks out as far as they would go, I slowly let the air back out. “You got this,” I whispered, “you just need to focus on what's important.” Clark was not important. Who he left with and who he chose to spend time with were not important to me. They made me feel shitty but they weren't important.

“Right.” I slipped through the front door, shivering at the feeling.

I ran my tongue across my bottom lip. If I was still alive, Clark wouldn't have left with another girl. No matter how cute she was.

How could I blame Clark for wanting Clara? She was alive, people could see her. But really - she wasn't even that cute.

What I didn't understand is why she was going after him.

My breathing quickly turned into a heavy sigh. The house was empty and dark, much too big for the three people that still lived there.

The kitchen was pristine, just the way my mom always left it. Contrary to it's name, the living room didn't look like anyone had done any living in there in a long while.

Where was everyone?

I was turning into a baby. How annoying.

With a last eye roll and a huff, I hurried down the short hall to Laney's room. She must be in there waiting for me. Hopefully she wasn't too pissed that I had left her alone with Colby - but whatever. I wanted to find her now and tell her what had happened in the alley.

Her room was as empty as the rest of the house though. Since I didn't have my vessel, I couldn't exactly use a phone.

I climbed up on the bed and laid down on my side, curling my legs close to my body. I didn't like being left behind by everyone.

As soon as my eyes closed, Tyler's face came into my head. As cheap and gross as he was now, there was a time when he was the hottest thing I had ever seen.

"That was a nice catch," I called out, smiling wide enough to show some teeth.

"Thanks," Tyler replied, looking at me from my toes up to my face. "Avery Lewis," he wriggled one eyebrow, "looking good today, as usual."

I shoved my hands into my pockets and made sure to look shyly at the ground. I wasn't a natural at flirting but I had been preparing for this moment. “As usual, huh?”

“Why don't you go out with me tonight,” he blurted out, his eyes shining.

“Sure. Why not?”

By the time my eyes came back open, tears were leaking onto the bedspread. I was crying again – over Tyler.

“No,” I told myself firmly. I was crying over the me that I had lost, the popular girl that got the boy. I was crying for Avery Lewis.

Blowing air through my lips, I pulled myself up on the bed. I felt empty on the inside, like I wasn't myself at all anymore. Maybe that was what happened when you died; you slowly become something else. Or maybe it was because I had been left behind, forgotten by a world that wanted to move on without me in it.

“I am not letting them get away with this,” I vowed, squeezing my eyes shut tight. Even if I had to do it on my own, I was going to find out who killed me. I had to.

When I opened my eyes again, I wasn't in Laney's room anymore. I had no idea where I was, actually. It was inside a building but no building that I had ever been in before. It was huge with tall stacks of metal crates lined against the walls.

Had the Reaper brought me here, did she come for me again?

“Hello?” My voice echoed off the walls and came back to me. “Is anyone in here?”

No one answered, but the soft sound of piano music was coming from somewhere. Moving slowly, I followed the sound down a long narrow hall and into a small room. It looked like there were more rooms further back, as if this was the office space for a rundown factory.

A light was on – someone was here.

I turned and came face to face with a wall covered in pictures. My heart sped up as I began to recognize the faces in the pictures. Billie, Nina, Lindsey, Clara, Brynn...it was the entire cheerleading squad. There had to be at least a hundred pictures.

Words that had been cut from magazines were sprinkled in the pictures. “Bitch,” I read out loud, grazing over the word with one finger. Billie's face was circled in red ink. “Skinny, fake.” I swallowed hard, continuing to study the pictures.

My face was up there too. Under it was the caption “one down, how many to go?”

There was a symbol carved into the wall, a symbol I knew well. A perfect circle with a line through it. I touched the place on my hip where I knew there was a match to that symbol.

Every year, the squad had an unofficial cheer camp out at Varner's hotel. Just us girls, learning routines and doing crazy shit. All the freshmen were required to get the “code” branded on their hip if they wanted to be on the squad.

All of us did it.

We laid on the floor while a senior burned us with an iron brand of a circle with a single line through it. It was supposed to represent our unending bond; even if someone tried to divide us, the circle remained unbroken.

My chest suddenly burned with a white hot pain. I pulled my shirt away to look and found that the same mark had been carved into my flesh. Why had I never noticed that before?

“Who should be next?” a girl's voice rang out, making me gasp. “This one,” she giggled, “don't you think so Smokey?”

Oh my word. Was I in the same room as the killer?

**CONTINUED IN BOOK 4; THE DEATH OF A CHEERLEADER**

Also By:

Bloodvine Series:

Willow

Fern

Ivy

Immortal Love Series:

Timeless

Always

Everlasting

Eternal

When Leslie Cries Trilogy:

Deceitful Whispers

Revengeful Chatter

Unforgiving Scream

The Girl From Ortec Trilogy:

Crashing Waves

Black Dolphin

Building Sandcastles

Aella Duology:

Lost in Flight

Found in Time

Speak No Evil Trilogy:

Unspoken

Soft Spoken

Outspoken

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Amy-Richie/e/B009CG88CK

About the Author

Amy Richie has lived in a small town her entire life. She lives with her three kids and their cats, George and Ellie. She began writing in high school but never took it seriously until a few years ago. She enjoys writing because it takes her out of her everyday life and gives life to the people in her head. “When I was little I wanted to be a mermaid, then when I was in high school I wanted to be a vampire; now as an adult I’m a writer, which is better because now I get to be both.”

Read more at Amy Richie’s site.