- Aria's POV -

"Aria, I'm afraid you'll have to share rooms with Miles since we only have one guest bedroom that your aunt and uncle will take," Kristen informs, smirking slightly. I don't miss the quick exchange between the four adults.

Oh, god. They're up to something, aren't they?

"Um, I'm perfectly comfortable with taking the couch in the living room," I try, biting my lip.

Gabe shakes his head. "No, no. Miles' has got a sofa-bed in his room. He'll be taking that while you'll get the bed."

Kill me.

There is no way I'm getting out of this one. And I want to save up my energy for the prank so I could get everything done fast, not waste it on an argument I know I won't win.

"Uh, okay. Where's his room?" I ask, picking up my duffel bag that was full of clothes and Stitch.

"Upstairs. It's the second last door on the right." Kristen instructs, pointing towards the staircase.

I nod and hurry up the steps and barge into Miles' room, dropping the duffel bag on the floor. I take a moment to study my surroundings since I was . . . distracted the last time I was here.

His king sized bed is placed against the wall in the middle of the room, with grey sheets and a black duvet. The walls are painted dark grey, almost black. A desk sits by the wall next to the window and across from the bed is a console table with an Xbox One and two controllers, plus a flat screen television on the wall above it. And, just like Gabe had said, there is indeed a sofa-bed next to the door.

A mischievous smile makes its way to my lips when my eyes land on an open door that revealed a small walk-in closet.

Now all I have to do is pick the best looking pair of shoes he owns and hide the rest. School ends in about two hours and thirty minutes, so I've got to work fast. I dart inside the closet and place a hand on my hip, looking at the rack that holds about twenty pairs of shoes.

He's seriously obsessed.

What catches my eye turns out to be the brightest pair of red shoes I've ever seen.

No, seriously! It's even brighter than Merida's hair!

I take the shoes and toss it onto the floor of Miles' room, then run downstairs and peek into the living room to see if anyone's there. When I spot no one, I walk into the kitchen and look into the fridge.

"Aha!" I whisper-yell, snatching the container of cream cheese from the fridge, I grab a butter knife and go back upstairs, closing the door to Miles' room behind me. Will I regret this? Probably. But in my opinion, ruining my artwork is much worse. Like I mentioned before, that went way beyond a prank.

Really, all it will need is a wash and they should only stink for a couple of days. Obviously, I have much more in store for him, but I'd like to start off with this.

It takes me ten minutes to fill the inside of the shoes with the cream cheese all the way in, because I am a bit of a perfectionist and I just have to smooth it out. Grinning, I put the shoes back on the rack and throw all the other shoes onto the ground, wondering where to hide them.

But my face drops when the door swings open. Kristen steps in the room with a bright smile. "Hey, Aria. Are you—oh! Um, what are you doing?"

Oh, shit!

"I was just . . . trying on Miles' awesome shoes! Yeah, they're cool." I panic, laughing nervously.

Kristen shakes her head and raises a brow at me. "I know for a fact that your feet are much smaller than my son's. There would be no point in you trying them out. Pranking Miles, are we?"

God, this lady's smart.

She continues with her eyes twinkling, "Well, let me help you hide them. I love messing with my husband and Miles."

Okay, she's cool.

Kristen swoops a bunch of the shoes into her hands and I mimic her, following her down into the cold basement.

"Miles hates basements. He thinks there's some ghost down here, or something. He won't ever place a foot here." She laughs and dumps the shoes into what looks like a storage closet.

Huh, no wonder he was the first to run out of the abandoned museum.

This is very valuable knowledge. I can probably use this to my advantage someday. Even though basements kind of creeped me out too, I'm not terrified of them. It looks like I've just found Miles' weakness.

"I can't wait to see his reaction. Make sure to catch it on camera for me if I'm not there." Kristen laughs again, patting my shoulder.

Oh, I definitely will.

●●●

I was sitting peacefully on the bed and making a quick sketch of a bald eagle, until I was interrupted ever so rudely.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" Miles snarls after bursting through the door.

Huh, I get the feeling of deja vu.

Shrugging, I point towards the window and the perfect view of my trashed room. Miles scowls before making his way towards the window and looks into my room where a couple of investigators were clicking pictures and taking notes.

"Why is your room all red, and messed up? And who are those guys?" He questions, turning back to me.

"I don't know why my room's like that, and those good looking dudes are investigators." I answer, closing my sketchbook and placing my pencil behind my ear.

Yes, I am one of those people who do that.

"Uh, okay. But why are you in my house?"

"Don't ask me, I'm too lazy to explain."

Miles rolls his eyes and exits the room, leaving me in peace for a whole fifteen minutes before barging back inside. "Your aunt and uncle just explained everything."

So he finally found out.

"Okay, and?" I bite my lip, crossing my arms over my chest.

He sighs and sits on the edge of the bed, looking at me dead in the eye. "How are you not freaking out?! There's a killer after you."

I have laugh at that. If I give into my fear completely, I would just be giving the murderer satisfaction. And that would only make me look weak and vulnerable. I'm not letting that happen.

But instead of telling Miles that, I just say, "I don't know. I'm trying not to."

Miles nods and keeps his gaze on the floor. His eye twitches and he finally blurts, "Why would someone want to kill your parents?"

I didn't have an answer to that. It's the same question I've been asking myself everyday for three years.

Why would anyone want to get rid of Mom and Dad?

As far as I know, they didn't have any enemies. Everyone had loved them, and I'm not exaggerating when I say the whole town mourned over their death.

My eyes sting with tears, but I blink them away. Crying isn't going to do me any good. "That's what I'd like to know, too."

After a moment, Miles speaks with a frown. "You're safe here. You know that, don't you?"

I don't feel safe anywhere.

Deciding to change the topic, I shake my head and say, "I'm taking the bed, by the way."

Surprisingly, he lets out a laugh. Now that I think about it, I've only heard him laugh a couple of times before. And wow, the sound is so soothing it makes me smile.

"Somehow, I knew you'd say that." His blue eyes are full of mischief. "Oh, and Shortcake? Don't even try pranking me in my own house."

I smirk and wink. "I can't promise anything."

He mumbles something before walking into his closet and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.

Whipping my phone out of my pocket, I tip toe towards the doorway and start recording. His face when he turns around is absolutely priceless.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ALL OF MY SHOES?!"