Aiden’s POV:

I was walking down the hallway trying to find London after she left with her friend Avery. I don’t know what it is about that girl that drives me crazy. It’s not her looks although she is very beautiful, it’s her personality. In simple words she doesn’t give a shit and I love that. In all the years we’ve been going to school together she’s always ignored our group and didn’t throw herself at us like all the other girls with low self-esteem. I’ve liked London for a while now and when I say a ‘while’ I mean a while. The guys and I have been friends since forever. Our parents even vacation together. Yeah they’re those types of people. The guys and I don’t flaunt our money like other preppy rich people, those are just obnoxious. Sure we blow our money to buy whatever we want like our rides or like the houses that surround London’s. Yeah, she didn’t seem too happy about that.

“London!” I hear Avery scream frantically as I round the corner. When they come into view I see why, London’s swaying I just know that she’s going to pass out. In a flash I’m there to catch her before she falls to the hard ground. She seemed tired earlier but if I had known I would’ve taken her home. We take her to the nurse’s office where the nurse informs that her blood pressure is too low. I call Asher for help so we can drive her to the hospital since her parents aren’t picking up and I can’t take her on my bike.

Asher gets here in a flash, to others it may be surprising but I’m his best friend. He says and acts like he doesn’t like her but if that were true he would’ve told me to find her some other ride, plain and simple. Asher is not the most compassionate person in the world but he is one heck of a friend.

“What’s happened?” he questions when he gets there as the other guys trail behind him. All looking worried and concerned for this feisty girl that looks so innocent in her unconscious state. Avery explains everything as we all make our way to the parking lot, London in my hands. Nobody from the staff dare argue with us not in this situation just like in any other. Sometimes a bad rep isn’t so bad.

“Avery you ride with Aaron,” I instruct since the cars are two seaters. I lay London carefully and strap her in, nod to Asher who’s driving while I get on my bike. We arrive at the hospital since we ignored speed limits. We make our way in where the nurses take London and do whatever it is they do while they force us to wait. It may seem a bit weird for all the guys to seem attached to London since we just met her but truth is we’ve always watched over her, even big bad Asher.

“This is taking too long, I’m going to go demand they let me in,” Ashton pipes in as he makes his way to the nurse’s desk. Nobody argues with him because we all know Ashton is not a patient person especially if it’s someone he cares about. We all watch awestruck as the nurse just nods to whatever he tells her.

“Come on guys, they’re making an exception,” he tells us as the nurse guides us to London’s room. We say nothing, only follow.

“She suffered from severe exhaustion. We can tell she has had no sleep for a while, so she’s resting right now,” the nurse informs us no longer putting up a fight.

“Five days,” we all turn to Avery who hasn’t spoken since we got here. She makes her way to London’s bed and stands over her protectively. “She hasn’t had proper rest for five days.”

“You knew?” I question.

“She told me today at lunch,” she answers.

“That’s what you were talking about? No wonder she looked so terrible,” he remarks.

“Why?” Aaron questions. She just smiles ruefully at us.

“That I cannot tell you, I’ve been sworn to secrecy. I do have a question, what’s your objective?”

“What do you mean?” Athen inquires.

“What are you trying to accomplish by hanging out with her because I swear if she gets hurt I will make you all pay,” she informs us calmly and it’s that calm demeanor that tells us she’s very serious.

“I like her,” I speak up.

“So the rumors are true?”

“Yes,” I answer honestly. She sizes me up and I guess she approves because she doesn’t comment. I take this moment to take London in. Now when one would expect her to be in a peaceful slumber she looks anything but. Avery just strokes London as if she’s a delicate porcelain doll not seeming fazed by London’s expression.

“Where am I?” London stirs as she awakens.

“In the hospital with the guys,” Avery informs her, but it seems like London went back to sleep. “Would you guys mind going to get us something from the cafeteria while I speak to London,” she asks us but no one argues so we all make our way to the cafeteria. As we walk I can’t help but remember the first time I met London, I was eight and she had just moved to our town.

The guys and I were at the park. Yeah we’ve literally known each other forever. We were all standing there looking for a poor kid who could entertain us. The troublemaker rep goes way back. Anyways we were just having some innocent fun when these two girls walk into view. Avery we all knew from school, one of the least obnoxious kids in school, we had no problems with her. The other girl we didn’t know.

“That’s the new girl, London, yeah that’s her name. Just moved into the house Orchard Street,” Asher informed me. He’s always the one you go to if you need any information. We don’t know how he does it. I nodded and went back to looking at the girl whose graceful movements seemed to have put me in a trance. She sat down with Avery under a tree, with a book in hand while Avery wrote in a notebook. I stared at her confused, what eight year old goes to the park to read? When she noticed me staring she scowled and continued to read. That sealed the deal for me. It was that one scowl that forever captured my attention because with that it was as if she told me that she didn’t care what others thought.

“Dude!” Asher snaps me out of my thoughts.

“What?” I ask.

“Come on, let’s go back. That way you can creepily stare at her some more,” I scowl at him. The guys walk on ahead while I trail behind them. I didn’t even notice when they stopped walking and I walked straight into Adrian.

“What?” I question. Athen walks towards me looking nervous.

“They’re gone,” he says fidgeting.

“What do you mean they’re gone?” I try to reign in my anger. I know it’s not their fault.

“He means they’re gone, poof into thin air,” Asher rolls his eyes as if I’m slow.

“Did the nurse release her?” I ask.

“I don’t know let’s go check it out,” Adrian, the levelheaded one says. We all go to find the nurse from before. We find her and ask her but she tells us that she wasn’t even supposed to be leaving for a couple of days. We looked throughout the whole hospital and Avery and London were nowhere to be found. I’m so freaking worried I think I just lost ten years of my freaking life. This is what I get with this silly infatuation, but even as I think those words I know they’re lies. It’s not an infatuation. A crush does not last nine years. I think I’m in love with London, there’s only one problem, London. How to make her fall in love with me? First, where to find her? Avery wouldn’t hurt her right?

London’s POV:

Darkness, that’s all I see. All I can think of is how I don’t want to be here, I was forced to succumb to this nightmare by my weak body. Then it begins the nightmares. The memories I’m sometimes forced to relive in my sleep. I’m running but there’s nowhere for me to run. I’m being chased but no one’s chasing. This is beginning to sound like a Lifetime movie, although I do secretly love them.

“London,” I hear as I feel someone shaking me from this dreadful slumber.

“London wake up, hurry up we don’t have a lot of time,” I hear the hurried whisper of Avery’s voice and I’m able to look around. Shit, I’m in a hospital.

“No shit Sherlock,” Avery says, “you said that out loud,” she elaborates at my confused expression. “Look the guys are going to be back at any minute and I know they’ll make you stay here, the nurse informed me that they’re going to keep you a couple of days and I know you don’t want that,” she says as she tosses me my clothes to get dressed. Avery is one of the only people know that hospitals would drive me to a horrible panic attack that is apart from my parents which I doubt they remember. I hurry as she watches the door we both know the guys will be here. We hurry as we make our way out and I pull the hood of my jacket on so the nurse doesn’t recognize me.

We begin to walk since Avery left her car at the school parking lot because she rode with Aaron, she told me.

“Where do we go, to your house?” Avery asks.

“No,” I say shaking my head. “They know where I live,” I tell her and explain everything at her questioning gaze.

“Wow,” she says almost speechless after I tell her everything. “I can’t believe they’d go to those lengths,” she continues as we make our way to her house. Which happened to our best bet since her house is closest to the hospital. When we get there I’m greeted by Avery’s mom and then we make our way to Avery’s room.

“Lie down and get some rest,” she instructs me after explaining what she heard the nurse say. “I’m going to get you some orange juice,” she says remembering that that’s my favorite drink when I’m sick, my true sister.

“Should we call them to let them know you’re alright?” she asks after she returns.

“Nah, they’re probably relieved that they don’t have to deal with me anymore,” I explain but she shakes her head

“No, whatever you say they care about you. They were really worried about you,” she continues.

“No trust me they won’t care,” I try to convince her or maybe I’m trying to convince myself.

“They’re not your parents,” she adds. I smile not taking as an insult at all.

“I know but they still have no reason to even care about me,” I tell her.

“Well maybe you’re too naïve to see love when it’s knocking at your door,” at that I choke on the orange juice I was chugging like a starved maniac, which I kind of am.

“Love?” I splutter. “No, it’s just a silly crush,” I try to assure her.

“Look I’m going to tell you something. Our being a badass and pretty cool person is not the only reason people don’t mess with us. Remember in the eighth grade when that one freak kept trying to get you to kiss him, well one day after school I saw Aiden warning him off and when he said some nasty stuff he got his ass whooped. One of the reasons people don’t mess with me is because I’m your friend and they protect me as well for that matter. What I’m trying to say is that they’ve always had our back and I didn’t say anything because I know how stubborn you are to accept help,” she finishes adding that last part reading my mind.

“I get that they’re hot and all, I mean I get distracted when I look at them as well but I assure they don’t give a damn just like everybody else,” I try.

“is that what you believe or what you want to believe?” she asks. When I stay silent she adds, “We don’t have to call them, but let’s do something cuz I’m bored and I know you’re not about to go to sleep.”

“Movie Marathon!” we exclaim in unison. It’s like our traditional pastime since we’ve been friends. We are big movie fanatics from scary to cheesy romantic comedies, we love movies. With that we begin our crying and laughing fest.

Aiden’s POV:

We hear another vase break as we all sit in Asher’s living room debating on what to do. They haven’t even called, we’re all worried sick.

“Asher calm down!” I hear Adrian say after Asher broke what fourth vase? Where he get so many vases anyways, aren’t those for chicks?

“I should’ve stayed behind to look after them. What if something happened to them both? Huh, what then?” see I knew he cared. I’m almost certain that he’s got a thing for Avery but I’m not sure. He’s very good at hiding his emotions not even I his brother from another mother can figure him out. “What if they were kidnapped?” he finishes.

“Or abducted by aliens?” Ashton adds seeming genuinely concerned, sometimes I worry about him.

“Let’s think rationally and logically,” Adrian pitches in. “We know they’re not at London’s, so maybe they went somewhere else. Look I think they’re hiding something and maybe that’s why they left. So, knowing you,” he pints at me, “would go all King Kong they went somewhere we wouldn’t know,” he finishes. That does seem kind of reasonable.

“Yeah, knowing London she knew we’d look for them so they might’ve gone to Avery’s because they think we don’t know where she lives,” Asher comes to this conclusion.

“Thing is we don’t know here she lives,” Aaron clarifies.

“No, you don’t but I do,” he says smiling sadistically. I think I like where this is going.

“I knew it!” Athen blurts out.

“What?” Asher asks not looking at any of us.

“That big bad Asher like Avery, you my friend are one creepy stalker,” Adrian says what we all were thinking. Yeah, we don’t really keep any secrets in between us.

“Fine! I may like her,” he tries to downplay it.

“Don’t even try we saw how you were drooling over her,” I finish.

“Let’s go!” he says instructing us as we load into our rides. Avery’s house is not that far from London’s but it is closer to the hospital. This is where they would’ve come since they must’ve walked. When we arrive we bang on the door but no one answers, London must’ve seen us and is trying to hide. We bang even harder but we start to receive weird looks from the old lady next door.

“I got this,” Aaron says stepping up. We all step around him to cover him while he picks the look, don’t ask how he’s able to do that. “Okay, Aiden you go in first.”

“Why me?” I ask confused.

“Cuz London is one crazy bitch and it wouldn’t surprise me if she has a booby trap there or something. I still have a lot of things to accomplish in life,” I roll my eyes.

“Fine,” I step up and cover my beautiful face in case of any explosives. When I make it safely inside the others follow. It seems eerily quiet.

“London! Avery! Come out,” we chant. After a thorough search we come to the conclusion that they’re not here.

“Okay, time to freak out,” Ashton says shakily.

“Where could they be?” Adrian asks no one in particular.

“Now it’s time to worry but they couldn’t have gotten far,” Asher adds.

“Shit,” we hear Athen say and we turn to him. “Right now they don’t have a car but what if they’re going for that car at school, then they’ll have transportation and it will be harder to find them,” he explains. We all hurry to our rides and make our way to the school.

“We’re too late,” Adrian says when we notice that the car lot is indeed empty.

“Now what do we do?” I ask out loud.