Gabriel Lorenzo Sanchez:
My phone vibrates, cutting through the silence between me and Koa. At the same time, his phone lights up too. It's like fate decided that we need an excuse to stop staring holes into the wall.
Vivienne:
Meet me outside by the greenhouse. Now. It's important.
Koa glances at me, his face unreadable, like everything I just said slips right past him. "Are we going?"
It stings how easily he can ignore me. Maybe it wasn't me exactly, but it was definitely the things I try to say. I feel like to him, none of what I say matters. I could feel the frustration flaring in my chest, but I swallow it down. I don't get to throw stones after what just came out of my own mouth.
"Yeah, okay." I mutter under my breath. Truth is, I want to keep talking, even if I knew Koa wouldn't give me an answer. He's too wrapped up in that locked-up head of his, and I'm left outside, guessing.
There's a lot happening at once, and I realize I'm not panicking the way I probably should be. That thought alone makes me second-guess myself, like maybe there's something wrong with me for not reacting enough. I don't really know.
Koa trails a few steps behind me as we head toward the greenhouse door beside the school. The weight between us presses down, thicker than the air itself. I push the door open, and the faint smell of soil seeps in.
I spot two figures outside who were waiting for us, it was Alora and Vivienne. Alora, as usual, greets us with that bright, sunshiny smile that could power a small city. Meanwhile, Vivienne's smile is smaller and more reserved. Her messenger bag dangling at her side like she already had a long day and it wasn't even noon yet.
"Hiii, how are you, Gabriel?!" Alora greets us, too cheerful for the situation.
Vivienne follows up, calm as always. "Hey, how are you guys?"
"I'm good." I reply softly. I mean, what else am I supposed to say? It's easier to fake normalcy than to explain the constant hum of dread crawling up my spine. Out of the corner of my eye, I look at Koa, he's silent and his head low. It's that type of heavy silence he wears like a coat when things get bad. Alora's smile flickers; she notices his demeanor. Of course she does.
"And you, Koa?" she asks, voice gentle.
He hesitates, his shoulders tighten before muttering, "I'm okay."
That's a lie and I knew it; we all did. I have no clue why Alora asked that when it was so obviously clear that Koa wasn't.
Vivienne's eyes narrow slightly as she speaks to break the silence. "So… I'm guessing you guys got called to the office too?"
My stomach twists. I already knew where this was going, and I hate it. If any one of them even mentions Ophelia's name, Koa would either implode or explode. Honestly, I don't even know which one is worse.
"Yeah," I reply quickly, before the silence got too long again. "I got called during second period and Koa went first thing in the morning."
The air shifts, still and heavy, like the world held its breath for a second. Alora and Vivienne trade each other one of those looks, the kind that explains everything without saying a word. Something was off; they knew it, I knew it. Nobody wanted to be the first to put it out there. Blah, blah, blah. I didn't care, I couldn't and Koa definitely didn't either. He's too far gone in his own head and I'm too busy pretending mine wasn't dying. This isn't about Ophelia anymore, it's about us. About how we look, what we both know and how long before someone decides we fit the story.
Koa's parents were on a work trip and that meant the responsibility for him sat with me until they came back, an extra thing I'd agreed to without thinking it through. Now, with Ophelia missing and the school looking like a crime scene without the tape, that responsibility felt heavier than any exam or late-night study session. I kept turning over logistics in my head because that's what I did to stay useful: plans, contingencies, contacts. To me, problem-solving felt better than panicking.
Vivienne broke the silence. "I say we need to stay home until this whole thing blows over," she says, her voice is clipped. "Coming to school is a risk. I'm not willing to take it."
Alora frowns. "But if we do that, won't that make us look more suspicious?"
Her voice is small and hesitant, but she isn't wrong. Fear and guilt wear the same mask.
Vivienne didn't budge. "No. If we're at home, we're safe. We're not near the scene. We're being careful. Especially since…" her eyes flick toward Koa, almost targeting, "we're close to him."
I felt my jaw tighten. She didn't mean it to sound cruel — I knew that — but it hit like a slap anyway. It's like she just drew a line and left him standing on the wrong side of it.
Koa's face went cold. His eyes darkened, that look he gets right before he does something reckless. His breathing went shallow, fast. I wanted to tell him not to take it personally, but how the hell was he supposed to do that when it was personal?
"Wait, so you mean stay away from him?" Alora carefully asks, her voice sharper now.
Vivienne folds her arms. "Two-way distance. We isolate. He stays with someone responsible."
That word, responsible, landed heavy in my chest. It meant me. It had to be me.
"Look," Vivienne continues, "I'm not saying Koa did anything. But what's worse, being cautious, or being stupid?"
The words hung there, the kind that echoes.
Before I could say anything, Albien shows up, crashing through the tension like a meteor with no survival instinct. "Viiiiiv! What did I miss? I just escaped the office, oh hey, Gabs!" He leans on me like I was his personal furniture.
I glare at him. "You're—fucking—heavy. Get off me."
He grins, like an idiot. "You're comfy though. Perfect size to lean on."
"Albien," Vivienne snaps. "This isn't the time."
"Oh? Sorry," he responds, rubbing the back of his neck, still smiling like we weren't seconds away from a breakdown. "So, what are we gonna do?"
It was ridiculous, but also, he has a point.
"Like I said before, staying away from Koa is probably our best shot at not getting dragged any deeper into this mess. Unless you want to be part of it, leave me out of it. It's pretty clear they already think we had something to do with it."
"Vivienne, you need to chill," he says. "You're overthinking this."
"I'm not overthinking," she shoots back. "This is serious. I don't want any of us to end up next." Her hands tremble a little when she said it.
I look at all of them, Vivienne's still tense and logical; Alora, all heart and nerves; Albien, playing dumb to cope; Koa, barely holding it together. And then there's me, supposedly the one keeping everything from falling apart. Doing a stellar job of it, clearly, since I still had no idea what to say to Vivienne's low-key crash-out.
Koa hadn't spoken a word the entire conversation. Then, out of nowhere:
"I'm leaving."
He didn't wait for a reaction. He just walked. No explanation and no hesitation.
"Wait, Koa!" I yell, already turning to follow. "Sorry, guys. I have to go."
Naturally, Albien looks frustrated, not at himself, never at himself, but at Vivienne.
"That is not okay, Vivienne," he speaks out, like she'd personally ruined everything.
Vivienne, as always, was tense, calculating every possible outcome of her words, probably convinced she'd broken something irreparable. She hadn't, however, she thinks she did, and that's enough for her to spiral quietly.
I didn't care about any of that, Koa mattered more. Wherever he went or what he was thinking, it mattered more. One thing was certain: one of us might be next. Even if we were overthinking it, even if it was paranoia, it didn't matter.
It felt like they were trying to pin everything on him like he's the last resort, a convenient scapegoat. Seeing him like that, miserable in a space where he's usually untouchable, made my chest tighten. He's too stubborn to admit it, but I know he feels it. I've seen it before, he knows that suffocating, clawing feeling. The one that makes your chest heavy, makes the world smaller, makes you want to run before you even have a plan.
Naturally, I follow him. I was like some idiot puppy, I know, but that's always how I've been, putting Koa first, always. His feelings mattered more than mine, it always had, always would and I didn't question why. That's because right now, none of that mattered except keeping him moving, keeping him safe, keeping him ahead of whatever they were planning next.
"Koa, can you stop running away?" I snap at him, sharper than I meant to.
He whips around, I notice that his jaw is tight. "I'm not. I'm going home."
I suck in a sharp breath, my hands land on my knees, trying to calm the surge in my chest. "I told you we're not supposed to—"
"Well, I don't care. I'm going by myself," he cut me off.
This man is impossible. I mean, really, he was a walking, stubborn pain in my ass.
"No, you aren't. We're not supposed to, so we're not going to—"
"Can you shut up?" Koa cracks, his voice low but venomous. "All you do is talk to me like I'm some little kid. I'm not. It's annoying. And it makes you look pathetic."
I freeze for a second, letting it hit. Then I reply back to him, because staying quiet was never an option. "You're the one being pathetic, storming off like a coward who can't deal with his own problems."
Then just like that, I felt it, that familiar, sinking weight. Point Nemo. Back at square one. That endless cycle where we fight, maybe inch forward, and then everything resets, like the last step never even existed.
I glance at him. He wasn't looking at me. Not really. He was staring straight ahead, shoulders stiff, jaw tight. I know that look. I've seen it before. He's stubborn, stubborn enough to deny his own feelings, stubborn enough to push everyone else away instead.
I hated it. Hate seeing him like this frustrated, cornered, trying to carry a weight he doesn't even want to admit is there. It makes me clench my hands into fists, not because I want to hit him, even though I could, but because I know how much it hurts him. How much it hurts everyone around him.
Maybe I'm being too harsh, I probably am, but how can I not? Every time I hold my tongue, I feel useless. Every time I step back, he gets further away, even if he doesn't notice. I want him to see me, really see me. To like me the way I like him, to respect me the way I respect him, to understand that I've spent years trying to be someone worth standing next to. That's my responsibility. That's what being here means.
Yet, despite everything, I follow him, because someone has to. Because it's always been me. The one keeping track, keeping him grounded, keeping him moving when he refuses to admit he needs it. Because if I don't, who will?
I can hear him breathing, even at a distance. His breathing, steady and controlled. However, I know better, I know that under the surface, he's unraveling just as much as I am. Somewhere in the back of my head, I curse the stubbornness I share with him, because it's what makes this necessary, it's what makes me care this much.
I stay silent, too aware that any word I said could make it worse. This could've been solved with just talking it out, but we never do. Talking requires admitting things, and admitting things is hard for both of us. Silent treatment was the easy option, the default. So we walked home in silence, and even when we stepped inside the residence, the quiet stretched between us like a wall.
Koa didn't speak either, he just moved toward his room, shoulders tense as his hands fidget with the doorknob.
I hesitate, then try anyway. "Do you want me to make you tea? Or, uh… maybe get you some water?" Maybe he needed something. Something to hold onto while the silence got heavy.
"No. I'm fine."
I don't know how to reply to his response. Instead, I went to my own room. I need space. I need the walls to stop pressing in for a moment.
My eyes fell on the photo frame next to my bed, me and Koa as kids. Smiling like nothing else existed, like the world hadn't gotten complicated yet. It should've been meaningless, just another relic of the past. But instead… It hurt me. It hurts more than it should, because the simplicity of it reminded me of how far we've drifted. How easily we unravel, how quickly everything we try to build falls apart.
I traced the edge of the frame with my finger, not sure why I even touched it… Nostalgia? Regret? Maybe a mix of both?
Honestly, it's hard to look at that photo of us as kids. Everything back then felt…less guarded.
Koa never really had friends, not real ones. The ones he had only showed up because his family had money. That used to piss me off. They didn't care who he was, they just liked the perks. Meanwhile, he'd bend over backwards for them. He's always been like that, takes care of everyone but himself. I hated watching him get used like that, so I started stepping in. Not because I wanted to, but because someone had to.
It became a habit. I was the one he came to in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep. The one who had to explain math problems while he played piano instead of studying. The one who listened to every half-finished song idea like it was worth something.
Then we fought badly. He then got engaged, and suddenly I wasn't the person he turned to anymore. Like I'd been quietly replaced. It shouldn't bother me as much as it does, but it does.
Now that photo just feels like proof of something I lost. I stare at the ceiling, phone next to me in case he decides he needs something. He never does, but I wait anyway.
I'm drifting into that same half-conscious haze as Koa was today, the kind that feels more like surrender than rest, when my phone buzzes beside me. The sudden vibration startles me upright like some imbecile moron who's never seen a phone before. For one fleeting second, I think it might be Koa.
But of course, it isn't. It's Vivienne.
A groan slips out before I can stop it. The urge to toss my phone across the room is strong, but I don't. Instead, I swipe to answer, already regretting my decision.
"Hello?" My voice sounds rough, like I've been swallowing sandpaper.
"Hey, Gabriel. Just wanted to know how you and Koa are doing."
Figures. The same person who made Koa feel like garbage is suddenly checking in.
"He's fine, I think. Just… out of it," I mutter, eyes tracing the ceiling, counting cracks like they might distract me from existing.
There's silence on the other end, long enough for me to start drifting again; until she asks, quietly, "But what about you?"
The question hits me harder than I expect. It's been a while since anyone's asked that.
"I'm fine," I lie automatically, because that's easier than explaining the rest.
She exhales, the sound small but relieved. "I'm glad. Tell Koa I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to act like a jerk. I'm just… scared."
I sigh softly. I get it. Vivienne's the kind of person who panics out loud, who wears her fear where everyone can see it. Maybe she's the only one reacting like a human being.
"I know. It's all happening too fast. I don't blame you… I'll tell Koa," I say, my eyes are unfocused, voice distant.
"Thanks. It's lunch, I've gotta go. Talk to you later!"
"Yeah. Bye."
I toss the phone onto the bed and roll onto my back, staring at the ceiling. My brain's too tired to keep running in circles, and all I want now is to shut it off for a while.
Maybe tomorrow Koa will be in a better mood. Maybe he'll actually talk to me. Maybe we'll watch a movie or bake something like we used to.
I don't know. All I can do is wait, and hope time doesn't screw things up more than it already has.
Vivienne Azura:
I don't blame Gabriel for being tired. Who would? Taking care of someone like Koa is exhausting. It's not that Koa's a bad person, he just… drains people. Gabriel gives and gives, and Koa takes without even realizing it. That kind of thing wears anyone down.
And maybe that's part of why I've been so hard on him lately. Somewhere along the line, I started disliking him, really disliking him. I don't think it was one thing, it built up over time. Albien called me out for it earlier and said I was being unfair. He's right. I was. But when it comes to Koa, fairness doesn't come naturally to me. He just has a way of getting under my skin. The way he looks at Gabriel like he's the only person who's supposed to fix him, then pushes him away when it counts… It's pathetic. If it were me, I wouldn't treat a friend like that. But Koa's different. Always has been.
I sat down with my lunch, my thoughts looping through the last three hours like a broken tape. Ophelia is gone, just gone. It still didn't make sense, no matter how many times I tried to piece it together. One second she was there and the next she wasn't. I bit into my sandwich, though I could barely taste anything. The cafeteria noise feels distant and muffled.
Alora is sitting beside me. She always sits with me, no matter how quiet I get. Right away she notice that something was off right away, she always does.
"Vivienne, you've been quiet since this morning," she bought up gently. "Can you talk to me? You're worrying me."
I turn my head slightly. One thing about Alora, she doesn't stop caring, even when it'd be easier to. I wish I could be like that. I don't have that kind of patience. When things get heavy, I shut down. Thinking is easier than talking.
"Sorry," I reply. "Didn't mean to worry you. I'm just… thinking. And honestly, thinking right now is pissing me off."
She gave me that small smile of hers. "That's fair. It's been a lot today." She sips her juice box quietly.
After a short pause, she continues, "I kinda feel bad for Koa. I wonder what he's feeling right now."
I huff out a short laugh. "From what I heard, he's mourning in bed." My voice came out flat, not in a mocking way, just tired.
Alora frowns, "Vivienne, why are you being so mean to Koa? I know you're not happy with him, but what you said to him this morning… it was harsh."
She's right. I know she's right. But I didn't regret saying it.
"I know," I finally said. "He just pisses me off, Alora. Everything about him makes me pissed lately, and yeah, that's not an excuse. But I'm not going to pretend it isn't true."
"Try to apologize to him later," she softly says. "You'll feel better if you do."
I shrug. "Maybe. I'll think about it."
She smiles at that, quiet and kind. I look at her, then back at my lunch. I didn't feel better, but at least the noise in my head had quieted a little. For now.
It wasn't long before Albien shows up, sliding into the seat across from us with his usual tray stacked full of food. He didn't even look at us before biting straight into his sandwich.
"So, what's happening?" he asks, mouth half-full.
"Nothing much," Alora answers for me, her voice still calm as ever.
Albien's eyes flick towards my tray. "Oh, are you gonna eat that?" he inquires, pointing at my juice box and the untouched cookies sitting beside it.
I almost laugh. Instead, I just smile and push them towards him. "Go ahead. I know you love taking my food."
In response, he grins, still chewing. "Thanks, Vivi."
I roll my eyes. "You're disgusting."
"Probably," he says, not missing a beat.
Albien's the kind of guy you can't really say no to. He's too laid-back, too harmless and honestly, I'm not much of a sweets person anyway. I lean my elbow on the table, watching him eat like nothing in the world was wrong. It didn't bother me. If anything, it was kind of a relief. Someone around here is still acting normal.
He swallows his food, then looks up at me suddenly. "Oh, right. How was that call with Gabriel?"
My eyes widen before I caught myself. "Nothing much," I respond swiftly.
Albien squints at me, half suspicious, half teasing. "You apologized, right?"
I hesitate to answer. "No. But I'll apologize when I see him in person."
His expression softens. "Good." Then, as if the moment never happened, he glance toward my tray again. "Now, be a good friend and pass me that uneaten sandwich you're ignoring."
I stare at him, deadpan. "You really don't care about anything but food right now, do you?"
He grabs the sandwich anyway. "Well, yeah."
I sigh and sit back, letting him have it. That was Albien for you, simple, greedy, and oddly grounding. In a day full of things that didn't make sense, his appetite almost felt reassuring.
Even with Albien sitting there being some kind of relief, my thoughts still wouldn't quite go down. I couldn't just sit here and pretend things were fine. I felt useless. Because deep down, I knew I couldn't fix any of it, not Ophelia being gone, not Gabriel breaking apart, none of it.
As much as this whole thing isn't supposed to be about Gabriel, for me, it was. It's because I know what he's been through these past six months. I saw it, the way he cried after everything that happened with Koa. The way Koa acted like nothing mattered, like Gabriel wasn't even worth the effort after everything he'd done for him. I try not to think about it, but when I do, it just leaves this bitter taste I can't shake.
If anyone sees what I saw, hear the things I did, they'd think differently. It's like watching a book you've read your whole life suddenly rewrite itself right in front of you. One scene, and everything you thought you knew about someone shifts.
I don't hate Koa. But the way he treated Gabriel? I can't forget that. No matter how hard I try, I can't stop wishing things had gone differently, not just for Gabriel but for the both of them.
"Vivi? Hello?" Albien snaps his fingers in front of my face. "You zoned out way too hard, it was actually kind of creepy."
"Shut up," I mutter. "I'm thinking."
Alora looks up from her tray. "Thinking again? I thought you said that's been really getting to you lately."
I ignore her, my thoughts clicking together like pieces of glass. "What if we went into the school? Checked the security footage ourselves?"
Both of them froze. Albien's jaw drops, half a sandwich still in his hand before it slips back onto the tray. "You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding."
I met his gaze, calm and steady. "No. I'm serious. If the teachers or the cops aren't going to do anything, then we should. Ophelia didn't just vanish for no reason. There's got to be something on those cameras, something everyone else missed."
Albien blinks. "That's… actually insane." He looks over at Alora. "You're hearing this, right? Tell her she's losing it."
But Alora didn't answer right away. Her expression softens with uncertainty lying under it. "Vivienne… I get that you're worried. We all are. But you're not really thinking of doing that, are you?"
I look between them. "Yeah, I am. Someone has to do something. Sitting around isn't helping anyone."
They both stare at me like I'd just said something impossible. Maybe I did. But for once, I wasn't overthinking, it just made sense. Sure, I could sit back and let the detectives do their job, but I already know how this goes. They never really do anything. I've seen it. I lived it. When I got taken from my mom and my little brother, no one did a damn thing. This feels no different.
I bet they won't even bother looking for Ophelia. You can already tell, the way they started this whole thing with interrogations instead of checking the footage. This school's packed with cameras, polished hallways, and spotless reputations. Things like this aren't supposed to happen here. Not in a rich neighborhood where the only thing that matters is image. We're all drowning in it.
Albien's expression twists. "You're actually out of your mind, Vivienne. You're not thinking straight, and you know it. So lock in and let the detectives do their jobs. We're students, we can't do crap about Ophelia."
I don't even know why I'm this angry, but it's like something in me burst. "But we can," I fire back. "If you don't want to come, fine. But I'm not sitting around doing nothing."
Alora steps in, her voice small and careful. "Guys, calm down a bit. We're in the lunchroom—"
"I don't give a damn," I cut her off. "If you want to stay here, go ahead. But I'm not wasting time while everyone acts like this is normal."
Albien looks at me like he's had enough. "You're being stubborn as hell, Vivienne. You call Koa out for the same thing, but here you are acting just like him."
"Yeah?" I shoot back. "Then maybe he had the right idea." I grab my bag, breathing hard. "Because at this pace, they're not finding Ophelia. I'll figure it out myself if I have to."
Alora's voice softens. "Vivienne, what are you even thinking of doing?"
The way she looks at me makes my stomach twist. Because I know I'm making her worry. And maybe she's right. But I can't just sit here pretending the system will fix this. Not when I've seen how this always plays out.
"I don't know just yet, but I can't let this go any longer." I reply to her.
Alora stands up. "Then I'm coming. Where do you want to meet up?"
I blink at her, caught off guard. "Alora, it's okay. You don't have to—"
She cuts me off, her voice steady. "If something happens to you and I didn't do anything, I wouldn't be able to live with that." Her hand finds mine, gentle but firm.
Albien just stares at us like we've lost it. "Are you two serious? Alora, tell me you're joking. Ignore the lunatic for a second, how the hell are you going to sneak out of your dorm at night? Be realistic. Think!"
Alora doesn't flinch. "If things get dangerous, I'll leave. But I'm not letting Vivi go alone."
Albien exhales hard, jaw tight. For a second, he looks more frustrated than angry, like he's trying to hold back everything he wants to say. "You're both unbelievable," he mutters, rubbing the back of his neck.
But even then, I can see it in his face, the hesitation, the guilt. The way he's fighting with himself about whether to let us go or not.
"So what exactly is your plan?" Albien's voice cuts through the hum of the lunchroom. I fold my arms, jaw tight. "What do you even want to do?"
I meet his gaze, unflinching as if I didn't already say that I wasn't sure yet. He scoffs, short and sharp. "Don't act like that, Vivienne. Seriously. It's not a good look on you."
I've seen him like this before, the hard set of his mouth, the way his hands ball into fists right before he explodes. He's furious, and the air between us feels thick.
I soften my features and close my eyes for a moment, recollecting my thoughts before looking back at Albien. This time I made a sad but serious expression, I desperately want to do something about Ophelia and I'm not letting anyone get in my way.
"Then let me be clear," Albien sighs, stepping closer until I could count the lines around his eyes. His voice drops, low and dangerous. "I'm not letting my sister sneak out in the middle of the night. If that's what you're thinking, fine. I'm coming. And I'm not backing down."
Heat crawls up my spine. I don't move. "Good," I say, cold. "Then come. Don't slow me down."
Albien's eyes flare. His fists tighten at his sides. "You think you can just march in like this? No plan, no backup, no thought? That's reckless, Vivi. You could get hurt, or worse."
"I'm not reckless," I snap, stepping closer. "I've seen how this plays out, people wait, file reports, pat themselves on the back, and nothing changes. I'm done waiting."
His face flushes red, but his voice stays tight. "You don't get to make this about pride. Think before you act."
"I am thinking," I say. "This is the thinking. Help or don't. But I'm going tonight."
For a moment we just stand there, taut and unmoving. Albien's anger burns, raw and loud. Mine is quieter, sharp and deliberate. Neither of us looks away. Plain and simple: he's furious because he's scared, and I'm furious because I refuse to be useless.