Keeping her head down, Claire quickened her pace to her car. From the sound of the many gasps within the coffee shop, she knew Wesley was not pleased with her little exit. Surely if she kept walking, he would leave her alone? She had noticed a police officer on her way out too, surely that meant the man wouldn’t try to pull anything? Nodding, Claire convinced herself to stay calm and even managed to walk in at a nice, even pace. 

Claire studied various Biology terms in her head for the upcoming test to keep her mind off Wesley. They were currently studying Genetics, a topic she quite enjoyed. Learning about diseases, their symptoms, treatment, etc, was quite interesting to her and something she could see herself pursuing as a career. While freshman year was almost over, Claire was still undecided in her major. She simply wanted to make sure she had a fair opportunity with every possible career. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a dark limo approaching her. Part of her was tempted to text her parents or Riley but the idea seemed silly to involve other people. Plus, there was still the possibility that Wesley might drive right past her. Goosebumps began to crawl up Claire’s skin though and she couldn’t help but shake the bad feeling in her gut. Just in case, she pulled out her phone and kept it ready on speed dial. It was then she regretted never putting anything capable of protecting herself in her purse. Unless she could blind him with eye shadow, she was practically defenseless. What would even happen if she attempted to attack a man of such power as Wesley? She’d heard the rumors...

The powerful voice startled Claire, causing her to drop her iPhone decorated in a flowery case onto the thick cement. She cursed silently to herself. Wesley motioned for her to step inside the limo but again, Claire froze. Thousands of different scenarios ran through her head, thanks to the many horror movies she had watched. This was the real world though, he couldn’t do anything to her, right?[color=FF9900] [i]Breathe, Claire.[/i][/color] She told herself. [color=FF9900][i]He probably just wants to talk.. Breathe.[/i][/color] Except, Wesley pulled out a knife when she didn’t move fast enough and it shattered all hope toward getting out of this situation safely. A whimper escaped her mouth as she kneeled, grabbed her phone, and rushed into the limo. 

The first thing Claire did was mentally send a prayer, hoping she would make it out of this situation alive. What did Wesley possibly want with her? She was a goodie two-shoes who did more community service than she could keep track of. No one that would end up with Wesley and his crew. Clutching her phone tightly in her right hand, Claire stared at Wesley with wide eyes. While refusing to have her coffee bought was one thing, being threatened with a knife was a completely different scenario. [color=FF9900]“What… what do you want?”[/color]She spoke softly, the words barely managing to come out. Maybe if she just listened to him, he would let her leave and then she could return to her busy life. Hopefully. 

Right as she had entered the limo, the police officer from before had finally made his appearance. She watched in terror as he pulled out some sort of weapon and begged for mercy it didn’t hit her. Claire’s gaze went from Wesley to the police officer in a frenzy, unsure what to do next.
 
[@Themerlinhawk][@Viciousmarrow]

[hr]

An odd sense of quietness filled the house as Zoey lied awake on her bunk bed an hour before the entire house was awaken by either the shrieking sound of Sophi’s alarm clock or the yelling of James to eat breakfast. It was pleasant. Random thoughts of the day before filled her head as she sat in pure silence. 

Skipping class had become a typical thing of Zoey but she’d never been called out by her older sister, Kylie, before. Sometimes she couldn’t understand the humour Kylie got out of from doing things like that. Offering both Olivia and her weed was also something most people wouldn’t attempt. There was no reason to judge nor did she care for how Kylie lived her life, Zoey simply found it interesting to analyze her sister’s decisions. Of course Zoey denied the weed but her younger sister fell under Kiley’s peer pressure. Another odd thing Zoey didn’t understand. How someone could let themselves do things they wouldn’t normally attempt by the a simple persuasion of someone they looked up to. 

While Zoey couldn’t say she felt any emotion within the unusual outfits her sister had dressed her in, the day was a rare time she could spend with her siblings. Most of the time Zoey kept quiet, stuck in her own word, forgetting about her surroundings and the people around her. Once Riley and the others had found them, they had not reacted pleasantly and it seemed as though the family had erupted with drama. Zoey didn’t care much for arguing so she simply stayed out of it as her siblings fought out the mess, like she always did.  

As the morning alarms went off, Zoey rose from her slumber. For a slight moment, she forget what day of the week it was. [color=54C297][i]Oh that’s right, Wednesday[/i][/color] So a long day of school awaited her. Dressing in her school clothes, Zoey combed through her soft hair and made the trek downstairs. A nice scent filled her nose as she found James making omelettes.[color=54C297] “It doesn’t matter. Thanks.” [/color]She told James and took her seat at the family dinner table. As her siblings filed into the kitchen, Zoey stayed silent and let herself be drifted off into her own thoughts. 

She needed to remember to attend a meeting with the music teacher at school about her violin. Every once and awhile, she liked to check on up on Zoey and see how she was doing. The new piece she was currently working on was proving to be a challenge and Zoey needed help on some of the harder parts. Very few people at the school kept her attention but the music teacher was one of them. Violin was something Zoey really cared about, more than she liked to admit anyway. Having the teacher’s guidance was truly helpful. Perhaps she would skip the first two periods to practice. Geometry was not something she would use in the future anyway so what was the point? Zoey didn’t understand the philosophy of the public school system. None of it seemed to prepare you for anything of importance. Perhaps college but many kids didn’t even take that route. What point was there in memorizing proofs when she could be working on such more valuable things? 

The continuous questions of Sophi’s location didn’t really engage a form of worry from Zoey. She was probably out and would be home soon, no need to worry. It seemed all everyone did was worry and fight. Sighing, she continued staring into space until James served the omelettes.

[@Emma][@Viciousmarrow][@lovely complex][@Saint Girralo]