~1~
Roman was as far as you could get from ordinary. When her peers were at the Friday night football game she was at home reading any book that had death and gore. Others choose to wear the newest trends of crop tops and mom jeans; she wore black jeans and a hoodie with the name of a "alternative rock band". As one might imagine she is a loner of sorts. She doesn't exactly like people. And that brings us to Zara. The stereotypical cheerleader. She prides herself on her looks but she is far smarter than she lets people believe. She has many friends and a loving boyfriend. Now her life may seem great but behind closed doors things are much different. Gabriel is an outsider like Roman but it is not for a lack of trying that he doesn't have friends. His closet case prevents him from being true to himself. His mother and father are divorced due to a mental breakdown his father had after his mom came out as lesbian. Gabriel is struggling to survive in high school. Klaus is the ideal boyfriend to Zara. He loves her and seems to get her in every aspect but one. Klaus barely manages to fit in with his girlfriends crowd. He grew up on a farm with his grandfather after his father abandoned him when he was 7 because his mom died. Klaus spends most time riding his barrel racing horse, Buddy. Now you know all the key players in this twisted tale.
Klaus pulls up to Zara's baby blue painted house in the "bad part of town". She comes out of her house with a tear still hanging on to her lashes but she manages to put herself together quick. She has had lots of practice making herself look happy and normal after shutting her demons inside her old house. She opens the door to Klaus's pick up truck and glides into the seat with a sigh.
"I'm fine. Don't ask." She states before Klaus can even ask a question. He doesn't say anything back. He doesn't know what does on inside that house but he can imagine. He has learned that she won't talk about it and he knows that she will when she wants to.
They arrive to the school that houses roughly 1,800 students. Zara likes the large school because it makes her feel safe and like she is loved. Klaus doesn't mind it that much but there is only one person there that he really likes. Their lips lock in kiss in the hall before Zara goes into her first hour math class. Klaus walks to the end of the senior hall where his English class is. He enters the class and sits in the front next to a know-it-all kid that he can cheat off of if he needs to. He never has needed to but if he likes being prepared for anything. Klaus strives to do his best in school, after all his future relies on him getting a scholarship.
In the back of the class room sits a mysterious girl, Roman. She has her earbuds in but is not listening to anything; she just doesn't want to talk to anyone. She looks at the clock to see that she still has two minutes till class starts, she sits there watching the seconds tick by. The morning announcements start right at the bell. She tunes out the voice on the intercom because it is too nasally for her to bare. The students have just started to open their copies of "Much a do about nothing" when the voice comes back on and this time she is listening.
"Will Zara Cambridge, Klaus Wilder, Gabriel Johnson, And Roman Livingston please come down to principal Connors office."
Klaus and Roman both stand from their uncomfortable wooden chairs and head out into the hall in the direction of the stairs closest to them. They need to go upstairs to get to the main office. There they see two other kids standing the office of the old white man that is principal Connors. They all listen to his raspy smoker's voice explain that they have to go Saturday school. Roman has been in there before and she knows it's not nearly as interesting as The Breakfast Club made it out to be. Gabriel is confused at how this happened, he always got good grades. Zara on the other hand is arguing with the principal because she knows that she can't go to Saturday school. All of their grades have fallen for many different reasons but Zara has to watch her little brother on weekends because that's when their father looks for jobs and if she can't watch her brother than...well she just can't. They all leave the room calmly and return to their classes knowing that they have to attend what seems to be an ordinary Saturday school. What they don't know is that this is just the beginning.
Saturday arrives fast. Gabriel is the last one to enter the small classroom. Klaus is sitting next to his girlfriend and Roman is sitting 2 rows over and 3 seats back. Roman likes to be able to see everything in front of her. Klaus watches Gabriel take every step to the seat near the back, as if wishing they were sitting next to each other.
The teacher in charge enters the room setting a green coffee mug down on the desk at the front of the classroom.
"Okay kids. Look, I'm supposed to make you learn something here but we both know you guys don't care. The rules make me have to keep you here though. You can do whatever you want for the time you are here," Mr. West says calmly. He is young, tall, and attractive to some students. He has his eye on only one, "Roman. Come with me." Roman stands reluctantly and confused as to why he wants her to leave the room. He walks outside the room and leads her down the hall a little.
Zara looks at Klaus about to open her mouth to talk when suddenly there is a piercing scream coming from the end of the hall. They all look around but soon find themselves running out of the room to see Roman on the ground and Mr. West on top of her. He pins her down and hits her to make her be quiet. She struggles to get free and soon finds her peers trying to drag him off. He stands and hits Gabriel. Hard. Roman runs back into the room to try and grab her phone. Zara tries to do whatever she can to stop him. He scratches her on the arm in the process leaving a thin red mark on her left forearm. He keeps going until he stands in the room staring at Roman. He lunges at her, knocking her phone onto the floor. In the spur of the moment Klaus takes the fire extinguisher off the wall to his right and bangs it hard against his head. He drops to the floor with a thud. Zara screams at the sight of the blood pooling around his head in a red halo of sorts. Gabriel stands over him, his mouth gaping open in shock. Roman starts pacing trying to make sense of what just happened. Klaus checks for a pulse but gets nothing. Minutes go by and all they have done is cry and panic about what they have done.
Now these very different people will forever be tied to one another. There is no changing what happened. Someone is dead. Regardless of what they he had done, they all are involved. They all must cope with the events that just happened here
You see during the commotion the teacher had been hit, scratched, and eventually killed. All of them played a vital role in killing Mr. West. After time passes Roman finally speaks clearly,
"We need to get rid of the body," Her brain still trying to process the sight before her
"Are you insane! It was an accident!" Gabriel fires back at her.
"We killed him Gabe! It has been almost 20 minutes sense Klaus hit him. It looks like we killed him in cold blood. Look, who would believe a bunch of high school students? We didn't call the police, he didn't attack you all, and I would be the person they would turn to first."
"What do you mean they would turn to you first?" Klaus says holding his girlfriend in his arms as she stares off into the distance crying silently.
"It doesn't matter," Roman states trying to avoid the truth, "We need to get the body out."
"I agree with Roman," Zara speaks up finally, "We all are to blame. My DNA is under his nails and it looks like he was attacked. Klaus you were the one who killed him. Roman you fought back. Gabriel you punched him,"
"So what do we do? I've never killed anyone!" There is panic in Klaus's voice.
"And we have?" Gabe snaps back.
"We should just call the cops and tell them the truth." Klaus reaches for his phone but Gabe snatches it out of his hand.
"No one is calling anyone." He orders.
-2 months ago-
"We shouldn't be doing this." He breathes as Gabriel kisses his bare chest, his lips softly sucking, leaving small marks in their wake. Gabe rises so their faces meet and he relaxes looking into Gabe's green eyes. Gabe hold the boy's face in his hands showing that it is safe.
"It's okay. I won't tell anyone. I'm not out and I won't out you either. She will never know," Gabe reassures the boy. At this moment they are calm and simply enjoying their time however unconventional it might be. It may be a hook-up at a party in a coat closet but to the boy it was more than that. It was a release from what he had to hide from everyone.
Gabe presses his lips to his with so much passion that the boy forgets what he was even thinking. Gabe's lips travel down his jaw then his neck kissing softly. They both get lost in the sensation of the moment. Gabe goes to pull the boy's light blue jeans down but then reality set in.
"Gabe! We can't! I have a girlfriend and she needs me. I like you; I do. But I can't at least not yet."
Gabe takes the boys face into his hands again,"I'll wait for you. I like you too," he replies with a smile and his eyes longing for the moment they can truly be together. They kiss one more time softly before Gabe walks out of the closet. He takes his jacket to make it seem like he was just getting a coat. Minutes later the boy follows but heads to the other side of the house then out the door to his rundown pick up truck.
-Present day-
"Okay. We need to get the body out into Klaus' truck," Gabe looks at Klaus and he seems unsure but then nods, "Once it is out of the room, Zara and Roman you get the supplies from the janitors office and wipe up the blood."
"I can do that but I don't think Zara is sane enough to do this. Klaus, talk to her. Make her calm down before she makes all of us go to prison for this." Roman speaks calmly but with some stress in her voice. Rightfully so.
"How are you okay with this? We just killed someone and-"
Roman cuts off Klaus, "I'm not okay with this but you need to think about what just happened and what will happen to all of us. You won't become some famous cowboy, Gabe will go to college and do something great, and Zara will never become some hot-shot lawyer after she graduates from Yale. Me? I have been to jail and I am not going back."
"Lets just stay calm and just get rid of the body. Now." Gabe directs people around. He is a natural born leader and having a plan allows him to calm and start to think that they might get away with this. He's seen enough crime shows that he thinks he knows how to handle actual murder.
