HOME | DD

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

"Can you believe what they were saying? 'I want to meet someone like that someday.' They sounded like we were a thing," Layla laughed as Amber crashed onto the couch. They had an awkward silence for a few minutes after returning home, so Layla decided to break it by starting a conversation. Amber, however, remained silent. For some reason, those same comments that the girls in their dorm had said reminded her of Blake. The cool, calm, reliable Blake who was once someone she idolized and was now seen as being similar to; the thought of it made Amber laugh from the irony.
"Amber? Are you alright?" Layla asked with concern after not hearing a response. Amber shook her head, smiling at her long time best friend. Layla looked on, feeling even more confused.
"Come sit by me for a second, will you?" Amber asked quietly, surprising Layla greatly. Nonetheless, she did as she was asked and took a seat next to Amber.
"What's up? Why so quiet?" Layla asked. Amber merely shook her head silently, shifting her body to sit upright before pulling Layla into a tender embrace. Layla was taken aback by the gesture but didn't resist against it; rather, she wondered what caused Amber to act this way.
"Don't change. No matter what," Layla could hear Amber mutter as the latter leaned her head on top of her own. Layla giggled slightly, shifting her weight to rest comfortably on Amber's chest, returning the hug.
"What's with the sudden sentiment, Amber?" Layla asked quietly.
"Do you think I've changed?" Amber asked in reply. Layla looked up at her with confused eyes. Amber understood her silent question, and continued.
"Ever since we've started this, fighting Ires, I think I've changed," Amber began, "I'm not sure why, but I think it started when I actually met Blake and understood that she was similar to me. She's someone that I looked up to for so long, and now she's one of my closest friends within the span of only a few months. I feel like I've changed too quickly, you know. That I might just lose who I am in the process of all of this. And what's worse of all," she pushed away from the hug to look Layla in the eyes, "I've gotten my best friend involved in dangers she shouldn't have to worry about. Sure, you can hold off well on your own, but the fact remains that there may be times where incidents such as the day you met Blake. And it's those incidents that scare me and make me want to be stronger to protect you. Even now, I still want to be stronger, but I don't want to change who I am to you in the process. I don't want to become someone who even I don't recognize." Layla sighed. She knew that Amber's somber mood had to do with Blake, but she didn't think it was this bad.
It was obvious that Blake's current whereabouts and possible danger worried poor Amber. What Layla didn't expect was for Amber to be worried in this light either. Sure, Layla had noticed that the goofiness and playful demeanor of Amber was becoming more reserved and calm. This didn't mean that she believed that Amber was any different than she already was. To Layla, Amber was the same as ever before; a great and caring friend whom she had known for the longest time.
"Amber, I'm pretty sure you know what kind of person you are," Layla spoke up, gaining Amber's attention, "You're a playful goofball who knows about all the school's gossip and has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. You've never really show it, but you worry about me whenever something happens. That's the type of best friend you are to me, and I love you for it." She hugged Amber a little tighter, and felt Amber let out a sigh of relief. Her heartbeat sounded calmer to Layla's ears as she pressed herself closer to Amber. It was nice, quiet days like this that she came to appreciate Amber as her best friend. Despite her own worries, Amber's presence was always soothing to Layla.
To Amber, Layla was always a constant pillar of support. She always kept Amber level-headed if she went too far and was always her voice of reason whenever she needed it. She considered herself to be inseparable from Layla, her best friend that always tended and cared for her whatever the reason. It was because of how much she cared for Layla that she felt the need to get stronger. To become as strong as someone like Blake, to be able to defend those she cared about. It was cliche, but it was her reason regardless. In this current calm and peaceful moment, the two just appreciated each others company, forgetting all their worries for just a few minutes before facing their realities once more.

Blake was tired. After six straight hours of feeling the barbed whip rip through her back and torso, Blake was exhausted. Melody finally let her rest, leaving her alone in the room without much as leaving food, water, or even a chance to get off her cross. Yet Blake remained steadfast, thinking of ways as to how she could get free. It would be so easy as to use her aura had it not been from how weak she became from exhaustion and loss of blood. The blindfold that covered her eyes felt attached to her face as she felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness from her pain. Suddenly, she heard the door to her room open. Light and quick footsteps made their way towards where Blake was tied, and she could feel the blindfolds coming off. Blake squinted her eyes and looked around, trying to figure out who returned her eyesight. To her surprise, she saw Aria in front of her, holding a small plastic bag.
"I'm so sorry about everything," Blake heard her whisper, noting the fear leaking from the poor girl's voice. Blake couldn't speak at the moment, but she felt bad for Aria. The poor girl must have missed her family and was fearful for her life after suffering from Melody's "persuasion." Blake was still angry at Aria for helping Melody capture her, but at the same time she knew that Aria saw it as a means of survival.
"It's fine. I get it," Blake managed to croak out. Aria looked up to Blake and smiled bitterly, offering Blake a small bottle of water from the plastic bag. Blake was hesitant at first, still cautious since Aria was still with Melody despite everything. Aria understood and opened the bottle, taking a sip from it before offering it again.
"I promise it's not poison. I ran to the convenience store to get these," Aria explained, "Melody thinks that I'm asleep, so she doesn't know I'm here. Please, drink it." Blake didn't need to be told twice; she instantly downed the bottle without a second thought after confirming that it wasn't anything dangerous.
"Why would you risk this then?" Blake whispered after finishing the bottle of water, "Wouldn't you be in trouble if Melody finds you here?" Aria gave a nervous laugh. That told Blake everything she needed to know.
"I feel bad for doing this, but you have to understand my position," Aria spoke quietly, "I do this to survive, and I wouldn't want anyone to go through this like me. But the moment she asked me to help bring you to her... she threatened to make my 'persuasions' much more worse than they already were."
"What could she do that's worse than this," Blake asked incredulously. Aria gulped.
"Sh-she said... sh-she'd take me," Aria spoke softer than a whisper, voice trembling violently, "By force." Blake's eyes went wide in shock. By force? She didn't mean...
"You're kidding," Blake breathed. Aria shook her head, tears flowing freely from her face. Blake never knew that her anger would get any worse than what she already felt. Boy, was she wrong. Blake felt as if straight up killing Melody couldn't even justify the girl's twisted actions and mindset. And man, did killing Melody slowly seem so tempting at that moment. I need to end this soon, Blake told herself, before anyone else suffers like she is.

The next day was very tense. Layla and Amber found themselves restless and antsy at their desks, waiting for classes to start. Today was the day Daniel was to let them know if his detective could find where Melody had been, and if Blake or Aria would be with her. Like usual, Blake remained absent at her seat, leaving murmurs among the students in their classroom. The tension didn't last long as Daniel suddenly entered the classroom in a calm and collected manner. The class fell silent as they watched him approach Layla and Amber. The two girls looked over to him and remained attentive.
"Mind if I talk to you guys in the hallway? Now, if possible?" Daniel asked out loud. The students began to talk among themselves again, but both Layla and Amber didn't seem to care at the moment. Without much as another word, the two stood up and followed Daniel outside of their classroom into the hallway. Layla noticed their first period teacher approaching and tried to bring Amber back inside when Daniel stopped them, revealing three white passes.
"I talked to the principal this morning," Daniel said, "These are passes to get out of classes and school if need be. The detective's got me a location and I told him that you two were involved. That's why there's three passes." He pocketed the three slips into his blazer again. "If you'd like, I'll wait for you two out here and we can head over to my house to meet with him and talk about how to save Blake. I'll just be out here with my bag whenever you're ready."
"We'll head inside and grab our things, then we'll all head out immediately," Amber said without hesitation, to which Layla nodded in agreement. They were relieved inside; now was finally the time to save Blake from whatever danger she had gotten herself in. The two immediately returned to the classroom for their bags. As usual, their teacher stopped them.
"Where do you think you two are going at this time?" She asked sternly, "You better not be thinking of ditching my class."
"They have passes, Ms. Evanta," Daniel spoke up, holding the three passes at the door, "A police detective wants to speak with them about a case that requires their testimony. I was asked to escort them since I am also involved in the case." The students of the classroom began to talk, wondering about what case had the three students involved. The teacher, however, quieted the class and allowed Layla and Amber to leave. The three of them immediately left the campus and headed for the parking lot where Daniel pointed at a limousine that was supposedly his, complete with a private chauffeur. The three entered the car and headed straight for Daniel's house.

"What are you, a rich kid?" Amber sarcastically joked, looking around the luxury car. It was complete with a small screen TV with cable and a minibar filled with cold sodas and juice and a fold-able table in the middle. Daniel laughed, understanding the reaction.
"Yeah. I just happen to hate private schools with a passion," he answered smiling. Layla couldn't believe her eyes. Daniel, who was Blake's friend before everything, was this rich and yet Blake never said anything about it. This type of lifestyle was one that every teenager dreamed of living, so why did Daniel like to keep it secret? Those questions and others flew out of her head the moment they arrived at Daniel's house. Or rather, his mansion. They arrived and saw a large gate that could easily convince Layla that it was the Pearly Gates of Heaven. Beyond that gate loomed a grand white mansion that could rival that of the Playboy Mansion. Why Daniel would rather go to a public school like Cor Fortium instead of a prestigious school was beyond either Layla or Amber's understanding. It was a shame that they were there for business purposes. The three teenagers rushed inside Daniel's home and headed straight for their living room where a lone man stood smoking a cigar. He was dressed in a dress shirt and tie with slacks, donning a badge on a lanyard hanging from his neck. On the coffee table behind him was a locked briefcase that looked to be his. At the sight of Daniel and the girls, he stood up to greet them.
"So I can assume these two ladies with you are the ones looking into the same case?" the man asked. Daniel nodded, turning to Layla and Amber.
"This is Detective Stern. He's works at the local police station, but since they rarely get cases that require his expertise, he spends a lot of his time working on private cases like ours." Detective Stern nodded to them, keeping his cigar in his mouth.
"I'm Amber, and this is Layla," Amber introduced themselves politely, nodding in greeting to him. Stern put out his cigar and took a seat on one of the couches as Daniel gestured for Layla and Amber to do the same.
"So here's the info I got so far," Stern began, pulling out a few papers from his briefcase, revealing profiles with Melody and Aria's faces on them, "Melody Friest is the name of the girl you guys are looking for and Aria Mallery is her little sidekick who took your friend, Blake Ryden. From what I can see, Melody here is a psycho, Aria is a missing person who was missing from a town two hundred miles from here, and Blake seems to be the only one that I can't find much info on. From Daniel's testimonies, Blake has been in a situation like this before, but he wasn't there at the time of that incident; just the aftermath. Records can confirm this, so Blake seems to be an okay person despite her background checks. Anyway, the last known location of Melody would be at an old apartment complex at the outskirts of this city. This place is abandoned, but it's where she was last spotted by local passerby when I asked around. If you'd like, me and a few buddies can assist you in this mission. We don't need a warrant since no one is supposed to be here in the first place." Amber and Layla took a few minutes to process everything. Besides the unnecessary information that Stern just told them, they had a location as to where Blake could be held. It was enough for them to make a move.
"When do we start?" Layla and Amber both asked. Stern smiled and Daniel couldn't help but smirk.
"As soon as we get everything ready, we'll head out. Lemme make a few calls," Stern replied, taking out his cellphone.