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Pete whitened further. “You did that for me?”
I said nothing.
“Why?”
“I told you, you’re my oldest friend.” I struggled to keep my voice steady. “Please say we’re OK.”
Pete forced a smile as the bus pulled into the school stop. “I’ll never be able to repay you.”
“That’s alright,” I gri
With an explosive laugh, Pete shoved me and I lurched to my feet. Together we followed Justin into the street. The school loomed in front of us, a promise of a difficult day ahead.
Justin caught my hands and pulled me close. “I’m going to patrol; it’ll be better than just hanging in one place.”
My heart rose as his head dropped and his lips hovered over mine. Pete cleared his throat and turned away. The faintest hint of breath touched my mouth and I opened my eyes in surprise as Justin kissed me. I pressed my lips against his and inhaled him in; the intensity of his scent, the suggestion of moisture on his skin, traces of life. My lungs tightened and my heart raced. I clenched my fingers in his blazer until I felt my knees begin to quake, then I pulled away with a tremulous sigh.
Justin stroked my cheek with his fingertips. “I’ll be here at lunchtime if you want to see me.”
I smiled. “I want to see you.”
“Alright then.” He stepped backward. I’d better get on with it.” He glanced at the school gate, as if he wished he was going in with me and I released his hand. He gri
“I’ll miss you.” I swung my backpack and headed for the entrance. “See you later.”
Pete jogged until his stride matched mine. “So… you and Justin…”
“Yes.” The smile crept back onto my cooling lips.
“He’s dead.” Pete shuddered.
“Yes.” I raised my eyebrows.
“OK then.” Pete stuck his arm through mine and I froze momentarily. Then I carried on walking as if nothing had happened, terrified of breaking this fragile new thing between us.
“This is going to take a bit of getting used to,” he said and I nodded, looking for the first time in years at the flowers in the beds, the noticeboard by the main office and the mural on the outside of the sixth form centre.
Then I really did freeze. Ha
“What has she done to her hair?” My horror was focused so strongly on the travesty that I barely saw the two girls walking arm in arm with her.
Pete hissed through his teeth. “It doesn’t suit her.”
I blinked, blindsided, as the three came closer, all with matching alice-bands and brown shoulder-length bobs. Ha
She was leaning into the girl on the left, giggling at something she said. Then she saw Pete with his arm in mine. Her feet tangled in one another and she would have tripped if she hadn’t been held up by her new friends.
“We need to talk,” I called.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
Her new friends raised their heads and the trio started to march around us.
“Please, Han.” I injected a note of pleading in my voice. Her chin jutted, she was hardening her heart against me.
“Just for a minute.” Pete weighed in on my side and I suppressed a surprised gasp. “Hear her out and if you still aren’t interested, I won’t let her bother you again.”
I bit my tongue. If Ha
“Come on, Ha
“I’ll meet you there.” She waved them off. “I have a thing to do here. It won’t take long.”
I didn’t take my eyes from her face, as the muttered complaints of her new friends grew more distant.
“I… like your hair,” I started.
Her hand rose, as if to touch the alice-band, then stopped and dropped to her side. “What do you want?”
“I haven’t been fair to you.” I tried to move closer, but Ha
Ha
Pete shook his head with a snort. “She’s going to tell you what she told me, Han. It’ll be hard to believe, but you should listen.” He released my arm and backed off. “I’ll save you a table in the common room.”
I edged nearer to Ha
“I’m not staying,” she snapped, but her knees folded and she sat.
“It started when I was ten,” I began. “That’s when I began seeing ghosts…”
Pete gri
“You believe her?” He put his head near to Ha
Ha
“You didn’t need proof?” He looked at me for confirmation.
“I’m going to take her to see Justin at lunchtime. But she believes me anyway.” I squeezed her tightly.
“I’m mad at her for not trusting me.” Ha
I looked contrite. “I’m sorry. I am. But I wouldn’t have believed someone who told me they saw ghosts, not before it happened to me. I didn’t want to risk losing either of you.”
Ha
“No more secrets.” I hid a smile.
She jiggled with excitement. “This is so cool, my best friend sees ghosts.”
“What’s going on here?” Mr Barnes loomed above me and automatically I leaped to my feet. He ignored Ha
Mr Barnes sat behind his desk, glowering from beneath lowered brows. Pete and I stood in front of him, like naughty children. His hand came down on his desk with a bang that made us jump.
“I’ve had parents on the phone. Tamsin’s, Harley’s and James’ to be exact. Their brood didn’t come home last night.”
“Just like Justin,” I muttered.
“What was that, Taylor?”
“Nothing.” I looked him in the eye. He shifted uncomfortably.
“Peter, I want you to tell me straight up. Is this going to be another case like Justin Hargreaves?”
“Like Justin?” Pete’s eyes widened.
“Don’t play dumb with me, boy, is this something to do with the club? And if so, will it look like an accident?”
I staggered sideways, catching Pete’s elbow to stop my legs from folding. “You don’t care that they might be injured or dead?”
“I care very much.” Mr Barnes rose to his feet. “But I’m not a paramedic. My job is not to save lives.”
“Then what is your job?” I leaned forward. “You’re our head teacher, you’re meant to care.”
“I care.” He pushed his glasses up on his nose. “You’re new, Taylor, so you have no idea yet what V can do for you in the coming years. Right now I have to do damage control. Your group has caused more problems than any other year group. I need to know what has happened to them, so I can tell our friend on the force.”
“You mean so he can cover things up.” Horror had blanched my face. My cheeks were cold as if I’d had water thrown on me.