Ari felt her heart beat through her chest as she arrived at school. Years of longing and build up sparked by one kiss they shared had left Ari's mind a nervous mess.
As she walked, repeatedly going over what she wanted to say to Zoe in her head she heard footsteps fast approaching her as she felt someone jump onto her back. Stumbling forward but keeping her bearings beneath her she looked to her side and saw flowing red curls resting on her shoulder and immediately knew it was Zoe.
"Wow my bestie is so strong" Zoe said as she settled herself on Ari's back. "If I had a dime for every time you jumped on my back randomly I'd probably have ten dimes by now which isn't a lot... wait no actually it is a lot..." Ari said as her words abandoned her as she felt Zoe slide off her back and spin her around.
Zoe stared warmly into Ari's eyes and held her hands as Ari melted in her grasp. "I didn't see you this weekend, how are you" Ari managed to mutter as Zoe's gaze had her tongue tied. "Fine, not as fine as you though" Zoe said as she looked Ari up and down and had a devilish grin on her face.
"Who are you looking all pretty for?" Zoe asked as she looked into Ari's beautiful brown eyes. "No one" Ari replied coyly, feeling her confidence dissolve in Zoe's radiant presence.
"Right keep your secret" Zoe said as she ssqueezed Ari's hands for a second before letting go. Zoe's focus seemed to shift slightly as her smile dropped for just a second before she found it again. "You okay?" Ari asked noticing the slight shift. "No, oh yeah I'm fine. Just a long weekend is all. I'm fine though, I'll be fine" Zoe said as she walked off into the crowd.
Minutes later Ari arrived in class to find a single student sat at his desk with his head down. At the sound of her footsteps he raised his head and smiled when he recognized Ari.
"Hey Ari..." he said looking up at her visibly shaken demeanor. "Um what's wrong?" he said as she absent-mindedly sat down next him. "Oh uh hey Dave, uh it's nothing" Ari said as she looked over at his pale, thin face and bags under his eyes.
"Right, you see me looking like shit and you aren't saying something caddy about it" Dave said snarkily as he looked at Ari while he counted down in his head.
As soon as he hit 'one' Ari turned to face him and said: "Something's up with Zoe" she said as he rolled his eyes. "Lemme guess you chickened out again" he said already exhausted by the conversation they had yet to have. "No... well yeah but she was being weird, and now I can't find her" Ari said as her concerned tone made Dave set aside his snark.
"Wait what do you mean you can't find her?" He asked as his eyebrows furrowed. "I saw her, and I was going to tell her but she just seemed off. Like she's always smiling and she like dropped her smile for a second then kinda put a fake one on. I was gonna ask what's wrong but she just walked away..." Ari said as Dave noticed her foot tapping on the floor.
"Okay, it's okay you try calling her?" he asked as he pulled out his phone. "Can't, her phone broke remember" Ari said as she let out a deep exhale and groaned. "It's fine, she's fine, I'll be fine. How are you, wow you look like a ghost with a hangover. Shit dude" she said as she looked at Dave's visibly exhausted face.
"Yep sounds like you're totally fine" Dave said as he smirked slightly, watching Ari perk up. "And you're not, forget about me and get some sleep" Ari said as she felt a weight lift from her shoulders.
"I liked you better when you looked like someone just shot your dog in front of you, a lot more silent" Dave said as he rolled his eyes and put his head down on his desk. "Yeah yeah there you go, back to sleep you go sleeping bea-" a loud crashing noise coming from outside caused Ari to stop mid sentence as car sirens started blaring outside in the student parking section.
Ari and Dave both froze in place as the blaring car alarm went off. Dave remained glued to his seat while Ari's morbid curiosity caused her to stand up. As she peaked out the window she saw a crowd forming around a car in the parking lot. As she stared out the window a blood curdling scream cut through the chaos as a girl shouted "Zoe!" which made Ari's heart drop to the pit of her stomach.
Dave looked over at Ari as the color drained from her face. "Hey you ok-" he said before she ran out the door. With a million thoughts rushing through her head Ari bolted out of the building, into the parking lot.
Despite her diminutive stature she pushed her way through the still growing crowd fueled by fear to see Zoe laid on the caved in windshield of a sedan. Frozen in place, Ari stared at Zoe's unmoving body laying across the broken windshield of a car. Her head began spinning and her mouth became dry as she looked at her once bubbly, beaming friend now cold, bloody and lifeless.