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Raising her chin higher, Ash nodded towards Marc's question and grabbed Kai by the wrist before he could say anything to Lawson about carrying Ada out of the gym hall. "Ash, let me go! I'm not going to go punching the man!" He yanked his hand from Ash's grip with relative ease but he knew better than to test the woman's patience. Ash simply glowered at him and turned on her heel, walking towards the old boys' locker room with a click and a clack. Marc just followed behind, his arms crossed over his chest as he made sure to put himself between Lawson and Kai as Lawson left with Ada.

Kai really did want to smack this guy square in the face just to get rid of the glower but he knew better than to pick a fight and he disliked getting angry anyway. This was just pushing him to his limits. Deciding to make the most of things, Kai dug in his jacket pockets and found another joint that could chill his nerves. He waited until the three of them were in the locker room before he lit up and took a long drag. He could feel himself relaxing almost instantly right until the moment that Ash grabbed it from his hand and threw it on the ground, stomping it beneath her heel.

"Seriously dude? You gonna smoke that right in front me? Do you remember what the fuck I do for a living?" Marc grumbled as he glared towards Kai. Kai simply avoided Marc's gaze.

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing?!" He growled at her and stared her down as she positively glared at him. Her hand moved so fast he didn't see it coming. The sound of flesh hitting flesh at high speed echoed in the empty locker room. Kai's eyes began to water from the sting of the hit and he couldn't look Ash in the face. She was positively livid with him and she was shaking. She took a deep, shaking breath before walking right up to Kai and poking an accusing finger right into his sternum. Marc nearly chuckled when he saw Ashley slap Kai, better her than him right then.

"No, Kai. What the fuck are you doing?!" Her hands were shaking so bad that she was surprised she could keep her finger straight as she jabbed into his flesh some more. Her face was growing red and her eyes were as narrow as slits as she continued giving him the stink eye.

"What the fuck is going on with you and Ada? Because I swear to fucking christ, you hurt her again like you did that night..." he began but his words trailed off. He remembered the night she came climbing into his window, how broken she was, how broken she had been the last decade. He started pacing and then looked down, seeing the joint beneath Ash's heel. Bending down he tapped her ankle and waited for her to move it.

Flinching at the tap, Ash tore her eyes away from Kai and glanced down to Marc. She lifted her foot from the remains of Kai's illegal hobby for him. Marc picked up the remains and flushed them down the toilet. Kai huffed as he saw what Marc was up to and he crossed his arms over his chest to stop Ash from piercing a hole straight to his heart with her well manicured fingernails. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he tried to get the words together. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally ran his hands through his hair and gripped onto it as he looked between two of his oldest friends.

A heavy weight lay on his chest right now but his heart felt elated. He looked down to the grimy tiled floor and considered what he was about to say carefully. "This wasn't planned before I came here. I... I genuinely thought Ada would beat the shit out of me when she laid eyes on me... but she didn't. We argued outside when she saw me and I kind of ended up hoisting her over to my truck to show her something so that she'd stop hating me." He dropped his arms to his sides and looked to Ash. "I finally gave her that letter I told you about, the first one. Explaining why."

"Wait, what letter are you talking about?" Marc asked confused as he turned around and looked over at Kai and Ash.

Ash's jaw became less tense at the mention of the letter and she sighed audibly before slapping Kai on his upper arm in a gentle enough manner but one that showed she was still annoyed with him. "Why didn't you tell me you'd brought it? Are you sure you weren't planning this? Why even bring the damn letter in the first place, y'know?" It was clear how exasperated Ash was but Kai just let her rant her questions out. His cheek was still stinging and a hand rose up to rub it gingerly. Kai looked to Marc then but couldn't hold his gaze for very long.

"What fucking letter?!" Ash placed a gentle hand on Marc's forearm and gave him a look that he would know well. She would fill him in later.

"I'm never hurting her again. We never should have been apart, I know that now." Kai looked up to Marc then but quickly looked back to Ash. She had been his anchor for everything after Wikoli even if she wasn't aware of the details of his breakdown, she had helped immensely. He realised then that he hadn't just shut Ada out all those years ago. Despite keeping contact with Ash and Marc he felt like a stranger to them. He had shut them out as much as he had shut Ada out and he hadn't even realised it until this moment. He pressed his back against the cool walls and ran his fingers through his hair again, his eyes staring at the ground, unsure what else to say at that moment.

"Yeah, well what finally made you come to that conclusion? I mean shit man! Ash and I have been trying to get you to realise that for ten fucking years?" he began as he looked over at Ash as if he was looking for confirmation. Ash gave a fervent nod, agreeing with everything that Marc was saying. Looking back over to him, he shook his head. "Where the hell did you two disappear? I found her cell on the sidewalk, do you have any fucking idea how much you scared the shit out of the two of us?

"We went to my truck originally and we talked some more then she said she had to show me something at her parents' place. She gave me the scrapbook, man. I couldn't keep the door closed anymore after that." Kai had to stop the tears from flowing again. He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath or two before opening them again. Now it was Ash's turn to be confused as she looked between Marc and Kai.

Pulling out a handkerchief from his vest pocket he handed it over to Kai and shook his head as he let out a long breath. "Well that explains a lot. Been telling her for ten years to give you that damn thing," he muttered under his breath. Kai took the handkerchief and dabbed at his face, he hated showing emotion to anyone but at least he was more comfortable around these two.

"What scrapbook?"

Looking over at Ash and seeing how Kai was reacting he figured he might as well explain this part. "It was a gift for Kai that Ada made our senior year. Her way to show him how proud she was of him and all the work he did to graduate. She was planning to give it to him after breakfast the morning she left. You know, something he could hold onto while she was at Yale. She worked months on the damn thing. Had pictures of us in it to. All his friends, all those little sappy mementos Ada held onto. You know Ada, she kept everything. I swear, if she didn't think he would have smoked it, she would have put the first joint she snatched from his hands in it," Marc said remembering the nights he was instructed to take pictures of everyone for her so it would all be documented.

Ash's eyebrows rose in surprise and she held a hand to her heart as she began to well up at the sweet thought that Ada had done for Kai. She had to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat and she looked to Kai, her face a little softer than it was before. Taking a breath to get herself back on track, Ash turned her attention to Marc. "Well since you filled me in on the scrapbook... The letter that Kai showed Ada? He wrote it the same night that he ended things with her. It explained why he did what he did and why he had no other choice. I don't know what the why actually is, but I know he put it onto paper to give to her. One day." Her eyes flickered over to Kai who was beginning to regain his composure.

Rolling his eyes, Kai looked to Marc and then to Ash before pushing off from the wall. Ash walked forward and hugged Kai, her tiny arms barely making it around his giant torso. His arms enveloped her until all that could be seen was a small blonde bob from the top of his arms. As she stepped back, she gave him another punch to the arm. "That is for scaring the shit out of us both earlier. Don't do it again." Kai held his hands up defensively and nodded. "Yes mother." Ash jumped to slap the back of his head but he was too fast and he ducked out of the way of her hit. A small smile formed on both of their faces and Ash rolled her eyes at him.

Marc wasn't so quick to get all happy and smiles towards Kai right then. "You mean, you had something all these years that could have stopped her pain and you finally manned up about it? You son of a bitch!" Marc spat, his fingers curling into tight fists, his knuckles going white. He looked like he was about to to lay into the man like there was no tomorrow. "I should have let Lawson tear you a new asshole," he growled.

Ash was pretty stunned at Marc's reaction. He had never been this... aggressive before. Trying to defuse the situation, Ash stepped between the two men and placed her hands flat on Marc's chest. Her eyes looked into his as she spoke. "Hey now, lets not do anything hasty!"

"Ash, baby, step aside." Marc said as he looked down at her. Ash blinked and looked at Marc as if he was losing it. Had he really just called her baby? She had no words, all she could do right now was stop these two from coming to blows. His eyes slowly trailed back over to Kai, he was livid and it was only just beginning. Kai had not expected this reaction from Marc. He stepped back against the wall again in preparation for the hit that hadn't quite came yet. He held his hands up defensively, his legs crouching slightly as if he was ready to flee at any moment. "Look man, I didn't know if it would make things better or worse! Considering how much I fucking hurt her, I didn't want to take the chance that I could make it even harder for her! I actually thought that my letter was selfish and that I had only written it to make myself feel better! Not her! You gotta believe me, man!"

"Worse! There was nothing on this fucking earth that could have made it worse! You don't know the fucking hell she has been through the last ten years! It wasn't your window that she crawled through that night! You fucking broke her man! Even at her own wedding she lost it because of you! You remember Ash, you were there! The tears, how this was not supposed to be how it happened, how she could barely walk down the isle cause Kai wasn't standing at the end of it! How she refused to be happy because she felt like she was betraying him!" he said as he took a step forward. His face tensed as he spoke, his jaw clenched. The mans eyes watered thinking back to everything Ada had been through over the last ten years. How many times she had called him crying and breaking down. One night flashed through his mind and before he knew it he spat something out he swore he never would.

"And what about the baby! When she found out, it nearly killed her!"

Kai couldn't breathe. How had they found out? How did they know? He hadn't told anyone in case it got back to Ada somehow. How did they find out?! It took a minute before he could muster enough brain power to say the words out loud. "How did you find out about Wikoli?" He stared between his two oldest friends as his fingers curled up into fists.

Marc's eyes narrowed, he didn't know Ada had named the child; he had never heard the name before but in his rage he figured that was what Kai was talking about. It never even dawned on him that he was talking about someone else. "I was there when she found out man after she came out of the coma. I was the one that held her hand as the doctor told her she had lost your child!"

"Wait, what?! She... Her child... I was... No.... Nonononononononononononono..." Kai felt his entire world collapsing all around him. He fell against the wall and slid down to the floor. His legs splayed out in front of him as he hit the floor hard. His chest was heaving with the laboured breaths that he was taking, his hands were pulling at his hair and he was staring dead in front of him, looking at absolutely nothing.

Marc took a step back, utterly confused to why on earth Kai was freaking out like this. If he knew what was with the reaction? Ash didn't know what to do, she had no idea that Ada had named the baby but this reaction from Kai? If he knew the name then why was he freaking out so much? She stepped forward, unsure how to comfort her friend. "Kai... Kai, talk to us. If... if you didn't know about the baby... Kai, who is Wikoli?" She was frowning with concern for him, and the confusion was completely clear on her face. She looked to Marc and gave him a pleading look. She held a hand out towards him as she placed one on Kai's leg as she crouched down beside him.

Marc took Ashley's hand and knelt down next to her, his head tilted to the side as he watched his best friend lose it in a way he hadn't seen before. This couldn't be good. Ash locked her fingers in Marc's and watched Kai as Marc spoke. "Kai, talk to me man. What's going on?" he asked worried. He wasn't sure what else to do, he half regretted tossing the doobie right then but in the back of his mind he knew Ada would have killed him if he hadn't. He was sure she was going to kill him now if Kai really hadn't known.

Kai took a few minutes to control his breathing and when he did, he still couldn't speak. He fished out his wallet from his back pocket and flipped through it before pulling out a well worn photograph of himself and a small boy, that looked surprisingly like Kai, going surfing. "Wikoli." He forced the word out and swallowed hard.

Taking the picture from him carefully, Ash looked at the image and gasped. Her grip on Marc's hand tightened as she passed the photograph to him. Her eyes fell on Kai and she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Kai... I'm so sorry..." She grabbed his hand and held it tightly with her free hand. She had no words for one of the first times in her life. How could she have words? Poor Kai... She looked to Marc, hoping that he had something more to do or say. She felt useless in this moment and it was not a familiar feeling for her. The tears continued to roll silently as she felt the pain of loss for Kai.

Marc took the picture and sighed as he slipped his hand from Ash's and wrapped it around her shoulder. She looked like she was about to break down as badly as Kai had. Ash cuddled into Marc's arm a little and felt herself calming down faster than she would have imagined. He looked at the picture, the boy looked like Kai. He had to wonder if this is what Ada's and Kai's child would have looked like. Slowly he handed the picture back over towards his friend. "Dude, I wish you would have told us so we could have been there for you," he said quietly before looking over towards Ashley and reached over brushing her tears away before swallowing slightly and looking back towards Kai. "Want me to go get Ada?" he asked, not really caring at that moment if Lawson and Ada were done talking. Ash almost piped in to ask him to get Ada for her but she realised how selfish that thought was and she bit her tongue.

A simple but firm shake of Kai's head was all the answer he gave to that question. He took the picture and placed it back into his wallet before shoving it back into his pocket. "They need to talk. I will not stand in the way of that." He had calmed down and then looked to Marc, folding his arms as he lay sprawled out on the floor still. "What happened to Ada? I need to know." Ash chewed on the inside of her cheek and tried to find the words. "Ada was in an accident when she was coming to see you and tell you about it. She lost the baby in the wreck..." Her voiced trailed off as the tears threatened and succeeded at coming back. Ash wiped her eyes with the tips of her fingers, trying to make sure not to smudge her make-up any worse than it already was.

Marc sighed as he stood up slowly, "Bro, you aren't. I'm going to at least see if they are done," he said before he stepped away and peeked his head out of the locker room. He didn't see Ada but he did see Lawson heading back over to Ada's so called cousin. Looking back over to them he sighed. "Ash, I think this is something they need to talk about. Lawson is back inside, I'm gonna go find Ada." With that he turned on his heel and marched out the door.

Nodding to Marc, Ash fixed herself as best she could and then looked to Kai, holding her hands out to him. "You better get up off the ground before Ada gets here." Gripping her hands, Kai hoisted himself up without much help from Ash. "Thanks Ash. C'mere." He grabbed her and enveloped her in another bear hug, this one less violent than before. Ash buried her face into his chest and hugged him back. She peeked her head up and out from his arms and looked up at his face. "You should have told us about your son. I'm not going to pry just now, but you better bet your ass I'll be asking you later, okay? Just let me know when you're ready."

She stood on her tip toes, Kai bent down a little for her, and she kissed his cheek before giving him a gentle tap on the same one with her hand. "Now you two behave yourselves in here when we leave you alone to talk, okay? No hanky panky on school property y'know." She grinned at Kai

"The topic of conversation isn't exactly going to be an aphrodisiac, Ash." He rolled his eyes and shook his head at her suggestion.

Grimacing, Ash nodded. "I know, I just thought that I'd try chill you out a bit since you don't have a doobie on hand to do it for you."

Marc headed outside and found Ada trying to walk back towards the gym. When she saw Marc come out she placed her hands on her hips and began to tap her foot a little bit. "Would you come help me please," she said quickly and Marc chuckled a bit. Walking over to her he placed her arm over his shoulder. "Where's Kai?" she asked worried. Had he ran off again?

"He's inside; guys locker room with Ash, you two need to talk," he said before he stopped and turned to her. Ada looked confused. Then Marc let her know he had slipped up and told Kai about the baby. Then the blood flew as her fist connected with his nose and he hit the ground. Grabbing his nose he groaned as he watched Ada hobble off in a very irate manner. Marc just sat up and groaned, damn it Ash still had his handkerchief. "Should have seen that coming..."

Ada made her way as quickly as she could to the locker room and pushed the door open. "Ash go on and pick up your ex off the ground outside." Her voice was a bit cold but she was livid that Marc had told Kai anything about the child she had lost. Shaking her hand out some she grimaced, that was going to hurt in the morning. Ash glanced over to the door as she heard Ada talking to her. "What have you done to the man now?" She put her hands on her hips and shook her head before walking towards Ada. "Broke his nose probably," she stated flatly and without remorse. She glanced back to Kai and then pulled Ada into a quick hug, kissing her cheek and tucking Ada's hair behind her ears before leaving the room. Ada returned the hug loosely, she wasn't exactly feeling affectionate right then. It wasn't Ash, it was just the circumstance and the fact she just decked an old friend.

Kai walked over to Ada and pulled her into his body, his arms wrapping around her completely as he squished her in an almost desperate hug. His face buried into her hair as he took in the scent of her shampoo. His heart was beating a mile a minute and he used her closeness to calm his nerves that were in overdrive. With Kai though, it was different. Her arms encircled his waist as she held herself close to him, her eyes drifting close; she could feel his heart racing. Her fingers fanned out along his back, running up and down slowly as she used to do all those years ago to help sooth his nerves.

Pulling away slightly, he ran his hands through her hair and cupped her face. Ada's eyes drifting open as she gazed up at him; her eyes were full of worry, heavy with guilt. His eyes pierced into hers with all the sympathy in the world but there was a hint of sadness there too. He didn't say anything yet, he just kept his gaze with her warm, comforting eyes. Even after all this time he seemed to be able to calm her with just a look. God she had missed those eyes. She swallowed hard, trying to find the words she wanted to say. "I promised to never darken your door step again.... I just couldn't bring myself to tell you after it happened..." she whispered as she looked down. The well of guilt bubbling up once again, what she had been holding onto this last decade.

Inside his head there were a million emotions and thoughts swimming around. Not a single one made enough sense to verbalise in that moment. He swallowed trying to remove the dryness from his mouth but it was of no use. Taking a small, haggard breath, Kai let his thumbs gently slide over Ada's cheeks repeatedly as he gathered his words together. "I understand. I don't think I can quite forgive, not yet, but I understand. But just because I can't forgive yet, it doesn't mean I need time or space from you. I think we've had enough of that over the last decade." He moved his face closer to hers and softly brushed his lips across hers to show that his feelings for her had not changed; Ada's lips pulsed against his gently.

Pulling back slowly, Kai cupped his hands around the back of her neck and stroked the soft skin there. Looking up at him she sighed. "I feel the same but I am not looking for forgiveness. I made a promise. Telling you then would have only seemed like a petty ploy to get sympathy from you, a reason to get you to talk to me. I wasn't going to do that. The only regret I have is that I believed you that night," she said quietly as she looked down. Sighing she just stood there in silence. She wasn't sure what to say right then.

"I have something that I need to tell you too. In 2011, I had a child with a woman that I was having a meaningless relationship with. He..." His voice cracked and he looked away from Ada, his hands dropping from her as he took a step back and tried to control his emotions. Ada's eyes shot up quickly at his words. He had a child? The statement alone made her head swim. His heart was beating even faster now as he realised what this would mean, admitting his loss out loud. It would make it real. "He died in 2013. His name is Wikoli and I still visit him every year..." Ada's hand cupped over her mouth as he continued. She was in shock, more so than she had been. His voice trailed off and Kai fumbled to find his wallet as the tears began to spill down his cheeks. He fished out the photograph of him and Wikoli and held it out to Ada. She gently took the photo and looked down at it, her fingers running over the child's face. He looked like this father and Ada felt this guilty jealousy for a moment; not of Kai but of the woman that was able to birth a child for him.

Ada still didn't know what to say right then. Her mind was in chaos. All their pain, everything because they had been apart. All of this because of a single lie. Sighing softly she stepped back over to him; slipping the photo back into his hand as she reached up and brushed his tears away with the gentlest of touches. Kai placed the photograph back into his wallet and slid it away into his pocket for the second time that day. "As handsome as his father," she whispered sweetly. "If you don't mind, I'll leave two Uli-Nana-Pono this year; one for your mother, one for Wikoli," she asked as she bit her bottom lip slightly.

Kai smiled through the tears but it was a weak smile. "I still have the ones that you left for my mother each year. I didn't like the idea of someone stealing or destroying them. Perhaps you can come with me when I visit him next..? If you would like..." His hands founds hers and he entwined his fingers with hers, holding them tightly as he awaited her answer. "Of course I will go with you Makana. You don't even have to ask," she said quickly. There was no question in her mind that she would go with him if he wanted her to. Pulling his hands up she kissed his fingers lightly and then pressed their hands to her chest. "I won't let you be alone anymore."

Smiling happily but his eyes still shining with sorrow and pain, Kai leaned his forehead against Ada's and gently nudged her. "And I will be doing the same for you. We've wasted too much time." His head then realised he was missing something and he stood upright, looking down to Ada as he gently let go of her hands. He folded his arms across his chest and kept a tiny, but fake, smile on his face as he asked his next question. "So how was your talk with your formerly deceased husband? Do I still need to fear for my safety?"

"Long story short, he realised that he wasn't exactly feeling the same way about me as he thought he was. It's over between us, on both ends. He will be staying in town until after the reunion. Just because he isn't ready to go spring this on his family yet. I doubt he would do anything but I wouldn't go confronting him if I were you," she explained. Taking a deep breath her hands slipped from his and cupped his cheeks, her fingers running along his jawline softly. Nodding at her words, Kai knew better than to confront a damaged man. He had been in Lawson's shoes in a way, and he knew that it hurt. Kai would be considerate while he was around.

"Kai, I chose you. I will always choose you. Nothing will change that," she said softly as she pulled him closer to her, her lips brushing against his with a feathers touch. Kai closed his eyes and enjoyed the light touch from her lips, a subtle smile spreading across his face. "I love you Makana, more than ever."

"You probably shouldn't, but fuck am I glad that you do. I love you too, Anela. I can't even begin to explain how much I do." Ada could only giggle at his words, smiling brightly to him as he returned her love. God how she had missed hearing those words from his lips. In any other voice it just sounded out of place. He scooped her up in his arms then, quickly and fluidly and kissed her deeply while she rested against him. Her arms slipped over his shoulders as she held herself close to him, getting lost in the kiss; in the way he felt holding her to him; how safe she felt in his arms.

Slowly her lips peeled from his and she rested her forehead against his chin. "The mixer is underway. I want to go ahead and leave; I really don't feel like being around everyone right now." Slowly she looked up at him nervously. Her doe eyes flashing in the light. "Stay with me tonight? Please Makana." He grinned and bit his lower lip as his eyebrow rose. "Is that even a question? I didn't intend to leave your side, Anela. C'mon, let's go to my hotel room. I don't trust your parents' place right now considering everything that's happened today."

He kept her in his arms as he gently opened the door from the boys' locker room and he peeked outside. Everyone was pretty busy talking and laughing and drinking. He took the opportunity and carried Ada outside and towards his truck.

Ash was bent down beside Marc once she found him outside on the sidewalk and crouched down to give him his handkerchief from earlier. Marc looked over to her and took the piece of fabric before placing it under his nose and wiping away the blood. She gave him a little sympathetic smile before tapping under his chin lightly with her finger. "Ada said you needed your ass picked up off of the ground?" She held her hands out for him and stood upright, waiting for him to grab them. He smirked a bit as he took Ashleys hand and pulled himself up. Sniffling slightly to clear out his nasal passages.

"Yeah, she would know. God she has a hell of a right hook when she is mad," he said as he finished cleaning the blood up. Perking a brow he caught movement out of the corner of his eye as he watched Kai dart across the parking lot towards his truck. Ada climbing into the middle seat as he opened the door for her. "Fucking hell, there they go again!"

Ash spun around and looked to where Marc was looking. "They're like a pair of god damn runaway teens! Shall we stop them or just give them space?" She chewed on her upper lip as she looked to Marc, her hand gripping onto his wrist as she teetered on the edge of running towards Kai's truck. Marc shook his head as he rested his hand over Ash's and turned to get between her and the parking lot. He chuckled slightly as he gave her smile.

"Okay, honestly Ash. Do you want to stop them? After everything? Anyways, I have a better idea," he said as that smile turned into one of his telltale smirks; one he used to get in high school before he played a prank.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Marc's face. "What are you plotting now?"

Marc grinned mischievously as he stepped closer to her. "When was the last time you prank called someone?"

Cocking an eyebrow at him Ash tilted her head and shook it gently, her hair swaying from side to side. "I have no idea... Oh! Probably that last call that we did to Atlas during Spring Break our senior year! When we pretended to be coming to beat him up after he cheated on me with that piece of work, Nesha Jackson. God, that girl used to make me so mad..." March smiled as he remembered that call but sighed when she mentioned Atlas and his stupid romp with Nesha. Reaching up he curled his finger and placed it under Ashley's chin. Ash blinked and looked to Marc, her top row of teeth resting on her lower lip as he spoke. "His loss, not yours. Anyone that would cheat on your deserves that pretentious bitch," Marc said softly before letting his hand drop to his side and placing his hands in his pockets. Ash grumbled to herself before falling back into her more controlled, mature state. "Anyway, what did you have in mind?" She began to grin too, a small one at first but it was sure to get bigger once she heard Marc's idea. She could feel it in her cheekbones.

"Oh just thinking giving those two about fifteen minutes to get wherever they are going and then call from a blocked number. You know a little payback for ditching us with a killer on the loose. Simple interruption of their "festivities", he chuckled.

A loud snort sounded out from Ash and she covered her face as she giggled. "That is just plain cruel, Mr Tinder. I love it, but we can't be too mean considering we love them both even if they are a pair of gosh darn idiots."

"Yeah, problem is they are idiots when they are together, they are fucking miserable when they are apart. Guess we go with the lesser of two evils," he chuckled before holding his bent arm out to Ashley. "While we give them enough time to get somewhere, mind if I escort the Prom Queen back inside?"

Mocking shock and surprise, her hand covered her gaping mouth and she fanned herself comically with the other as her eyes rolled hard before she smirked at Marc. She took his arm and nudged him gently with her hip. "C'mon Romeo, let's get my royal backside back inside to my adoring court before they die without me... Poor choice of words." Her eyes widened and she pulled a genuinely shocked face for a second. She didn't wait for Marc to take the lead here, she started to walk forward, dragging him with her a little as she laughed at his reaction.

Marc looked at her shocked for a moment, only coming out of it as he was dragged back towards the gym; at which time he fell out laughing, resting his hand over hers and patting it lightly. "You still have a way with words."

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Lawson pocketed his wedding ring, letting it roll between his thumb and index finger a bit before letting go. He never thought he would take it off but after the exchange that he and Adelaide had had it seemed only right. He knew he still cared for her but she was right; he cared about her the same way she cared about him. Something along the lines of a friend. He had been holding onto something so long he had mistaken one thing for another. Perhaps he had hoped that when he returned that after thinking she lost him things would be different. That they both could rebuild. Somethings were not to be it seemed.

He still did not like the idea of her being with Kai; he still didn't know what had caused them to get back together. All she had said is that they both made mistakes. While he may not have known exactly what Kai's mistakes where, other than letting Adelaide go in the first place, he doubted that the woman that would soon be his ex-wife had made one. Or maybe she had, holding onto him all these years just as he had held onto her. While he didn't like the idea of them together, he hoped for her sake that it worked out. He doubted she could take being let down or let go again. It nearly killed her the last time from what Marc had told him, could she survive it again?

Stepping into the gym he looked around, everyone seemed to be calmed down. The music was playing and the drinks were being served. People were gossiping and eating and dancing. The decorations he could tell had Adelaide's touch on them. She was always so detailed oriented and he wondered what it all meant. She never seemed to do anything that didn't have a story behind it. He saw the ceiling and how it was covered - perhaps that was to take away from where Simones body had hung prom night. There were tables with the school colors draped over them and little bits of shimmering paper on it. What was that stuff again? He had no idea. There as even a table with images of those that had made a splash during their time in High School.

Looking around he spotted Jess. He felt he should at least speak to her. She had helped to calm him down a bit before he was able to speak to Ada. He owed her sometime. Maybe it would be good for him. Someone to talk to, about anything but Ada. Stepping back over to him he smiled lightly, even though it was clear in his eyes he still had a lot to work through in his own head. "Well it seems that I shall be entering what is known as the single life Ma'am. Do you mind keeping an old Marine company for a bit? Or do you have some gent you need to get back to?"

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Cynthia stood there looking around, her eyes dotting from person to person wildly as the music started up. Things were getting a bit crowded in there for her liking. Crowds back at Shady Pines meant trouble, it meant more chances of things going wrong. It meant more chances of blood. Wait, blood wasn't always bad, you could paint a pretty picture with it. It stroked on like paint. Oil, not water color. That was unless the person had blood thinners, then it was just a whitewash mess of pink. That really did nothing for the aesthetic qualities.

As Jae spoke her eyes lit up. "Poptarts, yes! Bitches love Poptarts. You know how I know? How do you know? Well I know because I love Poptarts. And your a bitch. I am not. Really? Okay, well maybe I was. Was? Yes was. Bitch. Cunt. Yes, Poptarts! Strawberry, I love Starawberry. Too Bad it isn't Forth of July. Why Forth of July? Well because they put out the Strawberry ones with the star sprinkles on them. Oh yeah those are good. Poptarts? Yes Poptarts, what did you think I was talking about? Fireworks? Why Fireworks? Cause of the star sprinkles! Well you can't eat Star Sprinkles if they are Fireworks, they would explode in your mouth. Well Poprocks explode in your mouth. We aren't talking about Poprocks. Well what are we talking about. POPTARTS! Oh yeah..." she rambled on and on. Cynthia was becoming the female version of Fight Club: The Verbal Version.

When Hye told her they could get what she was talking about she threw her arms around her and hugged her tight. She seemed so happy about it. Letting go she giggled manically as she bite her thumb nail and glanced over as Riley came back over to them. "Hye said I could get gummy bears, and twix, and capri suns, and poptarts! You really think Riley cares? Of course she cares! Hot girls always care! Don't even start, you are still on meds. So?

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Riley looked between Hye, Jae and Cynthia and couldn't help but let out a soft giggle as the crazy girl hugged her friend Hye and looked over towards Jae and rolled her eyes at him when he made the poptarts comment. "Well its a good thing that I like them instead of hotdogs." Riley said with a laugh as she took a sip out of the punch that she had gotten herself. She then looked towards Cynthia and smiled at her and gave Cynthia a pat on the head. "That's good then and i'll go ahead and buy the sodas for the sleepover tonight and maybe some booze as well how does that sound?" Riley suggested.

Her eyes then looked over towards Lawson as well as Jess seeing the two of them, she started to wonder if the two of them would hook up or something like that. Riley had a feeling that Lawson and Ada were now over between the two of them, but she didn't know that yet Ada seemed to have her eyes on Kai again which was how things should have been since the very beginning. Riley ran a hand through her hair as she thought about what else she could do seeing her friends again. Riley could see more people filling the gym she was happy to see the familiar faces that were her friends as well.

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Ash led the way back inside the gym hall, she could see just how many people had decided to come back for the event. She smiled as she saw familiar faces and she greeted them in stride as she released Marc's arm and gave out her hugs and cheek kisses and exchanged all the pleasantries now that everything was far more relaxed than mere moments before. It was a nice change of pace to be creating a positive memory in this place. Ash eyed the decorations within the hall with more interest this time, noting how much of her best friend's personality had been included in her set up. Marc gave nods and smiles to people, but he kept quiet, letting Ash enjoy herself. He wasn't one to be direct if he didn't need to be and today he had needed to be far more than normally. Smiling, Ash said her final farewells to those that had asked for her attention and grabbed Marc's arm again, Marc resting his hand over hers as they walked away from the main crowd.

Finding a quieter spot to stand and talk, Ash turned to her ex-boyfriend and smirked. "So what did you have in mind with messing with our dear best friends that just love to cause us nothing but emotional upheaval at the most inopportune moments?" Her hands were resting on her hips and her head was cocked to one side as she looked Marc over. He really had come into his own after high school. A pang hit her chest and stomach as she realised that she shouldn't be thinking that way about him. Al would pitch a bitch fit if he found out she'd had those kinds of thoughts. He was already wary about her coming here without him because of so many of her ex-boyfriends being here but she had talked him down from it all and he'd agreed to let her have a good time with her old friends without him. She'd need to call him soon to let him know everything was fine... even though it wasn't but that was besides the point.

"Well, nothing huge because of what they have been through but..." he began before pausing for a moment; reaching up and pulling a small bit of confetti from Ashley's hair and then running his hand lightly down her hair to smooth it back down. Raising an eyebrow, Ash wondered if the man had developed the ability to read minds until she saw a cute little smile was on his lips as he held up the red bit of shimmering paper before flicking it off his finger and letting it float to the floor with the rest of the pieces dotting the ground. Clearly she had to get a grip of herself, it must be the idea of being back in high school that's making all these old feelings come back. That has to be it...

"Well, they are probably headed somewhere private. You can get to most anywhere in Grimm in what? Five minutes? So I say give it another ten and then give them a call. Ask where the punch ladle is, wait a few more minutes, call again, ask where something else is, a few more minutes, ask if the Dj was paid before hand. I say we rag them until they stop answering. Then we start texting," he laughed.

"That sounds too perfect and harmless so I am definitely in." She gave him a wink as she slipped her phone out and prepared to call before realising that they had to wait until they made it wherever they were going. Rolling her eyes at herself and gently slapping her forehead with the palm of her free hand she put her phone away in her clutch and shrugged her shoulders. "Blonde moment, whoops!" Marc couldn't help but chuckle at her antics. She was just as she was in high school. Smart as a whip but had her moments. It was still as adorable as ever. Glancing over to DJ, Ash smiled and was glad to see he didn't look as destroyed as he had before then she scowled a little when she noticed the woman claiming to be Ada's cousin.

Turning to Marc she motioned her head subtly over to DJ and "Jess" before folding her arms. "Do you have any idea who the wannabe Grimaldi is? I don't think I've ever seen her before." There was a slight scowl on her face as she glanced back over to the pair before turning her full attention back to Marc.

"You're guess is as good as mine. I thought we knew all the family. But looks like Lawson is okay with her, so I don't know. Would think Ada would have said something. I dunno, there is something about her but I just can't put my finger on it," he said as he watched Lawson speaking with her before turning his attention back to Ashley.

"I've never heard of a cousin Jess in my life and you know how much I'm part of that family, same as you. Something ain't right about it." Pursing her lips, Ash looked over again and rubbed her hands up and down her upper arms as they were crossed over her chest. "Yeah, especially with everything going on," he said as he reached over and rubbed her arms slightly. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you Ash." She wrinkled her nose at him and smiled at his kind words. "I know you won't."

Shaking her head and looking to Marc again she shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "I mean, at least she isn't causing any issues and is keeping poor DJ company but I'm going to keep an eye on her. Oh, hang on." Ash leaned forward and pinched a piece of confetti that had floated onto Marc's shirt collar and flicked it away with a light chuckle. He grinned slightly as he looked down at the piece of confetti. Ada and her decorations.

"I swear, Ada is amazing at decorations and getting her decorations in all manner of nooks and crannies. The reason I stopped hooking up with people at her parties." A large grin lit up her face and she remembered the last time that she and Marc had tried to make out at a luau bash that Ada had hosted at Ash's place. "Do you remember Ada's luau in senior year? That coconut hair is not comfortable against the skin! I'm scarred for life, I swear."

"How could I forget?" he said softly. The coconuts were a pain and their did scratch up his scalp a bit but he could still remember how adorable Ashley looked in the grass skirt Ada had handed out for the girls and her little floral bikini top. Didn't matter what she wore, she had always owned it. "You were as stunning then as you are now."

Ash felt her chest tighten a little and she tried to hide the joy on her face. She knew she looked good, hell her career was based around her looks but it was always nice to hear it from someone who's opinion she respected. She leaned forward and gave Marc a quick kiss on his cheek before lightly rubbing away her lipstick from his skin with her thumb. "You're sweet, hun, but you don't have to compliment me anymore. You're a free agent, remember? Or did you get yourself settled down after all this time and didn't tell us?" She wiggled her eyebrows playfully at him.

Marc just laughed and shook his head. "Damn, tell a girl she is pretty and she tells you to stop. Don't tell her anything and she bitches you don't say enough. I can't win with you can I?" he said as he poked her nose playfully. Ash just shook her head and grinned at his accusation. Tilting his head to the side he just smiled a bit to her and shrugged. "Oh god no. Haven't had anyone really get close to me since high school. Work and all you know."

"Well that's a shame. You're denying women everywhere the chance to get with a disciplined, caring, gentle and handsome man with a good job and everything that comes with it. There is no doubt a slew of women cursing your name in the night." Marc burst out laughing and had to lean back against the wall as he held his side. She gently shoved his shoulder as she looked back over to DJ and "Jess" talking by the bleachers. She grabbed her phone back out of her purse and looked back to Marc with mischief in her eyes. "It's been long enough, yes? Would you like the honours or shall I?"

Finally containing his mirth he looked over to her and gestured for her to go ahead. "Oh please my queen, you take first shot at this. They would know it was a prank if I called and asked where the punch ladle is. Ada probably wouldn't even believe I know what a ladle is." Snorting with laughter, Ash looked up from her phone in surprise at the noise that just escaped her and she laughed some more. After a second of calming herself down she hit Kai's number (since Ada's phone was wrecked) and listened to it ringing.



Ada looked over her shoulder as Kai drove them out of the parking lot and had to giggle to herself as she saw Ashley and Marc still outside just gawking at them. She knew they should have told them they were leaving but she also knew they were both full of questions right now and that was the last thing she wanted to deal with. Smiling to herself she turned back around in the seat and leaned against Kai gently, her hand resting on his thigh as they drove towards his hotel. She felt herself getting a little nervous, like she used to back in high school when they first started dating and were able to be alone.

He drove faster than he usually would as he took Ada away from all the questions and the people she wanted to avoid. He was glad that she had cleared the air with her, god it was weird to say it, husband but he was extra glad that she had asked him to get her out of there. They needed some time together and this was the perfect way to get it. No one knew what hotel he was staying at, he hadn't even told Ash because he knew she'd try to get him a better place and he refused to let her spend more money on him.

Smiling down to Ada he kissed her head and rested on her a little as he drove. It wasn't long until they made it to the Great Wolf Lodge (Grimm branch). It was nice, quiet and quaint. Just how Kai liked it. Pulling into the parking space outside his room door, Kai shut the engine off and jumped out of his truck. Making his way around to Ada's side, he opened her door and helped lift her down to the ground before he locked up the truck. Scooping her back up in his arms, Ada's arms wrapping around his broad shoulders, he walked towards his room, his key in hand. "C'mon, I'm room 007. And just an aside note, I changed my last name to Bond, just in case you were wondering." She couldn't help but giggle a little bit at his words and just rolled her eyes slightly at him. It was nice to see him joking around again. He grinned down to her and kissed her lightly on the lips as he unlocked the door with one hand, Ada's lips rolling together as she savored the taste he left on them. He kicked the door open and gently placed her down on the end of the bed.

"Might want to close and lock that thing before Ash or Marc finds us," she laughed slightly as she slipped her thin over shirt off and laid it down on the bed next to her. Reaching down she slipped her one remaining shoe off and stood up. The wrap helped, a lot, but she was still careful as she grabbed her over shirt off the bed and wandered over to the dresser; placing both down on it. Looking in the mirror she let out a nervous breath. Why was she so nervous? They were just two people, two adults; who loved each other, who were alone in a hotel room, who hadn't been this close in a decade. Oh yeah, that was exactly why she was nervous. Slowly she turned around and glanced over to Kai as she leaned back against the dresser. In the reflection of the mirror behind her was her tattoo and the scars it covered.

"I hear ya, I'll lock up now." Smiling, he spun the key around his finger. The door shut with a gentle click and Kai locked it up before drawing the blinds and curtains closed in the room. He switched on the wall sconces and a floor lamp that was sitting in the corner nearest the bathroom door. He turned around to see Ada leaning against the dresser and he noticed the scars and her tattoo. It definitely looked different. Concern was clear on his face as he walked towards her, his body pressing against hers lightly as he ran his hands down her back. Ada tilted her head to the side as she watched his face, the concern in his eyes caused worry to rise in hers. His fingers slid over the bumps and scars on her skin, Ada could feel herself quiver as his fingers caressed the bare skin of her back, and he looked at the ink via the mirror. Those were Hawaiian tribal patterns.

He chewed his lower lip and took his hands from her body, running them through his hair nervously. "Are those scars from the crash?" He rested a gentle hand on her right shoulder, his thumb drawing circles on her skin as he looked down to her. Ada took a long breath and looked down as she rested her hands on his chest, her fingers fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. Nodding slowly she bit her bottom lip nervously. This wasn't exactly something she talked about but he wanted to know, she wouldn't deny him an answer. Not now, not after everything.

"Yeah, a Semi T-boned my car while I was driving from Yale back to Grimm. I was in Ohio when it happened. I was flung from the car during the crash and landed on my back. Doctors said I ended up skidding across the road for a ways. I don't remember it. I just know what they told me." she said quietly as she lifted her eyes to look up into his; her own eyes glistening. He sighed and gently pulled her into him. His arms wrapped around her and he rested his cheek on the top of her head as he cradled her close to him. Ada clung to his shirt as she rested her head on his chest, her eyes drifting close as she just took the moment to listen to his heart beat. He breathed her in for a minute before he leaned back from her and ducked down to her height, her eyes drifting open to gaze into his. "I'm so sorry that you went through that. I'm even more sorry that I wasn't there to help you recover but I'm glad that you are alright."

Ada simply nodded, she really was not sure what to say to him right then. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't there when it happened. At least she didn't believe it was. Reaching up she ran her fingers through his hair, pushing it back slowly. Those eyes seemed to pierce right through her, even more so than before. Before they were young and hadn't a care in the world. Now they had both suffered their own losses and pains because of that night. Nothing could change any of it but every thing good with him seemed so much more than before; deeper. She could feel the butterflies flittering in her stomach, her breath shallowing as she looked into his eyes.

He took a breath and steadied himself as the nerves took over. He didn't want to hold back anymore. He grabbed her and planted a deep kiss on her lips, Ada's fingers curling in his hair as she fell into the kiss; his hands drifted under her backside and he lifted her up onto the top of the dresser as he held her close to him. Ada brought her knees up, wrapping her legs around his waist as the moment deepened. Her heart racing in her chest as her lips danced over his. He didn't want to be separate from her anymore, they never should have been apart. It was time to fix this mistake in their lives.

It had been so long since she had been close to anyone; far too long. And even longer than she had been close to anyone she truly cared about on this level. Every touch, each feel was like the the first time all over again. Except now they were not two teens fumbling in the bed of his truck. Old memories flooded Kai's mind as he took in every piece of his Anela that he could. He remembered their first hand hold, their first hug, their first kiss, their first sleepover, their first... everything. He held her so close and so hard to his own body he was surprised he wasn't hurting her. He was losing himself in her and she in him, it was sheer bliss.

And then his phone began to ring in his pocket. He pulled away too slowly and reluctantly, his breathing ragged as he rested his forehead on Ada's. Ada whimpered softly, she really did not want to answer any damn phone and right then was very grateful hers was broken. "We should probably answer this... We did run away without a word." A cheerful grin played on his lips before he licked them, taking in more of the taste of her. Smirking slightly she leaned close and trailed her lips along his neck until she pressed a soft impassioned kiss to the hollow of his throat. His hand trailed down her arm and reached into his pocket to check the caller ID. "It's Ash." Ada just shrugged as she continued to tease him; "this better be important," she thought to herself.

"Hello? Ash? What's up?" He sounded a little out of breath. He grinned down at Ada and stuck his tongue out at her as she teased him some. He shuddered at the feel of her lips.

"Hey Kai, mind putting Ada on the phone? I need to talk to her for a quick sec." That breath didn't sound PG. Ash rose an eyebrow at Marc and made a comically disgusted face at the phone.

"Uh, yeah, sure Ash. One sec." Ash pursed her lips as she heard the phone being passed over to Ada. She shifted her head to be beside Marc's, letting him listen in to the exchange, her head resting against his. Ada leaned back slowly and narrowed her eyes a bit. She really didn't want to talk right then and it took everything in her not to spat out, ""someone else better be dead."

"Hey Ada sweetie. Listen, do you know where the punch ladle is? We can't find it anywhere and the hired help don't seem to have a clue what a ladle is! If I didn't know any better I'd think Marc had hired them!" She winked at him and stifled her laughter. Marc had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing into the phone.

"Have you tried looking right next to the punch bowl?" she said growled breathlessly, her legs tensing around Kai's waist a bit as she leaned back and nearly jumped out of her skin as her back touched the cold surface of the mirror.

"One sec, let me just check again real quick." Ash motioned for Marc to follow her and she walked over towards the noise and bustle of those in the hall before shouting into the phone again. "I swear it wasn't there earlier! These things just seem to grow legs of their own, y'know? Thanks babes. Be safe now kiddies!" She giggled and hung up the phone. Ada's growled slightly under her breath. Ashley bothered her about that?!?!

Kai rose an eyebrow at Ada and took his phone back, pocketing it before diving back into their kiss, his arms grabbing her and lifting her across the room towards the bed where he gently laid her down and lay atop her, kissing her deeper. He'd probably have thrown her but he didn't want to aggravate her injury by mistake. Ada quickly forgot about the call as she felt Kai against her and lost herself in their embrace. Her hands slipping from around him and to his chest, fumbling with buttons on his shirt.

"Well Ada certainly wasn't happy at that phone call. Let's do it again!" She bounced up and down on the spot like a small kid. March busted out laughing, wrapping his arm around Ashley and looking around, what could they call about this time. An idea popped into his head as he pulled out his phone and dialed Kai's number. "Oh I got it," he laughed before taking a deep breath and composing himself as he hit the call button. Letting it ring and waiting for him to answer.

The phone rang and they could feel it buzzing between their bodies. Kai growled under his breath as he, once again, reluctantly pulled away from Ada to look at his phone. He leaned back and rested on his knees at the end of the bed as he looked down to Ada and let his eyes wander down her body hungrily. Ada's chest rose and fell drastically as she tried to catch her breath, her eyes looking over Kai as he sat back. He pulled his phone out slowly and looked down to the screen. "For fuck sake." He hit the answer button and practically roared down the phone. Perking a brow she sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees as she brought them to her chest.

"Yes Marc?" He was breathing shakily through his nose, his eyes never leaving Ada's at this point.

"What the hell does he want?" she growled in a whisper as she narrowed her eyes.

"Hey man, listen; what was that song we all did the that dance that looked like a bunch of chickens when we were in high school? I can't for the life of me remember. Wanted to have the Dj play it." Marc was doing everything he could to sound completely serious and it wasn't a huge stretch, Marc had Kai play that damn song ten times at the party after homecoming. Ash was bent over double, laughing as silently as she could in the background. Her fists hitting against her thighs as she enjoyed the moment.

"You're shitting me, right? The Birdie Song by Black Lace otherwise known as The Chicken Dance song. Marc, you know this man. Now unless it's really super fucking important, don't call." Kai hung up and placed the phone on the bedside table as he fell back into Ada. His hands trailing her body as he tried to forget the anger he was feeling towards Marc right then. Ada moaned softly as she pealed her lips from his; her lips trailing to his ear and nibbling softly as she pulled herself closer to him. She wore if that phone rang again and it wasn't important she was going to chuck it down the toilet at this point.

"Oh he's pissed, your turn," Marc laughed as he fell back against the wall and slid down onto the floor in full sprawled out laughter at that point. He hadn't had this much fun in ages and seeing Ashley laughing the way she was just brightened his whole day up.

"We'll leave it a couple of minutes first. That'll make it even more infuriating... Just when they start to relax and think they're getting peace, BAM! Sorry lovebirds, your tune is being cut short." Ashley practically cackled at this point and looked around the room trying to find a good and ridiculous reason to call them again. After a few minutes she spied the bar and she grinned.

"I've got it..." Pulling out her phone and bringing up Kai's number, she hit dial.

The temperature was definitely rising in the room as shown by Kai's lack of a shirt. He grabbed Ada and rolled over until she sat atop him, his hands gripped at her undershirt and he began to tug on it right as his phone vibrated on the bedside table. Groaning, Kai rested his right hand on Ada's hip as he reached over and grabbed the phone. Ada pushed her hair back out of her face, her fingers resting on his stomach as they fanned out; her eyes narrowing as Kai picked up the phone and told her who it was. "It's fucking Ash again. I swear to god if no one is dead I am going to throw this phone out of the window."

His face was set in a hard frown and his voice was hard as he answered. "What. Now?"

"Hey Kai, so sorry to bother again! I need Ada for a quick sec, promise it's important!" Ash had practically swallowed her lips as she tried to stop the laughter from pouring out.

Kai silently held the phone out to Ada, his face saying everything that he wasn't. There was nothing but lines of irritation and impatience etched in every part of it. Ada took the phone from Kai, her chest rising and falling with each breath she drew. She just stared at it for a minute before finally placing it to her ear.

"Ash, I swear to fucking god if this isn't important the next body Marc will find in a net will be yours," she growled into the phones receiver.

Ash actually flinched at the sound of Ada's voice and she looked at Marc with a look that was somewhere between shock and terror. She instinctively threw the phone at Marc and then snorted with laughter, her hands covering her mouth in surprise at what she had just done. Marc barely caught the phone and gulped a bit. He had no idea what to say or what Ada had said to have Ash get that initial look on her face.

"Hey Ada..." he said, trying to clear his throat and searching for something to ask about.

"What the fuck do you want!" she bellowed. Marc's eyes widened and he just hung up. Ada narrowed her eyes at the phone as the call ended. "Makana, remind me to break his nose later," she growled as she held down the power button and turned the damn thing off before chucking it over into the lounge chair in the corner of the room. Shaking her head she took a deep breath to calm her anger before her eyes traveled back over towards Kai. Seeing him there, feeling his hand against her hip she couldn't help but smile as she leaned forward and rested her hands on either side of his head. "If they want to bother us again, they'll have to find us. Now, where were we?" she whispered against his ear.

Kai grinned but raised a single finger and gently shifted Ada off of his body and onto the bed as he walked over to the phone. He wiggled the phone at her and then removed the battery from the back before he tucked it under the pillow of the chair and grinned wider. "I don't want them coming and finding us. I know Marc's silly little tricks he pulls, pretty sure he put a tracker in my damn phone. But it won't work without the battery in it. Now... I believe we were discussing some very important matters..." Ada gave Kai a sultry smile as she rested back on the bed, her hands running along her body as she looked at him. He had a playful and downright childish look to his face as he pounced on the bed causing Ada to giggle like she was in high school all over again and began kissing Ada on every inch of exposed skin he could find, letting his beard and lips tickle her with light little kisses. Ada's eyes closed, enjoying every moment of his attention and a supple moan escaping her lips between the soft giggles he brought forth with each light touch. This was going to be a very long and very enjoyable night...

Ash raised her eyebrows and then fell about laughing. If it weren't for years of walking and living in her heels, she'd most likely have fell right to the floor with it all. "Oh my god I'm so sorry Marc! God I haven't heard her yell at me like that since I told her I was dating Atlas for the first time... and the second... and the third... oh fuck it, anytime I ever told her I was dating Atlas." Ash walked over to Marc and slung an arm around his shoulder as she took her phone from him.

March smirked as she wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she took the phone back. "I think we better hope they don't get bothered anymore tonight otherwise they might kill us in the morning; but it was so worth it," he said, hardly able to contain his laughter.

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Cynthia was like a kid in a candy store right then. People were being nice to her and she was being nice to them, granted she was being weird and crazy but that was just how the girl was right then.

"Yes, drinks, we can't get parched. Like you even know what parched means. Hey, it means, well parched. Riiight... Okay, we need drinks, we need food. They covered that already. Ooo, how about a flashlight? Why do we need a flashlight? So we can tell spooky stories! Why the fuck would we want to tell spooky stories? Why not? Oh I don't know, someone got killed today! Well that isn't spooky. Oh it isn't. No, death isn't spooky. Did you not listen to Marc? Yeah, why? Same type of set up as Simone. Oh that is spooky. Ya think? Okay, no Flashlights. How about some Dvd's? Movies? Movies! What movies? Firestarter? What the fuck is wrong with you woman? A lot." Cynthia continued to argue with herself and even ended up causing herself to facepalm herself.

Eventually she went quiet and started mumbling about stars as she saw someone come into the gym and then quickly looked over towards Riley and smiled before looking over at Hye. "Yup yup, ready to go. Are we? Well what do we need? Pajama's? Oh, those. Yeah those. Hye, got some I can borrow? Like she will let you borrow her jammies. Why wouldn't she? Well what will she wear if you are wearing hers? I dunno, Jae's shirt? And what will Jae wear? Guy's don't need shirts. ......."

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@Charnobylisk @Salrynn @Nallore

Tim rolled up to the high school and let out a frustrated breath as he stepped out of his patrol car. He slammed the door behind him as he looked towards the gym. In the last little while it had become more than evident that more was going on than a single murder and he really needed Marc's help on this. His staff was stretched thin at this point and things only seemed to be getting worse. Two more officers pulled up and got out of their vehicles, heading over towards the soccer fields. They had had a call from Mr. Black that they needed to get out there as quickly as possible. Normally they would have brushed it off that he was just high and seeing things but the tone of his voice was actually serious; none of them ever remembered the man being serious in his entire life.

Time sighed as he made his way towards the gym, pushing the doors open and looking around. Things seemed calm right then inside, everyone was talking, drinking, laughing even. He spotted Ashley and Marc over against the wall laughing their proverbial asses off and had to wonder what was so funny but he really wasn't in the mood to laugh. Taking a deep breath he pushed through the crowd, giving a quaint nod and hello to his former class mates before he finally was able to get to Marc.

"Marc, we have a problem..."

Marc slowly contained his laughter as he heard the tone in Tim's voice and straightened up. Tim slowly handed over several manila folders to him. Marc took the folders and leaned back against the wall as he went through them. The pictures that were inside caused him to quickly close the folder before anyone else could see what was within them. Tucking them under his arm he looked at Ash and it was clear in his eyes he was worried.

"Notice anything Marc?"

"Yeah, I do. Two of them were here earlier," he muttered under his breath as he took Ashley by the arm. "Baby, you need to come with me," he said in a stern voice before he lead her out of the gym; Tim following closely behind the pair as they made their way back out of the gym and over to the picnic tables. Marc motioned for Ashley to take a seat before looking back over to Tim.

"We are working as quickly as we can but I just don't have the man power for something like this," Tim admitted as he took his sheriffs hat off and ran his hand through his hair. Marc nodded and held up a finger before turning his attention back to Ashley.

"Ash, take a breath okay? Remember Val? They found her, like Jessica and Simone. She was in your dress from prom," he said quietly. Tim perked a brow.

"How did you know it was Ashley's dress?"

"Something's you never forget," he said before handing the files back over to Tim. "Go inside and find out whose dress was on Jewell."

"And the Tux?" he asked as he looked back at the files and looked over another body, the first male to be caught up in this.

"That was mine..."

"Oh..." Time said before giving a quick nod and heading back inside. Seeing Cynthia with the other girls he made a bee line for them. "Hey everyone, listen. Did any of you wear a blue dress to prom?" he asked.

Back outside Marc sighed as he slipped next to Ashley and wrapped his arms around her. "Ash... Atlas is dead," he said remorsefully. Sure he didn't like the man and felt he was never worth Ashley's time but he didn't think he needed to be murdered.

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Riley looked between Cynthia and Hye for a moment as the two of them talked, then her heard the door to the gym opening and saw Tim and two more officers coming into the room, she raised an eyebrow at the officers that came in as they headed over towards Marc and Ashley. She quietly watched them as they headed outside, before her attention was brought back to Hye offering her a ride over to Hye's place and smiled at her best friend. "Yeah sure I can ride with you guys, though i'd have to come back at some point for my ride out in the parking lot I know some people would love to get their hands on it." Riley said as she lightly played with her hair and quickly finished up her drink.

"And i'm sure Jae is going to have a lot of fun with all these girls here at Hye's place huh?" Riley said as she playfully nudged her friend, then Cynthia continued to do her crazy talk by herself and then the suggestion of some movies. "We should have a movie night while we are all here at some point with the whole class or something." Then Tim came walking into the gym once more and headed over towards her and her group of friends asking if any of them wore a blue dress. Riley paused for a moment she did wear a blue dress at the prom and turned to face him. "I did.." Riley said, she wasn't sure what was going to happen or if she was going to be questioned or anything like that.

Tim - Tim doesn't get a big header because he's Tim. Poor Tim, feel sorry for him.
Tim is talking to or around these folks: @Nallore @Salrynn

Tim looked over to Riley as she said she had worn a blue dress to prom that night.

"Riley, just take a breath, I need you to look at this image and tell me if this was the dress you wore at prom. If it is, can you tell me the last time you saw the dress and where it was when you last saw it. Brace yourself, this image is not exactly for the faint of heart," Time said in a sympathetic voice.

Sighing he pulled out a single picture from the stack of files he was holdings and handed it over to the rock girl. In the picture was Val, who had just been there a couple of hours ago and left with Atlas. She was strung up in netting once again; looked to be over in one of the trees in the park that was down the street. In the image she was dressed in a short blue dress. Her head was splattered in blood and it looked so eerily like how Simone had looked that night.

Cupping the rest of the files in his hand he crossed his arms over his chest and waited to see how Riley would react to the image, hoping she wouldn't break down when she saw it even if it was not her dress. He wasn't exactly the best at dealing with hysterical women.

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Ash was enjoying the laughter with Marc and was beginning to remember some of their high school moments together. That was until she saw Tim walking up to herself and Marc. She remained quiet and watched their faces as files were passed between the two men. Her brow furrowed slightly as she saw Marc looking towards her after he saw something that he quickly hid.

“Marc what-…” Her words were cut off as he took her by the arm and guided her out of the gym. She walked with him over to the picnic tables and she settled onto the bench and watched in silence as the two men exchanged words. Then Marc turned to her. Something about the look in his eyes made her body turn to stone and she could barely feel her limbs. Her insides were knotted and she struggled to swallow as she braced herself for what he was about to say. She knew it was bad news.

Her dress? Her prom dress? That couldn’t be… She had it sealed and stored in her parent’s house here in Grimm. Their home had the highest security that money could buy, there is no way that someone could have gained access to her parents’ home.

“Are you absolutely sure that it is my dress?” Tim asked the same question and Marc’s answer chilled Ashley to her core.

She felt her phone vibrating in her purse but she didn’t answer it. She had to process this information first. She watched as Marc and Tim exchanged words but she heard nothing, she was too inside her own head in that moment. She hadn’t been by her parents’ place since she’s arrived back in Grimm but all she wanted to do now was to go home and find her dress and pretend that this was a sad, sick joke.

She looked up to Marc with a blank face as he walked back over to her and she vaguely felt his arm curling around her shoulders. His voice sounded different, it wasn’t the same light tone that she had been talking to earlier. Had his face always had so many lines in it? She couldn’t remember. Her fingers twitched as she played with the hem of her dress and the clasp on her purse. His words hit her like a car going 90mph and she felt her chest caving in as she heard them.

Taking a full minute to control her breathing, her chest rose and fell quick and shallow as she tried to gather her thoughts together. She breathed through her nose and felt her lips thinning as she gripped her purse as if it was an anchor keeping her down to earth in this very moment. She roughly shrugged Marc’s arm off her shoulders and she stood up and began pacing back and forth on the concrete slabs. Her heels clicked, clacked and scraped as she made sudden movements and shifts in direction as she paced.

“W-what do you mean Atlas is dead?! This is just a sick joke, right? This can’t be real. This hasn’t happened! This is completely and utterly all a joke to get back at me for being a bitch in high school, isn’t it? It’s not funny y’know!” She was going to start hyperventilating soon. She had no idea how to process this. Her cell buzzed in her purse again and she angrily tore it out and held it up to her ear.

“What?!” Her usual pleasant and welcoming demeanour was gone and in its place was a woman on the brink of breakdown. Marc would hear a male voice talking down the phone to her and Ash’s eyes welled up even more than they already were and her jaw set in a straight, hard line.

“Fine. Bye.” She hung up the phone and shoved it back into her purse violently before closing it with a loud snap and throwing it across the table towards the grass just beyond. She crumpled into herself then and became a small ball crouched close to the ground with her hands in her hair and her shoulders shaking from the tears that were now pouring down her face.

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Jasmin had not moved from her perch at the side of the gym hall for more than a second to grab a glass of rose wine from the bar. She wandered back over to where she had taken Ada's formerly deceased husband, Lawson, in order to calm him down. She hoped that Ada was alright and that she and Lawson had had a good conversation at the very least. Sipping on her drink, Jasmin glanced around the hall and spotted more than a few faces she had wished to never see again. One particular face was Nesha Jackson, a bitch on two legs rather than four, she had helped Atlas make her life absolute hell when they were screwing around. There was also Jewell Price who used to threaten her for money for her drug habit, although she was looking so much better than back in high school. Jasmin had to give her some kudos for that at least, so long as Jewell didn't try anything stupid she'd be civil. Nesha could just go suck on a lemon for all Jasmin cared.

"Well it seems that I shall be entering what is known as the single life Ma'am. Do you mind keeping an old Marine company for a bit? Or do you have some gent you need to get back to?"

Looking over to the source of the familiar voice, Jasmin smiled warmly at him and gave a sympathetic look that showed she understood exactly what he meant. "No, no gent for me. Hasn't been one for a good couple of years, at least not in a serious capacity. I'd be happy to keep you company though, also please call me Jess. Ma'am makes me feel so old." She rolled her eyes in a silly way and let out a small giggle. "Although, since you're now on the inside of the joke, my real name is actually Jasmin but let's keep that hush hush for now." A light peel of laughter followed her words and she ran her left hand through her hair and tucked it behind her ear as she watched Lawson's face.

Lawson perked a brow but nodded in understanding. "I see, well that explains a lot," he said before glancing around the room and taking note that Marc and Ash were trying to cover the fact that they were staring at them. "Though, from the look of things, we have two that are currently curious to what is going on." Jas looked over to where Ash and Marc were standing and she blushed as she realised that they were staring. The blush was semi-embarassment but also some anger. She still held some resentment towards Ashley for how she used to treat her in high school.

"I take it the talk didn't go how you planned?" She bit the lower corner of her lip as she let a gentle frown show across her face.

Lawson nodded slightly and then gave a quick shrug of his shoulders before he rolled them back. "No, it didn't but Ada always did have a way of wording thing to make them clear as crystal. I guess I just need to try to figure out now what to do with my life since the plan I had for the next few years of my life just got tossed to the side. Not exactly sure what to do, didn't think divorce was going to be in my future. Granted I doubt being a young widow and having her husband come back from the dead were in Ada's plans either."

Jasmin gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder and gave a shrug of resignation. "People never do think about divorce when they get married, and if they do? Well they shouldn't be getting married in the first place." Lawson nodded in understanding, he hadn't thought about divorce when he married Ada but part of him knew if Kai stepped back into the picture he would lose her. At the time, he was actually okay with the idea but they had married under unique circumstances.

She leaned back against the wall and looked to Lawson. "You'll find your way somehow. Call it a gut feeling. Although, taking some time to yourself might not be a bad thing. Unless you spent the last five years alone in which case I'd say make sure to find someone you can talk to and rely on otherwise you may go mad." Her eyes widened and she grimaced before she spotted a couple of chairs at the edge of the hall were free. Lawson looked away for a bit, she had no idea how much time he had spent alone.

"Come on, lets grab a seat while we chat." She smiled at him warmly and made her way over before sitting down and crossing her legs. Lawson looked back over to her and followed her over it the seats, sitting down and fiddling with his Stetson.

"Funny you should say that. What the doctors told me. I was a POW for four of the last five years. Doesn't give you a lot of time to talk but it really screws with your head when you're the only one you'll talk to," he admitted before sitting back fully in the chair and letting his legs sprawl out before him. Jasmin's eyes widened in surprise and her mouth hung open a little as she considered what to say to that kind of news.

She uncrossed her legs and sat forward on the edge of her chair as she looked to Lawson. She didn't smile but she tried her best not to give him a very sympathetic look, he'd get enough of those from everyone, he didn't need them from her. "I cannot begin to imagine how that must have felt but, even though we've only just met, you can talk to me anytime. A friendly ear can never go amiss."

He nodded slightly. He wanted to talk but he wasn't sure where to start and there was so much he wasn't allowed to speak about because of security issues. Running his hand through his hair he glanced towards her. "Tell me Ada won't get hurt by that Hawaiian again.." He knew he didn't love Ada the way he thought he had all those years but he still didn't want to see her get hurt again.

She ran her hands through her hair as she considered his request. As long as she'd known Kai, he'd never seemed the type to hurt anyone. What went down with Ada after graduation was a surprise to a lot of people, Ada included. Nothing showed signs that that was where their relationship was headed. Her eyes were thoughtful and her face was showing clear signs of thinking. "No one can tell you that, but what I can tell you is that their break up was a shock to everyone. If you want my opinion on the matter, I don't think he will. In fact I get the feeling he'll do all he can to make her feel nothing but happy and giddy. He's just that kind of guy despite what you may think. He's one of the few that never treated me like I didn't exist during high school. That's got to count for something, right?" She looked to Lawson with a hopeful look and a tiny smile on her face.

Lawson nodded slightly as he bent his knees and placed his Stetson on one of them. Her words helped a bit but he knew what all she had been through because of Kai and he was still worried. Even if she was not with him, he was not exactly comfortable with the idea that they were back together. Rubbing his face with his hands he looked over towards her and smiled faintly. "Well I can't exactly see why anyone would treat you like you didn't exist."

"I'll be back in a sec." Standing up, Jas strode over to the bar. She grabbed a couple cups of punch and brought them back over, her handing holding one out to Lawson. "Thirsty?" She raised a questioning eyebrow and left a warm, soft smile lingering across her features.

Reaching out he took the drink and his smile grew a little bit. "Thank you," he said kindly before taking a small sip to see exactly what it was. Was just as he expected some high school punch to taste like; spiked to hell and back. Tipping the glass back he downed it in one swift drink before clearing his throat. "So, as much of a come on as it may sound, what's a girl like you doing alone in a place like this?" he asked with a slight chuckle.

A light peel of laughter rang out as Jas rolled her eyes and hit him playfully on his non-stetsoned knee. "You know that kid with the braces? Who had massive, frizzy hair and absolutely no dress sense? Who was fat, unfit and looked like the dog's dinner? Yeah, that used to be me." She held her hands out, palm up and motioned them across her lap as if to say 'all of this'. "No one here knows who I am or recognises me except for Ada. I get the feeling Ashley and Marc don't believe I'm Ada's cousin but that can be dealt with later." She shrugged her shoulders lightly and showed a slightly defeated smile. She really didn't want to deal with Ashley, Marc she was fine with, but Ashley... No.

He couldn't help but chuckle as he listened. It was hard to believe but there were always those ones that were called ugly ducklings, some turned into swans. It seems that was the case with Jas. "Well that explains a lot."

"And as to why I'm here alone, I'm divorced and have not really had time to meet anyone because I work insane amounts of hours. In fact, this is my first holiday in a year so... I think that says a lot about me." She chuckled at the ridiculousness of her situation when she heard herself saying it out loud.

He perked a brow, she was divorced? "I can understand that. So tell, what words of wisdom can you as a divorcee give a soon to be divorced man?"

Jas drummed her fingers on her knees as she considered what advice she could give. Her divorce had been pretty messy and not something she ever expected to go through but she had. She had almost let it break her in the beginning but she soon found the drive to fight through and make more for herself than she had before. "Well your situation is a whole lot different than mine was but... Don't let it defeat you. Let it drive you." Her face was serious and she was looking off into the distance as she spoke.

He nodded, he guess it was as good as any advice he could be given at this point. He thought at first when he saw Ada and Kai together it would break him but after his and his soon to be ex-wife's talk he just figured he would need a reboot of some sort. Glancing around he noted the on goings of the place and felt, well out of place. Standing up he placed his empty cup on a table and looked over to Jas. Taking a drink from her cup, Jas looked up to Lawson as he stood and gave him a questioning look.

"Thanks," he said gratefully while he considered his next words. "I'm feelin' a bit out of place and well this food ain't exactly my idea of food. Care to join me for a burger and get out of here for a bit? My treat."

Well that was a bit of a shock. Surely he wasn't asking her out so soon after his talk with Ada? Why even would he ask her out? He was clearly still hung up so clearly she was reading things wrong. Why was she even thinking this much about it? Probably because he was cute, sweet and was going through a situation like she had been through; even if his was particularly more extreme on other levels than her own. Swallowing the sudden dryness in her throat, Jasmin smiled and gave a curt little nod as she stood up and smoothed her dress down. "That would be lovely. Thank you, Lawson."

Lawson smiled at her as he held his arm out, Jasmin laced her own through it before Lawson escorted her out of the gym. He couldn't stand catered food. He just wanted something he could actually enjoy and Jasmin seemed to be good company. He wasn't looking to jump back on the horse but he could use a friend right then and she seemed open to that at least. Stepping outside he led her to his truck and opened the door for her, his hand extended to help her up into the cabin before shutting the door and climbing into the driver seat. It was time for both of them to get away from the commotion.

Jasmin took Lawson’s hand with a gentle "Thank you." before climbing into the truck seat and getting herself buckled in. He was certainly better company than the rest of them inside the gym hall, that was for sure. She was glad to get out of the clamouring masses and into solitude again. It was where she worked best as a lawyer and as a person.

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"The last time I had it, was about five years ago I was giving some of my old things I had to a charity event why?" Riley asked already starting to worry what was going to happen as Tim handed over a picture, she snatched it out of Tim's hands and looked down at the picture her eyes instantly went wide seeing Valencia in almost the same exact position as Simone was. Riley started to shake more visibly now, and dropped the photo onto the ground she felt sick to her stomach she quickly would let out a loud scream that filled the whole entire gym.

Riley dropped to her knees, someone was actually trying to frame or attack her for some reason or another she had no clue why the only person that she could think of was probably Atlas only because he had made her life a living hell back then. Then she started to think about her career something she had been working so hard for the last ten years of her life. If this got outside of Grimm then people would start thinking she had done it, she could possibly even lose her record deal. "That is fucking fake a sick god damn sick fucking joke by Atlas that ferret looking mother fuck face isn't it?!" Riley yelled standing up, looking right at Tim tears sliding down her face.

She had just talked to Valencia just a few hours ago before everything has happened, she was still trying to wrap her mind around that Valencia was murdered in the same sick brutal fashion that Simone was and the girl that Marc was told everyone about earlier.

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"Ashley, you know I would never joke about something like this or even be a part of something so vile and twisted," Marc said as she pushed him away and started rambling about how it had to be a bad joke and that it wasn't funny. It wasn't funny, not in the slightest. The fact that she had even insinuated that he would even be associated with such a prank stung, bad. Marc had always tried to be the most upstanding person he could be. Even in high school. He never lashed out at people, sure he pulled a prank or two but they were like the calls the two had just made to Kai and Ada, never anything that could ever cause any harm. Hell he wouldn't even clear wrap a toilet because he didn't want people to stain their clothing because of back splash.

He knew she didn't mean it and that she was just reacting because of what happened but it didn't make it hurt any less. Sighing as she took the call and then flung her phone away from her he stepped to her side and knelt down next to her. His arms slipped around her and he pulled her close to him, tucking her head under his chin as he ran his fingers through her hair for a brief moment. Normally he would have kept a loose enough grip so she could push away if she wanted but not this time. He held her close as he slipped an arm beneath her knees and picked her up gently, cradling her in his arm before making his way to side door of the gym.

He knew the paparazzi would be out and about and he didn't want them to get any photos of her like this. Slipping inside he made his way to the coaches office and sat down on the couch, keeping her close to him as she cried. He didn't know what to say right then but he knew she needed to get it out. She had never been good at shoving down her feelings to process them later. It always came out in the heat of the moment. At least now no one would see her tears or hysterics.

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Tim sighed as Riley confirmed his fears by her reaction of the dress. He wasn't joking, why did people always think he was joking when it came to serious matters? He didn't know how to handle things like this, crying women was not his forte. Hell it was probably on the top of list "I suck at reacting to" list.

Cynthia on the other hand, well she wasn't good at it, but she knew the feeling.

"Hey, Strawberry Shortcake. Why are you calling her that? Because she smells like strawberries and she's short right now. You really have a twisted mind. Takes one to know one. Riley, it's okay. You didn't do it. I didn't do it. We didn't do it. That's what I said. Not clear enough. And you are making this any easier? Maybe not but at least I know what I am talking about. Well if you know then I know. I am not too sure about that. You know what? What? Neither am I. Stars? Yeah, more stars. Always the stars. Why is it the stars? I dunno. People like stars? Do they? Why wouldn't they? Well if they did would the stars keep going out? I guess not. See, told you. So you did. Understood? Understood."

Tim looked at Cynthia like she had gone mad, well she had but more so than usual. Perking a brow he looked over to her. "What on earth are you going on about with stars? These aren't stars they are people!" he snapped. Cynthia rolled her eyes and ran over to the table which held memories from the year they all graduated and grabbed one of the old annuals on the table. Rushing back over to him she flipped through the pages and then shoved the book at him.

"See, stars!" she said proudly.

In the annual was all the senior superlatives. There was a group shot with all of them together, surrounding the picture in the annual was tons of stars. The caption - Shooting stars burn the brightest. So far everyone that had died was a member of said picture.

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Riley felt Hye's hands on her shoulder pulling her into a hug and trying to calm her down which helped a little bit, but still she was visible shaken by the whole thing. Riley shook her head slowly as she remembered she just cleared the storage of her old things with her manager and some others before she was to go on tour five years ago. "I'd have to find out and call I wasn't there during the auction." Riley answered her friend as she sighed taking in a deep breath as she tried to figure out what to do next then she looked towards Cynthia she didn't care about the nickname that Cynthia had just given her and then ran off towards one of the tables to grab something.

Riley looked at the picture seeing everyone in the photo who was there including herself then she looked towards her friends and everyone else in the room. "Everyone here could be the next target then.." Riley said biting her lower lip as she thought about just leaving town but she was going to stay here until the very end and try and be there for her friends Riley then turned to look at Jae, Hye and Cynthia. "I'll ride with you Hye, but maybe all of us in the picture should all leave at the same time and leave together."

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She felt the warmth of Marc surrounding her and it only made her want to scream but she was so upset at everything that her throat felt as though it were practically closed over on itself. She was surprised that she could still even breathe. He was holding her much tighter than she ever remembered him holding her all those years ago. She wanted to question him but her brain couldn't thread the words together, instead she fell into his body and let him support her right then. It was all she could do so she might as well do it.

Her thoughts drifted to her work and then she realised that she was out in public and needed to get herself together but... she couldn't. That is when she felt Marc lifting her into his arms and she could do nothing but blink rapidly in confusion as he carried into the gym hall through the more subtle side door and brought her into the coach's office away from the others in the gym hall and out of the public eye.

Marc moved them both onto the sofa and she curled her legs up underneath herself as she moulded her body into the side of him. Her head resting on his chest as her left arm slipped around his waist to hold him tightly and her right hand gripped the front of his vest as she cried into him. Minutes passed with no noise beyond Ashley's sobs and whimpers. Eventually they became less frequent and her throat didn't seem so tight. Ash looked up to Marc's face and pursed her lips as she sat upright, her hands smoothing down her hair and dabbing at the mascara running down her cheeks.

Glancing down at her fingertips, Ashley huffed a little and looked to Marc. "So much for being waterproof..." Her attempts at mild humour to break the silence was probably in poor taste but she had to do something to stop herself from crying. She knew Atlas was an ass, but he could be really sweet too... Sure she hadn't spoken to him in almost a decade but she had cared for him deeply when they were together even if they weren't the best fit as a couple. Glancing around, Ash tried to find her purse but couldn't see it anywhere.

"Shit... my purse. I threw it outside. Marc, c-could you... could you please get it for me? I don't think I can handle going out there looking like this..." She knew she owed him an apology for breaking down on him but she didn't want him to not take her seriously because she looked a complete and utter mess. Plus her phone was in her purse and if anyone in the media found it they'd do whatever they had to in order to get inside of it. She shouldn't have thrown it away but with everything... she had been dumb. Her face fell as she realised she had accused Marc of playing a prank on her and she winced internally. She definitely owed him an apology...

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Marc pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it over to Ashley. He hated seeing her like this and let her curl against him as long as she wanted. Once she had calmed down enough to finally speak he gave her a warm reassuring smile and reached over, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Just stay here, no pulling a Kai and Ada and running off on me," he said as he pressed a gentle kiss to her temple.

Standing up he tugged on the bottom of his vest to straighten it out before heading out of the coaches office and back to the front of the gym. Stepping outside he spotted her purse and rushed over to it before someone wandering around grabbed it. "Not yours," he said flatly as he checked to make sure her phone was there. Seeing it he turned on his heels, letting the passerby give him eat shit and die looks without flinching. They were probably news folk that were always stalking Ashley and even if they weren't he didn't care. No one was getting a hold of Ashley's things if he could do anything about it.

Stepping back inside he noted Tim was still talking to Riley, he would get filled in later. Right then he wanted to make sure Ashley was okay and he didn't want to leave her alone. Walking into the office he handed her over the purse and her phone before sitting back down next to her. "Everything is there and accounted for," he said as he rested his arm along the back of the couch, leaving it there if she needed to curl back up.

"Listen I know this is a lot to take in but right now I don't want you leaving my side as long as you are in town. I am not going to argue this Ash. So don't please. Your safety comes first," he said as he looked over towards her.

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Cynthia nodded excitedly as Riley caught on to what she was rambling about. Finally someone got it. Tim took the annual and started flipping through it, seeing the various superlatives and who all had been killed so far. There were four including Simone right now. How much worse was this going to get before it stopped and why now after all this time? He couldn't figure it out. Whoever was doing this obviously was doing it because of something but why these people? Why now? His mind wandered to those that lived in town and who had come back for the reunion. Did the person committing these murders live in town and just doing it now to throw the scent off the fact they did, hoping a finger would get pointed at someone visiting. Or was it in fact someone that had been laying dormant outside of town all these years and something snapped. He wanted to point a finger at Cynthia, she was the suspect from last time and even if he didn't think she was the murderer then, all this popping back up now... It made him worry.

"Has she been here the whole time?" Tim asked Riley as he pointed over towards Cynthia.

Cynthia stuck her tongue out at him. "Not pinning this one on me copper! That's right, we didn't do shit. Well we did. Well not that. No, not that but we did do things. Like what? We took a shower, brushed our hair, got food. Oh yeah we did do that. What else did we do? I don't know. Me either. Hey, think we could make smores tonight? Oh Smores! Yeah, yummy chocolate. Sounds good to me. I still want my Capri Sun. Yeah, you and me both."

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Riley started to take a few deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down, no one knew that she wore that dress except for those who were at the prom ten years ago. Riley knelt down to pick up the picture and stared at it seeing Valencia the way she was displayed in the murder photo made her cringe and handed the picture back towards Tim as he asked her if Cynthia had been here the whole time. "Yes she's been here the whole time I've been the one watching her, and Jae and Hye here were watching Cynthia here when I went to help Ada out of the gym." Riley answered and sighed softly.

"Sorry for my breakdown by the way." Riley said with a soft sigh as she looked around the rest of the gym seeing the rest of her class then turned her attention back towards Tim. "Before you ask I've been here the whole time, the only time I left the gym was to watch over Cynthia here, or helped Ada, Ashley and Kai. You can ask them yourself if you have to." Riley said she was more then willing to cooperate with the authorities, she didn't know why everyone was being targeted by the murderer Riley did have some people she knew didn't like her much but she wasn't sure who would do this to her or the others who have been murdered.

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It had been a long time since Jacob Blackwell had set foot in Grimm. His mother still lived there, but he hadn't been to see her in years. This was not because him and his mother had fallen out, it was more down to the fact he had been so busy over the past couple of years. His business over the past five years had grown at such a rapid rate that he couldn't keep up. Sure he had gained a crap load of money as result, but the years were starting to escape.

Tense would be an accurate description of how Jacob felt right now. It had been a long trip to Grimm; starting in Tokyo and ending up back at his high school. Three flights: Tokyo to Hawaii, Hawaii to Los Angeles then LA to Indiana. The final part of the trip was now underway. And those butterflies in his stomach would not go away, nerves creeping in as he entered the town limits. Thankfully though he wasn't driving. One of the perks of being rich was that you didn't need you drive anywhere.

The final few meters was the most tense, the black Mercedes Limo pulling up into the parking lot. Usually Jacob would wait for the driver to get out and open the door for him. However this time he simply opened the door himself and stepped out, startling the driver somewhat. Jacob raised his hand and dismissed the driver "Go into town and grab something to eat or something. Or drop my bags at the hotel... just go do something!" Jacob's voice started to rise towards the end, bordering on shouting.

Jacob began to walk towards the gym, the first few steps took forever to take. Each step was succeed by a pause in pace. Memories started to flood back with each step, overwhelming his senses and causing his brain to stop function.

Walking onto campus was distressing enough each morning. Cynthia didn't make it any more helpful though. The past few days her and Simone had been coming at her like a double offensive, if it wasn't Cynthia making comments or getting in his face, Simone was getting ready to pull some 'hardass' bitch move on him. As he approached the school doors he could see Simone inside. Even at long range, Jacob had learnt to spot trouble. Stopping in his tracks he decided to go the long way, walking around the gym and entering through one of the gym doors. Sure it meant walking through the jocks... but he would rather be mocked by a group of boys than have to face Simone.

The memory in his mind had finished replaying and before he could bring his conscious mind back into reality his feet had already started tracing those very steps he used to take to avoid the main entrance. Soon enough he had reached the side door to the gym. And his hand floated above the handle for a few seconds. Was he really ready for this? Did he really want to do this? Walk back into the lions den again? Still he had traveled the world to be here, Did he really want to waste all that time now? No was the simple answer. So with his mind made up Jacob opened the door into the gym and stepped inside. He had hoped that because it was the side door he would not have attracted attention, however the door clearly hadn't been maintained in a while as when he opened it it let out a loud and roaring creak, pretty much notifying everyone in the gym of his presence. It wasn't exactly good. When he walked through the door slammed shut with a bellowing echo too... As if the male didn't need to be singled out anymore, eyes descending upon him. It was like high school all over again... everyone looking at him. The memories of the prom came back to him too. About the investigation, about discussions people had about Jacob being the real killer... He was fairly sure none of those people were around, most of them were police officers and federal agents he had spoken to. He couldn't remember if the information had reached the populace before hand.

Still here he was, the echo coming to an end. "Um...Hello?" Jacob spluttered, years of confidence running a business shattered in a few seconds, his former teen self coming back into play. He placed his hand behind the back of his head, scratching the back of his scalp lightly. He just wished people would have turned back around and stopped looking at him. They were all looking at him. Scanning quickly he froze when he noticed Cynthia, his old high school reactions kicking in. As if the nightmare couldn't get any worse, he saw Riley too...fucking Riley. This was like hell on a plate. He was fairly sure he had dreams about those two being together with him alone... Not pleasant indeed. And could people stop staring at him

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Cynthia looked over to Riley, she looked sad. Why was she sad. It wasn't her that was dead and well Atlas was an ass. Maybe not ass enough to be killed but hey, still an ass. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a small travel pack of tissues she kept on her. More to pull apart when she got nervous than for tears or wiping her nose but hey, seemed they would finally fill their true function. Opening the packet she pulled up a soft tissue and handed it over to Riley with a goofy smile on her lips, as if she had just handed the girl a check from Publishers Clearing House.

"It's okay. No it isn't. Why not? Because people are dead that's why. Well people die all the time. They do but not like this. Well hell, if you want to talk weird deaths what about that girl in Shady Pines? Which one, the one that thought she was a glass of orange juice? No, not that one. Oh the one that swore she was the daughter of Napoleon, always wanting the strawberry section of the ice cream and claiming it in the name of France? No, not that one either. Then which one? The one that thought she was the second coming of Jesus and figured she could walk on water. Well she did. That wasn't water, that was ice. Same difference, she still fell through it and froze to death. Well it was water underneath. Yeah what ever, but yeah, death happens. But is death and murder two different things? Same end result, lack of a pulse. True. But Riley didn't do it. Well of course not, she isn't frozen right now! Not that! Oh the murder? Yes the murder! Oh right, yeah Riley didn't do that! We know!"

Tim just stood there as his eyes widened listening to Cynthia ramble on and on and on. Shaking off the bemusement he looked back over to Riley and nodded a bit. "Yeah, I know Riley. You were never a suspect for this," he said as he heard a voice say hello. Turning around slowly his brow rose seeing the new face enter the crowd. "Now that one on the other hand..." he muttered under his breath looking at Jacob. Cynthia whipped her head around and bright smile came to her face as she waved her hands in the air towards him.

"Hi Jacob! Who? Jacob! Oh him! Yes him! He came to see us! Yes he did!"

Tim placed his palm over his face. "Here we go again..."

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The feel of Marc's fingers through her hair and the gentle pressure and warmth of his lips on her skin made Ash melt for a minute and forget why she was upset even if it was only for half a second. As soon as he left the office though, her composure crumpled and she curled up into a ball on the couch and buried her face in her knees. She didn't know what to do, what to think, what to say... everything was an emotional blur and she wasn't sure what to do about it. She was usually so held together, so confident this was... this was not familiar. When the door opened it felt like seconds to Ash but it was more likely minutes when Marc reappeared.

She reached out and took her purse and phone from him and smiled gingerly as she unlocked her screen and looked to see that she had ten missed calls, a voicemail and three messages. She swallowed the lump in her throat and rested herself into the crook of Marc's arm again as she looked through the notifications on her cell. The same name crept up - Johnson Teller - and a single mention of - Alexander ♡ - who had left the voicemail. If Marc looked over he'd see what she was doing on her phone. Ash opened up the call list to clear the notifications and heard Marc's words. She turned her head to look at him, her head still resting on his shoulder as she watched his face. He was serious.

A small frown formed between her eyes and she chewed on her lower lip as she considered his words. It made sense, she knew that but she wondered what Al would say to her staying with Marc. If he knew it was for her safety he'd understand but they hadn't left things on the best of terms when they last spoke. Maybe she should try and call him again and explain why she had snapped earlier. Lacing her fingers together, Ash shifted her head down into Marc's lap so that she was laying on the sofa and her face was looking up to his face. "Okay, you're right. I'll stay with you. I don't think I can handle being alone honestly, y'know? Thanks Marc. You're amazing."

Sitting up, she pressed her lips to Marc's cheek and laid back down. She smiled slightly as she saw the lipstick mark she had left and she licked her thumb before rubbing her lip print from his cheek. "Sorry about that." She stroked the skin of his face and then jumped as her phone began to vibrate on her stomach. She looked at the screen and saw - Alexander ♡ - on it and a picture of him. "I should probably get this..."

Ash swung her legs off of the sofa and tapped the phone before raising it to her ear. "Hello?"

She was quiet, listening and nodding as she listened to Al. Her back was to Marc so he wouldn't be able to read her face but from her stance he would clearly know she was uncomfortable and uncertain. Over what though? He'd have to deduce that himself.

"I was away from my cell, talking with Ada. Things have been... hectic." More silence followed as she listened some more, nodding and humming at the odd place. "Look, Al, I'm fine okay? You don't have to come out here for me. I'll keep you updated. Yes I won't be alone. No I won't be stupid. Yes I know. You too. Bye." Her tone wasn't overly happy but it wasn't sad or upset either. She was rather generic sounding, almost bored if you could imagine Ash ever being low energy. In fact it was probably the lowest energy that Marc had ever seen Ash be in all their years of knowing each other.

She hung up and locked her phone before sighing and turning to Marc with an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry about that. Apparently my agent has heard through the grapevine that the media are going crazy over the murder in my hometown and trying to get exclusives with me to talk about the victim. I have no idea how they even found out about Jessica yet... oh god..." She raised a hand and covered her eyes. "They're going to find out about Val... and Atlas. Oh god, Atlas... If they find out I used to date him in high school...? Marc, what am I going to do?"

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Riley smiled slightly and nodded towards Tim, she was relived to not be a suspect she just wanted to make sure he knew where she had been for the last couple of hours which have been just in the gym. "I know, I was just letting you know where I have been and that I have an alibi for you." Riley said softly as she walked over and sat down on a chair letting out a soft sigh still trying to wrap her mind around everything two of her classmates have been murdered the same way Simone was, she looked towards Tim. "So do you have any other info other then the pictures and the way that they have been murdered, or are you keeping this under wraps for now?" Riley asked Tim looking over towards Cynthia as she continued to do her usual crazy talk and muttering to herself, at least the crazy girl Cynthia was on her side and started to believe that she didn't do the murder ten years ago.

Then she heard the door to the gym open and then turned her head to look over to see who it was and saw that it was Jacob Blackwell, one of the kids in his class that pissed her off quiet a few times and even got into physical fights quiet a lot. Riley just glared at him. "Hi Jackie Boy." Riley said sarcastically it was a name she usually gave him and knew that it got under his skin a lot. She stood up and made her way towards the refreshment table and grabbed herself another drink letting out a sigh and turned back towards Tim. "So whats the plan now?" Riley asked.