[IC] Sᴛᴇʀʟɪɴɢ Hᴇɪɢʜᴛs Sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛs

[Strange Rodent]

Augie opened his mouth to say something in response to Alice, but was distracted by Ron yelling. His brow furrowed, and his face lost all sense of humour. He must've been yelling at Ara, seeing as she arrived with Rob, and still hadn't come downstairs. He didn't catch all of what Ron yelled, but "Jealous" was definitely in there.
He looked back to Alice, only to find she'd seemingly teleported away. He shrugged, and leaned against the nearby wall, taking a sip of cider. He reached up to rub at his eyes, but stopped, remembering his face paint. "Man, saltwater was a far worse idea than I thought," he thought, blinking furiously. Just then, Ron came striding down the stairs, basically pulling Claire behind him, with Deus following, and a loud absence of Ara. He looked long and hard at Ron, folding his arms. Based on what Ron yelled, how he was dragging Claire along, and how Ara hadn't come downstairs, Augie attempted a guess at what was going on.

He had been so absorbed in trying to figure out what was going on, that he didn't notice Rob had started his karaoke until the first scream. His face split into a wide grin, and he started headbanging along. He'd never have guessed that Dancing Queen would immediately sound better if it was metal. About halfway through, his eyes caught Ron through his tears of laughter. He was just sitting there, looking unamused and eating peanut m&ms.
After the karaoke, Ron stood up and suggested that they all play truth or dare. Augie crossed his arms and gave a little scowl. "Nobody's drunk yet, Ron. What the fuck has got into you? Now, I don't know what's going on, but from what I can gather, you're not happy about something, and you're throwing a bit of a tantrum. You blew up at Ara because she showed up with Rob, and now you're trying to make her jealous by using Claire. Fucking cut it out. It makes you look immature and petty, and they aren't good looks," he said, growing more irritated with every word. He stopped for breath and closed his eyes for a second, taking a bit of time to breathe. "Cut your shit," he finished simply.

[Witryso]

"Oh, there's no toilet paper, I just said that so you'd let me in. Have fun explaining that to your neighbors!"

DJ gave Ron a cheeky smile before squeezing past him and making his way to the basement. One look at all his friends, and suddenly he was feeling...inadequate. It seems that everyone had gone all out for their costumes (especially Robbie), and here he was, with a bunch of ripped up cereal boxes taped to his shirt. Still, he smiled, waving to Deus before approaching Isaac on the couch.

"The ladies must love Slim Jims, am I right Macho Man?" He gave a wink to Alice and Bernie before applauding Robbie's performance. "Honey, Meryl Streep is quaking right now!"

DJ considered Ron's suggestion. It sounded like fun, but after hearing Deus and Augie's responses, he awkwardly cleared his throat. "As fun as that would be, I've got a better idea. The latest countdown on SHS ends tonight, so how about we pull it up, maybe take bets on who's getting exposed this time around? I'm thinking it's either 'Sharon Baxter smokes pot' or 'Mr. Peterson's having an affair with the librarian.' What do you guys think?"

[Garden Gnome]

Claire was initially waiting for Ara to reply, but Ron was the one who replied instead. That was fine. It didn't really matter who replied to be honest. She was fully aware of what was going on, a fight or an argument of sorts, and her aim was to stop it. She always seem to play the peacemaker role in the group, and this time was no different. She didn't want to interfere and side with either one of the two, so she tried her best to stay as neutral as she could. But all of that changed of course when Ron answered, his words full of displeasure as he called Ara, Little Miss Serious. All she was trying to do was quote the Joker, but that seemed to fly over both their heads with all the tension and anger that was emanating from the pair. Ron then placed his muscular arm around her arm, which was but a fraction of the size of his, and there was simply no fighting that. Claire allowed herself to be pulled off from Ara, gazing at Rob only to find him returning her gaze.

She continued to allow herself be pulled, or dragged rather, as Ron went down the stairs. She finally regained control of herself once Ron released his grip on her arm, and headed to grab some food. She followed him, feeling more than a little peckish already. Cycling all the way to the party had burned up quite a bit of energy. Glancing over to see what he was taking, peanut M&Ms was the only thing she saw on his plate. She, however, took a chicken wing or two for herself. What else could she say? She was a growing girl and she needed her food, especially when it was chicken. Fried chicken, Grilled chicken, barbecued chicken, you name it and she probably love them as well.

The peanut M&Ms didn't seem to be cooling Ron down, and he was still pissed by the way he was calling Rob's cover of Dancing Queen, karaoke shit. He then suggested they play drunken truth or dare, but was anyone drunk already? Perhaps, Ron was drunk in anger, but she didn't think anyone else was close to being drunk yet. Look like the Truth or Dare game was going to be played anyway, drunk or not.

[TheGrundlesnart]

Isaac looked sheepish at DJ's joke, but managed to smile through it. "Ah, but that would require me to be slim, and named Jim. Which I'm neither." He patted his stomach. He wasn't fat, not really. You'd barely tell by how he referenced himself but he was just a bit bigger than ideal. He just couldn't seem to rid himself of the spare tire, you know?

But he laughed nervously at the joke, uncomfortable with the reminder that somehow, of everyone, he was the one sandwiched between attractive girls this early on. That should have been literally any other male at this party, as far as he was concerned.

Of course, all of this was quickly thrust from his mind as conflict began. He didn't like conflict, especially not watching his friends fall into conflict over things like this.

"Hey guys, let's lighten up, alright? We don't need to be rude to one another. I'm sure Ron has something of a valid reason to be upset, even if he's not communicating it effectively, which happens to everyone. Right? God knows I'm terrible at communicating how I feel about things. It's never been easy for me. I'm just not that kind of guy, right?" He swallowed. He'd probably been talking for too long. "Maybe we should take... a vote?" His voice trailed off towards the end as he realized how long he'd been talking and how little he'd probably helped matters. He wanted to apologize but figured that would just make matters worse.

He looked at Berns, then at Alice, as if their two reactions would be a good measurement of the group's response as a whole. He wasn't going to say anything, but DJ mentioning the SHS website filled him with morbid anxiety. He'd just barely arrived and now he found himself glancing at the door every few seconds, as if ready to dart for it. And the continued tension in the room was doing him no favors. He didn't really have anything to offer as far as help, so really he just wanted to leave the awkward tension for a while and come back when it was over.

"Ya know what? I'm gonna get some... fresh air, yeah? I guess... anyone who's also a party pooper can join me. I'll be back in a few, I'm not leaving or anything." he smiled and stood up, taking something of a half jog up the stairs and out the front door, stopping to breathe for a second when he made it out. Jeeze. Things were already off to an intense start down there. He didn't want to be gone for long. He just needed a second to readjust his expectations. Get himself back to a rational thought pattern, you know? He couldn't let his hormones get the better of him, or his feelings, and do something foolish. And tonight would be an especially bad time, he could tell. So he took his moment.

[MissCapnCrunch]

Sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛs ᴏғ Sᴛᴇʀʟɪɴɢ Hᴇɪɢʜᴛs

Secret Reveal #1

With everyone arriving at the party, dressed up in varying costumes it wasn't long until drama came forth. Ron was frustrated with Ara's attire, and everyone in turn was frustrated with Ron. Though tensions weren't rare now and again between the group, but this was a very rocky start to the Halloween party they had been talking about for a couple weeks now. Isaac had taken a break outside, and few others split into small conversations to cool off the heated conversation. DJ mentioned news about the latest countdown on SHS ends tonight, though it peaked some interest- the site hadn't personally affected the sinners yet; so it was just extra fluff in the scheme of things.

Eventually the group found themselves spread out across the couch and chairs in the basement, the idea of truth or dare came from their lips and went out with a sizzle- and they settled on starting to watch a horror movie that was on television. Most of the people were interested in their phones or one another's conversations during the movie though, the party coming to a lull. Bernie took a final sip of her beer, her long legs hanging over the arm of the couch. She wished she had brought some weed in that moment, at least the straight to television movie would be humorous under the influence. Her fingers tapped rhythmically against the glass, as she used her other hand to browse through Twitter.

The tweet from Sharon caused Bernie's stomach to drop as she quickly put her thumb to the url bar, swiping her finger to the letter S, revealing the many times visited link of the secret website. The clock had count down as Amadeus' name first line popped up on the screen. Bernie sat up, her bottle dropping from her lap to the ground as she brought attention to herself, "Holy fuck" the words dropped from her lips as she clicked to the next prompt. Quickly everyone's phones lit up with notification as the site had sent out their massive group notification letting them know a new victim had been taken.

Bernie didn't want to know Deus' secret, but she also could not help herself as she spoke the next words. "Deus is next..on SHS." her voice trailed off, her eyes meeting Deus, she wouldn't press past the second prompt before speaking once more, "What do we do?" she asked as her fingers pressed quickly to reveal the rest of the secret.

The website revealed the following: SHS.COM

[Witryso]

DJ watched dejectedly as Isaac left the room. Poor guy; he didn't deserve to feel like such a burden on everyone. DJ knew he was far more than that. As much as he wanted to go out and keep him company, he understood that Isaac just needed his space sometimes. It wasn't uncommon for him to step out onto DJ's front porch by himself while they were hanging out. It was just one of his quirks that DJ had gotten used to during their friendship.

When the group settled on a horror movie, DJ took it as his cue to pull out his phone. He was never one for scary films, even though he loved Halloween. In his mind, the difference between Halloween and horror movies was that Halloween was scary fun, while horror movies were just straight-up scary. Funny enough, the other party-goers didn't seem as interested in the movie either. For the first half hour or so, DJ browsed his phone before striking up a conversation with Augie regarding the worst possible Halloween candy.

That discussion ground to a halt when Bernie mentioned SHS.

"No fucking way," DJ said, quickly navigating to the mysterious website. Indeed, Deus's name was front and center on the page, and each click brought a new line to the twisted poem. DJ's heart sank as he processed what exactly the rhyme was implying. He didn't know Deus that well, at least not as much as Isaac, but he had spoken to DJ about the house fire that left him an orphan. He didn't talk about it all that much, but DJ always assumed that was because of the trauma.

"Deus," he finally uttered, "it's...not true, is it? This SHS asshole is just being a dick, right?"

[DClassified]

"Hell-to-the no."

Amadeus kept rather passive while the others reacted to Ron in their own, somewhat expected ways. Ron's emotions clearly got in the way of what he was trying to do. Dude wasn't trying to be rude or be an asshole or anything like that on purpose, but that was just kinda what happened when the spoiled rich kid didn't have something go his way. Deus couldn't relate to those feelings really, so, he just let it all happen. It made him cringe, but, with how diverse their group was, things like this were expected, at least from Deus perspective.

That said, he merely got some tortilla chips and found a spot in the corner. The truth or dare didn't happen, as the awkwardness of the request was enough to deter pretty much everyone's interest, to much of Deus surprise. That left Ron's score at 0-2 but there was still plenty of time to turn it around. The party didn't fall apart, they were at least watching a movie. He'd seen it before though, having been watching and playing some scary things all week to hype up the occassion. In which case, it didn't scare him too much, but he did browse through his phone when it came to parts that he remembered jumpscares.

It was as he was doing so, though, that a chill went down his spine. A guy from his team, ol' Louis, tagged him to a feed of varying messages like: #DeusDONE, #RIPDeus, and links all leading back to one site; SHS. In the time leading up to this, Amadeus didn't really take the site too seriously. Though, when curiosity inclined him to actually tap one of the links, what he saw next made him widen his eyes. As if on some creepy cue, the last line of text faded in at the exact same time as a jumpscare in the movie, and his heart jumped in his chest.

With that he slowly got up, and put his plate down. This couldn't be happening. It had to have been a prank. Right? It's not like this was something the whole town knew. Only a couple of people in this room even knew about his situation, as most just assumed that his Aunt Marsha was his actual mother. Though, he never told anyone this. He didn't feel so good. His stomach twisted and turned with butterflies going to war within it. The hair on the back of his neck stood. He couldn't be here.

A couple of footsteps started, and as he was nearing the stairs, he looked up toward the others. For a second, eye contact was made between him and Bernie. With her question voiced, essentially alerting everyone else, it only raised the suspense in his mind and emotions. He heard DJ say his name next, but Deus immediately hurried up the stairs of the basement. Nah. Fuck all of that.

This wasn't about to be some Dr. Phil interview type of shit. No, somebody knew. His mind spun around in circles. The words of the site were too accurate to the point that he didn't want to admit it. This couldn't be real, and if his mind were in a rational place, maybe he'd think it was just some cruel joke someone was playing. Though, notifications came from the group chat, including the message:

"I just read the site. Don't let Deus leave."

With his mind being where it was right now, that was a red flag. So now, his original plan of just throwing out the notion that something came up with his Aunt and Deena, felt compromised. This was going to now become an interrogation. The tingling feeling of a guilty conscience only got worse as he neared the top of the stairs. That message came from Isaac, and he just went outside. So, that meant the front door was out, but the back wasn't. As if some sort of instinct kicked in, like a match was struck, Amadeus bolted for the back door.

He didn't even bother to close the door on his departure. He looked around quick. He couldn't go the way he came. Any of them could've been coming from the front or back doors. This would seemingly leave him trapped, but, there were perks to being a multi sport athlete. With a running start, Amadeus vaulted over the five foot something wooden fence that separated Ron and his neighbor's yards. His shin clashed into the top, snapping off a portion of the fence, but he didn't take the time to spectate it. Thankfully, it was Ron's family's fence. Amadeus was simply ran around the side of the neighbors' house to the front instead.

Now on the sidewalk near the street, Amadeus looked back toward Ron's house for a split second, but turned tail. He was straight up Forrest Gumping this shit. He didn't know what he was feeling right now, but all his feelings were telling him that he needed to be alone.

What is done in the dark...

[Strange Rodent]

After cooling off from the argument by watching a horror movie and browsing reddit for a while, Augie was feeling like talking to people again. He had a bit of a chat with DJ, vehemently pushing the fact that individually wrapped lollies were the worst possible, due to their environmental impact. A close second was anything infected with worms.

But then, just after Deus left, SHS was mentioned. Augie wrinkled his face a little. "You guys can't be serious. We can't look at that shit, it's Deus.", he said. This was different when it's someone you know well. Augie had the realisation that if it happened to Deus, it could happen to him too. He had no doubt what would show up on there, and his stomach sank. After this, he didn't say much. He watched everyone else freaking out and rushing around from the safety of the corner.

Among the chaos, he wound up talking to DJ about what they could do to help. DJ suggested trying to figure out who's running the site, and Augie eagerly agreed. He very much liked the idea of nobody else being hurt by this abomination. He still hadn't read the secret.

[TheGrundlesnart]

Isaac had been on the cusp of heading inside, when he got Bernie's text letting him know something was going on with that stupid SHS website.

His eyes scanned across the page without total comprehension but something did become clear. Arson, possibly arson that resulted in someone being hurt. Deus did live with his aunt so...

Isaac's heart sank at the possibilities. He knew what Deus would probably do, because Isaac would likely do the same in that situation: Run. Fear and shame are powerful motivators, and Isaac knew that all too well. But if Deus did something foolish, everything could go terribly wrong. Permanently wrong.

[Don't let Deus leave!] He had texted. Realizing only after he hit send that it was likely too dire and cryptic a warning, but the sound of a slamming door from behind the house clued him in that Deus had probably flown the coop well before his advice could be followed.

So instead, he scrolled through his phone looking for the number. He'd only ever used it once before, and that was to verify the number was right. But he was going to use it now.
[Deus, you might not be looking at your phone right now. But I've got to try anyways.]
[I'm sorry my text in the group chat came across as so dire and like a trap. I don't want to capture or detain you.]
[You don't need to be punished, Deus. I don't believe that will help you, or your little sister.]
Isaac wasn't 100% certain he had that relationship right, but it was effectively the same so it didn't matter at this point.
[You're in a really shitty, sticky situation. You need to be very careful about what you do.]
[l know you don't know me super well. But I promise you, I've got no intentions to do you any harm.]
[l don't think I could, anyways. You'd kick my ass, if we're being real.]
[Okay. Weird thing to say. Sorry. If you want help... real help. Tell me where to go to find you and I'll meet you there on your terms. If you want me to do nothing more than bring someone else to you, I'll do it. Just tell me what to do.]

Isaac couldn't do anything but wait, at this point. Chasing him down in the truck would be... a monstrously bad idea.

He sent another text, this time to Bernie. He... wasn't sure why.
[This is crazy. I can't just let him run away and potentially get himself in trouble or fuck up his life somehow but I also can't just chase him down. What do I do, Berns?]

[Venus]

If Ron’s response to her costume wasn’t enough to anger Arabella, his attitude only added fuel to the girl’s flames of anger. The first strike was using whatever comments his friends were making upon their arrival as a way to take subtle digs at Ara. The second strike was revealing that he’d been hoping that her costume was sexier and disapproving of what she currently had on, as if she was nothing more than a piece of meat. And as the ultimate slap to the face, he used his knowledge of her weaknesses against her by getting fresh with Claire and leaving the room with his arms around her.

Ara stood at the base of the stairs for a long while, simply staring at the direction of the basement stairs in which Ron had disappeared with Claire and trying her damndest not to cry. Hot, boiling anger bubbled through her blood, and it was taking all of her willpower to not push the Asian girl down the stairs for allowing herself to be used as a pawn in this dirty game - and for intervening in what she had no business sticking her nose in in the first place. But when the tears began to sting her eyes, Ara turned around and rushed to the bathroom, slamming the door closed behind her.

Meanwhile, Rob was busy rolling his eyes when Ron had brought his tantrum downstairs and called for drunken truth or dare. Aside from the agreement on the group chat to take part in some karaoke fun, Ron’s new suggestion expressly used the word ‘drunk’. While some of the group were better at drinking than others, nobody would be drunk in the space of one song.

“Really, Ron?” Rob didn’t have any major dislike of Ron, but when he was clearly playing games with his closest friend, it did rile him up. “You do realize the party has just started, so nobody would be in any state to play drunk truth or dare?”

Rob dropped the microphone and moved over to the host of the evening, who had decided to change his accessory for the evening to someone dressed more to his taste.

“Besides, what’s the point in doing anything when you’ve already caused drama? Everyone else has had a good laugh at the costumes, but because she isn’t dressed like a slut you’re having a tantrum?” Host or not, King Bee or not, Rob didn’t have any issue standing up to anyone. Apart from being able to turn most people into human pretzels, he had a strong sense of decency to his closest friends. “Just do us all a favor and stop being a cunt before you ruin everyone else’s night.”

With his last few words Rob turned to see Ara was had disappeared from the top of the stairs, clearly distraught by the start to the party. Rob turned and walked up the stairs, leaving Ron to stir with his words. Knowing Ron however, he probably couldn’t give a damn about what Rob had just said.

Weaving his way through the house Rob searched for Ara before the sound of mumbling and sniffling came into earshot. He approached the bathroom door and without a knock let himself in. He entered to see Ara face first in the toilet, scrubbing vigorously at the bowl while she sniffled and cursed under her breath.

What the hell is she doing?, he thought to himself. As he took a few steps forward he spoke to her softly, she clearly didn’t hear him enter. “What are you doing, Chick?” His best friend turned around slowly with a look of sheer evil written across her face. The corpse paint amplified the horrifying stare as she raised a toothbrush next to a wide, tooth filled smile. “Are you scrubbing the toilet with his toothbrush?” Rob tried to hide his laughter; he had to try and be the adult. The problem was that, deep down, Rob knew he deserved it. And Ara’s face was hilarious- even if her eyes were bloodshot from the tears.

“Darn right I am,” came Ara’s response, shrugging as she stood back up and in front of the sink. She opened the faucet and rinsed the toothbrush to get rid of whatever visible stains were left. “I figured a nice little throat infection might teach dear Ronnie a lesson without me having to get my hands too dirty.”

“You do realise that there are better ways for revenge?” Rob approached Ara and took the brush from her hands, making the girl give him a displeased pout. “Let’s be honest: we have each other’s backs. If someone messes with you, then I have to help you. It’s the bestie code.”

“I know, I know…” Arabella replied in a defeated voice, letting out a sigh as she stood back up, arms crossed in front of her. “I’m just so upset right now. Ron knows how much it messed me up when Benji used to act like this. Why he would do the same thing is honestly beyond me.”

Rob put the brush back before taking Ara by the hand and dragging her through to the kitchen, towards the fridge. Opening the door, the darkened room was briefly illuminated by the soft light of the cooling appliance, as was the curious frown plastered all over Ara’s face. Rob began to rummage through its contents before finding what he hoped he would. “Jackpot.”

Rob turned slowly to his accomplice, presenting her with what was clearly a large fish. The makeup on his face did nothing to hide the evil smirk on his face, accentuated by the dim light of the fridge. “Now...we take this, go up to little ol’ Ronnies bedroom and stash it somewhere. In a few days the smell in his room will be unbearable. If all goes well all of his clothes will smell rather fragrant for a while. What do you think?”

The now gleeful Ara was about to jump straight into Robbie’s arms for literally being the best person in the whole world when she was stopped short by the sound of heavy footsteps racing up the stairs. Frowning, she turned to look in the general direction of the hallway, and was only able to catch a glimpse of Deus before he sped off, slamming the door behind him

“What’s going on?” she asked Robbie, a confused yet concerned expression in her face.

Rob turned to see the back of what he could only assume was the thin, wiry frame of Deus. A lightbulb went off in his head as he audibly muttered the word, “Shit.”

Digging through the stuffing in his bra (which would have earned him cackles of laughter from Ara had she not be currently worried about Deus) he pulled out his phone and headed for the website every student dreaded. Within seconds, it was clear that the figure they had seen sprint from downstairs had indeed been Deus. Rob read through the text and felt his chest tighten as he got to the end. He stared at it blankly for a moment before passing it over to Ara to read.

Arabella’s blue eyes quickly scanned the words in the webpage, and her heart sank. It was obvious now why Deus had rushed away, and the young woman couldn’t even begin to understand how terribly he must be feeling right now. Deciding she needed to do something about it, Ara grabbed Rob’s hand and ran out of the kitchen and down the stairs, stopping right in the middle of the room. She took a good look at each person that was in the basement before crying out: “What in the actual fuck?!”

[Opposition]

Alice had grown all too accustomed to clandestinely wielding her phone. It helped her place her gaze in these populated settings. Bernie spoke up just as Alice had already grazed through the online presence that seemed to suddenly surround Deus. By the time she had read Isaac's message, clicked onto SHS.com, and seen the slew of social media notifications, however, there was little she could do as Deus made his way out of the room.

"Deus," was all she managed to call towards her friend before he fled up the stairs with haste. The echoic slam of the door was met with a brief silence as no one seemed to know how to react. Alice quietly let out a sharp breath, setting her phone aside before the others got too focused on interrogating her. The urge to stand up and move after him was easily noticed as Alice shifted in her seat, but she ultimately conceded, knowing that she would never catch her friend. Of course, she also appeared completely at a loss for what to do. Instead, Alice's eyes momentarily scanned the crowd as if to find guidance in any one of the teens that dared to stand up with an idea. The general consensus seemed only to bring a collective sense of panic and distress.

Upon Augie speaking up, Alice merely tucked her phone at her side away from prying eyes. A slight reddening overtook her pallid complexion, but Alice remained otherwise passive. When Ara came in emotively, Alice gritted her teeth. She knew the whole confusion angle wasn't going to get them anywhere, but more importantly, she figured it wasn't going to get Deus anywhere. A nearly silent sigh escaped her lips before she rose to her feet. Biting down hard, Alice finally spoke up, sending a gaze to all of her friends. Someone had to.

"We... We have to do something— go find him or something..." As her confidence in trying to direct the crowd drew thin, Alice grew quiet but continued nonetheless. "I think it would help... Or at least he'd appreciate it."

[MissCapnCrunch]

---

---

It was becoming very clear very fast that this Halloween party was the scariest one the group had experienced yet. It wasn't monsters, ghosts, or ghouls to be afraid of tonight, but the real world. This site was truly a nightmare coming true. Bernadette's stomach was in knots, she didn't even think about her own mountain of secrets that could be revealed, she was much more sickened by how much pain this stupid site had caused her friend in that moment. How much pain this site had caused many of her classmates.

This time though, it was much more personal.

Deus erupted out of the house, as everyone began to chatter over one another. Everyone was in a slight state of panic, the group downstairs, the two upstairs, Isaac outside- all were experiencing this moment in a state of shock. Phones vibrated, rang, and the like as social media took it's destructive path in a rumor. Her own phone vibrating Bernie looked at her phone to see a private message from Isaac who was still outside. It was clear that he hadn't had the chance to stop him.

She quickly texted back:

"We G2G, NOW!"

She texted hastily, gathering her belongings before turning to her group that was now all collectively down stairs for the most part, "Alice is right, we gotta go right now and find him before he does something he might regret. We don't want to lose him as a friend, at least I fucking don't." her usual cheerful tone was harsh- short. "If you're staying here, by all means- do it, but I'm going to go look for Deus." Bernie walked up the stairs, followed by whoever wanted to come with.

After just a few minutes the group would be piled into Isaac's truck. A few in the cab and the rest in the bed. They weren't supposed to be in the back of the truck, but most police in Sterling wouldn't go out of their way to stop the teens from doing it, especially when they weren't causing any trouble. It was mostly silent in truck during the ride, some of them swapped ideas of where to go and find Deus. Sterling Heights wasn't the biggest place, but when you're as scared and irrational as the sinners felt in that moment, the town seemed never ending.

Midnight rolled around as an hour of search past by them. Finally a word from Deus led them to his location, after a lot of coaxing. They would arrive there and get out of the truck, some standing back and others going straight up to him, and embrace exchanged by a couple as well. Bernie gave Deus an extra tight squeeze, happy he didn't do anything too stupid. His gashed leg from the fence seemed painful though as she felt him wince when he was brushed against during the hug. "I'm sorry D." she practically whispered, both for the wound but the even bigger wound that was his secret being released.

For most of the student population the secret meant absolutely nothing. It was vague enough to not mean anything to people who didn't know him very well, but to other's it definitely was an eye opener. By 1AM the secret was gone entirely- no trace of it besides the buzz on social media. It was replaced yet again by the clock counting down to another person's secret. Who it would be would be anyone's guess. At this time though Deus had the floor, allowed to say anything or nothing to his group of friends.

[DClassified]

“I…”

This town was small. Well, relatively, anyway. Small enough for someone to be able to know like the back of their hand. Amadeus knew these streets too well. Yet, he could never feel more lost than he did right now. He didn’t know where to go or what he should do, so, he went to the only place where everything made sense: Sterlin Styles.

He was in the upstairs apartment of the establishment. After his pops went down, the other employees had taken over to keep the name going for Deus’ sake and out of respect for his Dad. Earle Jackson, a family friend known as “Smokey”, was out of town for a couple of days. He asked Deus to watch the place while he was gone. As of right now, the young man was situated in a swivel chair, with a hand at his forehead. He only turned on the light above the stove in the kitchen, but otherwise sat in the relative dark of the living room. All he could do was reflect.

It was kinda sad, considering that this was the only time he even came down here all week. He used to visit often, but as basketball season began, he came less and less. It made him feel a little guilty, but that was the least of his issues.

He felt his phone vibrating multiple times in his pocket, but he didn’t even look at it. It was probably his friends trying to get his attention, but guilt wouldn’t let him answer. How could he? He kept this from his closest friends for as long as they all knew each other. How could he talk to them with a secret like this? Not only was it dramatic, but it was a game changer.

Amadeus was the one that did it. The website wasn’t just a lie. The knowledge of that alone was eating him alive. Who could have known about this? It couldn’t have been just some conspiracy. Did the Devil run this site? Trying to make his life a living hell? Because if this wasn’t it…

What if little Deena asked about this? What would Amadeus tell her? Confronting it through social media platforms was inevitable. What if his Aunt Marsha caught wind of all that? What would she think? That was her only sister. Their only mother. Amadeus had her life on his hands.

He felt like he was sitting here for hours, sulking. His phone kept buzzing, and he pulled it out to turn the vibrate off. Though, as he did, he noticed the notifications from his friends. They were pretty much begging for him to tell them where he was. He stared at the screen for a little while, before he tapped one of them at random. In the chat, he typed the address quite simply:

223 Frederick Drive. Upstairs.

~~

After hearing a couple of knocks on the door, Amadeus wiped any liquid still lingering on his face away with a napkin. He didn’t answer it, but, it wasn’t locked either. So, when they were coming in, he crumpled up the napkin, and threw it across the room, probably a little harder than he meant to. Still, faithful to his reputation, the paper crashed right into the garbage can without a chance of missing.

His hair hung down in his face, casting a shadow over his eyes from the light. He didn’t hug Bernie back when she came over to squeeze him. His teeth grit in his mouth quietly, suppressing a cringe, both out of emotion, and some pain. Likely more of the former than the latter.

Silence hung in the air for a while, Amadeus taking some time to calm his breathing down. After forever, finally, he spoke.

“I…” His voice hitched initially, but he sighed, pausing. “I should’ve said something…” The athlete broke the ice. “I know I should’ve said something…”

“I just…”

[TheGrundlesnart]

Isaac was quiet on the drive. He had made a mistake, and he knew it, in the way he worded his text.

But watching Deus now, in person, he felt like he was looking at himself a few years ago. He felt like he understood this brand of pain.

Isaac didn't ssy anything. Not a word. He knew without a doubt that there was no combination of words that would set this right or help the situation. Instead, he walked back to the truck and got his first aid kit, waiting for Bernie and Deus to separate before urging Deus to sit down so he would work on the gash.

The procedure was simple enough. "Keep talking to them, don't mind me much. This will probably sting, though." Isaac wasted no time in getting hand sanitizer on his hands, then putting on gloves, then using some bottled water to wash the area, gently inspecting the depth of the gash. "Not quite enough for stitches. Lucky there." He patted it dry and began applying antibiotic ointment.

He used a few adhesive suture strips to keep the wound a bit more closed than it intended to be. Once all this was done, he wrapped it a few times in ace bandage just to keep it covered but breathing.

"Okay. So long as you're up to date on your tetanus shot, I think you'll be fine, leg-wise."

[Strange Rodent]

Augie just was following everyone as he didn't know Deus remarkably well, even though they had made a few tracks together. He sat in the back of the van and just stared out the window. Augie still hadn't read the loathsome website, but the air of melancholy was too weighty for him to resist.

Upon arrival, he just supportively lurked in a corner, wordlessly nodding along to the words of support that others were putting forth. That is, until Deus spoke for the first time since their seemingly distant arrival.

His reply was "Hey man, everything is easy in hindsight. You had no way of knowing whether or not that... ugh," he broke off for a second to stare with disgust into a corner, "would put something up about you."

He sincerely looked Deus in the eye to show he cared, before looking away out of awkwardness. Despite the somber air, Augie couldn't help but feel that awkwardness that you feel when visiting someone's place for the first time.

[MissCapnCrunch]

---

---

The friends had gone through a rough night, that was an understatement. After they cleaned Amadeus up and had a few moments of awkward silence, met with a few mentions of support. This group had not been good with tense situations and it was very clear after tonight. Another hour went by, before a few smiles could be seen across their lips- anxious laughs and giggles slipping through now and again. Deus' secret being revealed had in a scary way brought them closer. It was 4:00 AM by the time everyone got back to Ron's house- they didn't speak much, finding places to close their eyes if not only for a couple more hours.

The group had slept in until well past noon, clearly exhausted from the night before. Some left before having breakfast, while others sat around Ron's kitchen table and ate the waffles he had so carefully defrosted while shoving into his parent's 4-hole toaster. For a rich family, this sure wasn't anything special thought Bernadette. She could have stayed home last night and got a better time out of everything. "Next year, we should have the party at someone else's house." Bernie said bluntly, Ron shot a look at her, clearly upset with how things had turned out. "No offense, it just..well, fucking sucked." Bernie laughed, her eyes crinkling. She was tired, to the point of being a bit of a bitch. Exhausted mentally more than physically, this much was true. Ron had nothing more to say, on the matter, but mentioned that everyone had to be leaving before 2:00 PM as he had business to take care of.

Whatever Ron.

If you had more than a tic-tac for pleasure display, maybe Ara wouldn't have arrived with Rob that night in the first place.

Bernie took to outside, the start of November- a new month. Same old cold winter of Sterling Heights. Moving her walk into a steady jog, she made her way home in record time. Coming into the house and going straight to the bathroom, she showered and warmed up. Letting the steam fill the entire room, as the warmth wrapped her body in comfort. Once she was done, she dressed in a navy blue camisole and her pajama pants that were a faded pink with small tea cups on it. They were worn, but she wasn't in the mood to dress to impress anyone in the moment. Plopping down in her bedroom she flipped the television on, and started a random movie on Netflix, while she played on her cellphone, checking her social media apps and the like.

"HRU 2 day Deus? 😔"

Despite the lack of effort, the text had a lot of heart behind it. She hoped that Deus would be okay. She knew it wouldn't be the same, but she hoped he would at least not turn into a stranger. She hoped he would stick around. He would need all the support he could get from The Sinners for awhile. Bernie also knew that, if this SHS bullshit kept up for any longer, they would all need the support.

Sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛs ᴏғ Sᴛᴇʀʟɪɴɢ Hᴇɪɢʜᴛs

Secret Reveal 2 & 3.

November was a very boisterous month, letting Sterling Heights know it was ready for winter, with a large flurry of snow within the first week. The town had been fairly prepared, clearing the snow within hours of the storm. Young eyes were glued to the television, computer, and their phones as they prayed and hoped that school would be canceled. As Sterling High scrolled across the screen, the words were bittersweet. School would not be cancelled, but the two hour delayed start would be a good start to the week.

The buzz around school during the two hour late start would be not about the snow, but instead Ron. His secret had been revealed that morning. This would be the second member of The Sinners group, and over the twentieth student who had been revealed through the site. Ron's secret that was revealed:

Ronald Calloway has a lot of money.
Ronald Calloway ex girl left town and its not even funny.
Ronald Calloway spends weekends in his father's caddy.
Ronald Calloway might be a daddy.

The population of school was going absolutely crazy- who was the mystery woman? Was it true? Ron's absence from school, sent up more red flags. The Sinner tried to get a hold of him, but he left the group chat and deleted everyone from social media. Last word of him and his family were that they packed up and moved away. It was tragic really, but what could they do? The Sinners were once hit again, a flood of emotions effected each and every one of them- in different ways, but harshly. Arabella, especially took a hit onto her reputation. Many of the classmates questioned how she could let Ron do something like that right under her nose. Other's thought it might be hers- and that she had aborted it or kept it locked away at home. The rumors were endless, and again the group was left to clean up after themselves.

If things couldn't be bad enough, The Sinners were hit right after- revealing Claire's secret.

Claire Choi loves to eat the soy.
Claire Choi is looking for a special boy.
Claire Choi dances, cheers and sing.
Claire Choi has never had a fling.

A bit underwhelming considering the previous secrets, but Claire was mortified. She would tell everyone that it was not true, and that secret instead belonged to her brother- a man who had graduated from the school a few years ago. No one really paid much attention to it, focusing on what would be revealed next, and of course the big Homecoming dance and game that would take place at the end of the month. Claire eventually switched to being home schooled, and decided to leave the group chat as well. The Sinners were being taken down one at a time, and only the true strong remained.

This was very clear.

Thankfully the next two weeks SHS had been focusing on freshman, letting the seniors enjoy their homecoming spirit the second week. Monday through Friday had been filled with fun for The Sinners. Things had started to get back to normal, as they enjoyed the festivities that had taken place. Friday had been a cause for excitement, the Homecoming game and dance were to be that night and the entire group had been more or less excited to go- but at the very least excited to be spending their last Homecoming together.

The Friday night lights were bright on the bleachers outside, though the snow wasn't falling the air was crisp and cheeks were bright red. The Sinners sat on the bleachers, in a grouping, as they watched the game. Their team- supposedly the best high school team in the state were now losing to another school 7-0. Bernie wrapped in a large hooded jacket, a matching scarf, hat, and mitten trilogy spoke through the fabric to Deus next to her. "They should have let you played. Who cares if you were absent those few days? Give me a break! They need you!" she gasped out as they looked to make a pass, to only have it be fumbled. It looks like the SHS website had even caused a riff on the thing that put Sterling High on the map in the first place.

The dance would be starting in a hour. The group could decide to finish the game or go inside. What would they choose? Either way the night was looking to be a blast, and the fun was just beginning!

[Witryso]

"Players are probably on edge over SHS," DJ offered, tossing more popcorn into his waiting mouth (store bought crap from the school concessions, but it was something). "Can't say I blame them."

Since the website's attack on Deus, followed by Claire and Ron, DJ had developed a more serious opinion about the page. At first, he merely saw it as an elaborate prank, maybe to get back at some particular students, but once Deus' name showed up, DJ knew it was far more than some practical joke.

Whoever ran the site had a mission to expose every one at Sterling Heights. Every last student, staff member, maybe even the custodians. Nobody was safe; especially not DJ and his friends.

But if someone were running the site, that meant that said someone could be tracked down, caught, and brought to justice before anyone else fell victim to the hateful perpetrator. And from the moment Deus' name scrolled across the green on Halloween night, DJ made that his mission.

For now, though, that mission was on the back burner as DJ enjoyed the homecoming game with his friends, minus the two that had vanished after their own secrets were exposed. DJ didn't care all that much (Ron was kind of an ass, let's be honest), but a part of him was sad to see them go. Another motive for him to find this SHS mastermind and put a stop to their actions.

...After another handful of popcorn or two.

"Hey, Rob," he called, plucking a single kernel from the box. "If I make this, you owe me a dance."

DJ tilted his head back and opened his mouth before tossing the kernel into the air...

...which landed perfectly on DJ's tongue.

A fist pump and swallow later, DJ slapped Rob lightly on the back. "Get your dancing shoes ready, brother. Shit's gonna be magical."

[Strange Rodent]

"That was a shitty play," said August, looking hard at the players, "... right?" He didn't really know the rules of any sport at all, and despite this, he could tell from a mile away that they were losing badly. Fortunately for him, he wasn't really invested in the game, but he was enjoying the company.

"Hey Deus, at least you can take satisfaction from the fact that they suck ass without you," Augie said, leaning across Bernie. "They're gonna miss you."

He hated everything about this website, everything it had done, and everything it was going to do. The miserable lowlife on the other side of that disgusting page was going to suffer a fate. He hadn't decided what yet, but it probably involved Rob, who had just been invited for a dance. "Do you guys need a room?" he said, winking at Rob, who was seated to his right.

The tips of Augie's fingers began to feel numb. For some reason, the cold was starting to get to him more than it was before. He reprimanded himself for not bringing gloves while burying his hands in pockets full of old receipts and lint. The big black coat he was wearing did a marvelous job at keeping his body warm, and his boots provided more than enough heat for his feet, so it was really only his hands that suffered, but oh boy did they suffer. "Guys, I think we all know how this is gonna go. Who wants to ditch it and do something?"

[TheGrundlesnart]

Isaac sat quietly, looking as if he was watching the game when in reality he was just staring vaguely downward. He was seated just behind Bernie, so it almost seemed like he was just staring at the back of her head.

He didn't really react to the game or to what was going on around him. He just seemed to be having a very cerebral evening, almost locked away, struggling with some problem in his head.

That was, until the mention of going inside. Isaac blinked for what felt like the first time in several minutes and looked around, as if making sure he was caught up with his surroundings. "We could go in. I'm not seeing this turning around any time soon. Though I don't think they'll be set up for the dance yet. We'd basically just be sitting in a partially decorated, basically empty school."

Isaac realized fairly immediately that this prospect was probably an argument in favor of going in rather than one against it for most of this group. And... well... with a blush, he realized that it might be worth his efforts, too.

None of the Sinners were aware in any real way, but Isaac had been giving Bernie rides home from work for several months now. They got to talk, quite a lot. They often had lunch together.

Isaac had one goal, this evening... and he was nervous as hell about it. So he was quiet, stuck in his head, and strongly considering an attrmpt to be alone with Berns for a few minutes. It would probably happen later when he inevitably gave her a ride home, but... he wanted this done before he could make himself chicken out, or before something bad happened like at the Halloween Party.

Isaac blinked again. How long had he been stuck in thought? "I think it sounds good... Berns?"

[DClassified]

"They did my squad dirty."

Well, here Amadeus was, sitting on the bleachers for the Homecoming game. One of the most important games of their season. This year was supposed to be the anniversary of winning homecoming consecutively for ten years. The way they were playing right now, was going to be nothing short of failure. He would've been in this game. He was the second best reciever and best runner on the team, despite being a backup. So, why wasn't he playing?

Well, after the scariest halloween he had ever experienced, Deus was away from school for a few days, going through it. He explained to his aunt that it was just really deep-cutting cyberbullying. Although at first skeptical, when he explained that it had something to do with his mother, she seemed to understand. Though, he omitted the specifics, and he asked his friends to keep it that way. He'll find a way to explain it to them when he's ready.

On the otherhand, the principal wasn't exactly as compassionate. To be fair, the principal was a pretty fair judge of their school's affairs. However, the unexcused absences had to be addressed and disciplinary measures had to follow. So, the principal gave him a choice; Football or Basketball.

For Deus, it was a pretty tough call and he talked to Coach Dickens about it. They seemed to come to the concensus that Basketball was the way for Deus to move. He was a top player in the country, NBA scouts reported that he appeared as though he was going to be a great draft pick. Plus, with all that he had built for himself, he couldn't risk the opportunity of getting a scholarship.

However, he also cautioned for Deus to keep his grades up, and to try keeping from getting any more marks on his record. Deus already had several mark-ups in October due to shannanigans he did with Ron, which was what got him to that point. Though his former best friend was a whole other can of beans. A can of beans that left the state of their friendship in a real funk.

After Hell-oween, they were already in a weird place because they almost never kept secrets from each other. Ron's though, severely bothered Deus. He was possibly a dad. What was more was that, if that were true, that also means he abandoned the girl he knocked up and their baby.

A confrontation happened, and it didn't end well. Ron abandoned their lifelong friendship. He blocked Deus' number, unfriended him across almost all social media platforms, and eventually his family just moved away. It was one crushing blow to the next, but it made him grateful that he managed to find himself with a group of real friends.

Bernie checked on him all throughout the period of emotional turmoil, Isaac brought cookies and they gamed a couple of times even though they weren't even all that close. When Deus' little world turned upside down, they hung upside down with him until everything rolled over.

So, here he was, sitting among their niche little group on basically empty bleachers watching a footbal game that seemed dead.

His shoulders rolled some in his varsity jacket as he listened to the others echo his thoughts on the game. On the proposal of leaving to go find something else to do, he slowly nodded.

"Yeah, I'm with rollin' out. Dudes are throwing in the towel, and the game's bout dead as a beached whale."