Friendship Costs A Lifetime

[Incognito]

*o* oh~ things are getting heated! marcus should'a knocked that punk on his ass! >:O

[Auron0521]

Ian reached down and picked up the pen. He clicked it once and the ballpoint sprung out. Clicking it once again, it retracted. Ian shrugged and looked at Marcus, who simply stared at Adam, as if thinking about something.

"There's something else in your pocket," Marcus stated. Adam took a step backwards, his hand still in his pocket. The other delinquents at the table rose and gathered around him.



Stew and Bethany watched as Marcus spoke to Adam, though they couldn't hear what was being said over the noise of the cafeteria. Bethany turned from Stew and crossed her arms, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.

Bethany had met Adam several times before, and he had been nothing like he was now back then. If anything, he had been overly attached to Stew, to the point that the latter had even had trouble leaving for school in the mornings because he was dealing with Adam.

There's no way Adam changed this quickly, Bethany thought. It was a drastic personality change, especially within a span of only a few months. In fact, Bethany decided that it would be nearly impossible without brainwashing or threats.

"Stew," Bethany began, "when did Adam start acting strange?" Stew turned to Bethany, a bright, beaming smile still painted on his face. Bethany could tell he was trying hard to not show worry for his brother.

"Around the start of the school year," Stew explained. Bethany nodded. She had a theory, but she couldn't be sure of it without asking Adam directly. She glanced over at Adam and Marcus, and noticed Ian standing there as well.

Burying her face in her hands, Bethany felt exhausted. Things were getting complicated, and she didn't like being involved in anything complicated. I've got no choice, though, she thought. She couldn't just leave Adam like he was, for Stew's sake.

Bethany saw Ian picking something up off the ground, and noticed it was a pen. Realization clicked in her mind, and she started to move towards the group, but not before Stew ran up to meet them. Bethany got close enough to hear, but decided to continue keeping her distance.

Stew reached out and took the pen from Ian's hands, his smile growing wider. "I gave you this pen," he said. Adam's lips quivered as if to speak.

"When I gave it to you, you said you'd keep it forever," Stew laughed. "You shouldn't go dropping it on this nasty floor."

With that, Stew turned away from his brother and walked back towards Bethany. He stood beside her, and Bethany turned to look at what he was doing. Ian and Marcus were still staring Adam down, though none of them were doing or saying anything.

Stew screwed off the top of the pen and pulled the ink out. Wrapped around the container was a scarp of paper, taped closed. Stew broke the tape and unrolled the note. A tear splashed against the paper as Stew read the message Adam had left for him.

Rescue me.

To be continued...

Well, it took me a while to figure out how I wanted to do this, but I finally settled on this. I really liked writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy reading it just as much. To my loyal (or new, or returning) readers, have fun!

[KingdomKey]

Now that was a shocking surprise and cliff hanger to leave us on. Was a really good update, that I look forward to seeing, what Stew does about the message he received from Adam. Was really creative of you to come up with that. A message in a pen.

[Lanydx reborn]

I need to try that sometime.

I hope they can save their friend.

[MegaWallflower]

This is really interesting! I wonder what exactly Adam is mixed up with...