Ella stared wistfully out the slightly grimy window. From her spot next to it she could clearly see the student parking lot, sunlight glinting off the shiny metal of car roofs. Her eyes followed the path of an elderly man walking a small, curly haired, white dog down the sidewalk on the other side of road. The fresh green of spring was finally present, standing out against the clear blue sky that promised good weather. Sunlight was streaming in to land on Ella’s brown hair, turning it a more golden color.

 

She had long since tuned out the history teacher’s lecture on France's involvement in World War I, or World War II, or maybe it was Belgium. She honestly couldn't remember, and didn't care to either; her mind was far too occupied with thoughts of the freedom the bell would grant her.

 

She turned back toward the window, resting her head on her arm, and closed her eyes, letting the sunlight and dull drone of the teacher’s voice coax her into a light doze. Most of the thirty odd students in her class were in similar positions. Heads resting on desks, arms, walls, or any other surface that allowed their necks and shoulders a rest.

 

She was startled awake by the blaring sound of the bell. Stuffing paper and pen haphazardly into her backpack, she bolted out. She wound her way through the tightly packed hallways, using elbows and shoulders to clear paths where necessary, and ignoring the grunts and swears directed at her. She finally reached the doors and burst out. The screeching of tires and roar of engines mixed with shouts and the underlying chatter that drifted from the mass of teenagers milling around. It hit her like a blast wave, making her rock back slightly on her feet.

 

She scrunched up her nose at the smell of hot tar and sweaty teenagers, and continued along the sidewalk to rest on the curb of the pick up zone. Bouncing on the balls of her feet she craned her neck from side to side. She waited for another ten minutes before a small blue car, it's dented passenger door towards her, pulled up. The side was spotted with red rust, and the windshield had a chip on the passenger side that spiderwebbed out, then formed a crack that lanced out across the driver side.

 

She opened up the door and climbed in, stretching out. "Hi Kade!" she greeted the driver.

 

"Seat belt." he said gruffly.

 

She groaned, but pulled the belt across anyway. "Happy?" she asked.

 

"Very," the driver said dryly, looking over his shoulder before pulling out. He had a mop of light brown hair that fell across his forehead, and partially obscured a pair of hazel eyes.

 

They joined the rush of south bound traffic, Ella turning to stare out the window. Summer was almost here and she found herself smiling slightly at the prospect. It was her last semester of high school, and soon she would be moving onto bigger and better things, like joining Kade in university.

 

Ella turned slightly to look at her companion, "How was your day?" she asked.

 

Kade's mouth quirked up slightly, "Got my physics test back, ninety five."

 

"Nerd," she said, rolling her eyes, but smiling all the same. "How about chemistry?" she asked.

 

"You know I don't have chemistry on Fridays."

 

"Yeah, but I do. I have a unit final on Tuesday."

 

"You know you're going to need at least a sixty five on it if you want to pass," Kade said, shoulder checking and turning onto a lane that was lined with newly leafed out trees, and curved around the side of a park.

 

"Can you help me study?" Ella asked.

 

"You mean can I teach you everything you need to know because you never pay attention in class."

 

"Oh, thank-you!" She smirked slightly at him, her brown eyes lighting with mischief.

 

"Here I thought we were going to have a nice play date."

 

"What are we, four?" she snorted, "No, now that we're both adults we bring our work everywhere. It consumes our every waking moment. Adulthood," she said with a dramatically wistful sigh.

 

"You mean your work consumes my every waking moment." he said.

 

"Semantics," she replied. "No, but I have a test tomorrow, and I'm already failing-"

 

"I should just let you."

 

"But you won't," she smiled sweetly up at him, batting her eyelashes for good measure.

 

He groaned, signaling right and then turning. He didn't answer until they were parked next to the curb, a residential street on their left and the park on their right. "Fine, but you have to listen to my religions paper."

 

"Done," she said, opening the door.

 

"Not so fast." he grabbed her arm, his tone serious. "I really need your input on this one. Religions is my lowest grade."

 

"Okay," She smiled reassuringly.

 

He let go and they both stepped out of the car. They followed the dirt trail, winding down into a small valley. A sparsely wooded area of maple and oak trees dotted the shallow side of the valley to the right, while a grassy hill rose on the left. The sun was still high in the sky and the pair kept to the shady side of the path to avoid the brunt of the scorching heat.

 

"The heat," Ella groaned, "I think my blood's starting to boil."

 

"I think your skin would be a little crispier if it was hot enough to boil your blood." he replied.

 

"I can dream," she said, sticking her nose in the air and sniffing daintily.

 

The path soon turned to loose gray gravel that slipped beneath their feet to run down the incline. A small Japanese style bridge arched over the reed lined creek at the bottom; a gazebo had also been build a few yards away. From this height and distance, with the sun reflecting off the clear water, it looked slightly surreal, like a painting. A man was standing on the bridge, skipping stones across the surface of the water. He was the only person she'd seen since they entered the park.

 

They turned off the path to where a clearing was sheltered from the eyes of anyone walking along the path, but gave a clear view of the picturesque valley. Ella would have preferred something more sheltered from the breeze that liked to whip her hair around her head and sent goosebumps rippling up the skin of her arms now that they were in the shade. Kade, however, liked the simple and natural beauty of it, so it had become their regular spot.

 

"I only have till five." Kade told her as they arranged themselves; Ella laying down in a pool of sunlight, and Kade sitting cross-legged so that he could see her and the valley below. "I'm meeting Tristan and his friends for supper."

 

Ella stiffened, and turned over on her side so that she was looking out at the valley, a frown on her face now. "Okay."

 

There was a moment of silence, before Kade shuffled around and Ella could hear the rustle of paper.

 

They stayed like that for awhile, Kade reading his paper out loud and Ella cutting in with suggestions and questions for clarification. Kade was, surprisingly, the restless one; shuffling his feet around every few minutes before getting up and simply pacing the clearing. Ella, however, lay on her side as still as can be, one arm curled up under her head, the other elbow on her hip and her hand hanging loosely open like it had frozen in the middle of picking something up.

 

They had been there for an hour and a half when Ella got an uneasy feeling in her gut and the hairs on the back of her neck started to prickle. She had been focusing on Kade's paper as he read it out, playing the devil's advocate, but now she tuned him out as he explained the doctrine of the Catholic church in the sixteenth century.

 

She focused instead on the valley below them, only a handful of people had come by in the time her and Kade had spent there, and now the only people present were a homeless man eating in the gazebo and a younger man walking his dog across the bridge. She looked around once more, not spotting anything suspicious, and was about to try and shake off the feeling when she glanced at the young man walking the dog again. As he came closer, ascending the shallow rise, she recognized him. The short curly blonde hair, and broad shoulders. He had been walking the opposite direction before, with a different shirt and no dog, but she was positive he had walked past not twenty minutes ago. As she watched him in her peripheral vision she thought back. He had also walked past, holding hands with a young woman, and Ella was certain he had been the man skipping rocks when they first arrived.

 

"Kade," she whispered. He didn't hear her, continuing to read of the sheet clutched in his hands, his voice rising and falling in a familiar rhythm. "Kade." she said, louder.

 

"What?" he asked, breaking off mid sentence.

 

"I think we're being followed."

 

Kade rolled his eyes, and turned back to his paper, but froze before he could continue reading.

 

"Kade?" He didn't answer. He stared into the trees with unfocused eyes and a slight crease gathering on his forehead. "Kade!" she stood up quickly, and moved towards him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he jumped, eyes refocusing to land on her.

 

"Ella?"

 

"Kade, what happened?"

 

"Noth..." he trailed off, wincing. "Nothing, just a headache."

 

"Are you okay?"

 

"Yeah,"

 

"Cause I pretty sure, we're being watched, and then you go all ice man for a-"

 

"I'm fine!" Kade snapped. Wrinkling the pages slightly in his fists. Ella blinked in surprise at his sharp tone. "I'm fine." He said again, softer this time. "I just have a headache, let's go."

 

Ella's hand slid off his shoulder as he turned away and started packing up. They left the clearing and began the walk back to Kade's car in silence. Ella watched the trail up ahead as far as she could see, but the man and his dog were gone. The sun had dipped farther into the west; it was still scorching hot but the shadows from the trees had lengthened and the breeze had picked up.

 

Ella's gaze flickered from the trail ahead to Kade as they walked. He had that unfocused look in his eyes, and his brow was lined with worry. Every once in a while his jaw would clench and his hands would curl up into fists. At one point he caught his foot on a raised tree root, and went pitching forward. Ella darted to his side, catching him by the arm, and trying to hold up his lanky frame that was a good eight inches taller than her. He was light for a man his height, thin as he was, and Ella often joked that he had hollow bones. Ella wasn't a weakling either, having been on the girls wrestling team since she was eleven. However Kade seemed to have forgotten that his body was his; he offered no help as Ella tried to keep them both from tumbling to the ground.

 

"Kade, Kade!" She had to shout it in his ear before he shook himself awake enough to plant his feet firmly on the ground. "Are you sure you're okay?"

 

He nodded. Ella could tell it was an automatic response to her questioning tone of voice, and that he hadn't heard a word she said. She sighed and pulls the keys out of his pocket, directing him to the passenger side.

 

When she climbed in it was as if he had transformed in the time it took her to walk around the front of the car. His eyes were bright and focused and he seemed to be in full control of his limbs again.

 

"I can drive," He insisted, when she climbed in.

 

She raised her eyebrows as she turned the key in the ignition. "How about I drive to my house, and then we'll see if you're fit to go to your little party."

 

"Fine."

 

Ella drove the familiar twisting streets toward her house, glancing over at Kade every few seconds to make sure he was alright. He had gone quiet again, and her worry returned, just in time to be brushed away. She noticed that his brow wasn’t wrinkled and his hands were still, she could see faint lines from where his fingernails had dug in earlier. It was a familiar state for him when he was thinking deep, world altering thoughts, and she let herself relax. By the time they pulled up in front of the white bungalow he was talking to her excitedly about the new Thai food restaurant that had opened up that week.

 

Ella handed the ring of keys to Kade when they stepped out of the car. They were silent for a moment when Kade grabbed them. Not able to contain her worry or curiosity any longer she asked “What happened back there?”

 

Kade looked down at his feet before answering. “Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

 

“Are you sure, cause you kind of scared me.”

 

“I’m sure,”

 

“You would tell me if it was something to worry about, right?”

 

“You know I would.”

 

Ella looked at him for another moment, still trying to decipher what had happened. She shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. Kade would tell her if it was important. “Okay, off to your little get together. Don’t want you to be late.”

 

Kade looked at her funny for a moment, as if shocked that she had dropped up a line of questioning and given her blessing to hang out with Tristan in one breath.

 

“Don’t give me that look, go.” she said, shooing him towards his car. “And don’t fall asleep at the wheel,” She called as he pulled out from the curb.

 

“Yes, Phrys!” he called back.

 

She smiled slightly at the teasing nickname he had given her. She didn’t know how he’d come up with it, or why he called her by it, but one day he had started and it had just stuck. She turned and walked up the sidewalk to her front door; all thoughts of the man who was following them, and Kade’s strange behaviour, forgotten.

 

It was three weeks later and Ella hadn’t once thought of the man in the park, or Kade’s strange behaviour.

 

She crouched on the thin ledge outside the window. It was barely ten inches wide, and more than a ten foot drop into the rose bush below. The gray shingles gave her enough traction though, so she didn’t worry. Working her nails underneath the peeling white paint of the window frame, she huffed out a breath to blow the hair away from her eyes. She finally managed to raise the window an inch, then sat back on her heels, making sure she kept her fingers holding the window open, and glared at frame. It had been awhile since she'd used this way into Kade's room, before the last frost in early april, and the weather had worked it's magic once again. More paint was scraped off as she leaned in again to pulled it open a few more inches. Finally it was high enough that she could wedge her shoulder in. Taking a deep breath, she heaved upward. It protested for less than a second before slipping up. She let out an undignified noise, halfway between a strangled scream and a growl, and toppled sideway into the room.

 

"Ella?"

 

"You really need to put a mat under here or something," Ella groaned. She was sprawled awkwardly on the floor directly beneath the window, one arm beneath her torso, her legs bent to rest against the wall, and her face pressed into the carpet so that she could taste it.

 

A hand wrapped around her left arm and hulled her up so that she was sitting on her knees.

 

"What are you doing here?" Kade asked. That's when she noticed the orange haired boy sitting on Kade's bed.

 

"Well hello Tristan, fancy seeing you here!" she said with mock brightness, ignoring Kade’s question.

 

"Ella," he greeted gruffly.

 

"Tristan and I were just discussing our plans for the fall." Kade said, sitting down on the chair in from of his computer.

 

"Making sure you have all the same classes?" Ella asked, not looking at Kade, even though they all knew the comment was directed at him.

 

"Actually, Tristan is going to Europe for the rest of university." Kade said.

 

"Really?"

 

"Yes," Tristan spoke up, "Kade and I were just finishing packing for our camping trip."

 

Now Ella did turn to look at Kade, "You're going camping this weekend?"

 

Kade winced, "I was going to tell you-"

 

"When? You're already packing."

 

"I still had time to-"

 

"To call me on the road?"

 

Kade looked down sheepishly. "It's not like we had any plans, Ella."

 

Ella glared at him for a moment before standing up, "You're right. We didn't have any plans, have fun." She crawled back out the window and shimmied down the support pole, dropping the last foot. She could hear Kade calling her name, but ignored him.

 

Her house was only a twenty minute walk away from his, but it seemed to take forever. The streets were busy with the tail end of rush hour traffic. Hot sunlight mixed with car exhaust to form a light, hazy smog that wreaked havoc on Ella's lungs. By the time she treaded up the broken and overgrown cement blocks of her front walk, she was sweating and panting slightly. The winter months had left her lazy, she really needed to start exercising more.

 

She pushed open the front door and turn left down the hall, not bothering to answer her mother's 'hello' from the kitchen. Her bedroom was the smaller one. It looked out over the back yard, and she could see the tops of the houses, backing onto the same alleyway, above the high fence. She dropped herself onto the bed, kicking her shoes off into a corner, and pulled out her phone. She wasn't expecting Kade to have texted her, she checked anyway. He would give her time to cool off, like he always did. Sometimes it made her mad that he could be so rational about it, but then again he kept her grounded.

 

She dropped her phone onto the bed next to her and stared up at the ceiling. Kade’s going camping with Tristan, she thought. She didn't like Tristan, and didn't trust him with Kade's time, didn’t trust anyone with it really. More than once Kade had been late for whatever plans they had together because Tristan needed help with the project, or he lost track of time while hanging out with Tristan. He always called ahead to apologies, and she always forgave him, but she still resented the time Kade spent with Tristan. She knew it was selfish but it had always been just the two of them. Sure Kade had had a few girlfriends over the years, and his commitments to study clubs, but Tristan was the first friend that had lasted more than a few months. Ella couldn't help sometimes but admire that she hadn't been able to chase him off yet, but she still didn't like him.

 

She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew her phone was ringing and the room was dark. She pressed answer and brought it up to her ear, not bothering to look at the display, only one person ever called her.

 

“Hi, Ella.”

 

“Kade,” she said, her brain still a little fuzzy from sleep.

 

“Did I wake you up?”

 

“Yes,” she grumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

 

He was quiet for a second, then blurted out, “I’m sorry about not telling you about going camping. I know you don’t have anything to do this weekend. I just thought that maybe if I was out with my friends you would, maybe, go make friends of your own.”

 

“Really?”

 

Kade laughed softly, “I know, it was silly of me to think that. I just- I worry about you Ella. If you don’t have any other friends what are you going to do when I’m gone?”

 

“Are you planning on leaving?”

 

“No! Just, what if I get into an accident and die?”

 

“Are you planning on drunk driving in the near future?”

 

“No, Ella-”

 

“Then I don’t have anything to worry about.”

 

“Ella,”

 

“Kade, nothing will happen to you, I won’t let it.”

 

There was a pause, as if Kade wanted to say more. “Okay, whatever. Just at least try and make friends, for me.” he added.

 

“Sure, fine. Call me when you’re coming back.”

 

“Yeah,” they trailed off into silence, “Stay safe.”

 

“You too, I’ll see you later.”

 

“Yeah, Bye.”

 

Kade hung up, and Ella rolled over. She was drifting just at the edge of consciousness when she suddenly remembered the blonde man in the park. She sat up, scrambling for her phone. Hadn’t she seen him on her walk home from Kade’s house? She replayed the conversation she had had just minutes ago as she dialed Kade’s number. He had sounded off, all that talk about worrying about her, and to stay safe. He hadn’t said ‘see you later’ like he usually did. It was just, bye. She tried to calm herself down. She was just being paranoid. Kade would pick up, and tell her he was alright, then they would laugh about her being over protective.

 

When it rang a third time, then went to voicemail, her heart sped up.

 

“This is Kade’s cell, I’m not available, please leave a message.”

 

She waited for the beep, “Kade, pick up your phone and call me right now. If you don’t call in five minutes I’m coming to get you.”

She held the phone in her hands, waiting. They had definitely been followed in the park. Something had happened to Kade there too. She had brushed it off when Kade had said he was fine. She wasn’t so sure anymore. Not with Kade not answering his phone when they had been talking less than five minutes ago. Something was most definitely wrong.