Gone Chapters 1-5

Chapter 1
"Ash? You in there?" said a strange boy's voice, breaking through my sleepy daydreaming.
I felt a warm hand run through my hair.
"Oh, come on Ash! Class is over!" said the voice, and I suddenly recognised his voice, it was Dan! Oh, Dan is my almost-ex-boyfriend. I tell him it's over all the time, but he doesn't get it, and I don't really want to end it.
"What do you want?" I mumbled, feeling pissed, why did he wake me up?
"Hello!" he said, sounding frustrated, "Class.Is.Over!"
I laughed silently in my head. No matter how much I wanted the boy to get it that I wanted it over, even though I didn't really, he is very cute. And funny. Well, he is definitely handsome, even for a seventeen year old. Feeling less pissed at him, I stretched out my arms and stood up.
"Finally." he said, and he hugged me so tight, I swear I stopped breathing.
"Oh jeese Dan, have you been drinking at school?" I asked as I recognised the beery smell surrounding him.
"Oh hell yeah! Everyone's doing it!" he said happily.
"By everyone, do you mean you, Miles and Toby?" I asked innocently.
"Um, yeah." he said nervously.
I laughed at his embarressed expression. He look slightly ashamed.
"Well, um, beer is...um...beer has...uh...beer tastes good!" he protested.
"Oh, whatever, it's really bad for you!" I shot back at him. Damn the boy is stupid. "Anyway, I'm going home, are you staying or coming?" I asked.
"Um, coming of course!" he replied.
Just before I walked out of the classroom, Dan lifted his hand hesitantly. Before I could move away from him, he ran his fingers through my hair.
"I love you hair, Ash." he said.
His voice had gone all deep and husky. Well, who doesn't love my hair? I mean, come on, it's a deep cherry red and it's long and thick. Even my dad says it's really nice, and he's my dad. My inner gushing was interupted. By Dan's lips. I shoved him away from me.
"Dan! Now is not the time!" I said angrily. I scowled at him and strode away. And, of course, he followed me.
"I didn't mean to. Kissing you is, like, second nature." he said apologetically.
I sighed wearily.
"Dan! You need to get a grip! We. Are. Over!" I half-yelled.
"Oh, Ash, no matter how many times you say that, we'll never be over. We love each other too much!" he replied.
As I had a slight nostalgic moment, remembering the good times from when we were kids, I recognised a weird smell coming from Dan.
"Oh, jeese, Dan! Not again!" I moaned.
"Yep. It's better for you than smoking...I think...and marijuana tastes good. You should honestly try it!" he protested.
"Uh, no, it's pot, it's illegal, and it's a disgusting habit." I replied, feeling ill from the smell.
Dan could never pronounce long words, so his pronunciation of marijuana sound like marry-jew-ahh-na.
"Here we are Ash." he said as he stopped walking.
We were at my house. Wow, how time flies when you're pissed.
"See ya later Dan. Um, thanks for walking me home." I said
"See you at six, Ash!" he said over his shoulder as he bounded away.
Sigh, my life is officially screwed up.


Chapter 2

"Ashley!" yelled my step-mum, Carla. "Get me a cup of tea!"
My mum left us a few years ago, and my dad picked a really crap replacement for her. Sigh.
"Holy shit Carla! I just got back! Get it yourself!" I shouted back.
"Don't talk back to me, you ungrateful pile of crap!" she screamed.
She really pisses me off.
"I don't care, Carla. I gotta feed Anna!" I snapped at her.
"Young lady..." I heard her start as I strode out and slammed the door in her face.
I could hear her screaming names at me through the (thankfully) thick door. I couldn't care less. I really needed to feed my pets.
"Anna!" I called, "Come here pretty girl!"
She finally bounded in to the room, tail wagging like crazy. She woofed happily at me. I wasn't lying, she is a pretty girl. A big black fluffy mass of hair. She did act a little bit snobby now and then. I think she's kinda like a queen.
"Your majesty," I joked, "dinner is served."
She trotted over to me with her muzzle high in the air as I placed her food bowl on the ground.
"Enjoy." I said while I backed out of the room.
As I was wandering up the stairs (yes, our house has three floors) I realised I was supposed to meet Dan in ten minutes!
"Oh crap!" I shrieked as I ran into my room.
I flung my wardrobe doors open and hastily rummaged through the different coloured t-shirts and jumpers hanging up. I saw a flash of red amongst the blues and blacks (I have such a depressing wardrobe) and I stopped my random rummaging to take the bright red tank top off the hanger. I slammed the doors shut and strode over to my drawers.
"I need some jeans!" I yelped as I realised there was only skirts and sweats in the drawer.
I pelted downstairs to Anna's room where we kept the laundry basket. I pulled out some jeans. They didn't smell, and they weren't dirty either. I ran back upstairs and threw on the jeans and tank top. Then I walked over to my desk and picked up my mascara. I hastily uncapped it and coated my eyelashes. I grabbed some eyeliner and tried to put it on quickly.
"Oh, shit!" I squealed as I poked myself in the eye, "Crap, crap, crap!"
I shot into my en-suite bathroom and dabbed water lightly on my eye.
"Ah crap, mascara." I moaned as it ran down my face.
I wiped it off and ran back into my room. I put the mascara back on my eyelashes and put the eyeliner on slowly. I grabbed some lipstick and put it on. Dang, I was good at putting lipstick on quickly. I grabbed my brush and tried to tame my hair.
"Stay down, you stupid..." I muttered darkly to my hair as it refused to lie flat.
I switched on my straighteners and tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for them to heat up.
"Come on..." I muttered.
When the little red light came on, I grabbed them and ran them quickly through my hair.
"Good enough for me." I said to my reflection.
I switched my straighteners off and bounded out of my room. I didn't know why I was happy, I just was. I strode confidently down one flight of stairs, back into Anna's room and I walked over to the corner where a small cage was on a desk there. I grabbed the packet of hamster food and poured some into Greer's bowl. Greer is my little Chinese Dwarf hamster. She may be titchy, but she can sure eat. I also left a few sunflower seeds amongst the sawdust on the floor of her cage. I walked out and shouted over my shoulder, "Bye Anna! Bye Greer!"
I walked down the last flight of stairs and strode into the lounge.


Chapter 3

"Carla?" I said cautiously.
"Ashley. Come here." she said, sounding calm, yet sorrowful at the same time.
"What's up? I don't know why..." I started before I saw his face.
It was Miles. Why was Miles on TV? I mean, come on, he's handsome and funny and stuff, but he is shy and an alcoholic. No way could he be on TV for anything good.
"Why is he on TV?" I asked Carla curiously
"Watch." she said simply.
I was about to open my mouth and complain at her lack of details when the news reporter replaced Miles' face.
"Hello, this is Jenny Cole speaking. Last night, Miles Desley was found dead at the base of Big Ben, which was the near to where he was staying. Witnesses remember seeing a dark figure stand behind Miles before he supposedly fell to his death. Paramedics are on the scene." she said before the screen switched to two paramedics stood in front of Big Ben.
"Thank you, Jenny." the larger of the two men said,"We have performed an autopsy of the boy's body, and he is unmarred, despite head injuries where he hit the ground.
"His blood does not contain poison, drugs or chemicals and he doesn't have any injuries other than head trauma from impact." the other paramedic said,"Back to Jenny in the studio. We will keep you updated."
The picture switched back to Jenny and she started going on about another story. I wasn't listening. I had a strange buzzing in my head. I felt...weird...detatched, dreamlike...like I was floating. It hadn't sunk in yet. Miles was...uh...dead. It wasn't...real.
"Right, Ashley, you need to make dinner now." Carla said smugly.
It didn't affect her. She didn't give a shit. All she knew was that she'd got to me.
"No." I said quietly.
"What?" she asked, her voice rising.
"I said, NO!" I yelled, my anger and frustration breaking through the sad dam in my mind."You are not my boss! You. Do. Not. Control. My. Life!"
And on my ringing shout, I strode out of the lounge and straight into the street.
"Get back here you bitch!" Carla screamed after me.
"Hell no!" I yelled over my shoulder.
I walked silently for a while, letting my heart go back to a normal, steady beat.
"Wow, Ash. What the hell happened?" Dan said
"Argh!" I yelped
"Jeese, relax. It's just me." he said calmly.
He walked carefully over to me and put his hand gently on my shoulder.
"It's Carla isn't it?" he asked.
Dang, he knows me too much.
"Yeah. She tried to get to me by..." I faltered.
Dan just looked so happy. Maybe he didn't know about Miles. He was his best friend but...no, I wouldn't mention it till he did.
"By what, Ash?" he asked.
"Um...nothing." I said.
"Kay."
"So...what are you doing next friday?" I asked.
"Nuthin'. Might go see Miles. He said he could get me a train ticket down." he said happily.
I took in a deep breath. Time to tell him.
"Uh...Dan...have you watched the news today?" I asked.
"Nah. Been playing football since I got home." he replied.
"Okay...well...um...Miles was, um..." I stammered
"It's okay, just tell me." he grinned
"Miles is...uh...dead." I said gently
He stared at me blankly for a few seconds and then he...laughed?
"Oh, ha ha. What a funny joke, Ash." he said, tears of laughter streaming down his face.
"No...it's not a joke." I said seriously
He looked at my blank, sad face and stopped laughing immediately.
"It's not...he's really...dead." he said sadly.
"Yeah." I said
He started to walk away from me, headed towards the park. I followed him in silence. I let him greive the loss of his friend. I let myself greive too.

Chapter 4

"Dan?" I asked as he stopped and sat down on the park bench.
"Y-y-yeah?" he stuttered.
"Are you...uh...okay?" I asked.
"I've been better."
He sounded utterly distraught. I knew what I had to do. I had to make him feel better. I moved closer to him, and put my hand over his. It was shaking. I turned his face gently towards mine, and I pressed my lips carefully against his. He moaned, from sadness or joy, I couldn't tell. His tongue met mine, and it was like a burst of fire in my mouth. I felt, rather than heard, him moan again and he pressed himself firmer against me. I gave myself to him. He slid his hand round my waist and fisted his hand in my hair. Just as the passion and lust I felt for him reached it's peak, he ended the kiss. We were both breathing hard as I slid further down the bench, away from him. He looked sad, and I could see the mourning in his eyes. But he smiled weakly at me as I sweeped my hair out of my eyes.
"That," he said," I have missed."
"Me too." I admitted.
"I feel better now. Thank you."
"No problem. Just promise me one thing."
"What?"
"Don't greive too much. It will ruin your life."
I could see the sadness and mourning dissapate from his eyes, to be replaced by anger.
"Don't greive? Don't greive?" he demanded angrily,"How can I not greive!" he yelled.
"Dan. Just calm..." I started.
"NO!" he screamed.
He looked deranged, mad and unbelievably pissed.
"Dan, we can work this out." I said weakly
"No! It's over, Ash! You just...you just...you don't understand!" he yelled
"No..." I whispered as he stormed away from me.
I didn't realise I was crying until my jeans were covered in dark teardrops.
"Well then, Ash. You majorely screwed that up." Shauna said.

Chapter 5

"Holy crap!" I shrieked, "Don't sneak up on me like that, Shauna!"
"Hey, sorry. Just got some news to tell ya. Jim and Mandy broke up. I know, you think I'm lying, but it's true. I was there. One second they were all like, ooh I lurve you, and then the next they were all like, I hate you! And I was just stood there watching this whole thing and it was unbelievable. Ohmygoodness, shoe sale later today! The offer is like, four pairs for, like, ten quid. And my mum said that we could to Glasgow shopping next Wednesday! How cool is that?" she babbled.
Shauna is my best friend, but she is obbsessed with shopping and boys and stuff. She also has a habit of babbling. And she is a bit of an eavesdropper.
"Shauna. Take a breath. I just broke up with Dan and I think my heart just walked off with him." I said.
"'Kay. Just remember Not to organise anything for Wednesday!" she said,"Oh and, BTW, that was not a pretty makeout/breakup scene." she said, shivering comically.
"Ya think?"
"Ya."
I raised my eyebrows and started walking away.
"Hey, let me walk ya home." she protested.
"'Kay."
There was silence for a while, but Shauna just couldn't hold in her babble.
"So what do you think about Jim and Mandy breaking up? How damn freaky? I swear they were, like, perfect. And what was with Dan anyway. What happened?"
"Miles died." I said simply
"Oh. Well, anyway, this does not hinder our Glasgow shopping plans. 'Kay? I will not let that alcoholic loser of of a man stop our girly day out! I won't let anything stop it." she said firmly.
Jeese, she only cared about herself.
"'Kay. I can walk home from here." I said
"'Kay. Bye." she said.
"Bye." I called to her retreating back.
I sighed, turned around and headed up my street to my house. I felt so exausted that I could only just make it up the stairs to my room.
"Jeese. I'm so tired..." I muttered before I fell, fully clothed, onto my bed.
I had a very odd dream. I was sat on a beach, surrounded by the smells and sounds of the ocean. I inhaled deeply. It felt so...real. I was just about to stand up and walk to the water, when a figure appeared in front of me. He had long matted hair and ragged, grey clothes. He looked like a prisoner. He had deep, hazel coloured eyes and his face was sunken, like he'd been sad for a long time. Just as I was about to stand up and walk quickly away(who knew what he could do to me), he started stiding towards me. I gasped as I realised he had a long knife in his hands.
"What...what do you want?" I asked.
"Shauna is next to die." he said suddenly.
"Die?!" I yelped.
Then I understood.
"Y-y-you are the k-killer, aren't you." I stammered.
"Yes." he said simply.
He raised the knife threateningly and his eyes widened madly. I gasped for two reasons. One, I was scared shitless. Two, I could see Shauna coming towards us.
"No! Shauna! Stay away!" I screamed.
"No. She stays!" he yelled.
"Yeah. It's my time." she said sadly.
"No...no...why?" I asked.
"Because..."she said.
"Enough chit-chat." the killer said,"Time to die, Shauna."
He raised the knife.
"Goodbye Ash!" Shauna yelped as the knife swished towards her throat, "Goo..." she tried to say, but the knife pierced her neck, and blood spurted everywhere.
I screamed and screamed as the killer cackled madly.