Expired With Me

Chapter One

Thea

"Are you ready?" Aiden asks, threading his fingers through mine. I look at him and smile, nodding.

"Yeah, normalcy: day one. All I need to do is pass calculus." Aiden laughs and pulls his car out of my driveway. It's my first day back at school since he died. Mason's out of the hospital now but doesn't feel ready to come to school yet, especially for Thea's first day, probably because we all remember how Amelia's went. I subconsciously place my hand over my stab wound.

"What are you thinking about?" Aiden asks, knowing exactly what I'm thinking about.

"How much I hate the first day of school." Aiden squeezes my hand and stops at a red light. He meets my eyes, putting on his signature Parker glare, but I can still see the hint of my Aiden in his eyes.

"I'll make sure no walking skyscrapers or assholes carry you up the stairs today. Also, I made sure Jason and Jackson stayed clear of my fruit loops." I laugh. Aiden fills me in on the school drama I've missed since I was in the hospital, which isn't much as Amelia was the one causing most of it anyway, then parks his signature black Challenger in the parking lot. Around it, our friends wait for us, fighting to be the first to get to hug me. Noah ends up winning.

"Bestie!" He yells, throwing his arms around me.

"Hi, Noah," I laugh.

"How dare you leave me and Aiden alone in Calculus for a week!" I roll my eyes.

"I'm not that bad," Aiden mutters. "Thea would love to be alone with me for a week." He throws me a smirk, and I blush, but only because he's right. I hit Aiden's arm with the back of my hand, and pass out hugs to Char, Anna, Chase, and Julian as an unsurprisingly still glittery car pulls up next to us. Kaitlyn parks, and walks over.

"I just remembered I forgot something in my locker," I hear Char whisper.

"Yeah, you need help?" Chase asks. They head toward the school, and away from the catfight about to happen first thing on a Monday morning. I somehow still manage to catch Chase's hand subtly reach for Char's.

"Ame... Thea," Kaitlyn says as the rest of us stare at her. "I heard what happened. With..." Kaitlyn takes a deep breath. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thank you. How are you?" I ask. Her bruises from Ryan have disappeared, and her arm is out of the sling, but probably still sore.

"Better. Anna, I wanted to say I'm sorry. For blaming everything on you. It was Ryan's id... I'm sorry." Anna looks at me, then back to Kaitlyn. She nods.

"It's the past," Anna says eventually, I'm sure fighting back a few swear words. Julian turns to her.

"I'm going to go make sure it's okay for you to come in," he says, before walking towards the school. It's Anna's first day too after her ex-expulsion, after taking a few days off to process everything regarding her dad and Luke.

"We're still not friends," Kaitlyn says to me with a smile. I laugh.

"Never," I say.

"Guys?" Noah asks, eyes filled with an emotion I haven't seen from him before. He frantically points behind me. "What's that?"

***

I open my eyes slowly. My ears ring, and I feel like the breath was knocked out of me. I hear someone yelling what sounds like miles away, but it's getting closer, more familiar.

"Thea, Thea!" I look around, muscles aching. Aiden holds his hand out to me, which I take, using it to stand. We're... on a mountain? About a mile away is a giant mansion, about as big as what I'd imagine a palace to be like. The architecture doesn't look anything like I've seen before but in some ways gothic. I run over to Anna, making sure she's okay, then hesitate, before doing the same for Kaitlyn, who mutters an "I'm fine" before letting me help her up anyway. She walks over behind Noah.

"Hey!" Aiden yells in his 'I will kill you with one punch' voice. I look over to his line of sight. Coming from the direction of the mansion is a man dressed like a soldier, covered in all black. "Hey!" Aiden yells again. "Where are we?" The guard approaches Aiden, and now that he's closer, I can see a tattoo peeking out of his left sleeve.

"Who are you?" The guard asks calmly while matching Aiden's tone and checking him for weapons.

"Why? Where are we?"

"The Estate."

"What the hell is that?"

"Watch your tone." Aidan throws a punch at the man. The man grabs his jaw, then throws a hit back. Before I can react, the man has Aiden restrained in handcuffs on the ground. I'm fully trained in jujitsu, and even I have no idea how the guard did that so fast. "Anyone else?" The guard asks, as we stare at him, shocked. He makes a phone call as Noah helps Aiden stand. "Yes, Preeminence." The guard ends his conversation, then looks at us. "Follow me."