Chapter 5

"Do you want to come and eat ? The quiet voice of my friend asked after knocking at the closed door of my room. 

"No." I muffed, my eyes half closed. 

"Ethan ? Whatever I did to make you angry, I'm sorry." Clayden mumbled before I heard him leaving, his footsteps echoing in the corridor. 

I was alone now, in my room and on my floor. But did I truly want to be alone ? So much thing happened these three past days that I felt unsecured in that school, not protected almost naked in front of everyone, especially the prefects. 

Not even Clayden trusted then and he had been at that school longer than me so how could I not be scared when they lock me in a room for hours ? I wa ted deeply to go home, to find the warm arms of my mother, the jokes of my father, the laughter of my little sister. I wanted to be home, not here, in this boarding school. Nothing was okay here and I slowly started to understand why my dad didn't seem pleasant when he came back. 

It surely didn't brought good memories… 

But I didn't want to go back in my old town, where I was verbally abused everyday by some older students. I didn't want to go back there but at the same time, I wanted to see my parents again. Maybe I could ask them to come and live with me at the school… 

"Argh !" I yelled and messed my hair while rubbing my boiling forehand. I was so hot due to all these thoughts and yet, I was freezing without my sheet on me.

So, even if it was nine in the morning and that I should prepare for my lessons, I ducked under my covers and hide myself from the outside world. At least, that was how I liked to think. 

And tears started flowing down my already red cheeks, tears coming from all the pression I had to experiment lately. I wondered slowly since when I didn't cried like that. Crying without fearing to be heard or seen, crying freely. 

I didn't even know what were the origins of these tears. 

" Ethan ?" I heard a voice me, a voice coming from outside my little cocoon, a voice full of concern…  But why would Sebastien be concerned about me ? And how did he ever come inside my room without me noticing ? After all, I never got any friends, especially not after two days… " Ethan, what happened ?" He asked a little louder this time and I could clearly hear his concern. 

But why ? No one except my parents and sister cared enough for me to be concern..  Why would anyone care about me anyway ? 

I drenched my tears, cleaned my face and got out from under my sheets before stumbling backwards, falling almost off the bed because of how close Sebastien face was to mine. Luckily, he hold my wrist and I managed to sit, leg crossed, on my bed, not even daring to look at the boy in front of me. 

"Why were you crying Ethan ?" He asked once again, no emotions filtering through his voice. It was just plain and it made me even more guilty. Guilty from what ? I would maybe never know. 

"I wasn't crying…." I choked out, not even believing my own lie. My eyes were probably puff and red by now and my voice was unusually low. 

"Ethan, I'm sorry if it's because of the task I gave you. It's just because you're special and I felt that you were the only one to solve this mystery around Archie death. But I would understand if you want to stop and start a normal year like any one students." He told me, mostly muttered, and I was shocked to hear such sincere words. Everything sounded so true that it didn't fight a Sebastien persona. 

Sebastian was more the guy to mock others and lie about things, I witnessed it and it felt strange to hear him say that. Strange but heartwarming. 

Almost never anyone talked to me like that and I couldn't help but smile at how good it felt. Maybe Sebastien could make a good friend, the people only had to learn who he was. 

" I started investigating on Archie death and I'm not gonna stop right now." I grinned, my happiness back.  

We stayed a few minutes in silent, doing nothing except staring at each other. Occasionally we would smile and I knew that Sebastien was now my friend, the first one I had since a long time. A friend in which I trusted. A friend who wouldn't betray me… 

"By the way, I have something to show you." He told me with a smirk and strangely, I was excited to know what it was. I never felt this sensation in my heart, this feeling when someone was your friend… "No need to put your uniform today, it's the weekend." He reminded me before vanishing from the room. 

I blinked a few times before telling myself I imagined it and that he went out of my room like a normal person. Even if Sebastien wasn't someone normal… 

Jumping off my bed, I took from my drawer my favourite white shirt with a jean, comb my hair quickly and unlocked the door to find him waiting for me.  When he saw me, he smirked and told me to follow him before starting walking without waiting for me.  

We went outside, in the same garden where I discovered the dead body of Archie, and we stopped next of a chestnut tree which seemed familiar to me, somewhere far away from the main building. Sebastien sat on the snow, ignoring the fact that it was cold and wet and he laid down, using his hands as a support for his head. 

"I think it would be for the best if you knew the history of this school." He told me, closing his eyes, and immediately took interest in what he had to say. Surely, knowing the past of this place would help me see clearer on the reason of his death. 

So, I nodded, even if he couldn't see me, and decided to sit on the floor, my legs already weakening. I never had a lot of strength and staying a long time on my feet would kill me for sure. And surpassingly, the ground wasn't that humid. 

"Ethan, did you know that there was someone else who died in this school ? Her name was Amanda Starks."