After School Special

"Trust me, okay?" Toni said, swinging one leg over the nicely decorated fence. The frat houses always took it upon themselves to throw anything possible onto the sticks of wood in the ground. Even beer bottles connected by string. Scotty shifted foot to foot uneasily, staring at his best friend with a frown. But by then, Toni was already over the fence and fixing her cut up Guns 'N Roses t-shirt. Her hair was cut intolerably short, stopping halfway down her neck. A light blue headband was situated behind her bangs. Black boots ran up to her knees, the heel on them higher then she liked. Light blue skinny jeans went along with the headband. But her Mill Grove football letter jacket, with the red stitching and off white leather sleeves, hardly matched any other single thing she wore. But she sported it anyway.

"Oh, come on, Scotty. It'll be fun." Toni whined, smiling brightly at her friend before casually stepping back into the yard behind the house. "You're sneaking in... You can't just sneak in, Toni. They'll notice. They're... Disturbed, weird people." Toni rolled her eyes, glancing back at the tall, white house. "And that's what makes this the party of a lifetime, my dear Watson." She mumbled, turning away to race towards the back doors. Scotty yelled something about hating Sherlock references, but didn't go after her. Which Toni was fine with. At least for now. Proceeding into the house, the noise immediately picked up. Toni bit her lip, slipping around bodies until getting to the center of the room. It was a tight space, one of the couches knocked over, but it was bearable.

And someone yelled. It was a shriek, loud and pain-filled. And something tumbled down the stairs. A body slammed forcefully into Toni, sending her flying into the knocked over couch. She threw her hands out behind her, then spun, locking onto the couch cushions. "Jaz!" Someone screamed at the fallen girl at the bottom of the steps. The one with burn marks going around her eyes and trailing to the back of her neck. The one who had pure white eyes, no longer lit up with a clear blue she used to have.

Toni stood back up, straightening herself as she squirmed around several people to get to the stairs. The girl, also known as Jaz, was clearly dead. Yet the people around her seemed to not focus on that as they leaned over the body, poking at the burns and laughing at the eyes. "Look at the contacts, man!" A freshman with dirty blonde hair yelled towards his friend, then stretched over Jaz to give the other boy a high five. Toni grinded her teeth together, frustratingly slapping the one closer to her on the arm. "It's not funny." Toni snapped and the boy raised his hands defensively. "All right, all right. Don't gotta get snappy, Hermione." His words were slurred. He was definitely drunk. Toni ignored the Harry Potter comment, turning back to the body. The burns were in a pattern. It looked like a different language. Maybe it was.

Ben aimlessly wondered through the streets of Chiswick, his coffee, steaming hot, held firmly in his right hand, occasionally lifting up the cup and allowing Ben to take a sip before lowering back down. His left hand rested nonchalantly in his dark blue jean's pocket, his black shirt gripping tightly to his slim body, complimenting his black shoes. Though he tried to keep in touch with looking good when he went out but in all honesty, he did not care that much, especially after his girlfriend, Jessica dumped him, making it that much harder and more aggravating every time he walked into his favorite coffee shop. Minutes of badgering about her new boyfriend just made him mad, and oh how did the coffee help afterwards. That familiar hot, smoldering, sweet, taste of his coffee that hit his lips and sent a jolt of energy throughout his entire body; a contradiction of the current street he aimless strode down.

The street was moderately dark and over all boring. Lamps seemed to droop lower to the ground, as if saddened; the only thing that even came to attention to Ben was a lone white house. The house loomed over the fence that was supposed to protect it. As he stood at the edge of the front gate, Ben took yet another sip of his coffee then released a sigh, "College" he grumbled, noticing the various marks and signs of teenagers, the partying, the beer bottles and most of all, the smell. Then, suddenly, a shriek echoed throughout the entire complex and eventually down to Ben, who widened his eyes then glanced around him, hopefully looking for someone to dash in, a hero in all sense of the word. But it was just him. A man with coffee. "Great.." Ben mumbled, unlocking the gate and walking up to the house, eventually approaching the door and pulling it open, immediately welcomed by two unconscious boys laying passed out on the floor in front of him, "Can't wait to jump into this" he mumbled sarcastically as he proceeded further into the house.

Someone behind Toni yelped, then groaned as the door opened up and shoved a person to the side. The person, who had groaned in the first place, muttered something about rudeness as beer slipped from the cup and poured onto the floor beside an unconscious boy. Toni spun around to see the causes of the noise, only to spot a man carrying coffee. He was incredibly out of place. Stepping over several people's shoes and the occasional limb, Toni made it to his side as he approached Jaz, the obviously dead girl at the bottom of the steps. But she didn't say anything to him. She couldn't. Some drunk bloke had managed to latch onto the sleeve of her letter jacket and pull her towards the wall. And this was something she really didn't want to deal with. Another drunk person. All she came here for was some drinks and maybe some dancing. But dealing with this wasn't in her plans. Especially if Scotty was still waiting outside by the fence. "Let go of me," Toni snapped to the man dressed in a pale purple polo shirt, slapping his arm for more affect. His grip loosened and Toni pulled away quickly, rushing back towards the steps as fast as she possibly could.

"Jaz?" A whiny, drunken slob called towards the girl with the burn marks, poking at her cheek with the tip of his red, plastic cup. She didn't move, nor reply in any way. The man lifted his head, reeling backwards as he looked around, spotting the guy with the coffee in hand. He laughed loudly, "So we've got this guy and Hermione at this party?" He said, pointing towards the man with a laugh before nudging Jaz with his foot.

Ben squinted, watching carefully the actions of the man that had previously held the sleeve of Toni, keeping her from moving away from him. Then his eyes shifted over to the, prominently, dead girl who lay sprawled across the wooden floor, "It doesn't take an astrophysicist to tell that the girl's dead..and if you're having a party with her body still in this house and telling nobody then i want no part of it apart from the usual normal citizen act of calling up the bobbies". The man gazed around the room, eyes finally clearing up and realizing what was going on and engulfed his face into his hands, a sob beginning to echo from the cracks between his fingers. "What..what do i do?" He finally asked, "Call the bobbies! In the mean time, nobody touch her..that'l just case more problems" Ben quickly replied, turning and walking out of the house and onto the porch.

Once out on the porch, Ben glanced around for a chair then flopped down onto the swinging bench in the right hand corner, his mind engulfed in pondering on the dead girl and the odd burns on her and especially the actions and attitudes of the boys around her. It was as if they thought it was all a joke..a terrible joke gone wrong.

Toni looked back at the doors the man with the coffee exited out of. She bit her lip hard, her eyes trailing down to the two boys on the floor near the entrance. They too had weird marks forming on their faces. Slipping around several people, she bent down beside one of the boys. "That's not pretty." She whispered, lifting her head to look out the door at Scotty, who was standing just beyond the fence. And who was also waving his hands frantically. Stepping cautiously over the two boys, she hurried out onto the porch, then down the steps and towards the fence. "Scotty! What's wrong?" She called out and Scotty dropped his arms immediately, which was good because he was getting more than Toni's attention.

Upon reaching the fence, Toni dropped her hands onto two of the posts. Scotty was out of breath. "The cops are out back. You realize you may get arrested again, right? We can't be here. You can't be here." Scotty was frowning, looking back at the house as Toni rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine. Not like I haven't dealt with the bobbies before, okay? I'm going to go have a chat with someone. You leave, yeah?" Patting his shoulder quickly, Toni swerved round and headed back towards the house, keeping a quick pace until reaching the porch. There she sat down beside Ben on the swinging bench, turning her head to look at him. "You noticed the marks too, right? On that girl's face."

Ben glanced at Toni as she ran by, not thinking anything of it as he was still thinking deeply about the burns; only when she directly addressed him, did he pay her any attention. "Yes i did" He quickly replied, taking a sip of his coffee before eyeing her curiously before continuing, "I also noticed how incredibly beautiful you are but that's beside the point". Looking over through the window of the house just as the images of bobbies, rushed through the house through the back and were frantically trying to get the boys away from the girl and set up a crime scene area for others to investigate, "The burn marks looked like writing" he finally commented, pulling his attention away from the window and back towards Toni, "Inscriptions of some kind..haven't a clue what they were saying but then again i only got a small look at it" he added, rubbing the back of his head.

After thinking a little bit more, Ben nodded his head as he stood up, preparing at any moment now for an officer to barge through the front door and order him away from the house, "Tell you what though. I'm a reporter at the Daily News in London. This lot will more than likely haul her body off to the morgue to be looked at..i can probably tell my boss i've got a new story, come in and maybe sneak a few pics and we can go from there". Just as he stopped, as he predicted, the front door burst open, revealing the image of a bobbie striding out, looking left then right before noticing Ben and Toni, "You two. This is a crime scene, go on, bugger off!", Ben rolled his eyes as he took his last sip of coffee and stepped down off of the front porch, beginning his nonchalantly paced walk back to his work or at the very least, a trash can to toss out his empty cup.

Narrowing her eyes, Toni stood as slowly as she could manage. The officer staring her down also narrowed his eyes, as if they were both challenging each other. Toni didn't care. She was honestly amused. Until the officer stepped forward, then she took off down the steps laughing until she ran straight into Ben's shoulder. "Whoops," she mumbled, backing up a step, then moving to his side. "And yes, what I look like is completely beside the point." She said, glancing at him before looking straight ahead. "But thanks." From behind, she heard the officer muttering something quite loudly. And to be entirely honest, she was extremely curious. But Scotty had been right, she couldn't risk getting brought in once again. Being twenty years old meant she wouldn't just go to a reform school. "It was writing. I couldn't get a good look because of that ridiculously stupid boy, but it didn't look like English either. Or any other language on this planet. I know that's a bit mad of me to say, but we both seem curious so what's the harm in saying it?" She pushed her hands into the pockets of her letter jacket, kicking at the path before opening up the gate to step out onto the sidewalk.

Ben smirked, glancing over to her, as she did him moments before, then peered back at the side walk as they both stepped out onto it. Locating a trash can, Ben tossed his empty coffee into it then turned his attention back to Toni, his mind suddenly acknowledging what she had just said, "Planet?" he commented raising an eyebrow, "It's like you've seen this sort of danger before then...doesn't surprise me by the way you acted. Whole entire room of college boys and a dead girl, you don't scream or anything..just try and figure out what's going on". He smirked, "You'd be a good reporter" he chuckled, glancing back at the house before crossing the street, his hands finding their way to his pockets as Ben blocked out the hidden worry and fear with relaxation and a fake smirk as he always did.

To others it would appear he did not care at all what happened in the world, but in all honesty, he was that hero he kept looking for, the hero everyone adored, but his mind and fears kept pulling him back. Peering in between the buildings in front of him, Ben caught sight of the Daily New's skyscraper in all it's illustrious and glorified greedy wonder, "It will take me ten minutes to get there. A good five if i run like a complete mad man through the streets." he concluded, "I don't know exactly where they will go with the body...but i could if i had a pair of eyes watching it". Turning to Toni, he took out his mobile and twirled it in between his fingers, "Use your phone. Call me if there's any changes..now i'm no ruddy bloody detective or qualified person for this sort of thing..so i will go with whatever you decide is best sense you seem to know a bit more than me with what's going on.".

Toni grinned, looking around the street before clapping her hands together. "You shouldn't be giving me the rings here. Big mistake." But she was still grinning, because even if it was a big mistake, she loved it. "Yes, well, I'm not exactly a detective either. But I've got a kernel of an idea that may or may not get me in trouble." Snatching Ben's phone directly from his fingers, she quickly programmed her number and name in, then tossed it back to him. "I'll stalk the bobbies, you... You do whatever you were mentioning about running like a mad man."

With that, she had already turned around, rushing back up the path to the house, though didn't take the front entrance. That'd be too simple. Slipping around the porch, Toni poked her head into the window, propping her elbows onto the sill as she glanced through at the officers and the medics hovering around Jaz. And by the speed they were going, she would probably be here for some time. Literally. They were going at the slowest pace, taking samples of the burns, though nothing like that would probably help in the investigation in the slightest way. Now it was time to wait patiently for an officer to spot her, or maybe for them to all turn their backs so she could sneak in. Either one seemed fine.

Ben caught his phone a smile prominently displayed on his face as he watched Toni run back to the house, shaking his head, he chuckled then turned and began his mad dash back to the Daily News. His black shoes seemed to hover over the very ground he ran over; groups of people passing by him in a blur to his eyes that were set on the task at hand. Within no time he found himself yanking open the glass door of the Daily News and immediately bursting through his own office, quick to snatch his camera and swiftly turn on his heel and ran back towards the doors but he was just as quickly stopped by his boss. "Patterson" The boss said with a sigh, lowering his head in a shake as he took off his glasses and cleaned them, "Look. I've got a new story..headliner material if you just let me take it!" Ben exclaimed, the boss shook his head, "You've had too many chances with headliners Patterson. Give this to someone more experience like Matt".

Ben rolled his eyes and looked over to his right, there stood Matt, proudly waving his head with a chuckle, "Patterson! Look at me" the boss roared poking Ben in the shoulder to get his attention, which he did, just not the kind he wanted as a fist flew straight into his face. Ben's fist connected with the boss'es face causing him to fall straight back, completely unconscious as he hit the floor with a thud. Looking at his fist, Ben's eyes widened as he glanced over to the front desk woman, "Call the real boss..tell him if he doesn't take this headline then i will find someone who will...and someone wake this poor brute up", then quickly turned and ran out. Did i just seriously do that?!! No..yes...no...yes!! haha! Ben thought to himself, a grin on his face as he turned the corner of the street, setting his eyes, goal and direction back towards the house, his camera dangling from his neck, flopping back in forth.

"And may I ask what in the bloody hell are you doing?" A voice whispered into Toni's ear and she jumped from the sudden sound. Reeling around, she smiled lightly, pushing her bangs from her face as she looked the officer up and down. There were a thousand options running through her head on what to do. So many things she could pull to get this guy's attention away from the fact she was peaking into a crime scene. "I'm Toni," she extended her hand, the pathetically false smile still clinging to her face. It wasn't the best idea, to just try and give a nice conversation and somehow manage to distract the poor bloke, but it's all she could find herself doing. "And don't ask again, I heard you the first time." She added directly as the man's lips parted, in which he pressed together after she spoke. "Look, I'm just... My friend owns the house, yeah? Well, sort of. It's a frat house. College. He lives here. Sent me over to pick up his bags. From the room. If you plan on not allowing students to stay in the house, they've got to have some things to take to hotels, yeah?" The officer must have found some good points in Toni's pointless rant, because he turned, walked up the steps to the porch, entered the house, and exited in less than five minutes. He crossed his arms, nodding inside curtly. "Go ahead. Try not to step on anything. And... No pictures or things as such." Without saying a word, Toni grinned and ran passed the cop, rushing inside, but quickly redirecting from the main hall that led to several rooms, and rushed up the stairs.

The stairs was the better route to take because of two things: the girl, Jaz, had tumbled down from them, and the other clear reason that whatever happened, happened upstairs.

Ben rushed down the sidewalk, passing several street corners and alley ways before finally reaching the front of the house. Bending over, Ben grasped his knees as he inhaled and exhaled deeply, peering up at the house with a slightly open mouth, his eyes dancing over the scene in front of him. Several police cars were parked out front, some in the drive way and one on the side of the road, leaning partially in the ditch. Yellow tape ran across portions of the house, where the officers obviously found something of importance. No ambulance yet..didn't hear one..so either they've already came and picked up the body or are just about to get here...meaning a majority of the evidence should still be inside He thought to himself, squinting at the office on the porch, pacing back and forth, his thumbs clinging to the inside of his belt while the rest of his hand dangled freely. When he wasn't paying any attention to Ben, Ben quickly shot a snapshot of the house from the front, thinking it may turn out to be important, couldn't help but take the picture.

After taking the photo, Ben's mind immediately shifted to getting inside of the house; his first thought being Toni but seeing as she was nowhere to be found, he guessed she had already found a way inside. Moving to the neighbors house, where none of the police could see him, over the long fence stood high and proudly, as if they did not wish to see the frap house next door, but then again, who could blame them Ben thought to himself as he peered through the cracks of the fence, choosing an opportunistic time to climb the fence when the officer was not looking. But it did not go as softly as he had hoped. Ben dangled from the fence, upon trying to scale it, his strap for his camera catching on the top of the fence, acting as a make shift noose at the time of it's snag.

Before he choked to death, he pulled up on the strap, causing it to yank over and freely fall to the ground, as did Ben who hit against the grass with a thud then quickly rolling further into the backyard, making sure the officer did not see him. Moving to the backyard, his eyes quickly scanned the back of the house, looking for a stealthy way in before catching sight of a rose ladder, containing very few roses but heavily coated in vines. "It's not the best option but it will have to do" Ben thought out loud, climbing the ladder until reaching the second floor bed room window where he slowly began to try and open while at the same time, making sure he did not plummet backwards.

The noise from downstairs was painstakingly quiet as Toni wandered along the hall to the left. She pushed open the first door, which ended up being just a study. Turning the knob of the second door and quickly opening it, Toni immediately erupted in laughter. Of course it was for a really great reason... Ben was clearly having problems outside the window. Slowly taking her time to walk over, she turned the locks on window, then slowly pushed it up until there was enough room for him to get through. But instead of trying to help him through, she took the camera from Ben, snapping a picture of him as she stepped back lightly.

"I think you're... Unintentionally funny." Toni said as she shut the door to the room, leaning up against it as she crossed her legs at the ankles. "Coming in through a window on the second story. That's a classic." Glancing down at his camera in her hands one last time before setting it on the nightstand, Toni glanced back up at him. "Well, come on in. I'm assuming that officer will get in loads on trouble if anyone else realizes he let me in. So I'd rather this whole detective game to not be entirely long."

Ben rolled his eyes, keeping his still and emotionless facial expression for a little bit as he said, "Not trying to be funny. Trying to be quie-" but before he could finish, he fell from the window frame, hitting the ground and causing the window to slam shut behind him. Hearing the noise, the officer on the porch grumbled under his breath, telling his co-officers it was him taping his foot as he desperately tried to cover up the sound and cover his self in the process. Quickly getting up, Ben brushed himself off then looked up at Toni, a smirk flashing onto his face, "Alright, i'll give you that one. That was a bit unintentionally funny" he admitted, snatching his camera from the night stand and turning his attention to the door which Toni seemed to be guarding.

Walking up to her Ben, lowered his smirk a bit, coming in close as if going in for a kiss but right before he got too close, his hand touched the rim of the door handle and he turned it, opening the door behind her. "Excuse me miss." He joked with her, inching his way through the now cracked door, "Look around him here, i will get some photo's downstairs of the body" he told her as he began walking down the steps, his attention immediately shifting to the noise he was making, the body, and most of all, the officer just a few feet away. Slowly he crept closer to the body, eventually getting near enough to take a few pic's of the girl's neck area where the words were burnt it. Peering over the turned over couch, Ben noticed the officer was gone from the porch and quickly took the time to take a series of photos, some of the living rooms condition, then a few of the stairs and two of the overall position of the girls body.

Once done, he glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of the officer making his way back up the steps; quickly jetting up the stairs to avoid being seen, but with the cost of catching the officers attention based on the noise he created. "Hello?" The officer called out, beginning to walk inside, causing Ben's nerves to inch up, forcing him to dash back inside of the room and close the door behind him, "Ma'am? Your times up, come on out now. You weren't supposed to be inside here any ways" he called once more, waiting for Toni to come down at the edge of the stairs.