Tragedy is like a butterfly effect. There is always one tragedy following another. Many believe that evil only arrived at Black Hill when May was murdered - however that viewpoint is naïve. Evil was always there. Just waiting for the perfect moment to infect. To weaken. Black Hill was tested and it failed.

Three weeks had passed since the tragedy at Abigail's party and nothing had happened since. No sign of the elusive killer. As if they had gotten bored and fled town to wreak havoc elsewhere.

The media has unaffectionately referred to the mysterious murderer as The Lurker. The name had rapidly become the trademark for immorality. Amelia shivers as the image of the cloaked figure haunts her in her dreams.

Not as much as the Homecoming decorations littering the school. Amelia shivers at the thought. She had always found Homecoming to be vapid. From the ridiculously overpriced attire and insipid parades - it has never been her scene. However, she has never had a friend that loves everything about it.

Lillian had been incessantly pleading with her for weeks to be her date considering the guy she truly wanted to go with has no clue she even exists - her words. Amelia apprehensively agreed to be Lillian's date - perhaps a moment of normalcy is exactly what she needs to get rid of the agonizing thoughts haunting her every thought.

"Are you going?" She's taken by surprise and spins to face an apologetic Seth. "Sorry."

She glances over her shoulder at the glittery poster and sighs.

"I'm going with Lillian." She shrugs.

"That's a shame," He replies. "I was hoping we could go together."

She raises her eyebrows at his statement.

"As friends." He chuckles at her surprised expression. "It would have been nice to go with someone that wouldn't make a big deal out of it."

She purses her lips in thought until an imaginary light bulb scintillates above her head.

"Go with us," She eagerly states. "That way you can have two friends to go with."

And it would make Lillian insanely happy. She muses.

He considers her words before a radiant grin appears.

"That sounds great!" He happily exclaims.

The bell interrupts their conversation.

"We can discuss this later." He states before rushing into the crowd not wanting to be tardy.

Amelia smiles as she replays the conversation in her head. She cannot wait to tell Lillian.

Even the living can feel dead. When they have nothing more to live for. When life feels more like a curse than a gift. That's exactly how Tiffany Evans has felt since her boyfriend, Josh's, tragic death. Everything went downhill from that moment. The weight of the world has collapsed on her shoulders and she's losing the strength to keep holding it.

She glances at her phone with blurry eyes. Her bottom lip quivers as she reads the anonymous text message for a third time as if she were hoping the message would change to something less threatening.

You have something that belongs to me and I want it back.

Her eyes fall on her shut closet knowing that inside are the incriminating devices the mysterious texter is looking for. How do they know I have it? She panics.

She glances at the text again. Me. The pronoun piques her interest. The laptop and phone belonged to Rosemary - how could the mystery sender claim it as their own?

She scoffs at the outrageous thought that it could be Rosemary behind the screen - extremely unlikely unless she's texting from within the grave.

An unexpected knock on her bedroom door causes her to drop her phone on the silk sheets.

"Who is it?" Her voice croaks.

"Abigail." The voice replies and she hurries to unlock the door.

She had texted Abigail the second she received the message. She couldn't keep the secret to herself anymore. Her mind is a scattered mess and is in no state to make crucial decisions.

"What's going on?" Abigail questions once the door is locked behind her. "Your text said it was urgent."

Tiffany harshly bites her bottom lip until she tastes blood in hopes of preventing the approaching waterworks. Her shaking hands are firmly clutched at her sides as she takes a deep inhale before releasing.

"I did something," Her voice trembles. "Something bad."

It's as if Abigail had only just noticed the distress on her friend's face and she takes a step back and tilts her head to the side.

"What did you do?" She sternly questions.

The second Tiffany locks eyes with Abigail she collapses to the ground and clutches her head in her hands as the waterfall of tears glides down her cheeks. Her shoulders convulse and Abigail rushes to her side. She places a comforting hand on her friend's back.

"Tiff, what's going on?"

Tiffany crawls towards her bed as if she had momentarily forgotten how to walk and reaches for her phone. She extends it towards Abigail who apprehensively clutches it in her hands and unlocks the phone as it opens up to the text. Her eyes glance at the words in confusion.

"What are they talking about?" She gazes at her distressed friend.

Tiffany struggles to swallow as she wraps her arms around herself in an attempt to shrink away from the inevitable confession. She knew this confession would be a selfish act. She would drag Abigail into something that could hold the harshest of consequences but she cannot withstand the solitary suffering any longer. She pushes herself up and anxiously approaches her closet and she can sense Abigail right behind her. She reveals the hidden crevice of stolen devices. The second Abigail notices the devices her eyes nearly pop out of her head.

"Is that what I think it is?" She stresses and Tiffany sulkily nods her head.

Tears form in the back of Abigail's eyes and she can feel the burning sensation, but she skillfully takes a deep breath and sucks the tears back in - returning them to their prison.

"This stays between us." She orders through clenched teeth. "If this person wanted to tell, they would have. No one can ever find out about it - we take this secret to our graves."

Abigail sits on the end of the bed with a hefty sigh.

"Why would you steal it?" She questions her quivering.

"There was something on it, about me and Josh." She explained. "Rosemary was going to tell the entire school about it."

"Tell them what?"

The back of Tiffany's eyes burns once again as her skin feels scorching.

"Josh was cheating on me." She confesses. "With her."

The loud music squeezes Amelia's ear drums the second she enters the gym. The once musty-smelling room is decorated with gold and glitter giving it an entirely new aesthetic. Amelia isn't an expert on school dances - the only experience she's ever had with school dances is the ones she's seen in cliché shows and movies. However, not even fictional dances could compete with this. Despite finding it utterly pretentious, she could respect the effort.

She glances at Seth and Lillian standing on her left - the glum look on Seth's face makes her uneasy.

"Are you okay?" She bellows over the music.

He bends down to speak into her ear.

"This is my first dance without May."

He made the revelation earlier but witnessing everything firsthand has made it real. There would be no more dances with her. No more memories.

She places a comforting hand on his shoulder and offers him her best smile.

"Well, you're not alone. You have me, Lillian -" A figure in the background catches her eye. "And your brother." She glances at the familiar towering form.

Seth glances over his shoulder.

"I should have guessed he'd come with Abigail," Seth speaks before turning to face her again. "They have an on-off relationship." He explains.

She nods her head as she watches them interact. Their dynamic is entirely different from the awkward tension between them at the party. Instead of the hatred and aggression she'd witnessed before, they are full of laughter and smiles. She glances at Lillian and Seth to find them having an intimate discussion. Not wanting to disturb the pair she advances toward the snack table in search of light refreshment.

"I didn't expect to see you here." The ethereal voice flitters into her ears.

She bites her lips to hold off a smile and turns to gaze into Ethan's captivating eyes.

"I could say the same about you."

Her coral dress suddenly seems tighter against her body and her skin feels as if it's been set alight. Being around Ethan always makes her a stuttering mess. She squares her shoulders in an attempt to feign confidence. She wanted to strike up a conversation. She wanted to compliment him on how attractive he looked in his tuxedo - a contrast to his usual baggy jeans and faded flannels, however, it seems her twisted tongue failed her. His phone chimes and he hurriedly reaches inside his coat pocket to retrieve it. His face falls and all color drains from his face as he skims over the text.

"I have to go." He sullenly states before hurrying through the dancing couples.

She gazes in the direction of his retreating figure long after he'd disappeared from her sight. She feared she had said or done something wrong but immediately thought against it - she would have had to use words to upset him. She distracts herself with assortments of drinks to avoid her continual dissecting.

A presence looms behind her before joining her side. She's close enough to smell their spicy cologne mixed with nicotine - which is a surprisingly pleasant combination.

"Lovely to see you again, Amelia." Jake smirks as he reaches into his jacket pocket and extends a flask toward her. "You look like you could use some Bourbon."

She surveys the dancefloor and internally cringes at the couples happily getting lost in each other's eyes as they sway to the melodic music. She scopes the metal flask in his hands and apprehensively reaches for it, not wasting time in taking an adequate sip. She winces as the fiery liquid glides down her throat. It takes a while to settle in her stomach, but she can feel all the tension fleeing her body the second the alcohol takes effect.

"I needed that." She coughs as her lungs burn - she had never been one for drinking but now seemed as good a time as ever.

"I see my brother showed up with a girl on each arm." He folds his arms across his chest.

"And I see you're at a high school dance." Her retort receives a chuckle.

"Abigail and I are complicated." His explanation is hazy but makes a surprising amount of sense.

I'm all too familiar with the term complicated. She thinks.

She reflects on how every time she has a moment to talk to Ethan, she completely messes it up.

Tiffany Evans enters the room as the newly elected Homecoming Queen. She waves as if she were truly royalty as she is embraced by applause. However, her radiance is merely a façade. Every fiber of her being is consumed by fear. Fear for the sinister person behind the screen having crucial knowledge about her that could be deadly. She couldn't let them know they got to her. Those were the warnings Abigail gave her.

Pretend as if they're ridiculous for even accusing you of something so ridiculous.

Her friend's words resonate in her mind. Pretend nothing is wrong.

The Homecoming dance is nearing the end and it's time for a final acknowledgment of the Homecoming royalty. Everyone gathers in front of the stage waiting for their elected royals to appear and bask in their superiority. The music quiets down and everyone watches as the principal approaches the microphone. He clears his throat ready to speak, but the surround sound speakers begin to shake as ear-splitting music plays once more. The lights begin to flicker. The crowd analyzes their surroundings in hopes of finding the cause of the ruckus. The music doesn't die down and some cover their ears to drown out the volume. A giant spotlight soars over their heads and onto the center stage. The music abruptly fades out and the flock is stunned into silence. Everyone holds their breath in fear. A hefty thud resounds through the gymnasium as thick red liquid splats over everyone in the front row.

No one registers what happened until one of the females glances down at her blood-stained dress. A banshee-like wail escapes her clutches and many follow her lead.

The stage becomes flooded with liquid - and Tiffany Evans' dismantled corpse is the cause of it. Her awkwardly bent limbs are a consequence of her elevated plunge. The witnesses scatter like prey. Amelia pushes past the fearsome crowd as she hurries toward her body. She can sense she's being followed but she doesn't look back. She kneels next to Tiffany's corpse. Her stomach becomes queasy as her lifeless eyes seem to stare into her soul. Abigail joins her next and reaches for Tiffany's face.

"No!" Amelia protests. "We can't touch the body." She'd learned enough from her dad to know the basics.

More bodies flock around her and she gazes up at a tear-stricken Lillian. Seth has his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her as Amelia hurriedly calls her father.

Jake stays back in the shadows as his eyes flicker around the abandoned gymnasium. The person responsible for this couldn't have gotten far, however, he suspects they fled with the crowd. It would be the most inconspicuous escape. His eyes fall on a comatose Abigail as her eyes are glued to her best friend. She does not react - no emotion. Her face seems to be stuck in a scowl as the back of her eyes burns, but no tears escape.

She doesn't move until the police show up and escort her away from the body, insisting she waits for an officer to question her. Someone placed a blanket over her shivering form - but she wasn't shaking from the cold. It's only when she's completely alone in one of the classrooms that the dormant emotions combust. She places her head in her hands as gut-wrenching sobs wrack her body. The second she started to think she'd run out of tears, another round ensued.

She jumps at the unexpected notification on her phone. She rubs her eyes with the back of her hands before unlocking the screen.

Guess it's just the two of us sharing the secret. Too bad I don't like to share.

Her eyebrows knit in confusion at the vague message from an unknown number.

What do they mean? She wonders, and as if the mystery person could read their thoughts, another text popped onto the screen.

Don't worry, you'll join the Homecoming Queen soon.