Home is Where I Belong

Before the beginning of any play, Jacob always hosted a party so that the cast and crew could learn more about one another. He had made a reservation at the Nite Sky and allowed his colleagues to bring a few of their friends.

Harry brought Niall since neither of them had anything better to do. They arrived sometime after the event had started; everyone had already let loose and were dancing along to whatever beats the DJ threw their way.

"Let's just go there," Harry suggested, pointing to a round table near the bar. He embraced himself for the boring night ahead of him.

~~~

Quinn paced back and forth around her living room, growing agitated. She had called Lillian and invited her to accompany her to the party, but she completely refuted the idea and cut off the call. The blonde kept at it until an idea presented itself to her.

In the blink of the eye, she put on a gold sequinned dress that reached her knees and fixed her hair and makeup. Just as quickly, she grabbed her phone and purse and headed out.

"Oh my God! I'm coming! Have some patience," a voice called out after Quinn ceased her knocking.

The door opened to reveal a confused Willa, followed by her best friend.

"Remember that one time you made me distract Lillian and you said you owed me? Well, let's get that over with." Quinn stated as she welcomed herself into their apartment.

Juliana shook her head, clearly meaning she didn’t remember such a promise and shared a glance with Willa before closing the door and following the blonde.

Once Quinn explained what had happened and why she needed them to go with her, the girls agreed; partially because they did owe her for stalling Lillian and mostly since they needed a break from mystery solving.

After they had gotten ready, the trio ventured into the streets of town and towards the Nite Sky.

~~~

"Do you even know anyone here?" Juliana shouted over the music as Quinn shot down a drink.

"Well, um, let me see. I know Jacob, the head of the play, Harry, and, uh, yeah that's it. Everyone else is just an acquaintance." she replied.

"So which one's which?" Willa asked, slightly bored.

Quinn scanned the room to find the two she had been talking about. She pointed towards Jacob, who was conversing with a few of his guests. When she pointed towards Harry, however, Juliana's eyes widened and a smile found its way onto her face.

"Willa that's him! The one I was telling you about!" she turned to her friend, joy etched across her features.

"But wasn't his name Niall?" Willa inquired.

"You idiot, the one beside Harry!" Juliana rolled her eyes.

"So you like the guy?" Quinn eyed the blue haired girl in beside her.

"Like the guy? She's head over heels for him!" Willa joked around, her eyes still on Niall. "You literally didn’t leave a detail about him when you were telling me about him.

Juliana's face felt warm as her cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

~~~

"Hey, I see Quinn, let's go say hello." Harry called out to Niall.

Just as they were about to go greet her, Niall pulled his friend back.

"What's wrong, man?" he raised an eyebrow.

"That's Juliana." Niall's voice just above a whisper.

"Huh?" Harry barely heard what he said, but realisation soon struck him when he saw whom he was talking about.

Juliana's blue hair could be seen from a mile away, and Niall could recognise her beautiful smile anywhere.

"Now we definitely got to say hello." Harry nudged Niall's arm, earning a playful slap on the head.

The Irishman lost his smile, however, when his eyes landed on a well-built man talking to Juliana. He was saying something to her, but she didn't seem too pleased.

She pointed in Niall's direction, which the man followed, a sly smirk on his face. He said something to her, which made the poor girl hesitate, but she quickly regained herself and walked towards a confused Irishman.

"What's she doing?" his best mate thought aloud for the both of them.

In between the timespan of Juliana coming over, a thin woman in a green dress attempted to flirt with Niall, whom in turn just stared at the blue haired girl.

"Uh, I've got a girlfriend," he blurted out, leaving the woman speechless and his best friend in a laughing fit.

As soon as they reached one another, Juliana pressed her lips against Niall's, whom in turn melted into the kiss. His hands rested at her waist, while hers moved around his back. When they pulled back, neither could remove the huge smiles on their face.

Before the two could say anything to one another, their friends interrupted their moment.

“Who wants a drink? All rounds on me!” Willa exclaimed.

“But you don’t even drink,” Juliana turned to face the brunette.

“Exactly, I don’t have to pay for myself, you see.” she replied matter-of-factly.

Just like that, the night went on, with the two groups enjoying each other’s company.

>>>>>>

The sun seemed to hide away like it always did; as if it were afraid of a storm passing by. The wind howled by, causing tree branches to move and forth, whenever it changed directions. What was supposed to be a typical Thursday afternoon, seemed like something out of a horror movie; and the horror wasn’t stopping there.

Quinn walked along the street, on the way to the theatre, as she tried to hold her hair in place. The wind felt no mercy for the poor girl and neither did life.

As she approached the theatre, the colour drained from her face from what lied before her very eyes, Jacob Sanders’ lifeless body. She shrieked out in sheer terror, her eyes not leaving the sight of her boss.

“Quinn, is everything alright? I heard you scr-” Harry inched closer to her, but came to an abrupt halt once he saw what made the blonde scream.

He turned to the girl, his face pale as if he were sick, and pulled her into his arms. Though Harry tried to keep a calm expression, tears rolled down his eyes, and his heart ached every time Quinn’s sobs rang in his ears.

By the time Quinn had calmed down, a crowd had gathered around the theatre’s entrance, all of whom were awaiting the police. Quinn still had her arms wrapped around Harry, while he gently stroked on her arm. She could feel his breaths on her, but she couldn’t tell how frightened the buy was. He held a neutral expression, as if he were used to things like this, but in reality he was shaken to the bone. It was one thing hearing about these things and it was another one completely to see it right before his eyes.

“So you arrived at work and the first thing you see is Jacob’s body?” a police officer questioned, a few minutes after the police arrived at the scene.

“Yes,” Quinn replied shakily, “You will find the person behind this, right?”

“Well, we will do everything in our power to find the killer. Now, I’d like you and your friend Harry here to come with us to the police department to answer a few questions. If it’s alright for you that is,” the officer stated.

Harry and Quinn shared a quick glance before agreeing to go with the officers. One thought had crossed both their minds; what was going on?

{At the police department}

Officers rushed around, some ready to head out on patrol, while others took out case files and reports of the recent deaths to look for any clues they could’ve overlooked.

Quinn sat quietly outside the Chief’s office, whereas Harry paced back and forth, clearly impatient to the bone. He finally stopped when an officer ordered him to sit down. He slumped down on the bench, his back against the wall, and his breathing unusually sharp.

“Quinn Drake and Harry Styles?” a well-built man who seemed to be in his mid-forties, called out.

“Um, yeah? That’s us.” Quinn answered as the two got up.

“We’re ready for you. Come on in,” he stepped aside and made way for the two.

Once they all took their seats, the man introduced himself as Kyle Devon, the detective and the head of the case. He pushed his notepad and pen aside and joined his hands, placing them on the table.

After a few moments he took out a recorder and turned it on, placing it alongside the rest of his belongings.

Quinn’s breathing slightly increased as she could sense the aura around the man pacing before them. He wanted answers, but he wasn’t sure how. With everything happening around town, he had to make sure people knew they were safe, but he couldn’t lie, now could he?

“When was the last time you saw Jacob when he was still alive? Was he in good health?” Kyle asked, his voice horrifically calm.

“Three days ago; we were both invited to a party held at Nite Sky by Jacob. He does that before every project we have. We didn’t talk to him much, but he seemed to have been enjoying the event.” Harry explained as he tapped his finger on his thigh.

“How many people were invited? Did he know everyone? Did you two know everyone?” the detective asked, now taking his seat.

“I’m not sure of the exact value, but the entire cast and crew were invited. There must be a list of all their names in Jacob’s office. Other than that, a few people had brought some of their friends. I had brought two of mine, but they didn’t leave my side all night, until I said goodbye to them at their apartment door.” Quinn responded, pausing a bit out of fear.

“And where did you go after dropping them off?” he asked, running a hand through his hair, as he eyed the girl.

“I went to my apartment. We live in the same building, actually.” she answered quickly.

The detective nodded, then turned to Harry. “And what about you, young man?”

“I too, had brought a friend of mine, but we both stayed with Quinn’s group for most of the night, since we knew them. We went straight to my house afterwards.” answered Harry.

“Your Irish mate, he currently living with you?” the man asked.

“No, sir. He has a room at Richard Plaza. He just stayed the night at my place.” he replied.

“May I get the names of your friends?” Kyle questioned, once again.

“Juliana Chase and Willa Parker.” Quinn said.

“Niall Horan.” Harry told, desperately wanting to leave.

The detective got up and turned off the recorder. “Thank you for your time. We'll call if we need your help any further.”

The two followed cue and got up from their seats as well. They shook Kyle’s hand before leaving the room, heaving a much relieved sigh.

>>>>>>

Lillian paced around her office, (the room with the murder board,) quite frustrated with the turn of events.

No one knew who the killer was, and Juliana still hadn’t given her the information she asked her for. Maybe there was nothing there, or maybe she was waiting to find some solid evidence before telling Lillian. Either way, she had no cards to play.

The murders were all quite random, and from what the police revealed, none of them were quite brutal. The victims had a quick death; less pain. Or maybe, the police just wanted to hide the fact that they couldn’t do their job properly. The body count was increasing, with no clue as to who the stone cold killer could be.

She had to get some information, but she wasn’t willing to get her hands dirty this early in the game. She’d just ask Juliana about her discovery, if any, and request her to look for more clues.

She grabbed her purse and dashed out of the room, only to be stopped by one of her colleagues.

“Rebecca’s called everyone in for a meeting.” she stated, a worried expression on her face.

Lillian nodded, following her to the main office.

“Now, that everyone’s here, I’d like to make an announcement,” Rebecca started, taking in a deep breath, “I am taking a temporary leave from The Blazing Times.”

Gasps could be heard all across the room. Some people were new, while others had been working here for as long as they could remember. Searching everyone’s face, Rebecca too, felt saddened, for leaving so many remarkable people, even if it were for a short time.

“Do not fear, for I have selected a new editor for the time being, my very good friend, Wesley Samuels.” Rebecca welcomed a blond, sturdy looking man into the room.

As if on cue, everyone began to welcome the man before us. He smiled sweetly, his eyes sparkling like glitter. When his eyes landed on Lillian, both of them felt their mouths go dry. They definitely didn’t know each other, but they seemed to find the other attractive.

“You may all go back to work,” the previous editor said, before calling for Lillian. “I want you to show Wesley here, around the office, including that office of yours. Who knows, maybe he could help.”

Lillian nodded in response. Rebecca left the two acquaintances alone, so that she could return to packing her personal belongings from her office.

“So, you’ve already seen this place. It’s where everyone writes their articles for our paper. And if you follow me, I’ll take you to ‘my office’.” Lillian explained as the two walked around.

“So it’s not really your office?” Wesley asked politely.

“Well, it’s just an old room where I put up a murder board due to the recent deaths. I feel like it could bring The Blazing Times the recognition it deserves.” she elaborated, passionately.

“I think I like you already. You’ve got a drive to put this place back on its feet and you’re working towards your goal. That’s what I look for in a reporter.” the blond gave her a cheeky smile.

“Thank you, sir.” Lillian returned the smile, a slight blush finding its way onto her cheeks.

“Call me Wesley, no need to be so formal,” he waved at her like it was such a silly thing to say.

“Whatever you say,” Lillian shrugged, before beckoning him into the room.

Notes

Well, here's a new chapter! I'm sorry I took such a long time, but I was actually studying for my exams which are coming up next week and are going to last the whole month of May. Due to that, I thought I should hurry up and complete this chapter for you guys to read. Anyway, thank you so much like always. It means the world that you would a story I wrote and actually like it enough to subscribe to it. Thank you, once again, and enjoy your day. :)