A/N I know I was supposed to update on Saturday, but I didn't. Sorry about that! I might try to get a bonus chapter up this week to make up for it!

Chapter 1

2 Years Later

Piper Lux sat alone in the very last seat of the bus, music blasting in her ears, wishing she could teleport home. The other seventh graders chatted excitedly, glad that the Monday was over, with little homework afterwards. She had used up all of her data and had to wait a week for more, so she couldn't text her friends until she connected to her home Wi-Fi.

The bus screeched to a halt, and everybody grabbed their backpacks and stepped off the bus, Piper getting off very last. Somebody punched in the code to unlock the heavy iron gate that separated their high-end neighborhood from the outside world. Piper slowly walked through the gates, down the country club streets and to her house.

Stepping into her large, three story brick house, she climbed the curving staircase into her room. Hanging up her backpack on the back of her door, she plopped down on her bed and connected her brand new iPhone 6 to Wi-Fi. Pulling up iMessage, she began to text her friends, Ella and Kayla.

Piper- hey guys whats up? just got home

Ella- hey pipes weve been waiting for u. got home a while ago

Kayla- u guys know I get home first, I already finished my hw

Piper- really? even the math?

Kayla- ya the math was really easy

Ella- NO ITS NOT

Piper- seriously I need a tutor for math

Kayla- only if u promise to teach me the languages ur learning!!

Piper- THATS THREE LANGUAGES

Ella- just do it!!!

Piper- fine... ill teach you ancient greek, modern greek, and latin 4 THE MATH

Piper's mom called her over the house intercom. In a house that big, they needed the intercom, or they would never know when anybody was at the door or when dinner was ready.

Piper- sry guys g2g my moms calling me 4 something

Kayla- see ya at school. meet me in the library!!

Ella- don't forget 2 do ur hw

Piper locked her phone and sprinted down the stairs, remembering to leave her flats in her room. Her mother was sitting on the couch, one hand over her mouth, the other pointing at the flat screen TV.

"What is it? Is it something on TV?" Piper questioned. Her mother gave no response.

Piper sat down on the couch and listened to the TV. It was switched to CNN, and the current story was national news. Not wanting to miss the beginning of the story, she picked up the remote, and rewound to the point where the story began.

"This morning, the bodies of Howard and Amanda Bexter were found in Clayton, Idaho. Specialists have determined that their death happened 1-3 years ago. An autopsy told us that Mr. Bexter was killed by an explosion, but the case with Amanda is much more complicated than that. Her skull appeared to be completely collapsed in the shape of a human foot, yet no human could possibly have that much strength. Nonetheless, it appears that Amanda died in one of three ways. She could have set off the explosion, hoping to kill her father, but was hit with heavy debris. This option seems the least likely, however, as there was no debris visible from the explosion. The second option is the other way around, with her father setting off the explosion. The third has to do with Terry Neco, the housekeeper, who had fled the scene and is now unable to be found for questioning. The mostly likely cause of Amanda's death was murder. Information is still coming in, and we'll see you in a bit."

Piper turned off the TV, tears rolling down her face. Amanda used to be Piper's only friend in the world. They went to Crossroads together, a private school for all grade levels. They were going to go to Marlborough School together, a private all girls school. Seventh grade was the youngest they accepted, but they were still excited. They were neighbors in the Country Club, and did everything together. Piper was even invited on their trip to New York City, where both of them got lost several times. Amanda was her first friend, and when she moved without telling anybody, it wasn't until months later when Piper finally got some new friends who were also going to Marlborough, specifically Ella Risu and Kayla Nero. It was a shock when Amanda moved away. One day she was there, and the next- poof- she was gone.

At least Piper still had her other friends. But Amanda- she was gone. Forever.

Piper didn't even get to say goodbye.

A/N 3/30/15 Well, that was sad to write! Why am I writing such sad chapters? The next chapter will be sad as well. Oh well.

A/N 4/11/15 I just realized I titled this chapter 2. oops. I'm fixing that now.