One moment Ollie had said he thought this was a stupid idea that he wasn't going to participate in, that there was no way this was for anyone's benefit other than making money off Ogden student's pain and trauma. But of course the Dean would sign off on this. The next moment he was sitting in a chair across from Jesse's dad, blinking rapidly at him like he must have just shown up out of no where. It wasn't the first time Ollie had ended up somewhere and had no idea how he got there, nor would it be the last, but fuck if this wasn't a terrible time to have that happen. He felt a bubble of panic rise in his chest until it felt like it was threatening to close his throat.
"I don't think I should be here..."
Who signed off on this?
Ollie was halfway standing up when a glass of water had been shoved into his hands by some underpaid assistant, or intern who did not have the time to deal with what they imagined was probably stage fright, and not a panic attack from someone who was completely blitzed out of their mind. Then there was a firm hand on his wrist, that Ollie's eyes followed, hand arm, shoulder, oh that was connected to Jesse's dad. Suddenly he was glued to the chair underneath the man's gaze. Oof. Ollie had been around the block a few times in his life, he'd dealt with a lot of really bad people. He knew an evil person when he saw one - and he wasn't just biased from everything he'd inferred from the very brief conversation he'd had with Jesse about his dad, either. This man was an asshole. He didn't even have to open his mouth, and Ollie already did not like him.
"Don't be nervous."
He was in the midst of denial, nearly shaking his head, and the tongue on the roof of his mouth. No, he wasn't nervous. That was not the problem. Before he could however Jesse's dad was already turning towards some person behind the cameras.
"Let's start."
Fuck...
“It’s a tough year to be a student at Ogden College with the tragic passing of Penelope Klein. And of course, we can’t forget the ongoing missing persons case surrounding beloved student, Greer Morrison. I know that Dean Zuko insisted on free on-campus counseling set up for all students. Have you made use of it?”
Ollie stared. Eyes wide, and mouth slightly open, letting the silence hang between them for a number of seconds that could have turned into minutes, that could have turned into hours, that could have turned into days for all he knew. It felt like that long. Long enough he wasn't even sure of what the question had been anymore. Long enough he wasn't sure where he was again, until he took another few moments to look around and get his barrings. Oh, right. Fuck.
"Mr. Inoue...?"
His head snapped back towards Jesse's dad. Fuck. Okay. Time to force his brain to work. "Is that not what this is?" Ollie asked, smiling as sweetly as he possibly could. And he spoke with so much heart felt sincerity that he had to almost pause and ask himself if he might be a little bit psychotic. "I've been waiting for you to come save us all, Jesse's Dad."
He swore he saw something glint in the man's eye, but not enough to stop him, unfortunately. Very unfortunately.
“There was that nasty storm that knocked out the power at the resort, I remember. That got a little dicey, huh? Parents and staff all congregated in the faculty chalet, but you kids were on the other side of the resort ..."
Ollie gave a silent tilt of his head, furrowing his eyebrows. That wasn't true was it? Was he completely misremembering what Link had told him when they'd gotten back to the dorms? He was extremely high at the present moment, so he really didn't feel confident enough to ask any questions. All he could really do was sport a confused look on his face as Jesse's dad continued speaking.
"... We’ve been told that Penelope organized some things for people to complete to make it through that night together. Were you one of them? What did you get up to during the blackout?”
"I cut my hair," he said, a bright smile chasing away the questioning look he'd given Jesse's dad. He bounced a little excited in his seat, as he brought his hand up to fiddle with his fringe. "I gave myself bangs. During the blackout. Which is pretty daring. But I like to live on the edge. -- but you mean when ... Right." Ollie visibly wilted, chewing on his bottom lip. "Uh, Penny told me to go with Milo Navarro to check how full the supplies in the kitchen pantry were. Just in case we got snowed in, I guess. What about you guys over in your chalet? Did you go anywhere? N-no? Okay..." They were moving on, he guessed he wasn't getting the answers to his own questions.
“In the wake of tragedy, it can be hard to recall things in detail. The brain has its own ways of protecting itself in high-stress situations, and I know that the police have been a near-constant presence on campus this year. This is not that; I want you to feel safe and comfortable enough to share whatever you want about that night. Did you see anything? Hear anything?”
There is something in the words that Jesse's dad said, that made Ollie want to pull his knees up to his chest and curl into the fetal position. Something bubbling in his stomach that made the panic rise in him again, threatening to burst out. This had to be among the top ten times he'd felt the most unsafe in his life. "No, I didn't see, or hear anything. Me and Milo got locked in the pantry and weren't let out until after-" his throat closed briefly and Ollie felt like he was choking on his words. He left them there. Until After...
“Obviously, we all want to get to the bottom of this and work through whatever lingering effects it might have left behind. If you were paired off with anyone that night, can you remember what they were doing? Would it have been possible that they might have been behind anything you saw?"
He gave a sound halfway between a scoff and a snort. "No," Ollie stated, confident in that at the very least. "Like I said we were locked in a tiny little pantry together. Milo was within touching distance of me the entire time."
“Now, if you’ll direct your attention to this screen here, I have something that— barring appropriate authorities— no one has seen until now.” A picture of Greer suddenly appears on screen, all eyes trained on this new piece of information. All eyes but Donovan’s which are locked onto the face of the person he’s interviewing, watching for any and every reaction. “This photo is shocking, I know. It was found in the faculty chalet the night of the blackout. Do you know anything about the day it was taken or who might have taken it?”
Ollie stared up at the photograph struck to a very long silence again. His eyes wide, and mouth open once more. He felt the bubbling in his stomach again, like he was going to be sick. Part of him wished he would be, just lean forward and vomit all over stupid Jesse's dad's lap. But instead he swallowed the burning in his throat, eyes darting back to the man sitting in front of him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" He snapped. "Why the fuck do you think it would be a good idea to show that picture to anybody? Are you showing it to the people who have known her since they were children? Her fucking siblings? Oh, I guess it's more important to re-traumatize a bunch of people for the views. Do you have a pic of Penny's dead body too? Fuck off."
“Do you have any idea why this photo might have been left with faculty that night? Or, most pressing, what reason someone could have for vandalizing it in such a horrible way?”
"I don't know, Jesse's Dad, aren't you the psychology professional? Why don't you tell me?"
"Finally, it's been discovered that Penelope, shortly before her untimely death, had mentioned to someone that she knew why Greer had left. Do you think that has anything to do with this photo? Do you know why she might have left? Even though being honest about it may seem scary, I promise you, it's the right thing to do. It's the only way we can protect you."
Ollie let out an angry noise in the back of his throat, "protect me from what? From Dean Zuko who is more than happy to take a fucking kickback to exploit his students if that means he gets more money from you? Nah," he said, laughing as he reached up pulling at the microphone that had been clipped onto his shirt. "Fuck that. You want to know why Greer left? Probably to get away from this bullshit school." He continued to struggle with the mic, swatting away an assistant who came over to maybe help, or maybe stop him. Eventually he managed to toss it down onto the ground. "Don't worry about 'protecting me' I hope I'm fucking next. If it means I don't have to deal with assholes like you, and the Dean anymore."
Time & Location: The Commencement Gala later in the night
Featuring: Ollie Inoue & Sam Jiménez
Also Featuring: Gabriel Jiménez, Ren Inoue, and Faye Inoue
"See! It looks so pretty!" Sam said, holding her phone above her head and giving a 360 view of the theater, and the commencement gala around them. Showing her grandfather, and Ollie's parents over face time what was going on. She pulled her phone back down smiling widely into the front camera as she spoke, "everyone looks like movie. It's crazy."
"I wish we had been able to make it!" Gabriel replied, slightly faint and fairly hard to hear
Ollie slid his arm around Sam's shoulder from behind her, leaning his chin against her other one, and tilting his head towards hers as he looked at their families on the screen. "Next year we'll get you guys all up here for my graduation," he said, nodding his head, chin digging into Sam's shoulder making her squirm away as he did. He glanced at her with a small laugh, and pulled her back hugging his arms around her waist.
"Are you hitting the road straight after you guys leave?" Ren asked.
"Uhm, I think we are probably going to drop my stuff, and Sam off first, and then we'll be heading out," Ollie said. Maybe Monty will stop in and say hello to his sister or something as well. He let Sam go, rocking up onto the balls of his feet to look around, attempting to find find Monty, but grew impatient and gave up about two seconds in, turning back and shrugging his shoulders. "I'm pretty sure we're doing that first. So, we'll see you in a few days."
"Alright, you two behave until then," Gabriel said, and pointed at Ollie, "especially you."
"Me?" Ollie scoffed, holding a hand to his chest. Like he wasn't the one between the two of them who was known to be a troublemaker. In some certain circles…
"No going missing either! We don't have the money to get a bunch of news organizations on your case so you'll be shit out of luck!" Faye called from somewhere in the background off screen.
"Oh my god fuck off," Ollie snorted, before Sam pulled the phone away from him with a click of her tongue.
She sent Ollie a look, before turning back to the screen. "Okay, we're going to go now. I'll see you in a few days! Byee! Love you guys! Miss you so much. Mwah mwah mwah." Sam held the phone back out to Ollie the both of them blowing kisses at their family members before she disconnected the call. "So!" Sam's eyes scanned across her phone, before she dropped it into her bag, and looked over at Ollie, "do you want to go get breakfast tomorrow morning? All this food is so so fancy, and it makes me want like… I don't know, hashbrowns or something." Ollie made an ooohhh sound, nodding his head. "Do you think Jacqui and Monty will want to come. It could be fun! We'll all go to the Diner or something."
"Hashbrowns do sound good. And bacon, and pancakes. I can get Jacqui out of bed," Ollie nodded his head, "maybe for Monty. I might have to get him a to-go box or something, but I'll try to get him up." If anything could coax Monty into getting up early (earlier than he usually did) it was probably food. His eyes followed Sam as she made to pull away from the table, blinking a few times. "Wait. Are you leaving me already?"
"Yeeeeah," she said in a faux regretful tone, with a grimace. "I'm probably going to head back to my room and get all my packing done early. Plus it'll be super quiet and cozy while everyone is here."
"Alright," Ollie said, a dramatic groan, before wrapping his arms around Sam hugging her obnoxiously tightly. "Love you. See you tomorrow. Text me when you get to your room!"
"Okayyy let me breathe," Sam said as she pushed Ollie off of her, the two of them laughing. "Have a fun rest of the Gala. Let me know if anything weird happens! I'll call you before I come over tomorrow!" She dodged Ollie reaching over in attempts to ruffle her hair, and waved over her shoulder as she headed through the crowd to make her way out of Tate Theater.
Waverly Room 201 Over the past 2 weeks [ SELF PARA ]
Ollie had never considered Greer a technology person, so the longer it took him to crack these texts open the more and more he was thinking it was not her. Which was good, right? Wasn't that what backed up all of his theories? Greer and G were not the same person. Whoever G was knew what they were doing when it came to protecting their information, which made sense. Ollie wouldn't want people to know it was him dong this bullshit either. So, while he was supposed to be studying for midterms, and finishing countless other's works he pulled multiple all-nighters to figure out where these stupid fucking texts were coming from. Portugal? No, once he got the IP number, once he narrowed all of that down it was very clear the calls were coming from inside the house. Which... wasn't surprising, and could have been where Ollie stopped after that. G was a student, but... he could narrow it down if he worked a little harder, for a few more days.
It actually didn't take too long, because not only did Ollie recognize the number as coming from Ogden... he recognized the number. Not to be weird and say he tracked the IP addresses of everyone he talked to, but... sometimes he was bored and he liked to see what people were doing. Especially someone he did not wholly get along with. But after sending a few texts back and forth over the past few days just to check and see how midterms were going (and if he was DTF), with no ulterior motives at all, it was confirmed to Ollie without a doubt.
G's IP address was the exact same as Milo's.
This sent Ollie into a few more days of digging into this, because that didn't make any sense at all. It just didn't gel with everything Ollie knew about Milo. G could not be Milo. Although... Milo and Greer had been really close... Was it possible? Ollie wasn’t the type to doubt information, but there were ways to fake this sort of thing. Had he missed something? And what was he supposed to do with this? Could he really go to Kit and Diego and tell them oh hey your bro is possibly G, or maybe even... working with Greer on this somehow? No! Who else was he supposed to talk to? He couldn't go tell Monty, who he usually told everything to. Monty hated Milo, and he could get extra bitchy when he hated someone. He couldn't go talk to Link, because he wasn't going to give him something like this. He couldn't just go talk to Milo, because what if he was wrong? ... What if he wasn't?
Obnoxiously early in the morning he paced the floor of his dorm trying to figure out what the fuck he was supposed to do. Until finally, with a deep sigh, he brought up his phone and sent a few texts.
To Mimi: i'm coming over
To Mimi: i need ur help it's important
[ the message I got from @ogdencollegerp just to keep it somewhere ]
How convenient that Kit told Ollie to look into the IP address of whoever was sending the G texts....and that he was willing to do it. Less convenient when after all that digging, the IP traces back to someone on the Ogden campus. Someone Ollie is hooking up with, even.
Yup, that's right - when Ollie traces the IP address the texts are coming from, it's going to lead him straight back to none other than Milo Navarro.
Ogden Spring Fling. Mid-way through the night. [ self para + for g sort of ]
By this time of the night it felt a little bit like Ollie was spending more time outside than inside. But he sat on a bench nearby the Spring Fling venue, feet resting up on the opposite side, and knees bent enough for him to rest his phone against his legs so he could scroll through his texts. He wasn't sober by any means, currently the vape in his hands that did not hold harmless grape flavored vapor was an indication of that, but he was as sober as he usually was so he couldn't write off the urge he was having as being a stupid drug induced urge. It had been something he'd been thinking about since his conversation with Link. He went back and forth, back and forth, back and forth if it was a good idea or not. Writing down what he wanted to say and deleting it about fifty times. But here he was again reading through their texts.
The hilarious thing was it had nothing to do with the vaguely ominous threat they'd sent him in response to his metaphorical middle finger he sent them and their game. It was just … guilt. Greer was his friend. That was what his mind kept going back to. Greer was his friend and something bad happened to her. Was he being too naive? Was he being too idealistic? Hoping that in all their fucked up methods G really was trying to uncover what happened? Maybe… Even probably, but that was what lead him to sitting on a bench outside of the Spring Fling and contemplating texting G. Leveling with them… a little bit anyway.
It wasn't the first time he'd texted them when they probably didn't want it, and certainly didn't ask for it. But, hey, if they knew him as much as they claimed to know everything about everyone there was no way they wouldn't have gone into this knowing he'd be a little bit annoying.
[ ↠ g ] hey
[ ↠ g ] i know you hate to see me coming but listen
[ ↠ g ] i do want to find greer. if someone did something to her i want them to have to deal with whatever comes from that. maybe i just need to make up patterns were there aren't any, and it's my own bullshit but it doesn't feel like it. and it feels like nobody but us cares and i'm going fucking insane.
[ ↠ g ] i'm not going to throw anybody under the bus just so you can fuck with us, and i wouldn't change my answer from before so it's all whatever
[ ↠ g ] but i do want to help
[ ↠ g ] and i'm sorry
And like with any even remotely risky text Ollie had the urge afterwards to throw his phone as far as he could across the quad. He resisted. Instead he took a deep breath, stood up, put his phone back into his pocket, and headed back inside maybe to find Monty, and cash in on the dance he was owed.
[ read Ollie's other interrogations: The Initial Sit Downs & First Interrogation ]
He was being advised not to say anything. From his parents ("Just don't say anything, Ollie" "Ollie I swear to fucking god…"). From Gabriel ("Ollie if you try and turn yourself in again you're not going to help Sam, you'll just end up in jail beside her"). From Sam's lawyer ("Mr. Inoue, at this point I'm begging you…"). Honestly if she could write to him right now, probably also from Sam. So, Ollie had a plan as he was called into the offices to speak with the detectives. Just sit there and not say anything. Tell them he was advised not to, sorry. He knew his rights. Sort of. He just had to remember that anything he said could not only be used against him, but against everyone.
Especially against Sam.
So, he took a deep breath that was supposed to be calming, plastered a polite (and very fake) smile on his face and pushed the door to the offices open, taking a seat at the table as he was directed by the detectives.
"It's nice to see you again Ollie," Agent Choi said, friendly and charming as ever. Ollie gave one of those tight lipped smiles, resting his elbows on the table and his cheek against the palm of his hand. "We're calling everyone in to just have a little talk. Help us try and figure out what is going on around here, and as you were so reliable last time, we thought you could bring us up to speed on what has been going on. Have you witnessed anything suspicious on campus over the past year and a half?"
There was a long pause before Ollie leaned forward in his chair slightly, speaking clearly. "I would like to remain silent."
The officers were the ones to stay silent after that, glancing between each other. As far as they knew Ollie had been so willing to help last time. Which wasn't true, but he was good at getting people to see what they wanted to see. He was good at being friendly, and well liked, and seeming to be helpful. That was what the Detectives saw last time. They had wasted all the fake good will Ollie could throw at them. He was done.
Agent Choi shared a look with his fellow FBI agents, before giving Ollie a sympathetic look. "I promise we're only here to help, Ollie. I understand there has been trouble with other students on campus but you're not in any danger here." They said, and Ollie set his jaw, teeth pinching together hard, as the Agent continued on. "Are you aware of any information about Greer Morrison that has come to light in the past year that you haven’t shared?“
He just glared at Agent Choi in response. God! He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have FBI agents here who were not dumb as shit. It took him everything to point out he'd already shared information with them. The Portugal flight. That'd been him and Parker, and they only knew because of them. Saying they could turn in any anonymous information, then turning around and saying if anyone knew who had found out that information should say something. Fuck them. Fuck that. He didn't know why he'd turn in anything else after that. He didn't know why he'd even tried in the first place.
He hated the cops.
Perhaps it was his death glare that prompted Agent Brown to step up and start speaking. Cutting the bullshit, perhaps, and asking what they really what to know. "Did you have any reason to suspect Greer Morrison was dead before this news came to light?"
Ollie's glare shifted over to Agent Brown instead. He was a talker. Ollie had always been naturally chatty. He liked to say things, he liked to get a word in, he liked to be the last one to say something. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever been through to not respond 'yeah no fucking shit'. Of course he had a reason to believe she was dead. As much as he didn't want to believe it. As much as he wanted to believe that she was off on some private island enjoying the tropical weather and hot people.
How could he not suspect? She'd been gone for a year and a half now and nobody knew anything? Yeah no fucking shit he had a reason to suspect she was dead.
"I don't understand why you're being so difficult, Ollie," Agent Choi said when it was apparent he was also not going to respond to Agent Brown's straight forwardness. "I thought you would want to help Greer. Can you clarify again what your relationship was like with her?"
Ollie leaned backwards in the seat, looking up at the ceiling in silence. His mouth puckered, thinking very very hard about steadying his breathing. Just don't let them get to you. Just don't say anything. They couldn't keep him here forever. He hadn't done anything wrong -- Well, yes, he had. But nothing that they knew about!
"How about the other victims there have been on Campus. Penelope Klein and Ida Clarke. People seem to love you, Ollie. You've been voted Homecoming King two years in a row, we've heard nothing but positive things from your peers. Were you friends with them as well?" Agent Choi asked, and Ollie couldn't fight the distressed expression that crossed his face, a moment of weakness the Agent jumped on. "You seem like you have a good heart, Ollie. If there is any connections you can give us between them…"
He turned his head away, eyebrows furrowing. The truth was that no, he hadn't been friends with either Penny, or Ida. Though it was more complicated than just that. Penny was annoying, but she didn't deserve what happened to her. He remembered seeing her body laying outside of the kitchen, limp in the snow at the Chateau. He saw it in his minds eye so often. And Ida… they used to be friends, they related on so many things. But … well it was complicated. Ida was a complicated person. She didn't deserve what happened to her either. She deserved to be out there learning how to become some sort of nefarious cult leader or whatever the fuck her plans for the future were.
Ollie felt his stomach churn when he thought about it. When he thought about how G's text at the end of last year implying it happened because that was what THEY wanted. Fuck them. And fuck these guys too.
“Okay," Agent Choi said, in a tone that was measured. Perhaps their patience was wearing thin. Good. "You don't want to speak about yourself. Could you perhaps help us clear up what Greer’s relationship was with Penelope Klein?”
For the first time that actually got a reaction from Ollie. Maybe his own patience was also wearing thin. He snorted. That's all. A laugh. No. He had no fucking idea what Greer's relationship with Penny had been. Wouldn't it be great if he did. Wouldn't it fill in some fucking blanks. They were on their own with that one, even if he had been saying anything. Instead Ollie just kept his eyes turned to the side, his head shaking in something of an annoyed and resigned way.
Once again Agent Brown cut in, speaking more harshly. "I'm confused Mr. Inoue. You seemed so helpful the last time we spoke. Unless you are hiding something, you have nothing to worry about." He spoke in a serious tone, standing up to perhaps seem larger and more intimidating as Ollie sat in front of him.
"There isn't anything you are hiding is there, Ollie?" Agent Choi asked, looking for all the world like they were attempting to be sympathetic. Like they wanted Ollie to admit he had nothing to do with anything and cooperate. Rat, or whatever. "Could you fill us in on where you were when Penelope Klein's body was found?"
"Why don't you ask Jesse's Dad? The Good Doctor paraded us all around asking a bunch of questions about that for his stupid fucking show." Ollie said, finally speaking up. Hey, he'd been as quiet as he could manage. He looked regretful immediately, and turned his head away.
The Detectives took this as a moment of weakness however, and continued with their questions.
“Perhaps we will," Agent Brown said, walking around to Ollie's side of the table to come into his field of view. Looking down at him with a stony look on his face. "And what about when Ida Clarke was found? Were you at the Commons the night of the fire? Do you know why students even were there when they should’ve been at the Commencement Gala?“
There was a loud CRACK as Ollie's hand slammed down onto the table in front of him. He hadn't meant to hit it so hard, or at all. He loosened his balled fist, and dug his nails into lacquer wood, his breath coming out in a short burst.
Agent Brown raised his eyebrows, and must have been smelling blood in the water as he pushed on. “Over the past year, have you gotten any anonymous messages? Any threatening ones? Or any with…leading information?”
"Fuck you," Ollie said very quietly glaring up at the Agent towering over him. Sam's lawyer's text lingering in the back of his mind. ("Whatever happens do not bad mouth the officers.") Whoops. His voice raised as he spoke again, "don't you fucking know already? Haven't you found all this shit? Isn't that one of the things you're charging Sam with? Or is it like you trying to pin Greer's disappearance, and Ida and Penny's death's on her-- just bullshit you're going to take away. Fuck you!"
"Okay," Agent Brown said leaning over Ollie, faux patience in his voice that made it sound more like sarcasm. "Why don't we talk about that then? Could you explain to us your relationship with Samantha Jimenez? You have been visiting her haven't you? You grew up together, I believe?"
"Fuck you!" Ollie said again, this time standing up so fast the chair he'd been sitting in toppled over behind him. The Agents stances became defensive, as Ollie backed off, his hands raising in a non aggressive manner. Agent Choi got to him first, coming up behind him, and placing a hand on his shoulder. Something that was supposed to be placating, whilst being close enough to be able to subdue if necessary. But Ollie wasn't here to fight, or a raise a hand to a fucking cop. He wasn't an idiot.
Or maybe he was.
"Calm down, Ollie. We understand you and Samantha were friends, but--"
"Fuck you," Ollie said again, through his clenched teeth, forcing himself to take a deep breath, and speak clearly again. "Am I being detained?" He asked, his head turning to look at Agent Choi. He looked between them, and Agent Brown, and Agent Murray, silent over in her corner.
"No," Agent Choi said with a sigh.
"Then please take your hand off of me so I can go," he said, and they did that. He pulled away and walked as fast as he could to the door slamming it behind him. His entire body shaking as he walked out. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck….
Time & Location: The first couple of weeks of summer break; NYC
Featuring: Ollie Inoue & Gabriel Jiménez.
Also mentions: @montyrichler @samjimcnez & Ollie's parents
Ollie never slept too well. Being with Monty usually helped a lot. Just being around him calmed him down most of the time, but even these past couple weeks had been rough that Ollie found himself awake before the sun even started cresting over the surrounding buildings of his street. He flopped around a few times in discontent before he wrapped his arms tightly around Monty's waist, curling against him and glaring out the window as the sun slowly rose minute by minute. Realizing any more sleep was just not going to happen, Ollie huffed in annoyance, and pressed a kiss to Monty's temple before climbing out of bed. He grabbed his pencil case, and instead of just laying around went out on the fire escape to smoke a joint. A much more pleasing activity if you were to ask him.
He sat outside watching the early risers. People going to work, people getting up to do shopping, a couple of joggers. He watched as Sam's grandpa left the building glancing up in Ollie's direction and giving him a wave, to come back twenty minutes later with plastic bags of groceries from the bodega. He called up to Ollie, "come eat breakfast with me."
Soon Ollie was sat in the small Jiménez kitchen, a spicy sausage an egg roll in his hand, while Gabriel Jiménez sat down across from him with a ham and swiss. They ate in a heavy silence that wasn't completely amicable, holding too much tension from the past couple of weeks for that.
It wasn't until they were both done eating that Gabriel spoke up, asking a simple, "how are you doing?"
"Me?" Ollie asked, his tone dry like he wasn't the one someone should be worried about here.
"Yes, you."
He stayed silent for a while, leg jiggling under the table as he fiddled with the sandwich paper in front of him. Crinkling it between his fingers as he folded it neatly. Again, and again, and again until it was too small to fold anymore.
"What are you thinking, Ollie?"
He snorted, and had to toss his head back in an unamused laugh. "Everything, all the time." He shook his hair out of his face with a grimace. "I think that's the problem most of the time. I wish it would stop, sometimes."
"Hm," Gabriel said quietly. "People who think too much cause themselves problems, people who think too little cause everyone else problems."
"Luckily I can do both," Ollie cut in, the both of them getting half hearted sort of laughs. "I think I might go talk to the police."
"About what?" There is another heavy silence between the two of them as they share a look. Ollie didn't answer but his intentions seemed to be clear enough. "You know Sam would not want you to try and take the fall for her on this. You know how that would make her feel."
"Do her feelings really fucking matter right now? She's in jail. Do you know what the charges could come out to be? Life, if not literally at least practically. And even if not her life will be fucking ruined. She doesn't deserve that!" Despite what his friends may have told him, what was he supposed to do? Just sit around and be okay with Sam taking the fall for all this shit that she didn't do? Even if she did do it, did she deserve this? In Ollie's opinion she was the least deserving person of this at Ogden. And there was something that was currently curdling in him for his peers as no one else stepped up and admitted to having a hand in any of this. Maybe Sam had started the fire, maybe he could believe that. But everything else? Someone else was to blame. For Ida. For Penny. For Greer. For the stupid fucking texts. And everyone was okay with Sam rotting for it?
Not him.
"Are you and your boy leaving soon?"
"Oh," Ollie looked up, looking confused at what seemed like such a question pulling him out of his thoughts. "I mean I guess so. I think so. It's just … I don't know. I think we meant to but there's a lot going on around here, so I don't know." He blinked a few times at the man in front of him. "Are you telling me to get out of here?" He asked, half joking.
"Yes."
"What?"
"You should go," Gabriel said, "get out there and enjoy yourself." He stopped speaking after that. Something weak about the statement that said there was something more to it. Ollie stayed silent, looking intently at the old man, clearly waiting for him to continue. "I understand that things are very hard for you, most of the time, Ollie. We all worry about you so much, you know? Your parents, me, Samantha…"
"What are you talking about?"
He's silent again for a while, pressing his lips into a thin line. "You remind me a lot of my son."
"Uh…" Ollie said, eyes blinking a few times as the words sink in. In all honesty he didn't know Sam's dad that well, though they'd interacted a few times. A skinny tweaker, a shell of a man, someone who could not hold down a job, someone who was like a haunted presences when he was around. Someone who let those around him down constantly, despite Sam having so much faith that he would hold to his promises whenever he made them. "Ouch? That's not good…"
"Why do you think so?" Gabriel asked, and Ollie furrowed his eyebrows shaking his head a little, unsure how to answer that. "He was a very good kid who struggled a lot in ways I could never help him with, he still does. I failed him as a father, as much as he failed Samantha. Now I watch your parents, and you - and it's like I'm watching the same thing all over again. I know they won't say anything to you, they've struggled a lot more as parents than I think you realize, so I don't know if they think they have a right to speak to you about your problems. But they love you so much. We all do--"
"What is this an intervention?" Ollie asked, with a disbelieving laugh.
"No," Gabriel said, with a sigh, "and I understand how much you want to help. I know you love Samantha, so much, but what you are thinking of is not helping. I think you would be more helpful if you were not here."
"If I wasn't here…?"
"I don't trust you not to do something that will make things worse," Gabriel stated, before his face became pained, "I don't think you trust yourself either, and that is what scares me the most."
Ollie felt his eyes stinging a little, blinking rapidly a few times before he shook his head. "I want to help..."
"I know that you do."
"I just…." He shook his head more, as Ollie attempted to force the words he wanted to say out of his mouth. "It's not fair, is it? That she's in jail having done nothing wrong in her entire fucking life, and I'm…" His words caught in his throat, and his hands clenched into fists. "How can I just be okay with sitting here? How is any of this fair at all? She didn't do anything!"
"It doesn't matter whether it's fair or not," Gabriel said sharply, a sad look on his face, reaching over at taking Ollie's hand. "It is what it is. And it's not about you,-"
"Oh, fuck you."
"-and with the state you seem to be in, currently, you're more likely to hurt us, than help us. Your parents aren't going to say anything, so I will. You need to leave, Ollie. Get yourself together, come back when you're thinking clearly. Come back when you're ready to be the clever young man we know you can be. When you can actually help us."
Ollie snorted, and tossed the paper from his sandwich into the nearby trashcan, before nodding. "Right. Got it. I'll just fuck off then." He muttered standing up, without allowing Gabriel to get another word in before he was storming out the door, and back into his own family's apartment. Ignoring the surprised greetings from his parents who were now milling about the apartment, and into his bedroom slamming the door behind him. He tossed himself back onto his bed, once again curling around Monty, and burying his face in his neck for a few moments. The words from Sam's grandpa spinning around in his head over and over again. But he was right, wasn't he? Probably the most right anyone had ever really been about Ollie. Ollie didn't trust himself to not do something that would hurt Sam, more than it would help her case. It was like practically everything that came from his mouth was something he knew he should not say. He knew…
"Hey," he said, lifting his head up to look at his boyfriend a bit of a weary smile on his face, "let's get out of here, okay? I'm ready for this road trip"
Ollie has gone back and logged any journal entries from his bullet journal from the time, as well as thoughts he has currently along with news articles, or other info people have given him, and texts sent to him (and relivant self paras/tasks).
start of school (08/23/22)
any significant journal entries
N/A
any follow up thoughts about the time
we knew nothing of g at the time
no greer tho but I figured she just was on some kinda vacation or whatever
homecoming (09/03/22)
any significant journal entries
all hail the king, baby
any follow up thoughts about the time
I mean obviously weird that Greer was voted hoco queen when we all knew she was not here and there were rumors that she was missing.
I remember being up on stage and the person announcing it was really weirded out and maybe a little hesitant idk I was really high.
Why didn’t the Dean or anyone in authority just like fucking ... not allow that to happen lmao wtf
I think this was the first message from G but I think we all thought at the time G = Greer
first interrogations (09/04/22)
any significant journal entries
fuck the police
IC TASK 001
any follow up thoughts about the time
fuck the police
fuck attempting to be sober
OGDEN STUDENT OFFICIALLY DECLARED AS A MISSING PERSON AS THE SEARCH FOR GREER MORRISON CONTINUES
Greer Morrison, a junior at the prestigious Ogden College in New Hampshire, has officially been declared a missing persons case, with the FBI starting their search at the Ogden campus this weekend. While her contact with family and friends abated over the summer, sources say her apparent travel plans made that a likely possible. However, with classes having resumed last week and Greer not returning to her studies, the Morrison family reported her missing after the school contacted them.
first letters (09/18/22)
any significant journal entries
weird shit happening
[gm] u okay?
any follow up thoughts about the time
I think this is when things started to get really weird but it wasn’t like ... too overly weird ig.
Greer could have been just fucking with us still.
follow up interrogations (09/28/22)
any significant journal entries
fuck the police
any follow up thoughts about the time
idr anything coming of this beyond the nate/jesse drama tbh
a bunch of bullshit. the police are really out here giving us nothing.
power outage (10/01/22)
any significant journal entries
fun!
[gm] was that u babes???
self para
any follow up thoughts
I saw greer?
maybe
there is no fucking way that greer is just around and nobody has seen her. not now and not then. it doesn’t make any sense. but like ... idk bro.
after the outage (10/02/22)
any significant journal entries
wonder what was taken
[ap] did someone over hear me talking to alethea .........
whoops
any follow up thoughts
still wonder what the fuck was taken and what came of that????? was it G trying to find more dirt?
idk how or why G knew my conversation with alethea but they DID?? they sent me a text about it at the pool party. so they were there.
but they can’t be everywhere at once tho. hm.
casino night (10/08/22)
any significant journal entries
fun!
any follow up thoughts
idk I was just hanging out w my parents the whole time
gossip blast & G’s texts I did not care about at the time
among the glitz and glamour of the night…
some of you have been hitting the jackpot while others burn holes in their pockets, but the lack of greer morrison’s presence can’t help but hover over the events of the night. some of you are GAMBLING like you have nothing to lose, but you could not be more wrong.
remember the blackout last week? at LEAST two of you were whispering in the dark hours of that night how easy it would be to break into rooms in the school. is that how you spent your night? i guess that would explain why the police notes went missing. now we know what all of you SAID – the truths, the lies, the secrets. what we can deduce from the stolen notes is that the police believe this was very likely a RUNAWAY case. and that’s all there is to it at this time. but even if our GOLDEN GIRL did leave on her own accord, there was a REASON…
PERHAPS the reason has something to do with the fact that there wasn’t just one sneaky link greer had on the side….and they weren’t just men. and that certainly wasn’t the only secret she was keeping. she had secrets that were quite literally LIFE AND DEATH. or maybe she is just taking a moment…biding her time planning revenge on those of you who were trying to get her to do something, be it a break-up, an ultimatum, or maybe just not spilling the secret that you mistakenly shared.
just remember, secrets don’t stay secrets for very long here. soon enough, we’ll all know why she left, so you may want to hold your CARDS close to your chests. xoxo ...
G: YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE PLAYED YOUR CARDS RIGHT TONIGHT….BUT I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU’VE DONE.
G: AND DON’T WORRY…THAT INCLUDES EVERYTHING YOU DIDN’T TELL THE COPS.
G: ACTUALLY, I GUESS THAT MEANS YOU SHOULD WORRY… XX
they were extra at the time and they’re still extra that’s all we know for sure
looks like they did take something but like what tho. what was found in the school or police records? hm.
greer’s birthday (10/25/22)
any significant journal entries
fun!
ok so who the fuck is g?
[gm] hope ur okay babes ....
any follow up thoughts
still fun lmao but how fucked up bro
I think this is when things started hitting me how fucked up things were and that this G person really was out here just to fuck with us for fun.
still no greer I think that’s probably the last time I thought maybe it was possible she might show up some time out of the blue
the texts I got sent blackmailing me into planning this party
g [1:27 AM]: you didn’t think the 25th was just gonna arrive with no celebrating, right? well…._i think you’re just the person to throw a party for me. even though we both know there’s a guest who won’t make it. besides me, that is. but you wouldn’t dare to tell anyone the _truth about that, would you?
anyways! give it your best, babes. and don’t worry, you won’t be doing it alone. boathouse. 2 am. tomorrow. xx
no thank you texts smh
the texts I got at the party mentioning they knew the things I said to alethea during the blackout
g: you mentioned on the night of the blackout that it’d be easy to break into school buildings, and now we know that someone did just that. would you dare to prove it to us all that you know what you’re talking about?
g: break into a school building and bring a little souvenir back from your heist to show off at the party. don’t worry, you’ll have an accomplice xx
halloween (10/31/22)
any significant journal entries
fun!
fucked up
what the fuck
there’s a lot to unpack here
IC task 002
any follow up thoughts
okay so I’m just going to log all the notes I’ve seen, and heard from other people here just to keep them all in one easy to find place.
there are likely more out there that I’ve not heard about I wonder how many
Mine
FLIGHT 1728, NYC > PORTUGAL, JUNE 5, 2022
Parker’s
FLIGHT 1920 PORTUGAL > NYC AUGUST 29, 2022
Monty’s
THERE ARE MORE LETTERS EXPLAINING EVERYTHING.
Link’s
after the accident, I’m trying to keep reminding myself of what [redacted] last august. [redacted] is dead. at least [redacted] and I didn’t kill anyone.
Milo’s
MAY 2022
god, it’s so fucked. [redacted] knows about the accident. obviously, but…[redacted] it wasn’t me driving, since i let [redacted] drive that night.
Jesse’s
MAY 2022
this week has been the fucking worst. first [redacted], now [redacted]? motherfuckers are jealous and [redacted]. i can’t do it anymore. i just can’t.
IMPORTANT NOTES
Link has Milo’s little journal piece
Link promised he wouldn’t tell anybody about the one he has. Hopefully.
I showed Mari pictures of the ones I remembered to take pictures of (Mine, and Milo’s, and Parker’s) and she Milo’s was (probably) from Greer’s journal.
fake G (early-mid nov)
any significant journal entries
I hate technology
computers are dumb
oh I think I found sm
SELF PARA
no
like just no it doesn’t make sense
[mn] ?????
[mn] okay so the plan is ... just go ask and he’ll say no and it’ll be normal
[mn] prick
[mn] I hate him
[mn] I hope his life gets ruined
[mn] I hate him
[mn] I should just tell everyone. like I won’t but I should.
it still feels wrong tho right?
but how could it be wrong tho?
fuck
I hate technology
any follow up thoughts
I just need to know HOW
did G hire people to do all this?
like there’s no way they just ... out did me on this right? I looked SO FUCKING HARD.
I worked SO FUCKING HARD
I checked SO MANY TIMES
What the fuck happened? What did I do wrong?
Fuck G
also I still hate technology
second letters (11/27/22)
N/A (ollie does not know about any of these but just to keep track of all plot events I’m adding it in here)
time capsule leaks (12/12/22)
any significant journal entries
IC TASK 003
[g-] oh you bitch
fuck me
fuck me
no it’s fine it’s cool just be normal it’ll be fine.
any follow up thoughts
not really tbh
G is a bitch
Honestly the fact that the news did not pick up on the fact that nude videos of ppl were leaked FROM A SCHOOL is kinda shitty
bet you anything the dean has done everything he could to cover it up
if anything this seemed petty as hell g what gives????????
post time capsule leaks (12/14/22)-(12/16/22)
any significant journal entries
[kk] there’s no way kit was juicing lmao what???
[kk] monty didn’t know about this either??? a little offensive bro
fuck the police
kinda shitty the cops are taking credit for the information parker & I gave them lmao
cops seem to at the moment trust me so at least I don’t have to worry about that
IC TASK 004
[g-] fuck off bitch
any follow up thoughts
texts from G I was sent immediately after the interrogation
g: well, it looks like the cops sure trust you. let’s not get into the merits of whether or not they should, and instead let’s figure if i should. or if greer morrison should.
g: did greer ever mention wanting to go to the cops over anything?
g: think…stalkers, fights, issues with drugs. anything like that ring a bell?
g: think about it. even try to figure it out. what you do with that info? well, i guess that’ll let us know if the cops were right for believing what you said.
I still haven’t heard anything about any of this
idk dude
fuck G
new years eve (01/01/23)
any significant journal entries
( a full journal entry written after getting home from from the trip )
Everything is so fucked up. I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m losing my mind and that everything just keeps spiraling more and more out of control and I can’t do anything to stop it. Every single day gets worse. I feel like I’m suffocating underneath everything. I literally feel like I cannot breathe. I can’t sleep, I haven’t been able to sleep in weeks. I feel like I’m on the cusp of a panic attack every single moment of every single day. And now this. I can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t stop thinking about seeing Penny’s dead body and I don’t even know if that was her fucking dead body or not but does it matter at this point? And that girl was covered in so much blood. And nobody will tell us anything going on. All I’m hearing on the news is that it was an accident. But fuck that. What the fuck are they going to say happened she tripped and fell and all of her blood left her body? Was she attacked by a wild animal and nobody heard anything. Me and Milo weren’t even that far away!
It makes me feel sick every single time I think about it. Like there is this horrible gnawing sensation in my stomach that keeps growing and growing and soon I’ll just be like nothing. I’ll be empty. And what happens then? How the fuck are any of us supposed to deal with this? My sanity is like being held on by a thread, and most of that weight is being carried by Monty right now, and that’s so fucking unfair of me. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel like I’m not a constant burden. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel like I’m not just dragging him down every single time we talk. But I ... I need him. And I love him. And he knows now. Everything. Most things. And he’s still here and I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about that.
Anyway. I feel like giving up on all of this bullshit. I’ve tried so hard ... and come so far ... and in the end it never even mattered. lmao I’m sorry... I’m serious though. But then there is the other hand where like ... Have I ever been able to let something go? Have I ever known when to stop? I’m so fucking tired. It’s constant. What the fuck am I supposed to do about this? By why is that on any of us?
any follow up thoughts
lmao yikes
after getting back to school Link told me when he and Mari went to find her dad at the staff chalet nobody was there. and what the fuck is that even supposed to mean?? idfk
penny’s memorial (01/22/23)
any significant journal entries
rip penny the dnd group was better without you but the school is not
g implied what happened to penny was not accident, that it had something to do with secrets she knew. like come on ... what the fuck
any follow up thoughts
the text G sent
G: IT’S NOT ACCIDENT THAT THIS IS WHAT PENNY’S SECRETS BOUGHT HER
G: NOW IT’S TIME TO FIND OUT WHAT YOURS ARE WORTH
any follow up????? idk .....
some news (02/02/23)
any significant journal entries
embarrassing that the news is days behind the leaks we’re getting
penny knew why greer left OR did she know who was responsible for it
the dean????????
any follow up thoughts
the article
UPDATE IN SEARCH FOR MISSING OGDEN COLLEGE STUDENT
Though it has been months of the investigation team believing that Greer Morrison fled from Ogden College willingly, recent updates have led to the belief that she may have been chased off, and that there are people out there who know why. In fact, an unnamed source has reported that they overheard the student who came to her tragic demise on a school trip, Penelope Klein, saying that she knew why Greer Morrison left only shortly before her death. In addition an anonymous source provided information about flights she may have taken out of the country last spring, though the flight returning to the states has no proof of her actually being on it. This lead has been investigation, and it has returned no further information about Greer’s whereabouts.
We have also learned that the time capsule video of Greer had not been kept in the files where the rest of the students were when officers originally looked, and when leaked, it contained damning information on several students - like the allegation of her then boyfriend using steroids. This claim was corroborated when his room was searched previously this semester, leading to his expulsion. With all of this information coming to light, it has been confirmed Penelope Klein’s death is being investigated as a murder. Greer Morrison is still considered missing, and she may be aware of sensitive information. Any additional leads will be reported.
I still think it was the dean
heartbreaker social (02/17/23)
any significant journal entries
fuck g
what was the point of that?
fucking bitch
any follow up thoughts
how the fuck did g see our valentines?? so they were there or someone was there who was doing this for them.
G’s valentine to me
roses are red, lonely hearts are blue give me a dirty little secret and maybe i'll give you a clue it doesn't have to be yours, but it should be good and if you can't deliver....i could
My texts in response
( redacted )
the heart of the matter (03/18/23)
any significant journal entries
IC TASK 005
jesse’s dad sucks
I’m fucking onto you and the fucking dean
truly do not trust a single thing that comes out of either of these men’s mouths
"Come on, bro..." Ollie was fairly desensitized to horror, at best. You drop your fair share of acid and go on a few bad trips a haunted house isn't really going to terrify you all that much. So, the guy in charge of sending people in the front door dressed up as some sort of bloody ghost telling him to put out his joint for some reason was just not doing it for him. It could be the 'telling him to put out his joint' thing.
"Some of the residents that linger in this location are very old. We wouldn't want to set fire to their clothes, would we?"
He rolled his eyes, "yeah, yeah, I get it," Ollie muttered, reaching over and ashing out his joint on the side of the building. "Can I go now?"
"Do you want a bracelet?"
"Nah. Thanks, but I'm hoping someone kills me," Ollie said, holding his hand up and waving towards the guy over his shoulder as he made his way into the haunted house.
The thing most people learned about Haunted Houses when they were younger was that the more scared you were, the more they were supposed to scare you. But if you didn't act scared at all, the more they were going to try to scare you. A lot of attempts were made as Ollie strolled through the darkened hallways, most at least elicited a flinch, and a laughed 'oh fuck you' reaction from him as he continued casually forward. He lingered in the weird chain hallway, hand reaching up and tugging on one of the chains, letting his fingers curl between the links before he was grabbed and tugged towards the wall. Some whispered threat of wrapping the chain around his neck gaining a lot more interest from him than it really should have. "Damn dude, what time do you get off work?" He heard a tsk in the back of the guy's throat, either in admonishment, or amusement Ollie didn't know, but he did let him go after that. Too bad.
After more casual wandering around the place, attempting to find his way out, Ollie eventually pulled his phone out, to use his flashlight. None of the spooky lighting really doing much for him, at least not doing much to help him find his way out. He was pretty sure he passed that creepy funhouse mirror shit at least three times. They really needed to take account of someone being stoned going through this place, it was like a maze. He'd have to complain to Mari about it, or something later. He made his way over towards a wall with a bunch of missing person's posters on it, he dragged his light along them with mild interest. How edgy. A thoughtful noise coming from his mouth before he turned his phone and took a selfie in front of them. "Nice..." Ollie laughed to himself as he continued onwards.
About ten minutes after that, Ollie was getting the feeling he was never going to get out of here, and resorted to opening every door he managed to come across in attempts to find the exit. Once again, with mild interest, his light dragged over the threatening 'ur next' (great movie) written on one of them, before he pushed it open to look inside.
"Would you like to give us a review?" Another bloody looking ghost asked as he exited the haunted house, about ten more minutes later. Ollie was already flicking his lighter on to light the joint he put back between his lips.
"Oh, yeah, sure," he said, taking one of the cards, "five out of five on yelp. Would recommend. Great job, and all of that. A little confusing to get through, but someone inside was nice enough to help me find the way out."
"That's great, thanks for the feedback!" The spooky ghost called to his retreating back, as Ollie finally made his way into the party.
