true colors - jb & ag 《completed》

{eleven}

Justin accepted the sandwich with a solemn nod, seeing it for what it was—a peace offering. Ariana had never liked sharing her food. She'd always hated when he'd steal a chip off her plate or taste what she'd ordered at a restaurant. It wasn't that she was selfish; she'd just always thought of sharing food as unsanitary.

After gulping down the turkey on wheat in three bites, he asked, "Who do you think sent the message? Maybe it's the same person who set me up to take the fall. Tell me the exact return address."

"I have no idea what the address was." Ariana shrugged as a soft breeze blew waves of hair across her cheeks.

His mouth suddenly dry, Justin snapped, "Then how do you know it was anonymous?"

She grasped the stray strands and tucked them behind her ear before rolling her eyes. "It was a series of letters and numbers."

"Why didn't you write it down?" he accused, his tone harsher than he'd intended.

Ariana sat up straight, her shoulders rigid. "Oh, I don't know . . . I might have been a tad bit distracted by the threating nature of the picture and the actual message." Her cheeks flushed magenta and her dark eyes flashed. "It was on the screen for like ten seconds tops."

Justin gripped the edge of the wood slab in front of him. "Then how the h—"

Lisa slapped her palm on the table with a loud whap. "Chill ou' you 'wo!" She shook her head and then spoke more slowly. "I mean if you two could stop bickering like old ladies, maybe we could figure this out." Her eyes flickered shut and she pressed the ice pack tighter to her face.

Ariana's brow furrowed as she reached over and squeezed Lisa's free hand. "Hey, are you all right?"

"I'll be fine. Just stop already."

"Okay, okay." Ariana took a deep breath and then turned to Justin. "I don't remember the exact address, but it appeared random."

He nodded and asked, "Do you use that app a lot?"

"No, never." She pursed her lips. "Except . . ."

Justin's gaze lingered on her pink mouth for several seconds before he forced his eyes away and shifted on the bench, his skin suddenly too warm. "Wait, what did you say?"

With an impatient jerk, Ariana flicked her bangs off her forehead. "I said, the only people who have my Snapchat address were in a small group with me last year."

"Who was in the group?"

The color drained from her face, and Justin straightened his spine as she listed the names. "Chad Richards, Isaiah Kagawa, Brayden Martin, and Penelope Lunarian."

"Does Chad still live on his own planet?" The kid Justin remembered had been an introvert to the extreme. It wasn't that no one liked him; he just didn't care what anyone thought. Unless you were willing to talk video games or old Godzilla movies, he wasn't interested.

Ariana nodded. "Yep."

Justin sucked in a deep breath. The other three were a different story. Isaiah and Brayden had both been at the falls the day Daniel died.

Before he could ask, Ariana supplied, "Penelope and Colin have dated off and on for the last four years."

"Are they on or off right now?"

"Very publicly off." Ariana glanced at the time on her phone and began to pack up what was left of her lunch. "First day of school, Penelope caught him in the janitor's closet with one of the girls from the soccer team. She flipped out and threatened to cut off his, um . . . you know . . . his part." She jerked her gaze away from his and focused on screwing the cap back on her water bottle.