Alex stared back at Misha as she answered his question as to how she knew about the amulet, somewhat surprised by the information that the thing had actually glowed. Or the jewel part of it, rather. On one hand, he wondered if it was the lights in the room playing tricks. Or just the situation being crazy in general. But at the same time, he didn't really question her. Both cause he knew Misha and while she was very good at acting--when she was actually motivated to anyway for the sake of a good prank on him--she was genuinely freaked out by the trinket in his hand. But also because he had remembered how uncomfortable it felt around his neck earlier when he had first put it on, as well as the weird shivers he felt. Before he hadn't really paid attention and just thought the amulet was too oddly shaped or the weight felt off that it was simply uncomfortable to wear. But now...
He continued to glance at the amulet with wary interest, turning it over in his hand. It felt safe to assume so far that it was responsible for what had just happened with his 'recovery'; most of the signs seemed to be pointing towards it. Bright red glowing, creepy voices, shivers, and unexplainable healing abilities... It was like experiencing something out of a supernatural horror film, and he honestly didn't have a clue how to respond to any of it. It was so far beyond what he was used to. Though he didn't want to make Misha's nerves higher than they already were either and so he attempted to reassure her. Though it only seemed to cause the redhead to shoot him unamused looks in his direction.
"YOU are making me go insane," she protested, her expression causing a genuine smile to appear on the ravenhaired's lips. "Just... stop putting random crap on your body and then doting on others when Satan tries to steal your soul, okay? Jesus, you're insufferable."
Alex let out a light laugh at her final comment, his brown eyes glancing over at her with a knowingly humored expression. "And yet you still put up with me anyway," he replied teasingly as he nudged her playfully in the side, his face softening slightly at the thought. "But got it. No more cosplaying freaky voodoo objects." It wasn't something he was looking forward to doing again anyway; he liked not hearing creepy voices that sounded like their Wicked Witch instructor, thank you. Though at Misha's next question, he gave a shrug, his lips pursing slightly in thought.
"To be honest, I'm not even sure what to think anymore," he answered with a small frown, his face falling a bit at the weight of everything happening as he lowered his gaze towards the object in his hands. "I don't like any of it either. But it's at least a step closer towards figuring out what all this supernatural stuff means." Maybe, he went on to add inwardly, biting the inside of his cheek in uncertainty. She was right after all; they didn't know what else it could do. And their current theory was already chilling enough without more stuff being added onto it.
However his thoughts were interrupted as he saw Misha move from out of the corner of his eye, her hand reaching over towards his forehead before pressing gently against it. It was like she was checking him for a fever, and he instinctively raised an eyebrow towards her, an inquisitive expression on his face. Does she think I'm sick or something? he wondered, his face expressing his words silently. He honestly felt fine... much better than he should feel really. And he was sure he had heard those voices and everything else that happened. Or did I? he continued to ask himself as he bit the inside of his cheek. ...Shit, this is so confusing.
Continuing to study his best friend's face as she lowered her hand away, their eyes met for a brief moment and in them Alex could tell she was extremely wary and confused by everything, too. It was like the lines between reality and fiction were blurring and meshing together and it all but sent the ravenhaired reeling, trying to make sense of even a fraction of it. He didn't have a clue how any of this stuff connected, other than the fact all of it seemed to pose a serious threat of some sort and deal with creepy elements like voices and invisible attacks... It was a true test against their sanity. And he didn't really trust what he was holding in his hand any more than Misha did - not one bit.
But on the off-chance that maybe they were connected and this was a piece of the puzzle as to what was going on around there, perhaps it was worth the risk of holding onto the junky voodoo object a little longer.
He just honestly wished that he knew what was the better choice right now.
"Just whatever you do, try to be careful, okay?" Misha continued after a reluctant sigh, her copper eyes meeting his in a serious expression. He could tell she meant it, and he slowly nodded his head in agreement, his brown eyes never leaving hers as if in a silent promise. "At the very least don't put it on out of the blue like that until we're sure how it works."
"No worries there," he replied back with a short chuckle, rolling his eyes in emphasis as he slipped the necklace into his free pants pocket. No way was he risking wearing that thing around his neck again. "Can't say I'm much of a fan anyway."
Glancing over at her with a small smirk, Alex noticed her gaze was averted towards the door of the student council room. And at her suggestion for them to head back, he gave a reluctant nod of his head. "Probably a good idea," he replied back with a sigh. Even if I wish it was otherwise... He didn't like the thought of going back in the room he'd gotten attacked in. Even more so considering Ryan was still in there, though he knew it was probably for the best. The asshole was already a hazard to himself and he didn't wanna deal with more people getting hurt.
But as he moved to leave, he was stopped in his tracks as Misha interrupted him and reached into her jacket pocket. He looked over at her curiously, his eyes shifting towards her hand. And when she pulled out Drei's phone, he found his face falling slightly as she slowly held it out towards him. "Maybe you should have this," she said quietly, looking as uncomfortable as she sounded as the ravenhaired's gaze shifted between the device and her eyes. "You were closer to him than I was, anyway. He probably would want you to keep it... until he's back."
Alex swallowed hard and shook his head, his hand remaining by his side as his gaze rose towards her eyes. "No, it's okay," he replied back with a small smile. "You keep it. I have my pockets full anyway." He chuckled under his breath as he raised his hands slightly in indication, his eyes glancing towards where he currently had stored the amulet and his own phone before meeting her eyes again. In truth, even without his jacket that had dropped him down a couple spaces as far as room went (cause in no way was he going to retrieve it now that it was currently being used as a blood rag), he still had some room to carry Drei's phone. But as he looked at her, noticing how reluctant and uncomfortable she was with letting the device go, it wasn't a hard choice for him to make. She needed that piece of their friend with her... more than he did anyway. And he wasn't going to take away that from her.
However, his thoughts were quickly shifted as she continued explaining about the video she had shown him earlier... as well as more details surrounding Drei's death. The latter comment immediately had the ravenhaired frowning, a look of confusion and worry on his face. "'Didn't do it'? Didn't do what?" he asked her quietly, though it seemed like Misha didn't know the answer to that either as she went on explaining while he listened silently.
"Peyton said he might be... hiding something," she continued, her eyes rising to meet his once more. "And I don't want to believe it, and I know you don't want to either, but... I even came to think he might have been the one to send those texts and have faked his own death as a joke. I don't believe that anymore, but... something is clearly going on. Andrei freaked the hell out over 'something', Madonna is hurt, and now you've started hearing Miss Kishi. I'm afraid something might be going on with the school staff, and, honestly..."
She trailed off, though her unspoken words showed clear on her face without her having to finish them. And Alex immediately found himself agreeing with her. It was weird, the fact that Miss Kishi's voice had been the one to come through to him when it was also her script that he had found the amulet in in the first place. And now with this new information about Andrei and surrounding his phone... It was hard to take. But it definitely left a lot of questions in his mind. There was so many connections that kept popping up between all the insane stuff that had been happening ever since the earthquake... not to mention the earthquake itself. And it all made the weird, unsettling feeling in his gut feel that much more valid as he crossed his arms over his chest in a somewhat frustrated matter, wondering to himself what the hell was going on too.
"I'm freaked out about it too," he admitted quietly, his brows furrowing as he dropped his gaze. "There's... actually something I didn't mention to you before. When we were trying to help Miss Truman, there was a voice that spoke to me, right before I was strangled. It wasn't any voice I recognized, and it honestly didn't even sound human. But... it told me not to save her. Said that she wasn't worth saving. I didn't really think much about it before but-" He paused for a moment, one of his hands rubbing along his arm as if to try and alleviate the chilling memory from his mind before he met her eyes again, his voice continuing. "...I think you may be right. I think something really weird is going on and it somehow involves all the adults that were there with us at the school. As much as I hate to admit it..."
He let out a regretful sigh and lowered his gaze for a moment, his mind racing. He had an ominous feeling in his gut about all of it. He didn't think Drei did something wrong; he honestly couldn't. The guy was one of his best friends. And sure he had his vices like anyone, but he refused to think that he had done something horrible. Or at least... not on purpose. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that something bigger was going on. And that Andrei might have gotten himself thrown into the mix somehow. Just like they all had for being there at the school that day...
Glancing over towards a different spot in the room, Alex's eyes eventually settled on the door and he suddenly felt a stronger urge to check in on their principal. If something really did want her dead, he couldn't help but be worried about having Ryan in there with her or leaving her alone in general. She was already extremely injured, and the ravenhaired had a feeling that their anonymous texter--and possibly the same 'person' that had told him to let her die--was responsible. And that thought alone was chilling enough. But why would they specifically target her, unless there was a reason behind it. Unless whatever it was had a vendetta against her or saw her as a threat. And if that's the case, he thought, his eyes shifting over towards Misha, maybe the principal has some of the answers as to what's going on around here...
"We better get going," he breathed out in a somewhat urgent and resolved tone, motioning for Misha to follow him as he started walking over towards the doorway. He made it to the threshold, his hand touching the doorknob, before he stopped and turned his body around to face her. Though as his brown eyes suddenly locked on to hers, he felt his chest instantly tighten as several thoughts raced to the forefront of his mind in a single breath, causing a rather shy expression to form on his face. It was like in that split second, there were so many things he wanted to say to her then, and yet no way to say them or any idea of how to. He wanted to apologize for not leaving drama class sooner, to tell her he was sorry... He wanted to tell her to be careful and keep herself safe, too. But there were other things too; things he wasn't sure he really wanted to say...
And so he merely let out a short chuckle and averted his eyes as he turned and opened the door, glancing back over his shoulder towards the redhead. "Just try not to get into any trouble either. Okay, Cha-cha?" he teased her, his previously shy expression now replaced with his all-too-familiar smirk. Ignoring the pressing feelings in his chest, he exited the room and headed off down the corridor towards the classroom, trying his best to take the lead so as his friend couldn't see the red in his cheeks while the other words and feelings he felt remained unspoken.
