CHAOS THEORY.
LIES OF OMISSION.

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February 2015

With her arms still wrapped around Matt's waist, Willow closed her eyes. Things had been quiet for a bit since Chris and Josh left to go find a way into the house so that they could melt the lock and actually let everyone in.

Willow was sure everyone was starting to get cold, but she still felt fine with all of her layers and Matt's body warmth. She glanced at the door.

Sam had joined Ashley up on the porch at some point while Willow was busy talking with Matt.

A sound came from the other side of the door, but Willow was too far away to hear it. But obviously Sam and Ashley had heard it clearly.

"Hi Chris, very funny." Sam deadpanned, looking through the small window.

Chris must have said something back through the door because Willow heard Sam ask him if he should be getting the lock open or something, but it was immediately followed by a few minutes of silence outside.

"We're freezing our buns off out here!" Ashley called out, complaining.

A moment later, Willow heard heat sizzling before the door opened to show Chris on the other side.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week─"

A small animal ran out the door, past Chris and causing him to scream from the scare, as Matt and Willow pulled back from their very long hug to go walk up the stairs. Ashley and Sam were laughing at Chris's reaction and Willow couldn't help but smile.

Willow climbed up the stairs before Matt.

"Crap that thing freaked me out." Chris panted.

"What was it? Are you okay?" Ashley asked, concerned.

Chris motioned around, "It was like a bear, or a tiger or something-"

Willow rolled her eyes. Bears were still in hibernation and tigers don't live on wintery mountains.

"Aw," Sam cooed. "It was just a cute little baby wolverine."

"Baby?"

"Don't worry buddy," Josh said from behind Willow, "you're gonna be a big boy soon."

Willow followed after Sam and Ashley as they walked into the house, Matt and Josh behind her. She immediately stood off to the side, looking around the place the best she could. She had been right to assume no one had been up here all that much since the disappearance. Everything had layers of dust and tarps covering them.

"Home, sweet home."

"Sweet is not the word I'd use." Matt mumbled to Willow.

She nudged his side, but smiled at him.

"Oh my gosh, it's so good to be inside. Even if it's still kinda freezing in here." Ashley mentioned, looking at the others.

Willow shrugged when their eyes met. She still hadn't started to feel the cold. She was happy about that.

"I'll get a fire going." Josh said, heading over to the fireplace.

Willow continued looked around. Everything looked to still be in the exact same place as last year. "This place barely looks any different." She said, looking over at Josh.

Josh shrugged, "Nobody's been up here."

"Even with all the police coming in and out?" Ashley asked.

"Not a lot of action up here lately." Chris told Ashley.

Josh agreed with him, "Nope."

Willow sighed softly. She was pretty sure Josh didn't want reminders about last year, which was why she really didn't want anyone, but mostly him, finding out about her plan to go to the mines. Why he wanted to come back here, maybe for closure and Willow was hoping she'd find something for him down there too, she wasn't sure.

She went to go say something when someone cut her off.

"What's up party people!" Mike yelled, walking in with Jessica behind him, smiling as she greeted everyone.

"Hey!" Josh called back. "Make yourself at home, bro."

"Will do." Mike said.

Matt scoffed from beside Willow, standing up from where he sat down, causing the girl to look at him with wide eyes. What was he about to do?

"Yeah, come on in. Take a load off. Have whatever you want. You just take whatever you want anyways, right?"

Willow blinked as she looked at Matt. Why was he asking for her to smack him upside the head? Why did he have to be so abrasively impulsive at times?

"Woah," Mike looked confused, "easy there, cowboy."

"Mike, stay away from my girlfriend."

Willow pinched the bridge of her nose again as she took in a deep breath. If Matt started something he couldn't finish, Willow was going to kick his ass.

"Dude, what are you talking about?"

Matt huffed, "Stay away from Emily."

Why does her best friend have to be a dumbfuck?

"Emily?" Mike asked. "Why would I want anything to do with Emily?"

"What the hell were you doing with Em out on the trail, huh?" Matt asked, confronting Mike about what he confided in Willow.

"This is not what I meant by asking Emily, you dumbfuck." Willow hissed at Matt, missing Mike ask what Matt was talking about.

He ignored her.

"I saw you and Em, through the telescope."

Understanding seemed to dawn on Mike. "Before? We just ran into each other. It'd been a while so we hugged and I said hello. Is that against the law?"

Matt seemed to relax, deflating as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Right.. yeah. Sorry, it's been kind of a long day. I overreacted."

"Nah, man, don't worry about it."

"We cool?"

"Yeah, yeah. Totally." Mike said, walking over to Jessica on the couch and sitting next to her, leaning back to wrap an arm around her, as she brought him into a kiss.

Willow sighed, happy nothing she would have to break up broke out. She was stressed and anxious enough being back on the mountain, add on her plan and all the ways Harley told her it could go wrong, so tensions amongst the group were one thing she was hoping to avoid. She pulled Matt back toward her by his jacket.

And then Emily finally caught up.

"Oh, my God. That is so gross." Emily walked into the lodge, arms crossed. "Are you trying to swallow his face whole?"

"Godfuckingdammit." Willow hit herself in the head.

"Em.." Matt warned her as he moved out of Willow's reach.

Emily looked at the two, "Seriously can she be any more obvious?" She looked over at Jessica. "No one wants in on your territory, honey."

Jessica pulled away from Mike, looking at Emily as she stood up. "Excuse me, did you say something?"

Willow took in another deep breath. Hopefully this one will sort itself out, just like Matt and Mike just did. Hopefully.

"Oh, did you not hear me? Was your sluttiness too loud?"

Willow closed her eyes.

That hope was starting to dwindle every second.

"Sounds like someone's bitter she didn't make the cut."

Emily drawled out her words, "Yeah, it's all a big cattle call with that dreamboat. Congrats, you're top cow."

"Cuts real deep calling Miss Homecoming a cow." Jess shot back.

Willow shared a look with Matt. She knew he could see the discomfort in her eyes. Fighting she could handle on any other day, but not when Josh wanted just a nice, party filled reunion. And not only was she uncomfortable, but she was starting to get annoyed. And it rose with every time Jessica or Emily said something to one another.

"Hey, you're making everyone uncomfortable, Jess-" Matt said.

Jessica cut him off, "Jealous much. Emily too frigid for you, too?"

"Hey, that's uncalled for. Look─" Matt tried, but Jessica cut him off again.

Willow felt her annoyance rise again.

"Whatever, I don't give a crap what you think." Jessica said as she walked back to the couch.

"At least I can think." Emily said. "4.0, bitch, honor roll. Suck on that when you're trying to sleeping your way into a job."

Jessica turned to look at Emily as she gestured to her own body. "Who needs grades when you've got all the natural advantages you can handle?"

"Oh please."

"You couldn't buy a moldy loaf of bread with your skanky ass." Jessica told Emily.

Emily scoffed. "Are you serious? Do you think that's insulting?"

Jessica turned to Mike, pointing back at Emily. "That bitch is on crack or something."

"Jessica, you need to shut your mouth, okay?" Matt said.

"No," Jessica turned on him, making Willow's annoyance spike higher, "you're the one who needs to keep your nose out of other people's business!"

"I'm about to get right up in your business you bitch─" Emily stepped to Jessica.

Jessica gave her a look as she stepped up to Emily too, "Are we about to get real? Cause I am down to get real."

"God, can the two of you just fucking can it for a bit?" Willow's shout ceased all movement. Both Jessica and Emily were looking at her with wide eyes. "Shut the fuck up before I make you."

It was rare for Willow to actually stop a conflict.

Normally, she was the one in the conflict and the only times she ever stepped in was when it was Matt against someone else. Everyone knew Willow didn't care enough about anyone else getting in a fight other than Matt, so for the girl to yell and intervene was something neither of them had seen coming, even with Jessica digging at Matt.

But Willow was annoyed from Emily's rants about Jessica the past few months, added onto everything else she'd been feeling since getting to Blackwood, and all the digs at Matt, who was only trying to help his girlfriend (unlike Mike, who didn't seem to care at all that Jessica and Emily were going to fight, which was why Willow thought he was a doofus), had just caused the girl to explode at the two.

"This is not why we came up here." Josh said, suddenly standing next to Willow, who was still staring at the two girls angrily. "This is not helping. It's not what I wanted. If we can't get along for ten minutes then maybe we need a little bit of a break, right? Mike, why don't you check out the guest cabin? The one I told you about."

Mike nodded, standing and avoiding Willow's stare when it turned on him, looking at Jessica. "Yeah, yeah alright. Want to go do that?"

"Any place without that whore." Jessica mumbled, taking his hand.

"It's right up the trail." Josh told them.

Matt imitated his head exploding, look at Emily. "Glad that's over."

"Yeah," Josh mumbled as he went back to the fire place.

Willow rubbed at her face as Matt said something else to Josh before Emily caught his attention about a missing bag. Matt walked over, confused. Willow shook her head, not moving from where she stood. She had to figure out the best moment to leave and start her plan.

With Mike and Jessica off to the other cabin, that was two less people for Willow to worry about noticing her just.. leaving.

"You must have left it down by the cable car station." Emily said to Matt.

Willow's ears perked up. If the two of them were also going to head somewhere, that left only four people for Willow to lie by omission to about what she was doing. And while she wanted to tell Matt about the plan back when she formed it with Harley's help, she had opted it best to keep it from him. He'd be the most likely to say he'd go with her.

At least Willow could say her best friend was as loyal as they come.

Matt groaned.

"C'mon hun, we'll be back soon." Emily assured him.

Matt sighed, "And then we can get warm?"

"We can get very warm." Emily said suggestively.

Willow grimaced as the two of them left a moment later. She sighed, looking around. Ashley and Chris seemed in their own little world as they watched Josh try to set up the fire. Sam looked uncomfortable as she stood near the stairs.

"Okay," Sam broke the silence that formed after Matt and Emily headed off, "I am gonna go take a bath."

Josh nodded, not even looking back at her as she climbed up the stairs, but he did peek over at Willow.

"Will, you gonna get comfortable or not?" He joked.

Willow ran a hand over her hair. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"I was actually thinking of taking a walk, cool down from everything that just happened." Willow said, looking him in the eye.

Josh narrowed his eyes for a moment before nodding, "Like around the house or outside?"

"Outside, fresh air is probably better."

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Don't tell him why.

"Be careful, a couple of the trails have been blocked by trees falling over in the storms. So don't wander too far, Willow."

Willow nodded, smiling softly as she crossed her fingers behind her back. "Promise. I'll be back at some point and hopefully there's a fire when I do."