Missing Persons

“And where have you been, Joanne?”

The demanding voice caused JoJo's heart to race before she whipped around in apprehension. After finally leaving their beds, she and Jared were headed toward the dining room. So far, JoJo felt too anxious to turn her phone on and check for messages from her parents. Mrs. Lockett promised to smooth things over for her, but she’d been sidetracked to the Strattons’ suite after finally checking her own messages.

The shy brunette's reddening and trembling face immediately transformed into irritation upon seeing the person who mimicked her mother's voice. Jared noticed and liked how her body image shifted almost immediately to the competitive, fiery girl JoJo became on the soccer field. The hands to the hips and the foot stomp accented the transformation.

“Don’t do that to me, Zo!”

“You deserve it! Mom’s been driving me nuts with constant messages asking if I’ve seen my sister yet,” Zoey responded. Standing behind the younger brunette, Robin nodded in agreement while Winnie smiled awkwardly over the family squabble. “You didn’t answer my question, Joanne.”

“Ugh! Stop using that voice,” the big sister ordered while thinking of a response. “I was, uh, spending time with Jared’s parents.”

“Nice one,” Jared mumbled, running his hand over his mouth to cover a snicker.

Both teens' minds shot back to the debaucherous scene in the very crowded shower in the Locketts' hotel room. JoJo smirked at how she engineered the incestuous fun while Jared couldn't believe he found his parents manhandling the thrilled buxom brunette.

“Like she’s going to fall for that story,” Zoey huffed, rolling her eyes. “You better watch it. She’s breathing fire because you haven’t turned on your phone.”

“I-Is D-Dad looking for me?” JoJo squeaked, reverting to her usual personality.

“He never showed up. Got stuck with mandatory overtime because of all the ice.” JoJo's confused expression caused her younger sister to shake her head. “Or didn’t you realize we had a friggin’ massive ice storm last night that shut down the whole area?”

"We knew!" Jared lied, slyly touching his lover's back to strengthen her resolve.

“S-So Dad doesn’t know about me…and Jared?” JoJo asked meekly.

“Oh, I’m sure Mom just blurted the big news out over the phone. Of course, he doesn’t know yet!”

“Uh, Zo, can you, um, please take my side when Mom does tell Dad? I don’t want him thinking badly of me.”

“Dad better not say shit,” Zoey responded. “I’m sure he’ll whine about his little JoJo losing her cherry, but that happens in life. If he freaks out, that’s his problem. I’m definitely not waiting as long as you did.”

Robin chuckled at her close friend’s declaration. On the other side of Zoey, Winnie’s mouth opened wide in shock as she first stared at Zoey before glancing at Robin. The youngest Ridge sibling shook her head at the unspoken question about Zoey already selecting the guy for that honor.

“So you’ll stick up for me?” JoJo pressed.

“Luckily for me, I already have plans. I don’t want to be in the middle of that conversation. I’ll be over at Robin’s tonight for her parents’ football party,” Zoey revealed.

“Crap,” the recent virgin muttered before adding, “Double crap,” at the sound of another voice.

“Where have you been, missy? And with whom? This beast?” Iona challenged, punching Jared’s shoulder. He barely flinched. Next, Iona turned around and punched Newt’s shoulder, who’d been reluctantly following her. He almost buckled at the blow. “I guess you’re a good luck charm, Newtie. We found our little tigress in barely five minutes.”

The hyper bob-haired soccer star wrapped an arm around JoJo’s neck while dragging her away from Jared. Iona gave Zoey a nod before launching into teasing her once-innocent friend.

“Damn, I almost feel in trouble based on how many times your mom has called or stopped me in person. You better learn some control, young lady. You need to come up from air from a dick every once in a while.”

Zoey smirked in appreciation of her sister’s reddening face. Robin shook her head as she recalled Jared making the moves on her the other night before discovering her age. And Winnie slid behind the busty volleyball player while shyly watching Newt, boy genius.

"So you and Iona, huh?" Jared insinuated, throwing his arm around Newt's neck, similar to the two girls.

“Save me,” Newt begged, which caused Jared to laugh heartily.

“Look on the bright side, buddy. The girl doesn’t tease you like she does Sean. I mean, unless you want her to. Should I suggest it?” Jared piled on.

“I know chemistry and have a houseful of my mom’s medical books. Do you want to be poisoned?” Newt queried.

“Ooh! Good comeback!” Jared roared.

A few feet away, Iona continued to have a blast tormenting the girl she'd tried to get laid for the past two years. Zoey enjoyed it, hoping her older sister might finally come out of her shell. A girl couldn't hide in her room all the time while watching porn and wearing out vibrator batteries.

“Okay, when are you getting back from your trip? Tomorrow afternoon? We’re going to need girl time as I want all the details. Where? How was it? How many times? What positions? Oh, it’s going to be so fun to finally be able to share stories. Gone are the days of you only listening to who I did and getting horny over it. Hey, I banged one of my brother’s friends last night. Wait until you hear who it was,” Iona rambled cheerfully.

Even Robin joined Winnie in cringing at the part about JoJo getting turned on by Iona's escapades. So the brown-haired volleyball player walked over to join Jared and Newt.

“Hey, since you guys probably aren’t going back to the cabin tonight, you and JoJo are welcome to come to our party,” Robin offered.

“We’re not?” Jared repeated in confusion, glancing over at Newt, who shrugged his shoulders.

“I know how Wasp Lake can get after a windstorm, and my parents heard the ice is crazy up there. My dad couldn’t stop laughing at the thought of my uncle’s glass lakehouse getting smashed apart. Mom misses Grandpa’s old cabin, too.”

“Damn, I didn’t even think of that,” Jared admitted. “There are some good bowl games on tonight. But I don’t know.”

“Don’t worry about trying to take my virginity the other night,” Robin began, causing Newt to launch into a coughing fit. “My parents love Jo. Besides, my dad would be thrilled to talk football with you, even if you did help knock Honey Hollow out of the playoffs.”

“I don’t know what’s going on. Thanks for the offer. I’d have to see what Jo wants to do if we stay in town, but I think she might want to do other things.” Neither Robin, Winnie, nor Newt was confused by Jared’s implied preference for JoJo’s choice.

“So what’s the deal? Is my tigress an item with that sasquatch?” Iona inquired, winking at her friend.

“No, no, Jared and I are just friends. Besides, he’s going back home to Rattle Ridge tomorrow.”

“I totally get that. You don’t want to drive all the way up there for a booty call. Not to mention, you owe me some wingwoman time,” Iona reminded, laughing at JoJo’s expression.

“Uh, I need to check in with Newt about, um, the trip,” the shy brunette said to escape her chatty, hyper friend for now. Walking her to Newt, JoJo asked, “Do you really think we can’t go back tonight?”

Newt leaned over to whisper into his girl best friend’s ear. “I had sex last night.”

JoJo nearly sprained her neck with how fast she whipped it around to stare in bewilderment at the one person she least expected to lose their virginity last night.

“With Skye,” Newt added.

JoJo didn’t respond verbally. She couldn’t. Instead, the pure shock that the unfathomable revelation caused her to stop breathing momentarily as her eyes rolled back and her body began to follow.

“Whoa!” Jared sounded, rushing forward to catch his swooning lover. “Are you okay?”

“Warn out. It happens. It’s probably from dehydration. I’m going to need to have a talk about making sure she gets her fluids, and not just directly from the guy,” Iona stated, providing what she viewed as sage advice to the three sophomores.

“I think she just needs to eat something. I don’t think she ate much at dinner last night,” Zoey added, recalling her sister picking at her food out of nervousness.

“Hey, you back with us,” Jared said as JoJo opened her eyes and clung to him.

“Um, sorry, Newt muttered, but his proud expression didn’t match his words.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Newt! Where have you been, and would you turn your phone on?!”

Everyone turned to see a sexy buxom brunette marching over to their group. Newt initially blanched at the sight of his neighbor and former babysitter, Keira Kappmeyer, as she stormed over at him. He felt almost like a little kid again about to get scolded for hiding with his electronics while not participating in a physical game. Then, it dawned on him that Keira was twenty-four, the exact age as Skye, who he had sex with. For a split second, Newt nearly joined JoJo in fainting.

“Your mom has been trying to call you! You know she gets worried sick when she can’t find you,” Keira reminded.

"She has?" Newt asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket. After attempting to raise the screen several times, he looked up, dumbfounded. "It's dead," he said.

“The hell?!” Now, it was Zoey’s turn to be utterly shocked. Never in her life had she known Newt to be careless about his battery life. If asked, he’d always know the approximate percentage left on his phone, tablet, whatever, and how long that would give him.

“Uh, can I use your phone?” Newt inquired sheepishly of his old babysitter.

“Forget it. Your mom should be arriving any minute. You do know that she’s been stuck at the hospital all night, right? Kid, you need to stop getting so zoned in on your games. Jo, where have you been? You need to keep this one social,” Keira reminded, throwing her hands up at two of her neighbors and former charges. “I swear Sean was always the good one.”

JoJo descended into a giggling fit as Keira walked away in exasperation. It wasn’t because Sean followed Keira’s every order due to his childhood crush on her. No, she couldn’t stop giggling because she finally found something that caused Newt to ignore his phone’s ability to play games for the first time.

“I’m not sure what’s so funny,” Jared admitted, drawing shrugs from the other girls.

"I'll tell you later. I promise," JoJo whispered.

---

Fletcher tapped his foot impatiently. Then, he stood up from his chair in the hotel lobby before immediately sitting down again. While he did this, he kept scanning for someone or something to free him from his current boredom. He also cursed his mom for not letting him get involved in whatever scheme she was involved in with their family’s rivals.

She lets Lotus do shit. I mean, my reputation is nowhere near as bad as Mom’s or Lottie’s while they were in high school. Not to mention that she has Paige—my best friend—working as her little assistant. Mom even has Poppy, of all fucking people, helping. She’s not even really family! What’s next? Is she going to give Steph some secret fucking mission?

“What’s up, Fletch? You hungover?”

“I think he’s still wondering how to hit a curveball,” Linus “Digg” Digby chuckled.

“Nah, a changeup was his immortal adversary. Fletch couldn’t be patient enough to wait for it,” Jesse Yegge clarified.

“Maybe it was both,” Digg added.

“Fuck off,” Fletcher shot back at his old baseball teammates.

In a quest to live up to the legacy of his mom’s legendary cousin, Wyatt, Fletch had attempted for several years to become a decent baseball player in junior high. He knew it would mean the world to his mother, Wyatt’s mom, and Wyatt’s surviving brother, Whittaker. Only during sophomore year tryouts did he finally get frustrated and admit the truth: he couldn’t hit anything. Still, people who knew him were pleasantly surprised that he kept trying for that long.

“Does Paige still have her notebook with her statistical analysis of your hitting and fielding?” Jesse asked, genuinely curious.

“Like that packrat would ever throw it away,” Fletch scoffed.

“Speaking of Paige, where is your better half?” Digg inquired, scanning the nearby crowds.

“Probably doing my mom’s bidding. What do you guys want? Aren’t you leaving?” Fletcher questioned.

“I think we are soon. The ice appears to be melting finally,” Jesse relayed. “So, Billy should be back in town by the afternoon. The team is going to get together to celebrate the new year and discuss potential additions for this spring. You wanna come?”

“Why? I’m not on the team,” Fletcher pointed out suspiciously. He wondered if his good friend Billy Clawfoot put Jesse and Digg up to it. Billy had always taken it personally that he couldn’t help Fletch improve one bit. It could be out of friendship, but Jesse’s co-star on the baseball team also had an interest in coaching someday. And he failed with his first project.

“It wouldn’t hurt if you brought Paige with you,” Digg added.

“Man, how many times do I have to tell you, Digg? Paige is not interested in you or any athletes. That girl is going to be a virgin until after college. Denton was the only guy smart enough for her and that was over after like one date.”

“Hey, I don’t bat .020 with women like you did in the batting box,” Digg shot back.

Fletcher barely raised his middle finger in response. He was so over jokes about his horrid hitting ability.

“Alright, stop teasing Fletch,” Jesse ordered his best friend. “The offer is valid, and we’d also like Paige back as our scorekeeper. She was the best ever.”

“Maybe Coach Colcord can make you our student manager. He’s new enough not to know your history,” Digg pointed out.

“I’m pretty sure Cash is well aware of my identity and doesn’t like my family.”

“But he’s supposedly got another smoking hot girlfriend,” Digg added.

“Nope. I’m still holding out hope that my unrequited lust for Tuesday will succeed before this summer. And cozying up to her high school ex is not going to help,” Fletcher stated.

“You and Miss Brass aren’t happening, buddy,” Jesse responded, slapping his classmate’s shoulder. “But the invitation is open. Mr. Ragg said he’d save a section by the TVs for us at Grubby’s. Just double-check with Billy to make sure we’re there.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Fletcher brushed them off as his phone buzzed.

“And bring Paige,” Digg yelled back as the two baseball players walked away.

Opening his phone, Fletcher saw a message from an unlisted number. Swiping it open, the teen’s boredom vanished immediately. Leaning forward, Fletcher stared at the words before leaning back to stare from further away until he moved forward again. What he read couldn’t be possible.

“Holy fuck.”

The shocked teen turned his head to the left, then the right, to make sure no one had snuck up on him. Satisfied that nobody could view his screen, he slowly reread the message.

“Nice try, Beevenger. You need to step up your game if you want to keep your identity secret from Nosy Nectar.”

“No way…no fucking way,” Fletcher muttered. “How the hell did…Did Palmer or Denny talk? If they did, they are so dead.”

Mulling over that possibility, Fletcher shook his head.

No, it can't be Denny. Sienna had to have put the fear of god into him. Palmer? It's possible, but if he saw Bert, he might wonder if Chance is around. Palmer and Chance have history. I'm pretty sure Palmer pissed himself that one time. Seth would never sell me out, and Dex can't lie worth shit. Did Paloma send a tip to Nosy Nectar? Oh, that wounds my heart.

BUZZ BUZZ

Fletcher nearly screamed as another message came in from an unlisted number.

“PS. We erased the security footage of you, Sienna, and Bert dumping Malloy and Conway in the closet. You’re welcome, and don’t look so sad.”

Fletch fell out of the chair and to his knees as he whipped around to scan the nearby crowds of people.

Shit, shit, shit! There was security footage?! And Nosy Nectar is watching me right fucking now?!

“Stop moving!” Fletcher attempted to will everyone in the lobby to freeze as he frantically examined each and every face.

A group of football players milled around. Fletcher dismissed dumb jocks like the Brawny Boys. Xavier Glove was out of the question. A notorious flirt who rivaled Fletcher wouldn’t have the time to run Nosy Nectar. Next, his eyes locked onto Kona Sango, the affable nose tackle. Everyone loved Kona, so they also might tell him secrets. Then, Fletch's gray eyes locked in on Wilbur Winkie. He had to consider whether Winkie's klutziness was all an act, like those drunken ninja masters in the movies. Even Kessler, who stood next to Winkie, could be a suspect. The rogue of the football team loved to create havoc.

Not too far away, Jasmine Fadel chatted with that one sophomore Sugarbee.

What’s her name? Ariel? Jasmine is a quiet girl…maybe too quiet. She could be in the perfect position to hear a ton of shit from Bianca, Yelena, Delilah, and the gossips on the squad. Wait, what about Jayden? Can the two cousins be in cahoots?!

Fletcher swiveled his body as he located Jayden Cooke, the basketball team’s captain. He stood laughing with his teammate, Evan Naylor.

Evan! I knew there was something always off about Evan. That boy likes photography a little too much. Maybe he’s a bigger voyeur than we suspect. Oh, and he’s dating Daisy! He could be picking up some info around The Buzzy Bee office.

Fletcher turned again and continued to look for possible suspects. What if Yumi's ditzy innocence was all an act? She'd moved away for a few years, so nobody could swear she wasn't some puppetmaster. The same could go for Roxanne, the cheer squad's other good girl. Fletcher even had to consider Dreama's obsession with astrology and mood crystals as a cover story to divert attention.

“I found you, Nosy Nectar. I found you,” Fletcher proclaimed, staring at two girls. I don’t know which one of you it is, but it’s one of you. I’m going to prove it.”

Suspect Number One: Gennifer Greiner, class treasurer of the student government. Genny also happened to be one of the few people who wasn’t put off by Paige’s hyper, bossy attitude. As a member of the student government, nobody would suspect such a quiet, good girl of being the sinister snoop behind Nosy Nectar.

Suspect Number Two: Suzie Unser. I mean, the girl is known to be not only a fucking chatterbox but a gossip spreader. She’s been hiding in plain sight!

“I need to find Paige!” Fletcher blurted out loud. “No, I need to find Sienna! She needs to know that Nosy Nectar knows what she did to Denny. I’m going to do the impossible. I’m going to be a fucking legend. Take that, Paige.”