Uptown Girl

Every Breath You Take {Chapter 4}

Warnings: mention of death

Word count: 1020

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The next morning, I slowly head downstairs, quite upset that my new friends were arguing and Will was actually dead. Why did we waste all this time looking for him when he was just dead this whole time? I don't want to admit I was crying, but I was last night.

"Hey... sleepy head. What's wrong?" my mom asked as she was just about to leave. She's probably in a rush again and I don't want to keep her waiting. She's a very busy woman.

"Mom, can I stay home from school?" I ask. She feels my forehead and nods her head, seeing I'm quite upset. Once she leaves, I head back up to my room and flop onto my bed. My brother came to check on me for a little bit but I made him leave. The only person who doesn't care is my dad.

Of course he doesn't.

Soon, I'm home alone. Peace and serenity in a house that is hardly ever empty. I pace around, waiting for something, anything. An hour passes by and soon, I get bored. I hop on my bike and pedal my way to Dustin's house, which isn't too far.

The wind in my hair brings calm to me. I probably look strange biking around when I should be in school but no one stops me to tell me.

I ring the doorbell and immediately, I hear a loud but muffled crash. The sounds of shuffling get louder until the door opens and Dustin's face lights up. "Elizabeth! I wasn't expecting you," he smiles, looking slightly banged up. I wonder if I startled him and he fell.

"I just don't want to be alone. Want to bike around?" I ask. 

He grins and scurries to the driveway where his bike was leaning against the garage. 

We find ourselves across town near the neighborhood where Lucas and Mike live. Dustin says if they say anything on the radio, he wants to hear it. We hang out at this park, sitting on the swings, trying to also watch our bikes to make sure they don't get stolen.

"Dustin, come in. Do you copy?" a static-y and grainy voice on the radio says. It sounds like Lucas.

"I copy. So does Elizabeth," Dustin responds, glancing at me.

"Well Mike needs us for some reason," Lucas tells us.

"Copy, we'll be at his house in a few minutes, over," Dustin hops on his bike, the swing he jumped off still moving slightly in the wind. Running after him, I hop on my bike as well. The only sound that follows us for a couple minutes is the clicking in our wheels.

What in the world could Mike need us for?

We reach the Wheeler house and lucky for us, there's no cars in the driveway. Dustin knocks quite aggressively and Mike opens the door, pulling us in and leading us upstairs to his room. Lucas, looking quite annoyed, is waiting for us. El is sitting in the corner, playing with Mike's walkie talkie.

Mike explained why we're here as El plays with the walkie talkie. A small, meek voice quietly speaks on the radio after about a minute of her tuning it. That can't be Will... can it?

El keeps tuning it, but after a minute, we lose the small voice. Mike looks at all of us, staring a bit longer at Lucas to make sure he is understanding.

"We keep losing the signal, but you heard it, right?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, I heard a baby," Lucas sighs, looking to me to see if I also don't believe it. Honestly, I'm a bit unsure. It could have been Will, but he's dead, right? We saw his body get pulled out of the water.

"What?"

"Mike, you obviously tapped into a baby monitor. It's probably the Blackburns' next door,"

"Uh, did that sound like a baby to you?" Dustin asked.

"That was Will!" Mike exclaimed, quite exasperated. 

"Mike..." Lucas sighs again.

"Lucas, you don't understand. He spoke last night. Words! He was singing that weird song he loves. Even El heard him!" he points to the bald girl.

"Oh, well, if the weirdo heard him, then I guess—"

"Are you sure you're on the right channel?" I ask, chiming in.

"I don't think it's about that. I think, somehow, she's channeling him," Mike explains.

"Like... like Professor X," Dustin says, giving an example.

"Holy shit," my eyes widen.

"Are you actually believing this crap?" Lucas asks, looking between us.

"I don't know, I mean... Do you remember when Will fell off his bike and broke his finger? He sounded a lot like that," Dustin states.

"Did you guys not see what I saw? They pulled Will's body out of the water. He's dead!" Lucas sighs again.

"Well, maybe it's his ghost. Maybe he's haunting us," I suggest.

"It's not his ghost," Mike says.

"So how do you know that?" Lucas asks.

"I just do!"

"Then what was in that water?"

"I don't know! All I know is Will is alive. Will is alive! He's out there somewhere. All we have to do is find him," Mike says.

Static continues crackling on the radio as we all look at El. Mike grabs the walkie talkie from her and turns it off.

"This isn't gonna work. We need to get El to a stronger radio," Mike suggests.

"Mr. Clarke's Heathkit ham shack," Dustin suggests, looking quite excited at the prospect.

"The Heathkit's at school. There is no way we're gonna get the weirdo in there without anyone noticing. I mean... look at her," Lucas points and we all look at her. He isn't wrong, she does stick out like a sore thumb.

Mike had the idea we disguise her, so we raid Nancy's closet, where we find a dress that looks a bit too small for Nancy. She must have just grown out of it. It's not really my style, considering it is a bit kiddish and girly.

One of the boys had found a blonde wig and put it on her. She changed in the bathroom and soon, she looks like a normal girl. She looks... I don't know. Mike said it better. 'Pretty.' Yeah, I guess. She looks less like a freak. 

I guess it's time to take her to school.

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A/N: writers block at 5 am.