𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 [𝐬.𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧]

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

Laurie spent the next morning helping her mom look for Mews. Somehow, the damn fat cat got lost, and no one knew where she was. Her mom is shaking Mews' favorite toy as she looks around in the bushes, but it's no good. The cat isn't there. Waving to Lucas as he rides by, she sighs before heading inside because she has to finish getting ready for work.

"Mom, I gotta finish getting ready for work. Dustin will keep helping you look for her." Claudia nods as she runs into the house and to her room as Dustin talks to someone on the phone.

After putting on a light amount of makeup, she looks in the mirror before brushing out her hair and making it look right. She grabs her coat and then walks out of her room as she checks the time to see that she has a few minutes until her shift starts. As she leaves her room, she hears the door shut, and her mom walks to her car. "Where is she going? Did someone find Mews?" She asks, grabbing her shoes by the door.

"No, but someone said they saw her by Loch Nora, so she's going to go check it out." He explains as she ties her shoe. "Okay, do you need anything before I go? I'm just a phone call away." She says as she messes with the curls sticking out of his hat. "I'm okay, sis. Really." His smile is reassuring as she pulls him into a hug. "Okay, I love you, and don't be afraid to call if anything happens." She then kisses his cheek before heading out.

She doesn't notice how his face changes when she turns her back. He hates lying to her and his mom about Mews. He hates that he didn't listen to his friends about Dart because now the poor cat paid for it by becoming monster chow.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The revving of an engine and rock music blaring pulls Laurie's attention to the door as she sees Billy arrive with Max. The redhead flips off her stepbrother as he speeds off, and Laurie feels a little disappointed; usually, he comes in and talks to her before he leaves.

"Hey, Max!" She greets the girl with a bright smile as she walks in, "Everything okay?" She wonders, noticing how pissed the girl looks. "Just Billy being an asshole again," Max says with a look in her eyes that breaks her heart. "You're always good to hang out here as long as you want while I'm working. I'll drive you home if you ever need me to." She pops out her pinky, and Max quickly intertwines them. "Go have fun, MadMax." She winks to the younger girl before turning to grab the cleaning supplies.

She goes around to the empty machines and cleans them with some surfaces before she comes up to the machine Max has been working her way through. "Why is this out of order?" She wonders, then notices that she hasn't seen Max in a while.

Quickly running to the counter, she throws the cleaning supplies behind it as she hops in front of Keith. "Do you know where Max is? She was here a while ago, and the machine she always plays is out of order, and I can't find her. Did she leave or-"

"Lucas and her are in the back. I don't know what they're doing, but you should check on them." He says, looking her up and down. She cringes to herself while quickly walking away to the back. The door opens as Max walks out, and Lucas follows close behind. "Hey, kiddos. What's going on?" She asks, following behind them.