Blondie

Prologue

Some program was playing on the television. He wasn't paying attention. He couldn't. His mind was cloudy and every thought was a mere haze. Noah clicked off the television and slumped back in his seat. The whole thing going on with Willow was driving him insane. She was, no doubt, the closest friend he had. Of course she wasn't always picture perfect, but no one really is. He should know, with a bottle of vodka stuck in his hands.

It was the only way he could sleep. He'd get himself so drunk that he would pass out. Or he would cry about stupid things. The next morning the hangover would come. After a while it stopped affecting him. He'd wake up and feel fine, minus the feeling of being empty. Even that was going away. He was becoming numb.

"You know, mom and dad wouldn't like it if they came home to see you drinking again," his younger step-sister, Gayle, said.

"Your mom, my dad. Besides, they're on their honeymoon. Bet they don't even know about Willow," Noah answered, taking another swig from his bottle.

"Why are you so against them being married?"

"I'm not, just shocked my dad moved on so fast after their divorce."

"He wanted to give you a complete home. I can understand his standpoint, but yes you're right about him moving on so fast."

"Where do you think Willow's gone? The town's pretty small."

"I think she's far gone by now. Probably in another state."

"I want to find her. Or at least look."

"The police are already looking."

"They obviously not looking hard enough! They don't even know her or any of her motives. They try to plan her past and future moves but they don't know what she is capable of. I want to find her. I need to find her."

"I know that, but if she was here, do you think she'd like to see you like this? Drinking until you pass out?"

"I don't know."

"Willow might have not been such an open girl, but she was a caring one and it would tear her apart to see you like this. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Noah."

He mumbled a 'goodnight' before turning his attention back to the vodka in his hands. The wheels in his head began to turn. Gayle's words swam in his head. Willow would be mad. Would she cry? Yell? Or have the impassive look she wore most of the time? Something deep down in him twisted at the thought of Willow walking in and seeing him debating whether or not to drink himself to the abyss again.

His brown eyes traveled to the door then back to the vodka. He let out a defeated huff and stood up, adjusting his shirt before taking the small walk into the kitchen. The sink drain was waiting for him. Almost calling him with an unheard Siren's song. He stopped half way between the sink and the cabinet he stashes the hard liquor. Nothing came up when he kept asking himself why he couldn't just go dump the water clear drink out.

Then her brown eyes popped into his head. They held disappoint. Telling him that Willow would find out, even if she wasn't there. She always would. Her face developed around the eyes. Reminding him of the girl he hasn't seen in a month and didn't realize he truly missed until he was holding a cup of vodka which turned into a bottle. His mind was playing tricks on him that he didn't like. He didn't like her impassive face. Her unreadable features. Her unpredictable actions. Her observing eyes.

He didn't need another minute. He didn't even need a second before he was dumping the contents of the bottle down the drain. Slowly, he turned on the sink to make sure all the vodka was down the drain and never to come back. As he made his way to his bedroom, remorse began to seep in the invisible cracks he created since Willow's absence of leave. The vodka was his escape and he just barricaded the last door.

From his window on the main floor, he could see his beat up blue Jeep in the driveway. It was another Siren's call. His left hand twitched at his side. As if it was trying to break off of his arm and get his keys, sitting on his desk. Once again Noah had to shake his head and force his feet to move towards the thing he dreaded the most.

His bed. An object he would look forward to during school. He would think of going home and stripping down to his boxers and falling on the bed and into an instant sleep. Where his mind out carry him to worlds that he had no control over. Where anything and everything was possible. Now he'd not like that.

It is a nightmare out in reality. It brings heartache and pain. She would appear. Coax him to thinking she was there or she was coming back. When Noah returned to the world, he got three seconds. Three seconds of joy and the hope of her returning. At four seconds his heart and shoulders would grow heavy. He cursed his vivid dreams.

'A dream is a wish your heart makes,' that's what he grew up with. A single phrase from his mom's favorite Disney movie. The only reason he'd watch it was so he could talk to his mom about it. He loved the way her eyes would light up and a grin would stretch across her face at the mention of Gus or Cinderella. It was what he loved about his mom so much.

Now even that phrase would bring pain on him. Reminding him of his mom's passing and Willow's favorite movie. A minor detail he learned a week after being friends. But it was a detail he'd always remember.

Noah sat under his covers, staring out the window and to the star filled sky. The same sky that Willow might have been looking under at the same time. The same moon. Same stars. Same sky. Just not in the same place.

"I wish you would come back and tell me everything. The adventures you had. Or the dangers you survived. Or the homeless man with a pet rat that became your friend. I wish there was a way you tell me why you did this. Why you decided to disappear. Even now, I find myself trusting you. You do what is right, even it isn't in the moment. You look ahead. I miss you. Come back soon. Stay safe and sleep tight, Willow," Noah finished before letting his heavy lids shut.