A truck pulled into Steve's drive, causing Lauren to feel relieved. The boy stepped out of the car and yelled out to her, "Lauren, this better be good. I was sleeping sound fully." He wrapped her arms around her, worried. She accepted the hug and sat there for a moment with her head in his chest before pulling away.
"I'm fine, nothing wrong." Grabbing Lauren's shoulders, he ushered Lauren to the front seat of the car. He walked around the car and hopped in the front driver's seat.
"Where to?"
"Uh, I don't know my dads going to kill me if I show up wasted. He will kill me if I don't show up at all." She shugged, weighing her options.
"Well, how about you can stay and just call him tonight? Just tell him you are staying at night with B." Lauren nodded her head.
"Yeah, okay. Do you have any extra weed? I need to relax, I'm still pissed."
"Yeah, in the back, you have to grab it." Lauren climbed over the center console, digging through his backpack, finding a pre-rolled joint.
"Why were you even at Steve's? I thought Nancy was the one who was hanging out with him?" He looked at her through the rearview mirror.
"I told Nancy I would come, and things got heated. That's why I screamed at his and why I broke that bottle on the front of the house."
"What, you broke a bottle on his house? That's so crazy of you. I can't believe you do something so bad," He said in a sarcastic tone and sniffled at his own words.
"Shut up, I was shitfaced before you got there." Lauren said, climbing back over. She lit up the joint, taking a hit. She felt he worry melt away as she let herself relax.
"Roll down a damn window. I'm not trying to hot box this car right now, Lauren." He reached over her body, rested his chest on her legs, and began cranking the window open. Lauren hit the top of his head.
"Walt, look at the fucking road." Walt popped up immediately looking at the road. Lauren finished rolling down the window.
"So." He raised his eyebrows at her.
"So what?" She returned it.
"How did things get heated like "oh Steve I want to drag my nails into your back" in a good way or bad way?"Lauren rolled her eyes with a slight head shake.
"Bad way you dumbass. Did you not hear screaming part?" He just smiled at her answer.
"Yeah you were screaming all right. God Steve, harder, harder, harder! Fuck! Yes! That!" Walt yelled imitating her. Again Lauren rolled her eyes at him.
"Shut up for fucks sake."
"You know I'm right."
"No you're not I currently don't want to fuck anything. Let alone Steve Harrington."
"God I'm just fucking with you. What happened, though?" He looked at the Brunette in his passenger seat.
"I don't even know like I basically told him he could die and then he called me a bitch then-"
"What you told him to die." Walt interrupted her. Lauren shugged.
"I mean kinda... but like I didn't at the same time. I said the cigarettes would." He didn't respond with words, just nodded. The two didn't talk for a while just sitting in each other's presence until. "Shit I can't take this anymore. Can we play something this rock crap is killing my premature hangover?"
"Yeah, whatever." Lauren reached into the glove box pulling out a cassette tape that she had left in her one time. Lo's shit songs. "
"Asshole, when did you name this?" He just smiled at her as she put the tape in. 'Call Me' begins to play, "Blondies not shit." Again the car was silent. Lauren took another hit turning her head to see Walt bobbing his head and tapping his hand on the steering wheel to the song. She immediately pointed at him and drummed her hands on his thigh "You like Blondie."
"I do not it's not my fault it's catchy."
"Bullshit I bet you take this tape in your room and dance on your bed like a little girl."
"There's a reason I named it shit. It's not good."
"Whatever." Lauren rolled her eyes at the boy's protest. "I love you!"
"I love you too."
"I love you more."
"You're so fucking drunk."
"Hey, do hypocrite. I can be drunk on Tuesday night when your high on monday morning."
"I never said you could." When they pulled into Walt's driveway. He made his way to her door.
"Let's get out of the car Lo." He said waving his hands in a circular motion to his front door. Lauren stepped out of the truck but instead she hit the floor. She was four things when she was drunk, clumsily, bitchy, horny, or just plain Stupid. Sometimes it was one or the other, sometimes it was a couple, somethings it was all.
Walt came to the other side pulling her up. "Come on. Let's go." The two walked over successfully until they reached the stairs up the the house.
"I won't make it up the stairs. You're just going to have to drag me or some shit."
"For gods sake, how much did you drink, Lauren?"
"About this much." She showed him a small area with her fingers. He threw his hands up.
"Then why are you so drunk?"
"I wasn't finished, about that much of the bottle was full of air. I drank the rest."
"Jesus, just hop on my back,"Walt said, turning around. Lauren stood there for a second and stared at him. "What?"
"Dude, first off, if I can make it out of the car and can't make it up the stairs, I can't hop on you. You're Jacks fucking bean stock. You're so damn tall" Walt rolled his eyes at the girl and bent down so she would be able to get on his back and make it up the stairs. Walt walked the girl on his back all the way up the stairs to his house through his living room up the stairs of his house and to his doom. He throw her off of him and on his bed before he walked over to his closet.
Walt's mom opened the cracked door the rest of the way. Before the door was fully open Walt threw a blanket on top of Lauren. "Walt, honey, keep it down. I have a twenty-four in the morning. I need to sleep." Walt nodded at her.
"Yeah, I will sorry Mom."
"Thank you sweetie, I love you."
"Love you too mom." The woman closed the door. And Lauren burst out laughing. Coming out from the blanket.
"That was close."
"Shut up. She would have been pissed," Walt said, throwing a shirt and sweatpants at her. "Change your clothes, you smell like tequila. I'm surprised my mom didn't smell you from their."
"Whatever you say."
☆
"Wake up dipshit." Walt was softly slapping both sides of Lauren's face to wake her.
"Walt goddamn do you have to scream." He put his hands up in defense. He mouthed. "I didn't." Lauren stood up, wiping the sleep from her eyes. She walked into the bathroom, kicking the door closed behind her. Lauren looked at herself in the mirror she looked dead.
She leaned over, rubbing her face with water. It didn't help the cause. She grabbed a towel to dry her face. When she opened the door, Walt was lying half awake. "Damn, you look hot."
"Shut the fuck up." She rubbed her face walking to the door. "You're mom's gone right?"
"Yeah," she walked out of the room and ran down to the kitchen. Walt followed behind her. She grabbed a plate seeing as she was right at home. "Where is the bread?"
"Bitch you ate it all." Walt sat on the kitchen island. Lauren sighed as her head dropped back.
"You did not let me eat a whole ass loaf of bread."
"I would never." He put his hand on his chest. "It was three-quarters the loaf of bread. I'm not a monster." Lauren put the plate back. Sitting on the counter still half asleep.
"Walt, you really came in clutch as always."
"When do I not?'' he said crossing his arms on his chest.
"What time is it anyways?"
"It's Six. You can shower here. I think you have to dress here somewhere or I can drop you off at home. So you can shower."
"First off I need a new thing pair contacts Second, I'm not using your three-in-one shampoo. Third that is why you have no game there for no bitchs Mr. Jordan. You are too good as a friend." She said poking his chest.
"What, I get bitches."
"Who, lefty and righty?" She joked.
"Bye, you can walk home." Walt said sarcastically, opening the back door.
"I should probably go home." They walk out the door and drove to Lauren's.
"Thank you so much. I'll pay you for the joint and the food I ate... all of it."
"You better. I'll see you at school." He wasn't serious. Money was not a problem for him, and he didn't care if he ever saw that money.
"Yep," she said, kissing Walt on the cheek, hopping out of the car. In the shower, Lauren left everything rince of her body. Between the dirt that actually came from Walt's car to the different liquors that had not made it in her mouth.
She shampooed her hair with what was left of her vanilla shampoo. She grabbed a towel and brushed her teeth several times. Then Lauren threw on a white turtleneck that was covered with a button-up sweater before walking to the living room. Jim was sleeping on the couch, his walkie-talkie going crazy.
"Hey, dad, your radio." She said, handing it to him.
"Yeah." He said, pressing the speak button
"Damn it, Jim, where have you been?" The lady on the other end of the radio said. Lauren popped a blueberry bagel in the toaster.
"Sleeping, what do you need?"
"It's Joyce. She's said something about a call."
"Okay, i'll be right over." He went into his room to change his uniform. Lauren put an additional bagel in. "Do you need a ride to school?" He yelled through the door.
"Yeah." Jim opened the door to be greeted with his daughter holding a bagel out to him. He accepted the bagel.
"How was your getting drunk of a tuesday night?" He raised his eyebrows at her.
"How did you know I brushed my teeth like seven times?"
"Kid, I'm a cop. I know when someone sounds drunk, and you sounded shit faced on that message last night. Thank you for staying at Barbara's and not having her drive you drunk."
"You're not mad?"
"I'm not saying that. I just don't see a reason in punishing you for something I did at your age. Honestly, if you're okay, it's not what I'm worried about right now." Jim wrapped his belt around himself. "Ready?"
"Yeah."
☆
About fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of the Byres' house. A house had been a million times before. Not much recently, but a lot. Jim knocked on the Byers door. "Hopper I called hours ago." Joyce yelled that Lauren could hear it from the car. Laurn used this time to put on some makeup so she didn't look dead and hungover.
She put on some blush to bring some color to her face, then used lipstick for the same reason. She threw on some eyeliner along with mascara. There was a tap on the window that when she turned was Jonathan. Lauren leaned over to the driver's seat, rolling down the window. "Hey."
"Hey, umm, my mom is going to occupy your dad for a while. He asked me to drive you. If you don't want to, that's fine."
"No, I'll go. I'll just be a second." She rolled up the window and packed her stuff up, throwing it in her bag. She slid out of the car and into Jonathans. She threw her bag on the floor, and all of her junk fell out of her bag, including a blunt that Walt must have slipped in her bag at one point. She saw Jonthans look of surprise. "What?"
"Nothing, I understand you may have dropped us, but we know what you went through." Lauren bit the inside her cheek his words made her feel more than bad. They sat in silence, driving down the road.
"You know I'm sorry, right? I didn't mean to just drop you guys." Jonathan glanced at her.
"Yeah, I know, I was being an asshole shouldn't have said that."
"No, I get it. I just stopped coming over. But I didn't stop trying, you know? So you don't have to act like it's all my fault." Lauren was slightly frustrated by his comment, but she got why he might be erritable. His brother was missing.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too."
"But I'm scared." Lauren let out a deep breath. "Really scared."
"I am too."
"I think my mom's going crazy." Jonathan just blurted out. Lauren hadn't had him say anything this honestly since before she stopped coming over. "This morning, she was talking to the lights."
"The lights?"
"She had every light in the house in his room. She said he was talking through them. That she didn't know how, but he was in them. She's going bat shit Lo. And just like always, I have to be strong and keep her together all while I'm scared to death." Lauren didn't know what to say.
"I'm sure she's going to be fine when they find him. Everything's going to be fine." She started digging through her bag. She pulled out the joint. "If you ever wan't to stop being strong for a couple hours. Just grab a lighter. I know it's not a magic fix, but it's nice." Jonathan put it in his pocket and look to the road.
"Thank you. For the weed and the talk."
"Yeah, I want to be here. I want to help find Will so anytime." It wasn't long in their comfortable silence that continued till they pulled into the parking lot. Lauren got out of the car and walked up to Jonathan, pulling him into a hug. "I'll see you later?"
"Yeah." Lauren walked way from the car and into the school. Ignoring a comment from one of Tommy's friends. When she turned the corner, she saw Nancy walking with her books tight to her chest.
"Hey, did you do it?" Lauren asked Nancy. Lauren ignored the fact of who it was with for the moment.
"Keep your voice down." Nancy said.
"What I literally whispered that?"
"Well, you whispered too loud."
"Sorry. Did you do it?" Nancy smiled at her. "Oh my God, I knew. Tell me everything. Was it good? Did it hurt? Did you, you know? Is it anything like you thought? How do you feel now? "
"No, sorry, I'm not telling you anything at school, but I honestly do feel different."
"Good way or bad way?"
"Bad," Lauren sighed feeling horrible. This is exactly what she didn't want to happen. "I feel like I did something wrong. I feel like everyone is looking at me." Nancy opened her locker.
"Don't worry, nobody's looking, and if they were, I would -" Lauren was cut off by Steve,
"Hey," he said, standing on the other side, her looker unaware of Lauren's present meir two feet away.
"Hey," Nancy replied, turning to look over at him.
"Is everything okay?" With a smirk that made Lauren want to punch him.
"Yeah, totally. I just feel like everybody's staring." Nancy bit her lip.
"I didn't tell anybody." Steve's hand rubbed her back, making Lauren want to vomit.
"Yeah, but what about Tommy and Carol?"
"You're being paranoid." Lauren rolled her eyes when he said this. She felt like he was invalidating her feelings, and it pissed her off, but it was Steve that he could be eating a bowl of soup, and it would annoy Lauren.
"I'm sorry." Lauren rolled her eyes again.
"Nancy, what did I tell you? You don't have to apologize when you didn't do anything wrong." Nancy's eyes widened knowing something was about to happen.
"Lauren, don't start."
"He should understand that if people knew. You'll get called a slut and he'll get praised like the king. Oh wait, he's already King Steve."
"Lauren calm down." Nancy said like Lauren had screamed at the top of her lungs. When in reality she hadn't even raised her voice.
"No, Nance. Let her talk, she knows a thing or two about getting called a slut." He said leaning against the wall full of lockers.
"Oh, eat me," she said, annoyed by getting called a slut for the umpteenth time in her life.
"Sure, your place or mine? You want me to bring Tommy? You seem to like his dick in your mouth." Lauren's fist tightened, but she wasn't going to do anything about it.
"Fuck you Harrington," she started to walk to class before she said, "your "he's not my boyfriend" sucks." Lauren said with air quotes as she began to walk to class away from Steve and his arrogance.
"And you swallow." He said under his breath just bringing Lauren back into the conversation. She really tired not to but she couldn't help herself.
"Did you really just say that?" Steve looked around while nodding.
"Yeah. I did."
"Yeah, you sound like a middle school boy." Steve nodded, curling his lips in.
"Yeah, Tommy, actually. But you liked it right then he said, blah blah blah blah... "and then you swallow." Lauren laughed at little, but it was a fake laugh. He was annoying the living shit out of her. It was the same the other way around.
"Steve." Nancy tried to intervene in the fight.
"How did you know exactly what he said? Did you suck him off, too, Harrington? Did he teach you how to suck dick too." A smile rose to her face when she said this. "Is that why you are so close? You fuck each other in secret?" People started to look at the two as they were getting louder as they continued back and forth.
"Oh, blow me."
"Sure, your place or mine." She mocked him as he said earlier. An administrator walked over, placing a hand on both of their shoulders.
"I suggest you three get to class." They both nodded Lauren and turned to class, holding her hand up to flip him off.
"Miss. Hopper." The teacher added as soon as he noticed it.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Williams, It just... my hand. It just slipped."
The only thing that would make her feel better was seeing her best friends in English. When Lauren got there, she was met with an empty chair. She sat next to her and two seats away from Nancy.
"What the fuck was that?" Nancy was mad mad. She never said fuck, this made Lauren take a deep breath feeling as if maybe she needed to reflect.
"It's how I always act around him. You know this. Why are you acting like it's a shocker that I don't like him? He's a complete asshole always has been."
"I just thought you guys could be more civil but I guess not." Nancy shugged.
"I can. He just like to tap dance on my nerves like it's the most euphoric thing he's every felt."
"That's why he does it. He just wants to get a rise out of you. He knows he pushes you buttons and you let him. So why do you react?" Lauren threw her hands up.
"Because he's an asshole. If he didn't do anything I wouldn't react." Nancy looked at her like she was crazy.
"Then what was that? He was talking to me, not poking you."
"That was all him. And I can't resist it. Because he's a nerandetial with about zero redeeming qualities." Nancy rolled her eyes knowing she wasn't going to win her friend over on this one. A few more kids filed through the door but not one of them appeared to be Barbra.
"Where is Barb?"
"Shouldn't you know she brought you home last night, right?"
"What no, I thought she brought you home after I went upstairs. I thought you just went out front."
"No like I said I needed to call someone that wasnt my dad."
"Who'd you call? Walt? Nevermind that doesn't matter right now. Why is Barb not here?" Nancy asked.
"Well I don't know?"
"That's not helpful."
"Neither is asking useless questions." Lauren said back. Nancy tapped on the girls shirt in front of her and asked,
"Hey, do you know where Barb is?"
"Shouldn't you two know?" The girl asked in return.
"Oh Nancy, that 's totally going to work asking everybody in the class."
"It's a start."
"I swear if she's just skipping and watching The Twilight Zone without us I'm going to kill her."
☆
At lunch Lauren and Nancy sat together.
"Nance, go and see if the guys heard anything last night or saw Barbara leave. Then we met at the phone to talk to Mrs. Holland." Nancy nodded making her way to the table that sat dick Tommy and asshole Steve and cunty Carol.
Lauren knew that the middle school had recess when the high school had lunch. So she took it as her excuse to check on the operation Eleven/Will.
As she walked she heard the fun screams of kids running around and they cries of a kid that had fallen. The boys had been playing with rocks by the shead. The shead Lauren ducked behind in order to give them a little scare. Not in the moment thinking about how bad of an idea it may have been.
Lauren picked up a stick and cracked it to attract the boys to the shed. Just as the boys turned the corner. Lauren yelled, "boo" Lauren was hit in the face with three rocks. "Fuck." She rubbed her head where they had made impact. "I thought you guys were nerd why do you have such good aim."
"Lo?" They questioned, like she was an idiot for sneaking up on them. Sometimes she should have been weary about. "Why do you have rocks anyway? What are you doing?"
"We're gathering rocks to fight the demogorgon." Lauren looked more than confused. What the hell were they talking about was all she could think. Was there a development in operation she missed.
"The what?"
"El, knows where Will is and she knows what took him. We are going to go find him." Lauren looked even more confused. There seemed to be many devolpelments she missed. First they didn't answer her question. Eleven knew where he was? And what took him?
"How does she know?" This news was seemingly great. If she knew what took him, Jim might be able to get him back and that was her number one hope at the moment. That and the fact that Barbara wasn't the type to skip unless prompted to by Lauren.
"She just knows stuff. I guess. She knows stuff just like she can move things with her mind. Magic." Mike said with his hands making Lauren give him a quick smile.
"Okay so this think that took Will would be? The demographic? What's that?"
"It's Demogorgon Lo. But you should have been there Eleven was showing us where she thinks Will is. This creature took him and it's where he is. And we're going to find him." Lauren loved their enthusiasm she really did. But she couldn't help but worry she didn't want them looking for him getting themselfs in trouble too.
"Where is he."
"We're not a hundred sure, but help us find a rock." Lauren sighed thinking this may have been a good thing. They didn't need to find there way to this creature.
"Do you think she was born with her powers or do you think she acquired her powers?" Dustin asked, the boys started looking for rocks again so Lauren helped.
"She is not a superhero. She's a weirdo." Lucas said Lauren rolled her eyes.
Why does that matter? The x-men are weirdos." The boys looked at her confused as to how she knew that. "What do you expect me to do when you and Erica are asleep? Stare at the ceiling?" Lucas shrugged.
"I don't know, we figured you had friends come over." Her eyes wide.
"Um no. Never, have you watched Halloween. Hell no. Not trying to get murder. I wouldn't even evite Nancy over."
"Do you have to relate everything to movies, especially that one?" Lauren tossed a rock at the Dustin for his sarcastic comment.
"Because child, that is my favorite movie." Lauren stood talking to the boys with her hands on her hips.
"Whatever."
"So I will be at Mikes after school if everything goes as planned for me. We haven't seen Barbara today so we're going to check on her first." She sighed knowing they were going to do something. "Please don't go looking for Will by yourself."
"Will do, Mom." Lucas said, giving Lauren a teasing look. A thought came over her mind that made her smile.
"Hell why don't you take Steve Harrington with you. Maybe we'll be lucky and he falls off a cliff." The boys laughed at what she said. "What I'm serious?"
"We can plot to kill my sister's boyfriend later. Right now let's focus on finding Will." The group's attention was attracted by the ring on the high school bell for the passing period after lunch.
"I'll see you boys later." Lauren made her way to class to sit in economics right next to the boy she hated more than anything in the entire world right now. He made her hate taking the majority of her classes at the junior grade level.
"Hey Hop." He said with a smile as she sat down in her seat. She ignored him like Nancy instructed her to do.
"In 1930, the republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the... Anyone? Anyone? The Great Depression passed the... Anyone? Anyone?" The whole class sat there and blankly stared at him. "The tariff bill, the Hawley-smoot Tariff Act which... anyone? Raised or lowered? " His words faded into nothingness as Lauren fell asleep until she awoke. Lauren snapped back to reality and was met by Harry Galestpy.
"Hey, do you want to be partners for this project?" Her eyes stung from sleeping even for the short time because she sleeped with her contacts in.
"Sure why not?" Lauren had no clue what he was talking about but assumed it was one of the millions of projects she had done every week. "When do we present? I wasn't paying attention."
"The eighteenth, I think."
"What is it about?"
"The exchange rates in America and voodoo or someshit. Do you want to work on it after school?" Lauren was confused about the whole voodoo thing bit just put it past her.
"Yeah, sure." He had a huge smile on his face.
☆
The rest of the day past with Lauren felling like some one was missing from their hallway conversations. Barbara of course. The bell rang. And Lauren immediately packed her stuff and made her way too her locker and the pay phone outside of the school.
Lauren met Nancy on the phone where they picked it up and dialed their best friend's phone number. Lauren put her ear on the phone allowing for Nancy to listen. "Hello, Marsha Holland speaking."
"Hey, Mrs. Holland, it's Lauren,"
"Oh hi Lauren."
"I was wondering is Barbara home?"
"Nope she hasn't come home yet." Lauren and Nancy were worried but hearing this added it it.
"She did come home, right? After the thingy?"
"No, she said she was staying the night with Nancy last night." Nancy shook her head just to confirm. "Oh yes, she did. Did she make it home this morning? She was going to bring me one of my glasses I left last weekend."
"Oh well no I'm sorry haven't seen her." The two girls looked defeated and honestly partially sick. "Lauren, will you please have her call me as soon as you find her?"
"Yes of course. Sorry to bother you. Bye." Lauren hung up the phone and saw Nancy's blank expression. "Then where the fuck is she?"
She was already done with the call.
"She hasn't come home. She not at school. I mean I'd say Walt if you weren't with him all night." Nancy stated the facts with a shug. They started walking to the parking lot. On their way they say a scene between Steve, his friends, against Jonathan. Why must he be everywhere constantly causing tension with anyone and everyone.
"Oh look, the star arrives." Tommy cheered at Nancy clapping like a child with a huge smile.
"I bet he was saving this one for later." Carol said, handing Nancy a photo of her half naked from the back. Lauren was so confused but the vulnerable look an Nancy's face was horrible. The looks on Tommy and Carols face was pure amusement. Steve's was pissed and Jonathan's was hard to read.
"Oh, here Lauren here's one when you are screaming at Steve. Like old time." Carol said, handing on over to her. Lauren looked at herself Barbara Nancy and the people she hated immumianted by the lighted pool. She thought about framing it as a joke before folding up and slipping it in her pocket.
"This creep was spying on us last night." Carol handed Nancy another photo. He had acted so normal in the morning. This wasn't something she'd every thing Jonathan would do and she gets that grief makes people do crazy things but this was just insane.
Lauren looked at the photo of one half naked Nancy and didn't know what to think. "See, you can tell he knows it was wrong, but that's the thing this perverts they just can't help themselves. Again grief did powerful things but this was a whole other Jonathan Lauren had never met and hoped she would again.
For what seemed like the millionth time in the last week Lauren was mad. She was mad for Nancy. She didn't care about her photo being taken she was clothed Nancy wasn't. Steve started wrapping up the pictures. Rightfully so. But the next thing he said may have been a little to far, but so was printing the pictures.
"Please, not the camera."
"Here you go, man." Lauren wathced as Steve held his arm extended with the camera. Just as Jonathan was about to reach for the camera Steve dropped it. Lauren wished she did it herself to be honest. This might be the only thing Steve had done that she would have done herself. That wasn't crazy stupid.
The group walked away as Nancy picked up scraps of pictures that had been thrown on the ground. She ran off when Steve told her to. Lauren stood there and looked at Jonathan picking up the pieces of his camera.
"Why are you still here?" Jonathan asked.
"I'm not," she said through her hands up as she walked into the school as she was going to wait for Walt's game to start. She walked past Steve, Tommy, and Carol.
"Hey Lauren, do you like having your picture taken?" Tommy's words made Lauren bit the inside of her cheek with an eye roll.
"What, Tommy?" She stopped and looked at him sitting on the bench.
"Do you like having your picture taken?"
"I don't know. Why?" She said with her hands crossed her chest.
"There was this picture of you getting passed around in the locker room a couple of weeks ago," Lauren rolled her eyes, having heard about a photo but not having seen it.
"And what is this photo of exactly?"
"Your tits." Carol hit him in the chest.
"Oh really," Lauren sucked her teeth. "And why do you think it's me?"
"Because."
"Wow, A-plus explanation. So, who has this photo? How did they get it?" Lauren said a hundred percent sure it wasn't her. Never having taken it or had it taken. She knew he was just trying to annoy the everliving hell out of her like alwayd.
"Does it matter you were being the little slut you are and let him take it?"
"Oh yeah, that totally sound like me. Slutty old Lauren slutten it up yet again."
"Exactly."
"Okay well, I'm going to leave you all alone, and whatever playboy that pictures from make sure the girl is getting her royalties or whatever its called. Okay, see ya." Lauren started walking away when Nancy grabbed her hand. "Hey, just go with your new friends, Nancy. I'm going to go look for our other one." Lauren shook her off, walking to the door she walked in minutes prior.
Nancy stayed with Steve and his friends while Lauren started walking to she didn't even know where. Nancy ran up behind her out of breath, "I'm coming with." Lauren looked over at her, relived she actually came.
"When was the last time you saw her, like the very last?"
"I was on the stairs before I went up to Steve's."
"What led up to that?"
"Well, I pressured her into drinking. I know don't kill me."
"Nancy..." She glanced over at her but stayed focused on her feet.
"I know."
"She hates drinking."
"I know I feel bad. What if she tried walking home because she was drunk."
"Don't start doing that. The last thing we need is you blaming yourself." Nancy and Lauren walked in eerie silence all the way down the road.
"Her cars still here."
"Maybe she did walk home. She just hasn't made it yet."
"Lauren, by now, she'd be there."
"Maybe she never left Steve's." Nancy nodded. Thinking behind his house would be a good place to check. The walk to Steve's seemed even longer than the night before as more and more worry crept along the girls. "Why is fence so damn tall."
"Lauren," Nancy said in a serious voice.
"Sorry." They opened the gate to an empty back yard. "Barb," they both yelled, put at the same time.
"Barbara?" Nancy yelled as she made her way into the woods. They both walked deep enough to where they could still see Steve's house, making sure they were still close not to lose each other. There was a crack coming from further in the woods.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" There was another crack this one louder and closer. "I heard that." The two turned seeing a thing run by them.
"Holy shit." Lauren said as they turned to run back. Lauren tripped before getting up, meeting Nancy outside the woods.
"You have to be more careful. You're going to break something eventually."
"Yeah, yeah, you say that every time." Nancy wrapped her arm around her to make sure she was okay before scurrying out of Steve's backyard and to her house.