CHAPTER FIFTEEN, DEPARTURE
"Hi, what can I get you, today?"
Lauren smiled at the family of four that were seated at a booth in Pop's, the kids were young and had toothy grins on their faces as their parents beamed back at them, Lauren feeling her heart swell.
"We'll just have one Large Chocolate sundae with four spoons, we'll all share." The father said politely making the kids groan out loud at that, Lauren gives him a tight-lipped look.
"Are you sure? Your kids don't look too happy about it." Lauren mused, her notepad in her hand as she finished writing their order down.
"They'll just have to deal with it, won't they?" The mother replied, giving her kids a stern look as Lauren nodded walking away fro their table, punching in the order before calling out to the cook and telling him the order of the previous customer.
The bell rings, causing Lauren to stand slightly straighter but deflates once more when Jughead enters with his laptop in his hand, he gives Lauren a smile but frowns when he see's that she had left before the others could speak with her.
"Hey, Where were you? You left before I could drop you." frowned the boy, his forehead creasing in thought as the brunette sighed in response.
"I stayed for a few minutes, I couldn't find any of you so I walked home." Lauren shrugged, grabbing the Ice Cream and taking it to the table that ordered it, offering them a small smile, Jughead followed the girl, taking a seat in his favorite booth.
Lauren pulled out a few napkins from the pouch that rested on her waist before walking to the booth that the beanie boy sat in, his laptop was propped ahead of him as he waited for the girl to approach him.
"Are you still mad at Archie?" Jughead questioned suddenly.
Lauren raised her brows at him, startled by his abrupt question. "He hasn't apologized yet and I'm done running after him and his dumb mistakes."
The retort had made Jughead smirk, his eyes glistening with mischief.
Lauren rolled her eyes at his smile. "How are you, by the way? I never got to talk to you about the Drive-In. Will you be okay?"
"Relax, Lauren, I didn't lose my puppy, it's just a cinema." Jughead answered, trying to hide his disappointment for the loss of his workplace.
Lauren gave him a look, mumbling a remark. "No, you're acting worse."
Jughead finally let a smile creep onto his lips as a laugh escaped his lips as he nudged her arm, making her head fall off her palms. "Go get me, burgers, Laur."
The girl groaned, before she could stand up a body blocked her way, looking up it was difficult not to gasp from the shock that filled the air between the person and herself. Laughter from both Jughead and Lauren ceased to an abrupt stop as both gape at the girl who had interrupted their amusement.
Maya Davis stood in front of Lauren, her face contorted into an unreadable expression which only made her look more intimidating than she already was. Maya had her coat wrapped around her tightly, though it wasn't cool outside, her hair was flatly placed on her shoulders and she managed to give her sister a tight-lipped look.
Lauren glanced at Jughead quickly, his expression mirroring the girls, Lauren swallowed thickly her hair falling on her face.
"Hi, Jug." Maya mumbled, giving him a nod, the boy replicating her gesture, she then turned to Lauren, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"
It wasn't really a question, more like a soft command but nonetheless, Lauren couldn't speak, seeing her sister now made her realize that she hadn't seen her sister in a almost two weeks, not really paying attention to her absence until now.
Lauren stood up, indicating the older sibling to follow her outside the shoppe. Jughead watched their sharp and what seemed like a heated conversation which wasn't an argument, from the window of the diner that he was seated in, from his point of view, the older sibling was more calm than the younger who was confused and shocked as Maya spoke in a rush but keeping her voice low, bowing her head and looking around every few seconds.
Lauren stood patiently, waiting for her sister to voice her thoughts and explain why she was 'visiting' her as she supposedly worked. Maya was quick to talk but hard to understand as she spoke.
"Wait, what?"
"I'm leaving town, I don't know how long I'll be gone but I'll be gone a while." Maya said quickly, taking a small step closer to her, hoping she understood what she was saying.
Lauren grimaced, narrowing her eyes at her, giving her a look of confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Listen, I don't have much time, okay? I left you a note on your bed explaining everything, it'll be hard to pay rent, go to dad's apartment, okay? Put the house up for rent, live in the apartment, just take the things you need, and your own stuff. I promise, we'll be okay." Maya explained vaguely, her head vigorously moved, looking around making her look more suspicious.
"Maya, what..." Lauren stuttered, her glassy eyes searching her sisters face for any amusement but she was serious, her confidence or her seriousness not wavering once as she spoke.
"I promise, everything will be okay."
Maya Davis was strong, she was always one who didn't waver or quake but always kept her held high but even she couldn't help but let a few tears leave as she watched her sister's expression morph one into terror.
"Maya, you're leaving me?"
That was what made Maya drop her facade, her confidence bubbling out of her like a deflated balloon, her lip quivering as the younger girl's voice cracked when she spoke.
"You...you can't leave, Maya, you're the only one with me, right now." Lauren muttered, her voice was saddened and her eyes were watered as a lump in her throat formed. She hated how weak she sounded at the moment and although she was not particularly happy with her sister's actions, she couldn't bare having to worry about her.
A taxi had now pulled up behind the two girls, Lauren's eyes landing on it making her look at her and back at the yellow vehicle, Maya, let out a small cry, kissing the girls forehead, squeezing her hand.
"I'm sorry... for everything."
With the girls final words hanging in the air, untouched, Maya Davis got into the car, sinking into the seat, avoiding Lauren's sad eyes and muttering to the driver as they pull away, leaving Lauren once more.
For a moment, Lauren stood there, waiting for the vehicle to come back, thinking, this has to be a joke. Lauren stared at the back of the car that was far too gone, her hair flew in the wind, the rush supposed to refresh her but it simply made her want to crumple onto the floor.
A bell made her attention snap into reality and the truth was that, once again, she was left alone again, her head turned, her eyes meeting Jughead's who jogged to her, his face showed sympathy making her believe he had seen the whole interaction.
Jughead didn't need to hear what they were saying to know what happened ad without any words exchanged, he wrapped his arms around the girl tightly, her arms limp beside her as the shock of the event didn't affect her just yet.
Finally, it was like a pipe had broken in her mind as she let out a sob, sinking to the floor, as the boy crumpled with her, the girl crying in his arms, taking heavy breathes, tears pooled under the brunette's eyes as, Jughead pulled her deeper into his chest, her cries coming out muffled from the fabric between her and the boy. Though she cried, one thought ran through Lauren's mind like a race car on it's track.
How can something like this happen so fast?
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Short, filler chapter, a surprise for the rest of the week, I know I said I probably wouldn't update but I needed a break from all the studying and was really motivated to write this specifically.
So finally, you're gonna start understanding Maya and her character and why she does what she does, all will be revealed not-so-soon. Maya is probably my favorite character that I created, simply because she seems so intriguing because you don't really understand her and her intentions, only I do.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this really short af chapter!
P.S can we talk about the new Riverdale episode? What is happening to this show? It kinda made me uncomfortable ngl, I honestly wonder what the writers have planned for the next few episodes because I'm really confused with the direction. Oh god, what is happening to Riverdale, I can't even...