(Author's Notes: Episode 3 of the "Growing Up Creepier" series, updated daily until completion
Rated "K+" for homosexuality, reader discretion is advised)
Growing Up Creepier: Episode 03
A Friendship So Deep
"Have you ever noticed how blue the sky is?" A light, flutelike voice hovered through the air in the small town of Middlington, floating from the shining red lips of the redheaded girl who danced her way down the sidewalk with a hopelessly content smile plastered on her face. "And look at those clouds! Oohhh they're so white today! They're like cotton candy! Teehee, hey, do you ever think they should make cloud candy? I bet it would taste sooo good!" Chris-Alice Hollyruller's giggle could be heard several blocks away as she spun on her heel.
"Um… yes, I've seen them, they kind of do, and I can't say I have." Her companion Raven answered her comments in order, with her typically droll expression plastered on her ghostly white face. "Now I've got one for you… how many pixie sticks did you say you had again?"
"Seven, why!?" Chris-Alice replied with a quick grin.
"Just curious." Raven sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Creepie's probably waiting for us!" Chris-Alice gripped her sour friend's hand and bolted more quickly down the sidewalk, nearly dragging the black-clad girl across the ground behind her, though she managed to stay on her feet.
Creepie Creecher, Chris-Alice and Raven's best friend and the reason they ever spent time together… initially, anyway, Raven thought to herself as her feet scrambled to keep up with her hyperactive partner. Over the time since Creepie had been sent to juvie, Raven and Chris-Alice had spent a lot of time together. Raven had been reluctant at first, but she had to admit Chris-Alice had a way of dragging a smile out of anybody, even someone who was determined to be as sour as possible. Spending time with her had become almost… enjoyable.
"I can't believe it's really been a whole month since Creepie got thrown in the slammer, do you think she's changed a lot?" Chris-Alice wondered with a finger on her chin as they approached the massive wrought iron gates that surrounded Dweezewold Manner. Despite the fact that everyone now knew Creepie lived there, it looked as old and decrepit as ever… because that was how Creepie and her family liked it.
"I don't know, can't say I've ever been in Juvie." Raven shrugged. "I'm sure she didn't change TOO much, she doesn't seem like the type to change for anyone."
"Yeah, definitely!" Chris-Alice grinned as she pushed open the gate, then sprinted the rest of the way up to the massive double-doors at the front of the mansion. Raven continued to tail her at a slower pace, watching her friend slam her fist into the door as she approached. "Creepie! We're here, and we're very eager to see you again!" Chris-Alice slammed her fist into the massive doors again. "Creepie!? Come ooooonnnnn! We'reherewe'reherewe'rehere!"
"Are you sure she's out already? Maybe she hasn't gotten home yet." Raven suggested.
"I guess maybe she's not home, but at least her mom usually answers." Chris-Alice reached for the doorknob, and squeaked in surprised when it turned easily at her touch, setting the old, rotting door swinging inward on rusted hinges.
Chris-Alice and Raven exchanged a quick glance a moment before the redhead stepped forward, gripping the doorframe lightly. "Hellooooo?" Chris-Alice called into the house, but it remained eerily still and quiet. "Where is everybody?"
"Not finding out by standing out here. Come on." Raven stepped inside the dark house, ignoring the sound of the floorboards creaking under her shoes as she walked across the living room toward the back hallway.
Chris-Alice's faster, lighter steps rushed up behind her, and she felt her friend grab her right arm in both hands, gripping it like a worried child walking into a dark room. Raven let her hold on as they moved down the hallway, passing broken, deserted room after broken, deserted room. After a few minutes Raven's gaze settled on a specific door that lay open before them, with thick, metal chains lying on the ground just outside of it. A massive padlock stared up at them from the floor, unlocked and unable to hold the chains in place any longer.
Chris-Alice gasped right behind Raven's head, clutching at her arm tighter. "That's the door to Aunt Rose's room…"
"Aunt Rose?" Raven lifted one eyebrow. Despite being Creepie's friend, she had never been given the tour of Creepie's place.
"I don't even know what it is, but Creepie says it should never, ever be let out into the human population…" She felt Chris-Alice shiver. "What if it's out there right now? Or… what if it's… in here?" She gulped.
A thunderous bump on one of the floorboards further down the hallway was met an instant later by a piercing Shriek from Chris-Alice, who instantly leapt on top of Raven, knocking her against the wall in her panic and trying to pull her down the hall. "Runrunrunrunrun!"
"Hey, whoa there, hold on!" A distinctly human voice reassured them from the shadowed hallway. Chris-Alive shivered, clutching at Raven tightly as the tall, lanky figure of a boy emerged from the shadows, holding up his hands in a disarming manner. The redhead didn't begin breathing again until she seemed to recognize him a few moments later. "It's just me." Skipper lowered his arms with a disarming smile. "I've been looking for Creepie, but she's not anywhere in the house… and neither is her family."
"You searched the entire house?" Chris-Alice bit her lip nervously and pushed away from Raven, standing on her own while her dark friend struggled to catch her breath after being nearly hugged to death. "But Creepie's family NEVER leaves the house…"
"I know, I'm starting to get really worried here…" Skipper raised his hand to his chin. "I'm sure her letter said she was getting out of Juvie today, and her family would still be here even if she wasn't. Something's not right…"
"Where do you think they are?" Raven moved away from the wall, brushing herself off and quickly regaining her composure.
"What if they're hurt somewhere?" Chris-Alice gasped and clasped her hands over her cheeks, a look of terror overcoming her features. "Creepie could be hurt! Someone could have come and taken them to do horrible things to them! What if-"
"Chris-Alice!" Raven grabbed her shoulders and shook her roughly, shaking her out of her rant and forcing her to look into her face. The redhead's face had paled considerably. "It's time for a time-out, you're getting hysterical." Chris-Alice stared at her face blankly for a few moments, then nodded and blinked rapidly as she turned towards the wall, taking deep breaths and hugging her arms around her torso.
Raven watched the back of her head with a trace of worry, but she knew her friend would get over it. Ever since her mental episode following the confrontation at the Rembrandt Corporation, Chris-Alice had been prone to fits of hysteria. She could get worked up at the slightest provocation, discovering one of her best friends missing must have been more than she could take. Chris-Alice could control it after some training in the mental hospital, but sometimes she needed to be reminded to use her techniques.
"Standing around wondering won't find Creepie." Raven spoke when it looked like Chris-Alice had calmed herself enough to listen. "We need to look in all the places she might go. Budge's house, Carla's house, Maria's house. If we split up we can check all three at once."
"I'll check Carla's house." Chris-Alice finally turned away from the wall, her face having regained some color, though she was still breathing heavier than normal. "I was going to go see her after we saw Creepie anyway. Her and Melanie just got out too."
"I'll check with Maria, I've spent the most time with her." Skipper offered.
"Okay, I'll ask Budge if he's seen her. We'll meet at Chris-Alice's house in half an hour." Raven turned to Chris-Alice, lowering one of her hands to grip her arm tightly. "Creepie's fine, Chris-Alice. If there's one thing we all know about her, it's that she can take care of herself."
Chris-Alice smiled a somewhat tense smile. "Yeah, thanks, but I'm fine. I can handle it." She took a deep breath and turned to leave quickly, yanking her arm out of Raven's grip and rushing towards the front door. It was an uncharacteristic move that made Raven sigh. Chris-Alice's bubbly nature could get annoying, but it was preferable to seeing her so cold after one of her fits. Oh well, she would bounce back soon enough and get back to being annoying.
"Let's get out of here then, I'm getting really worried about her too." Skipper brushed past Raven, rushing down the hallway toward the front exit.
Raven hesitated a moment, casting one more glance at the thick steel padlock lying on the floor in front of the open door. Another moment later she turned to follow Chris-Alice and Skipper out of the building. She was sure Creepie was fine… but there was nothing wrong with finding her as quickly as possible anyway.
They convened with their contacts, but none of them had seen Creepie except for Carla, and she said they parted ways once they made it into town in order to see their families. The more they searched, the more people noticed the search, and the more people joined in. Even the teachers from their school joined in the search by the time the sun had begun to set, but no matter how many people looked in as many places as they could think of, they couldn't find Creepie anywhere.
"Can I start worrying now?" Chris-Alice shivered, hugging herself against a chill wind that blew over the town of Middlington as the sun began to set in the Western horizon.
"Yeah…" Raven nodded, walking up beside her and looking around at the people still searching every nook and cranny of the town. "I think we can all start worrying now." She told her softly. She didn't even complain when she felt Chris-Alice's fingers entwine with her own.
