1How to Save a Life
As he ran out of school, Spike's mind was moving faster than Spike himself. He would get the train straight to Sherrington and then a taxi straight to her uncle's house. There was no point in him hanging around trying to work out where it was. That would just waste time and that was something which he wasn't inclined to waste.
His legs were moving without much command from his brain which worked out well. He could concentrate on his plan. He just had to bring Lynda back. Just had to. Colin couldn't continue as editor - Spike would rather spend two hours locked in a room with his arguing parents than work for Colin. And that was saying a lot for him
He ran into the train station and looked at a train time-table. There was a train to Sherrington due in ten minutes. He checked his pockets. Oh thank god, he had enough money. He wandered over to the platform the train to Sherrington was due to be arriving at. He sighed. He was either being very clever or making one of the biggest mistakes of his life. Funny how often the two came together.
"This girl one day drive me to the white coats." he muttered softly. He had to be crazy to do this. Lynda had near enough admitted that she hated him yet here he was running to bring her back. And not just because of Colin. He deny ever admitting it, but he missed her. A lot. A helluva lot. He wasn't sure why but he did.
And there was no way on this earth that he was going to work at the Junior Gazette without her being there.
So the options were few. But he had to do it.
If he figured right, and despite what people thought he did do that often, David's death had affected Lynda deeper than what she would care to admit. She cried about it. It kinda of like...nah that was impossible. Not even worth thinking about. It couldn't be...
Spike boarded the train quickly. The sooner he got to Sherrington the sooner he could bring Lynda back.
XXX
"Lynda?" Spike hammered on the door of her uncle's house. "Lynda! Lynda it's me Spike!"he kept hammering. Why wouldn't she answer the door? He hammered again.
"You there! What do you think you're doing?" a female voice called to him. "Stop that now! I warn you my husband will be home soon and unless you leave I'll call the police." Spike groaned inwardly. That was the second time this week he'd been threatened with a phone call to the police.
"Please. I'm trying to find Lynda Day. I'm a frien..I know her." he said. The woman looked at him.
"You're Spike Thompson." she said. Spike looked at her.
"I didn't know I was that well known. Must be my natural charisma and good looks" he remarked, a small smirk playing on his face. The woman sighed, and Spike could have sworn she rolled her eyes. "What?" he asked, feeling like he was missing something important.
"You're just as she described you." Spike looked at the woman closely.
"You're her aunt?" he guessed. Lynda's aunt nodded. "Please where's Lynda? She needs to come back to the Junior Gazette. We can't do it without her!" he protested again.
"I'm sorry but Lynda doesn't want to come back. What happened there?" She hadn't told her. Lynda hadn't spoken about what had happened. Spike sighed. He'd need to tell her. Lynda's aunt looked at him. "Come inside. We can have a coffee and you can tell me everything."
XXX
A short half-hour Spike and Lynda's aunt, whose name was Elizabeth, were sitting in the kitchen of the reasonably sized house. "Well..." Elizabeth began, "it seems that quite a lot has happened. And it does slightly explain Lynda's unusual behaviour while staying here. But it doesn't explain why you are the one to come and bring her 'back to life' as it were" Spike looked up from his study of the table sharply.
"'Unusual behaviour' you mean more unusual than demanding that someone brought in their tonsils to prove they weren't just skipping work?" he drawled. Elizabeth looked at him, obviously she didn't approve of someone joking like that. "Sorry" he muttered. "But what do you mean 'unusual behaviour'?"
"Well...she's spent most of her time here going in and out of dress shops." Elizabeth told Spike. He frowned.
"So her buying a new wardrobe, which is long over due I mean have you seen what she wears to school? Anyway her buying clothes is unusual?" he asked. Elizabeth laughed lightly.
"I'll let that comment about her wardrobe slide, but the point is she hasn't been buying. And you still haven't answered my question." Spike looked at her.
"I don't know why I'm the one whose here. If I had to choose someone to be here, it wouldn't be me. It'd be Kenny or Sarah. But..." he paused, trying to work out how to continue, "since Lynda left it's been like...like there's something missing. It's odd and probably the cheesiest thing I've ever said but, it's her. Like her presence. The thing that made her important. That made working at the Junior Gazette fun." He paused again to take a breath. Actually voicing all this made him feel better. "I'll deny I ever admitted this but she's one of the reasons my behaviour at school's been getting better. Mostly because I don't want to see her really angry. I have a feeling that it may be mentally scarring."
"You like her?" Elizabeth asked. There was a brief moment of silence. Spike nodded once.
"I'd kill a dragon for her." He told Elizabeth, not realizing he was echoing his first speech to Lynda. Elizabeth smiled fondly at the boy. The truth was Lynda had spoke of him a good few times, some of it nice, some of it anger, but all of it with some degree of fondness. And Elizabeth suspected that if her niece ever decided to actually be nice for longer than 30 seconds both her and this Spike might work well together.
"Dress shops you said?" Spike asked. Elizabeth nodded.
"There are quite a few in the high street. I'd look there." She told him. Spike stood up, and gave Elizabeth a grateful smile.
"Thanks."
XXX
The first three shops he tried showed nothing but weird looks. He made a mental note - never go to a dress shop without a female. In the four shop he found he. He stood in the doorway for a few moments, just watching her move about the shop. He looked at the pile of clothes in her arms. If her aunt was right, she was just going to try all these outfits on. Spike looked at Lynda. She looked...different. It didn't feel right.
"Not that one," he told her. She looked up "You'll frighten that traffic."She looked at him and he felt liking running over and picking her up. He was used to that look, he missed that look. And as long as she was still using that look, things had to be good.
"I mean look at it, they'll be picking up the colour clash on CB radio..."
XXX
Okay so dropping the new look Gaz on her like that was a dirty trick, but he was desperate. Nothing he had tried to make her come back had worked. And it seemed as though she honestly didn't want to come back to the Junior Gazette.
'So why the hell I am trying?!?!' he asked himself furiously. But he knew why. Of course he knew why. He couldn't let Colin be the editor (that was the official reason, the reason he would use if anyone asked him.) And he missed her being the editor. Yeah she was a power mad bitch. But she was good at it.
And Colin was a rubbish editor! They needed Lynda back.
Spike looked out of the window of the train. He admitted that dropping the new look Gaz was a dirty trick, one that shouldn't have been done in the manner he did it. But he hoped it was a dirty trick that worked.
XXX
Roughly three days later to his journey into Sherrington Spike found himself sitting in the meeting room. He had tried to sit and do work. He had honestly put an effort in. But seeing Colin up at the desk made his stomach feel sick. To make matter worse Colin had come over to talk to him, in the misguided belief that Spike's half day suspension had made him realise that he had to be do as Colin told him. Spike glared at the boy and threw everything that was on his desk, save the typewriter on to the ground. He had then walked into the meeting room, slamming the door behind him.
He was sitting on the desk trying to calm himself down. Or at least stop himself from committing serious bodily harm to Colin. He didn't hear the voice until it had finished it's speech
"And by the way everyone, hello again." He heard the applause and looked out the window. He grinned and walked over to the door, leaning against in his usual manner.
"Hi"
"Oh. Hello Spike" Lynda smiled at him. He grinned back.
"Oh Lynda sorry about embarrassing you." he said sincerely. Lynda frowned.
"When?" she asked, Spike hadn't embarrassed her. He'd actually been quite nice if she were to tell the complete truth.
"Oh about now" he told her. He walked over to her, she took a step back. "Welcome back boos" he wrapped his arms around her, picking off the ground and spinning her round.
"Spike! Put me down! I'm not going to go out with you!" Lynda insisted hitting his lightly on the chest. Spike couldn't help but grin and spin her more. Things were back to normal. And he couldn't be happier (cheesy as it sounded)