I'm Not Crazy
A Haven Fanfiction
By Amanda Croft
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize, I promise.
Spoilers: 2x13 Silent Night
She wasn't going crazy, she knew that much, but it was still hard to be the only sane person in town. It was July for Christ's sake! It was not Christmas, regardless what anyone said. Christmas in July was just supposed to be a saying, not an actual thing. At least not with the full Christmas decorating and gifts and Santa.
Next thing she knew, people started to disappear, and she was the only one who noticed. Sometimes she really hated the Troubles. Being the only person who was immune had its upsides – if she wasn't immune, they would never know anything was wrong until everyone was already gone and it was too late. There were definite draw backs as well though – most people just thought she was crazy and refused to listen, even Nathan!
It was infuriating that the only person she could get to listen to her was Duke – he's a great guy sure but Nathan is her partner. Nathan should have trusted her. How many times had she noticed something was wrong when he hadn't and he just took her word for it? How many times had she been wrong about something being Trouble related? Was what she was saying really that outlandish? The guy didn't even blink when she told him she was in some twisted version of Groundhog Day, but she insists it's not Christmas and she's just being a scrooge?
Audrey was running out of time and she still had no idea who was causing all of this, let alone how to reverse it, if it could be reversed. After all, when it had happened in the 50's, no one that went missing ever came back! Most of the people that had disappeared made her a little sad, but it wasn't like she really knew any of them, until they found out all the other officers were "nonexistent". Then she really was under pressure to fix this before the people she cared about most disappeared as well.
Next thing she knew, she was living the Day That Never Ends all over again – Duke disappeared right in front of her, mid conversation. Next she was sure she had lost Nathan, only to find him kneeling down by the shattered snow globe. The joy was short lived however when he too disappeared right in front of her. Dave Teagues was gone and poor Vince had no idea what was missing, just that something was. She was almost out of time!
When Audrey finally figured it out and managed to find Hadley, a bigger problem arose – the girl didn't want to undo any of the damage. She refused to even acknowledge that she was the one responsible. Despite her desperation, Audrey pulled out every ounce of training she had – ok, other Audrey had – received about compartmentalization and focused on calmly getting through to the depressed girl. She could relate to her, if only Hadley would listen to what she had to say. She knew what it was like to feel like no one ever stayed for you, like no one cared enough to fight for you; but Audrey had Nathan now, and Duke and a few other friends and Hadley had parents that loved her like crazy.
The relief she felt at seeing Duke's name on the caller id almost knocked her knees out from under her, but she managed to walk out of that theater somehow to go pick him up. That relief was nothing compared to what she felt when she heard Nathan's voice on the other end of her phone, confused but alive. She literally had to lean against the nearest wall to keep from falling to the ground a bundle of muscleless goo.
The idea for the party had stemmed from the realization that while she may only have two close friends, she was surrounded by people that cared about her, that she cared about, and it was time that she recognized that.
Maybe one day she would tell the boys what had happened and why she was suddenly so keen for social interaction. Maybe she would tell them how she knew that they had both wanted that sled as a child. Maybe she would tell them a lot of things, but for now, it was too much fun to watch them try to puzzle everything out for themselves. Besides, even if she did tell them, they probably wouldn't believe her anyway – the whole idea was crazy.
AN: As always constructive critisism, comments, suggestions, and questions are welcomed.