A Friendship So Deep Part 2
A week had passed since the day Creepie had mysterious disappeared. The search had continued for days, until they must have combed every inch of land inside of Middlington, and even the surrounding countryside, all to no avail. With Dweezewold in the manner it was in, run down and decrepit as if unoccupied for at least fifty years, it was as if every trace of her existence had been wiped off the face of the planet. It was easy to believe that maybe, she had never existed at all.
Chris-Alice Hollyruller could only look around her school in stunned disbelief one afternoon, pausing with her lunch tray in her hands and looking around the Middlington Middle School cafeteria. The students were all milling around on their lunch period, some mumbling among themselves while others spoke in loud voices, uncaring of who overheard their conversations. It looked like this every day, Chris-Alice thought to herself. Could things really be getting back to normal…?
"How… can you all just mill around like this?" Chris-Alice blurted suddenly. "How can you just MOVE ON!? How can you just FORGET CREEPIE!?"
"Hey, nobody's forgetting Creepie!" She felt a massive hand touch her shoulder, as a gentle, caring voice spoke from high above her head. She turned her gaze up toward the kind eyes of her best long time friend, Budge. "But what are we supposed to do, Chris-Alice? If there was anything I could do… anything… I'd do it. You know I would, and so would most of the people here."
"But it…" Chris-Alice looked around at the cafeteria again, seeing all eyes turned towards her, including those of Carla and Melanie, along with Raven, Misery Whispers, and Morpheus, the three members of the Plaid Vapors… well, three of the four members, anyway.
"We can't just move on… Creepie has to be out there, she has to…" Chris-Alice stared up at him, as if pleading for reassurance.
"I pray that she is… I have every night since she disappeared." Budge told her in a grim, serious tone. His eyes were brimming with tears, but he seemed to be holding them back. "But that's all we can do now, Chris-Alice… I'm sorry."
Chris-Alice closed her eyes, then suddenly threw her tray to the floor, sending her food spilling out onto the tile with a thunderous crash as her silverware leapt free. "No! Creepie's out there! She's out there!" She shoved away Budge's grasping hand roughly, nearly shoving him into the cafeteria counter before whirling to run back through the school hallways, gritting her teeth in anger though she wasn't sure what she was angry at. She didn't even know where she was going, she knew searching the city was useless, and she couldn't leave the city. She couldn't find Creepie, she couldn't do anything… she couldn't help her this time.
"Rr… RAAAAAAHHHH!" She screamed and slammed her fists into one of the lockers with jarring force, enough to send her stumbling blindly to the ground, where she allowed herself to lay panting for several moments. She could barely see anything anymore, it looked like a sea of red in her vision. She didn't bother to move, to try to wipe it away, she didn't bother to do anything.
"This week has been especially tough on you, hasn't it, Chris-Alice?" A thinly accented, but kind voice spoke from close by Chris-Alice's head a moment later. Finally the girl reached her hand up to wipe her bangs out of her eyes, looking up from the floor to see the diminutive form of Principal Monseratte gazing down at her with a gentle smile. "You were always so attached to your friends. It's made you a wonderful friend to those close to you... but such attachments can be taken too far."
"M-Miss Monseratte…" Chris-Alice sat up quickly, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Sorry… I don't know what came over me…"
"I do, and I understand." Miss Monseratte watched Chris-Alice rise to her feet. "You miss your friend and perhaps, in a way, feel responsible for her?" The principal raised one eyebrow. Chris-Alice didn't argue, turning her eyes to the floor again. "But you cannot take responsibility for the world, Chris-Alice. Whatever happened to Creepie is unfortunate, but nothing you caused, nor something you could have prevented."
"I guess so." Chris-Alice sighed and shook her head. "That doesn't make it any easier to think I might… might never see her again."
"In times of loss, child, are the times that we least need to be alone." Miss Monseratte told her softly. "Creepie is not here, but there is still hope that we may one day invite her back into this very school." Chris-Alice forced a slight smile. "Until then, however, there are still others here who will be there for you, who are still here with you, and who still need your friendship just as much as you need theirs."
She reached out, taking one of Chris-Alice's hands in a soft, comforting grip. "There is nothing in the world worse than not knowing the fate of someone you care about… but you cannot let your own life end because of it. No matter where Creepie is, no matter what has happened to her, she would not want you to pull away from your life because of her. Until we know the truth, all we can do is keep hoping." Her hand released Chris-Alice's after another moment, to be sprayed with an aerosol can of disinfectant before being placed back into one of the pockets on her dress.
"I know that… in my head." Chris-Alice sighed. "I just… can't… accept it." She shook her head. "I just can't stop thinking about it, I can't stop focusing on it…"
"Maybe you need something else to focus on." Chris-Alice looked down the hall away from Miss Monseratte to see Raven approaching, her hard shoes clicking across the polished tile. She stopped in front of Chris-Alice in a few moments. "You haven't been using your techniques, have you?"
"Oh, those…" Chris-Alice blushed. "I've tried, but… they haven't been working so well lately."
"All the more reason not to run off like a lunatic!" Chris-Alice whirled the other way as two more sets of footsteps approached from behind her. She spotted Carla coming towards her, stopping close to the principal, who watched the exchange with a sharp, studying gaze. Walking beside Carla was Melanie, who was still walking with the help of her crutches, but with more practiced ease now. "Seriously, you were just trying to get attention, weren't you?" Carla smirked.
"N-no!" Chris-Alice shook her head vigorously.
"Well you definitely got it anyway." Chris-Alice was giggling softly by the time she turned around again to see Budge standing beside Raven. "You need to take it easy. You're not helping Creepie, or any of us."
"Yeah, I know…" Chris-Alice took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry you guys…"
"You need to get out and do something… so hey, why can't we all take the day off school? You know, for healing purposes." Carla grinned down at their short principal, who responded with a sharp glare.
"As much as you need 'healing', you are not leaving this school until classes are over. Once they are, you are free to do as you please." Miss Monseratte told her in a firm no-questions-asked tone.
Carla sighed. "Well, it was worth a shot." Chris-Alice couldn't help another slight giggle.
Budge chimed in. "After school then, we'll meet by the front door and do lots and lots of healing, sound good to everyone?" The girls all nodded in agreement, even Raven who rarely wanted to hang out with the larger group of Chris-Alice's friends.
"That sounds wonderful…" Chris-Alice sniffled through her broad smile as she looked around at her friends.
They were true to their word too. Once school let out, Chris-Alice was nearly swarmed by her friends. Budge, Carla, Melanie, and Raven swept her out of the school and towards the fairgrounds outside of town before she even had a free moment to think about Creepie. The fair had swept into town a few days prior, but Chris-Alice had been so worried about her friend she'd nearly forgotten about it. Now, however, she was glad it was there, because the five of them raided the place like it was their last day on Earth. From roller coaster to food stand to stupid rigged carnival game, they did everything they could find to do.
Their fun lasted long after the sun had gone down, and the carnival was lit only by the neon lights that decorated the rides and the tall lamps set up sparsely around the fairgrounds. Their laughter continued to echo across the grounds as they approached the exit, looking out over the small town of Middlington with broad grins on their faces… except for Raven, who retained her sour expression, but hadn't complained for the entire evening.
"Wow, I haven't cut loose like that in months." Carla stretched with a satisfied sigh. "I am going to sleep so good tonight."
"Oh, totally." Melanie agreed with a rapid nod and a grin. "I'm so tired I couldn't dial a cell phone."
Carla gasped. "Don't even JOKE about that!"
"I'm tired too." Budge let out a huge yawn, covering his mouth with one hand. "I think I'm gonna head back home. Do you want me to walk you ladies home?"
"We can find our own way back, we're not 'damsels' or anything." Carla rolled her eyes. "Come on Mel, let's go get some beauty sleep, not that we need it. See you tomorrow Chris-Alice." Carla and Melanie waved back at the other three as they turned to head into town.
"How about you two?" Budge turned to Chris-Alice and Raven.
"We can find our way back." Chris-Alice smiled, then leapt up to wrap her arms around Budge's shoulders in a tight hug, her scrawny body dangling from his massive girth. "Thank you soooo much for doing this for me!"
"Heh, hey, my pleasure." Budge smiled and put his hands on her waist to lower her safely back to the ground. "I'll expect to see you smiling at school tomorrow too." He pointed at her in a mock-demanding manner.
"Teehee, I'll do my best." Chris-Alice waved energetically as Budge turned to leave, making his way down the path toward Middlington once again.
"I should go too." Raven nodded solemnly. "I told Misery-Whispers I'd meet him for dinner, and I'm going to be late as it-HRK!" She gasped in surprise when Chris-Alice leapt in front of her and wrapped her up in a tight hug. "Chris-Alice…"
"I know, I know, you hate hugging… and physical contact of any kind." Chris-Alice released her with a broad smile. "You also hate big crowds, but you spent all day with me anyway despite everyone else and the fair crowd… that means so much to me."
"Yeah, well…" Raven blushed lightly. "You seemed like you really needed me… I wouldn't have done it for just anyone."
"I know. Which is why I wanted to get you something to say thank you." Chris-Alice pulled a small box out from behind her back, holding it out to her. "One of the booths in the fairgrounds had it, and I knew you'd want it if you saw it."
"For me? Really?" Raven blinked and took the box from her and tugged the top off of it. Her eyes widened slightly as she pulled out a sparkling necklace in the shape of a black bird, with bright red eyes and a deep violet outline. "Awesomely gruesome…" Raven pulled it out of the box, appreciating it dangling from her fingers before looking up at Chris-Alice appreciatively. "Thank you Chris-Alice, it's great."
"Heee… you and your non-smiling ways. I knew you'd love it." Chris-Alice pulled her into another tight squeeze, then released her, letting her stumble away from the embrace, out of breath. Before she could protest Chris-Alice slipped one arm around her shoulders and turned her back toward Middlington to walk with her towards their homes. "Come on, let's get outta here, we've had enough excitement for one day."
Raven shook her head. "You can be a real headache, Chris-Alice."
"I love you too." Chris-Alice grinned and squeezed her shoulder.