~Enemies & Bullies~
Mackenna pulled out her lighter and lit a cigarette on her walk to school, popping it into her mouth and holding it there. She usually went to Bill's house and got him up in the morning so they could walk together and drop Georgie off to his school in the process, but he had a terrible chest cold, and it was getting worse by the day, so she figured that she should hold off this time. If he was ever going to get better, he needed rest, and tons of it.
In order to get to school, she had to go through the park. Most mornings it was pretty peaceful yet crowded on the walk to school, but this time was different. It was quiet. Too quiet. Barely anyone was there, except for a few kids around the ages of seven or eight, like Georgie. For some reason, Kenna couldn't spot the kids' parents around anywhere. Wasn't it a little too early to leave your kids alone in the park?
Chewing her lip, the redhead stopped and watched the children. There were 6 total. They all played in groups of 3. One trio had all girls, while another trio had all boys.
The female trio consisted of one girl, (obviously the leader) who had short hazelnut brown hair that was down at neck length, and a pair of beautiful green eyes that reminded her of her brother. She had silver dangling angel wing earrings on and a golden necklace that had a rose on it reaching the collar of her shirt, was wearing a heavy set black fur coat with a white shirt underneath that had a big pink and blue butterfly, some black skinny jeans and a pair of brown boots that reached her knees. She giggled cutely as she ran away from of her friends, as they were clearly playing tag.
The second one was a little taller than the leader. She had long, strawberry blonde hair that reached all the way to her waist, and dark, cocoa brown eyes. She had some freckles that reminded Mackenna of herself. The blonde wore a simple hot pink jacket, unzipped, revealing a black shirt that had some sort of baby pink lettering (spelling out something Kenna couldn't read from where she was standing), a pair of white long pants and royal blue sneakers. She wore a big, goofy smirk as she tried her hardest to catch her leader.
The last girl had bright ginger medium length hair that reached her shoulders, and some bright icy blue eyes, and Kenna noticed that she had some braces as she laughed while running. The ginger haired wore a silver snowflake necklace and snowflake wire earrings. Unlike her two best friends, she wore no jacket or hoodie. Instead, she wore a white long sleeved sweater that had bright blue snowflakes all over, some dark pink mittens and matching earmuffs, dark blue skinny jeans and white rhinestone legwarmers with some short black leather boots reaching up to her ankles. She laughed loudly, both arms in front of her as she ran, catching up to the other girls.
The boy trio was just beginning the game of hide and seek, giggling out loud, and two boys ran off in separate directions while one stood there and counted, his hands placed firmly over his eyes with a big grin on his face, giggling as he counted.
One boy ran off in the right direction. That one had a short, but full mop of dirty blonde hair, his bangs falling in his eyes as he ran, and greyish-green eyes. He was wearing a royal blue hoodie, with a pair of dark black pants and some black & white tennis shoes. His hood was pulled up, as if he wanted to stay hidden from anyone else who might be watching where he's going to hide.
The kid who ran in the left direction had dark brown hair and lime green eyes. He was wearing a red hoodie with gray pants and green shoes. He smirked as he jogged, planning on finding somewhere good to hide.
The young boy who was seeking with a smile on his face had raven black hair, though Kenna couldn't see his eyes due to them being covered. He wore a sky blue jacket with tan pants and teal blue shoes.
Mackenna almost found herself walking over to the children, however a loud crash stopped her in her tracks, followed by many bangs and crashes after that. The redhead nearly jumped out of her skin, instantly spinning around.
There before her on the street, was five cars, all smashed into each other, gas, blood, and glass on the street. A putrid smell filled the air, and she knew that the drivers were dead. She covered her hand with her mouth as she tugged her cigarette out, spinning back away from the scene.
"That's the third accident this week," She said to herself as she slowly sat down on the bench, dropping her smoke in the holder in the process.
Glancing up, she found herself even more shocked. The other five children from before were gone. There was no trace of where they went, they were just gone. The only one that still remained was the strawberry blonde, who was simply standing on the grass, apparently playing with her jacket.
Mackenna gaped. "Did she seriously not notice that accident?"
Wanting to find out, the teenager jumped off the bench and trotted down the hill towards the girl.
"Ugh, come on, stupid zipper!" The blonde complained, trying to get it unstuck. "Work!"
"Need some help?" Giggled the voice of what sounded like a teenager, causing her to jump, startled, and turn around, to see a redhead standing in front of her with a friendly smile.
"Mmmm…" The blonde mumbled uncertainly before nodding. "Mm hmm…"
The child stared down the whole time, twiddling her hair with her fingers as the girl fixed her jacket for her. Upon doing so, she was finally able to read the lettering on her shirt.
"Hmm?" Mackenna mumbled as she read it.
Maeryn
"Oh, so that's what's on there." Kenna commented with a smile, while the girl bit her lip nervously. "Your name's Maeryn."
"Y-Yeah," Maeryn answered shyly. "But my friends always just call me Mae."
"Well, my name's Mackenna! Nice to meet ya!" She paused, looking around. "Hey… where are those friends of yours anyways?"
Mae didn't reply, and only stared down at her shoes.
Kenna frowned at her lack of answer. "Mae?"
Said girl looked up at her.
"Where are they?"
The strawberry blonde only shrugged, kicking the dirt.
"Do you know where they are?" Mackenna asked, resting a hand on her shoulder.
Mae nodded gradually.
"Where are they then?"
"...I-I can't tell you" Mae finally said, peeling at her lip a little bit and glancing up at the teenager.
Kenna frowned. "Why not?"
"First, I don't even know you…and second…I was ordered not to say anything to anyone."
"By who?" Mackenna deadpanned. "Your mom? Is it a woman?"
"No."
"A man?"
"No….IT. IT told me not to."
"H-Huh?" Mackenna blinked, confused. "Who's 'IT'?"
".…I can't tell you that either. I'm honestly surprised at the fact that you haven't recognized my name…" Mae riposted, mumbling the last bit so low that Kenna couldn't hear.
"Wait," Mackenna said slowly."So he's the one who told you not to say anything?"
"Not he. IT." Mae corrected before peeling at her lip some more. "I have to go now…"
"Mackenna!"
Said teenage girl spun around to see three of her best friends running towards her, all with their backpacks slung over they're shoulders.
One teenage girl had auburn hair reaching her shoulders, and very bright blue eyes. She was wearing a dark blue denim jean jacket with a powder blue lace T-Shirt underneath, blue jeans and white fur boots.
Another had golden brown copper hair reaching slightly past the middle of her back, which was tied up in a tight ponytail, and aquamarine eyes. She was wearing a red sweater and some white skinny jeans with a pair of brown short boots.
The final had bright sunshine blonde hair that was tied up in a braid reaching her waist, and gray-ish blue eyes that had more blue than gray. She was wearing a emerald green long sleeved lace T-Shirt with a pink fur coat over it, and some white tights with pink & black flats.
"Are you seriously still here?!" The auburn haired, known as Mia, exclaimed at her. "We're gonna be late!"
"Yeah, Kenna, what's up?" The brunette, Sabrina, asked calmly.
"Come on, Come on, let's go!" Yelled the blonde, Kaelyn, and began pushing Mackenna from behind.
"H-Hold up, Kae!" Mackenna exclaimed, flustered. "I can walk on my own…."
She trailed off as she glanced behind her, and noticed that the young girl was gone. The last thing she saw was a odd red balloon floating by before being roughly pushed out of the park by her best friends.
Mae let out a pained yelp as she was thrown against the sewer wall, and when she looked up, she was met with a pair of yellow eyes rimmed with red, filled with anger.
"What. Was. That?!" IT snarled in her face.
"Wh-What do you mean?" Mae riposted, trying to cut out the fear in her voice, which she was successful.
Her friends were watching nervously, filled with evident terror.
"Don't test me, kid. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Now answer me! What was that?!"
"I didn't know what to say!" Mae exclaimed, glaring. "What was I supposed to do?! Just walk away and pretend she's not there?! It wouldn't be right!"
Pennywise growled, "Well, it's a hell of a lot better then almost spilling it! Here's the thing, kid, your deal with me is basically your life machine! You break it, you lose your life, got that!? That includes not mentioning me, or the deal itself, unless ya wanna die! It's been 5 years now, child! You and your snotty ass brat friends should know this by now! You're either with me, or against me! And if you're against me, you may as well kiss your little life, and your family, goodbye!"
"But she wouldn't leave me alone, so…"
"Hmm," Pennywise hummed, licking it's lips. "That little brat sure seemed persistent, that's for sure…..I wonder if she would make a good meal…"
His glare returned."Alright, I'll spare you this! But if that ever happens again, I demand you run away!"
"Okay" Mae said with a nod and a slight roll of her eyes.
Pennywise backed up and began walking off. He looked behind his shoulder. "Oh," He uttered, and Mae and her friends looked over. They winced at the stomach churning smirk he pulled.
"It's been 27 long years, brats. The time has finally come for my feast to start again. And you are going to help me. So if I were you, I would get rest. It's gonna be a long day. Sweet dreams~!" Pennywise chuckled demonically, his nauseating laugh filling the air, and continued walking off, disappearing into the distance.
"Okay," The hazelnut brunette, Astra, sighed, sitting on the sewer floor. She would usually think it's disgusting for her feet to even come in contact, but since it's been 5 years, she's grown used to it.
"You heard him. We may as well get some sleep."
"I still find it hard to even close my eyes down here,"
Uttered the ginger haired girl named Autumn nervously, chewing her lip.
"Yeah," Huffed the dirty blonde haired boy, Brendan, sitting down and beginning to lie on his side. "But we gotta. We gotta listen to what he says, unless we wanna end up Pennywise's side dishes."
"God, I wish we didn't," Commented the chocolate brown haired boy, Mark, as he sat down next to his best friend. "This is stupid!"
"You got that right." The raven haired boy, Nate, snarled, his auburn gaze on his shoes. "But… we really don't have a choice… we have a deal. Besides, I'd rather it be me than my family anyways."
"Mae?" Autumn asked. "You gonna come sleep?"
"Yeah." Mae riposted, walking over and lying close next to her friends. She looked down, refusing to meet eyes with them.
"Are you okay?" Mark asked, anxious and worried.
"I'm sorry I dragged you all into this," Mae apologized, playing with her hair. "I wish I didn't. You guys don't deserve this. I do. Maybe if I just go and convince him to break the deal with you guys… I'm all he needs, anyways. You guys are just bonuses…."
"What?" Autumn gaped, and the others had shocked, horrified expressions. "Mae, are you crazy!? You can't do that!"
"Why not?"
"Because we're not leaving you down here with that thing, that's why not!" Mark answered sternly. "The answer is no."
"But…" Mae uttered. "You guys will finally be with your families again."
"You're our family too, Mae." Astra said with a big grin. "And families never leave a member behind."
"We're in this together." Brendan finished with a smile.
Mae could feel her heart melt. "Aww, you guys," She cooed, smiling. "Thanks. Sorry for being stupid there for a minute."
"Forgotten." Mark said, grinning, and blushed at her warm smile. "Let's just get some sleep."
"Alright. I love you guys." Mae said before closing her eyes, and everything fell black as she instantly fell into a deep sleep.
Bill burst into a coughing fit, and instantly grabbed a tissue from Eddie, coughing until he finally hacked up some phlegm and spat it into the tissue before throwing it into the garbage can. He groaned, running a hand through his sweaty red hair.
They were waiting outside the school for Mackenna, poor Bill hacking, sneezing and coughing all the while, and Eddie repeatedly handing him tissues.
"Th-Th-Thanks, E-E-Eddie." Bill uttered, his nose clogged up and his throat the same way, and he threw his last tissue, most likely the tenth one, into the garbage can before stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Jesus, Big Bill, if you're so sick, why didn't you just stay home?" Richie questioned.
"I-I-It's j-j-just a-a c-c-cold," Bill riposted. "A-A-And b-besides, I-I a-already st-stayed h-home a-a c-couple t-times, r-remember? I-If I-I st-stay h-home a-anymore, I-I'll g-g-get i-in t-trouble w-with m-m-my d-d-dad f-for b-being a-a-a p-p-pussy." He stated, shivering towards the end of his explanation.
"We're here!"
The Losers turned to see Sabrina, Mia, and Kaelyn walking towards them with Mackenna who was smiling sheepishly.
"W-W-What t-took y-you s-s-so l-long?" Bill asked with a frown, mainly directing his question towards Kenna.
"Yeah, you took about 15 minutes" Stan stated.
"Sorry, Bill," Mackenna apologized geuinely with a small smile. "Got held up at the park." She went in and hugged him. "How ya feeling?"
"T-The same," Bill answered honestly with a small smile. "B-But I'll b-be fine. It j-just a-a st-stupid-" He paused to cough. "…A st-stupid c-c-cold."
"You sure you'll survive today?"
"Y-Yup,"
"Alright."
"Hey, let's head in," Sabrina suggested. "I really don't feel that comfortable standing out here like this. Don't wanna run into Bowers…" She said, her eyes narrowing at the thought of the bully.
A shiver was sent down Mackenna's spine. "You're right. Let's go." She said before turning around, her red ponytail swishing, swaying and blowing in the sudden autumn winds as she lead her friends into the building.
Chatter filled the cafeteria as teenagers walked in and out, back and forward, and up and down, getting in lines for lunch or buying lunch.
Mackenna sat down in the middle of Bill and Sabrina, and the other five sat on the other side of the table. Bill coughed badly and groaned, laying his head down on Kenna's shoulder. Mackenna frowned.
"You okay, Bill?" She asked, concerned as she looked him over. He looked feverish and very pale, not to mention weak.
"Y-Yeah, just tired." Bill yawned. He felt a little dizzy, so he leaned his complete weight into her.
Kenna moved her hand up to his head, moving his sweat drenched hair out of the way before feeling his forehead, wincing with a small hiss, and her frown deepened.
"God, Bill, you're burning up!" She uttered, and sighed anxiously before looking to Eddie.
"Eddie, here," She said, puling a spare rag out of her pocket. "Go to the bathroom and wet this with ice cold water, will ya? We gotta bring his fever down, or he'll pass out before the day ends."
"On it." Eddie riposted before grabbing the rag and walking off.
Mackenna felt a slight weight on her shoulder, looked back to Bill, and saw that the boy had fallen asleep due to exhaustion, his head resting heavily on her shoulder, his chest rising with each inhale and falling with each exhale evenly, and she was about to wake him up, but Sabrina stopped her.
"No, don't wake him!" She whispered urgently, and Mackenna whipped her head over to her. "Let him sleep." She said more calmly. "Considering how sick he is, he needs it. You said yourself, he needs to get better. Maybe he'll be okay enough to head to the lake tomorrow."
"Yeah, you're right." Mackenna uttered, and stroked Bill's hair.
Abruptly, Mia's eyes widened. "Oh, you have got to be screwing me…" She growled.
"No, nobody's screwing you here, Mia." Richie smirked.
"But I'll take a rain check." He joked.
"Shut the hell up, Richie! Look, you idiot!"
Richie gazed over, and he sighed, exasperated. "Fuck…"
"What?" Mackenna questioned anxiously.
"God…it's Marina and those bitches…just great… not only that, Bowers and his gang is with them." Kaelyn snarled.
Bill jolted awake at the mention of the bullies, startling Mackenna, but the feeling quickly passed.
"J-Just f-fucking g-great…" He murmured, standing up from his seat, swaying a little bit, but Kenna studied him. "Th-Thanks.."
Marina Karter walked towards their table with her smirk firm in place, her friends and Bowers and his gang close behind.
Platinum blonde waves, almost white, streamed down her back like a river, stopping at slightly past shoulder length . Her blonde hair was tied back in a tight, wavy ponytail. Marina's silver-gray eyes glowered down at Mackenna despite her smug was bigger than Mackenna, and most of the other losers, not to mention older, too.
Kacy Rosewood, the second-in-command to the group of girls. Dark chocolate colored curls ran down slightly passed the middle of her back, and dark brown, almost black eyes stared down at the losers through the brown bangs that fell in her eyes, and once she brushed them out of the way, her eyes looked just as cold as Marina's. She, like the other girls, had a much bigger frame. Large and intimidating.
Golden river flowing down to her her bottom, tied up in two pigtails, and Valkyrie eyes, stood Brianna Keller herself, arms folded across her chest,stomach churning smirk plastered across her face, a glint of amusement sparkling in her eyes as she snickered.
Hair as dark as the midnight sky, blue eyes as dark and deep as the ocean. Luna King played with her black hair, which barely reached her back, and chuckled, seeming to be enjoying staring them down. Her gaze was sly and cunning, as if she were planning something.
Moving her auburn colored braid out of her way, Teresa Heart's dark green eyes shot Mackenna and her friends nothing but gazes of hatred, and what looked like faux pity, as if she were telling them that she would hate to be them right now. Stuffing her hands in her pockets, she smirked and looked to her leader.
"Well, Well, Well," Marina chuckled, circling the group that sat at the table, the losers glaring daggers at her, mainly Mackenna.
She stopped at Mackenna and snickered. "If it isn't shitty ass slut girl." Kenna growled at the name. Marina ignored it and looked to her friends. "…And her snobby loser friends. Did you not throw them in the garbage can yet, Kenna? After all, all they are is useless pieces of trash!"
Richie silently mouthed the words "fucking son of a bitch!", Sabrina secretly flipped her off under the table, Mia actually silently mouthed the words "fuck you!", while Stan, Kaelyn, and Bill just gave them the dirtiest looks ever.
"Don't talk about them that way." Mackenna snarled, her anger quickly rising. "If I were you, I'd shut your mouth. What they hell do you want anyway?!"
"Who? Me?" Marina blinked, pulling the innocent card, and her friends snickered. She chuckled, before glaring at her. "Oh, there's a whole lot of things I want from you." She snarled, getting dangerously close, but Mackenna didn't flinch or budge.
"But!" She sang, "Since I can't get those from you right now, I suppose I'll get them sooner or later. In the mean time, how's your father? Is he still abusing your mom?" She smirked wickedly.
Mackenna's eyes widened, startled, but she quickly hissed, "None of your fucking business! Back off!"
"Woah, easy there, Kenna! I just wanna make sure that everything's alright! After all, you don't wanna become like him, right? Drinking and abusing your loved ones? Ha! What a sorry excuse for a man you have for a father!"
Bill slammed his fist on the table before getting up and gazing at her angrily. "F-F-Fuck o-o-off, Marina!"
Marina gasped. "O-O-Oh n-n-no," She said, mocking Bill, causing Henry to laugh. "I-I-It's B-B-Billy! Wh-What e-ever w-will I-I do?" She said before bursting into laughter, her friends joining in.
Bill growled before getting close to her and hissing, "If you don't leave her alone, I-I swear I will hunt you down and make you regret it! I'll make your life f-fucking miserable! You better back off, before I make you!"
Marina was legitimately startled, and Mackenna smirked triumphantly.
Her glare however returned when Henry stepped in, glowering at him.
"Wrong move, Denbrough. Don't you know not to make a girl cry?" He growled, grabbing at the collar of Bill's shirt and pulled him so close that their noses were practically touching. Bill grunted, but glared equally at him.
"N-Not if it's a b-bitch like that." He spat.
Henry glared even harder, and raised his fist to punch him.
"Henry!" Belch hissed.
"What!?" Henry exclaimed in response, agitated.
Marina pointed, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a teacher, glaring at him and shaking his head no.
Henry growled, and looked back to Bill. "…We'll continue this later." He uttered before pushing Bill roughly, and as Mackenna stood up, he landed into her, causing both to hit the ground with a thump.
Mackenna helped Bill stand up, the boy leaning heavily on her, pale as a ghost.
"Like fuck we will! Go screw yourselves, you motherfucking assholes!" Richie yelled after them.
"Guys!"
The losers turned to see Eddie running over, and he skidded to a stop in front of them.
"Sorry I took so long! You don't wanna know what happened in there."
"Yeah," Mackenna grunted, shifting against Bill's weight. "I don't think we do either."
"Here, Bill." Eddie said, handing the rag out to Bill.
The boy looked down at it weakly, but just as he reached out to grab it, he felt his head spin and he let out a groan, and collapsed onto the ground, causing everyone's eyes to widen, and Mackenna yelped in shock as she helped him up.
"Bill!?"
"So, that son of a bitch Marina walked over, and they all started being the dicks that they were!" Richie explained to Eddie as the two walked ahead of the others, Mackenna, Bill, Mia, Kaelyn, Sabrina, and Stan close behind.
Bill's arm was pulled over one of Kenna's shoulders and Mackenna had a hand on his back, the boy leaning his weight into her as he walked. He wasn't so pale or red in the face anymore, and he seemed to have regained his composure a little bit.
He smiled,"I-I th-think I'm o-okay t-to w-walk n-now."
"You sure?" Mackenna asked, and Bill nodded. "Alright."
She allowed Bill to stand on his own, and they walked over to where the others were, by Richie and Eddie.
"I swear, the next time we see those fucking assholes, I'm gonna-"
"E-E-Easy th-there, trash mouth." Bill laughed, patting Richie's shoulder.
Richie adjusted his glasses and turned to Bill. "Oh, hey, Big Bill. You feel any better?"
"Y-Y-Yeah, th-thanks."
"Hey, Bill," Mackenna uttered. "We gotta go pick up Missy and Georgie, remember? School ends in twenty minutes. We should go now, or we'll be late."
"Oh yeah." Bill riposted, and he chuckled nervously to himself, remembering how upset Georgie and Missy were the last time they were late, especially Georgie.
Georgie walked ahead of Bill, Bill continously trying to catch up to him, while Mackenna was dealing with Missy far behind.
"C-C-Come on, Juh-Georgie! I-I said I w-was s-sorry l-like a million times! I won't be late again, I promise!" Bill said, desperate for his brother to forgive him and forget about it.
"That's what you said the last three times you were late" Georgie stated bluntly, and Bill looked down, cheeks burning with embarrassment. "You forgot about me twice, Billy, including this time makes three times. Don't you even love me?"
The boy's bottom lip trembled, and Bill's eyes widened. He jumped in front of the boy and knelt down, desperately wiping at his little brother's eyes.
"No, No, No, No, No! Juh-Georgie, don't cry! Please don't c-c-cry! I-I'm s-sorry, alright!? It-It won't happen again!"
"You promise?"
"Y-Y-Yes. Wh-What w-will it t-take t-to m-make you f-forgive me?"
Georgie smirked.
It took both Bill and Mackenna $6.85 each worth of double scoop ice cream cones to get their siblings to forgive them. Georgie didn't truly think much of Bill being late, he just liked to mess around with him to get what he wanted. Bill always fell for the tears trick that Georgie pulled, but he couldn't help it. Whether it's real or fake, Bill can't stand seeing his brother upset.
Sabrina frowned. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay walking just the two of you? I mean, what if you run into Marina, or Bowers and his gang?"
Bill smiled reassuringly. "D-Don't w-worry about it. We'll be fine. Besides, w-we're t-taking a different route than h-him o-or the g-girls a-anyways." He really wanted to get going. He couldn't afford to spend six dollars or more on ice cream again.
Mia grinned. "Alright then. See ya later!"
"Bye." The duo said in union and turned to walk off.
"How you feeling now?" Mackenna asked as they walked together towards Missy & Georgie's school.
Bill smiled softly. "B-Better."
The girl reached over and felt Bill's head. She smiled as she pulled back. "That's good. Your fever went way down, but don't forget to take medicine when you get home."
Bill laughed. "I-I w-will, m-mom." He teased playfully, bumping her in the shoulder.
Mackenna giggled and bumped him back, and they laughed as this lasted for a few seconds, before they were out of breath due to laughing so hard.
"Thanks, Bill." She said abruptly in a soft tone, and the boy looked at her. "For standing up for me with Marina. Don't know how I would've handled that bitch had you not been there."
Bill grinned. "N-No s-sweat. B-Brothers l-look out f-for sisters, r-right?"
"Right."
The teen looked up and chuckled. "H-Hey, l-looks like we won't b-be sp-spending a-any m-money on ice cream t-today. We're here. A-And j-just on t-time, t-too."
The school bell rang, and tons of elementary students rushed out of the building, running and brushing past Mackenna and Bill, causing the two teens to chuckle.
"Billy!"
Bill grunted as he felt his little brother catapult himself into his arms, and Bill chuckled, placing his hands on his shoulders.
"H-H-Hey, Juh-Juh-Georgie. H-How was school?"
"Good!" Georgie giggled as he pulled away, and Bill huffed as he grabbed Georgie's backpack, slinging it over his shoulder, and the four began walking, Missy's backpack slung over Mackenna's own shoulder, her arm around her little sister as they talked.
"S-So what happened?" Bill asked.
"It was so fun! We're learning how to learn origami! I made my own paper bird today! I'll show you when we get home!"
Bill laughed at his brother's enthusiasm. "O-Okay, Georgie."
"...Billy?"
"Mm hmm?"
"Can me and Missy please get some ice cream?"
"Yeah!" Missy cheered.
Mackenna and Bill sighed, looking over at each other.
"B-But Georgie, we w-weren't late." Bill pointed out.
Georgie pouted. "But I want some!"
"Georgie…"
"Please, Bill!? Pleeaasee?" Georgie begged, giving Bill his famous puppy dog eyes.
Bill sighed again as he felt his guard go down.
"Y-You k-know I-I hate w-when you do that…"
Missy gasped. "Wait, does that mean we can have some?!" She interjected hopefully.
"Yes, okay?" Mackenna groaned. "Let's just hurry up and get there. I've got homework, and Bill needs rest."
"Yay!" The two cheered as they ran off ahead of Bill and Mackenna.
"It-It's been a long day," Bill uttered. "B-But wh-whenever I s-see that k-kid happy l-like th-that, i-it a-always cheers me up." He said, smiling.
Mackenna grinned with a tired huff. "Yeah, same here."
"Well, let's go."
The girl paused in her tracks. A chill was sent down her spine. She felt like someone was standing right behind her. She abruptly felt too scared to turn around.
But once she finally mustered up the courage to do so, she saw nothing. She frowned, confused.
"K-Kenna?"
Said girl turned to see her friend looking back at her with a frown.
"Y-You alright?"
Mackenna shook her head and smiled, running over to catch up with her friend. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. Let's go find Missy & Georgie before they get a brain freeze from trying out every sample in the shop."
Bill chuckled at this. They returned to walking with each other. Glancing behind her shoulder, she saw the familiar red balloon behind a tree. Gulping, she turned back to Bill and grinned, listening to him talk away, and didn't bother looking behind her again for the rest of the walk to the shop.