A new chapter........ welcome! ~ ^^

Warmth in the Darkness, Chapter 10: Worries

Vivienne's P.O.V

Dear Diary,

I don't know what's happening to me. Remember the dreams, the feelings, and stuff? Remember the feeling of wanting? Well, here's the story. One night I was listening to this song, and suddenly, my… heart hurt. It burned. It made me want to cry. Maybe it's a more intensified emotion of the want because I could feel it. A feeling of longing wailing inside my chest, begging to be let out. But what do I even want? When I let it fly, where will it go?

XOXO,

Vivienne

"Okay… roll call," Mr. Gyld called from the front of the room, holding the purple attendance folder.

"Ryan?"

"Here."

"Rashad?"

"Here."

"Kim?"

"Here."

"Yollis?"

"Here."

"Darrion?"

The class's chatter didn't stop, didn't pause. But Vivienne heard a deafening silence that roared in her ears, all the same.

"Absent," She heard Mr. Gyld mumble to himself.

"Hey, I wonder where Darrion went," Vivienne said casually.

Her besties, her group of friends, Naomi, Eliza, Rachelle, Penelope and Kristina, all stopped their updates and grunted agreements. Well… except for Kristina and Eliza, who had developed an extreme disliking towards him.

"It's weird though. It's the middle of a term. It's not even close to a break and he's not here," Vivienne continued. "It's almost been two weeks since I saw him and that was after school. You don't think he died or something right?'" She grinned jokingly.

Kristina sniffed. "Well wherever he went, I hope he stays there."

"Maybe someone can call him," Penelope suggested. She looked over at Naomi.

"Do I look like I have a lot of time?" Naomi snapped. "He doesn't have anything to do with me." She slapped Penelope's binder closed, and glared at her. "Why don't you call him?"

Penelope just shot her a look. They were going to go to a cosplay convention that Naomi took very seriously, so she was kind of wound up these days. Everyone understood.

"Penelope's right though," Rachelle said. She fiddled with the zipper on her binder. "Someone should check up on him."

"Not me," Vivienne said quickly.

"I don't have his phone number," Penelope stated.

"I don't either," Rachelle said.

"Don't even look at me," Kristina said. "And why would I even have his phone number?"

Vivienne smirked. "Cause the moment you got a cell phone, you asked everybody for their number?"

Kristina slapped her on the shoulder lightly, muttering under her breath. Everyone turned to Eliza, who was absorbed in the book she was holding. Or at least she looked like she was absorbed.

Feeling all the eyes on her, she glanced up and sighed. "I don't understand why you all think I would have his phone number, but who cares, because I don't." She paused. Everyone still stared at her. She rolled her eyes. "Darrion is probably fine, just sick in his bed and drinking a cup of tea or something. He's probably not feeling well, okay? So no one has to call him or see how he's doing at all, because he is fine," she said irritably.

Rachelle exchanged a glance with Penelope. "I guess so."

Vivienne hoped that that was the case.

Her iPod switched to another song. Vivienne sighed. It's been 3 minutes and 45 seconds since she looked at him. She allowed herself to peek sideways again, to the boy sitting across the room. His black-brown hair covered half his face, or at least a third of it. She looked at his casual stance. It looked so powerful… like he could break the table he was leaning against into pieces. And his eyes… she'd never known there were such horribly dark pools of ink that existed. She should really stop staring. Either he's going to turn around to look at her or her French teacher is going to notice her lack of attention.

I hate you, she thought to Will in a passionate burst.

She looked back at the clock. Ten minutes till lunch. Shouldn't the homework get passed out or something? She tapped her pencil against her notebook to the beat of the current song playing in her ears.

"Who is making that tapping noise?"

Vivienne stopped as people looked at her. She smiled sheepishly and placed the pencil on her desk. She knew her iPod was in full view, but the teacher just smiled in a reproving way and went back to teaching. The benefits of having teachers like you. You could do whatever you want, and the rules would bend for you.

Suddenly the overhead speaker crackled, drawing everyone's attention.

"Hello. Can Lindsay, Penelope, Vivienne and Rachelle come to the office please?"

Her French teacher sighed. "Yes, they'll be on their way."

Vivienne grinned, meeting Penelope's eyes and almost skipped out the classroom to the hallway. No more French!

"Hey guys. Do you know what this is about?" Lindsay came out, her straightened blonde hair looking white in the light. She was one of those "nice popular kids" that weren't stuck up. She was a social girl who talked to what her crowd called "losers".

"Nah." Rachelle came out too. "Maybe someone wants to see us."

"Yeah, but why am I with you guys?" Lindsay asked.

Vivienne understood. Lindsay didn't mean it in a mean way; she just meant they don't really hang out together like she, Penelope and Rachelle do, so it was weird they were called down simultaneously.

"Dunno," Penelope said.

"I'm just happy to be out of French," Vivienne said, skipping in the hallway for real. She felt so carefree, so weightless that it was impossible to not skip. Plus, the hallway was empty of people except them. The school runs a tight rule of no loitering.

Lindsay snorted. "Seriously, I would rather Mr. Zwaine teach us than that bitch. At least he has a sense of humour."

They cracked up as they reached the office. Rachelle pulled it open, holding it for everyone to pass through, always being the sweet one. Vivienne looked around, seeing no one around. That was when she saw an African-American couple in a cut-off room – the principal's office. Mr. Gyld was inside too, as was Mike, and a guy in the other class called Nate.

"Hello ladies. What do you want?" A business-like secretary walked towards them. Her stomach jiggled and her beady blue eyes regarded them with distaste. Vivienne immediately felt her insides curl. She hated that woman. Well, everyone did.

"Umm, the office called us?" Lindsay said rather rudely. Vivienne applauded inside her head. Lindsay was looked at the woman as if she had sprouted a devil's horns and tail. She probably has those, just invisible to everyone, Vivienne thought.

"Hey! Watch your attitude." The secretary glared and jabbed a beefy finger at Lindsay. "Sit there." She pointed to a bench beside them and waddled away, like the toad she was. Vivienne scowled. Lindsay's attitude was nothing, compared to hers.

They sat down, and just as Vivienne was about to say something, the door to the principal's office opened.

"Thank you. You can go back to your class now," Mr. Gyld was saying. He looked out to the bench. "Lindsay? Can you come in here please?" He looked slightly concerned about something.

Lindsay got up and muttered to herself. Mike and Nate got up and wordlessly went out, and as they passed by Lindsay, they shrugged at the hidden question in her eyes. Lindsay picked up her pace, strode inside and the heavy door shut.

"Guys! What's up?" Rachelle whispered to the boys.

Mike looked around and bent down to their level. "You know those parents?" He asked, almost mischievously. But he looked a little worried, like Mr. Gyld.

Rachelle nodded.

"They're Darrion's parents. They're here to ask about him. I think he's –"

"Both of you," the secretary snapped, suddenly appearing. "Get to your classes." Her double chin wobbled unsteadily. Vivienne wondered if it was going to fall off.

Mike shrugged and got out, Nate right behind him, mumbling apologies. The secretary then gave all three of them the evil eye and went back to her desk, secretly pulling out a box of Butter cookies. No wonder she's so fat, Vivienne thought.

"What do you think happened to Darrion?" Penelope softly whispered in Vivienne's ears.

She shrugged. Why consider the options, the possibilities? Her instincts were saying that something really bad happened, but she didn't want to listen to them. She didn't want to deal with anything; face anything at all, just ignore all the problems till the end. She heard Penelope ask Rachelle the same thing, and unlike her, Rachelle silently indulged into all the potential causes, Penelope occasionally adding a comment or two.

You're being anti-social, her conscience whispered in her ear. Talk to them. They're your friends.

She mentally chucked her conscience into a box and sat on it. Screw you.

All of a sudden, the door clicked open and Mr. Gyld's voice floated across the room.

"Remember, Lindsay. If he contacts you in any way, immediately tell someone."

Vivienne exchanged a glance with Penelope and Rachelle.

She saw Lindsay nod solemnly and step outside. She was clutching her gray iPhone in both hands and she was looking at the ground. When she passed by the three, she didn't even look over. Just continued walking back to class. Vivienne turned her attention back to the people in the office.

"I guess we can have all three of them together, right?" Mr. Gyld was saying to someone Vivienne couldn't see. He waited a beat before looking back at them and waving them inside.

They all stood up as one and hesitantly, Vivienne began walking forward to the office. Inside, the shutters were drawn, so the room was almost dark. Strips of light came from the cracks of the shutters, illuminating dusk particles floating around. A cluttered wooden desk was in the middle, complete with a computer, a black, official-looking chair behind and five chairs for visitors. Their principal, Mr. Mable, was seated in the chair behind the desk; the two African-American adults – Darrion's parents – were in two chairs, perfectly leaving three chairs for them. Mr. Gyld was leaning against the back wall with his arms crossed and as Vivienne sat down, she spotted a male police officer in the room that was unnoticed before. Her heart caught in her throat, and she heard the muted sounds of surprise of Rachelle and Penelope.

There was silence as no one spoke. Finally, she raised the question.

"Excuse me, but why are we here?" She tried to keep her voice steady. She was rather intimidated by the atmosphere of the whole seriousness of the room.

The police officer leaned forward on the desk, like they do in movies.

"My name is Cable Burke," his voice was deep and rich. "You can call me Officer Cable. I am called here today to investigate a disappearance." He looked at them steadily, each in the eye. "The disappearance of Darrion Ammon. You know him?"

Vivienne nodded along with her friends, utterly speechless.

"When did you find out he disappeared?" Rachelle asked slowly.

Vivienne was vaguely impressed. She wouldn't have the guts to ask them that, even say a single word, or make a sound. Her head was still going bonkers about the disappearance of Darrion. The disappearance of Darrion. The disappearance.

The woman – Mrs. Ammon – cleared her throat. Vivienne robotically turned her head to her. The place between her eyebrows had a deep crease, as if it were scrunched up for days like that. "We were away on a business trip for a few days before and we left him alone at the house. He was old enough to take care of himself. When we got back, we didn't see him. There was no note… nothing. His backpack was dumped on the couch as usual and dirty dishes were piled up in the sink… it looked so normal. We searched everywhere, called his friends, and they said they haven't seen or heard from Darrion since school. So we decided to wait for a day." Her lips pressed into a thin line.

"He never came back," Mr. Ammon said grimly. "His clothes and everything were still there. We don't know what happened."

Vivienne felt her insides freeze. He never came back.

Officer Cable put a modern voice recorder on the desk. He pressed a button and a red light shone, signalling that it was recording. "Now tell us what you know," he said, stepping back to give them space.

"Basically, we want to know when the last time you'd heard from him was," Mr. Mable said gently.

"I would say… it was exactly nine days ago, during last period," Rachelle said kindly. "I didn't see him after that."

"I last saw him when we passed by the hallway after school. I was going to the music room, and he looked like he was going to the lockers." Penelope sat back. She timidly looked at Mr. and Mrs. Ammon. Her face was a mask of dismay and worry, just like Lindsay.

Now it was her turn. Vivienne unfroze cleared her throat. "I um… last saw him umm… at our lockers after school. I… I remember he was acting really weird." She started growing more confident with each word. "He kept saying things under his breath like, "I found out, he's gonna kill me" and stuff like that." Officer Cable was looking at her funny. She glanced at her hands and remembered his shaking hands. "He looked really nervous, and I thought he saw his test mark when he wasn't supposed to or something. Then I watched him go out the door, you know, the Intermediate doors," she added to Mr. Mable and Mr. Gyld.

"Has he contacted any of you in any way?" Officer Cable asked sternly.

"No."

Their three voices sounded strong together.

The officer pressed the button to stop recording, relaxed back and sighed. "Thank you." He ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, I want you to remember: if he calls, texts, emails, whatever to you, tell someone. I'd rather you tell me, since I'm taking care of this case." He pulled out a stack of paper. He wrote down his number three times and handed them to Penelope. "There you go. If I don't answer on the first try – which is unlikely – then try again. Try at least three times, okay?"

They nodded.

Vivienne suddenly felt very cool and composed, as if they were discussing about a missing cat, or even a missing pencil case. She was no longer nervous in front of the adults or nervous for Mr. and Mrs. Ammon. She was frozen, floating in an ocean of calm, and it was as if she were looking at the problem from a distance. As if the missing thing wasn't Darrion, her friend, as if she were just watching this from a TV screen. Little did she know, the ocean she was floating in was neither calm nor comforting. It was one big black puddle of denial.

"Ummm…" Penelope glanced at Rachelle for support. "Why didn't you put up signs everywhere nor do the broadcasting thing on TV yet?"

Mrs. Ammon sighed and shook her head regretfully. "We hoped he would come back soon, and it would be unnecessary to notify the whole world about his dis…" She massaged her temples. "…disappearance," she muttered.

"We'll be doing that after we're finished here," Officer Cable added significantly.

Vivienne was too lost in her inner "calm" to notice, but her friends seemed to get it and they stood up. Vivienne followed. She looked behind her at Darrion's parents, seeming to see them for the first time. Mrs. Ammon seemed to be very strong; she never shed a tear, her eyes didn't look puffy, nor did her voice quaver once. Mr. Ammon just looked grave and beaten up; he had traces of dark circles under his eyes.

"We hope you find Darrion soon," Vivienne said expressionlessly. It seemed to be the right thing to say.

Mr. Ammon nodded. "Thank you," he said gruffly.

She then filed out the room after Rachelle, Penelope nearly stepping on her heels. The secretary glared at them as they passed by her desk, but Vivienne was too full of questions and worry in her head to notice. They didn't say a word as they went back to French. The hallways were empty, magnifying their strained silence. So Darrion was missing, Vivienne thought. He either ran away or got kidnapped somehow. Okay. She fumbled in her pockets for her iPod. The music can wash away everything. Her hand trembled slightly as she untangled the wires. She could feel this giant explosion that was coming, and she wanted to ward it off as long as possible.

They went in just as her teacher told her classmates to get to work. Finally, it was work time, she thought dully. Thank god.

Darrion is missing. Gone, her conscience hissed from the box she was sitting on. Why are you so calm?

Darrion is not gone, she replied, quiet and detached. He probably left somewhere and forgot to write a note to his parents. He is fine.

His parents said that was unlikely, her conscience argued.

Vivienne ignored it and stepped in with her friends behind her. She approached the desk and saw Kristina look up from her worksheet curiously. She probably wants some gossip or something.

"Well?" Kristina prodded. "Why were you guys called down?"

Vivienne stared at her.

"Are you okay?" Naomi asked. "You look kind of sick," she added.

Vivienne turned her stare on Naomi. She dimly heard Penelope start from the beginning, like a story.

"Darrion disappeared," she cut in abruptly.

Five pairs of eyes stared at her.

"Darrion what?" Kristina blurted.

"What do you mean 'disappeared'?!" Naomi asked loudly, eyes wide.

"It's true," Mike called from across the room. "We went to the office because of that."

Vivienne suddenly noticed everyone was silent, either in shock or thought. Her French teacher was to be missing and no one seemed to be actually doing the French they were supposed to do. She scrutinized the looks on their faces, and saw the same old – shock, worry, disbelief, blankness… That was when she saw one face that was out of the ordinary and briefly startled her out of her ocean. Will. He looked sort of frustrated and angry; his eyes were glaring at the desk darkly, as if he wanted to chop it in half, and his hands were clenched in fists, knuckles white. He somewhat resembled a feral animal.

"Are you serious?" Someone demanded. "Darrion's just sick or something, right? He's not gone. He can't be."

"They have a police officer in the office," Lindsay said. "His parents are there, Mr. Gyld's there… they told me they're suspecting kidnap."

There were a few gasps and then everyone started talking at once.

"Darrion is… kidnapped?"

"Who would do that?"

"When did it happen?"

"OH MY GOSH! WHAT IF HE'S DEAD?!"

The shriek shut everyone up for a second before a louder uproar began.

"You can't joke about that!"

"That's not funny!"

"I wasn't trying to be funny!"

Vivienne felt a hollow place in her heart as the shock of the meeting and the disappearance caught up with her. She suddenly couldn't breathe right. It seemed hard to get oxygen in her lungs with the emotions swirling around and weighing down her. She gulped and looked at the clock, seeing it was almost the end of school. She quickly packed her things and crept out the room. She couldn't seem to stand everyone's predictions and emotions. Maybe she'll hang around her locker for a few minutes. The music thumping in her ear didn't help so she turned off the iPod and stuffed it deep into her baggy pocket.

She was spinning her locker combo when she heard footsteps behind her. She looked automatically and glimpsed some sort of black-red-gold-brown creature-thing. Before she could distinguish who it was, her body had already spun her to look back at the locker.

"Hey."

Vivienne glanced sideways, seeing the in-distinguishable guy who was now very distinguishable.

She smiled faintly. "Hi Alex."

She felt her spirits lift when she recognized the face. Since the day he'd run away from Kristina after she woke up from her fainting spell, they'd hung out together a lot. She'd started to think of him a lot as a brother, since she was an only child. He had that cool, teasing personality and she loved his warm hugs that made her feel better.

"Yo. Are you okay?" He leaned against the lockers with a worried expression.

Vivienne sharply exhaled as she opened her locker. "Have you heard?"

"What?"

"Darrion's gone. He disappeared. The police are involved," she muttered in one breath.

Only a good listener could understand what she was saying.

"You're worried, aren't you?" He asked simply.

Vivienne was too drained to snap. She nodded. "The class is saying he's dead and kidnapped or he's run away and they're obsessing over it and what if he's dead?!" She exploded in a fume of rage and bottled up horror.

"Don't be ridiculous." Alex put a hand on her shoulder and made her look at him. She weakly pulled away but she liked the warmth there. "Darrion's not dead. He's fine out there 'cause he's tough. He'll be alright. Right now, he's probably waiting for us to find him and cursing himself for forgetting a phone." His lips quirked up in an attempt to cheer her up.

Vivienne smiled wanly. "Thanks Alex," she said.

He chuckled and gave her a one-arm hug. "Don't worry, okay?"

"Kay. Now go away," she teased half-heartedly.

"See ya." He grinned and left, messing with his hair.

Vivienne smiled and she gradually felt the empty part Darrion had left behind almost heal up fully.

Is it good? Is it good? I thought it was kinda slow.... but I needed it in there xD REVIEW PLEASE?? I'm getting desperate here.