A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while…And sorry this chapter is so short…I'm dead tired and I'm starting to get loopy from lack of sleep…So I'm going to bed now!
Goodnight! And REVIEW PLEASE!
School on Monday was plain horrifying. Natalie hadn't seen Henry since that Saturday and he didn't show up early to meet her in the practice room. She didn't see him at her locker greeting her like he always did. She didn't see him at his locker either. Was he ignoring her? Was he mad about what happened? She could only guess as she cautiously walked into class.
But he wasn't there either. Ok, she thought. There's something wrong. If he was really mad at me, he wouldn't be stupid enough to cut class….Right? She didn't know if she was right or not. He didn't show up. Wendla quickly walked into the room and sat over by Natalie, thinking the same exact thing.
"Where is he?" she asked, looking a bit concerned. "He's always here before me…"
Natalie just shrugged, trying to hide the fear in her face. "I dunno…He's not here…"
All of the sudden a loud, over the top gasp was heard coming from Lilli's corner of the room. And of course, it was Lilli herself.
"Well, Goodman, where's your boyfriend?"
"Just stop…" Natalie retorted, trying not to let Lilli see her afraid like this.
"I heard that you two finally lost your virginity…And got caught…And then he disappeared. Huh, funny…How come he didn't tell you where he was going?"
"I-I don't know…"
Lilli did her gasp yet again. "Maybe he was finally getting sick of your crap…And he's out there on his own now…Probably so stoned that he can't even think straight…"
"Stop…"
"Completely drunk in some cheap hotel room, feeling up some slut he met on the street-"
"JUST STOP, OK?" Natalie furiously got up from her desk, grabbed onto Lilli's shoulders and threw her against the wall.
"Natalie!" Wendla cried, trying to stop this from happening.
The whole room got dead silent. "YOU DON'T KNOW HIM LIKE I DO! YOU DON'T!" She moved threateningly closer to the now intimidated girl. "So shut the fuck up, and leave him alone."
Lilli's frightened face soon turned into a smirk as she heard the teacher's footsteps coming closer to the room. She knew she could time this perfectly.
"Well, you know, whatever does happen to him…You know it's your fault. You're the one who talked him in to it…You're the one who wanted to do it so badly…"
Without even thinking, Natalie pinned the girl to the wall angrily, just shouting, "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! YOU'RE SUCH A FUCKING BITCH!"
"Natalie!"
She just froze up completely, slowly letting go of Lilli. It was the teacher, who had just walked into the room. Lilli's plot succeeded. He looked absolutely horrified that one of his students, one of his best students, would do something like that.
"Natalie, what the hell is going on?" He yelled, throwing his stack of papers onto his desk. But instead of saying anything, she just burst into tears, pushing Lilli away from her. "Answer me!"
"I…I…"
He just sighed and told her, "Would you two like to work this out with the principal?"
"No!" She just shouted again. "No…I just…My…I lost someone…and 'innocent' little Lilli over here decided it would be cute to make fun of me for it."
Lilli looked hurt and used, even though everything Natalie said was true. She guessed that those acting lessons really paid off. "I'm offended, Natalie! I know you don't like me, but that was too far…"
Natalie just looked around in disbelief, as the teacher beckoned her forward. She reluctantly walked up, receiving evil glares from her classmates.
The teacher sighed again and whispered, "Look, I know what it's like to lose someone close to you-"
"No! That's not what I meant! Someone's gone-!"
"Alright, I think that's enough. Detention after school today. Ok?"
She nodded and quietly walked back to her seat. A whole hour after school? She had to look for Henry. She wasn't going to sit back in detention while he could be dying on the streets somewhere.
So as the day went on, she kept trying to think of ways to get out of detention. When finally, the idea hit her. Melchior, who had been completely bored in his Latin class, decided to forge a note for her to get out. She quickly thanked him and when she gave the note to the moderator, she just shrugged and let the girl go on her way.
Natalie just ran out of the building and over to her car, waiting for Wendla and Melchior to join her. But she noticed something on the windshield. Something that wasn't there before. It was a little note, she saw. She went to go grab it and open in as she read,
Nat,
I'm sorry I took off so soon. I want you to know that I'm safe and that I'm nearby. If you need me whenever, just ask Holly.
Love,
Henry
She stared at the note once again before a huge smile spread across her face. "I think we might've found him…"
"Really?" Melchior asked, hopping into the backseat. "Where?"
"With Holly!"
"Who's Holly?" Wendla asked this time, somewhat confused.
"Henry's sister. She's got this cheap apartment, it's hard to miss."
And soon the three of them were speeding off into the distance.
Meanwhile, Henry had only woke up three hours ago, around noon. He loved being able to sleep in here. He ran away from home. He couldn't deal with his mother anymore. So he decided to move in with his sister.
He got up out of bed only to be greeted by the familiar scent of thick smoke lining the walls of the apartment. Home sweet home… he thought, going to join his sister Holly in the kitchen. The thing about Holly was that she was just like him when it came to bad habits. She was a pothead herself, being the one who got him started in the first place.
Holly was already cooking lunch when she noticed her little brother coming out of his room.
"God, I'm so hungry right now…" he muttered, practically falling asleep at the kitchen table.
"Well, too bad…" she replied with a smirk. "You're a little late for that. You'll just have to wait until lunch is done."
He nodded and went to go grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He couldn't believe where he was so far…His mother never called him to see where he was or if he was ok. She hadn't even informed Holly that Henry was missing. But the worst he felt was about Natalie.
He left her hanging…He was a coward and he ran. But you didn't leave her. You're just living somewhere else and you couldn't tell her at first. He wondered what she would've done at school today. He wondered if she missed him, or if anyone else even noticed that he was gone.
But as soon as those thoughts crossed his mind and as if on cue, the doorbell rang quickly. Holly sighed as she went to go and open the door.
"What?"
But what she saw was a big surprise. It was Natalie. "Hi, Holly. Is Henry here?"
The older girl just nodded as she led Natalie inside, but she was closely followed by Wendla and Melchior, who were both examining the filthy apartment. But Henry was there, he didn't even know that it was Natalie at the door, so she quickly ran up to him and tapped his shoulder, kissing his cheek softly.
"Henry, we need to talk."
