Disclaimer: Not mine. There. 'Anthem to the Year 2000', by the way, is not
mine; it is Silver Chair's, an awesome band, if I may say so.
A/N: Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, but writers block is such a hard thing to break... ( Also, the remembering part is indicated like so: blah blah
Rockland, Ontario, 1:00 am, 2004
Kathleen closed the door quietly, wincing at how loud the click sounded in the silent neighborhood. She blinked several times, almost too tired to think. Two darkened figures, black against the glow of the streetlamp, approached, and Kathleen smiled, pulling both of them in turn into a quick embrace before all three set off for another house, only three streets, and a few houses away.
Chantal's hair glowed like an angel's in the lamplight, as they passed the main street in Rockland. She broke the silence, which, usually, would have been occupied by Kathleen's own mindless chatter.
"There's no word on your sister?" Kathleen shook her head. Frances had disappeared almost a year ago, in the middle of a crowded store. A silence fell again, though not the usual silence that was around them. It was a pressing silence, one that begged for speech, any speech, to relieve its oppression.
Silences in Kathleen's group were usually comfortable, broken only by the sounds of small movements. Those silences warranted, not desperate speech, but more silence. There was simply no need to speak, and so no one did. Krystle and Chantal walked by Kathleen's side, and the girl silently wondered where the rest of the group was.
"That sucks." Krystle said, just as Kathleen was opening her mouth to ask the question that flitted un-merrily through her mind. "I liked your sister." Kathleen nodded, Frances had been one of only four or five who had been accepted by, but had not joined, the group.
"They closed the case, you know. No one told me." This was a silent fear that Kathleen had been plagued by for years. A duet of 'What?'s followed her statement of fact. "Apparently, if they can't find any clues in the first four days, they list the person as missing, and leave it as that." She laughed bitterly, and without mirth. "And here I've been, hoping that one day, the phone would ring, and there'd be a police officer saying they found her. They're not even looking anymore."
Tears slide down her cheeks, and a small sob ripped its way past her vocal chords. Without a second's hesitation, he felt herself enveloped by four arms. She sank the ground, bringing Chantal (gracefully), and Krystle (not so gracefully) with her.
After what seemed like hours of relieving the tears she had dared not cry before, Kathleen pushed the other two away, silently signaling that she was fine for the moment. They got up, resuming the walk for Krystle's house.
Because they had only been a house or two from Krystle's when Kathleen had started crying, it was only a minute before they reached their destination. A resounding 'Go to bed' came from Krystle's father, Joe, as they entered. Not one of them cared, since he was 'watching' commercials, and, thus was most likely asleep.
Kathleen treaded up the stairs, heading for the back room, where Krystle slept. Chantal turned on the radio, and Smash Mouth filtered through the speakers. "...Maybe we don't want to live in a world where our innocence is so short..." Kathleen felt a longing to leave, to get away from the life she led. Krystle entered, after carefully closing the door to the rest of the upstairs, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
Chantal took one, muttering 'Jacked' under her breath, and offered it to Kathleen. The other shook her head.
"I don't smoke, remember?" Chantal shrugged, and pulled out a purple polka dotted lighter, with the words 'Flick your Bic' written in colorful letters on the side. Krystle pulled out a box of all surface matches, striking it on the wall. Kathleen bundled up in the blankets, listening to the radio, and remembering her sister's disappearance.
Kathleen looked through the 'How to draw Anime' books, stacked neatly on the shelves of Entertainment Inc. Frances tapped her on the shoulder, saying, "I'm going to go look at the posters, okay?" "Okay," Kathleen said, without looking away from the books.
A second later, someone bumped into her abruptly. Kathleen hadn't noticed anyone near, but she muttered and 'excuse me', and went off to another section of the store. Kathleen vaguely recognized the blonde woman, but couldn't place where she had seen her.
She heard a small gasp of delighted surprise from the poster section, but that was all. 'She's probably found a poster of Icheb' she thought, chuckling. Frances had been obsessed with Icheb from the minute she had seen him on the TV.
Kathleen looked around, searching the store, then the area surrounding it. 'Where is she?' The question entered her mind more often than once, and she felt frustration rising in her. Frances was nowhere to be found.
A/N: Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, but writers block is such a hard thing to break... ( Also, the remembering part is indicated like so: blah blah
Rockland, Ontario, 1:00 am, 2004
Kathleen closed the door quietly, wincing at how loud the click sounded in the silent neighborhood. She blinked several times, almost too tired to think. Two darkened figures, black against the glow of the streetlamp, approached, and Kathleen smiled, pulling both of them in turn into a quick embrace before all three set off for another house, only three streets, and a few houses away.
Chantal's hair glowed like an angel's in the lamplight, as they passed the main street in Rockland. She broke the silence, which, usually, would have been occupied by Kathleen's own mindless chatter.
"There's no word on your sister?" Kathleen shook her head. Frances had disappeared almost a year ago, in the middle of a crowded store. A silence fell again, though not the usual silence that was around them. It was a pressing silence, one that begged for speech, any speech, to relieve its oppression.
Silences in Kathleen's group were usually comfortable, broken only by the sounds of small movements. Those silences warranted, not desperate speech, but more silence. There was simply no need to speak, and so no one did. Krystle and Chantal walked by Kathleen's side, and the girl silently wondered where the rest of the group was.
"That sucks." Krystle said, just as Kathleen was opening her mouth to ask the question that flitted un-merrily through her mind. "I liked your sister." Kathleen nodded, Frances had been one of only four or five who had been accepted by, but had not joined, the group.
"They closed the case, you know. No one told me." This was a silent fear that Kathleen had been plagued by for years. A duet of 'What?'s followed her statement of fact. "Apparently, if they can't find any clues in the first four days, they list the person as missing, and leave it as that." She laughed bitterly, and without mirth. "And here I've been, hoping that one day, the phone would ring, and there'd be a police officer saying they found her. They're not even looking anymore."
Tears slide down her cheeks, and a small sob ripped its way past her vocal chords. Without a second's hesitation, he felt herself enveloped by four arms. She sank the ground, bringing Chantal (gracefully), and Krystle (not so gracefully) with her.
After what seemed like hours of relieving the tears she had dared not cry before, Kathleen pushed the other two away, silently signaling that she was fine for the moment. They got up, resuming the walk for Krystle's house.
Because they had only been a house or two from Krystle's when Kathleen had started crying, it was only a minute before they reached their destination. A resounding 'Go to bed' came from Krystle's father, Joe, as they entered. Not one of them cared, since he was 'watching' commercials, and, thus was most likely asleep.
Kathleen treaded up the stairs, heading for the back room, where Krystle slept. Chantal turned on the radio, and Smash Mouth filtered through the speakers. "...Maybe we don't want to live in a world where our innocence is so short..." Kathleen felt a longing to leave, to get away from the life she led. Krystle entered, after carefully closing the door to the rest of the upstairs, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
Chantal took one, muttering 'Jacked' under her breath, and offered it to Kathleen. The other shook her head.
"I don't smoke, remember?" Chantal shrugged, and pulled out a purple polka dotted lighter, with the words 'Flick your Bic' written in colorful letters on the side. Krystle pulled out a box of all surface matches, striking it on the wall. Kathleen bundled up in the blankets, listening to the radio, and remembering her sister's disappearance.
Kathleen looked through the 'How to draw Anime' books, stacked neatly on the shelves of Entertainment Inc. Frances tapped her on the shoulder, saying, "I'm going to go look at the posters, okay?" "Okay," Kathleen said, without looking away from the books.
A second later, someone bumped into her abruptly. Kathleen hadn't noticed anyone near, but she muttered and 'excuse me', and went off to another section of the store. Kathleen vaguely recognized the blonde woman, but couldn't place where she had seen her.
She heard a small gasp of delighted surprise from the poster section, but that was all. 'She's probably found a poster of Icheb' she thought, chuckling. Frances had been obsessed with Icheb from the minute she had seen him on the TV.
Kathleen looked around, searching the store, then the area surrounding it. 'Where is she?' The question entered her mind more often than once, and she felt frustration rising in her. Frances was nowhere to be found.