Stacy opened her eyes blearily. Her head was throbbing painfully as she lay back in the slightly wet passenger seat, her hands laden with grazes. She attempted to speak, but her throat was so dry.
"Stacy?"
She tilted her head slightly to see John next to her.
"Oh, thank god. I seriously thought you were never going to wake up!"
She lifted her hands to feel her head. Her cheek was grazed with cuts and bruises.
"Stace, just don't move."
As if someone flicked on the switch, she was suddenly able to hear the rain continuing to beat down on the car roof and windows. It was pitch black now, and their only source of light was coming from the car light above her. The street lamp-bulb had obviously blown. The wind howled outside, threatening to blow over the lone skeletal tree.
"What happened?" She finally asked.
John turned to look at her.
"Uh, I was closing the hood of the car when I saw you running towards it. You slipped and hit your head against the car. I offered to help you up, but you kept saying you were fine. You tried to walk, but you fell over again and uh…blacked out."
Stacy didn't remember any of that happening. She ran her hand through her damp hair.
John stared ahead, through the foggy car window.
"I wonder if Trish and Randy are still out there."
Stacy suddenly felt a jolt of panic. She sat upright and winced, trying to ignore the painful throbbing in her head.
"Do you not think that they would have found a gas station or something?"
Her voice sounded like a scratched record.
"Oh my gosh…what if they are still out there! I shouldn't have let them gone…" her voice lapsed into silent sobs.
"Stace, come on," john said from next to her. He felt an uncontrollable urge to comfort her, but he fought it.
"Just think about something else."
"I'm sorry John but I, unlike you, care about my friends. Do not just tell me to think about something else, Cena. As easy as it is for you, I can't do that right now."
"Whose idea was it for Randy and Trish to walk out in the dark anyway?" John asked, in a cold voice. "When I last heard, it was you who told Randy and Trish to go find the nearest gas station!"
"I did not tell Randy and Trish to go and find it, I just…I…"
"What? What did you tell them Stace?"
Stacy glared at John and tried to force down an emotional hiccup.
"I advised that we shouldn't try and work on this car because it wasn't getting us anywhere!"
"Yeah…and then you said, 'Randy-baby-boo, could you pretty please go and find a gas station that doesn't even exist in this deadly black darkness?' Yep, I believe that was what you said."
"I did not say that!"
"Well then why did he go, huh Stace?"
Stacy was speechless.
"Yeah, that's right. You told him to. And now, they're lost out in that eternal blackness of nothing," John said, motioning his arms out in front of him.
"You know what John?" Stacy said in a sugary voice, "You are right."
John cocked his eyebrow.
"It was entirely my fault. And only I can fix it, right?"
With that, she wrenched open the rusty car door and started to walk, through the rough wind, down the long deserted strip of gravel. Behind her, she heard a car door slam shut.
"Stace! Wait up!"
She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. John skidded to a halt next to her, squinting to keep the rain out of his eyes.
"Listen, im sorry ok? I didn't mean that stuff. Just come back to the car."
Stacy opened her eyes.
"John, you don't care about me. Don't you dare try to stop me again."
She attempted to walk away but John grabbed her wrist.
"John, just leave me alone!"
She ripped her hand away from him, brought it up and swung it across his face. John staggered backwards.
"What the hell, Stace!" He shouted.
"I told you to leave me alone! Im not a baby, I can go by myself!"
"Are you entirely sure about that 'baby' bit, you whiner?"
Glaring, she started to walk off again, but he caught up with her.
"I'm coming with you."
"Oh no, you aren't."
"Oh yes, I am. Try and stop me."
"John, stop being so stubborn! I want to go by myself!"
"Oh you can go by yourself…it's just that im coming with you."
"Fine!" She snapped. "Go by yourself."
She stormed back towards the car, extremely frustrated. Stacy hopped back into the car, and slammed her door closed.
John was walking slowly back towards the car, when she thought of a trick to get him back.
Stacy scrambled across the drivers seat, pushed the door lock down, and then jumped to the back to lock the back doors. John had obviously seen what she did, and was now running towards the car.
"Stace! Open up this damn door!" He shouted, banging on her door window.
"Oh, John. I would, but I just don't think that I can do that right now. Im too much of a baby to know how to open doors!"
"Very funny, Stace. Open up the door"
She closed her eyes, and pretended that she was sleeping.
"Stace! You better open up this door right now, or else!"
Her eyes flicked open.
"Or else what?"
"Or else…just open it up!" He yelled, continuing to bang on the windows.
Stacy laughed, and opened up the drivers' side door.
"Thank-you!"
John started to make his way around. He was about to open the door, when she pressed the lock down again.
"Argghh! Open up this door!"
After a few more minutes, she gave in and unlocked the door.
"I swear," John muttered, hopping into the drivers seat. "If you do anything like that again, I will open a can of whoopass."
Stacy snorted.
Thoughts of Randy and Trish once again consumed her mind, swallowing her into a deep dreamless sleep.