"ding, dong!"

Coraline was abrupt by the violent ringing of her doorbell, the sound echoed in and out of her head as she tried to gather her thoughts. She tiredly turned towards her alarm clock and nearly sprinted out of bed when she read the time, 12:45 PM, fearing she would certainly be late for school. But just as she was about to have a panic attack, she remembered that today was the first day of summer.

"ding, dong!"

With a huff and a puff, she dragged her bones out of bed; her parents were probably at work by now. Whoever it was had best be ready for a rude greeting, the only person who was allowed to wake Coraline Jones from sleeping in was her mother and even that was like pulling teeth. Grumbling under her breath she trudged down the steps, eyes half open, blue hair a mess and not even a bite to eat yet. It was probably Mr. Bobinsky complaining about another mail mix up or Miss Spink or Miss Forcible asking if she would be interested in walking their dogs again for an allowance.

"ding, dong!"

"Okay! I'm coming!" She yelled halfway down the steps. If someone rings that bell one more time, they're gonna have it! The first floor was just dim enough for Coraline to see. Between the lack of energy and light, she could only shuffle sluggishly down the hall. Tiny shards of glass indented underneath her feet, each piece was as prominent as the last. A shutter ran down her spine. Glass? What glass?

"ding, dong!"

When Coraline yanked that door open, her mood sunk from bad to worse in less than a second. "I- " Was all Lauren could say before having the door slammed on her face. She has some nerve, coming out here to waste my time. But the obnoxious ringing continued throughout the flat as Coraline made her way back to her bedroom. She cringed at the sound echoing throughout the halls, knowing she would not be getting any sleep as long as she kept Lauren waiting. Again, Coraline resentfully flung her door open.

"What do you want?" Her irritation stung like a wasp. "Are you here to pick at the clothes I'm wearing or make fun of my hair?"

"You forgot your bloody boots." Lauren tossed a pair of dry, clean swampers at Coraline. In fact, they were so fresh that she could see the little logo at the bottom of the heel, which was usually caked in dry mud.

"Uh…thanks, I guess…how do you know where I live?"

"Wybourne told me-oh!"

Lauren jumped at the abrupt sensation of fur being brushed against her ankles. She looked down and saw a black cat had quietly followed her to Coraline's home and had taken a fancy to her, or at least it seemed so to Lauren as she wasn't fond of pets and didn't know much of them. She lightly shoved it aside with her feet. "Shoo!"

The Cat scurried along, growling under his breath. He rubbed up to Coraline who knelt down to give him a pat on the head.

"You're a sight for sore eyes."

She scooped him up in her arms and gently stroked his grimy coat. The Cat responded with a loud purr which made his tummy vibrate gently under her hand. Lauren crossed her arms with an unsatisfied "Ahem".

"Oh, yeah…you're still here." Coraline uttered sarcastically.

"Yes… look Coraline, if I didn't have to be here then trust me; I would still be out looking for David…"

"By 'I' you mean 'someone else', right?" Coraline intruded, leaning against the doorway and seeming uninterested in Lauren's dilemma. It was her turn to poke fun, maybe now she wouldn't behave like such a priss.

"So why are you here?"

"What do you think? It's about my brother."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed sarcastically. "Oh, him again! You honestly don't think I'm going to walk around town today, since yesterday you made it clear you didn't need my help."

"No, I just want to speak with you for a few seconds."

"Couldn't you just send one of your butlers with a note on a silver platter?"

"Coraline!" Lauren barked as stern and cross as a mother. She detested being toyed with even if she did deserve it, but now enough was enough. Soon she would have to return home, print out stacks of flyers and place them all over town herself since her mother was with the police at the moment, filling out missing forms and such, and she wasn't very fond of being home alone. Coraline stood her ground, unamused and apathetic. She exchanged glances with The Cat who had ceased purring, and was looking up at her with big, blue eyes. He meowed compassionately.

"…fine."

"Thank you. As I was saying, do you remember that kid yesterday; the one who threw up in your shoes?"

Coraline pinched the bridge of her nose; the aggravation vibrated about her body making The Cat rather uncomfortable as he squirmed in her arms "I guess, what about him?"

"Well he called yesterday as soon as you left. He said he came across my brother around this area."

"He probably didn't know what he was talking about or he's probably just screwing around."

"That's what I thought, until I did a little research; did you know three children who used to live in the Pink Palace have disappeared over the last century?"

The Cat flew out of Coraline's embrace. She struggled to block out last night's event out of her head lest she'd have an anxiety attack right at Lauren's feet. "No…not really. Is that it?"

"Almost, Isaac may be unreliable but what do you know? I mean, have you noticed anything or anyone suspicious while you've been living here?"

"No."

"Are you sure? Have you talked with your neighbors recently? Do you know of any secret little hiding places?"

"Um, well..." At first Lauren feared she may have hit a dead end, until Coraline's eyes radiated as though a light bulb had turned on in her big, blue head. "The well! Lauren, there's a well around this area near the woods!"

Lauren's eyes nearly popped out from behind her glasses. "What!? Okay you need to show me, right now, please!"

"Of course, it's this way!" Instinctively, Coraline tugged on Lauren's hand through the garden and up the path to where the well was with The Cat trotting right behind them. In a normal circumstance the two wouldn't dream of even touching each other (unless if it involved Coraline beating the blonde out of princess Reedling), holding hands would be out of the question. Now David was at stake, Lauren's thoughts were a concoction of relief and fear. For days now she had been skipping school to see if she could find any leads which all ended in vain. Quiet nights had gone by without any sleep and her mother only spoke to her whenever it was about her little brother. Maybe now she would have some closure, even though she was scared of what she would find. She squeezed back as tight as she could.