A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for the reviews that have come in since I last posted. I really appreciate them. I hope you've all had a nice couple of weeks and enjoy this new chapter. A T/W though, this chapter contains references to self-harm and intrusive thoughts at the beginning.


~Sierra~

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Despite the moving handles, it was like all time had decided to stand still.

14:55pm.

What would be the longest five minutes of the entire day. As Ms Langley desperately tried to invigorate the whole of the Psychology class, my body grew more and more heavy, like there were extra weights dangling from my limbs. I should be paying attention. After all, we had a test next Friday and I had to be on my A-game. However, for the whole of class, my eyes had been flickering over to the empty seat next to me.

Nancy was still a no-show.

This was seriously unusual for her.

Nancy always called if she wasn't going to be in. Without fail.

After the newly formed Oddlings group - as Pepsi endearingly titled us - had lunch together, I had excitedly rushed to the phone to tell Nancy everything that had happened. To my disappointment, I was met with Mrs Wheeler's voice. After making some small chat, I hung up. I was getting concerned, but if Mrs Wheeler got an inkling of Nancy's absence then I would be creating a heap of trouble. This was purely under the assumption Nancy was skipping school. For all I knew, she could just be ill. But there was just something about this that didn't sit well with me.

As the drone of Ms Langley's discussion on comparative psychology went on, I thought about everything I would tell Nancy when she decided to come back. Lunch was perfect. Billy started off being aloof, but after a little persuasion he joined our conversation on the recent Indiana Hoosiers game. Steve and I were planning on seeing them play in Indianapolis soon, and to my happiness, Steve invited Billy. I knew Steve would welcome Billy. Sure, he had been a little cautious, but Steve was the kind of guy who liked to give people chances. There was one thing I learned though. Billy wasn't a social butterfly. Idle chat bored him and if you tried to engage him, only one word answers were made. However, if you got him interested in something, then it would progress onto at least a sentence. This was interesting for me to observe. At Tina's party, I had thought he got along with most people. However, in retrospect, people seemed to be magnetized to Billy. I was the first person he had actually approached and even then, if I hadn't reciprocated the sarcastically flirty comments, I highly believed we wouldn't have sat at lunch holding hands a few hours ago. He was interesting to watch, that's for sure. And not just because he was gorgeous.

Even during lunch, I couldn't stop looking out for Nancy and Jonathan. They were impossible to reach. I was tempted to jump in my car and go round to see if they were there. However, I was engrossed in conversation with the others. After we established the schedule for November 10th, we ended up talking about why Pepsi was called Pepsi. Billy had prompted this, sardonically asking why she hadn't called herself Coke or Sunny D. Pepsi eloquently described how the name just seemed to suit her because of her peppy attitude to life. It was partially true. The part she decided to omit from the story was how it was what her Dad had called her. Pepsi's dad had passed away in a car accident at the start of high school. Before that, she was just plain, normal Joan. In the week's after his passing was when started her metamorphosis into Marilyn Monroe's twin and started calling herself Pepsi. I knew the Marilyn look was a coping mechanism. A transformation into a completely different person. Just like Marilyn herself. Everyone just thought it was a phase. But, truly, I think this will be Pepsi's life. Hiding away from the pain Joan experienced, endeavoring to emulate the one person everyone desired. Hastily, Pepsi had moved the conversation onto where Nancy was. Steve had merely shrugged, his unbothered demeanor covering up his real heartache and concern. Billy had attempted to console Steve in the only way he knew how - by encouraging him to get out there again. Okay, so that wasn't exactly how he phrased it. He more or less said for Steve to get a party going and insinuated to 'see what happened'. Pepsi and I had thrown some stray fries at him for it, but Billy didn't care. He ate them and winked at me with a smirk plastered on his lips. Afterwards, I went to call Nancy. No response. The exact same at the Byers house. It looked like if I was going to get any answers about what happened with Will, I was going to have to get them myself.

So, when the shrill of the bell awoke me from scheming, I put the plans into action. Grabbing my bag, I strode out of the door without so much as a goodbye to Ms Langley. I was going to Hawkin's Middle School and I was going to see the kid for myself. Billy had said he couldn't wait for me. Something to do with needing to get Max home. The way he said it in a low murmur, eyes evading any sort of contact, made me wary though. It was the sort of evasion that made my head begin to spiral, paranoid thoughts branching left, right and center. But, I took a deep breath and merely nodded. For a few minutes, my inner therapist was chanting the same mantras - 'Not everyone is like your mother. Not everyone has an ulterior motive'. It was a nifty trick of mine when the anxiety became overwhelming. Find the source of the anxiety, which was usually some sort of deeply rooted trauma, and begin the process of inwardly reassuring myself. During the period where Mom was difficult to get a hold of, Dad had refused to pay for a therapist after I went through a rather unruly phase to express all the grief. By unruly, I mean I was a mess. The only reason I had no bruises from him was because I was making them myself. Bruises or cuts. Whichever I preferred that day. The amount of pain I would inflict upon myself depended on how bad the day was. But I had to have something. Even now, I still found myself pressing down on the tops of my legs. An addictive pain to eradicate the hopeless sense of numbness.

Snapping away from this depressing reverie, I found myself at the doors to the middle school. In the distance, I could see Billy pacing with a cigarette in his mouth, eyes fixated on the floor. I thought he couldn't wait? That cold, sudden shock tears through my chest again. Quickly, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

One second.

Not everyone is like your mom.

Two seconds.

Not everyone has an ulterior motive.

Three seconds.

Billy Hargrove is not going to cheat on you.

Four seconds.

He isn't going to hurt you.

Time's up.

My eyes fluttered open. The world around me suddenly appeared vibrant, like when you wake up from a good night's sleep and everything feels fresh. Colors popped out as my heart rate decreased, the blurriness fading away into the background again.

Focus, Sierra.

I had only one reason for being here and that was to see if Will was okay. They usually hid out in the laboratories after school for a little while until the coast was clear of bullies. As I walked past all the different classrooms and various colorful displays, memories of being here flooded my mind. I had seemed like a relatively content kid back then. Retrospectively, I could see how I strived to excel to the point of burnout. I knew now the reasons why I did that, but other than that, it was the last time I truly was myself. I am 17 years old now, so I was last here when I had just turned 14. Three years. I read books openly, recited lines of poetry with a poise I hadn't experienced again until today. I genuinely didn't care what people thought of me until high school. I had been considered a nerd. What had happened? Why had I become so insecure and ignorant to continue hanging out with the likes of Tommy and Carol despite them openly disliking me and bullying others right in front of me?

Shit, I was doing it again - overthinking. My number one flaw. I was working on it, but when you're growing up in an environment where you need to rethink everything you could say in certain situations, then it was a consequence. A lasting one at that.

Yet again, I forced myself to focus on the task at hand. As I walked around the corner to the laboratory, it turned out my mission had a slight delay. Right at the door, struggling to pick at the lock with a hairpin, was Billy's little sister. Stepsister.

"Max, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Shit!" She flung the hairpin halfway across the hall and froze up against the wall.

"Is everything okay?" I raised a brow as we both glanced at the hairpin glinting in the artificial light. She was acting pretty suspicious for a kid. Then again, she had been trying to break into the labs. "Is Will in there?"

"Yup" she snapped with a heavy sigh full of grievances.

"And you're trying to get in because…" I let the last word roll off my tongue a little longer, my inquisitive brow getting higher.

"Because they won't let me into their stupid party" she muttered resentfully and slouched against the door. With a defiant fold of her arms, she huffed. "Like I give a shit"

"Seems to me like you do give a shit" In response to this, Max scoffed and rolled her eyes. I couldn't help but chuckle a little at this. She had a fiery, dogged determination to not seem affected by being left out. "You got another one of those?" I nodded my head towards the hairpin and with all the incredulity she could muster, examined me. Of course, here was an older girl she barely knew, who she knew was dating her stepbrother, offering to help her break into a room. Yeah, I'd be giving myself the side eye too. Reluctantly she handed me one and I dove into working on the door. Max observed me with caution as I jiggled the lock. "What? A gal has to find ways to sneak into Dad's liquor cabinet sometimes" Most times, he would be too hungover to notice that I'd treated myself to a large glass of chardonnay reserved for when he felt like a classy drunk. Besides, it was rare he was in that mood. 9 out of 10 times, it was messy, feel-sorry-for-myself drunk.

Without any sort of interrogation, Max burst into the lab.

"What the hell is that?" she gasped.

Brows furrowed, I peered into the dimmed room. My eyes widened, breath hitched in my throat.

What the actual fuck had I just walked into?

On the table, under the white light, was this slimy creature. No eyes.

The group looked at both of us with eyes that screamed 'Oh shit'. However, with a nod of Mike's head, their rigid bodies slackened. The nervous energy was still prominent though. Particularly from Will. Damn it, now I couldn't ask him anything. Not in front of his friends.

"M-my question exactly" Dustin stuttered. For some odd reason, Dustin only chilled out when he looked at the weird creature and the biggest grin spread on his lips. "He's my discovery!" he proudly declared. Suddenly, Dustin had this newborn confidence as he strode over to me, grabbed mine and Max's coats and pulled us over with a strength I never realized he had to the table. I stumbled back a little as the creature chittered. "Don't worry, Sierra, he ain't gonna bite you" He leaned down slightly, about to the address the thing. "You ain't gonna hurt her, are you, Dart? You're a good little guy"

Jesus Christ, was this his pet?

"Dart?" Max questioned.

"Short for D'artagan" Dustin responded, looking down at 'Dart' with a pride only a dad could have for his son. He threw his hands up upon seeing mine and Max's blank expressions. "He likes it!"

"He likes it?" I rhetorically asked. "How do you even know it's a he?"

For a few seconds, in silence we bore our eyes into one another's. Mine were questioning his logic, his were questioning how I had the audacity to do this in the first place.

"Anyway, what is the thing?" I finally asked. Eagerly, Dustin grabbed some library books and opened the book to a page he had already marked.

"At first, I thought he was some form of pollywog" Dustin paused, surveying mine and Max's reactions. "A pollywog is -"

"I know" Max and I said in unison. Max looked up at me and we exchanged small smiles.

Beaming with pride, Dustin announced that he had discovered a new species. However, within a split second, that look of pride turned to horror. But even as this all unfolded, there was still a spark of fascination in Dustin's eyes. The once small creature began trilling wildly as limb by limb, it grew. Bones, if it even had them, were dislocating loudly in a thunderous crack. Writhing in pain, it screeched like a banshee. All of us recoiled, pinning ourselves against a wall.

"What the actual fuck is going on?" My voice trembled and I found myself clutching onto the door handle. This wasn't natural. The thing was growing. Right in front of us. And all we could do was watch on in utter terror. Right before our eyes, it's entire anatomy had morphed. It no longer looked like an innocent reptile. No, this was a fucking monster. In the matter of a few seconds, it had sprouted extra legs, the tail thicker. "Why are we just standing here?"

Suddenly, the thing, appearing to have finished its rapid growth spurt, roared.

Hell no.

Not today.

Immediately, I opened the door to escape. However, the thing saw its own chance and leapt from the table, darting through the door.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Dustin shouted. "Why did you do that?"

My lips gaped, I stared at him in astonishment. Did he seriously have to ask that?

"Are you high from the lab's chemical fumes, Dustin?" I incredulously asked and thrust an arm towards the creature who was bounding down the corridor. The question found itself in a void as everyone ran in the direction of 'Dart'. "Holy shit, am I the only sane one here?"

"After seeing that, I don't think any of us can be sane" Max sarcastically replied and grabbed onto my jacket to drag me along with her.

"Wait, what are you two doing?" Mike spun around, sending daggers at both Max and I.

"Er, what does it look like?" Max questioned, reciprocating the judgmental look. Mike's look wavered under the pressure of wanting to restore some form of order. "Not sure about her, but I'm coming along"

"Hold up, I'm older than all of you" I stated assertively. "So, I'm calling the shots here"

"I'm the leader of the Part - "

"Yeah, yeah, leader of the Party my ass, Mike Wheeler. You're still the same kid who didn't want to get their feet wet in a pool during a heatwave three years ago so put paper bags on them" If there was ever a way for Mike Wheeler to hate me, this was it. He should have been thankful, really. At least I didn't share the little anecdote on how I found out he was stealing his dad's stash of 'special' magazines. I turned to Max who clearly gave zero shits about suppressing laughter. "So, I'm the one who's calling the shots. We're getting that thing and handing it over to animal protection or Hopper"

The screeching echoed, snatching us all from this serious chat. Following this were the squeaks of Lucas' sneakers as he rapidly sprinted back to us.

"Whilst you guys are standing here chatting like a bunch of grandma's over some tea, we're trying to get Dart" Lucas panted. "Are you coming or not?"

Wordlessly, we nodded and got to work. Racing down the corridors, we finally got to Dustin who without delay, divided us into pairs. Max and Mike, Lucas and Will, and then myself with Dustin. Will and I exchanged an awkward look. He knew the reason why I was here. Just like he somehow knew the secrets of my life. He seemed relatively okay here. Normal, whatever that was considering the context of things. Either way, I could tell there was something lurking beneath. Demon or no demon, something was definitely there.

Once we had split up, I reiterated my plan to Dustin. Animal protection or the cops. Either way, he wasn't going home with that thing. As I suspected, Dustin reacted in the most dramatic way possible. Spinning on his heel, he allowed the silence to eat away at us, staring at me with disgust.

"No" he started in a booming voice. "No, no, no. Are you out of your goddamn mind, Sierra?"

"No more than you are, Henderson. Look, that thing isn't natural and by the way it roared like that, I don't think it's safe either" I calmly responded.

"How can he not be safe? He likes nougat for Christ's sake, Sierra!" Dustin retorted furiously.

"Nougat?" I raised my brow. Despite the seriousness of this talk, I couldn't help but giggle slightly.

"Yes, nougat. And fries - but it has to be with ketchup or he can't stomach it"

"Oh my God!" I cackled, buckling at the knees. "What's next? Oysters with a singular lemon wedge?"

"You're being sarcastic" Dustin muttered after a pause of consideration. My laughter grew louder, all the muscles in my stomach painfully contracting. "Yup, you're being sarcastic" Dustin sighed before resuming his insulted front. "We have a bond"

"Must be all your romantic candlelight dinners, Henderson" I replied, stifling any further laughter with a hand over my mouth. "Okay, that was my last one"

"Don't make false promises, Sierra" Dustin growled and started walking away, muttering frantically to himself. What could I say? Making jokes at his expense was one of my favorite pastimes. He was actually the first kid I had babysat for, so it was fairly amusing when Zack and I had found him and Steve sharing a milkshake together in the diner downtown. Either way, I liked the kid beyond how he fell for my sarcasm.

"Anyway, serious talk: we are going to take that thing somewhere. It's not coming home with you" Under his breath, Dustin muttered something about how we would 'see about that'. "I'm not bullshitting you, Dustin. I mean it" We searched some lockers, flinging them open with caution. "What is that thing anyway? Like, why did it growl like that?"

"Look, I've had it up to here," Dustin exploded and to really make the message hit home, slapped his forehead "with people insinuating Dart is something bad. He isn't some monster, or demon from another world, he's just a new species that was hiding in my garbage can, okay?"

Speechless, I just allowed Dustin to stew in his rage for a moment before deciding to speak.

"You really gotta find some new hobbies, Henderson"

"This is one of them!"

"What? Trying to get yourself killed by some damn monster?"

"He's not a monster!" Dustin virtually screamed. We had somehow become very proximate to one another, with Dustin reaching just under my chin, glaring up at me. Meaning, that high pitched screech really pierced my ears.

"Guys, I've found him"

Will's voice through the signature walkie-talkie of the Party crackled. Without another moment to waste, Dustin seized it from his pocket, bringing it to his lips.

"Where's your location, over?"

"In the lavatory"

I snatched the walkie-talkie from Dustin.

"Will, are you safe?"

Any response from Will was lost as his voice started to warble. Above us, the lights began flickering madly until we were both left in near-darkness, the only light coming from outside. As I peered out of the windows, I was shocked at how quickly the weather had changed. A huge contrast from the sunny day only less than an hour ago, a dark and foreboding cloud had formed, spreading over the whole sky.

"You took my walkie-talkie" Dustin breathed in disbelief. "Rule number one of the Party: never take another's walkie-talkie"

"Dustin, I sincerely mean this" I gently placed the object back into his hands and held onto them earnestly "get a life"

Before he even had a chance to counter this, the others ran over to meet us.

"Dustin, we could hear you shouting from the other end of the building!" Lucas revealed.

"Wait, weren't you meant to be with Will?" I asked.

"He wanted to split up, said he was done with me babysitting him" Lucas huffed. "Tried to tell him, but he didn't want to hear it!"

"Look, why are you and Max still here? You should just go back home" Mike spat vehemently, striding ahead of us.

"Why? Are you threatened by two girls ruling your so-called Party?" Max hit back. However, Mike didn't care enough to turn around. Instead, he just continued walking. "Screw your party, I'm out of here"

"About time" Mike dispassionately called from the top of the corridor. Dustin caught up to him whilst Lucas stayed next to me, his eyes chasing after Max who was gliding across the hall on her skateboard towards the exit. With a sigh, he looked up to me.

"Are you coming with us?" Lucas asked.

"Can I borrow your walkie-talkie please, Lucas?" He scrutinized me, wondering why I needed it in the first place. At least I wasn't breaking Rule No. 1 of the Party now. "I'm going to stay with Max so she's not alone. When you find Dart, I want you all to come out to the front and meet us. Let me know when you're on your way and if there's any trouble, I want you to tell me and I'll be right there. Got it?"

"Okay, that's a plan" Lucas relinquished his walkie-talkie and with a mutual understanding, we nodded.

After making sure Lucas caught up to the others, I made my way towards the exit. When I got outside, Max was leaning against the brick wall with a faraway, despondent look in her eyes. The slam of the doors closing shocked her out of whatever thoughts were haunting her. I couldn't help but feel bad for her. She had girls making fun of her last night and now Mike was being an asshole too. As a kid, rejection was the ultimate bruise to one's confidence.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked and sat down on the concrete steps, patting next to me for her to join me.

"Peachy" Max muttered and after intense consideration, chose to sit next to me.

We sat in silence, gazing at the landscape of scattered cars and the odd student finally abandoning after-school studying to return home. The dense, gloomy clouds reflected the general mood between us. However, the sun was hiding somewhere behind those low clouds. Perhaps it would come out somehow. There was still a chance.

"I can imagine it's hard making friends in a new school" No response from Max. Just a bored sigh. This was going to be harder than I thought. "Look, those guys are just a little…eccentric"

"No shit" she scoffed.

"But, they're not the only guys in middle school"

"Presumptuous of you to think I need friends"

"There's a difference between 'need' and 'want'" I stated, much to her surprise. Max scoffed again, but merely spread out her legs and crossed her arms. As my eyes followed hers, I found out what she was looking at. Nothing. She was looking at nothing and that was precisely what had irked her. Billy had gone home without her. "Will he come back for you?"

"Nope" she sighed and moved her skateboard backwards and forwards leisurely with her foot. She stopped upon noticing my concerned look. "He can't come back for me"

"If he has a car, then of course he can" I replied crossly.

It irritated me how Billy had just left her to go home alone. I knew she was in middle school now, but it still wasn't a nice thing to do if she was depending on him for a ride. It would be like me leaving Zack at school so I could go off and do whatever I wanted. I didn't get it. Billy showed me a soft side with Zack last night. Sure, he had this bad boy image to maintain, but something about him leaving Max to go home alone didn't sit right with me.

"Jesus, you have no idea" she sardonically laughed and got up, flicking her skateboard up into her arms with a single motion. "Of course, you don't. You're a rich kid. You don't have any idea about shit like this"

Slightly stunned by how abrasive she had been towards me, I couldn't help but let out a disdainful laugh.

"Right, sure. And you called me presumptuous" I replied and folded over myself, watching my curls as they dangled in between my legs. Her remark had pissed me off. I got it way too many times from other people and had no choice but to plaster a smile on my lips. Max, on the other hand, despite her brazen attitude, seemed smarter than to assume what someone's life was based on what their house looked like. "I'm not going into this right now, kid"

"Maybe you should just stick to being Billy's girlfriend and leave me alone, alright?" she snapped and turned to move.

"I'm a lot more than just Billy's rich kid girlfriend, Max. That doesn't define me" I retorted with a calm sternness. She was really irate at something and I was desperately trying to source what it could have been. It was more than just Billy leaving her at school and it was more than Mike not wanting her in the group. But the question of the hour was what? "Even if I wasn't his girlfriend, I would still want to make sure you got home okay, particularly after what we just saw. So, I can either call you a taxi or you can come with me to pick my brother up from school once the others have come out and I can drop you home"

Shuffling in her spot, Max peered up with a new emotion flooding her eyes. There was a sense of her being apologetic, but she needn't be. She was just a young kid with an attitude and what seemed like a lot going on in the background. Someone who wanted to be perceived as who she really was and accepted for it by like-minded people. Like Billy, the attitude was simply a front to mask what they didn't want others to see. Relenting, she sat back down and tapped her foot.

"I'm surprised he doesn't have his own personal chauffeur" Max said, but with a smile to convey she was joking. Just in case I had anything to say about it. After all, I had come across as pissed off which I shouldn't have done. She was younger than me and had a lot to learn. Warmly, I smiled back at her.

"Yup, as well as a personal chef" I chuckled, playing with a faux emerald ring on my finger. "Chicken nuggets and fries are my specialty"

"So, you're the chauffeur as well then?" she asked, mirroring me as she twiddled with an invisible ring.

"6 days a week and the kid still doesn't tip well" I sighed. "So, are you coming along or am I calling you a taxi?"

Contemplating it, she moved the skateboard between her feet, intently watching it as she finalized her decision.

"Am I sitting in the front or has your brother called shotgun already?" We shared a smile, the tension between us dissipating.

"If you talk to him about dinosaurs, then I'm sure you'll convince him to change his mind" I chuckled.

We fell silent again, but the atmosphere had shifted to something more amicable. Hopefully, she was able to see I was a lot more than just Billy's girlfriend now. Moreover, that I was someone other than this spoiled rich kid.

Abruptly, the doors flew open behind us and out of them came Dustin. Rushing breathlessly past us, he clutched onto his hat as he ran down the stairs.

"Dustin, is everything okay?" I called after him.

"Everything's swell, so incredibly swell! Got to go, bye!" he shouted frantically as he scampered to his bike, nearly falling over in his attempt to mount it.

Soon, Mike and Lucas were next to us, watching on in bewilderment as Dustin speedily cycled off into the distance, seemingly chattering to himself and keeping a tight hold of his hat. Henderson was definitely a character.

It soon dawned on me how Will wasn't with us. Where had he gone? Was he okay?

"Where's Will?" I asked.

"His mom picked him up from the other side of school" Mike murmured upon feeling my own concern. We eyed each other with equal apprehension. Did he know what was going on with Will? Had he seen something like me? "We couldn't find Dart. He must have ran off somewhere"

"Then we have to call Hopper. That thing wasn't natural, Mike, and I don't want it coming across anything" More specifically, anyone.

"No" Mike asserted. "We can't tell anyone about this, alright? It stays between us"

"This isn't like your D&D game, Mike. This is real life" No matter how unreal it may feel like.

"We'll call him, Sierra" Lucas said, disregarding Mike's short rebuttal with a swift hand in front of the face. "And Max," Max glanced up distrustfully at him and folded her arms stubbornly "welcome to the Party"

Silently, Mike's eyes widened. Looked like this Party had a new leader. I smirked at Lucas and nodded in recognition of his new stance. Likewise, Max let the shadow of a smile creep on her lips.

"Cool" she replied. With no more words to be spoken, other than Mike's furious rant as the two of them walked over to the bike stands, Max turned to me. "We should probably go get your brother"

"Yeah, good shout" I waved to the guys as we passed by. Bounding up the grassy hill, we reached my car and Max got in as soon as it opened. Despite her previous words, she politely situated herself in the back of the car. As I turned on the engine, Round and Round resumed from this morning, blaring out of the stereo. Instantly, I turned it down. "Are you cool with this?"

"I'm kinda used to it" she chuckled and brought her knees up to her chest, cuddling them.

"Well, what music do you like?" I asked and reached over to the glove compartment, revealing a box of various cassettes. "Have a look through"

Enthusiastically, Max fingered through the cassettes. With a surprise laugh, she produced one of my middle school favorites. Blondie's Autoamerican from 1980. Oh, the memories of throwing myself around my bedroom pretending to be on a runway always accompanied this album.

"I'm guessing Billy doesn't know you have this?" Max giggled and passed over the cassette to me.

"Even the most hardcore rock fans can't resist a little Blondie" I answered with a chuckle. "Anyway, Blondie is technically a rock band!"

"Right… you keep telling yourself that!"

As The Tide is High came on, I gave Max an innocent shrug of the shoulders, as if I was completely clueless. Laughing back, we sang along to the music and made our way to the elementary school. I was happy her tough exterior had started fading slightly, knowing just how difficult it was to maintain at times. Of course, mine and whatever Max's situations were unique, but I could empathize. It wasn't easy being a teenage girl in this world in the first place. Add other issues to this and it could be insufferable. However, for the now, we could just sing along to Blondie. To my dismay though, we both knew we had to address what we had been witness to today.

"What do you think that thing was?" It was like she had read my mind.

"I'm not sure, to be honest, but I know animals don't grow that quickly" I replied, looking at her reflection in my rear-view mirror as she gazed out of the window at the fields surrounding us.

"Lucas said Will went missing last year and now everyone calls him 'Zombie Boy'. Is that right?" So, she'd heard. It was going to be inevitable anyway, but I felt sadness form in my stomach just thinking about the taunts. "Maybe this town is weirder than I thought"

"Yeah, it's been a strange year in all honesty. It used to be extremely boring" I sighed and shook my head. "Weirder than California?"

"Yup. A whole lot weirder than California"

From the unsettling sensation I had coursing through my veins, I had a very bad feeling it was going to get a hell of a lot weirder.