The weekend came and went. It was needless to say that Dash did not relax like he wanted to. There were no face masks, rom coms, or even any ice cream. Dash wouldn't have been able to stomach it. Instead all he did was lay in bed, ridden with guilt.
Dash had never felt this guilty about anything ever in his life.
Sam and Tucker had been texting him as they looked for Danny. Asking him if he had heard anything or telling him when a trail had gone cold. He could feel Sam pressing him, hinting that she thought he knew something they didn't. He didn't know how she knew that.
They were nervous before but he could tell they were getting frantic. They looked like they had had about the same amount of sleep as Dash had the past couple days. Their eyes were red, there were bags underneath them. They had to have been up every night wondering what was happening to Danny. Where he was.
It wasn't like Dash was much different from them.
At least Sam and Tucker didn't have the voice of threats and the idea of disappearing like Danny did keeping them up at night too.
A couple more days passed at school with them finding no real answers and he could hear the whispers floating around their classmates as everyone wondered what happened to him.
Dash was nodding off and jumped at the sound of something being slammed down on his desk. When he opened his eyes wide ready to bolt, he saw Sam and Tucker standing in front of his desk. He didn't even remember Lancer calling for work time.
"Sam-" Tucker started but she cut him off.
Her hand covered the front of the paper she had slammed on his desk. When she moved it his heart stopped.
It was a missing poster for Danny.
"Have you seen him yet?" She asked him.
"No." Dash shook his head. "I already told you that I haven't seen him since we all left the Nasty Burger."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because I thought we were friends now?" Dash said bluntly. "I don't… I don't know why you'd think I'd keep this information to myself if I knew where he was."
"This information? So there is information?"
"What? No. There isn't-"
"If you don't know anything why didn't you meet Danny at his locker Friday morning like you usually do?" Sam slammed her fist on his desk again. "Why wouldn't you go looking for him unless you knew he wouldn't be there?"
"I was late to school that day, I didn't have the time to-"
"No you weren't. I saw you come in. You were early that day."
His heart dropped and he knew she wasn't going to let that go.
"What happened, Dash?"
He looked away from her. "I don't know what you're talking about."
He could see it when she broke. Tears filled her eyes and started streaming down her face. "Like hell, you don't! You've been shifty for the past three days! Any time anyone mentions Danny you flinch! You think you're being sneaky, like no one can tell you know something! But we can!"
"Ms. Manson!" Mr. Lancer exclaimed from his seat at his desk.
"Why won't you tell us where he is?!" Sam yelled at Dash. "Don't you care what happens to him?"
"Of course I care about what happens to him!" Dash finally yelled back at her. "He's my friend too!"
"Ms. Manson!" Mr. Lancer repeated. "Mr. Baxter! What is happening?"
"He knows what happened to Danny!"
It was then that Kwan walked back into the classroom, bathroom pass in hand. His eyes widened when he saw Dash and Sam glaring at each other and Mr. Lancer trying to mediate them.
The rest of the class stared at them. Their eyes were either filled with pity, shock, or mirth. None of them made him feel good.
Lancer's eyes softened to a degree he's never seen before. "Ms. Manson, would you please step out of the classroom with me?"
Dash watched as Sam deflated. Tears continued to stream down her face but she heavily turned towards the door and followed after Mr. Lancer. He quietly shut the door behind them and the classroom was quiet. Everyone turned to look at Dash.
"What happened?" Kwan asked quietly. "Do you really know what happened to Danny?"
Dash faced him. His heart twisted in his chest. He hated lying to Kwan. He knew everything about him. All his secrets that he didn't share with anyone else. He didn't want to lie to him, but if he told the truth then Kwan wouldn't have his best friend anymore. Dash would disappear and Kwan might right along with him. He couldn't tell anyone.
"No, I don't know what she's talking about." He laughed. "She's overreacting. Danny probably just ran away."
Dash looked back down at his desk. The missing poster was still sitting in front of him. He folded it up and shoved it into his backpack. Kwan took his spot behind Dash, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder.
Dash didn't deserve any comfort. Not one bit.