I don't own the Breakfast Club

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Allison Reynolds could hear the clock ticking by her bedside. Every time she turned to look at the clock, another hour passed by. From nine, to ten, to eleven, and eventually twelve. Another hour at an empty home. When it came time for Brian and John to leave, Allison didn't want them to go. For once, it felt wonderful having company over. The type of company that appreciated her presence.

The number of times that Allison had irritated John when she hid their materials was hilarious to her. John may have had that rebellious demeanor, but the sentences that he muttered were hilarious to Allison. She felt terrible that Brian had to suffer through John's irritation, but they considered one another friends in the end.

Allison turned to the other side of the bed and tried to go back to sleep. Trying to fall asleep but having her mind wander was an impossible task. Before, Allison was able to naturally fall asleep even with her thoughts bogging upon her mind. Now, she just couldn't and slowly grew irritated by it. Allison threw the covers off her and proceeded to head downstairs. Her feet stopped by the hallway when she noticed faint light coming from downstairs in the living room. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of that light.

Were her parents finally back? A tingling sensation formed in her stomach as Allison thought of her parents finally being home. Just then, her thoughts were enough to ground her. Her parents may have been back, but nothing was changed. They were going to ignore her regardless…or them coming back was a way of them discovering that they finally had a daughter and would never ignore her again.

Allison didn't know why she felt hopeful of this. The number of times that she had prayed that her parents would notice, had finally been answered…or that Andrew's attention had given her a lot of hope. No matter what, Allison hoped for the best. Slowly, she made her way downstairs and approached the living room.

To her disappointment, nobody was there. It occurred to Allison that she had left the light in the living room opened in case her parents were to come back. She took a deep breath and gently sat on the couch. The house cat was curled on the sofa, sleeping soundly without any care in the world. He seemed to have quite the easy life.

Where could they be? Allison asked as she looked at the blank television screen with a faraway look. What if something happened to them? That was a scenario that Allison hadn't prepared herself for. She had hoped that her parents would be prepared in case they, suddenly, didn't find her at home and she would be far away from this place.

But would they care? Was the other question that took over Allison's thoughts. It doesn't matter the other part of her mind objected.

Allison's eyes then looked over at the house cat as he opened his eyes to see the visitor that had decided to make herself comfortable in the living room. Opening his mouth for a yawn and stretching, he leaped off the sofa and pounced onto Allison's lap and made himself comfortable. Allison had always found it interesting how animals were able to sense the feelings of their caretakers…let alone those who were considered invisible. She gently stroked the cat's head, grateful for his companionship during this moment of her solitude.

Just then, the telephone rang causing Allison to jump in her seat and look over at the source of the noise. The cat, unappreciative of being disturbed by the ring, let out a growl and leaped out of Allison's lap. Allison wondered who was calling. There was no way that it would be Andrew calling this late or any of her other friends. The only time that someone would call at this hour was to deliver bad news. Allison blamed this thought on the numerous crime and mystery shows that she used to watch during summer break. Her hand hovered over the receiver and then finally grabbed it.

"H-Hello?" Allison reluctantly said, awaiting to hear the unfamiliar voice from the other end of the line.

"Hey Allison," Susan's familiar voice came from the other end of the line. To Allison, she sounded exhausted.

Relief flooded Allison as she took a deep breath and let it out. Thank God it wasn't a phone call about her parents, but why would Susan be calling this late in the night? "Couldn't sleep?" Allison assumed.

"No," Susan sighed and leaned against the couch, trying to keep her voice as low as possible to not wakeup her grandmother or the canary from their sleep. "It's just one of those nights." Susan's first instinct was to call Brian. Other than seeing him at school, she hadn't had the chance to call him after everything that was going on. Since it was late, she assumed that he was asleep and decided to try Allison. She had debated whether to call Allison, thinking that she was asleep. "What about you? Had trouble counting sheep?"

Allison couldn't help but chuckle at that analogy. Susan had the innocence within her that she'd be surprised if Allison told her that counting sheep in her sleep were the last things. "You could say that," Allison answered her, "I'm just waiting for my parents to get back from…where ever they are."

There was silence on the other end of the line until Susan reluctantly asked, "they didn't tell you anything?" she asked her.

The only person that Allison had told was Andrew. She didn't think it was worth sharing her troubles with anyone else in the group. Everyone had something going on, so why should she burden them with hers?

"Allison," Susan's voice pried for her to continue, "what happened?"

At that moment, Allison felt her eyes beginning to mist. She pressed the fabric of her sleeve against her eyes and pulled herself together. "Nothing," she said, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole situation, "they had a business trip that they needed to go to. Forgot to tell me before they did." Allison didn't know whether it was her impulse to lie or just hide the fact that her parents were neglectful. If she thought about it, it wasn't a technical lie for it could have been a business trip…but both parents going on one? Unless they worked for the same company.

"Oh," came Susan's voice on the other end of the line. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have come over or you could have come here."

Allison had never been invited to anyone's house before. She couldn't shake off the feeling what Susan's grandmother would have thought if she saw Allison. From what she had heard, older generations were more judgmental than the ones following them. "Thanks Susan," Allison thanked her for the consideration, "but it's fine. I'm used to it."

"But you shouldn't be," Susan said to her. "You don't need to feel that way, Allison."

Allison took a deep breath and tried to keep her tears at bay. Why was this part of growing up so difficult? Back then, things had seemed so simple. She remembered her parents young, vibrant, and happy. She remembered the attention that they gave her before they had reached this point, which Allison couldn't even remember what had happened that caused this. Her parents had grown themselves within those couple of years…and their hearts had died. The one thing that Allison cared about.

How could Allison escape from that when the people who were supposed to love her couldn't. It frightened her.

"Susan," she said as she tried to keep her voice in control. Her grip tightened around the receiver and a tear slipped from her eye. "I don't want my heart to die. I can't let that happen."

Susan wished that she could be there for Allison this moment. If she had the courage to walk outside at this time of night, she would. Not only did she fear this hour of the night, but she didn't want to worry her grandmother in case she woke up. "It's not going to happen," Susan reassured Allison. "You're surrounded by people that love you. Andrew loves you, I love you, even Brian loves you, and I am sure that even John and Claire love you."

A small chuckle escaped Allison's lips when Susan said that. Allison shook her head at Susan's innocence on that matter. It was highly unlikely that the latter would show any affection towards her but it was good to hear that word. 'Love,' which wasn't just signified by a significant other but also by the friends that surrounded her. At least she had these people in her life that showed her that, aside from the two people that had neglected her.

"Are you gonna be alright?" Susan suddenly asked Allison.

Allison nodded her head as if Susan was sitting next to her. "Yeah," she said to her, "I'll be fine."

"Just so you know," Susan said, "I'm sending you lots of hugs even though I'm not with you. We both came a long way when I sat next to you in World History class."

Allison smiled at that memory. World History class, then detention, and here they were. "Thanks," Allison said to her, "now what's your story? Why aren't you sleeping?"

Susan let out a sigh. "Just overthinking things." During those moments when her mind wandered, Susan wanted to sketch out her thoughts on paper. It served as a relief for her, but she couldn't find her motivation at this time of night.

"Like what?" Allison asked her.

Susan was silent on the other end of the line for a mere second, debating if she should tell Allison or not. Allison had shared a portion of her troubles, and it was only fair that Susan did the same for her friend. "I…uh…I found out that I need move back in with my uncle. It's…complicated."

As complicated as what I'm going through? What everyone else in detention confessed they were going through? Then again, Allison wouldn't be the one to judge Susan's troubles if her guardian was the school's vice principal. Allison was curious to know, for this was a detail that Susan hadn't shared with her…nor anyone else in the group. "What happened?" Allison asked her.

Susan was about to splurge on the issue that had caused her to leave but she bit her tongue before she did. Every action had a consequence and she couldn't put herself through that again, nor Richard for that matter. "Just a disagreement," Susan said, not sure whether Allison fully believed her or not. "It should be okay, but I just hate changing places…and I've gotten accustomed to staying with my grandmother."

"So…you're saying that I can't pay you a visit if I wanted to," Allison told her.

"If you wanted to, we could find a way to make it work," Susan said, finding some lightheartedness in Allison's voice. The thought of bringing a friend from detention in Richard's home made her curious to see how he would react to that. They were silent for a mere second before Susan continued, "everything will be fine. Things have a way of working themselves out in the end."

Allison didn't know if Susan was trying to reassure herself or Allison. Whatever the case was, Allison was appreciative of her friend's care. "Let me know how it goes," Allison told her, "or if you need anything."

"Same to you," Susan told her. "Don't forget that you have people that love you Allison."

With those words, Allison placed the receiver back on the cradle after she bid her goodbyes to Susan. Everything will be fine. Just simple words that seemed to hold some value into them. Allison got up from her seat and headed upstairs. The moment that she was in the proximity of her bedroom, she stopped when the front door opened. She turned her head and that moment, she saw the familiar shadow of her parents walking inside the house.

Allison's heart swelled at the sight of them, but her mind couldn't control her legs to move towards them.