Wildest Dreams

t we n ty - s i x

"I'm gonna beat the living daylights out of them when I see their faces." Glen slammed his hand on the wheel. He had been edgy since the start of my story.

"No need to be heroic, Lantz. Karma comes to all big mistakes," I said and he took a deep but sharp breath.

"And no need to be poetic, Hartley," Nancy told me, giving me a side eye and smirk.

"Thank you for your straightforwardness, Thompson."

Heavy dark clouds formed on the sky, shadowing the neighborhood with a ghastly atmosphere with the breeze gone and noises muted. It was already sun down when we arrived at Elm Street. Glen parked his car in their driveway and walked Nancy and I to her house.

When we reached the front lawn, we gaped at the newly added exterior feature. Sets of steel bars were bolted on the frames of each window, even on the tiny glass of the front door. The security was too much that going in could be impossible as getting out.

"Oh gross," Nancy mumbled. She approached the rose trellis on the ground. The wood, vines, and red flowers destroyed. Her eyes moved up to the window of her bedroom, also in bars. "I don't think you can spend the night here again, Maple."

"I don't think you should spend any of your nights here as well," I claimed. The same disgust on our faces knew all of this was wrong, and we're being treated like animals.

"I can't. I have to stay so that we can fight." She turned back to us and said, "Stay with Glen instead."

Glen and I glanced nervously at each other.

"Maple, you still need a place to stay because we all know what happens when you go back to your grandparents. There's nowhere safe for us anymore, especially you. It's just for one more night," Nancy insisted.

Just one more night. One more night will do me no harm, won't it? I mean, I've dealt with too much damage already.

"Okay, you got a point." I sighed. "You okay with that, Glen?"

"Yeah, I-I'm totally cool with it." He smiled at me.

I took a step closer to Nancy to give her a hug, hopefully not our last one.

"Keep safe," I told her.

"Keep safer." She pulled away from the hug and headed to the front door. Finding it unlocked, she went in with a small wave towards our way.

A rumbling thunder came from above, which caused Glen and I to look up. We then walked towards his house. He was the first to walk in while I hid behind him. He signaled me to get ahead on the stairs and I quietly made my way up.

"Glen, is that you?" His father spoke from another room.

"Yep, hello," he called to his parents, making me panic a bit.

"Good. What about Maple? Have you seen her? Her folks have been calling all day."

"No. I was with Nancy, she didn't see her too." Glen glanced at me and I signed him to cut it out before they ask him to stay downstairs. "I-I'm gonna go change in my room."

"Dinner's in a few more minutes," Mrs. Lantz announced.

"Okay." Glen rushed up the stairs behind me and we went inside his room. Sighing, I dropped my bag on the floor with a loud thud.

"Whoa, what's in that?" Glen asked as he removed his shoes and kicked them to the side of the bed.

"Pain, despair, misery, and homework," I stated casually. Glen furrowed his eyebrows at me, so I answered honestly now. "Clothes, money, and stuff."

He nodded. "Do you mind if I uhm..." He fumbled with the buttons of his shirt.

"No, I'll just uh... turn around I guess. It's your room anyway." He then proceeded to remove his clothes in front of me. I quickly walked away, hiding my reddened face and admiring things on the floor. Like the necktie that never left the bed post.

"I'm gonna go use the bathroom while you uhh..." I awkwardly covered my face passing by him. I let out a sigh once I stepped into the bathroom just across his room.

When I returned, I had new clothes on and I let my hair down. Glen was sitting patiently in his bed. He stood up when he saw me. I blushed again after noticing that he was in a crop top, which showed his toned abdomen. I looked away again before he could even notice.

"Mom's gonna call for dinner anytime soon. I'll try to sneak some for you when I come back. You'll be alright up here alone?" He asked. His eyes watching me with utmost concern.

"It's not the first time," I replied. Glen squeezed my arm, a sad smile on his lips, before going downstairs to join his family for a peaceful dinner.

For around two hours, I was alone in the room. I was bored. I had nothing to do but probe Glen's stuff lying around his room. He sure did have a lot of posters of sports teams, ripped magazine pages of women in his closet door like a typical highschool boy, and then some bits and bots in his drawers and desk.

My eyes found a framed picture of the five of us on top the drawer. My hand reached for it and I sat on the bed as I looked at the picture.

It was from Glen's birthday party. All of us had party hats on, throwing our heads back laughing. Glen, Rod, and I had chocolate on our faces and hands. Tina and Nancy were on the opposing side, ready to throw more icing. I remembered that day crystal clear. My thumb brushed our faces and I wished we could have that happiness again with nothing to stop all our adventures and mischief.

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs so I immediately wiped away the forming tears and hid beside the closet.

Glen came in with a plate in his hand. He closed the door behind him.

"Hey, I got you something," he told me.

"Thanks. Your parents didn't ask about it, did they?" I picked up the plate and stabbed corn with the fork.

"No. Told you I was sneaky." Glen smirked and jumped to his bed, sighing as he bounced a little.

"Of course you were," I remarked.

"Almost forgot." He threw something at me which I skillfully caught in one hand.

"String cheese," I murmured, grinning up to him and keeping it between my fingers.

"The favourite snack of m'lady."

"You remembered?"

"How could I forget about you, Maple Hartley?"

I blushed at his words and bit on my lip to stop myself from smiling. "Thank you."

I ate my dinner while he listened to his records. His parents stayed downstairs so it was just peace and quiet up here. Hopefully it stays that way.