Mission Impossible//Robin Arellano

Part V

Lost in the Dark

Valerie was stood behind the counter in the Grab n' Go. She watched as some workers unplugged the pinball machine in the back corner of the store. Vance used to love that thing. His mother had come in the other day after Valerie and Robin left and asked if they could remove it. She was an avid shopper there and couldn't bare to look at it any longer.

The workers had put the game onto a push cart and were rolling it out to their truck. Valerie never knew Vance personally, but from the way his mom talks about him, she wishes she did. Sure, he was a tough kid with anger issues, but at home he was such a softy.

Once the two guys were out the door, it was completely silent in the store. Valerie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Silence is deafening to the girl. It's a way for her intrusive thoughts to speak up. There's no way for a song or a voice to shut them up. She placed her hands on the counter, releasing all her upper body weight onto her arms.

Her mind was yelling at her so loud that she didn't hear the bell on the door ring. She felt a tap on her shoulder and opened her eyes to see Finney. She smiled a bit before straightening her posture. "What's up, Finn?" she asked, running a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry for not telling you. I know I should've, but if you beat her up any more than you did, you'd get in so much trouble."

Valerie bit her lip and looked to the clock on the wall. "It's alright. I'll see her tomorrow and if I get lucky, she'll have a broken nose from that tree." Finney's mouth was agape and his eyes were wide. "You threw her into a tree!?" She laughed and returned her gaze to him. "No, she tried to run at me but instead she ran into a tree. It was pretty funny."

The two kids just talked until Valerie's shift was over. Finney wanted to go home until he remembered Gwen had a soccer game. She had taken up soccer after Finney was found. She needed a way to put her good kicks to use since the bullies left her brother alone.

They rushed over to the park and took a seat in the grass. Gwen had the ball now and she was running towards the goal. She kicked the ball at the perfect angle and it flew into the goal. "Yes, Gwenny!" Valerie shouted, clapping as loud as she could. The girl looked at her and smiled weakly. Valerie assumed she was saying sorry for the other day. She returned it with a bigger smile and a thumbs up. Giving people a thumbs up was kind of her thing now.

Gwen's team ended up losing, but Valerie chose to take her out for a winning treat anyway. Gwen chose to go to Baskin Robbins so she could cool off with a cold ice cream. When they arrived at the ice cream shop, Finney insisted on holding the door. What a gentleman.

Gwen got a scoop of chocolate ice cream and Valerie got mint chip. Finney got vanilla ice cream smushed between two chocolate chip cookies. The three kids enjoyed their melty treat before going their separate ways. Valerie walked the siblings home before wandering down the street.

She didn't want to go home, but she had nowhere else to go. She walked aimlessly until the sun began to set. The girl sighed and decided it was best to walk home now. There was just one problem. She was lost.

Valerie had turned corner after corner without reading the street signs. She had walked to a completely new neighborhood. Her surroundings were different from anything she had seen before. Children were chasing each other while their parents talked amongst themselves.

It seemed like such a friendly place to be. Her neighborhood was always so quiet and she got lucky if she saw a car enter a driveway. I guess she had been staring for too long because the kids stopped chasing each other and ran to hide behind their parents.

She cleared her throat and kept walking. 'Valerie?' a familiar voice called out to her. She stopped and turned around, a figure walking towards her. There was a bit of light from the sun looming over the trees. As soon as the figure was in the light, Valerie recognized them immediately. "Robin!"

She walked closer to the boy, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she did so. "Whats up, hermosa?" The girl blushed at the compliment, thinking of a response. "Not much. I'm just.. uh.. I'm kinda lost."

"And how did you manage that?"

"I don't know. I was just walking until I realized I didn't recognize my surroundings."

Robin chuckled at her idiocy and offered that she could stay the night at his house since it was getting late. She politely declined, lying that her mother would be upset if she wasn't home. Upset with her answer, he requested that he walk her home, to which she accepted.

"So, what did you do all day?" Valerie asked, breaking the awkward silence. "Nothing really. I stopped by the Grab n' Go but I guess you're shift was over 'cause Mike was there."

"Yeah, sorry. Me and Finney went to Gwen's soccer game. I would've waited if I knew you were coming."

"I hope you didn't get into any fights today. Finn told me Gwen lost because of some nepotism."

"Yeah! That stupid ref was the dad of the star player on the opposing team. She clearly pushed Ally but it didn't count because he 'didn't see.' I was this close to kicking his ass." Valerie pushed her fingers closer together, showing how much will power she had.

A laugh escaped Robin's lips at her anger. He found it adorable how she would do anything for Gwen. Even kick a grown man. Her rant went on for another few minutes until they made it to her house. "Sorry you didn't get to talk much. That guy just makes me so-" she clenched her fists to refrain herself from speaking.

"That's okay. I'm just glad I got to be with you." Every thought left Valerie's mind when she heard his words. She stared blankly at the boy as he chuckled and walked away. "Thank you for walking me!" she shouted down the sidewalk, receiving a thumbs up. She smiled to herself as she unlocked the door and walked inside. She froze at the sight of a three people sitting in her living room.

"Dad?"

a/n
I honestly don't know what this ending is but I have a whole storyline for it already. Get comfy y'all.