and the stars will all come out

chapter twenty-eight! ☆

"OKAY, SO YOU'RE DEFINITELY OUTSIDE OF BALTIMORE?"

Dave had the phone now, and even though he was in his embarrassing penguin-patterned pyjamas, he was already shoving his feet into his sneakers. "Lea's Diner is the name? Alright."

He shot a look at Nate and Taylor standing in front of him in the kitchen, in various states of readiness to go outside. Taylor had woken up as soon as the hubbub had started about Landry possibly being in danger, and it looked like the three of them were about to pile into the car and embark on a rescue mission.

His look said everything it needed to: go start the car.

"We'll be right there," Dave promised. "Just stay where you are, okay? Maybe grab something to eat. Don't freak out. We're headed your way now."

"Okay, see you soon," Landry replied, sounding relieved.

He nodded even though she couldn't see him. "Bye."

He hesitated as the I love you rose to his tongue, but he held it back and hung up the phone.

☆

"I THINK THIS IS IT," Nate said a few hours later, pulling up outside a shabby diner with a flickering, neon sign. "You said it was Lea's Diner, right?"

Dave's heart was pounding hard in his chest: in his anxious fervour, he would've offered to drive, but in the rush to his car, Nate had somehow ended up in the driver's seat with Taylor claiming shotgun, leaving him in the backseat of his own car for the first time ever. This was probably for the best, as out of the three of them, Nate was the least likely to drive like a maniac because Landry had gotten herself stuck in Maryland.

"I'll go in," Dave said hastily as they pulled up to the front of the building, unbuckling his seatbelt before the car had slowed to a stop. "Just park here, okay?"

He looked at Nate's face, the worry that had settled in the space between his eyebrows. It hit him that despite his meekness, Nate was just as worried as he was - and if Taylor's unusual silence was anything to go off of, they all were. "Alright."

☆

A TINY BELL RANG AS DAVE PUSHED THE DOOR OPEN, INDICATING THE PRESENCE OF A NEW CUSTOMER, but instead of making a beeline for the waitress behind the counter, he started looking around at the cherry red, cracked leather booths, scanning the place for the back of a dirty-blonde head or a gentle, beautiful face that would stick out like a sore thumb.

He turned. "Lani?"

Landry rose from a booth in the corner, abandoning an untouched plate of eggs benedict. "Dave!"

Her walk towards him quickly turned into a run, and he only saw her raise her arms before she'd basically flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a hug. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, and thank you so much."

He accepted the hug even though his vision was entirely obscured by dirty-blonde waves -- was she standing on her tip toes? -- and relief crashed over him, quickly slowing his pounding heart back to its normal rate. She was safe.

"It's no problem, Lan, you know that."

He meant it.

As Landry detached herself from him, Hope approached sheepishly from behind her, looking awkward and exhausted, but there was something more to her - she had the hollow and haggard appearance of someone who was abusing drugs. "Hi."

He nodded at her, still aiming to be polite despite everything Landry had told him about her roommate. "Hey. Hope, right?"

"That's me," she confirmed, and Dave willed himself not to stare at the puncture scars on her exposed forearms. That shit's gonna kill her.