it's the end of the world as we know it.

16. helter skelter in a summer swelter

The sky was dark when Frankie woke up. He could hear the distant rolls of thunder, glancing outside his window he had a hunch that today would be a short shift. Despite that, he drug himself out of bed and pulled on his clothes for work, grabbing a rain jacket for the high chance it'd become rainy.

Leaving his room, Frankie had the sudden recollection of yesterday, and the chills returned on his arms. The pool of blood, both Heather and Billy not returning? Especially without saying anything?

Frankie made his way to the kitchen, attempting to shake off his worrisome thoughts. His mother and sister were there, and his father was absent â€" Frankie figured he was probably at work, attempting to get enough work done to not miss much for the Fourth of July. He had forgotten it was just a few days away.

"Are either of you having any plans on the Fourth of July? It's this Thursday." Carol asked, glancing at her children. "There's that Fun Fair that the Mayor's putting up, I've driven by it and it looks exciting. Stella, you and your friends could go!"

Stella shrugged, arms propped on the kitchen table. "Maybe. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing. Most of my friends already have plans with their families and I'm the odd one out."

Frankie looked at Stella. "You could hang out with me. I honestly forgot it was the Fourth in a few days."

"And third wheel with you and Jonathan? No thanks." Stella made a face.

"Cut the homophobia, Stella. I haven't seen him in a few days anyway, we've both been so busy." Frankie sighed, slouching against the counter as he grabbed some coffee.

"How is his internship going?" Carol asked, sitting at the table now as she spoke.

"It's okay for him, I guess. He gets to work in their DarkRoom which is what he wanted anyway. But it's been a lot worse for Nancy, cause all the guys they work with are assholes." Frankie explained, lifting the mug to his lips to take a sip.

Carol made a sad expression. "That's sad, Nancy's such a nice girl."

"Her brother is a loser, it's a wonder they're even related." Stella muttered, and Frankie snickered.

"Stella!" Carol gasped, surprised by her daughters' behavior.

"What? It's true; All those boys are losers." She protested, defending herself.

"She isn't wrong. They're definitely nerds. I've been around them a few times at Jonathan's." Frankie agreed, not mentioning how he knew they were because of the Upside Down shenanigans, but that was a story for another time.

Glancing at the clock, Frankie quickly drank the rest of his coffee and grabbed the keys off the counter. "Well, I gotta go, I'll probably see you guys early tonight with the looks of the weather."

Carol glanced at the living room windows and grimaced. "Yeah, probably. Be safe near the water."

"Yeah, I'll make sure it electrocutes me first." Frankie nodded, laughing to himself as he left the house, hearing his mothers' cry of annoyance. He drove to the pool, and arriving there, he saw only Freddy and Zoe were working at the moment. Frankie clocked in, and attempting to not look suspicious, he checked the schedules and who had clocked in. He saw Billy and Heather were supposed to have the morning shift, but clearly, neither of them had clocked in.

Frankie frowned, turning away from the sheet. He thought this all was so abnormal, but he also supposed normal teens flaked from work often and didn't call out when they were going to.

The shift went on like a normal day, until Frankie felt a drop while on his lifeguard tower. Glancing at the sky, a few more drops pelted him. He made a face and looked away, he could see the cement slowly becoming wet around him. A crack of lightning sounded, and the whistle blew, announcing the pool was closed now, following alongside a speaker announcement.