Where Do We Go Now?

Chapter 9

Will's POV

I knock on Jonathan's bedroom door, and hear rock music blasting.

"Uh, one second!" He yells, and opens the door a few moments later. His hair is messy, and his shirt is buttoned up wrong, but I don't give a second thought to it until I notice Nancy sitting on his bed.

"Why are you here?" Mike asks from behind me, pointing to Nancy.

"Uh, I was just getting ready to leave!" She nervously replies.

"How many people snuck in last night?" I wonder.

"What did you need?" Jonathan asks.

"El ran away. She left a note that said she's in Illinois trying to to learn more about her powers," I explain.

"Why's she Illinois? The only person I can think of in Illinois is Murray," Jonathan confusedly says.

"Exactly what I thought. I don't know if she's with him, but it's our best guess," I continue.

"Anyways, we need you to drive us," Mike interrupts.

"But it's my day off," Jonathan whines.

"Please, we need to find El," I beg.

"Ok, ok, you're right. You two should go pack, I don't know how long we're going to be there. We're leaving in 30 minutes." Jonathan agrees.

"Nancy, I need you to cover for me!" Mike yells as Jonathan's door closes.

I grab my backpack, and shove enough clothes to last me four days, my toiletries, music, walkie-talkie, and sketchbook and colored pencils inside.

"Uh, Will," Mike stutters. "I don't exactly have clothes to pack. I didn't think we'd be going to Illinois."

"Don't worry about it, you can borrow some of my clothes," I tell him. I immediately feel my face turn bright red at the thought of Mike wearing my clothes.

"Thanks," he replies, and I notice that he also appears to be blushing. For a split second, I wonder if he's thinking the same thing as me, but I know he isn't. He had a girlfriend for three years, and he loved her more than words can describe, so no, he's not. He's probably just embarrassed thinking about wearing another guy's clothes—and a gay guy's clothes at that.

"You ready?" I ask, and he nods in response.

We head downstairs, and I quickly scribble a note for mom, because she'll probably freak out when she sees that we're not here.

"El ran away to Illinois, so we went to go find her." I write.

"You guys ready?" Jonathan asks.

"Yeah, whenever you are," I reply.

We head outside, and put our bags in the trunk of Jonathan's car. Mike and I both get in the backseat, so that we can sit next to each other.

"You both gonna sit back there?" Jonathan asks with a smile.

"Um, yeah, if you don't mind," Mike answers.

"Fine by me," Jonathan smiles and starts driving.

"What are we going to do if El's not with Murray?" Mike asks.

"I have no idea," I reply, "I would like to think that we'll be able to find her, because we always have." I'm praying that she's with Murray, because if she's not, she could be anywhere. I can't lose her, it would destroy me. She's an amazing friend, and pretty much my sister.

"She better be with Murray," Jonathan says, "I don't know what we're going to do if she's in Chicago or something."

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