We're Not Friends || Buddie

Calm

Buck pulls the phone away from his ear and puts it on speaker, setting it on the table. Everyone leans in in an attempt to hear. "What's going on?"

"I know you said to call 911 first, but he did something to the phone or something... I didn't know what else to do..." He starts to realize she's whispering because she doesn't want to be heard by someone else.

"He. Who is he?"

"Luke..." Her boyfriend? He seemed quiet when he met him, but not... whatever the hell this is. Why would he be doing this to her? She sounds so heartbroken; it makes him feel sick.

"What's going on, where are you?" He stands up from the table. His blood is pumping too quickly, too much adrenaline to be sitting down right now. Eddie quickly follows and stands next to him. He can't tell if it's out of the same concern, or in an attempt to comfort him, but he doesn't have time to worry about that right now.

"I... I don't know. I can't see anything outside. Buck... I don't know what's going on. I don't know why he's doing this." Everyone begins to catch on to who he's talking to. Him and Eddie were the only two to ever meet her, so it takes everyone a second to catch up to them.

"Hey, we'll find you, okay? We'll find you." He looks up to Chim "Chimney, call Maddie." He says it in a sterner voice than needed, but he's angry right now. At Luke, but more at the world for letting this happen to this poor girl again. "Stay on the phone with me, okay, Juliet?"

"Mhm... Buck I'm really scared." Her voice is breaking, and once again, she sounds so young. He had forgotten just how young she sounded. 18 years old. She's an adult now, but she still sounds like a kid. It breaks his heart. Her voice brings her face into his head. The freckles, the pale skin. A kid. That's what he's picturing. No matter how many times he tries to remind himself that she's an adult, all he sees, all he hears is a kid that has been through more than anyone should go through in all of their lifetimes.

"I know... I know. We're getting you help." He tries not to break himself. He tries to sound brave for her. He knows she needs to hear a confident voice on the other end. Someone who knows they're going to save her, not someone who just hopes they can.

"Hello-" Maddie answers and Buck immediately takes the phone from Chimney.

"Maddie, It's me. We need your help with something. If I give you a number, can you get the location?"

"Buck, what's going on-"

"Just answer my question, please."

"It would take a while-"

"We might not have a while, Maddie!" He looks down at the phone and feels horrible for what Juliet just heard, but he can't take it back now. The best he can do is try to help her.

"I can't rush it, Evan. I'll do it as quickly as I can but that can still be a while. If I have no record of the number calling us, then they are going to be assholes about it."

"Fine it's 310-222-8980. Please hurry up."

"What's going on, Evan?"

"It's Juliet. She's in trouble and we're trying to find her."

"I'll work as fast as I can. I'll call back when I find something." She hangs up the phone, and Buck immediately goes back to Juliet.

"Juliet, are you still there."

"I'm still here..." She talks slowly. She sounds even quieter than before, even more scared.

"Okay, can you tell me what's going on? What happened?"

"Luke, he said he wanted to surprise me... this is a pretty big surprise." She lets out a soft laugh. It's the only thing she can do to stop herself from breaking. Buck can even hear that over the phone, and it hits him right in the heart. "I... I don't know what happened. I passed out, then I was here. He kept... He kept apologizing, saying he didn't want to hurt me, that he wasn't going to hurt me, but what else could he want?" She sounds so... betrayed. Buck thinks about it again. Going through what this girl has been through at 18... it's not fair.