STATIC; JR [2]

2.7

After the boys filled me in on what happened with Andy while I was unconscious, we started to head back toward the party. I was appalled to hear what had occurred, and still dazed from my unexpected fall. I think Jake noticed, because he stayed awfully close to me and watched my every step with an anxious anticipation; like he was waiting for me to collapse once again.

I assured him I was fine, but I knew he wouldn't let up, and I was okay with that. It felt nice to be looked after.

Beside me, Jake sighed. Guilt was riddled across his face. "I'm sorry you had to give up Oscar's comic." He said.

Sam perked up at the statement and jumped right between the two boys. "Yeah!" He mentioned, also saddened. "Will he be dark about it?"

Felix shook his head and set them both at ease. "No, no way." He told them, a small smile to his lips. "Not when he hears it was a game changer."

Each boy smiled, but as I watched Felix, I also felt guilty about what happened, even though I didn't actually see it. Their grins faltered, though, as Felix added one last comment.

"I just wish we could have gotten Andy back."

There was a sting inside my chest at his words, causing me to then grab for my boyfriend's hand.

Jake squeezed back just as tightly. "The day's not over yet." His voice was mumbled, yet there was a soothing optimism to his words.

It was so frightening to think of Andy that way; a demon. It was even more frightening to think about what was going to happen before we could get him back. What would everybody else think? What would they say?

I bounced back and forth between my inner battles as we finally made our way past the last few trees and wandered back into the party area.

I suddenly felt terribly exposed as I saw every pair of eyes glued to us. There were whispers as we approached, but they all quieted down as we finally stood before the group with solemn expressions. I could only imagine what they were all thinking of us right now. Andy ran into the forest, we followed him, and now we had come back without him.

Sam's mouth fell open in surprise, but it wasn't a happy surprise. This time, he was not glad to have all this attention on him. "What..." He trailed off, now unsure of what to say, but before he could even think of finishing, Viv pushed through the crowd with a policeman behind her.

She looked furious, but I couldn't blame her. "Where's Andy?" She hit me with a particularly harsh glare, and I felt the burn as she looked at me.

The officer stepped forward, his demeanour now denying Andy's sister the chance to speak. He also met us with hard eyes; intimidating us to no end. In a fit of terror, I found myself now hiding behind Jake. The policeman stared with narrowed eyes as he spoke, causing us all to shrink down and back away from him without seeming any more suspicious. "What exactly is going on?" He questioned, demanding answers from us in front of all our classmates.

Silence fell on us as we all looked between each other, searching our faces for any sort of explanation.

We couldn't find one.