Surreal ✿ M. Wheeler ✿

✿ six ✿

The boys sat in Mike's kitchen, having had to move down there due to Mike's mother calling them all down for dinner. It would have been weird for Lucas and Dustin to just leave without a word and they couldn't skip dinner for that would have been weird too. Plus, Mrs. Wheeler's cooking was always the best to the boys. Josie would have loved to have some of Karen's cooking.

The boys were picking at their food as they sat at the dining room table. Mike was poking his food with his fork. Lucas not even bothering to touch the meat. Dustin just staring ahead with his fork in hand. Everyone else at the table were eating like normal. Nothing ever affected Ted. Nancy was too busy eating slowly, trying to figure out how to tell her mom she was leaving to go and hang out with Jaylen and Barb. Karen was eating normally, and Holly was just looking around the table at everyone else.

"Something wrong with the meatloaf?" Karen asked as she looked at the boys.

"Oh, no," Dustin said, looking up at Karen with a nervous smile, "I had two bologna sandwiches for lunch... I don't know why."

Lucas turned to Mrs. Wheeler with a nervous smile as well, "Me too."

"It's delicious, Mommy," Nancy praised her mother. Mike looked at his sister and rolled his eyes at her act.

"Thank you sweetie," Karen smiled, going back to her food.

The dinner table was immediately full of silence, everyone going back to their own things. The boys started to eat their food, trying to make themselves seem a bit more natural. It didn't really work though, for they all ate slow and with weird expressions. Lucas seemed to have a big smile stuck upon his face. Dustin's eyes were wide as he ate. Mike was staring at the cup of milk in front of him, a tired expression on his face.

"So there's this special assembly thing tonight for Will at the school field. Jaylen and I wanted to go with Barb, to be there for Will and protest that Josie went missing, too," Nancy said slowly, watching her mother's expression change as she looked at her teenage daughter. "Barb's driving."

"Why am I just hearing about this?" Karen asked looking at her daughter.

Nancy looked around, shrugging her shoulders as she said, "I thought you knew."

Karen sighed as she looked at Nancy, "I told you, I don't want you out after dark until Will is found."

"Josie, too," Mike spoke up as he looked at his mother. Karen looked at her son with a confused look. He then shrugged his shoulders, "You forgot to say Josie as well."

"We don't know about Jo—" Karen stopped herself when she saw the look on Mike, Lucas, and Dustin's faces. She then cleared her throat and bit her bottom lip, chuckling nervously as she looked at them. "Of course, dears. Josie as well. But like I said. I don't want you guys out after dark until Will and Josie are found."

"I know, I know, but it'd be super weird if I'm not there. It seems I'm one of the only teenagers that care about Josie," Nancy spoke quietly. "I don't want to leave Jaylen and Barb hanging. Plus, everyone is going."

Mike rolled his eyes. She didn't care about Josie at all. The only teen who he could really say cared about Josie was her older brother Jefferson and maybe even Jonathan, Will's older brother. The two have been spotted around together, looking for their siblings together. Mike had seen a small bond start to grow with the both of them. He could also say Jaylen cared a bit, she seemed to understand Josie in a way because she, too, was mixed like Josie was.

"Just be back by ten," Karen finally said. The teen nodded her head as she went back to her dinner, satisfied with her mother allowing her to go. "Why don't you take the boys too? They know Josie more than you do."