Where is Louise Bauman? + Original, Book 1 ✔

39

- Idle Town; Conan Gray - 

The next morning seemed like a pretty normal Thursday, as normal as it could be for Walden and the teens who were involved in figuring out not only what had happened to Louise Bauman but also what was going on in their own lives.

Charlie woke up in Ren's bed, as instead of staying at her house as they usually did (since her mother worked the night shift) the boy suggested they stay at his house that way there were parents there and they weren't completely by themselves, which Charlie was fine with.

It was silent between the two teenagers as they got up and ready for the school day, neither of them knowing what to say to each other. Of course, there were plenty of things that they could talk about. They could start simple and ask one another how the other slept, or skip the small talk and talk about the photos and everything going on. However, they didn't, Charlie sitting in silence as she waited for Ren to finish getting ready since she'd finished getting ready before him for once.

As soon as the boy was ready they were out the door, Ren insisting they stop at the cafe down the street instead of grabbing breakfast on their way out. Charlie just agreed, since it was Ren who'd wanted breakfast in the first place and it was his car anyway, so it took less than a minute for him to open the door for her and to get in the car himself, starting it up and driving away from the giant house and toward the small cafe down the street.

It was also silent between the two in the car, the only sound heard was the occasional sound of Ren's turn signals and the light sound of the morning radio, as he hadn't connected his phone to the aux cord yet.

The silence wasn't an awkward silence for either of them, it was just unusual, as one of them always usually had something to say to the other. Ren stole glances at Charlie, seeing she was just staring out of the window as she played with her hands which were resting in her lap. It was as if her mind was so consumed by her thoughts she didn't have anything to talk about with Ren - like she was way past the venting stage with the boy for some odd reason.

He frowned, tapping his steering wheel a few times before reaching over and grabbing her hand in his. This gathered her attention and she looked over at him, seeing that he was no longer looking at her as he needed to also pay attention to the road so he didn't unintentionally crash the vehicle.

"Something bothering you, love?" He questioned, his voice soft as he didn't want to push her too hard.

"Kind of," Charlie admitted, her voice just as soft as his.

Ren's frown deepened, as his suspicion of her thoughts bothering her being true. He bit the inside of his lip, thinking about what to say before replying. "What's going on in that cute little mind of yours?" He asked, a small smile appearing on his face the moment he saw a blush cross Charlie's cheeks.

"Was- did you happen to notice how Jade was acting yesterday?" Charlie asked, her brows furrowed as she tried to choose her words carefully. "Her behavior, the way she acted."

"When she found out about the photos, yeah. But who didn't have a change in their attitude?" He asked, glancing over at her as he needed to keep an eye on the road.

Ren finally pulled into the cafe parking lot, turning the car off as soon as he parked. He then put his full attention to the girl next to him, "Why?"

"I just- you didn't notice she was acting a little bit weirder than the others?" Charlie asked, glancing up at him. "Like, she didn't say anything at all half of the time, then she just seemed... off."

"I think you're overthinking it, babe. I think she was just super upset about the fact someone had taken photos of us, which she has every right to be. Jade's a very personal person, and so when she finds out someone is invading her personal space of course she's going to be different than normal. I think if we just give her some space and time, she'll be back to normal." Ren assured, causing Charlie to nod.