A Casual Affair

“So who is this Jack guy, anyways?”

Alex turned down his Green Day CD that he had blasting through the stereo’s speakers and continued tapping on the steering wheel. The day’s weather was relatively nice, and with the windows open, the wind was brushing their hair at every angle. “Well,” he smirked a little, “Jack’s a really nice guy. He’s my old buddy from college and even though we haven’t talked in a while, he’s always been there for me.”

“Since you guys both went to same college, is he a teacher too?” She asked, turning to him.

He chuckled. “No, he dropped out.”

She widened her eyes and looked away. So the person that’s taking us in is a college drop out. Great. She scorned in her head.

Alex sensed her agitation, so he quickly added, “That doesn’t mean he isn’t a well put-together guy though. He actually owns his own guitar shop near his house in Florida. He was forced to go to college to become a teacher, but ended up not caring what his parents wanted for him anymore.”

Holly perked up at his words. “We’re heading to Florida?” He nodded, smiling over to her. “I love you!” She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

“If we keep on the road for the rest of this trip, we should be there in two days.” He reached over and grasped her hand, lacing their fingers together. “I got this, Holl. Don’t you worry.”

---

After a few days, Hayley got frustrated with Holly not answering her calls. She knew her best friend was ignoring her and even though that hurt, at least it meant Holly was alive. She read her letter over and over again, looking for any traces or hints that what Holly wrote wasn’t true. She found nothing, but that didn’t stop her belief that what was said in her wasn’t what was really happening. Holly Wolfe wouldn’t just run away with a guy and not care about the rest of her life. Even though she had run away a couple times by herself and gave off the vibe that she didn’t give a shit, Hayley knew her best friend well. She wasn’t like that. That only left her with one solution: Mr. Gaskarth must have kidnapped her.

From what was written in Holly’s letter, Hayley knew the only people who knew of this were herself and Holly’s parents. That was her first step; she needed to talk with them. Surely, with their daughter gone and only leaving a note behind, they must already have people involved in trying to look for her.

The redhead ran down her best friend’s familiar street and found her house, running up the steps and immediately pounding on the door. She decided she didn’t want to wait for them to answer, so she sprinted inside the house, looking around frantically for the parents and halting to a spot when she found them.

Mrs. Wolfe sat on the couch in her living room, a repeat of Law and Order playing on the television set. Hayley furrowed her brow as Mr. Wolfe walked into the living room from the kitchen, seeing the best friend of their daughter looking confused in the doorway. “Oh, Hayley. We didn’t expect you coming by.” He said so carelessly, making Hayley even more confused.

“Wha … What’s going on here?” She slowly walked into the living room, looking from the parents to the TV screen.

“Dan just made some of his fresh lemonade, if you want some,” Mrs. Wolfe smiled softly and took a sip of the drink in her hands. Mr. Wolfe nodded triumphantly.

Hayley shook her head. “N―No, I don’t want any lemonade, Mrs. Wolfe.” She couldn’t believe this; why were they acting like nothing was happening in their lives?

“You seem tense, Hayley. Do you need to talk about something?” Mr. Wolfe asked.

Hayley noticed he was right; her body was shaking. “I have a reason to be so tense, Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe.” She said, waiting for them to catch on but they didn’t. “Why are you both just sitting here right now?! Get up and do something about the problem at hand!”

The parents looked at each other and cocked an eyebrow.

“YOUR DAUGHTER IS MISSING AND YOU’RE BOTH JUST SITTING AROUND AND DRINKING LEMONADE!” Hayley’s hands balled into fists. “DON’T YOU CARE ABOUT HER AT ALL?!”

Mrs. Wolfe nodded in understanding and stood up from her spot on the couch, putting her hands on Hayley’s shoulders. “Holly isn’t missing, Hayley. Didn’t you read her letter?”

Hayley shook the mother’s hands off. “In fact, I did, and I know she ran off with a guy she doesn’t even know! She could be lying and have been kidnapped for all we know! Why are we just sitting around and doing nothing?! She won’t answer any of my texts and calls, and I can’t tell anyone el―”

“Hayley, you need to take a breather.” Mr. Wolfe laughed while taking the place next to his wife.

“I DON’T NEED A BREATHER!” She shrieked. “I NEED MY BEST FRIEND!”

Mrs. Wolfe’s face scrunched up and she put up a finger to silence the teenager. “She does this sometimes. You know that. She runs away for a few days―sometimes a week―and then she comes back. She just needs to clear her head. She doesn’t mean what she said in her letter; she’ll be back soon.”

Hayley scoffed. “She ran off with a―!”

“Hayley,” Mr. Wolfe frowned, “please, just try to be reasonable and listen to us. She’s our daughter. We know her.”

“No,” she pointed a finger at the father, “just because you said that means you don’t know her. I know her. I know how she thinks, her deepest secrets, and what to do when she’s upset. You may think you know her, but you don’t.” She stood up straighter. “And if you don’t want to do anything about this, then I will.”

Without one last look at the parents, she stormed out of the house.

Notes

Title comes from the beautiful Save Rock and Roll by Fall Out Boy ^w^
Ooooohhhh Hayley's getting angry! Who do you think she's going to turn to help her find Holly?
And oMG GUYS I ONLY PUT OUT TWO CHAPTERS AND OVER 30 SUBSCRIBERS???? YOU GUYS ARE SO DEDICATED AND I LOVE YOU<3
Subscribe/ comment/ rate :)
Rock on \m/