𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐄! ✽ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

31

𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 wallowing in her loneliness since steve broke the news and she ran into billy. the school day seemed never-ending, and she had to book it to betsy to effectively avoid both boys. once she was home, she instantly changed into pajamas, lit some incense, and put on a record; but, to her own surprise, she decided against smoking a joint.

she had heard bob enter the front door a few hours prior, and even that wasn't enough to drag her out of bed. when bob asked where "dani bo-bani" was, joyce disclosed to him that she had cooped herself up in her room right after school and hadn't come out since. he knew just the way to solve her problem was with a good old-fashioned family movie night; normally, these were held on fridays and with steve, neither of which being the case this time.

sherrie smiled as will and jonathan's laughter drowned out the sound of her derek and the dominos album, and the smell of fresh, buttery popcorn wafted through her vents and wrapped her in a warm hug. within minutes, there was a knock at her closed door. "dani bo-bani," a familiar voice sing-songed. "can i come in?"

"yes," the girl replied through a giggle. you could tell in her voice that she had shed a few tears.

the door opened and bob had shimmied his way through the beaded curtain. as he stepped in the room, he gawked around at the decor. he inhaled the scent of freshly-burnt incense. it had slipped sheridan's mind that he'd never actually been in her room. she laughed as he eyed her posters, her record collection, the shelf of cameras, and eventually, her egg chair. "cool pad you got here!" he exclaimed with wide, wonder-stricken eyes. "mind if i sit?" he questioned as he motioned towards the edge of her bed.

"i figured you would've wanted to sit in the egg chair," she joked as she made way for bob to take a seat.

"trust me, i will one day," he played along. the red-headed girl's chuckle sent a smile to his face. "where's steve?" he questioned innocently.

"he's got some sort of dinner or something with nancy," she divulged.

"awe, no!" bob whined, his brows arching in sorrow and his lips pouting. "he couldn't reschedule?"

"apparently, this was a reschedule dinner; he couldn't reschedule again."

"well, hey, we don't need steve to have fun!" bob said through a smile, playfully smacking the girl's leg. "your mom's making popcorn, how about you pick out the movie tonight?" a smile spread wide across dani's face. he always knew just what to say.

"any movie i want?" she asked, sitting up in her bed.

"just nothing too scary, i'm begging," bob pleaded. "c'mon, let's go get some popcorn." with that, sherrie threw her blanket off herself and left her room, following closely behind bob.

sheridan had selected prom night from her stash of tapes in spite of bob's request; she personally didn't think the movie was scary at all, but she never knew when it came to bob. she settled in under a crocheted blanket on the leather recliner, with will just across the end table on the couch. jonathan sat next to him and between joyce and bob. jonathan yawned as his other two siblings watched intently. they both nabbed handfuls of the decadent treat from the bowl in will's lap. bob held joyce closely at the other end of the couch, his eyes wide as a group of kids playing "the killer is coming" flashed across the television screen.

the sudden ringing of the telephone in the kitchen startled sherrie right out of her skin. she glanced at the device with hopeful eyes. it might be steve, she thought to herself. but as she looked back at her family, she knew it could wait. bob shot her a sympathetic smile as she nuzzled back into the chair.

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