idiots || kenickie murdoch

xiv - attitude check

song recommendation for this chapter : what a difference a day made - dinah washington

author's note : the beginning of the angst...

-

"we can't find danny or putzie!" sandy sobbed through the other end of the phone. what? can't find them?
"where did they go...?"
"we don't know! oh my poor danny!" she cried out loudly making me jerk the phone away from my face.
"sandy, sandy, calm down. i'll be over in a second, okay?"
she mumbled an 'okay' and a 'please hurry' as i hung up the phone. i rushed around to grab some things and shove it into a bag. wallet, lipstick, jacket, pocket knife, all the essentials.
i hurried back downstairs to leave to see joey on the couch.
"where ya goin' in such a rush?" he cocked a brow up at me.
"there's....trouble in my friend group."
"oh. girl drama?"
i half scoffed. "yeah, something like that."
the less joey knows, the better. and with that i practically ran out the door and went to sandy's house a few doors down.

sandy already opened the door before i got the chance to knock. tears cascaded down her cheeks leaving black trails in their wake from her mascara. she hugged me tightly as if she hadn't just seen me the other day. i petted her soft blonde hair gently and shushed her sobs. once she was calm, we parted from each other's arms and i began to ask questions.
"how do we know they're gone?"
"they won't answer either of their house phones and riz said she was supposed to meet putzie at frosty's but he never showed."
as she explained my face twisted up in a skeptical expression. how do we know that they aren't just racing in a parking lot or having drinks somewhere. all we have is home phones after all. people can only answer if they're,
well, home. "okay." was all i managed to reply.
"okay?!? you aren't worried??" she nearly screeched at me.
"i'm sure they're just not home and putzie is kind of forgetful so i'm sure he forgot about his meeting with riz."
sandy huffed are my explanation. "you don't get it! no one knows where they are!"
"yeah, no i her that but-"
"none of the t-birds know where they are! the t-birds have this 6th sense about them. once something is with one of their friends, they just know. no words have to be uttered, they all just know." she tried to explain but i still didn't get it, so she continued. "they feel that something is wrong with danny and putzie."
"sandy, i get that but still-" my sentence was cut short but sandy's eyes leaving mine and going upwards to something behind me.

kenickie.

"sandy. where the hell is danny and putz." his question was not asked. it was demanded.

"kenickie...i don't know."
he simply scoffed at the answer. "well i don't know, you don't know, riz don't know, lori don't know. someone's gotta know!" the air between the two of them was tense. they were both silently blaming each other for their beloved friends' disappearances. a beat passed before i broke the silence and turned to face kenickie. "why don't we all go and...ya know....look for them?"
kenickie scoffed again. my simple suggestion lit a flame. "oh! what a brilliant idea, doll! it's not like i've spent all fuckin' afternoon doin' just that!" his tone was sharp and rudely sarcastic. it was hard to believe in that moment that this was the same man who begged me to stay in bed with him all day mere hours ago.

"the attitude isn't needed, murdoch." i bit back bitterly. he stiffened slightly at my tone of voice. "it's needed if you're gonna suggest unhelpful ideas." he mumbled. the sass he had pushed my anger off a ledge i didn't know it was standing on.
"ya know what, murdoch? you're fucking friends are m.i.a. right now and your first dimwitted thought was to come and accuse sweet sandy here of doing something to them. then you stand here and act like a dick. you're not being very helpful either. just cause you act like a hotshot doesn't make you one. so cool it before i knock some goddamn manner into that thick head of yours." it sounded more like a parent lecturing their child rather than two friends fighting but nonetheless he was pissed. he stammered for words for a second before a blunt, "fuck you." he then went back to his car and sped off.

"fucking idiot." i murmured as i turned back to sandy who looked shell shocked from the quick argument. i took a deep breath. i didn't want any of my anger directed at sandy. "okay. so what do we know?"

as sandy and i drove around town asking everyone and looking everywhere for our missing friends, my mind raced with thoughts of kenickie. it just now hit me how difficult he was making my life. this was meant to be a fresh start and instead i got myself all tangled up in lame high school gangs and for what? for some bimbo blonde man to call me his doll? the more i thought about it the more frustrated it made me. what happened? i used to be such a good girl in australia. now i'm in america and my life is a bumbling mess. "goddamnit." i mumbled as i leaned forward to put my head in my hands. sandy paused her conversation with the waitress at frosty's and looked at me leaned forward in the booth. "you okay?" i quickly nodded and mumbled "headache." sandy gave me a side eye and finally returned to the conversation. how am i meant to explain this to her? that i'm rethinking every relationship i've made so far?

just as i felt the tears well up in my eyes the door to frosty's dinged. "oh! hello, kenickie." the waitress kindly greeted him.
fuck.
no. not now.
"hey i was just wondering- oh. hi, sandy."
"kenickie."
"where's-?"
he didn't finish his question which to me meant sandy simply gestured over to me wordlessly. i didn't pick my head up from my hands. i couldn't even if i wanted to.
i heard him sigh softly before letting out a nearly inaudible, "okay."
then i heard nothing but his sneakers squeaking against the floor and the ding of the door again.
a pit grew in my stomach. should i really just drop him? never call or talk to him again?
the thoughts started flying again and then were momentarily interrupted by sandy tapping me on the shoulder. i lifted my head.
"we might have a lead."