Unearthly Battles

4.

Dedicated to @Kotkoda for being my first like, that automatically makes you awesome.

Addison was checking the time again. She had been looking at it every so often once Skyler left the hideout around three in the afternoon, hoping that her friend would come back this time. She knew it was unlikely, as Skyler was never one to deal with her problems well. She knew that the older girl was probably out getting high, and that she wouldn't be back until the afternoon of the next day. But something made Addison feel hopeful, that maybe, just maybe, Skyler would not return intoxicated this time. 

Yet even with that feeling of hope, it was already ten o'clock, and the streets of the city were beginning to quiet.

Paxton and Nick had done their best to distract her, playing a few different games that they had managed to dig up. Maybe some of the letters in the Scrabble game were missing, and maybe their deck of playing cards did not count up to fifty-two, but it was still an incredibly sweet gesture. 

Conversation between the three had been light, almost as if everyone could feel that their group was not complete. It felt like there was people missing from the situation, but nobody could think of anyone other than Skyler who should be there. Each of them marked it off as not making any sense, and didn't bother to share it with the other two people in the room. 

Now they found themselves on the floor, staring up at the ceiling through the dark. Paxton was making jokes. 

"Knock knock."

Addison sighed, "Who's there?"

"A broken pencil."

"A broken pencil who?"

"Never mind, it's pointless."

Addison let out a forced laugh as Nick responded sarcastically; "Wow, that was hilarious."

Paxton grinned, "Wait, wait, I have more." The other two teens groaned. 

"Knock knock."

"No, Pax, please stop, your jokes are so bad." Nick groaned, rolling onto his stomach and covering his ears with his hands.

"Who's there?" Addison asked, being much too sweet of a person to stop the older boy.

"Theodore."

"Theodore who?"

"Theodore wasn't open so I knocked."

"That doesn't even flow! The beginning of 'Theodore' isn't pronounced like that!"

Paxton pouted, "Should I come up with another one?"

"No! I-" Addison was cut short by a sound out in the alley way, as she and Paxton both froze.

There was a faint scuffling sound before someone knocked three times on the bottom of the door, twice around the middle, and twice more at the bottom, performing the boys' secret knock.

"Were you expecting someone?" Addison asked in a whisper, "They know your knock."

Paxton shook his head, "No, nobody else knows it, I don't know who that is."

The girl perked up; "Unless it's Sky."

Just then, a voice carried through the door; "God, you three are idiots."

A grin made its way onto Addison's face, "That's definitely her."

The two made their way over to the door, pushing boxes out of the way. They didn't bother asking Nick for help, it looked like he had managed to fall asleep anyways. Paxton tugged the small door open to reveal Skyler in all her ripped-skinny-jean-clad glory. A moment passed as Skyler blinked at the two who were not moving out of the doorway.