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AUDREY STOOD IN HER DRIVEWAY, BOUNCING ON THE BALLS OF HER FEET AS SHE WAITED. Her hands were fumbling around with each other nervously and she bit her lip. A lingering excitement coursed through her veins and she found herself growing impatient. Earlier in the morning, she had received a call from one of her friends and they offered to take her to the service and she was more than excited to see them. She had hoped their first time seeing each other in such a long time wouldn't be under such circumstances but decided she'd take all she could get.
Just before she completely gave up and decided to go on foot, the sound of an engine roared down the streets and the all too familiar black Audi Quattro came into view. It sped past the houses until it reached the Valentine household and stopped abruptly in front of the driveway. She rolled her eyes at the dramatic entrance but nonetheless, the side of her lip curled up slightly as the window slowly rolled down.
"Good day my lady," Mason Walters greeted, flashing his impossibly straight set of teeth. It quickly disappeared however when he saw the look on her face. He frowned and got out of the car, approaching her. Opportunity arose and she took a second to admire his attire; a very new looking black suit, which was surprising for the boy. Audrey raised a brow at him.
"It's a rental, don't worry. France didn't change me." Mason assured. "Oh, but I did learn this! Merde!" He posed as if presenting a magic trick, waiting for her reply. When her straight face didn't change he scratched his neck and shook his head.
"Nevermind."
After another skeptical look, Audrey's solemn face broke out into a bittersweet smile. She wrapped her small arms around his frame and inhaled the scent she missed all too well. Mason had been in France for the past few months with family following the death of his grandmother, leaving Audrey to look after the rest of their friends alone.
"You have no idea how much I missed you." Audrey choked out into his shoulder.
"Well obviously, it's me." Mason rolled his eyes cockily. When he took a second to realize she had been completely serious, he pulled away and looked directly into her eyes with the utmost sincerity. "I missed you too, Drey."
Audrey quickly broke away and shook her head out of the daze she had previously been in.
"Your noble steed awaits.."
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"Thank you so much for coming," Lonnie smiled to the two as they approached the mourning family. The service had ended and everyone was preparing to leave. The duo hadn't been fortunate enough to escape this one particular encounter, however. Something about the way he spoke made Audrey's skin crawl. She knew she never particularly favored him but what she was feeling seemed to be dancing along the edges of hate.
"We wouldn't miss it for the world." Mason strained a smile. He decided it best to speak for the both of them, making sure his friend wouldn't say something she'd regret. Audrey tried her best to ignore Lonnie and began to look around for herself and they landed on the grieving mother. The look on Joyce Byers' face completely summed up the entire event for Audrey. She seemed completely and utterly conflicted. Her eyes were trained on the floor and whenever she did speak to anyone, it seemed as if she was far away.
"How's Fanning doing?" Lonnie asked, an undertone that would usually cause the Valentine to question his sincerity very evident.
The hand previously on Audrey's waist as a simple formality, tightened its grip, snatching her attention back to the conversation. The other hand that wasn't around her curled into a fist and his breathing became ragged.
"She's fine." He sighed, attempting to relax his muscles.
Still completely oblivious to the passive-aggressive conversation at hand, Audrey's eyes wandered around once more until landed on the familiar boys, and her eyebrows creased. Their faces were completely void of any emotion as they seemed to be caught in a heated argument. She feared that they were still hung up on the notion that Will was alive and as much as she wanted to believe it herself, she saw him with her own two eyes.
"We should probably head to the Harringtons'." Mason pitched, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. The funeral had long since ended and he felt out of place just standing there. "Adds?"
Audrey jumped, getting interrupted from her thoughts. She shot him a smile briefly, hoping to make him think she had heard whatever he said. Her mind went back a few steps until his words finally clicked and her mouth dropped.
"Yeah, let's go." She attempted to cover herself up and not look foolish, failing miserably. Her cheeks began to redden and she looked at the ground. Mason just nodded and pulled her along as they made their way to the car and after a few steps, his arm uncurled from around her.
"I'll pretend I didn't see that." He reassured. Audrey slapped him and he began to chuckle, his sharp green eyes sparkling with humor.
"You're an asshole."
"And you're a rotten egg." He grinned.
"What?" Audrey questioned before her friend sped off in the direction of the car, leaving her in the dust. She began to jog after him, hoping karma was on her side for once and would make him trip on a rock or something. "Mason!"
"This is where we know for sure it's been, right?" Jonathan's voice muttered from a distance. Audrey's light jog came to an immediate stop, curious as to why he insisted on being so secretive. She saw him sitting on the sidewalk, Nancy Wheeler beside him as they spoke quietly. The Valentine girls' eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the two.
"You wanna go out there.." Nancy replied, a hint of fear evident in her tone.
"We might not find anything." What were they looking for? Jonathan's head whipped behind him, checking to see if anyone was around before continuing. Audrey tried her best to understand what 'it' was but their voices had quieted down significantly, making it impossible for her.
"And if we do see it.. then what?"
"We kill it."
Audrey's breath got caught in her throat and she felt her knees go weak. She thought she had known her friends so well and now here they were, plotting to kill someone; or something. She felt as if she shouldn't have heard what she had, but she couldn't take it back now.
"Why did you have to be so nosey!" Audrey scolded herself.
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I hope this chapter was worthy enough of your approval. I'm so sorry I've been absent but a lot happened over the course of these few weeks and my brain wasn't capable of thinking up a good enough plot. I love you all!
-gigi <3
