Chapter Eight:
Counted To Ten Thousand
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"Hey, I really appreciate you taking me home, Stan." Lavender said, tearing her eyes from the rainy forest to look at him. "Eric would've flipped his shit if I missed curfew again."

"It's no problem, really." Stanley said, shrugging, "So.. You and Ricky, huh?"

Lavender choked on her spit, violent coughs racking her body as she turned to look at him. "Wha-What?"

"Yeah, Syd was telling me about it.." Stanley explained, glancing over at her. Lavender knitted her eyebrows together, slowly shaking her head. "She-She didn't seem too happy about it, kind of angry, I guess.. Do you think she likes Ricky?"

"We're not together." Lavender shook her head, "And Syd doesn't like Ricky.."

Why would she even care? Lavender wondered. She likes Dina, after all. Not me and not Ricky.

"So, she-" Stanley cut himself off as a figure, resembling Syd, ran across the road. "Oh, fuck!"

Lavender yelped as Stanley crashed into an unknown object and quickly got out of the car.

Lavender gently shut the car door, not wanting to cause any more damage as she locked eyes with a fearful Stanley. He stared down at the busted bumper, "Oh, no, oh God, oh, shit! Shit!"

Lavender turned around, stumbling back when Syd's voice rang out through the valley. "Fuck!"

"Holy shit!" Lavender cursed, looking around at the trees as they were pulled from the roots.

"What the fuck?" Stanley murmered, looking at the fallen trees.

"Syd! Are you okay?" Lavender called, leaving Stanley's side and walking down the hill. A curse left her dark red tinted lips as she slipped in the mud, becoming covered in the substance as she quickly stood up. "Syd!"

Stanley's eyes widened as he walked and stood beside Lavender. "Syd? How did you? I mean- I mean.. you-you.. you just.."

Sydney whipped around, visibly becoming nervous as she approached them. "They were like this when I got here! I-I swear! They were."

"Syd.." Lavender said slowly, her gaze softening as she watched her.

"No, no, no, no. I.. We saw you, Syd." Stanley said slowly.

"Well, you better keep this a secret, okay? Both of you! Not a word. Not a fucking word! Got it?" Syd snapped, pointing at each of them. "Promise me! Please!"

"Y-Yes." Lavender stammered, nodding her head quickly.

"Okay, I-I promise, Syd."

Syd nodded slowly as she backed up before darting into the forest. Lavender stood frozen in place, watching her.

Her heart screamed at her to chase after her. To chase after Sydney and to make sure she was okay. Her entire body flooded with the need to check on her. To make sure that she was okay and taken care of.

Sydney meant everything to Lavender. She would literally kill someone to make sure that she was happy. Lavender needed to make sure Sydney was okay. So, she did.

"Lavender!" Stanley's voice was a distant sound in her ears as she took off running in the direction that Syd disappeared.

The noises around her became muffled, almost as if she was under water, as she ran.

Her heart pounded against her chest, causing an anxiety causing boom, boom, boom to cloud her ears.

Lavender had no idea where she was going, she just follwed wherever her feet carried her.

After what felt like agonizing hours, Lavender's feet came to a stop at the old tower Stanley had told her and Syd about earlier.

She looked up to the top, her breathing hard and heavy as she struggled to catch her breath. A tired smile found its way onto her lips as she saw a figure sitting.

Her legs felt tired, almost as if they would give out any second. Lavender had never run that fast in that short of time before. But anything for Sydney.  "For Sydney."

Lavender blinked slowly, tightening the messy ponytail in her hair and began her ascent up the rickety old staircase.

"Syd?" She asked, her voice quiet as she carefully sat next to the girl.

Sydney turned her head to look at her, teary eyes and trembling lips. "Lav.."

"Hey, hey, hey.. Sh, sh, sh.." Lavender shushed, pulling the girl into a hug and resting her chin on top of Lavender's head. "It's okay, you're okay, it's okay."

~~

"Sydney, Lavender! It's 7:30!" Maggie said, opening the door with an annoyed look on her face. Lavender groaned, turning over in the bed, now facing away from Sydney as she sat up.

"So what? It's Sunday." Syd grumbled, subtly scooting closer to Lavender.

After she had returned home the previous night, hours past her curfew, Eric had in fact lost his shit. Lavender had never counted so much in her life, she was pretty sure she'd gotten past ten thousand at one point. She had also never cried as much as she did that night.

Lavender didn't understand what her mom saw in Eric, he was a dick who Lavender would gladly watch burn.

"It's Monday, you both have school. You're lucky I let Lavender stay last night, don't mess it up." Maggie said, shoving a towel into the laundry basket.

"Oh, shit.. That's right." Lavender huffed, stretching out her legs as she stood from the bed. Syd blushed as Lavender pulled her shirt down over her bare thighs.

"I-I can't go, I'm sick." Syd said, fake coughing.

"Oh, nice try. Listen, I need you to grab Liam after school because I'm working a double shift.. and make sure that he gets some dinner, not just a mustard sandwich like last time, okay?" The woman left seconds after finishing her sentence. Lavender pulled off her dads old shirt, folding it nicely as Sydney watched her intensely.

"Pft, I'm practically his mom." Syd muttered under his breath. Lavender cringed as she pulled the orange crop top over her head, slipping her arms into a jean jacket.

Lavender grimaced at the look on Maggie's face when she returned as she shimmied into the black ripped jeans she had brought. "What did you just say?"

Syd shrugged awkwardly, causing the woman to shoot her a look. "No, I'm curious. Say it again."

"You always ask me to do everything for Liam, and it's not fair." Sydney crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at the woman.

"It's not fair?" The woman repeated, pursing her lips.

"Um.. I-I don't mind cooking dinner tonight, guys." Liam said, a small smile resting on his face.

"Oh, that's nice, sweetie... But you really don't have to.. You know what, Lavender, Liam, could you give us a minute?"

Lavender nodded quickly, ducking out of the room and sliding her arm around Liam's shoulders and pulling him with her. "Come on, Liam.. let's get you some breakfast, yeah?"

Liam looked up at her, sending her a small smile. "Okay.."

"You know, your sister really does try." Lavender said, patting him on the back as she slipped into the kitchen. She opened the cabinets, searching for something to feed Liam as he slipped into the dining room chair.

"Yeah.. I know."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

{ A/n: when shes clearly in love but in denial }

{ Edited: No }