Searching in the storm [[Starr]]

[Brenden Erickson]

((Ok, tagged thread=nobody post here besides the taggee ok?))

A cold rain had been let down from the clouds and was now pounding all around the duo. It was Jordan who'd ran over to Brenden's and told him that there was a person missing and that his brother had just called him to tell him to personally go out and look for them. Apparently Mark had a lot of confidence in him finding the lost person. And as it turns out he'd met that person in question, Ryan Smith before all of this had happened. But it had only been once and it hadn't ended well. Since he'd basically been shut out and the memory of those cold eyes glaring at him wasn't a pretty one. The thought of it made him shiver as he looked around and tried to spot any sign that there was another person around. Yet he couldn't see any and apparently Brenden couldn't either even though it seemed as if his eyes were glued to the ground. But every once and awhile he'd look up to make sure he was going in the right direction on some imaginary path. Something told him that Brenden had an idea of where Ryan was. And that he just hadn't let on about it yet.

Brenden wiggled further down into his jacket as he felt the cold raindrops running down his neck. He looked up for a brief second as lightning flickered above them. Jordan probably thought that he was crazy with his eyes fixed on the ground almost like a hounds nose would be. But he had a slight idea of where a person would take off to. About a half mile or so ahead the ground rose and there was a small shelter that picnickers used. It was a three sided building and would be the perfect hideout if you wanted to get away from a storm. If only there was a way to tell somebody else his theory but the reception out here was bad since of all of the lightning. Yet there was a sense of tension in the air since the storm was getting worse and as far as anybody knew Ryan was out there without a jacket. It made him wish that he could just run toward the area. But, after almost falling down a hill he knew that going any faster than a quick walk was out of the question on the slippery ground. "You did call Starr right?" He asked and knew that they'd both thought that calling her would be a good idea. Since having a third person to look would make things a lot easier.

"Yes, I called her but I just got the answering machine. I told her we were going north in the park." Jordan said before wondering what the chances were that they would find him. It had to be slim since he could have taken off in any direction as soon as that first big clap of thunder was heard. Since that was apparently when he disappeared but nobody really knew. It was then that he felt the wind pick up and the cold drops of rain were then hitting him faster. He shoved his hands further down into the pockets of his jacket in an attempt to keep them unfrozen. The rest of his was freezing and he knew that he wouldn't be truly warm until he was inside of a building, or somewhere with the heat turned up as high as it could go. He looked around again and hoped that Starr would appear out of nowhere. She wouldn't have a hard time catching up to them since she'd probably be taking the path while they were off of it. Yet the path was about twenty yards away or so. And it made him wonder why Brenden wasn't on it then again there were some things about him that nobody would ever be able to figure out.

"Good because we could use an extra pair of eyes now." He said and a moment after that he slid to a stop and had to fight to stay upright against the wind. Right in front of him was what he'd been looking for a single footprint in the mud. He knew for a fact that there was nobody else up here since in all the while they'd been out here they hadn't seen anybody. There also was no other tracks besides the few that were along the edge of the mud puddle he was looking at. A small smile appeared on his face as he waited for Jordan to catch up to him and as soon as he did he looked over at him. "Jordan, you know as well as I do that this has to be his. You can call me crazy but that's what I think and I'm sticking to it." He said and then made his way over to where the path was and then set off at a slow jog. He wasn't sure why he'd decided to go on the path now. Maybe it was because the tracks had seemed to lead that way.

"Yes, I know that and I don't think your crazy even if others might." He said and then studied the tracks for a moment before looking up and realizing that Brenden was already on the path. He then took off at a jog toward the path and knew that there was a very good chance that he'd end up falling over because of how slippery the ground was. But he wasn't going to let Brenden out of his sight and it would be no use yelling because he probably wouldn't be heard over the wind. As soon as he was on the path a sigh of relief escaped him as he caught up to Brenden. He hadn't fallen down and was still in one piece. If only Starr would show up.

[Starr Parker]

"Starr! Starr Jade, will you answer me?!" Came the faint voice of Starr's mother from what sounded like the kitchen. Starr, in a pair of Pink sweats and a sweatshirt, was holed up in her room with the lights off, staring at her fish as the storm raged outside in her office chair, legs tucked under her butt. She looked up, bit her lip for a moment before getting up out of the chair, groaning at the sudden feeling rushing back to her right leg. Ah, she hated it when that happened. Your legs got all tingly and you felt as though you would fall over. After giving that leg a good shake, she left her room and went down the dark hallway, illuminated briefly by a big flash of lightning.

She ran down the stairs, her approach signaled by the loud thumping her feet made as they hit the carpet. "Yeah mom!" She called when she hit the base of the stairs, checking the front door to make sure it was locked and wouldn't blow open before going back towards the kitchen. She pushed open the door, the bright lights making her squint for a moment. She plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs, waiting for a reply from her mother who was busy making Pasta Roni.

"Someone called on your cell a few minutes ago." She said simply, turning the gas on the stove off to let the sauce thicken a bit. Mmm, garlic and olive oil vermicelli. Starr loved that stuff, as it did become a staple in her diet along with peanut butter and jellies when her parents were away. She furrowed her brow for a moment, wondering who was calling in the middle of this storm. She jumped up out of the chair before running over to her purse, digging around in it. Finally finding it, she rushed out the door to the living room, calling out behind her, "Hey, let me know when those are done, k?"

She flipped it open, seeing Jordan's number as a missed call and a voicemail. Quickly hitting 'send' to dial her voicemail, she put the phone up to her ear and listened. This kid named Ryan Smith was missing and they were heading north in the park. Alright, well, she was going now. She didn't even bother deleting it, she just flipped the phone shut and began to pull on a pair of tennis shoes. "Hey mom, save me some, okay? I gotta go do something!"

She didn't even wait for a reply as she unlocked the door and pulled it open, grabbing her keys and racing out the front door. Rain immediately began to pelt her and she ran over to her truck, pulling the door open and hopping in. She shivered for a moment, then started her truck and backed out of the driveway. Starr knew to be cautious on the road, even though everything in her heart was screaming to go faster, her mind told her to go slower. There were a few times when her mind lapsed though and she found herself speeding on a straight road as though it was sunny as could be outside. When she reached the park, she was just happy to be there without having hit anything.

She decided it would be better to take the path for the fact that the ground was so saturated with water you could see a layer of liquid above the dirt. Even though the path was wet, she took off at a slower running pace, like she did in cross country. No need to go her fastest, slip and fall and get herself hurt when someone was missing. She saw the pair a ways off the path, just two blurs in the onset of rain and she called out, but her voice even to her sounded faint amidst the pouring rain and claps of thunder. They didn't seem to hear it either, for they kept going, but they were at least heading towards the path. She would catch up with them there.

At this point, she just took off at a faster pace, barely able to slow herself down as she approached the pair. She took a moment to catch her breath, the short burst of carbon dioxide visible in front of her mouth. She wasn't going to pretend that she wasn't freezing right now, and the sweatshirt was not helping. Maybe it would have been a good idea to grab a jacket. She shoved her hand in the pocket in her sweatshirt before speaking. "You guys...are hard to find...you know that?" She said in between breaths, a grin on her face.

[Brenden Erickson]

So she had made it after all, that was a good thing. At least Brenden hadn't been so far ahead of him that he hadn't realized that Starr had made it. "Anybody is hard to find in a storm like this. Then again, we were off the path walking around in a lake." Jordan said and then looked around again it hadn't rained this much in a long time and he knew that tomorrow he'd have a lot of work to do. There was no point in asking his dad if he could have off because he'd get told no. He had already seen a large tree down on a side road and he was sure that the power was out now. At least he'd remembered to unplug all of the appliances before leaving his home. His care was safe and sound in the garage and away from any chance of it getting scratched due to hail. It was then that he noticed that Starr wasn't wearing a jacket. Before Brenden could even say anything he took his jacket off and held it out to her. "You need it more than I do I'm used to the cold." He said knowing that if the storm got any worse that he'd drag Brenden away from here and back home.

What luck, Starr had made it and he listened to what Jordan said and wasn't really surprised by the fact that he'd offered Starr his jacket. Yet he did know that cold and wet didn't mix with Jordan. And there was no way he was going to have Jordan get sick on him. It then prompted him to take his jacket off and toss it at Jordan who managed to catch it with one hand. "You're not getting sick on me, I know how you get when you're sick. But now that we're all acquainted I think we'd better keep moving. Since I really don't want to turn into a frozen person." He said before looking at Jordan and Starr. The rain was already beginning to soak through his sweatshirt but this wasn't the first time that he'd been out in the rain without a jacket. Of course, this was the first time that he'd been out in a storm this bad without one but he'd deal with it. He then began to make his way forward they were rather close to the shelter.

"Alright then, if you insist." He said and then put the jacket on before watching Brenden start to make his way forward again. Some people said that he "radiated confidence" for some reason. He didn't know about that but it always seemed like Brenden was the one who kept calm during situations like that and he wouldn't just sit around and talk. He'd need to keep moving even when other people would have stopped because it was too cold. "Just a few moments before you found us we found a few shoe prints and apparently Brenden thinks he knows where he is but he isn't sure about it. Actually he hasn't even told me where we're going." He said and shivered once again as the cold wind cut through his jacket. Now if this wasn't such a serious situation he'd go through and dig in the pockets and find out what was in them. But he knew that Brenden had probably shoved everything into the pockets of his jeans. Since he didn't feel a cell phone in the pockets and he was sure that he had grabbed it.

Brenden looked back and realized that Jordan wasn't behind him and he was still standing in the same spot. Yet before he could say anything a shape appeared out of the rain and he had to squint to figure out who it was. At first he thought it was Ryan but, the shape was too tall and he'd been told that Ryan was about five six which was about four inches shorter than him. Yet this shape looked like it was around his size, perhaps an inch or two taller. He didn't think anything of it and then turned to make his way back to where Jordan was. As he got there he felt a hand on his shoulder and he jumped before quickly turning around and almost falling over. But he was even more surprised by who was behind him. Why was his brother here? "Jake, what are you doing here? You almost made me have a heart attack." He said and then studied Jake's appearance it was clear that he'd came straight from work. Since he knew that his older sibling would never be caught dead in a old pair of jeans and a sweatshirt that had seen better days.

"The same thing you are and I'd like to inform you that I did see that Ryan person in the place where you were going. But they got really spooked by me being there and before I could even stop them they were flying out the door and disappeared after that." Jake said and then rolled his eyes, honestly he'd thought that Ryan was going to try and strangle him by how fast he'd ran at him. He then looked over to where Jordan was and some girl that he'd never seen before and then raised one eyebrow curiously. "So, you can go after him if you want but personally I wouldn't. But I'm off to find Scott since he's around here somewhere and he begged me to drive him home. So I guess that I'll see you when I get home..Brenny." Jake said before reaching up and messing up Brenden's hair. "I haven't done that in awhile, now I'm really leaving." He said before walking off and disappearing into the rain.

[Starr Parker]

Starr laughed at that, knowing quite well that that was very true. She had barely found them as it was. The lake comment was quite hilarious, she wasn't going to lie. Heck, she'd practically been driving on a lake. She knew that grass and sod were probably worse what with over-saturation and all. Starr had begun to look around at the park when she felt the extended jacket. She looked down, then looked up at Jordan with a 'no, don't you dare do that' look on her face. It was out of her own stupidity that she hadn't put her jacket on on the way out and she didn't need Jordan treating her like some charity case. Then again, he was only doing it to be nice. Her sweatshirt was already soaked, it being cotton and easily saturated. Still, the last thing she needed was Jordan to get sick.

She was about to shake her head and say no when Brenden gave his jacket to Jordan. Starr gave him the same look, then realized it would be stupid to argue it. They both could be very stubborn. She sighed and grabbed it, muttering something that sounded relatively like 'make me feel like the girl in the group' and pulled it on. It was much warmer underneath that, she was not going to deny it, but she couldn't wait to get home and get out of those wet clothes and get a long, hot bath. Pulling it a little tighter around herself, as though reluctant to admit she needed the jacket, she looked up at him and said, "Thanks."

Hearing Jordan speak, she looked forward and squinted into the downpour, wondering just where Brenden was thinking this kid would be. She knew the park like the back of her hand by now, but she couldn't figure it out. Now where in the world was he thinking? "Have you asked him?" She questioned, wondering whether Brenden was just being secretive or if Jordan had just been so caught up in it that he hadn't asked yet. Starr knew that Jordan wasn't stupid, but neither was she and she had forgotten to grab a jacket in this mess. Maybe he'd forgotten to ask what with all the rain.

Starr then looked back to Brenden, who was now talking with...who was that anyway? Ah, it was probably some other person searching. Maybe the place Brenden thought this kid was turned out to be a lost cause. Well, that wouldn't be good. "Who is that?" She asked Jordan, not taking her eyes off the pair. Then one hand reached up and ruffled Brenden's hair and she suddenly knew. This must be Brenden's infamous cranky brother.

[Brenden Erickson]

He watched as Starr refused the jacket at first, perhaps she was as stubborn as he was. Yet when she finally took it a rush of relief passed over him. "Good, by the way I wouldn't dig around in the pockets too much. Since I think that there's some gum wrappers in them." He said before looking over at Brenden, sometimes he wondered if he was he more quiet one. Then again, he probably was thinking about something since he did have a rather distant look on his face. Now if things were not so serious he'd walk up to him and wave a hand in front of his face to see if he even noticed it. But, seeing as things were still serious he knew that it was best not to do that. Besides, he didn't feel like startling him and making him fall down. He then heard Starr's question, he hadn't asked him but perhaps he should have since he didn't have a clue where they were going. "No, I didn't ask him I just assumed that he'd tell me but apparently he's caught up in things." He said and nodded toward where Brenden still was standing.

He watched as Jake snuck up behind Brenden but before he could even say anything he'd already made his presence known. He listened to the conversation between the two, now he knew where they'd been off to. He'd just forgotten that the shelter had been this way after all, he usually didn't go into this part of the park for some reason. "That's Brenden's brother, apparently he had a good day at work so he isn't crabby." He said and then heard the world Brenny come up. "And Jake's going to pay for that he hates it when people call him Brenny." He said and then watched as Jake disappeared. It was no use trying to go up that way to find Ryan now, since he was probably at another end of the park by now. If not, he was crazy because after that shelter the ground dropped and the small valley would probably be a pond by now that was a few feet deep.

Brenden watched as Jake left and resisted the urge to run after him and push him into a puddle. Jake knew how he hated being called that, he wasn't mad about him messing up his hair because he never really did anything with it anyway. "What do you say we just give up now? Since I'm freezing, the storms not letting up, I just got called Brenny and if we don't go back now the path might flood." He said and then looked around for a moment he'd done his part, he'd looked for him. If he would have been about ten minutes earlier he might have found Ryan. But things just didn't work out, there probably was other people looking in the park now or if there wasn't there would be soon. He then turned and began to make his way back down the path. Jordan and Starr were probably right behind him anyway. But as he looked back Jordan wasn't moving, he then stood there and waited for him. As he was waiting he realized that ten minutes had already went by since Jake had left. It was going to take awhile to get out of the park.

After waiting for a few minutes he began to make his way toward Jordan again. When he was about five feet away from the group he heard his cell phone start to ring. How could it ring where there was absolutely no reception out here? And better yet, who was calling him? He then dug the phone out of his pocket and was amazed that it wasn't soaked. "Hello..who is this..Scott don't play games with me Jake just left ten minutes ago...what..you're serious..no..this isn't happening..I am calm what are you talking about..I'm on my way." He said and then quickly hung up he looked over Jordan as a range of emotions made their way onto his face. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He looked down at the ground and knew that it was no use to try and hold back everything. "Jake was just in an accident, some idiot rear ended Scott's car and then that just started a chain reaction. Things got a little unknown after that but that's not important at the moment. I've just got to go, I know you don't like hospitals Jordan so you don't have to come with me." He said as a few tears slipped out and a split second later he was running down the path.

It had all happened so fast, first Brenden was talking on his cell phone and the next he was taking off down the path. Now he was worried, if Brenden ended up getting hurt he'd blame himself for not going after him right away. "Starr, we've have to go after him. The last time he was like this he took off and I couldn't find him for three hours." Jordan said rather hysterically before the image of those few tears running down Brenden's face came into his mind again. That spent the last bit of reserve that he had and he too, started crying. "He's always the level headed one, always. If it wasn't for Jake he would have given up sports after Mike-please I don't want to go into a hospital alone." He begged before looking at Starr, it was a known fact that when one of them lost it that they'd bring the other one down too and that was what just happened. He took a few deep breaths before looking down at the ground once again. "He needs all of the support that he can get right now." He said before waiting for Starr's answer.

((You do give me muse.))

[Starr Parker]

((Hehe. Last night I was tired when I made that post, but let's see what I can get today, shall we?))

When before Starr had been huddling up in the jacket as if she had been in the cold for hours versus minutes, she suddenly ripped her hands from the pockets at the mention of gum wrappers. Hopefully it was just the wrappers themselves and not the used gum, for she knew several people that did that. It seemed her hands couldn't take the cold rain though, because almost immediately she fished around for the front pocket of her sweatshirt. It would serve it's purpose just fine. After a moment of getting situated again, she looked at Jordan and followed his gaze to a rather preoccupied Brenden. He looked very lost in his own thoughts, something that Starr did occasionally. In serious situations, you get to thinking, and then before you know it you're lost in your own little world.

She nodded, somehow having known Jordan hadn't asked. Brenden wasn't exactly the kind of guy that wouldn't tell you something if you asked him, but then again she'd only known these two boys for what, a few months? Still, she was sure he would kindly oblige and give the destination if someone just asked. "That probably would have been a good idea." She said, though not unkindly. It was just a friendly reminder and she gave him a quick pat on the shoulder before watching Brenden with the guy again.

Ah, so it was the infamously cranky-after-work Jake. She'd never actually met the guy, which was kind of shocking considering how often she hung out with the pair. She smiled and gave a soft laugh when Jordan pointed out the fact that Jake had just called him Brenny. She could remember back to when Jordan had tried to give her a nickname. It had been a rather awful yet funny experience, for the end result had been sticking her with a nickname longer than her own name to begin with. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but nicknames are definitely supposed to be shorter than your name, or at least they usually are.

However, Jake did not pay, at least not right away. Instead he walked off and Brenden began towards them. Perhaps he was going to wait until this whole thing had blown over. After all, he would have the element of surprise then. Hearing him speak, she couldn't entirely disagree. They had no clue where to look for this kid, he could be anywhere, and the storm was only getting worse. Pretty soon, the river deeper in the park would definitely not be able to take anymore rain and it would overflow and the whole park would start to flood. Soon enough the roads probably wouldn't be safe enough to drive on anyhow.

"That's probably a good idea. We have no clue where the kid is and, chances are, he'll find somewhere safe away from the storm. Besides, we can't go getting ourselves hurt in the process." She said, though hated the thought of just leaving Ryan out here. She knew there were only so many safe places in this park right now and he'd just abandoned one of them. If he got hurt or was found...dead, she would never be able to live with herself. Sure, she'd find someway to justify them leaving, like they had their own safety to look out for, but she'd still feel guilty. Who wouldn't?

Starr began to follow Brenden but then turned back to see if Jordan was. He hadn't moved. Her brow furrowed and she moved back towards him, wondering if he was second-guessing leaving. She knew that with every step she took, she was. "You coming?" She asked, though didn't have a chance to get a reply. Brenden began talking, but Starr was barely able to process it. Brother...car accident...hospital. Before she could even think straight, Brenden was running off down the path in a blur.

Her whole mind began racing at one word: hospital. The place that she hated and feared, that she swore she wouldn't step into unless...well, unless something like this happened. Still, she hadn't thought it would happen so soon. A few years, yeah, but tragedy wasn't supposed to be this abundant in a person's life. Starr had been hoping that she had gotten her fair share of it, but apparently not. She must have just been tragedy-prone, just like Brenden and Jordan it seemed. It just wasn't fair that people who were so young had to suffer in this way, but the world wasn't perfect. Some idiot had caused this, probably unintentionally but they'd brought more of this upon Brenden. He didn't need nor did he deserve this.

Half of Jordan's words went in one ear and out the other as her mind went crazy at the thought of even possibly going to a hospital. Her eyes moved from the now vacant path on which Brenden had just ran to Jordan, who was begging her to go with him. She knew she should, but she couldn't. She couldn't explain it, this wasn't some childish fear that was so easily conquered by what she should do. Going to a hospital this soon after having experienced so much pain there...it seemed too much. Yes, Brenden did need all the support he could get, but would Starr be able to offer that if she was hyperventilating at the entrance? Certainly not. Maybe it was best if she just stayed behind, kept looking for Ryan some more. After all, she couldn't do anything for Jake, she wasn't a nurse or a doctor, she didn't know him. She couldn't say that he would get through because she didn't know. Should someone like her, who had so little faith in doctors and medicine, really be trying to reassure Brenden that everything would be okay?

"Jordan, I-" She began but couldn't seem to get it out. Starr never said she couldn't do something until she had tried, but there was a first for everything. "I can't. I just can't, okay? You can take my truck, I'll keep looking for Ryan while you guys are there. I know this park like the back of my hand, another search party probably won't know where to look." Even as she said it all, she knew they were sorry excuses for this whole thing. Am I really so weak that I can't suck it up? She thought to herself, even as she felt her calm exterior breaking under pressure. She couldn't stand to look at Jordan and so found comfort staring at the tips of her shoes.

((And apparently my muse gave me an overdose. =]))

[Brenden Erickson]

((Muse overdoses are fun though.))

Jordan watched as her hands came out of the pockets, did she think that he left used gum in there as well? He found that really gross and not to mention it would probably make things stick together and there was no way he was going to get sticky hands every single time he dug around in a pocket for something. "You do know that all that is in there is gum wrappers right? There might be some loose change but that's about it." He said before wondering what the heck was in the pockets of Brenden's jacket. Knowing him there was receipts in there along with a pen or two. Yes, Brenden was a notorious pen stealer Jordan had noticed that he'd have a pen in his hand and he'd just walk off with it without realizing it. That was why people would always ask him for their pens back right before classes ended so that he didn't walk off with a loaned pen. Although he still did and people knew who to go to if they needed a writing utensil. There always were pens laying around in his truck.

She was right, it probably would have been a good idea to ask where they were going. But he'd trusted Brenden enough to know that he wasn't about to lead them into the middle of a flooding river or something. After all, they'd been way off of the path yet they'd still stayed on whatever course Brenden had in his head. Of course he knew that a lot of that was due to sheer luck and it was a very good thing that they didn't get lost themselves. With the fog and pouring rain he could hardly see ten feet in front of him. They hadn't even had a snow storm that was a bad as this in about a year or so. But he knew that if it was snowing it would be a lot worse after all, the rain went away rather quickly. But now hung around for awhile and he knew for a fact that if this was snow then they'd have a snow day tomorrow. And he'd have to be out there freezing while trying to clear a path from the house to the garage. He'd always wondered why when his dad was building the house that he hadn't made it have an attached garage, it would have made life so much easier. "Yeah, but have you tried talking to him when he's really focused on something?" He asked and knew that she probably hadn't.

Yet he knew that when Brenden was focused on something, like looking for Ryan that he sometimes tended to block everything else out. You probably could be screaming at the top of your lungs and he wouldn't hear a word that was said. He listened to what she said about it being a good idea to turn back and knew that she was right. Eventually he would be found, one way or another. He just hoped that in the end he would be found unharmed or with little damage done. But he was beginning to think that the chances of that happening were slim. The longer he was out here the slimmer the odds got. And that definitely was not a good thing. He reminded himself that there probably was a good chance that he'd leave the park and then go out into an area where people lived and somebody would realize that he was the one that was missing. Heck, he knew for a fact that at this moment his dad was probably around here somewhere looking for him since he'd been checking how work was coming on a building this way before the storm hit. It was clear to him that Ryan would be found, so why did he feel so guilty about leaving now?

It was then that a ton of memories stared up in his mind. As a far off expression came to his face and everything just took off. There was a ton of different ones, trying to wash his car while Brenden chased Lucky around trying to get a baseball glove back from him, Brenden and him teaming up to shove Jake off of a dock, Starr and him singing, and various other ones just came out of the woodwork of his mind. It was then that he heard Starr say that she couldn't go with him. And that was what he needed, there was no way that he could go in there alone. He'd start to lose it, sure he'd only be alone for a few minutes but he knew that he wouldn't be able to handle that. "I can't go in there alone, I know that I'll lose it and I can hardly keep it together now." He said and knew that he still sounded like he was begging but he couldn't help it. He knew the last time he'd been upset like this and the way Brenden had lost it had just stirred everything up to the surface again. "You wouldn't have to go off and tell him that you know how he feels or anything. He stopped believing that a long time ago." He said rather timidly and knew that probably wasn't why Starr wanted to go.

A soft sigh escaped him and he took a few steps down the path before suddenly stopping. He couldn't go any further without Starr. "You and I both know that there was no way that Brenden would want you out here alone. I don't have to go to the hospital, his dad's probably there by now. But, I can't leave him there. He's most likely sitting there right now wondering where the heck I am. He probably thinks that I took off after him when he left. I don't really think that he even thought about going home to change into something that wasn't soaked with rain." He said and then forced himself to take a few more steps before looking back to where Starr was. He wanted to stay yet he wanted to go at the same time and at the moment he didn't know what to do.

[Starr Parker]

[[Sorry for dropping off the face of the planet. Haha. July=busy for me. My birthday and my brother's birthday are two days apart, plus the 4th, then this Harry Potter stuff.]]

It was a relief to hear that it was only gum wrappers, but she didn't feel like sticking her hands back out into the cold to get them back into the dry-ish pockets. The rain might as well have been ice, because that was what it felt like. And it was the middle of summer, so icy rain was a bit odd. Then again, there had been thick cloud cover the past couple of days, so the sun hadn't had a chance to let its light through. That, and rain wasn't exactly warm water either. "I knew that. I just...oh forget it." She said, though couldn't realize why she had even jumped to that conclusion. Maybe it was from past experience? That must have been it.

She shook her head, supposing that it probably was useless to talk to someone who could get as focused as she had seen Brenden. Sometimes Starr got focused, not as much as Brenden but a lot, and you could sit there right in front of her and she wouldn't even notice. And then when she would notice she would make a super huge deal about having made you sit there while she was off in la-la land. It was actually amusing to experience. She could understand not asking if he looked way too into this, and she knew she wouldn't make a joke out of it in the current situation. It was much too serious for any sort of joking to go on, what with this kid missing and possibly hurt by now and the storm only coming down harder.

As Jordan continued his begging, Starr ran a hand through her soaked hair, which proved difficult with it tangling up from wind and rain. She knew she should go, Brenden was just as much her friend as he was Jordan's and he would go if it were her in that position. But Jordan didn't get, he didn't understand...then again, had she told him? No, she hadn't, so who was she to say he wouldn't get it? Maybe she didn't want him to know that there were things, perfectly safe things, that made her freeze with terror. He would know, she knew, before long. Her mind was finding excuses, reasoning with her to drop in on Brenden when he wasn't in the hospital. But even then, the excuses were poor ones, as there really was no reason for it.

She drew a shakey breath as Jordan turned around to leave, a little surprised he was going. However, he turned right back around, countering. Brenden was probably wondering where they were, or at least subconciously he was. She knew that she would be subconciously wondering where people were if she had to go to the hospital for her step-sister or something. It was just because she knew they would show up, not because she wanted to put them in that situation that they might not want to be in. Starr didn't want to be put in this situation, but Jordan was perfectly right. Brenden wouldn't want her here, he wouldn't care if she had nothing to say, and he probably wouldn't care if she didn't say a word at all, which she probably wouldn't once in sight of the hospital.

Jordan seemed to be leaving, just when Starr was getting over the fact that she would have a panic attack and would be inside a hospital. She had a friend who needed support right now, not verbal but just someone being there. Starr knew she could give that, even if she would be freaking out, but she could help. So, finally she started walking off, visibly shaking and not because of the cold this time. She pulled her keys out of her pocket. "You're going to need to drive if you want to get there without an accident." She said simply, and rather quietly so she didn't know if he had even heard her.

[Brenden Erickson]

He listened to what she said about knowing that there was only gum wrappers in his pockets. He still was slightly surprised by how quickly she'd taken her hands out of the pockets. He wondered why some people even kept it in their pockets in the first place. Were they going to reuse it? Now that thought was just gross and he knew that if he saw somebody do that he'd probably be severely grossed out. The least that a person could do was get rid of their used chewing gum somehow. They could even get rid of it the way that Brenden did if he was in a car. He'd throw it out the window and watch it bounce on the road behind him. Of course he only did that if he wasn't driving but in the two years that he'd known Brenden he'd always wondered why he did that and who he'd picked it up from. Perhaps that would just be a mystery that would never be solved. But the next time Brenden did that he definitely would ask him about it.

He noticed that Starr was shaking and without even thinking about it he put an arm around her. It was a few steps later that he realized he had done so and then quickly took his arm away and shoved his hand back into the pocket where it had been before. "Sorry, I didn't realize that I'd done that." He said and then was silent as the rain continued to hit the ground. Would it ever let up? He hoped that it would since all of the rain was soaking through his jacket and it was making him wish that he'd put a sweatshirt on. Now he wanted to kick himself for not doing so since he was starting to shiver and he knew that Starr's truck probably wasn't anywhere around here. He just hoped that they wouldn't have to walk through a couple inches of water to get to hit. His shoes were soaked enough and he knew that if it wasn't for Jake being in the hospital that he'd want to go straight home to change. But there wasn't any time for that now.

He heard what she said about needing to drive but just barley, the wind was picking up and now it seemed to be roaring. "Ok then, if that's what you want. I don't know when we'll get to the hospital though since there's bound to be trees across that road. Brenden had it easier, I think since he probably just took off from here toward the hospital. I just hope he didn't hurt himself." He said and knew that there was a hint of worry in his voice. But he just couldn't help it, if something happened to Brenden he'd take it really hard even if it was something rather minor. Since he would think that he could have prevented it if he had went along when he had first ran off. Although he might not have caught him he could have stayed close enough to him to perhaps keep him out of trouble. He had thought that the worst of the storm was over but apparently he had been wrong about that. He did know that his dad would probably make him work a couple very long days after the storm ended since there was going to be a lot of damage done. Not to mention they had a couple houses being built and they would probably be damaged by the storm.

It was then that all of the color literally left his face and he bit his lip. A very important detail had just slipped his mind as soon as the search for Ryan had began. "Starr, Anthony and Holly are out somewhere in this storm. I completely forgot that Brenden had told me they'd went out somewhere apparently thinking it wasn't going to rain for awhile." He said and felt himself start to slip back into the panic mode that he had been in before. There was just too many people out in the storm now there was two more that were probably riding out the storm. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths, he had to keep telling himself silently that Anthony and Holly would be fine. After all, both of them had more then enough sense to know that they had to get somewhere that was relatively safe. Even if the two of them were off in the woods, he knew for a fact that Anthony knew the woods like his own backyard from spending so much time out there. But he just hoped that Brenden had forgotten the two were out there for a little while since he had enough to worry about at the moment. And remembering that your younger sister and one of your best friends were out in the storm would certainly make him even more stressed.

((I hope that's a decent post.))