Chapter Text
“Come on, Mike, don’t do this.”
“Oh calm down, would you? It’s not that bad. Just got a lot of love to give,” Michael said.
“No, Mike, if you do this-”
You were cut off by Emily. “Last time I checked, you aren’t Mike. He’s old enough to make his own decisions.”
You glared half-heartedly at her. “This isn’t fair!” you attempted to reason with your best friend one last time. “Mike, if you do this, I’m never talking to you again!”
He rolled his eyes at your juvenile threat, “Yeah, uh-huh. Just like you never talked to me ever again after I ate your pizza last week?” Your stomach sank at his dismissal. He was really going to go through with this, wasn’t he?
Jessica stood up from where she had been writing a note for Hannah. She smirked and whispered, “All done,” before skipping over to set it on the counter.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe you actually did this!” Emily squealed while Jess hushed her.
Sam, the only one who shared your opinion on this prank, spoke up, “Don’t you guys think this is a little bit cruel?” You hit Mike’s shoulder and gestured towards her, but he just gave you an arrogant smile in reply.
“Oh come on, she deserves it,” Jessica said.
“It is not her fault that she has a huge crush on Mike-”
“Hannah’s been making moves on him. I’m just looking out for my girl Em,” Jessica told her before turning around and walking out of the kitchen.
As the rest of you followed, Emily said, “Just because he’s class Prez doesn’t mean he belongs to everyone… Mike is my man.”
“Hey, Em. I’m not anybody’s man,” as he said this, Mike threw his arm around you and wiggled his eyebrows. You scowled and ducked under him.
“Whatever you say, Darling!” Emily giggled.
You groaned in irritation. “I’m going to tell Beth,” you warned your friends, but they barely even glanced in your direction before continuing to their destination.
Scowling, you walked back into the kitchen only to see Beth inspecting Jessica’s faux letter.
She said your name like it was a question - you could see the confusion on her face. She handed you the letter and you crumpled it in anger. “Beth,” you said, “Hannah, she’s-”
You were interrupted by yelling coming from upstairs, followed by the slam of the front door. Beth whipped around as you saw someone running outside. “Those jerks!” you growled. Beth glanced at the door and then to Josh and Chris - who were passed out at the counter - before running to her brother.
You ran into the foyer as she tried to shake Josh awake. “I’m going to kill you!” you cried at your friends on the doorstep, your voice shaking with rage.
“What’s going on? Where’s my sister going?” Beth asked as she joined the group outside.
“Ugh, it’s fine… she just can’t take a joke…” Jessica told her.
“It was just a prank, Han!” Emily yelled into the darkness.
Beth’s face hardened. “What did you do?!?” she demanded.
Mike, who had been avoiding your glare of disapproval, said, “We were just messing around, Beth… It wasn’t serious-”
“You jerks!” Beth yelled before running into the forest, chasing after her sister. “Hannah! HANNAH!”
“So… should we go after her?” Mike asked awkwardly.
“You know, I kind of think you’re the last person she wants to see right now, Mike,” Sam said.
You punched Mike’s arm, “I told you! I FUCKING TOLD YOU!” each syllable interjected with another punch.
He grabbed your wrists and held them in place, still avoiding your eyes.
“Oh, relax,” Jessica said, “It’s gonna be fine.”
You turned to face her as Emily said, “I don’t know Jess, it’s pretty dark out…”
“Oh, you’re worried now? I’m sorry, but weren’t you all for this prank just ten minutes ago?” Jessica accused.
“Yeah, but I didn’t expect Hannah to run away like that!” Em defended.
“Hey, hey, none of us did,” Mike said. “Just chill out guys. They’ll be back soon.”
Except that they weren’t. After twenty minutes, it was just you, Ashley, and Emily outside. You had shoved Michael inside after his attempts at breaking the ice had started grating on your nerves, and Jess and Matt had joined him. Sam had followed them as well, mumbling something about “keeping them out of trouble”.
“Where are they?” Em asked, craning her neck to search the trees.
“Do you think they’re okay?” Ashley whimpered.
“Yeah… yeah,” Emily didn’t sound entirely sure. “I mean, it’s not like something could really happen to them.”
“Maybe we should go look for them,” you said. You were freezing and exhausted, the adrenaline from before gone, but you weren’t about to bail on your friends.
“And get lost ourselves?” As much as you hated to admit it, Emily had a point. If Hannah and Beth had gotten lost in the forest that they grew up in, how would you be able to find your way?
“Oh god,” Ashley sniffled, tears shining in her eyes. “Oh god oh god oh god, what if they don’t come back?”
You glanced down at your crying friend and wrapped an arm around her. Even if you were mad at her for taking part in the prank, you knew that she didn’t want this to happen. “Come on, Ash, let’s get you inside,” you said gently.
With Ashley and Emily in tow, you finally stepped inside the lodge, though the atmosphere was just as icy as it was outside. Emily immediately walked over to Mike and clung to him. You brought Ashley to a chair and set her down with a blanket, before heading over to Sam. She was staring out the window and jumped slightly when you put a hand on her shoulder. You were almost at your breaking point, and she must have seen it on your face, because she wrapped her arms around you gently.
Mike jumped up and broke the silence, “We’ve gotta go look for them.”
“Are you insane?” Emily asked from beside him.
“It’s been almost half an hour. If they’re in trouble, they need help.”
Sam stepped away from you and said, “Yeah… okay. I’ll go too.” Matt nodded and stood up, along with Emily after a moment’s hesitation.
“Anyone else?” Mike asked, trying to lock eyes with you, but you avoided his gaze. Your stomach churned; you felt betrayed. By your best friend, too! If he had just listened to you!
At your silence, Michael nodded slowly. “Okay, let’s head out.”
But they didn’t find anything, not even a clue as to where the girls had gone. The falling snow had covered their footprints and the forest was like a maze.
“I’m going to try to wake up Josh and Chris,” Sam said when they returned, hours later. “Then, we head back down the mountain and call the police.” You nodded, your insides growing cold.
How did this happen?