Still Leaking…17C

They got into the restaurant. Sawyer and Wendy anyway. Otto pulled Noelle back. "Hey what gives?" She asked when he tugged on her shirt sleeve and moved to the side of the building.

"This." He held out his phone.

She took it from him, frowning at the screen. "Please watch him?" She read out loud. Her frown deepened. "Who sent this, Raina?" Otto nodded. "She wants us to watch Wade? Why?"

"How the hell should I know?"

She shook her head, waving her hand. "She's probably just worried about him. Maybe cause she isn't here to do it herself. It's not a big deal."

He sighed. "Maybe you're right."

"Please watch him." She repeated and scoffed. "She so cares about him. Why the hell did they break up then?"

"She told you already." He shoved his phone in his pocket. "Let's get in before someone starts asking questions. Also, her caring shouldn't have to have anything to do with their break up. They've known each other forever."

"You're right."

They had dinner and were out and heading for the party. "Oh no." Otto whined. "I don't want to be out anymore. I'm too lazy. Take me back to my room. Wendy?"

They all laughed. "Come on babe. We're almost there. It'll be fun."

"I shouldn't have eaten." He gulped. "It was a mistake. I don't want to move anymore."

"Just a few steps. Pull it together man." Noelle pat him on the back.

"Chelsea, Stacie, Skipper and Barbie." Sawyer was out from his thoughts of Raina with a question. "Why Skipper?"

"Who?" Otto asked.

"Barbie's sister." Sawyer explained. "They all have pretty names. But not Skipper. It doesn't exactly fit. Plus she's not a blonde."

"Wait." Noelle was confused. "Barbie has sisters?"

"Yes." All three chorused in shock.

"You didn't know?" Otto asked.

"No." Noelle was genuinely shocked.

"There's Barbie, Skipper, Stacie and Chelsea."

"How do you know?" She assessed Sawyer. "My sister." And Raina. Raina brought up the name thing more than once. "Did you not see the movies?" She brought it up again tonight, it was good for a laugh.

"I did but… I just thought the little girls were random little girls."

Otto chuckled. "The name isn't as pretty as the others. Skipper." He just had to say it, to feel it.

"How do you know?"

"Cousins." Otto shrugged.

"And three sisters?" The information was still baffling to Noelle.

"Actually they're six. Plus Barbie herself, seven. But most of the dolls got discontinued like the twins and…"

Otto, Sawyer and Noelle turned to Wendy as she spoke like zombies. Dazed and impressed by her knowledge of it all.

"… Barbie is brunette sometimes so I don't think Skipper not having a blonde hair is anything. And Skipper's middle name is Maddison. Skipper Maddison Roberts…" she felt the stares. It made her trail off and turn to them. Their looks gave her goosebumps. She scoffed and smiled.

"Fascinating." Sawyer commented.

"Too much?" Wendy bit her upper lip.

"Not at all. Why use Skipper when they can call her Maddie? And also, Twins? Next you're going to say she had another boyfriend who wasn't Ken."

Wendy laughed nervously. "Actually…"

Sawyer and Otto burst into laughter. "No way." Otto said.

Wendy told them everything she knew. By the time they got to the party, they knew more about Barbie Roberts than they ever did before. It made Sawyer want to tell Raina and then tell Peggy. Sawyer's party mood went from a ten to a five.

He dove into his thoughts again. Playing the scenario of him telling Peggy all about it and her barely impressed look because she probably already knows and had googled it. Or her doll fascination faded away after she turned eleven. But then, what is the point of thinking about it? She's not here and he'll never get her reaction. He wasn't swimming in them anymore, he was drowning. It took a deep struggle and a continuous pacification from himself to come up for air. Enough to breathe, but not enough to leave the water.

Music, people, snacks. It was a party. There were already people there and they weren't the only ones just arriving. This party, held out in the open in the football field with tables and tables of drinks and snacks. They moved around in the cold night. Meeting people they knew like Perla and the rest of the band. Sawyer have Reed a quick nod just before he was pulled away by Emi for a selfie.

"I haven't seen you since the band thing." After five selfies.

"I've been busy." Sawyer smiled. "You know, we were just talking about you. Hoping you'd show up today. Where's Hannah? That's your girlfriend's name right? Unless she's just a name."

Sawyer laughed. "No, she's not just a name. It was last minute so I didn't want to bother her."

"How sweet." She assessed him. "You're not secretly Elle's boyfriend are you?"

Another laugh. "No. I'm Hannah's and only Hannah's boyfriend."

"Okay. But you're here with her. Just like at the thing."

"Yeah. If I were with Hannah tonight then Elle would be a fifth wheel. I didn't want that."

Emi nodded. Impressed. "Are you really this nice? You saved Perla from falling and now you're here by Elle's side just because. It's really nice of you. I wonder what you'll do for me."

Sawyer rubbed the back of his head laughing. "I can't imagine what it would be."

"My hero." Perla came up to them. "Take a picture with me."

With his friends and him socializing, he didn't have time to go into his thoughts. But they were there. Just waiting. He wasn't truly out after all. An hour and a half into the party, he found Otto and Noelle in a corner away from almost everyone and the music. He went up to them.

"… isn't the whole point so she doesn't feel left out?" Noelle was saying to Otto.

"I feel left out. What's up?" "Otto's here with me instead of being out there with Wendy. The whole point of her coming with us, was so she feels included."

"Which is what she said she wants. But she's talking to her friends. It doesn't matter."

"Maybe you should be with her. You know? By her side."

"I'm just taking a break. If it were up to me, we'll be back in Wade's room by now watching something or something. My feet hurt."

"When did you start whining about going out? You weren't like this during the summer."

"I dropped my party organ or bone or hat or whatever during the summer."

Sawyer smiled, getting ready to laugh. "So you lost the will to party?"

"No finer words Wade." Sawyer laughed. Something had caught Noelle's attention. Someones actually. With Sawyer in the middle of her and Otto, she could tell there were eyes on her friends. "You've got stares." She announced.

The boys looked at her and followed her gaze. Three girls whispering among themselves and looking their way. "You're reading too much into that."

"No I'm not. They're looking at you. They're pretty too."

The girls who were supposedly looking at them had looked away. "See? Nothing." Otto said.

"Oh come on. They so were. I bet they wanted to come over too. Or they're just shy."

Sawyer's party mood was down to a zero now. "Everyone'a looking at everyone. Or staring in general directions." Sawyer's explanation.

"You can't seriously think that's it." She scoffed. "Typical. It's always the same. You can't just see that they think that-"

"Damn it Noelle!" Sawyer barked. Startling both her and Otto. Lucky for everyone else, the music kept his voice from reaching them. "We're not stupid! You keep saying these things like they're all that's important. Why do you care? Why are you trying to make us see it?! Whatever it is! Or what they think!"

"Wade!" Otto pulled Sawyer by his shoulder. Sawyer stepped closer to Noelle.

"Asking Raina about me in high school? Calling me oblivious. Forget about Otto. But so what if I got drunk and stopped Perla from plummeting down the stairs or asked Emi to help me with my glasses?! Who gives a flying f-"

"Hey!" Otto barked. "Stop it! What the hell is wrong with you?" He moved from behind Sawyer and stood between him and Noelle.

"Why does she keep doing it? Talking about girls coming up to us, about them looking at us, about what they said about us, or what she thinks they think and how we're oblivious or whatever."

"That's no reason to yell at her."

"I may not know what it is exactly you're talking about. Or trying to say. I sure as hell don't care. But it doesn't have to come up every single time. It's annoying as hell!"

"Wade, calm down."

"Why?! She won't!" He let out an angry scoff and walked away.

"Are you alright?" Otto asked Noelle when Sawyer left.

Noelle could barely react. Too stunned by what just happened. Sawyer had yelled at her before. But not like this. This is worse.

"Elle?" Why would Sawyer flip out like that and then just walk away? What the hell? Where did that come from?

"Where's Wade going?" Wendy came up to them, looking back at Sawyer who was getting further away from them and the party. "What's wrong?" Seeing the concern on Otto's face. The annoyance in his eyes. "What happened? Noelle?"

What was that? He had no idea. But he was furious. Maybe not at her. Well… maybe a little why would she get excited about girls looking at them? If they were. Why would she call him oblivious to Raina? On second thought, he didn't mind. No he did. Not because it was to Raina. But because she called him that at all. It reminded him of when she asked if he or Otto would have asked Hannah or Wendy out if they weren't sure they liked them. And now this. What did it matter? Why should he care? What is so typical about it? Okay… he wasn't making sense. But he was pissed. It came out of nowhere and aimed straight for her. Regardless. He didn't turn back. He left the party. Back to the confines of his room. Where he won't be able to call Peggy and tell her about Barbie.