Chase was the only thing on Alicia's mind the rest of the weekend, and even at school on Monday she found it hard to make room in her thoughts for anything else. Everything else seemed to pale in importance to her missing friend and roommate. She repeated Lara's advice in her head, tried to put together a plan of action, knowing she, Lindsey and Caitlin would formally begin their search as soon as practice was over, but it was hard to think of anything beyond simply wanting Chase back. They'd start with Miss Cha's office, but what if they didn't find any leads there? What then? Chase was a great planner. She was also a girl of decisive action. She'd know just what to do if the situation was reversed. How many times had she proven that, by coming to the rescue of Alicia and the others? But now it was Alicia's turn to return the favor, and she was terrified she'd fall short. That she'd be unable to do for Chase what Chase had done for her.

That afternoon they had cheer practice, and Alicia did an okay job of pretending to be present for it.

“Great practice today, you guys,” said Alicia, to Brittany and Heather, as they walked past her to the locker room door, duffel bags slung over their shoulders.

Brittany and Heather waved to Alicia, who stood by the lockers, folding up her cheer uniform to put it in her own bag.“Thanks. See you tomorrow, Alicia,” said Heather. Like Alicia's hair, theirs was still slightly wet from the showers.

Alicia didn't really know whether it was a great practice or not, but it seemed like a good thing to say. They could all stand to have their spirits raised with all that had been going on.

Before she could return to her ruminations on Chase, she heard the sound of crying from a few lockers down. She looked and saw Danielle with her face in her hands, being comforted by Samantha.

“Danielle?” she asked, going immediately to her side. “Are you okay?”

Danielle looked at her with teary eyes, then sniffled and nodded. “Y-yeah, sorry...”

“Don't be sorry. What's the matter?” asked Alicia, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“It's...it's just...” said Danielle. “It doesn't feel the same. First we...we...we lost Rebecca...” her voice cracked when she said that, and she lost the fight to repress her tears, “And now Chase just leaves, so soon after...”

Alicia hugged her, and Danielle let out a few sobs into her shoulder. “Hey, come on, I said she'd be back, didn't I?”

“How could she just go? After what happened to Rebecca, we all should have stuck together...Especially Chase, we need her to lean on, we need her strength...But now she's gone too, and she didn't even say goodbye...” Danielle choked out.

“It's probably because she's planning on coming right back,” said Alicia. Danielle looked at her. “I'm sure she wanted to say goodbye, but whatever made her take off, it was really sudden. She didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to me. But believe me, I know Chase, and leaving must have been a really hard decision for her to make, even if she's planning on coming back tomorrow. She loves us, this squad, more than anything.”

She separated from Danielle, but kept her hands on the girl's upper arms. “You're wrong though. You don't need to lean on Chase. None of us do. We all value the strength she brought to this squad, and that's just one of the things that makes it so hard to lose her. But we're strong too. We've gone through some terrible hardships lately, but we can stand and face them on our own.”

Danielle wiped her eyes and gave a weak smile. “Thanks, Alicia.”

“Don't mention it.”

Danielle finished changing, and she and Samantha left. Now alone, Alicia resumed putting her uniform away.

'Take your own advice, stupid,' she told herself, as she zipped her duffel bag closed. 'You, Lindsey, Caitlin, together you're strong enough to track Chase down. You can do it. You're not the same girl you were at the start of this school year. You've grown a lot, you've handled yourself in ways you would have never imagined before.'

“Hey, Alicia?”

Alicia looked up. Melissa C. was standing before her, holding a towel around herself. “Oh, hi, Melissa C.,” she said with a smile.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” asked Melissa C.

Alicia straightened and shouldered her bag. “Sure, what's up?”

“It's about Chase,” said Melissa C. Alicia's grip tightened on the strap of her bag. “You're being so vague. I know you told everybody you don't know anything about why she left so suddenly, but that's not true. It can't be. You two are thick as thieves. There's nothing she wouldn't tell you.”

Alicia looked away. “It's...I really-”

“You're worried about her. I hear it in your voice when you talk about her. I see it in your eyes. Whatever you know about her disappearance, it has you concerned,” said Melissa C. “Alicia, you can tell me. If Chase is in danger, I want to know, and I want to do what I can to help.”

Alicia bit her lip and forced herself to meet the older girl's gaze. “You know everything I know,” she lied. “All I can say for sure is she's safe. Whatever's going on, she left of her own free will.”

She could tell Melissa C. didn't believe her for a second, but the brunette didn't press the issue. “If you say so. But if she needs help, or if you do for some reason, let me know. I...” She pointed at her head. “I'm still trying to play catch-up with the rest of you. Still trying to pick up the pieces of my life. But one thing I know for sure is I owe Chase a lot. For what she did, getting me out of the maze, but also...” she hesitated a moment, as if she had a statement she wasn't sure how to phrase or a question she wasn't sure how to ask. “...for everything else, too.”

Alicia nodded. “Sure. I understand. I'll remember that, Melissa C. If I need help I know I can count on you.” She gave a sympathetic look. “I wish there was more I could tell you.” For all the falsehoods she told, this part, at least was completely true. She said it with sincerity in her voice, hoping it would come through, but she'd said the lies with sincerity too, so she had no way of telling if it reached Melissa C.

“I know you do. Thanks, Alicia,” said Melissa C. With that, she turned away from Alicia and walked to her locker.

..............

With a grunt, Andrea hefted Chase's suitcase up onto the hotel bed Chase was sitting on. “Jesus Christ. What do you have in here, rocks?”

“No, just gurg,” said Chase.

“What's a gurg?” asked Andrea.

It was almost twenty-four hours after Chase called Andrea on Alicia's phone. She had been reluctant to do so at such a late hour, but Andrea had told her she could call any time. True to her word, Andrea answered. Chase talked to her a little while, explained what she wanted to do. A few minutes later, Andrea came to pick her up, and they were gone.

They drove east, almost nonstop. Through the day, the mountains Chase had called home her entire life gave way to plains and farmland. That was when Chase felt her first pangs of homesickness. She couldn't stop herself from looking over her shoulder, watching those mountains grow smaller and smaller, until they finally faded into the distance. That night, they checked into a cheap, discreet, one-story motel in a little town called Stoughten.

Chase was positioned on the edge of the bed, staring numbly into space. Cheap as the room was, Andrea had sprung for two beds, one for her and one for Chase. Chase looked at the suitcase, then pulled it over to herself. She unzipped it, and pulled out Douglas the Gargoyle.

“Oh. That's a gurg,” said Andrea.

Chase took Douglas into her lap and hugged him tenderly, resting her cheek on top of his monstrous head. She sat there like that for a couple minutes before flopping over onto her side. She began to cry.

“Aw,” said Andrea, immediately sitting down. She put a hand on Chase's back. “It's alright, Chase. It's alright. Let it out. I know this is hard for you.”

Chase squeezed her teary eyes shut and pulled Douglas closer to her. “Not want to leave! Change mind! Want go back to Leash! Go back to cheer! Not want leave!”

“I know you don't. I know. I know how hard it is,” said Andrea sensitively. “That's why I'm so proud of you, Chase. You made a hard choice, the hardest choice of your life, because you knew it was the right choice. The right choice for Alicia.”

With a sniffle, Chase opened her eyes. They looked red. She wiped her sniffly nose on her sleeve. “Right for Leash.”

Andrea nodded. “You would do anything for Alicia. For the other cheerleaders. I know you would. You would fight anyone, put yourself in any kind of danger. Any kind of pain. Isn't that right?”

Chase rolled over onto her back. “Yes. Would.”

“This pain is no different, Chase,” said Andrea. She put a hand on Chase's heart. “The pain you feel here is no different. It can't be. For your friends' sake.”

Chase didn't respond for a while, but Andrea could sense that she agreed. Andrea withdrew her hand. When Chase's tears had dried, she wiped her nose again and asked, “Where us go?”

“Someplace just right for you. Where you can be yourself and people will appreciate you for who you are,” said Andrea. “We just have to hide out here for a couple days though, okay? Just in case there's people looking for you.”

Chase was sure they would be. Alicia, Caitlin and Lindsey would be trying everything to find her. Would they look this far, though? As far as Stoughten, as far as wherever they were going?

She hoped they wouldn't go to the trouble. She wasn't worth it. It would be easier for everyone if they just forgot about her...but even though she knew that, she couldn't help but find it a comforting thought to know they were undoubtedly trying anyway.