corie had never been the most trusting, which is why she hid the picture's she'd been taking from the brunette's line of view. it wasn't like it was sensitive material, but it wasn't anything she needed to see. the blonde was judged enough for following in her father's footsteps, the last thing she needed was another person having an opinion on her job. on why she was forgoing college to work under her father. sighing out once more, she looked down at the drink menu with a blank stare. she didn’t really drink ... not unless something was WRONG, and for once she wasn’t feeling like the world was close to ending. plus, she was on the job. ‘ uh .... do you guys just have soda here ? technically, i’m working ... ’ corie looked down, the unnerving glare of malena’s gaze beginning to effect her. she had never been sure of her, never knew much about her to really form any opinion. other than the few times she’d given the female come car help, she barely knew the girl she’d grown up with. maybe it was because missy always kept corie away from her other friends, seemingly embarrassed of her as they grew older. and you’d think, for all the nights she’d spent at missy’s home, she’d have some kind of relationship with malena. but she didn’t, nothing more than passing pleasantries really. looking back up into the brunette’s eyes, she yelled out over the loud music. ‘ i’m uh ... i’m sorry about missy. i know it’s been a month and ... listen, we’ll find her, ok ? ’ corie winced at her own words, never being very great at comforting people. 

another night at whatever bar was open, another evening spent taking pictures of unfaithful husbands with their trophy girlfriends. it wasn't exactly how corie was hoping to spend her friday night, but her father had forbade her from going anywhere near the missy davis case. last week he'd caught her attempting to get police files and ever since, he's been on her about conflict of interest ... and how she needed to act her age, for ONCE. it was annoying, mainly because she was not doing what she’d been raised to do. sleuthing and sticking her nose into things was practically a personality trait of the blonde, one that had been learned from her private investigator father. as she continued to snap pictures of whatever loser her dad had allowed her to work the case of, she noticed someone looking over her shoulder at the screen ... turning her head back, she whipped her blonde hair around to see who the onlooker was. sighing out ... of all the people it could have been, she wasn’t expecting THEM. ‘ what are you doing here ? and why are you suddenly my shadow ? ’

while corie was never one to throw the label of friend around lightly, she supposed her and mallory were about as close to that then anyone else. it wasn’t like either was on the way to winning a popularity contest, not with their reputations. both of their father’s had sealed their fates long ago, being the talk of the town for different reasons. mallory’s father, who corie had only met once or twice, had seemingly had some kind of mental breakdown and gone quiet after that. corie’s father was seen as a bit of a pariah, always testing the status quo in their small town. and while the two should probably find some kind of SOLACE in being outcasts together, they’d never fully committed to getting to know one another. not really. they both seemed unsure of how to cross that line from casual acquaintances to actual friends. ‘ you listen to what people say around here ? and i was beginning to think you were actually cool ... ’ corie winked, joking playfully with the raven haired girl. she wasn’t an envious person, but something about mallory made corie ache for that life. maybe it was how beautiful the girl was, or how strong she stood in the face of the judgement surrounding her. while corie ignored the fight, she saw mallory face it head on. it was a quality she admired in her, even wished she possessed. ‘ i think you forget, my father isn’t actually on the force anymore. private eye’s have their own code of conduct. and daughter’s rank high on that list of trust ... ’ biting down on her bottom lip, she continued to avoid mallory’s questions about the case of missy. she wasn’t sure she had much to share anyways, and she wasn’t about to ruin anyone’s hope for the girls return. as much as everyone else wanted the davis girl home, corie wanted her back MORE. every good moment of her childhood was spent with missy, every birthday and holiday the two spent practically inseparable. and missy was the only one to really know corie’s mother, prior to her walking out. it was the truest, deepest relationship she’d ever had. sighing out, she watched as mallory carefully began to wrap the records. ‘ i think that’s a pretty reasonable price, considering how butchered it would look if i attempted it. let’s be real, decorations and planning were never my forte. always got my dad’s genes ... ’ pausing, her voice grew softer. ‘ how is ... your dad ? ’

looking at the list of albums she had taken down from her father's ramblings of 'better days in music’, corie began grabbing the missing pieces from his collection. while the two hadn’t been big on presents in the most recent years, she never wished for him to go without gifts entirely. not since mom used to be so GOOD at the whole birthday ordeal. breakfast pancakes, surprise’s throughout the day hidden in their normal routine, and a famously good cake recipe her mother had never shared the ingredients with every night as they roared a rendition of for he’s a jolly good fellow. yeah - corie knew she couldn’t compete with all of that. as much as she wanted things to be that way, she was aware that she could never fill that void her mother had left in her wake. and it hurt even more, simply because she’d chosen to leave the two behind. she’d chosen to get out of hawkins, escape the rumors and unknown dangers since the day missy davis went missing. sighing out, she traced her hands against the edges of the record shelves and continued mindlessly searching through them. that’s when a voice broke corie out of her DAZE, her eyes darting up as if she’d been caught in the act of something mischievous. ‘ since it’s an open case, i’m not really at liberty to say what i think ... ’ the blonde grabbed her records, bringing them up to the register with a soft smile spread across her lips. she knew she was technically allowed to tell mallory what she knew, but she also wasn’t sure she was ready to admit how little information her father had drummed up on the disappearance. it was SCARY - how little evidence or witnesses they had. and corie wasn’t sure how mallory might take that news. ‘ you don’t wrap these, do you ? it’s my dad’s birthday in two days and ... god, i’m terrible at wrapping. did not get that gift from ... ’ the female trailed off, remembering not to mention her mom every three seconds.