fact: crushes were stupid.

also a fact: darcy'd had one, once. it was long ago, with multiple degrees secured between when it had ended and the present. it was over, a finite end.

except... she hadn't actually been in a room with scott bishop since she'd graduated from coolsville high at sixteen years old. and even just standing there, vaguely in his presence, there were certain indicators that she wasn't as immune to romantic feelings as she'd believed.

how did that work? barely knowing someone and yet feeling drawn to them anyway? once upon a time, darcy'd developed feelings because he'd been nice to her at a time when others were very much not, a small act of kindness meaning so much that it broke through her defenses. did she know anything about him other than what was reported in the school paper? no! and yet, the feeling of butterflies in her stomach continued during the handful of times they spoke.

but why? and why were the butterflies beginning to flutter their wings yet again (eight years later), when there was zero grounds for the action? it made no sense! darcy was a woman of science, but not of neuroscience or psychology. love (or even just like) was a mystery to her.

which was why seemed so uncertain when, at his clap, she moved to sit in a chair near him. she was at the community center with one goal in mind - finding out what happened to charlotte blackwood - and she would not be derailed from her mission. but deep down, she was fighting to speak up, having traveled back in time to her senior year of high school.

"yes, let's," she started carefully, not bothering to take a moment to say hello first. why was scott there? why did he care? it was time for the q&a portion of the morning. "how do you know charlotte?" present tense. she could be optimistic!

At the question, he turned towards Darcy, smiling quizzically at her pointedness. It was definitely a tactic, no bullshitting around, no fluff. Getting straight to the point. He liked it, but it was definitely going to take some getting used to. "She would babysit my brother sometimes. When I was away at school and my mom worked late, Charlotte would come over and look after him." It was partially one of the reasons Scott decided to move back into his childhood home when he came back. His mom worked too hard and what kind of son would he be if he didn't help take a load off her, especially as a free baby sitter. He wasn't going to mention that though, it wasn't very macho to admit you still lived with your mother as a grown man. Nevermind the circumstances. "He loved hanging out with her, mainly because I think she'd let him watch the scary movies he wasn't allowed to watch." Scott paused for a second, thinking of how sad his brother had been recently. "It's really hit him hard."

There were unvoiced thoughts he had of Charlotte, not things he would say out loud to a group of basically strangers.

Okay, maybe strangers was a bit of a stretch. He knew a few of the faces sitting around him, was even close with a couple. Darcy fell into the first camp. If he truly thought about it, she was like him in some ways. Both were expected to set out and do big things with their lives. Only she had actually achieved it. He may have been a little jealous but he didn't know her well enough to really let that thought fester. All he really knew of her was what Bea had relayed and that was enough for him. She was a friend, even though he was sure they'd never had a deeper conversation than how are you.

No time like the present to learn something new about her, though. "What about you? How'd you know her?"

did she actually have theories as to what had happened to charlotte blackwood? no, not really. thinking it over, maybe her suggestion was more in line with talking through the fact that she was missing. see what everyone knew, and maybe they could come up with some theories together.

but she didn't want to seem like she came to this meeting unprepared, so in a split second decision, dusk decided she was going to act as if she had plenty of theories.

"you don't?" she immediately asked. "i mean, i think the obvious theory is that she was kidnapped." she didn't dare speak the second theory, that charlotte had been murdered. while part of dusk was certain that was actually what happened to the cheerleader, she couldn't get herself to say it out loud. because if it was true, then she'd have to acknowledge that maybe she could have stopped it from happening. and because she wasn't a better person in that moment, inadvertently caused a girls death.

"or, i don't know... has anyone considered maybe she ran away?"

"Kidnapped..." he echoed, building off her thought. He might not have any original ones but Scott was a builder and he could build on her thought. "If she was kidnapped, surely there would be a ransom note right? That's what happens, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically. He was drawing on his deep knowledge of action movies, and maybe that was silly but it's not like young girls went missing in Coolsville all the time. Well, they didn't used to. "The kidnappers send the family a photo or a video with her holding a newspaper asking for millions to be dropped off in a suitcase somewhere sketchy."

Scott considered her point at Charlotte running away, mulling it over, the thought rolling around like a sour lolly in his mouth. She could've run away, but the question followed: what did she have to run away from? He wouldn't ask that. He knew better than anyone that people in this town thought a promising young person, the star of the school, would have nothing negative going on and he knew better than anyone that that wasn't the case. "If she ran away, surely she would tell a friend? Y'know, to avoid all this worrying?"

ever since it was revealed that charlotte blackwood had never returned home one night, dusk hasn't been able to sleep soundly through the night. in fact, it seems every day that charlotte has remained missing, dusk's dreams have become even more dark and disturbing.

if you asked her about it, or why she was wearing sunglasses inside during the morning hours, she'd brush you off with some lie about being hungover. because there is no way in hell she'd offer up the information that she's become a partial insomniac due to reoccurring, guilt ridden, dreams.

parking the second hand car in an open spot, she grabbed her bag and headed inside the community center. not bothering to lock the doors. what was the point? there was nothing to steal, and up until two weeks ago she was pretty certain petty theft was even too hardcore for coolsville.

it seemed she wasn't the first or the last to arrive at the agreed upon meeting place. all of three curt smiles given to the members of the group she knew (and ignoring the rest), dusk found a spot that seemed to be empty. "anyone sitting here?" she called out into the room, waiting only a handful of second before taking the seat. her feet immediately came up to the edge of the chair as she partially perched, ready for anything, it seemed.

turning to the closest person nearby, dusk asked, "so uh... how is this supposed to begin? are we all just throwing theories out, or?"

At her question, he shrugged. How exactly did a vigilante ragtag mystery solving gang work? Surely, like any other team. And every team member needed to find common ground with their teammates. "You've got theories already?" he asked, feeling a bit underprepared. He hadn't though of theories. If Scott was being honest, he still couldn't believe something like this could happen in little old Coolsville. All he'd brought to the meeting were some snacks, like the box of donuts he had already picked over. "Whatcha got?"