Maple is freaking out

They rushed to the police station as quickly as they could. The Uber driver did his best to navigate the streets as well as he could, without a great deal of morning traffic.

Getting out of the Uber, both Mark and Tiffany felt a little odd leaving the vehicle in their prom gear.

With nothing else to change into, neither of them had a choice. Mark in his suit led the way followed by Tiffany in that incredible blue dress. She had styled her hair in an easy bun on top of her head, but in the fancy dress that she wore, she was standing out more than anyone.

They rushed over and found Maple outside of the police station, a panicked look on her face. Next to her was Daniel, just as stressed out, evident from the phone call. He was alongside Eliza, arguably Maple’s greatest friend.

“Please tell me you know where Z is,” Daniel asked Mark as they joined them.

He shrugged, “Don’t know dude, I called him a couple of times on the drive here, no answer.”

Things seemed to be looking shaky now. Maple’s hands were trembling as Mark and Daniel quietly spoke together, working out what on earth they were going to do about Z.

“He’s pussied out, hasn’t he… that fucking coward” Daniel questioned him.

Mark had no answers for him, there was nothing he could say or do. Instead he got out his phone and starting ringing Z again. It was all for nothing though, it went straight to voicemail.

About to throw a fit, Daniel walked off into the parking lot to try and cool himself down. Behind then, Maple too was overwhelmed, leaving the others to find some personal space around the other side of the building.

“Should I follow her?” Eliza floated the idea out to the group.

Mark shook his head, “It’s alright, I’ll speak to her.”

He left the two girls behind as he made his way back around the side of the building to catch up with Maple.

Standing next to Tiffany awkwardly outside the front of the station, Eliza kept looking up and down her dress, “Overdressed for a Sunday morning?”

Tiffany laughed but felt a little embarrassed, subtly looking around to see who else would be around.

***

Meanwhile…

Mark had made his way around the station to see Maple sitting on a metal bench, her head in her hands. His biggest fear about the whole scenario was coming true, Z had chosen not to appear and Maple was breaking down because of it, unable to speak to any police official.

He crouched down beside her, seeing the look of fear in her eyes as she peered up at him. Mark simply put a hand on her knee, hoping to calm her nerves, “You okay?”

She sniffled before shaking her head, “I don’t think I can do this alone.”

“You’re not alone, we’re all here for you,” he replied, rubbing her leg softly.

She sighed, using her hand to wipe her eyes, “Ugh… I’m just so weak.”

That was utter rubbish in Mark’s opinion when he heard her speak that way about herself. To him, it was completely untrue and something he couldn’t allow her to believe.

“Hey, i have to tell you this and I need you to listen,” he said to her, “You are one fucking strong woman.”

She looked into his eyes as he continued, wiping away her tears.

“You think that you need us and that you can’t do anything without us but it’s the opposite Maple… we need you. You make us stronger, you’ve gone through more this year than any of us have, you’ve shown how tough you are, you just don’t know it yet.”

He wasn’t just saying this to get her to go inside the station, Mark genuinely believed every word he was saying. Maple had gone through a nightmare of a year but she was still standing strong.

“I mean really,” Mark continued, “Look at Daniel out there, hems losing his mind… he needs you, I need you.”

Finally he could see a glimmer of hope in her eyes, a partial smile on her face.

“If Z doesn’t come, there’s nothing we can do about it… but if you want to go in there today and tell them your story, we’ll be right here for you but trust me, we need you more than you need us.”

Once more, she calmed herself down, taking a deep breath. That was followed by one last wipe of her tears as she composed herself.

The short blonde then stood up as Mark did the same. She leaned in and hugged him tightly. For the second time in two days, he had a girl wiping away tears before falling into his arms. This time for much different reasons but it still meant something special to him.

“Let’s do this,” she then spoke softly, trying to smile.

It’s exactly what he wanted to hear.

Maple and Mark returned to the front of the station before they all walked inside the building with her and waiting behind the in the reception for Maple to come back after making her statement.

Leaving the station that day to head back to campus… Mark felt nothing but proudness for his good friend.