for Joe

[yellowlion]

I yawn, and turn the page. It's not that late, really. I shouldn't be tired. But the house is unusually quiet and I'm finding it incredibly hard to focus on these reports.

Oh, well. I sip my coffee, then pick up my red pen again and make myself concentrate.

Comments

[hotshotlightning]

"Jou, breathe," I suggest, gripping his shoulders tightly to make him look at me. "You can't help Joe if you fall apart trying to do everything."

He always does this, blaming himself for everything. It's not productive and it won't get us Joe back any faster.

[yellowlion]

He grabs me by the shoulders, and I meet his eyes, astonished, then nod reluctantly.

He's right. I guess.

"I can indulge in guilt later," I mutter.

[hotshotlightning]

...Huh, would you look at that, it worked.

"Right, focus on helping now, feel guilty later. Okay? So what're we doing now?"

I've been scientist wrangling all day, what's a bit more? Even if it is my dad this time instead of Gamu.

[yellowlion]

"Working out where to look next, I guess," I manage. "And who else to contact."

[hotshotlightning]

"Okay, where've you been so far?" I ask, mind kicking into problem-busting gear, even if only as a defence against the worry that we might not find him. "Who've you called?"

[yellowlion]

"Park, school, I did a sweep of the shops, I called Marvelous and a couple other people." I rattle off.

Joe's either seventeen or in his early twenties, and in either situation he's not an idiot. I can't help suspecting something's happened to him. He's had more than enough time to cool off.

[hotshotlightning]

I tense briefly as he mentions the pirates, but Joe's obviously not with them or he'd have said.

"Did JK know anything?" I'm assuming he's called him but he might not have. What if Joe ran into something their club deals with?

[yellowlion]

"Haven't tried him. Do you know his number?"

I could look in Joe's phone, but it feels like an invasion of privacy. But if it gets Joe back...

[hotshotlightning]

"Not off the top of my head."

I pull my phone out and start scrolling through the contacts. I don't think I have his number - why would I ever even need it? - but it's worth a try.

[yellowlion]

"We can always go visit him if we have to," I sigh. "I'm sure I can find his address. Or his phone number. In the records at school."

[hotshotlightning]

My eyebrows go up a little. "Is that legal?" Not that I particularly care. And besides, it's not like he's never hacked into records before for whatever reason.

Besides, we're running out of options.

[yellowlion]

"Borderline," I shrug. "JK would want to know, I imagine, and it's not like I'd do anything worse with the information than call him."

[hotshotlightning]

I nod; JK would want to know and he has sources of information we don't.

[yellowlion]

"I'll get onto it," I say, decisive at last, as I make a dive for my laptop.

Let me know when you need JK, okay?

[hotshotlightning]

I lean back against the wall and watch. It's interesting, I've never actually seen him do this. Usually because I'm the reason he has to and I'm not around while he's doing it.