"We're closed."

"I know. That's why I'm here."

***

"And...my shift is done! See ya around, Reese!"

"See ya, Vince!"

Vince gave him a two finger salute before walking out. He pulled his hair out of the rubber band and let it fall back in his face. It was getting dark now. He only put in one earbud this time, not wanting anyone to sneak up on him. He started his playlist and started walking at a leisurely pace. At some point the hairs on the back of his neck stuck up, and he lowered the volume. He glanced behind his shoulder on the occasion before scoffing to himself.

"Stupid. All you're doing is just scaring yourself. Nothing's there," he muttered to himself. Even so, he picked up the pace. He was the only one out on the street. There wasn't any sound other than his footsteps, aside from the occasional ruffle of trees from the wind. It was unsettling.

He quickly ducked into his house. Since he had ditched, he didn't know or care about the homework he had.

He wonderd if he could get away with tomorrow, too. He wasn't in the mood.

He sighed, tossing his things onto the couch next to his backpack before walking further into the house. He walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind him out of habit before undressing and stepping into the shower. He turned on the water and let his thoughts wander. There was a lot going on right now. Optimus trying to help him. School.His friends. His dad. He didn't really know what to do about it all. Optimus for some reason was determined to try and help him or be there for him and he wasn't understanding why. He guessed he wasn't used to it. His mom left him. His dad, despite his not-so-best efforts, wasn't there for him in the way he wanted. He spent a lot of time alone. It was what he was used to anyway. Was Optimus trying to prove something?

He let the almost scalding hot water run down his body for a few more minutes before turning the water off and grabbing a towel. He dried off before changing into pajamas. He checked his phone as he plugged it in. There wasn't really anything to do. He decided, as lame as it was, to call it a night at 8:30.

He noticed he got a text, and looking closer, saw it was Sierra.

"Hey, you alright?"

He didn't feel the need to answer and made sure his alarm was set before setting his phone down and flopping face first onto his bed.

***

"I can't help you, I-I really can't."

"Well, if you know what's good for you, you will."

***

Morning came all too soon.

Even if he went to bed early, he woke up even more tired than normal. His alarm beeped steadily next to him, and he grumbled, reaching for it to turn it off. Sometimes he wondered how it would feed to slam it against the table as comedically done in all cartoons before rememvering that this was also his phone, too, and he kind of needed that.

He sighed, silencing it before almost literally rolling out of bed. Did he want to do this today?

He stood, changing into his usual outfit before staring at himself in the mirror. He didn't. But he probably should, right?

He poured himself a bowl of cereal, crunching on it as he thought about what he should probably try to do to lessen his consequences for storming out of school. He wondered if Optimus was outside at the moment. He could try to leave early and try to take care of at least one of the problems; try and get his friends to leave Rafael alone.

He placed his bowl in the sink before quickly brushing his teeth. He grabbed his bag and his phone, moving to leave the house when there was a knock on his door. Confused, he slowly set his bag back down on the couch.

"This is Jasper police, please open the door."

Vince's eyes widened. What were they doing here?

After checking to see that it was, indeed, the police, he cautiously opened the door.

"Hello officers...may I help you?" he asked, remembering his proper english.

"Vincent Raider?" one of the officers asked, a tall male in his mid-thirties sporting a goatee. Vince nodded slowly.

"We got a call from Reese Hawthorne and we're here to talk with you. He said your father is missing. Can you confirm this?"

What?

Vince blinked, trying to comprehend what he just heard. His dad? MIssing? He sometimes was gone for a night but he also always contacted him. What evidence did Reese have to call the police and say he's missing? No phone call?

He swallowed thickly, not sure what to think or say in that moment and just opened the door wider and stepped to the side, allowing the officers through. They did so, entering silently, and Vince closed the door behind him slowly, as if moving underwater.

He stood there for a few minutes before realizing they were still waiting for an answer.

"I...didn't know he was missing. I didn't think he was missing. I mean, he hasn't contacted me and I haven't seen him since...but we're not...I mean...I just didn't think he was missing," he repeated, finally turning to meet their gaze. The other officer nodded. He was shorter and maybe a little older, but still friendly enough.

"Alright, son. My name is Officer Casey. I'm going to ask you a few questions while Officer Joran here takes a look around, is that all right with you, on both accounts?"

"Yeah, sure," Vince replied, too casually for what he was agreeing to. He pulled at the neck of his t-shirt. Officer Casey led him to his own couch before sitting down with him.

"Alright, when did you last see your father?"

"Here. At the house."

"When was that?"

"...Monday night." It was Thursday morning.

"Any suspicious activity? Is there reason for you to believe he's been missing before yesterday?"

"No. Tuesday he had told me he would be at the shop late."

"Alright. Is there a recent picture of him we could use?"

Vince frowned before trying to scroll through his phone to find one. When he did, he realized that he hadn't checked his phone until now and there were messages waiting for him.

Today, 2:37 AM

Reese Hawthorne: Vince, I know it's late but we need to talk when you can

Today, 2:37 AM

Reese Hawthorne: I would be over there by now if I could but I'm pretty busy over here

Today, 2:39 AM

Reese Hawthorne: At the police station

Reese Hawthorne: Your dad is missing.

Reese Hawthorne: This isn't something I should be telling you over text. Call me when you get the chance, okay?

Vince moved to reply before remembering what he was doing with his phone in the first place. He managed to find one. It was a couple of months old but it served its purpose. He was able to transfer it to the officer and they hung around a bit more, asking a few more questions and looking at a few more things before they left, leaving Vince standing in his living room.

Gathering his thoughts and pulling himself back to reality, he pulled up Reese's contact and called him. He answered one ring later.

"Vince, hey. I know you have a lot of questions-"

"Of course I have a lot of questions!"

"And I promise I will try to answer them as best I can. I've been up to my chin in work lately with the police and the shop. I can't believe I hadn't noticed it before, or you hadn't noticed it before, but we never really had reason to go back there, but, oh man-" he cut himself off before he rambled on much further.

"Look, I'll call the school and pull you out for the day. I'm at the shop with some other officers. Sorry for the possible rude awakening, by the way?" he said. It was a weak attempt at humor that ended up sounding more like a question.

"Vince, you still with me?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here."

"Okay. Get to the shop, I'll explain what I know so far then, okay?"

Vince nodded, before realizing Reese couldn't see him that way.

"Yeah. Okay. Will do. See you in a minute."

He hung up as his emotions continued to swirl in his head. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of all this.

***

So the plot thickens.