February 13, 2016, approximately 11am
Ned's first assumption when he woke up to find Penny missing from the mattress on the floor was just that she'd gone to the restroom. He focused more on waking up than worrying. When he headed to the bathroom and found it empty, he started wondering where Penny was. When he couldn't find her anywhere in the apartment, he started panicking a little. He asked his parents if they had seen her - they confirmed that they'd assumed she was in his room with him. He went back to his room and glanced in the corner where she'd shoved her backpack the night before.
It was gone.
That's when he really freaked out. He ended up calling MJ and asking if she'd seen Penny. After explaining that they'd had a sleepover, and she'd vanished before he woke up, MJ said to stay put and that she'd be over soon.
Sure enough, she arrived 5 minutes later (how, when she lived 10 minutes away, was a mystery, but not one Ned was interested in pursuing) and immediately started searching Ned's room for clues. Which is why she, rather than Ned, was the one to find the note on his desk, written in Penny's messy handwriting.
Dear Ned and MJ,
I'm really, really sorry. I have to leave. I can't tell you why, and I can't come back any time soon. I know you'll probably be mad at me for running away like this, with no explanation, but I promise it's for the best. Ned, I know MJ freaks you out a little, and MJ, I know you find Ned a little too excitable. I ask you to stick with each other anyways, because I think you need each other, now that I'm gone. I want to know you're not alone like I have to be.
Please don't report me missing. I know I'll be reported soon anyway, but I don't want you involved in my disappearance any more than you have to be - they'll probably ask you questions about me. You can answer honestly.
Finally - be careful with Skip. I don't know how he'll react to my disappearance, and I don't want you two caught in the crossfire. So please. Please, stay away from him.
I love you both, more than you can know.
I'm sorry.
Penny
Next to the note, her phone lay, turned off. When Ned turned it on, he found it completely wiped. MJ suggested her try to recover some of the data, but the few pieces he managed to recover didn't show anything he didn't already know about her - texts to him and MJ, texts to Skip about chores and curfew and homework, emails to the school about normal things. Nothing stood out.
That's when Ned and MJ decided it was a real emergency.
—
Flash was not an idiot. He knew he was kind of an asshole, and he knew he wasn't as smart as Penny Parker (or, of he was being truly honest with himself, either of her friends), but he still went to a STEM school and got good grades and had goals for Harvard, like his father. So no, Flash was not an idiot.
He had known something was off about Penny for a while. He tended to keep a close eye on her. He told his friends it was so he could come up with good insults, but deep down, he knew it was because he liked her. He also knew if he tried to bring home a poor orphaned foster kid to his parents, they'd never accept her, so he fell back into what he knew was just pulling pigtails.
But where Penny had once been an excellent target for teasing - reacting so well every time - lately she'd barely seemed to register his insults. At first, it had made him angrier, until he noticed that it seemed like she didn't care about anything anymore. That worried him. She seemed more and more tired as time went on, and he saw that her grades were dropping slightly - not enough to worry the teachers, it seemed, who chalked it up to grief - but Flash figured if grief were to cause Penny to let her grades drop, it would've happened when her aunt first died, or even her uncle. But it had been over a month before the drop started.
And then Penny threw up on his shoes.
The joke he made was crass, he knew. She likely had the stomach flu. But he was pissed about his shoes, and even more pissed when she pointed out it was his fault for stopping her, since she'd warned him she didn't feel well. So he made the joke anyway.
Penny went white.
It actually took him a second to notice, caught up in his rant, but she was so pale he was kind of worried she'd faint or something. He made another joke, this time about her being a huge virgin, but like usual the past few months, she didn't even respond. Instead, she just turned around and walked away.
Flash went home. He gave his shoes to the butler to get professionally cleaned, went to his room, and took a very long, very hot shower. When he got out, he put on comfy clothes and started doing his homework. The whole time, he didn't let his brain think about Penny or what had happened. He had dinner with his mom - as much as one could have dinner with someone who barely noticed you existed - and went to bed early, claiming a headache. It wasn't until he was lying in the dark, staring at his bedroom ceiling, that he finally allowed his brain to process what had happened that afternoon.
Really, there was only one conclusion he could come to.
Penny Parker was pregnant.
He knew she'd been sent to a new foster home at the end of November, and it was mid-December when her grades started dropping. The timeline fit.
He wanted to help her. He may be jealous of her, and he may have a crush on her, but if he was right (and he was pretty sure he was), she'd been… raped, by her foster father, resulting in a pregnancy.
He decided to confront her at school on Monday, and go from there.
He didn't sleep very well that night.
—
On Monday, Penny was missing.
That alone was worrying, but both Ned and MJ looked extremely worried, deep circles under their eyes as though they hadn't slept all weekend. Suddenly they were the ones sleepwalking through classes, rather than Penny.
Flash knew something was wrong. And he knew the only way to get answers would be to convince Ned and MJ to trust him with them. Luckily, he had information he wasn't sure they had, which meant an exchange could be arranged.
He managed to corner them after school, as they started walking home together, despite living in different directions. He pulled them into an alley, ignoring MJ's (terrifying) glare, and said, "What happened to Penny?"
The shock of hearing him call her by her actual name seemed to surprise them enough to stop trying to leave, but they remained suspicious and closed off.
"Why do you want to know?" MJ asked.
"I… I know I haven't treated Penny well. Or you two, but especially her. And I know I probably have no right to be asking for answers, but I'm really worried. And I know you two know something, and I was hoping you might be willing to give me a chance."
"Why should we trust you?" Asked Ned. "How do we know you won't spread this around the school tomorrow?"
Flash had expected that, and was prepared. "Because I swear on my brother's grave that I only want to help, and I will keep any secrets you tell me to keep."
MJ's eyes widened, which given her two expressions tended to be bored and angry, made Flash know he'd managed to really catch her off guard. "I… didn't know you have a brother."
"Well, not anymore," Flash said wryly.
MJ and Ned glanced at each other, made a few facial expressions, then turned back to Flash. "Fine. We'll tell you a little, if you tell us why you're so worried."
"I'm not an idiot, you know," he replied. "I've noticed that she's been acting weird for months now, and I've been getting worried. And… we talked on Friday. Her reaction to what I said… let's just say I'm really, really worried for her. Just. Please. I want to help. I promise. Wait, no, I swear."
MJ sighed. "Penny ran away. She left a note, but it didn't explain much. Just that she thought it was for the best, and to be careful of Skip. That's her foster father, by the way."
"I was worried about that," Flash says. "But you have no idea why she ran away?"
"Well," Ned said, "MJ pointed out that Skip was almost certainly abusive. I… I didn't notice. I thought it was just leftover grief from Ben and May. I should have looked harder, I - "
"Ned, this isn't your fault. I did notice something was wrong, and I still didn't say anything, to her or to an adult."
"Apparently, even her fucking bully noticed, so yeah, I'm kind of blaming myself here!" Ned retorted.
"We're all blaming ourselves," Flash interjected. "And we're all a little at fault. But it's mostly Skip's fault, so lets put the majority of the blame where it belongs."
MJ sighed again. "As much as I hate to say it, you're right. And we still don't know what kind of abuse it was, or why she ran away now."
Flash squirmed. This was where he'd have to tell them. "I think I might know."
They glanced sharply at him.
"I told you we talked on Friday. Well, mostly I talked - well, insulted - and she just kind of… stood there. I shouldn't… I… I shouldn't have just let her walk away. I'm sorry." Flash realized he was crying. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have let her leave."
MJ was looking very, very worried now. "Don't say what you're about to say, please. Don't say it."
"She threw up on my shoes."
MJ turned away, hand covering her mouth. Ned looked between them, confused. "I don't get it," he confessed.
Flash took a deep breath. "She threw up on my shoes. And I made a joke. A nasty, stupid joke, and I shouldn't have, but I made it. I. I called her pregnant. And she just went white. And then she walked away."
Ned stared at Flash in horror. Flash was crying heavily now, and MJ had started crying herself.
"You're wrong," begged Ned. "Please tell me this is a stupid joke, I won't even be mad, please."
Flash just shook his head.
Ned turned around and threw up.
At least it wasn't on his shoes again, Flash thought.