SKY

8:27. There was still a good hour left of the double period. Just my luck to get a double period of chemistry every morning. I let my head rest on my hand, watching my long, dark brown hair fall down to form a shield around my face. My bangs swept across my eyebrows, long from the lack of trimming over the summer. Ahh, this summer. My mind wanders back to all of the different adventures that happened in those wonderful two and a half months. The majority of the time was spent with Kaity, of course.

It's impossible to separate us for more than a day. We always joke about how we were twins, separated at birth. Fraternal twins that is, since we're complete opposites. I'm tall with long brown hair, big blue eyes and dreadful braces that won't come off for another two months. Kaity is a short, brown eyed blond that has the most stubborn personality I have ever encountered. Our personalities are the only thing that is similar between us, and all of the memories we share.

OLIVER

8:30. How could things have changed so much from this summer? It was only October and Sky now thinks I'm dirt. Even everything that happened between us. I thought she was the one...

SKY

“What's on your mind? You seem completely out of it.” Kaity's voice filters in from some far away place, snapping me back to reality.

“Just...stuff.” I reply; she nods knowingly.

“Everything will be fine. Nothing's going to happen, what went down this summer with Oliver was a mistake. Obviously. No one will find out and you'll forget it ever happened.” She peaks over her Chem book to see my reaction. I just continue looking off to the hills outside the library window.

“Yeah, I guess so.” I look down at my hands. “And besides, no one would believe him if he told. No guy like him could get away with a girl like me doing that s***.”

“Exactly. So, dramatic change of subject, have you figured out what you want to do for Halloween?”

“I thought we were going to that haunted house thing over in Brownsville? With Jimmy and Jake?” We both smile at the mention of our boyfriends. Kaity started dating Jake about two weeks ago, and I started dating Jimmy at the beginning of the week; exactly a week after Kaity and Jake.

“Right. I still have to talk to Jake about it.”

“Okay, Jimmy said that it sounds like fun.”

“Perfect. I'll talk to Jake about it walking to English next period.” The bell for the end of the period rings. “Speaking of which...” I follow Katy’s gaze and pick out Jimmy and Jake making their way towards us.

I still couldn't believe that Jimmy Marshel was my boyfriend. I watched his tall, muscular, tan structure make its way over to me. His big brown eyes sparkling as the sunlight catches in them, looking like pools of melted chocolate. His straight teeth gleaming as his adorable smile stretches across his face. I have had a crush on this guy for a year and now he was finally mine.

OLIVER

She's sick. A b****. Just complete trash. If only she knew that I had heard everything she said, her and Kaity. Little did they know that I was behind the shelf right to their left, closely listening to their words. Their lies. People would believe me if I told, I'm not the guy she thinks I am. Nobody knows me. Which is the way I like it. They don't know what will happen next with me. Sky, she thinks this summer is just in the past, but I'm not letting it go until I make sure she never forgets.

“Oliver?” I whip my head around, coming face to knee with Zach Grant. The last of the four to know what happened this summer.

“Ah, Zach. You're just the person I needed to talk to.”

SKY

“How does Wednesday and Thursday sound?” Jake suggests as we all sit down for lunch. “We could chill at Jimmy's place until it gets dark and then we can take my truck over.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.” I say, jabbing a piece of ravioli with my fork and taking a bite. We all start talking about the haunted houses and our other plans for halloween when I get hit in the head with a balled up piece of paper.

“What the he**?” Jimmy stands up to try to find who threw it while I read: I WON'T LET YOU FORGET. B****. I frantically search the room and see Oliver's scrawny figure scurry out of the lunchroom. I jump up and chase after him. When I reach the hall, it's empty. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I turn back around; then I come face to face with Oliver.

“What's with this bulls***?” I say, holding up his balled note.

“There's nothing bull about it, Sky. It means exactly what it says.” His squinty eyes squint even more as he tries to stare me down.

“That's funny, because there's nothing meaningful about this note.” My voice drips with a hidden threat I know he understands.

“I'm not trying to be funny. It's just a warning. You're going to pay for what happened this summer. And that's no empty threat. I'm always watching, waiting for the perfect time for my revenge.” His eyes open wider and wider as he continues his rant, and for some reason chills shoot through my body. The thought of him actually being serious filters through my mind.

“You know what happened this summer? Mistakes. That's all you are to me. Actually, no. To be a mistake involves you existing. You don't exist to me. You never did and you never will. So stop with the creepin and leave me alone. Kay? Good.” I walk off before he can say anything else.

“You're being naïve Sky! That's not going to help you in the end. You can't ignore you're problems. You can't forget about me!” He yells across the cafeteria. I stop as silent falls over everyone, hushing every conversation. Whispers start to spread; people start to wonder what was going to happen next. I continue walking, not stopping until I reach the bathroom.

Why now? I'm just starting to get my life back together and Oliver is choosing now to bring up what happened. Toilet. That's all I can thing about, how sick I feel. I rush into the stall and rest my head in my hands. I don't want to deal with this right now. I'm so close to leaving everything behind and starting over in the Air Force. I have just one year left...just one more year...

“Sky?! Where are you?” Kaity bursts through the bathroom door.

“I'm in here...” I whimper.

“What the he** was with that?” She asks more calmly.

“I have no clue. I'm scared Kaity. I don't know what he's going to do. He said he was going to get his revenge on me for using him. I didn't even use him the way he thinks I did. I told him that what happened wouldn't mean anything. I told him Kaity...” My vision starts to blur, and my eyes start to burn as I try to keep the tears from spilling over. This can't be happening.

“It's just Oliver. He's too shy to do anything. Especially anything drastic. I think it's all for show.” She states.

“How do you know? No one really knows how he is, least of all us. He doesn't really have any friends so no one knows how he would react to something, no matter how upsetting it may be. And this would be quite upsetting. Obviously.” Kaity doesn't say anything. “Sometimes I hate it when I'm right.”

“That's a good point. So, maybe you should lay low from him for a little bit.” She suggests.

“Yeah, maybe.” The bell ending lunch rings. I pull my make-up bag out of my purse and do a few touch ups on my mascara.

“It'll all work out. I'll meet you after math.” Kaity pulls me into a tight hug before she hurries out the door. I sigh, realizing that there are going to be so many whispers forming about me. Rumors are just the best.

OLIVER

“Did you she how freaked she was?” I ask Zach, excitement radiating off of my body.

“Yeah dude. She doesn't see what's coming.”

“Maybe this will teach her to not do a hump and dump ever again.” I felt myself smiling as my perfect plan played out in my mind.

“Just a few more days.”

“Right.”

SKY

The week continued with nothing major, just like normal. I even almost forgot about the threats from Oliver. Almost.

“Are you ready to be totally freaked tonight?” Jimmy asks as he slides his arm around my waist. I instantly feel relaxed.

“As long as you're there to protect me.” I look up and he smiles down at me, I completely melt.

“I'll always be there for you.” He presses his soft lips to my forehead.

“And i'll always be there for you.”

“Oh I know.” He winks.

“Okay, love fest over. Are you guys ready to go?” Jake comes downstairs and snaps off the tv we weren't really watching. “It's kind of cold out, so I'd bring a sweatshirt or something.” He adds.

“Yeah I left my big sweatshirt in your truck.” I reply.

“Then let's go!” We all head upstairs and jump into Jake's truck, speeding away to the haunted house.

OLIVER

“Maybe you should stay a few more cars back. You don't want to blow your cover over something this stupid.” Zach nervously breaks the silence that had settled over us as we waited for the group to leave.

“I'm fine. It's not like this is my first time following her.” I keep my eyes on the road, but I notice Zach giving me a weird look. “What?” I ask impatiently.

“Nothing, it's just...we're only going to scare them, right? It's not like we're gonna hurt them, right?”

“We're going to scare them alright...” And I leave it at that for the rest of the ride.

SKY

“It's not even that scary.” Kaity yells over the chainsaw.

“Just wait stupid!” Jimmy yells at her.

“I'm not stupid!” She yells back.

“Sky is the stupid one!” Jake joins in.

“Shut your mouth. No I'm not!” We all laugh as we continue down the narrowing pathway. Jimmy is holding on to my hand while I hold Kaity's and she holds Jake's who is up front. I could only imagine what this train must look like, but who cares.

“Hey look at this.” Jake calls, making his way down a rougher path that leads to a hidden house.

“I don't think this is apart of it Jake.” Kaity says, pulling him back.

“Come on! Look, there's some lights leading up to it and a light in the window. Let's go check it out.” Jake tugs on Kaity a little bit. She looks back at Jimmy and I' we shrug being indifferent. “That does it. We're going.” Jake charges down the path like a little kid to the Christmas tree Christmas morning. Jimmy runs after him hooting.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Kaity says, wrapping her jacket tighter around her.

“Don't worry about it. It's not even apart of the haunted house I bet. It's just and abandoned house that the guys will find nothing in.” Kaity shrugs. “Let's catch up.” I grab her wrist and we take off after our foolish boyfriends. We reach them, huffing and puffing. They have their playful grins spread across their faces. Jake looks around before he tries opening the door. It doesn't move.

“Well that sucks. Let's go.” Kaity turns to leave, when the door flings open and crashes into the siding. Fog pours out over our feet. We all jump back screaming, Kaity and I jumping behind the guys.

“Whoa, come on!” Jimmy grabs my hand and barrels in through the old door.

“This is definitely a haunted house.” Jake says walking behind us with Kaity. I completely agree. The house looks like it hasn't been entered in twenty years, and smells like it too. The stairs are missing some steps and the whole banister. Jimmy puts some of his weight on the first couple steps.

“I don't think that's the greatest idea, Jim.” I pull him back from the stairs.

“Oh come on Sky, where's your sense of adventure?” He smiles and slowly starts to go up the stairs, interlacing his fingers with mine. He gives me a reassuring squeeze and I start to follow, looking back to make sure Kaity and Jake are coming too. They weren't there.

“Jimmy wait. Jake and Kaity aren't behind us.” We start to search the downstairs. I frantically go from room to room calling their names, Oliver's threats replaying through my mind.

“Calm down. They're either playing a joke on us or in one of those closets having a make out session.”

“No. There's something not right. Kaity said she felt weird about this place before we caught up to you guys. You saw how she was acting. That wasn't fake.” I reach the last room that we hadn't checked. My stomach turns over on itself, making me want to puke. The room is empty, but there's another door. I rush over praying for the best and dreading the worst.

“We so got you!” Kaity screams as she jumps out of the closet into my arms. I let out a scream, but realizing who it was, my stomach loosens and I hit Kaity hard on the shoulder.

“I hate you! Do you know how terrified I was?” I yell.

“Yeah, it was written all over your pathetic face.” I hit her again.

“B****.”

“Let's go look at the upstairs now.” Jake ushers us out of the room, just as a blackened figure rushes across the door. We all freeze.

“Was I the only one who saw that?” Jimmy asks.

“No...” Kaity and I say in unison. Jake yells and jumps forward, causing the rest of us to scream.

“What the he** man?!” Jimmy punches Jake in the arm.

“Dude, I'm not even kidding you right now, someone just tapped me on the shoulder.” Jake backs away from the room and closes the door.

“Shut up Jake. Stop playing with us,” says Kaity.

“I'm not! Maybe we should leave..” Jake trails off, his focus shifting to the top of the stairs where a glow starts to form. It's hypnotizing. Jimmy was the first to start heading up the stairs, careful with his footing on the the rotten boards. I followed in his footsteps while Kaity clings to my hips with Jake taking up the rear.

There's a large snap that echos out from behind Jake. We all look back to see the blackened figure waiting at the bottom of the stairs. It lifts up its arm and points to the top of the stairs. The light is gone, replaced by another blackened figure. It waits two steps away from Jimmy. We look back and find that the one at the bottom of the stairs is gone. The figure makes a sound, making us turn our attention back to it. It takes the steps so that it stands in front of Jimmy. We're all motionless as it raises its hands. Motionless until it pushes Jimmy with such force, he falls back into me, causing a domino affect.

I go tumbling down and break through one of the steps. I continue falling down a dark chute until I land on the hard floor below. A thump sounds as Jimmy lands beside me. I let out a low groan and roll over to where Jimmy landed.

“Are..you...okay?” Jimmy huffs out.

“Yeah. You?” I sigh.

“My shoulder. Hurts. A lot.” He lets out a low, deep groan.

“We've gotta get out of here.” I push myself off the ground and look up to the gaping hole that we fell through. Kaity and Jake are peering down it, some ten feet up.

“Are you guys alright?” Jake calls down.

“Jimmy landed on his shoulder wrong, but I'm good.”

“The thing is gone. We're gonna try to find the way down to get you guys.” Kaity answers.

“Okay. Hurry.” I yell back. “Jimmy, which shoulder is it?” I ask quietly.

“Right.” He breaths.

“Okay sweetie, I'm going to get you out of here. Sound good?” He nods.

“That doesn't sound too good to me.” A voice says. I whip my head around to find the figure standing in front of a door. The way out.

“Please, let us go. We're sorry for intruding, we thought it was part of the haunted house going on up the trail. We're going to leave right now.”

“Not so fast. You owe me fore than one apology.” The voice sounds familiar, and then everything clicks.

“Oliver?”

“Yeah?” He answers, taking off his hood. I gasp.

“What...Why are you doing this?” I ask.

“You know why!” He snaps.

“You're hurting us. What happened wasn't bad enough to hurt us!”

“You completely screwed me over. You don't get it. I've been in love with you for years.” He admits; I go silent.

“Oliver, I didn't know. I'm so sorry.” I say gently.

“That's the great thing Sky, is that you're not. You don't care about other people. Even that muscle head on the floor. He's just a boy toy to you. Like I was over the summer, something to keep you busy.” I can hear the venom drip from his words.

“You don't know me, so stop accusing false information. I told you that it meant nothing. For christ sake, I told you before! I was in a bad place this summer. That's why I got into so much trouble, no matter how fun it kinda was.” My voice dropped at the end of the sentence.

“What bull s***.” Right when his words leave his mouth, I rush up to him and pin him against the wall.

“My mom died, Oliver. Gone. She was my everything. You don't know me.” I wait to see if the words actually sink in through that thick scull of his. I watch the color vanish from his face. “Do you get it now?” I seethe.

“Yes.” He whimpers.

“Then leave me and my life and what happened in the past.” I let his collar go and turn around to help Jimmy. “Which way is out?” I ask, pulling Jimmy to his feet. He winces. Then I feel a sharp pain explode through the back of my head. I let out a quick yelp and fall to the floor. I roll over and see Oliver holding a broken chair leg.

“Stop!” Jimmy yells as he charges Oliver. I watch in shock as Jimmy throws his left fist to make contact with the bridge of Oliver's nose, releasing a gushing red stream of blood. Oliver's hand flies up to grab his nose, but it's no use. His eyes widen as he watches Jimmy raise his fist again, this time aiming for his stomach. The blow makes Oliver crumble to the floor. “This is the way out. Am I correct?” Jimmy whispers to Oliver, he nods. “Thanks. And as long as you stop tormenting my girlfriend, this never happened. Okay?” Oliver nods again.

Jimmy walks over to me, helping me to my feet with his one arm. I rest my head in the crook of his good shoulder. “Bye Oliver.” I say as we walk by. We make it outside to find Kaity and Jake running down the path with people trying to keep up behind them.

“Oh my god! There they are!” I hear Kaity yell, as she starts sprinting even faster. When she's close enough, she jumps into my arms, causing me to yell out as a blurring pain stabs through my head. She immediately pulls back. “Sorry. Oh my god, Sky. What happened?”

“I'll tell you later. I just want to get home. Well, to the hospital first for Jimmy's shoulder.”

“You should probably get your head checked out too.” Jimmy says. The other people and Jake finally reach us, turns out they got the police.

“What's going on here?” One of them ask.

“A prank gone wrong. There's a kid down in the basement who's...a little beat up.” Jimmy shrugs, then winces.

“Okay well you guys get going. We'll be calling you later for more details.” The other one says.

“Thanks Officer.” Jake replys, shaking their hands.

We walk down the paths back to the car. At the end of the path leading to the house, the policemen were in the house, leaving it looking empty. The sun was starting to rise, turning the sky an explosion of oranges, reds, pinks and yellows. The house is surrounded by old, dead tress. The lights are gone and so was the thrill of adventure that we had when we first walked down the same path some odd hours ago.

“I think we should do something different next year for Halloween.” Jake says, breaking the peaceful silence.

“Agreed!” The three of us say in unison, causing an eruption of laughter. It kills my head, but I continue to laugh anyways. Another crazy, adventurous memory with Kaity gone terribly wrong.