Chapter 3-
Doug the Poser

Ethan's lounge room is dark, the only light source coming from the television which is playing one of the boys favourite TV shows.
'Scare Finder' or whatever it's called.

The episode is interrupted as Doug announces that he's in front of this weeks super-fan's door. The doorbell rings in sync with the television and I sit up from my slouched position on the floor. I can't help but notice the striking resemblance between the super-fan's door and Ethan's...

"Oh, come on! Who would bother us now?" Ethan grumbles, getting you to answer and the bell continues to ring in time with Doug's pushes to the button.

"That kid must have a crazy luck bonus - like, a plus-six!" Rory exclaims, shoving Benny's side.

"I automatically hate this jerk. He should be me and he isn't." Benny adds, annoyance threading through his words as he slouches back into the chair.

I can't help but roll my eyes as the puzzle pieces fit together.

Morons...

The door dressed in a night-vision filter opens, revealing a startled Ethan on the inside,

"Hey, big man! Name's Doug Falconhawk." Doug exclaims, his over-exaggerated voice grinding my nerves,

"Ethan, you'll never believe who won the contest," Benny exclaims, his mouth dropping to the floor. I laugh softly as I reach back and pat Benny's knee.

"Are you Ethan?" Doug asks, the camera zooming onto said boy's face.

Ethan looks to the camera then back to Doug's face with a soft, "Hi..."

After a bit of talking, signing papers and a lot of squealing thanks to the grown men I'm standing beside, we stand in Ethan's room.

"I dig your decorating style, Ethan," Doug says as he admires the poster of himself that is stuck way too delicately to one of Ethan's walls.

"Ow, ow, ow." Benny lets out softly through his large grin, pinching himself up his arm.
My hand whacks his hand away as I look up at him annoyed.

This is getting ridiculous.

"He's here. It's real. This is a thing happening." Ethan mutters to Benny who, thankfully, has stopped pinching himself.

"Dude, this is off several hooks, " Rory adds, sounding dazed as he floats upward. I roll my eyes as Ethan quickly pulls him down.

"I don't believe what I'm seeing..." Doug exclaims, drawing our attention back to him.

"There's an action figure of me?" He asks, a small but completely accurate figure in his hand.

Hold on.

How do you not know if there's an action figure of you?

Isn't their licensing procedures -

"No, I made that out of other figures." Ethan cuts in.

Oh! I stand corrected.

"See, you've got Wolverines groin, but no one has awesome hair like you do, so I had to sculpt that by myself," Ethan says, sounding a tad too proud of himself as Benny pats his shoulder.

"Yeah!" Doug grunts, sticking his thumb up in approval, "Now tiny Doug can kill a vampire." He says placing the figure on the shelf beside what looks like a vampire figurine.

I shake my head in bewilderment.

As if this guy has killed anything bigger than a fly.

Ethan's eyes widen as he pulls us down into a huddle, "Guys, Guys... I know this is the most awesome thing that has ever happened-"

Sure.

"- but it is also a complete disaster."

"What? Bunk!" Benny scoffs, shaking his head, "You couldn't name six reasons why."

"Doug hunts paranormal stuff," Ethan starts,
"Erica's a vampire. Rory's a vampire. Sarah is a vampire. Abigail is a werewolf. And you're an idiot." He lists with his fingers, Benny rolling his eyes in response.

"Exactly. Especially the last one," I say grinning, ignoring the soft dismissal from Benny, "This is a recipe for disaster."

"You two have to stay away from Doug. It's too risky." Ethan says, his eyes moving between Rory and me,

"Alright."

Rory huffs, "Are you kidding me, dude?"

Oh, for God sake.

"I was a geek before I became a Lord of the Night. No way I'm passing up the chance to become his assistant!" Rory whispers, his eyes never leaving Doug who seems to still be fascinated with Ethan's room.

"Usually the girls buy the calendars," Doug mutters, peering over toward Ethan,

"Oh! Heh... Abigail got it for me!" Ethan says, his smile strained as he pays me on the shoulder.

"Okay, fine," Ethan whispers as Doug turns back to study the room, "We've got to hang out with Doug, but no matter what, we have to keep him away from Sarah and Erica." He finishes, his gaze hard and way too daring for a dumb plan.

I cough softly to catch their attention, "What about me, Mr White Knight?"

"You're gonna hang with us. With Doug!" Benny chimes in.

I scoff, "What? No! No, I am not. This guy's too... fake for me." I mutter honestly. Benny gasps dramatically, clearly taking offence to what I said,

"Fake? Look just cause you're a werewolf, doesn't mean that everything like this so fake!" Benny exclaims a little too loudly, catching Doug's attention,

"Werewolf!?"

Shit.

"Uh, no werewolf! Just talking about your episodes." I reassure the man, earning a proud nod as he turns back away, "Me being a - you know - doesn't mean anything! It's just so obvious. Look, you guys can hang with him as much as you please. I'm heading back to the motel to get some shut-eye." I say standing up straight.

"Motel? When did you live in a motel?" Benny asks concerned, standing back up to meet me.

"What? Since I moved here." I mutter, feeling clammy at the concern leaking from the boys, "Look, I'll see you guys tomorrow." I add, quickly picking up my belongings and making my way out of Ethan's room, down the stairs and out through the front door to start the boring walk back home.

*

My feet thump across the gravel as I run to the school's courtyard. God damn alarms not waking me up...

My eyes fall onto Sarah and Erica walking to the front doors and I attempt to speed up to meet the two but am blocked by a large navy blue camper painted with a 'Scare Finder' logo.

Ugh, not this again...

The back doors open revealing the geek trio and Doug dressed top to bottom in Scare Finder merchandise. Shaking my head, I make my way to the schools front doors. Walking in alone is bet tree r than being seen with them like this, my God.

Don't get me wrong. I love them dearly and respect what they're interested in. Hell, the way they get excited over this nerd stuff is kinda cute.

But, my God.

Once I reach inside, I head over to Sarah and Erica,

"What's up with the paper-bag dressed juice box?" I ask, tilting my head down to the said box in her hand, the straw coated with soft pink from whatever liquid was in it.

Sarah groans, "Benny's grandma made me this new blood substitute and it not bad, but it may cause nausea, dizziness, irritability, bloating, and sleep drooling. So, I hate it."

"Ugh, that's rough, buddy." I pat her shoulder in comfort as she tosses the blood box in a nearby bin. We turn as a huge wave of people rush over to a disturbance in the halls and, for some reason, I'm unsurprised go see Dough and the boys.

Sarah locks eyes with Ethan and frantically ushers the boy over,

"This new blood is awful! I need a new, new one." Sarah bites through her teeth, clearly frustrated.

"You guys gotta stay out of sight. That's Doug Falconhawk." Ethan claims, ignoring Sarah's request.

"Is that, that night vision poser from that show you guys like?" Sarah asks, humour dripping from her words.

"That's the guy," I reply for Ethan.

"He looks like a prison hairdresser," Sarah adds with a soft giggle,

"Yeah, serious mullet fail." Erica chimes in as she crosses her arms. Ethan's jaw drops in disbelief and I can't help but laugh.

"And you should be worried about him. If he gets in my way, he's lunch." Erica adds with a sickly-sweet-fanged smile.

"His hair... Is awesome!" Ethan exclaims, his voice breaking in annoyance, "Doug is like batman! And... all four Ghostbusters, and, like, a scientist motorcycle gang, all in one. And, if he spots you, you won't have a chance."

The girls and I all look at each other, attempting to hold ourselves together but alas, the second Sarah lets out a giggle, we all come crashing down.

"Yeah, thanks, Ethan. We will be sure to look out for him." Erica sighs, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

Ethan huffs in disbelief as he spins himself on his heels and stomps back to chemistry class. I offer the girls a soft wave and following the sulking teenager.

My good mood is immediately ruined as I spot who's standing in our chemistry teachers place.

Doug.

Doug is listing off the perfect bait that can be used to lure ghosts as I make my way to my chemistry seat next to some guy I haven't learnt the name of.

"You should spike it with vervain, Doug. It also makes for sweet vampire repellent."

I turn to meet Benny's eyes and attempt to give him my best, 'what the hell are you doing' look.

"Uh... So I've heard." Benny adds, looking away from me as Rory falls right off of his stool.

"Woah! You're not one of them, are you, buddy?" Doug asks as he laughs, the class joining him. Benny laughs along forcibly as he puts away the vervain.

Ethan subtly gets out of his chair to go and talk with Rory and I take that as my cue to turn back to the front of the room. Doug continues on about nonsense, so I decide to pull out my trusty old sketchbook.

The hairs on the back of my neck rise as I feel a pair of eyes watching me. I adjust my head slightly to be able to use my eyes to see who it is and - Oh! It's Benny. Amusement, or focus dances in his hazel eyes for a quick second, but is gone once he meets my eyes. His smile is strained as he looks back up to Doug. My eyes linger for a moment, but eventually, I turn back to my sketchbook.

*

Standing in front of Doug's camper is definitely not one of my Christmas wishes, but alas, boredom is the bane of my existence.

"Sasquatch footprint."

"Jar of ectoplasm from a ghost Sasquatch."

"Werewolf claw."

Now that.

That catches my attention.

My eyes fix on the black painted claw in Ethan's hands and I can't help but scoff, "You sure that's real? I mean, it should've reverted back to its human form after removal."

Ethan offers me a strained look and I shrug my shoulders, ignoring the idea that I probably should've kept my mouth shut.

"I mean... at least that's what Wikipedia says." Ethan cuts in, attempting to save the situation.

In turn, Doug scoffs at the idea, "Wikipedia."

Well someone holds a grudge...

Doug takes back the claw and searches through his bag, grabbing a device that resembles a two-way radio, and tossing it to Benny.

Benny turns the device on with a beep, "Wow! Is that an undead detector?" He asks, his uneasiness vanishing into glee.

Doug nods, easily as excited as the two boys beside me. The three guys' faces drop as the device starts beeping.

"It's picking something up!" Doug stands up and heads into his camper, "Something close! Gear up!"

Benny points it around and lands on me, it starts beeping more and more, "What? I'm not undead." I state as I push the device away from me. Rory walks onto the scene and the device goes crazy.

"What's up, fools?"

Benny and Ethan point at Rory then back toward the device and start freaking out as they attempt to figure out what to do.

Aye, aye, aye.

I take the device and smash it onto the camper door, the beeping stopping almost instantly.

"Ha... Look, Doug. It stopped beeping. Must be broken." Ethan mutters awkwardly as Doug comes out to join us, camera in hand.

"Bummer!" Doug shouts, taking the device back from my open hand. His eyes fall to Rory, "Hey gopher! Where you been?"

"Scoring you a latte! It's a type of coffee."

Doug takes it and takes a sip, letting out a pleaser sigh, "Let's roll!" Doug climb into the back to his camper.

"See you later, Abigail!" Benny exclaims as he pulls himself into the camper. I offer him a wave in response. Rory goes to follow Benny but Ethan stops him,

"Doug... loves biscotti."

"Oh! I'm on it." Rory exclaims, using his vampire speed and leaving in the direction of the main town.

Ethan waves at me and hops into the back of the camper. I sigh as I turn around.

Time to go find Erica and Sarah.

[EDITED - COMPLETED]
[2194 Words]

(New) Authors Note:
I hope everyone's alright with quarantine and staying safe! In the meantime, between work and online classes, I'm going to be editing these chapters! Enjoy.