Maddy

My glare never leaves but only finds a new victim, the person in front of me. Xander Williamson. "Wipe that nasty smirk off your face." He laughs. Nothing about this situation is funny. He covers his mouth with his palm and then removes it two seconds later. A straight line sits on his lips now. I raise my chin and pick up my already melted drink, still taking a sip of the fruity cocktail. "That's what I thought." At least he's not being completely agonizing like usual. Though I can still say I'd rather be with anyone else right now.

"They'll be back in a bit." He doesn't look at me as he takes a swig from his beer. I look back at my friends with the girls across the bar. I'm the only one who has a clear view of them as Xander's back is to them. "How do you know?" I ask, curiously. He shakes his head, finally returning his gaze to me. "Max will be, Cgc probably won't. I don't know if DJ will though," he says easily. I narrow my eyes slightly at him. "How can you be so sure?" I question.

"Because I've been around them long enough to know when or when they won't hook up with the girls they pursue," he tells me. I glance at them quickly again. Max looks pretty interested in the blonde to me. "He looks pretty comfortable to me," I say. He turns his head at this, only looking at our friends for a couple of seconds. "Naah, just watch. He's gonna come back complaining." I don't like how Xander is acting like he can predict what the fuck Max is going to do. How does he know him better than me?

Max looks interested in that girl. Right? I glance again. He looks heavily interested. Xander's wrong, like always. "Why do you look mad? You finally admitting to having a thing for Max?" he smirks, taking another drink from his beer. I roll my eyes, almost gagging but stop myself. Although Max and I dating is as close as Xander and I dating, I remember that he's my best friend. Yes, he may be gross and annoying, but he still means more to me than a lot of people do.

"I do not like Max and I will never like Max," I retort. He tilts his head to the side quickly like he's shaking his head. Fuck, do people believe I like Max? Is that a thing? God, I hope not. "I'd sleep with Rhys before I ever slept with Max," I say, defending myself. Rhys isn't disgusting or anything, he's just not my type. Max is actually my type and I hate to even say it but after getting to know him, well that completely changed. He's more of a brother to me now so whenever someone jokes about us sleeping together, it haunts me.

"Sureee," he says quickly. I roll my eyes, not wanting to argue with him again. "Why don't you go join them then, hm? I'll be fine on my own." I pull out my phone and open some of my unopened texts. "I'm not interested in any of those girls," he says. I glance up at him from my phone for just a second. "Of course you are," I retort. I'm sure he's been with at least one of them at least once already. I would never slut-shame a girl because I know I wouldn't like to be slut-shamed but I'm sure they've been with all of the guys, including Xander, they're currently talking to.

Like I said, I'd never slut-shame a girl. Good for them honestly, as long as they're being safe about it. "Not even one bit," he says. I look up at him and he's still looking at me despite me not paying much attention to him. I lock my phone and set it down on the table. "Who are you interested in them?" I challenge. I take a sip from my drink through the black straw, keeping my eyes on him. A smirk forms onto his lips, "It's none of your business who I'm interested in." I scoff, knowing what that means. "So you're interested in nobody then?" He furrows his dark brows at me.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't not say that."

"I'm definitely interested in someone," he pauses shortly "just surprised that you actually care." He winks at me. I roll my eyes again. Yeah, no. If this sounds like I care even one bit, this conversation cannot go any further. "I don't care," I actually fucking stumble across my words for some reason. I pray he didn't notice but the sudden smile on his face tells me he did. Fuck, I actually don't care. "Shut it." I point my manicured finger towards him. He holds his hands up in defense. "I didn't say anything, ice queen," he says nonchalantly.

Before I can even say anything, Max slides into the booth next to me, pushing me with his larger body. I look at him, confused, then back at Xander who's smiling like I told you. I narrow my eyes but look back at Max. "What happened?" I really don't care but I want him to prove Xander wrong. Maybe he'll say he got rejected or something. He picks up a chip from the basket and dips it into the salsa. "Eh, wasn't feeling it." Xander snorts and I shoot my head to look at him. "You weren't feeling it or she wasn't?" I ask Max. Men always talk badly about women after getting rejected by them. Max has never lied about getting rejected, but I want Xander to be wrong.

"No, she was definitely feeling it. I just wasn't. Cgc and DJ are enjoying their company though." He motions his head to where he once was. I follow it and both guys seem to be having a good time over there. He was right. I flip Xander off and he laughs. "What was that for?" Max asks, mouth half full. Xander doesn't hesitate to tell him, "I told her you'd be back because you weren't gonna feel her and she didn't believe me." Max grins extending his hand out. They do a handshake which causes my eyes to roll. "You know me so well," Max tells him. Xander places a hand over his chest. "Of course, man." He winks at Max.

Max takes a long drink of his soda which is probably watered down by now. "I say we get the fuck outta here and do something better than this," Max says, standing up. Xander and I look at each other and then back at the brunette in front of us. "Do what?" Xander asks before me. Max winks, "Come with me and you'll see. Just don't be a pussy about it," he motions his fingers towards the both of us "either of you." God, this is gonna be stupid, I just know it. I stand up hesitantly and Xander follows after me.

We both get out of the booth and follow Max who walks ahead of us. He throws up a peace sign at Cgc and DJ who both just throw him a head nod. "Do you have any idea where he's taking us?" Xander leans down to whisper, closer to me. I pull away a bit, "No," is all I say. If I knew, I would've said no if it was a bad idea, but now I'm walking into something blindly. I don't like this already.

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"Here we are."

I stare at the place in front of us, confused. Max looks ahead with me albeit, not confused like me since he knows exactly where we are. Xander pokes his head into the front seat since he's sitting in the back. "Where the fuck is here?" he says, looking at Max. "Get off and you'll find out." Max gets off quickly, slamming the car door behind him. He doesn't give either of us a chance to respond. I look around at what I can see. It's about 9 pm, so it's dark. There's a house in front of us. It's huge so I'd say it's more of a mansion. Obviously, it's abandoned since it looks run down and wood pallets cover the windows. There obviously hasn't been a gardener here in years as well.

I turn my head slightly over my shoulder. Xander is still here. "He's fucking insane," he says in almost a whisper even though it's just the both of us. This time, he doesn't let me answer before he opens his door and gets out. I groan before I follow him quickly, not wanting to be left alone in God knows wherever the fuck we are. This neighborhood is fancy, but all the houses have hundreds of acres to themselves, so this house is as far away from the others as the rest.

I turn on the flash from my phone and point it to the ground, watching where I step. I'm wearing heels and can't afford to fall into a pothole. Once I reach the front door, both Xander and Max wait there for me. "Finally," Max says, pushing the door open. Dirt falls from the top and I stay back, letting them in first. I point my flash up and walk in, cautiously. Yep, no one has been here in a long time. The huge house is dusty, dirty, and full of cobwebs. It's also very empty, with no furniture in sight. There's no graffiti or anything but I guess that's because this is a gated neighborhood. The only reason we were able to get in was because Max's aunt lives here.

"Okay, where the hell are we, Max?" Xander finally asks the question that's been on the tip of my tongue this whole time. I stand close behind my best friend, just in case. All of our flashes are on at this point. He smiles, "I used to come here all the time with my friends in high school. Some old people lived here for years before dying so it's haunted as fuck." It's not like I'm looking in a mirror, but I feel the color drain from my face at his words. "What the fuck? You brought us to a haunted house?" Xander whisper shouts like he's afraid someone or something will hear us.

I'm too stunned to even fucking process words and thoughts, so I remain silent. I can't even lift my arm to slap Max's arm. My best friend rolls his eyes like it's no big deal. "I came here all the fucking time and I'm still alive, we'll be okay," he says calmly. "This is some white people shit man," Xander adds. I raise my hand, finally, like we're in a fucking classroom. I lower it quickly when they both look at me. "This is some Max shit, I would never do this." I shake my head quickly, looking around the house like something's about to pop out behind a nonexistent couch.

Max sighs, "I told you guys not to be pussies." Xander's eyes widen. "Pussies? I just want to live, bro." His voice is stern. Max grins and then starts walking towards the door again. I follow him, but he stops me with a hand on my shoulder. "We'll fucking live," he looks at me "stay here really quick, I'm gonna go get something from the car." My eyes widen this time like he's fucking crazy —he actually is. "Get what?" Xander says for me. Max holds up a finger and then exits the house quickly, leaving the door open. I watch him leave before walking back into the house.

I'd rather be close to anyone than die on my own, so I move closer to Xander, but not that close. "I'm going to kill him." My words come out a lot softer than I intended them to. I clench my jaw, wrapping my arms around myself. "I'll help you," Xander scoffs. A cold gust of wind comes through the open door and it hits my skin, raising goosebumps on my bare legs. If I knew this was how my night was going to end, I would've worn jeans. Actually, I would have never come.

I flinch slightly when I hear footsteps, but calm when I remember it's just Max. He appears in the doorway, holding something in a bag. He shuts the door with his foot and walks back towards us. "Sit, children," he says, sitting on his ass. The floor creaks a bit. Xander cautiously follows him. I look down, pointing my flash at the dirty floor. "Yeah, no. My skirts light blue and I am not getting it dirty," I say, flipping hair out of my face. Xander rolls his eyes and starts removing his windbreaker. He places the black jacket on the floor between him and Max. Max smiles at me, "Problem solved."

I glare at him and slowly sit down on Xander's jacket. I sit on my butt with my legs behind me. Max pulls out a cardboard box from the bag. "You didn't," Xander says wearily. I look towards him, still confused. Max smirks and removes the top of the box. My mouth gapes, but I can't speak again. "Okay, no. Nope. Do you have a fucking death wish?" Xander whisper yells, again. "It's just an Ouija board man, not poison." He rolls his eyes. I smack Max's arm, but he doesn't flinch. "I am not getting possessed by some freaky old lady, Maxwell!" I say a little louder.

"My God, how many times do I have to repeat that I've done this before? I'm alive and well. No one's getting fucking possessed." He pulls out the board and sets it in the middle of us. "And don't call the ghosts freaky!" he whispers. I roll my eyes. He places the planchette — or the small wooden piece that comes with the Ouija board — in the middle. I look at Xander who looks like he's regretting this just as much as I am. "Alright, two fingers each on the planchette. Don't move 'em until we say goodbye," Max says like we haven't watched enough horror movies to know what to do. I hesitate before putting two fingers on. Xander is the last to do so.

"Okay, spin it twice." Max directs the piece and moves it around the board twice. "Since the both of you are too scared, I'll do the talking," he looks up at us. I roll my eyes, hiding my fear. "Whatever," is all I say. We all keep our fingers lightly on a wooden piece. "Hey.. whoever is present. Spirit, or sipirita if you're a girl" — I roll my eyes again "we come in peace, just a couple of college kids having some fun. Don't come back and haunt us, yeah? We come in peace," Max finishes. Xander shakes his head, "Nice job." The sarcasm in his tone is evident but Max winks at him.

"Alright, who wants to ask the first question. Yes or no answers only," Max says. "Is Christian cheating on Novalee?" I tell Max quickly. He furrows his eyebrows. "What?!" Xander says. I turn to face him."What?" I retort. "Why would you want to ask that?" he retorts. "To see if this thing tells the truth, duh," I say. "He's not cheating on her," Xander tells me. "Is Christian cheating on the beautiful, Novalee?" Max says. I shift my attention to the board from Xander. It's a couple of seconds before the board starts moving. Towards the word:
No.

"You fuckers better not be moving it," I say coldly.

"I'm not," they say in unison.

The planchette stops over the word no. I knew that already, I just wanted confirmation. Ugh, this shit is so stupid what am I talking about. I want to wipe my sweaty palms, but I remember that I can't remove my hands. "Next question, Xan?" Max looks at him. "Is my pops doing well?" he says. I furrow my brows and turn my head slightly at him. He's looking at me, his eyes softer than usual. What does that question mean? "Is Xander's father doing well?" Max asks, clearing his throat afterward. The planchette again stays still for a couple of seconds before it starts moving. This time, it looms over letters. M-A-R-C-U-S. Marcus. I look at Xander who's looking at Max, both of their eyes a bit widened. "What?" I whisper, to no one in particular.

"That was his dad's name," Max whispers as well. Was. Was his dad's name. I look towards Xander again but he looks at the board. "Well that didn't answer the question but alright," he says, shrugging his shoulders. I had no idea Xander's father passed. At least I'm sure that's what was means. "Okay, so obviously this thing kind of works, I'm scared now," I admit. "Will I ever get married?" Max asks. I furrow my eyebrows at him, "Seriously?" Xander snorts. Max shrugs, "It's a serious question." The planchette moves slowly towards...

No.

I bite my bottom lip to contain laughter. Are we allowed to laugh at these responses? Xander fails if he's trying to contain his laugh, laughing into his shoulder. "Fuck you, guys," Max says. "Not you spirit or spirita, my friends. They're assholes," he clarifies. . . to the ghost? I don't even fucking know. There's a clanking noise behind us and I turn my head quickly, the rest of my body freezing. My hands come off the board too. "Put your hand back, Madison, what the fuck!" Xander says. I stare at nothing in horror and place my hands on the wooden piece again. "Sorry," I whisper. Max stares at nothing just like me. "Well, that's never happened. What the fuck even was that?"

I glare at him, scared and pissed at the same time. "You told them fuck you!"

He shakes his head, "I told you guys fuck you!"

"Well, obviously they didn't realize that!" Xander adds.

"Oh my God, end the game, end the game!" I bounce on my ass, nervously.

"Uh, okay thanks for speaking to us. We're gonna go now. All love here, we swear," Max looks up at us "now we all say goodbye at the same time."

"Goodbye," we all say quickly, before pulling our hands away. Max puts away the board quickly and we all stand up. I give Xander his windbreaker and he slips it on. "Can we go now!" I say, still a little bit scared. I glance back at the empty spot where we heard something fall. Obviously, there's still nothing there. "Yeah, let's go." Max looks a little scared too as we start walking fast out of the mansion. I grab onto his arm as we all rush toward the car this time. I let go of him and basically jump into the passenger seat, closing the door immediately.

Once we're all in, Max starts the car quickly and pulls out of the scary-ass house. "Never fucking again," Xander pants out from the backseat. I nod my head quickly in agreement. Never again.