The Boy In the Basement (Completed)

~Flattered, truly~

My weekend took a dreary turn after the night of the gig. Jaxons words kept bouncing around my mind. They had a huge effect on me, and I didn't know why I was letting them.

"Bay, I need you to do those dishes now," my mom called from the living room as she flipped through a magazine while the T.V. was on low in the background.

"I'm going to! Just please, stop asking me every second," I retaliated, shoveling all my laundry into a clean white basket. She looked up from her magazine, surprised at my behavior. I was about to glare when I realized that I was doing it again. These fits of anger have got to stop. My mother has nothing to do with Jaxon's jerkiness. I sighed, lifting the basket off the floor and heading to my room.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I'll do it in a second, I promise," I told her sincerely. Disappearing in my room, it hurt a little to know my mom doesn't have a clue about Saturday night. She doesn't really know about anything that's going in my life, and unlike other moms, I'm not sure I can even bring up the concept of crushes to her. She used to be my best friend; what caused us to drift apart?

I made a goal to work on our relationship somehow. My phone buzzed from underneath my bed covers. I dumped all my clothes out onto the floor, snatched my phone off my bed, and sat in the pile of laundry, claiming it as my lemon-scented throne. Riley's face was gleaming back at me on the call screen.

"Greetings," I muttered after I answered the call, making an effort to sound upbeat. She replied in an ecstatic yet concerned tone.

"Bay, what's bothering you? I can't tell you my news until you tell me what's up."

"Oh its nothing.... you know, just the other night still has me down a little. But please, tell me your news. It'll cheer me up," I said pointedly, not wanting to be a killjoy. RIley squealed, and I immediately knew this was big.

"Cameron asked me to prom!" I wanted to scream with her, but the name didn't ring any bells whatsoever, and I saw that as a slight problem.

"Cameron...?" I pried.

"The guy I met at the bonfire. We have been talking ever since, and I forgot to tell you! We went on a date Friday when you were babysitting. It was very last minute, or else I would've called you." She sounded guilty, and I couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"That's great, Rice. What did you do?" I could already feel her happiness rubbing off on me.

"Dinner and a movie. It was so fun! He's really easy going and funny, we were laughing the whole night. And he didn't mind one bit when I grabbed onto his arm during the movie. Gosh it was freaky," Riley remarked. That reminded me of Halloween night when we watched one of the paranormal activities, and I swear she left bruises on my arm. Her constant shrieking just freaked us both out even more than the movie itself.

"Was it that Ouija Board movie? The commercial for that was enough to give me a decent nightmare. Good thing your guy was there to hold on to for comfort." We continued to chat, and said our goodbyes when hunger struck Riley to a near death experience. I decided to crash early since my hobbies were drained of their usual gusto.

I went through the motions- lazily meandered from my bedroom to the bathroom, took a warm shower, slipped on sweats and a hoodie to sleep in, and allowed my hair frizzily frame my face. As I ascended the stairs to my room one by one, there was a light knock on the door.

Its past visiting hours, dude. I rounded the archway and crept towards the front door. With caution, I opened it, prepared to slam it in case of a murderer on the prowl. However, there was no silhouette of some mysterious stranger at our doorway. All that greeted me was the black stillness of the night. I was about to retreat back inside when something caught my eye.