𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐄 , 𝐣. 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 ⁽¹⁾

𝟐𝟕. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄

The Pogues slowly walked amongst the grass, watching where they stepped.

"Look, you guys do know who's house this is, right?" Kiara asked quietly, leading the group towards the house.

JJ helped Elle step over a log as he nodded his head. "Oh, yeah. No, I do."

John B walked behind Elle, making sure she was okay to keep walking. After all, being stuck in fire tends to have lasting effects on your body. "To be honest, I don't really believe the stories of this place."

"Yeah," Elle agreed, looking down at her sneakers as she walked through the grass. "I'm with JB on this one."

JJ ignored the two behind him and walked closer to Kie, a nervous look was stretched across his scraped face. "Which stories did you hear?"

The curly-haired girl stared up at JJ. "The one's where she killed her husband with an axe, and that she's been holed up ever since."

Elle and JJ glanced at each other as Elle's expression turned more anxious. "Seriously?" She asked.

"On certain nights, when the moon is full.." Kie turned to Elle and JJ, putting her hands up to their faces. She wiggled her fingers and her voice dropped to a menacing tone. "You can see her in the window!"

JJ started walking more aggressively as Kiara laughed. "No, it's not funny, 'cause it's all true! I swear to God, guys, this is all real.We knew Hollis Crain-"

He suddenly jumped back and held his hands up at a stone statue. "Jeez!" He yelled, running his hands through his hair, trying to cover the fact that he has just been startled by a statue.

Elle laughed as Pope grabbed JJ's arm. "You knew Hollis Crain?"

"Yeah, dude." JJ replied. "She was Elle and I's babysitter. She told us all about it."

The blonde girl glanced around the room. "They were ghost stories, J. I don't think she really meant any of it—."

JJ and Elle continued to tell stories and Elle watched as the rest of the group paid close attention, true or not true, they were still spine chilling.

"God you are so full of shit." John B said defiantly, earning a strong glare from JJ.

JJ rolled his eyes and glanced down at Elle. "Dude, I swear to God, man. Right, Elle?"

The blonde looked up at the two and tilted her head, not sure what side she would rather be on. "I mean yeah, she said that, but knowing if it's true is another thing—."

John B stepped forward, ignoring the group. He was starting closer and closer towards the Crain House.

JJ ran up and put his hand on John B's shoulder, turning him around. "You sure you wanna do this? She's an axe murderer. You got a cast on."

"I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay? I got nothin' to lose, right?" John B replied, eyeing Elle up and down. "You comin' or what?"

——————-

Once in the basement of the old house, they turned on their flashlights. The lights shined prominently in the dark, lighting up the spiderwebs and dirt that clouded the air.

"Down came Mrs. Crain and cut off all our heads. Up came the sun and dried up all the blood—." JJ sang to the tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Elle slapped his arm and quietly told him to shut up, earning a annoyed look from the boy.

The floorboards creaked as they all looked around the basement. Their guards were up, and that was very obvious.

"See any water?" Kie asked, shining her flashlight around. "I'm not seeing anything."

Elle shook her head in defeat. "Nope. Nothing."

Mosquitos swarmed the teens as quiet slaps were heard throughout the room. The soft buzzing of the bugs in their ears made it fairly difficult to concentrate.

"There's no water here. Not even on the pipes." the short-haired boy said, touching his hand to the dry pipe.

JJ looked under the pipes, glancing around with his flashlight. "Not a dropamino."

Kiara stared at John B. "Know why we didn't find it? Bad karma."

The group all groaned collectively as Kiara kept speaking. Her tangents tended to be long when they had to do with things like this.

"You know, we had a good thing going. And then you decide to rope in Barbie, and now the trail's gone dry." She added, implying that Barbie was in fact the Kook that no one here seemed to like.

Except John B, obviously. "This is exactly why I didn't wanna tell you about Sarah. What's the hell's the deal with you two?"

"Nothing." Kiara shrugged her shoulders as Pope, JJ, and Elle watched in amusement.

John B smirked. "Nothing? Is it because I kissed? Is that the problem?"

A slap went right across his face as the rest of the group winced in unison. "That echoed, dude!" Pope yelled in disbelief. Kiara's slaps also hurt. They'd all earned their fair share of them.

"Stop treating me like some girl who's obsessed with you." She stated, squinting her eyes at the brunette. "Instead of your best friend who's actually trying to look out for you."

John B turned to face her. "Did you..uh, hit me?"

Kie held up her hand and smiled. "Skeeter?"

"Skeeter?" John B asked. Kiara barley got a chance to reply before he slapped her back, earning more gasps from the three around them.

Kiara glared back and tilted her head. "Where's your proof?" The boy just held up his hand. A small, dead bug was plastered onto the center as he smirked smugly. "Skeeter."

"There was probably one already there." Kie said, smiling. They continued to lightly slap each other and their laughs filled the room.

Elle and JJ continued smacking the bugs as JJ complained. "I'm itchin' to leave. Get it? Punny."

"JJ." Elle warned, a small smile stretched across her face. "Don't."

The boy looked up and smiled at her. "What? It was funny."

Pope shined his flashlight down at the floorboards and stomped his foot down. He saw something, and the others had no clue what it was.

He picked up a penny from off the ground, and threw it through a crack in the floorboards. Once it hit the ground, it made the same sound as an object hitting water.

Water.

———————

AUTHOR SPEAKS !

hey girls, gays, and theys. this chapter was kinda rushed, but i think it's a cute chapter. Nothing bad really happens and we got a quick little background fact on jj and elle.

they got babysat together, meaning that they hung out so much that Lorelai would just drop elle off at jj's or vice versa. i think that's so adorable.

THX FOR READING THO!!!! ILYSM. seriously. riptide has become my most read book, and it is barley half way done. It means the world that you all like this book so much, and i can see a sequel in the near future ;)

xoxo, kenn.