A flashlight in the shadows.

Chapter 24: Sleepovers.

I spun to meet Bennett's grey eyes and worried/angry expression. I frowned as he asked,
"Where the hell have you been?"
"I didn't know I had a curfew," I retorted, trying to wring my arm free. His grip only tightened.
"You were scaring the crap out of me! I didn't know if he hurt you or-"
"Isaac would never do that! You, on the other hand, are killing my fucking arm!" His expression went from anger to regret as he looked down and let go of my arm. I pulled it back and rubbed the red mark that had formed on the spot where he'd held me. He took a small step back and ran a hand through his messy hair. It looked like a train hit him. His eyes were red and his face was all flushed and pale.
"I'm sorry Sarah, I didn't mean to grab you like that."
"It's ok, Bennett. You look terrible, are you ok?" I asked, touching his arm gently. He nodded and rubbed his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've been up all night waiting for you to come home." I smiled and giggled a little. His cheeks became red.
"Is there something you need to ask me?" I asked. He looked up for a brief second, then turned his head and shook it.
"No, I just wanted to..." He trailed off. I frowned and nodded,
"Yeah?" He inhaled slowly and shook his head again.
"It's not important, I should be getting to bed."
"Me too, goodnight Bennett." He smiled and nodded, walking back to his house. I walked up the stairs and took a ten minute shower. Some of my best thinking happens in the shower, but not tonight. Tonight it was just silence and warmth. I scrubbed my hair with my Niagara Falls shampoo and slipped on my pink PJ shorts with a grey tank top. I brushed my hair and sat with my legs crossed on the bed, opening The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton.
'I heard a long whistle that was low and ended on a sudden high note. It was one I'd heard many times before...' My computer dinged from across the room on my desk. I looked over to Bennett's window and saw him laying against the head board and smiling at me. I frowned back and opened the lap top,
'Whatcha reading?:)' I rolled my eyes and typed back,
'The outsiders.'
'That book was stupid.'
'Ive never read it.:(' I typed back. He smiled deviously at me and then clicked onto his keys. My computer dinged again and I read,
'Johnny and dally both die.:3' I gasped and glared back at him. He simply smiled in response. I quickly typed,
'You really are an ass, you know that?'
'Yup:D'
'Why don't you go to sleep and leave me alone?'
'You'd like that, wouldn't you, book theif?' I looked back at him and rolled my eyes.
'The leaving me alone part would make me happy.'
'You know what would make me happy;)' he typed. I smirked and wrote,
'A penicillin shot?'
'Ouch, that hurt.' He typed. I giggled and typed back,
'Im going to bed now, Bennett. Goodnight.' I closed the lap top and laid down in bed. Do you ever get the feeling that your being watched? I did after about ten minutes, so I sat up and looked out the window. Bennett was looking though the binoculars at me, smirking. I got up and typed,
'Put them away, Bennett.'
'You look sexy when you roll out of bed, you know that?;)' he typed. I huffed and typed back,
'Ill look even sexier when I tear your face off, now let me sleep.'
'Thats what I was doing!' He typed back. I looked over at him with flat eyes. He was wiggling his eyebrows and smiled. I typed,
'I need energy to deal with the slumber party tomorrow, please let me go to sleep.'
'Thats right, you do have a slumber party tomorrow, don't you;)' I finally just gave up and clicked,
'Fine, watch me all night for all I care, I'm going to sleep.' I got up and laid down in bed. After two minutes, I got two dings from the computer. I finally groaned and got out of bed, reading,
'Book theif?'
'Yes?'
'Im glad you got home safe. Goodnight.' I looked over and smiled. He looked out the window and smiled. I blew him a kiss and typed,
'Goodnight, Bennett.' I laid down for the third time and fell soundly asleep.
I told dad that I'd like to be alone with my friends later when they came, so he said he'd take jane with him to see our mother. She told him that she would wait at a hotel for them, but I doubted that's where she actually was. I'd had many theory's as to what she did in her spare time,(being a whore, for example,) but I haven't voiced my opinions to dad. Like I've said, he still loves her. We all sat at the table and ate waffles with chocolate sauce.
"How was the date last night?!" Jane asked, scooting closer to me. I frowned and asked,
"Who told you I got a date?"
"Kendra texted me!" He exclaimed. I huffed and smiled.
"It went well, I'd say." She nodded and stared at me wide eyed.
"What did you do? Was he hot? Did he kiss you?!" Dad coughed on his waffles and almost choked at that thought. I blushed and shook my head.
"No, he didn't kiss me. And he isn't that bad looking."
"What's he look like?!" She asked, smiling and getting even closer. I took another bite of my food and shrugged.
"Tall, light brown hair, green eyes-"
"I think I've heard enough for one day, finish your food jane. We've gotta be gone before they get here," dad said, bringing his plate to the sink. I smiled and said,
"They won't be here until 6:30 tonight." He shrugged and said,
"I know, but your mother wants to spend the day with jane." I cringed and stabbed the food on my plate.
"She's not my mother," I mumbled. His head shot up and he asked,
"What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing." I said, handing him my plate. He nodded and I walked up the stairs and into my room. I rifled through the closet and found an over sized tank top that was purple and said, 'silence if f***in golden!' I slipped it on with a black sports bra underneath and some grey sweat pants. I let my hair lay on my shoulders and walked back down the stairs to make a checklist of the things I'd need for the sleepover. I took a piece of paper and wrote down everything I'd need. I walked downstairs to the pantry and looked through,
"Chocolate, check. Popcorn, check. Pop, check. Whipped cream..." I looked around but couldn't find any. I sighed and went to the living room. I decided to get some new movies while I was at Walmart. I walked back up the stairs and quickly dressed into a purple jacket and threw my hair in a bun. I went down stairs and looked for dad, but he and jane had already left. I called Hannah and said,
"What're you doing right now?"
"Uh...I'm with mike." She explained. I sighed and hung up. I called Dina and Kendra, but they were busy too. With no other alternative, I walked next door and knocked. Bennett's step dad answered,
"Hello, your the next door neighbor, right?" I nodded.
"Yeah, is Bennett home?" He nodded and called upstairs.
"Bennett! A girls here to see you!" I heard some thumping down the stairs and Bennett appeared in a grey sweater and black jeans. His stepdad walked off and Bennett leaned against the doorway, hands in his pockets.
"What's up?" He asked. I sighed and shrugged.
"I need some stuff for the sleepover but I don't have a ride, will you drive me to walmart?" He smiled and nodded.
"Yes, let me grab my keys and a jacket." He disappeared back inside the house. Cc ran up and hugged me.
"Hi Sarah! Why are you here?" She asked. I smiled and said,
"Bennett's taking me to the store."
"Cool! Hey, can I ask you something?" I nodded and smiled.
"Yes, of course." She fumbled with her stuffed rabbit and bit her lip.
"Well, I, um...I wanted to know if you'd come to my next dance recital?" She looked up and smiled. I smiled brightly and nodded,
"Of course I will! When is it?" I asked. She handed me a ticket and smiled. Bennett reappeared in a black over jacket with his keys. I waved goodbye to cc as we got into his car and drove off. He sighed and flipped some hair from his face.
"So, what're we getting?" I took out my list and said,
"Whipped cream, stuff for cheese cake, and a movie."
"Which movie?" He asked. I shrugged.
"I don't know, something scary so I get to watch Dina's reaction." He laughed a little and nodded.
"Ok, I know what we're getting."
"What?"
"Just wait and see," he said, laughing some more. We pulled into the parking lot and ran inside, him grabbing a basket.
"Ok, let's get the stuff."
"We're gonna need a cart if I'm making cheesecake." I said. He frowned and said,
"No you don't!"
"Yes, I do." I grabbed a cart and started running off without him. He put the basket back and ran after me, catching up with no problem. I giggled and went to the cheese isle.
"Let's see, four packages of cream cheese." He threw four in and kept walking.
"Whipped cream," he said, putting it in the cart. I nodded and checked it off the list.
"Oreos for the cheesecake," I threw some in the cart and we kept walking. Once we had all the stuff we needed for cheesecake, we walked towards the movie section.
"So, where's your dad and jane," he asked for the sake of conversation. I leaned on the cart while pushing it.
"They went to see Cassandra."
"Who's Cassandra?" He asked, frowning and confused. I sighed and looked down.
"She's our biological mother." His face softened and he looked ahead.
"Oh, sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about."
"Well, you haven't said a lot about your mom-"
"She's not my mom!" I said loudly, stopping in the middle of the isle. He took a step back and frowned,
"But I thought you said-"
"She's my biological mother, yes. But it takes more than that to be called a mom." People behind us went around our cart and scowled at me. He put his hands up and said,
"Ok, sorry. Why isn't she your mom?" He asked. We started walking again and I felt my cheeks getting hotter with rage.
"Bennett, tell me everything your moms done for you," I said calmly. He was a little surprised by my request, but he nodded and said,
"Just about everything. She feeds me, makes sure I eat right and dress appropriately-"
"So, pretty much everything you'd expect a mom to do for her child?" I asked, turning to him. He nodded and looked at me.
"Yes."
"She isn't my mom because she's never done any of those things. She didn't clean my scraped up knees when I fell, she never helped me with homework, not that I think she's smart enough to, and she never said the words 'I love you.' I can deal with all the other things, but that's the main reason that she is nothing more than trash to me...I don't know if she's ever loved anyone besides herself." I stopped to breathe, realizing that I was crying. I tried wiping the tears away in frustration, but it only made them flow more freely. Bennett pulled me to the side into one of those fabric isles and pulled me into a tight hug. I cried resentfully into his chest, wishing that I was anywhere but in walmart. Walmart is the one place in the world besides subways that people will stare at you openly and not care how uncomfortable you were. Bennett stroked my hair and rocked us back and forth, shushing me.
"It's ok, Sarah. Let it out." I sobbed through my tears,
"I-im s-so sorry-"
"It's ok, just breathe." I inhaled slowly and let out a few breaths. He held me until I stopped crying and pulled away, wiping my eyes. We started towards the movies in silence. Not akward, but comfortable. I sighed and said,
"I've never told anyone that, not even dad." He looked at me and pulled me next to him, his arm draped around my waist. It wasn't low enough to touch my ass, but not high enough for my breast either. It was in the middle. I smiled and walked next to him, hands in my pockets. We walked to the scary movie section and he handed me a huge package of movies. I glanced down and smiled.
"Saw 1-7?" I raised an eyebrow. He nodded.
"They're the best movies ever!"
"I've only seen the first one," I said. He smiled and urged,
"And?!"
"Your grandpa looks like john," I said, smirking down at the case that had that creepy doll clown on it. His eyes widened and he laughed,
"Oh my god, he does!" We laughed for a moment before I heard a voice call,
"Hey!" I spun around to see Isaac walking toward us casually. He was wearing a black print T-shirt with regular jeans and Tomms. I smiled at him.
"Hey Isaac." He smiled and put an arm around my shoulder.
"Hey, what's your name again?" He asked, pointing to Bennett. He smiled and replied,
"Bennett."
"Right, right. So, what're you two doing here?" He asked, looking between Bennett and I. I squirmed a little and said,
"I'm having a sleepover tonight with the girls, so Bennett's helping me shop." He nodded as if that explained everything. Then he said,
"Can I talk to you quickly?" He asked Bennett. Bennett shrugged and nodded. They disappeared around the corner for five minutes before reappearing. Isaac smiled and said,
"Ok, I gotta go. Oh, Lucy said she'd love to come."
"Ok, bye."
"Bye," he walked off. I turned to Bennett, who was watching Isaac walk away.
"What'd he say?" Bennett looked at me and said,
"He told me to stay away from you because you're already taken." I frowned and turned to him.
"Uh...I'm not sure what to say."
"Beat you to the registers!" He exclaimed, running off. I smiled and ran after him, but I still lost because he had a big lead. We paid and started out into the bright winter day. Snow was falling, but sunlight reflected off of it and nearly blinded me. We set the bags inside the car and started driving to the house.
"So...what now?" He asked. I shrugged and said,
"Want to help make cheesecake?" He smiled and nodded.
"Only if I get some."
"Fine, only a small piece, though." I giggled. He pushed me playfully and pulled up to the house, running a few bags inside. I took the other ones in and set them on the counter, taking out a bowl and a mixer.
"Ok, I need one of the Oreo packages and 2tbs of butter." He nodded and handed them to me. I set them in the bowl and mixed them together, pressing it to the bottom of a cheesecake pan. He took some,
"Mmm, Oreo crust." I giggled and pushed him back.
"Ok, now we need to melt 5 white chocolate squares in the pan." He nodded and set them in. We worked on making the cheesecake for the whole morning, barely talking about anything else. When we set it in the refrigerator to cool down, I looked at the clock.
"Well, we've got about an hour...wanna watch saw 1 with me?" He shrugged and nodded.
"Sure, why not?" I put it in the DVD player and pressed the play button. We were silent for a few moments, then I asked Bennett,
"Bennett?"
"Yes?"
"I don't mean to offend you...but do you see your father as....well, your dad?" He frowned and looked at me. Then, he turned to the screen and sighed.
"No, I really don't."
"You're stepdad, then?" I asked, not really thinking anything of the question. He looked down and was silent for a moment. Then, he shook his head,
"No, he's not my dad either. No one is." I was surprised by his answer, but before I could ask him to elaborate, my cell phone started playing 'love me like you do.' Kendra. I answered and sat up,
"Articulate."
"Hey, I still hate it when you say that, but I'm pulling down the street right now." I sat up and quickly said,
"Ok, see you in a sec."
"Ok-" but I hung up before she could finish and pulled Bennett off the couch. He frowned and asked,
"What's up?"
"Kendra's coming right now, you need to go." We walked to the front porch, but I could see her car rounding the corner. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to the backyard. I grabbed a ladder and set it against the fence.
"Ok, go!"
"What? There's nothing on the other side-" I heard Kendra's car pull up.
"No time! You need to go!" I pushed him over and ran inside, pretending to do dishes. She opened the front door and yelled,
"The party has arrived!"
"Oh, hey I'm in here!" I shouted. She walked in and sat on the stool.
"Hey, why'd you hang up so fast?"
"Hmm?" I asked, trying to act normal. She frowned and leaned on her elbows,
"Why did you hang up?"
"Oh, uh, I was in the shower," I explained. I could feel myself tensing up.
"Sarah, your hair isn't wet." She pointed out. I straightened up and laughed nervously.
"Oh, yeah. Haha." I turned to face her. She searched my face for an answer, but couldn't find one. Then, her eyes widened and she smiled wide.
"You little ho, Isaac was here, wasn't he?" My mind flooded with relief as I played it off. I held my hands in mock surrender and smiled.
"You caught me." She giggled and jumped in her seat.
"What were the two of you up to?"
"Uh, nothing." I giggled. She laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Bull crap, tell me."
"I am telling you, we were just chilling." She looked at me for another few seconds before giggling.
"Ok, fine. Tell me about the date."
I was about to tell her when the doorbell rang. We got up and answered, and were greeted by Lucy and Isaac. Kendra smiled and invited Lucy to the kitchen. When they were gone, I stepped outside and sighed.
"Uh, we've got to talk for a second."
"Sure." He nodded and leaned against the column. I rubbed my eyes and sighed.
"Bennett was a little uncomfortable earlier with your talk..."I trailed off, looking at him. He looked down and then looked at me.
"What did he say I said?"
"That I'm already taken and to leave me alone?" I said. He nodded.
"Yes, I did tell him that. I thought that, I don't know, he was bugging you or something. I just wanted to make sure you'd be ok." I couldn't help but smile. He was worried about me, which was really sweet, and he just wanted me to be safe. I nodded,
"That's really sweet of you, Isaac, but Bennett is cool. Ok?" He smiled and nodded.
"Ok, got it." He did something that surprised me, he kissed my cheek. His lips were soft and it made me smile. My heart lept as I felt the spot where he'd kissed my cheek. He smiled and left. I went inside to greet Lucy, who was sitting in a chair smiling and talking to Kendra. When I walked in, Lucy turned to me and said,
"Isaac really likes you." I blushed a little and sat on the chair facing her.
"Really, how can you tell?"
"He wouldn't stop talking about you when he got home." I giggled and blushed even more.
"What did he say?"
"He said you're pretty clumsy, but your looks and personality make up for it." She smiled. I rolled my eyes and giggled. I heard the door open and Dina walked in, laughing with Hannah.
"Oh my gosh, I didn't need to hear that!"
"You could hear him calling my name from two miles away!" She laughed. Kendra, Lucy and I all turned to face them.
"What's for food?" Dina whined. I rolled my eyes and said,
"Well, we could have fettuccine or chicken with fry bread."
"Fettuccine!!!" They all shouted. I sighed and started making the food while everyone got to know Lucy better.

[later that night...]

We all sat on the couch with our chosen sweet. Kendra with Oreos, Hannah with a small bag of kit kats, Dina with a bag of Laffy Taffy, Lucy with gummy bears and me with some cotton candy. We sat in the living room floor watching the 3rd saw. Dina and Hannah were hugging each other and facing away from the TV, Lucy and Kendra gawked at the screen, and I ate my cotton candy, intrigued by the traps. When it got to the part where that guy was twisted limb by limb, Dina shut off the TV and shook her head.
"Nope, we're done with that!" I huffed and shrugged,
"Ok, what now?" Kendra and Hannah looked at each other and screamed,
"Truth or dare!" I groaned as we all sat in a circle on the floor. Hannah tapped her fingers on her chin and said,
"Hmm...Lucy! Truth or dare?"
"Truth." We all groaned and sighed.
"Fine, would you ever turn les for anyone?" She shook her head from side to side and giggled.
"Ok, um...Sarah, truth or dare?"
"Dare!" I exclaimed. She smiled,
"I dare you to dance for ten seconds." I huffed and got up, flipping my hair around and jumping up and down.
"You call that dancing?!" Hannah asked, laughing. I sat down and sighed.
"Yup, Dina, truth or dare?"
"Truth." Kendra rolled her eyes and I asked,
"Would you ever date a blind guy?"
"Hell yeah!" She exclaimed. I giggled and she turned to Kendra.
"Truth or dare?"
"I'll take a triple-dog-dare bitch!" She laughed and thought for a second.
"I dare you to...go next door and borrow an ice cube." I sat up and felt a pit form in my stomach. She smirked and got up, bounding to the door. I got up and followed her outside.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not?" She asked. I stopped and thought of what to say,
"Because the neighbors are kind of jumpy and-" but she was already next door and rung the bell. Bennett's stepdad answered and smiled.
"Hello, what do you need?" She found herself dumb founded and at a loss for words.
"I, uh-"
"Nothing, she was just sleepwalking, bye." I ushered her away from the door and back inside my house. Thank god his stepdad was extremely attractive, I'd have to thank him later. When the door shut, she screamed,
"Holy shit he was hot!"
"He wasn't that good looking." I replied, rolling my eyes. She shook her head,
"Did you even see his jawline?" I giggled and ushered her into the living room. Everyone laid down in their sleeping bags and Dina put in 'American Beauty.' I laid down, but then remembered I was still wearing my day clothes and went to change upstairs. When I got out of the bathroom, I was wearing a blue tank top with matching blue PJ pants and stars on it. I was about to go back downstairs, when Bennett's room caught my attention. I saw Bennett sitting on his bed with his head in his knees. I couldn't see his face. After two minutes, he got up and went to his bathroom, holding a...razor? I frowned, then thought, 'he must be shaving,' and shrugged it off, walking back down the stairs to the other girls.

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Hope it wasn't the worst chapter yet! Enjoy the next one, bye! :)