I am participating in the second round also. This short story is unrelated to the previous one and is somewhat inspired by the events of my own life yesterday.
"I said I don't want to!"
"Come on, it'll be fun! It's not like there are real monsters of anything."
"Says who?"
"Me."
"Hmph. I am not going into a haunted house with you, no way, not now."
Mimi crossed her arms and began to walk away, but Cameron pulled her back.
The lights in the evening cast a neon glow over the fair, where the scent of cotton candy, hotdogs, and cigarettes mixed in a slightly disgusting but strangely enchanting mess while the sounds of crying, laughter, and shrieking on rollercoasters drowned out any attempts at a quiet conversation.
"Please!" Cameron put his hands together. "I'm begging you. I'll buy you some coffee."
"I can buy my own coffee," Mimi scoffed.
Cameron thought for a moment. "I'll drive you to the good café."
The pair of best friends for the past decade knew each other far too well, and Mimi knew she was too easily persuaded by the boy she cared about with all her heart. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, which she let Cameron dye with a red streak a few weeks earlier.
"Fine. But you have to take me for a week ," she decided.
"So you'll go into the haunted house with me?" he asked, clearly knowing the answer as his lips twitched into a smug smile.
Mimi wanted to smack him, and she did just that, though her touch was gentle and they both knew she couldn't hurt him. "Yes, but you can't go back on our deal."
"Right, right. Deal." Cameron rubbed his cheek, and his smirk melted into a genuine grin. It was hard not to love the way his eyes softened and cheeks dimpled when he smiled.
"I'm going to regret this," Mimi grumbled as she fished four tickets for each of them from her pocket and Cameron led her to the entrance of the haunted house.
They handed the tickets to a teenage worker with too many piercings and a sleeve of tattoos. The worker blinked a few times as she almost fell asleep while standing before taking the tickets and opening the door to the haunted house for the two friends.
As soon as they stepped inside a mostly pitch black room and the door closed behind them, an obnoxiously loud screech best described as a demon in labor being kicked in the throat echoed around them. At the same time, a rubber monster resembling an enormous bat with ridiculous red eyes sprung from the ceiling. Mimi and Cameron stared at the bat, then at each other, then burst out laughing.
"What just happened?" Cameron exclaimed. "That was so lame."
Mimi poked the... thing that hung above them. As soon as she did, it retracted and disappeared. "Was I not supposed to do that?"
Cameron shrugged. "It probably resets for the next people. Let's keep walking. I hope it gets a little more scary."
Mimi frowned. "Actually, I'm pretty comfortable with whatever the hell that was."
In response, Cameron just laughed some more before pulling her closer and leading her to the next room.
The rest of the haunted house went similarly, full of pathetic attempts to frighten patrons and the two friends laughing with each failed scare. The most startling thing was the stairs, which Mimi tripped on in the dark.
"See, that wasn't so bad, right?" Cameron said as they made their way through the final fake cobweb-filled room of the house.
"It wasn't," Mimi agreed. "You still owe me you know."
"I know."
He pushed open the door and the sights and sounds of the fair flooded in. They squinted as their eyes adjusted to the blinding lights.
"Do you want to go on that with me?" Cameron asked, pointing to a distant ride that spun and flipped passengers in violent circles. "Or do I have to buy you something first?"
"I'll go," Mimi answered, smiling slightly. "It can't be that bad."
"That's the spirit!" Cameron took her hand and started to run, dragging her forward. "Let's go!"
