perfection

the figure

We hadn't really done anything until Lillian decided that it was more appropriate time to party. I sat on the couch, next to Jake and Rianne, watching some show on TV, though I was just thinking very hard. Thinking about how Luke is going to affect my night...nights. I wish he'd just leave or Mollie and him would leave us all alone.

I huffed, seeing as though I'd get no where just sitting here. So I got up to get nowhere outside, on the porch.

I was met with cold evening air, the sky was a dark faded blue. The party would start soon. I sighed, not really understanding why this guy could affect my life so bad.

Trust me, I wasn't like in love with him. In fact, I couldn't stand the mere mention of his name. It was more complicated to why I hated him. Why I felt sick to my stomach. Why I physically cringed every time anything related to 'Luke' came up.

Speaking of Luke and Mollie, I had no idea where'd they had been all day. Morene had been waiting with her hot sauce bottle for about two hours, and now (looking back through the window to see) she sat intently on the couch.

Suddenly, I was pulled out of my thoughts by a light in the distance. It was a bright, white glare that was getting closer each second. I refused to go look for it, instead, I grabbed Morene off the couch, in what seemed like seconds, to come investigate. Kaite followed me out, too, but I didn't protest.

Morene was still holding her hot sauce and Kaite stood idly behind me. I pointed at the light silently and through the darkening atmosphere, I saw both pairs of eyes light up.

"What is that?" Morene whispered harshly. I shook my head, Kaite shrugged.

The crunching of leaves got closer, indicating that whatever that light was, whoever was behind it, was moving faster, closer. I breathed heavily with anticipation, looking at the now dark sky.

"Well...the partying is starting soon," Kaite looked at me and Morene. "Yeah, and?" I whispered back. "We're going to die, obviously," I joked.

Kaite turned to go back inside when suddenly that light went out. A figure could be made out in the stillness before us three. To say I was scared shitless would be an understatement. In fact, all three of us had jumped clear out of our skin.

The figure stood still for about 30 seconds of painful quietness. Then the crunching began again, and we all three froze completely. I held my breath intently as the figure neared the porches banister.

And finally, it approached.

◉
lillian's pov

I walked around the cabin about three or four times before I could find Mollie and Luke. But when I did, to say I was engulfed in embarrassment was a lie. I was drowning in it.

There were the two, in the closet, and you can guess the rest. Mollie looked very red too, attempting to pull her curls over her face to no avail. Luke just smiled sheepishly, untangling his grip from Mollie quickly.

"So- uh- uhm," I said, preparing to turn and not making any eye contact whatsoever. "The...yea...the party is...gonna start in like...30 minutes...so," I mumbled, walking away quickly after I finished my statement.

Embarrassing!

I wrung my hands around each other nervously, finding mostly everyone in the living room: Rianne and Jake sat on the couch, Kaden leaned on the back of the couch, watching the TV intently, and Aidan stood in the kitchen, hypnotized by his phone screen for some odd reason. Mollie and Luke hurried down the stairs a few minutes later when I noticed that Kaite, Morene, and Ryanne were gone.

"Guys," I said, loudly, catching everyone but Aidan's attention, "Where is Kaite, Morene, and Ryanne?"

Jake turned his head quickly to answer but Rianne beat him to it. "They went out on the porch," Rianne said simply. My gaze darted towards the window and that's when I saw it. My jaw dropped in amazement.

◉

"Mackayla Mathis?" My jaw unhinged in shock. Someone'd have to help me pick up from the floor.

The figure made it to the banister slowly and when the figure came into view, I knew who it was exactly: Mackayla Mathis, short, curly red hair, and freckles. She was very pretty, I thought, but she wasn't around much.

What did I mean by that? Well, she tended to "disappear" from school a lot. She'd go to school for a week or two, then nobody'd see her for at least three weeks after that. Mackayla did this on and off but no one knew why. She was always quiet, mysterious, and I was almost certain she was sewed to her boyfriend, Toni Jamison. This, of course, disproved my theory, but that's besides my point.

"Uhm, yeah," Mackayla said with a short laugh. "Who else?"

"Some killer in the woods!" Morene started laughing at herself. "Well, that's what we thought," Kaite chimed in quietly, with a small smile on her lips.

"What're you doing out here? No one blabbed about the party did they," I said, looking at Morene. So threw her hands in the arm defensively then quickly put them down,

forgetting she still held that bottle of hot sauce.

"Well," She started, but it was clear she didn't really know herself. Mackayla looked off to the side, twirling a strand of hair on her finger, "I like taking walks?"

"At night?" Kaite stepped in front of me. I responded by nudging her with my elbow slightly. "Yea," Mackayla answered quickly. "That's me- night-walker." She started laughing nervously. No one joined in because of the awkward tension.

It just came to me that Lillian was probably freaking out over our slight disappearance. In that same minute, I looked back at the large window, seeing everyone staring slack-jawed at us. Lillian's face was the most surprised, though.

I smiled and waved jokingly at them, but it seemed as though we might have a problem on our hands.

"Mackayla, where have you been disappearing to?" I heard Morene ask randomly.

"I'll tell ya if you let me in your party," She said slyly.