The Dare

Part 3

Jake had just parked in front of the old house. The sun was beginning to set, giving it an eerie look. He had never been this close to it. No wonder everyone made up stupid ghost stories about it.

He got out of the car and approached the front door. He went to ring the doorbell, but it was broken, so he just knocked. Footsteps, the unlocking of the door-

"Hey Jake!" He smiled. He had never seen her outside of school before. It was strange to see her in a "Hakuna Matata" T-shirt and jeans, but he liked it.

"Hey. You look nice." She smiled and motioned for him to come in.

"Thanks. You don't look bad yourself, y'know." She shut the door and pulled him into the living room. "So what movies are we going to watch?"

"I don't know. Whatever you want to watch. It is your house." She giggled.

"More like my parents' house."

"Where are your parents?" He thought he saw her smile fall a bit.

"Out of town on business. They leave me on my own a lot."

"What about your sister?" Jake blurted quickly. She pursed her lips.

"Janie's sick a lot of the time. I don't mind looking after her." Jake opened his mouth to say something and thought better of it. "Jake, I'm not stupid, you know."

"What? I know, but-"

"You were going to ask about the stories, huh?" He nodded sheepishly. "It's okay, I've gotten used to it. She's a normal girl, she's just sick. That's all." He nodded again.

"I guess that's why they're called stories. That's all they are." She giggled again.

"Yep. So do you want some popcorn?"

"Sounds good." He followed her into the kitchen to fix it.

"How old is Janie?"

"Oh, we're twins." Robin watched the popcorn closely in the microwave. She seemed uncomfortable, so he decided to leave it be.

"What kinds of movies do you watch?" Robin smiled again.

"I like comedies. 'Anchorman', 'Airplane!', you know. That kind of stuff."

"Cool. I'm in the mood for a good laugh." They shared a smile.