Side By Side

16.

"And then he just kissed me," Lissa's smile was radiant as she spoke. It was dark outside and we were in our pyjamas. As promised, after everyone left Lissa was telling me all the details of her and Marcus's kiss. Lissa had kissed people before, her first was Mike Mickson and then Adam Mitchell, she never talked about either of them like she did about Marcus.

"I'm so happy Lissa. I can't wait to see the look on Lily's face when you guys tell her," I laughed at the thought of Lily's sure to be contorted expression.

"Well we were planing on keeping it a secret for a little while,"

"You're kidding," I breathed.

"No! I mean, if things turn sour, which I hope they don't, then we won't have to explain ourselves to anyone but each other, and I guess you," she argued.

"Lissa, between the three of us, we have enough secrets to fuel this towns need for gossip for three years—"

"Right," she interrupted nervously, "so what's one more?"

"Well when you put it that way..." I said sarcastically.

"Look I know you think it's a bad idea," she started, "but I think this could go somewhere, I just need no pressure,"

I sighed, "Well, it not like I'm going to tell anyone, and I really am happy for guys, I swear it,"

"I know," she told me. I smiled and and put my head on her shoulder for a brief moment.

"Good. Now, I will see you tomorrow for the start of Halloween week," I smiled and stood up from the couch and wondered off to bed. It was days like those— full of people and things to see and to do— that made me fall onto my mattress and slip into sleep easier than normal.

I woke up next morning, not ready for the week which was looming over my head. Monday— the haunted house. Just outside of town there was a couple, a little strange but nice enough, who every year made a haunted house. It wasn't exactly a haunted house that required you to be over the age of thirteen, but it was scary enough to have Jake squealing like a little girl; granted, that wasn't exactly difficult, the guy got freaked out when his toast would pop out of the toaster.

I caught my breath on Tuesday, and then was thrown into the towns annual fall festival. I was just about maze-d out by the time our group had reached the kid friendly haunted maze that was set up in Riverbanks general store. It was zombie apocalypse themed and if you found all three keys by the end of the maze, you'd survive the apocalypse and win a prize. We waited in line and went in shortly after a couple of nine year olds fled out the emergency exit crying.

"That's gonna be you Jake," I poked him repeatedly in the shoulder.

"Sure, sure, laughed it up now, but don't expect me to protect you when there really is a zombie apocalypse,"

"Are you kidding? Addi would out live us all, shes the only one who isn't a loud mouth," Lissa said. Everyone looked offended for a brief moment before murmuring in agreement.

"Alright," the guy in heavy zombi makeup held open the door for our group to venture into the dim store, "have an egg-cellent time," the zombie said as I passed him. I gave Jake a questioning look.

"Wasn't even a Halloween pun," he mumbled. After the door was slammed behind us, we all stood and surveyed the store. The shelves acted as the guide for the maze, of course there was only one rout to go, but assuming, around each corner, there was a person in crappy zombie makeup to jump out at you.

"Well, let's get going, no way am I dying in this apocalypse," Marcus said, and began down the isle.

"Ditto," Jake followed behind him. The first key was found by Marcus, or rather lily who Marcus then stole it from.

There had been two zombies jump out and I was preparing for another was we rounded a corner but instead I heard, "Addi?"

The voice hadn't come from any of my friends, and it sounded like it was coming from across the room.

"Uh, Yeah?" I replied, my eyebrows knitted. It was too dark and foggy in the room to make out details so I wasn't sure if I was seeing shelves or people.

"Go!" The voice yelled, and that's when the eggs started flying. From around every corner people in zombie makeup which concealed their faces were holing cartons of eggs, and throwing them at me. Each one shattered when it hit my body and the yolk leaked all over my hair and my shirt. I stood frozen in place for a second or two and so were all of my friends, all of us disorientated and frantic. It wasn't until one of the eggs that hit me, probably one which had been hard boiled, did I cry out in pain and grasp the spot where it had hit me.

At the sight of my doubling over and my cry of pain, the eggs stopped, a few curse words were muttered and I was being pulled out the emergency exit.

"What the hell was that?" Lily slammed the emergency door behind her when we were all out. The egg was starting to feel sticky and my stomach was throbbing where the hard boiled egg had hit.

"Addi are you okay?" Lissa asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said bitterly, trying to scrape some of the egg out of my hair. The spot on my stomach throbbed. I could feel someone trying to help with the shells.

"But it's not fine," Jake said,

"Tiffany took it too far," Marcus added.

We didn't even need to ask why he had thought it was Tiffany; we couldn't see anyone's face but we didn't need to in order to now that Tiffany had orchestrated the whole thing.

"Let's go home," Lissa told me. I nodded and we all began down the street to Lissa's.

There were unlit pumpkins on most people's door steps and the whole town was buzzing until 8:30 when the festival closed and the town went to sleep. We were silent the whole way home, and the egg began to dry on me.

"Let's see it," we were standing in the kitchen while Lissa was getting the shells out of my hair and Lily was examining the damage to eggs had done. She was referring to the spot I had been clutching on the walk to Lissa's. Slowly I lifted the side of my shirt where the eggs had hit until a veining purple circle had been revealed. The spot was raised compared to the rest of my stomach.

"Damn! Did she recruit the baseball team?" Lily exclaimed. I quickly dropped my shirt and crossed my arms over my stomach feeling self conscious.

Lisa sighed, "finished," she said before she washed her hands.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," I told them trying to sound causal though I didn't think any of the bought it, "I'll see you guys tomorrow,"

When I rounded the corner a burst of whispers erupted in the kitchen.