flames | The Lost Boys (1987) | revised

| NINE |

After getting home, I decided to stay in my room, dodging my aunt and mother's questions about why I was home early. I didn't leave my room all night or the following day. I laid in my bed, trying to distract myself from my thoughts or the heavy feeling in my chest because I wouldn't acknowledge my feelings.

I read a book. I listened to my small collection of music. I ate and ate and ate. I took a bath. I even tried to sleep as much as I could, but whenever the opportunity was given, my head was filled with question upon question.

Who were the people in the woods - or what? What about the boys? Vampires seemed the most plausible, but at the same time, I felt stupid for thinking that. And what about what the fox had said? Eternity with a group? Was he talking about the boys? I didn't have any answers, and it was driving me mad. I burned through almost my entire collection of matches, but it didn't settle anything in me.

In fact, I was going through my last match from my box. I was sitting on my windowsill again, my cassette player playing out loud, a rock song, over the quiet of the night. There wasn't even wind tonight.

I looked up at the sound of twigs snapping and watched as Paul made his way out of the forest and under my window. He looked around for a few moments before locking eyes with me. I could feel my heart in my throat, and it was so loud that I barely heard what he said. "Hey, princess, have you been locked in your tower?" he joked.

He hadn't seemed to notice that I was freaking out on the inside. I almost didn't want to respond. "It seems so," I replied, flicking the now extinguished match onto the ground below me. My voice was weaker than I intended it to be, and I could tell that Paul took notice.

"Ivy, are you okay?" He took a few steps forward.

I spoke quickly and loudly this time. "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm totally fine. I'm just tired. It's nothing, I promise." I put a fake smile on my face.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, looking down at my hands as I felt bile rise up my throat. "Yeah, I'm sure, don't worry about it." Pictures of him covered in blood flashed through my mind.

"I don't believe you," he stated.

"Well, Paul, you don't have to," I grumbled, pulling myself into my bedroom completely. I shut the window before he could say anything else, closing the curtains as well.

My family forced me out the next night. My aunt and mother were having people over, and my mother told me she didn't want me around. So, as the sun was beginning to set, and the sky was painted pink, I straddled my bike and drove off.

With hours to kill and nothing to do, I drove around town for a bit before going against my instincts. I found myself at the boardwalk.

There were less people than normal, I thought, or maybe it was just my anxiety. Either way, I felt dread fill my body as I weaved through the crowds, and when I finally found the boys, I almost turned back. But I didn't. The sight of them would have normally made me extremely happy, especially with how they were standing now - Marko was leaned against Dwayne's front, Dwayne's arms were wrapped around the boy, David was smoking a cigarette, and Paul was sat on the railing, swinging his legs back and forth as he looked into the crowds - but when they all looked at me as I pulled up, all I could think about was their bloody faces.

Paul immediately jumped down at the sight of me, a smile growing on his face. He walked towards me and held his hand out, helping me off my bike. I took his hand, letting him help, but I was shaking bad, and I knew he could tell. "Are you feeling any better, Ivy?" he asked.

I ignored his question, opting to pat his hand as a response. "I need to talk to you guys," I said, my voice clearer than I expected. They looked at me curiously, but Marko specifically looked worried.