vexatious (infuriating sequel)

chapter fifty-six

"andro?" jakes voice pulls me out of sleep for the second night in a row. the light from my camera in his hands is bright and i am shocked that colby isn't woken by it, but i quickly roll out of bed, knowing why the boy is here. i thank god that both colby and i slept with clothes on last night, or this could've been really awkward.

"hall," i say quietly, ordering the boy to leave and quickly changing into christmas pajamas. i bought them a few weeks ago, specifically for this video. i quickly put on the necklace that colby gave me last night, staying true to my promise to wear it today. i never want

after everything that had happened, doing a video with colby and katrina for my first youtube video just didn't seem right. i decided that instead, i wanted to do something once we all lived together. i wanted to wait until now so that i could be fully indulged in making content instead of caught up in my personal issues.

"good morning!" i exclaim a little bit louder than intended once i meet jake in the hallway. jake quickly sets up the camera on an empty shelf, facing us. i introduce myself awkwardly before explaining the plan.

"today, we are giving the boys terrible presents," i say to the camera.

"when they yell at us for the presents being awful, we are going to give them their real presents. we aren't horrible friends," i continue to explain. it feels awkward, just talking to a big black machine, but it feels a little less weird with jake by my side.

"what time is it, jake?" i ask, and watch as he pulls his phone out and shows the camera his bright screen. "it's five in the morning," he groans out, his voice hoarse, probably from sleeping.

"this is the only reason i'll get up so early," he jokes and i laugh at him. we quickly film us grabbing the presents from under the tree, and we quickly figure out which ones are fake, and which are real.

"who's first?" i ask, focusing the camera on jakes face. the entire house is dark, and the only light that is in sight is the one from my camera. colby bought me this camera last month, hoping to motivate me. i hadn't used it until today, other than to film silly videos of julia singing and dancing.

"corey!" he points to the master bedroom. colby threw a fit about corey claiming the bigger room, complaining about how he got it last time too. i thought it was hilarious. i'm literally sleeping in a basement.

jake and i barge into corey's room loudly, shining the light at his face. he quickly covers his face with his blanket, hiding underneath. the walls are barren and i am glad to see that everyone's rooms are looking as empty as colbys, and that he is not alone in his lack of decorations.

"what?" he calls out quietly, still half asleep. "it's christmas and we have a present!" i exclaim, focusing the camera on the tired boy when he finally shows himself.

"what is it?" his smile is bright and inviting when we hand the first gift out to him. the other one, the real one is hidden safely behind jakes back. i thank god that we decided to wake the boys up this way, because none of them will be conscious enough to notice jake holding his hands behind his back.

"open it!" i urge the boy, putting the camera close to his face. jake giggles and guides my hands back, helping me get a better angle. truthfully, it's heavy and i just want to let jake hold it himself.

i watch as corey destroys the wrapping paper and is met with a ouija board. his eyes go wide and he quickly throws it to the ground, not holding it in his hands for longer than a few seconds. i wasn't exactly sure what to get corey as a joke until jake suggested the thing he hates most: ghosts.

"what the fuck?!" corey blurts out, sitting up and backing up from us. "i thought you'd like it," i try my best to give him my most realistic saddened voice. he rolls his eyes playfully, clearly believing my ignorance.