Not a Night for Clowning Around

𝔼𝕃𝔼𝕍𝔼ℕ

"I'LL GET IT," Aaliyah said when the doorbell rang. She ran upstairs to bring everyone down to the basement.

"What's up party people?" Shawn hollered as he came down, Kellen and Jake following in suit.

"I bring gifts," Jake called out. I took the pizza boxes from him and set them on the table. "Shall we get this movie night started?"

Aaliyah and Shawn cuddled up with a blanket on the carpet, Kellen took a recliner for himself, and I sat on the couch beside Jake. Aaliyah put on the movie and we watched in silence.

A couple minutes into the movie I went upstairs to get some drinks for everyone. Just as I opened the fridge door, I felt a pair of arms snake around my waist. Letting out a yelp, I jumped in the air, only to be met with a laughing Jake.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, but your reaction was priceless," he said while laughing.

I punched his arm. "You're such a jerk."

"I'm sorry," he apologized after sobering up.

I grabbed a bottle of coke and shut the fridge door. Jake blocked my path just as I was about to exit the kitchen. "Move, idiot." I stepped to the right, but so did he. I moved to the left, but once again Jake mimicked my move. "What do you want?"

He smiled down at me, his hand shakily reaching out to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. My heart was thumping so fast I was scared he could hear it. His fingers slipped from my ear, his warm touch grazing my neck. He let them linger for a second too long before retracting his hand.

"We don't want to miss too much of the movie. Let's go."

I stared at his retreating figure with disbelief. What the hell was that?

~*~

My eyes fluttered open and I let out a soft sigh. It was pitch black, the only light coming from the TV. I reached around for the remote, but when I felt someone my eyes widened. I quickly turned to see Jake's sleeping body pressed up against mine. I chomped on the inside of my cheek to stop myself from squealing. His head was nestled into my neck, his arm loosely thrown around my waist, and although I wanted to stay in the warmth of his touch, I had to get up. I wriggled out of his hold, turned off the TV, and went upstairs to the kitchen.

Keeping the lights off so I didn't wake anyone, I grabbed a cup and turned on the faucet, filling the cup with water. I took a swig, swishing the water around in my mouth. My mind fell back to the thought of snuggling up with Jake in the basement. I had no idea what our relationship was, but all I knew was I really enjoyed spending time with him.

While putting my cup away, I thought I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I whipped my head around, but there was nothing there... at least nothing I could see in the darkness. I placed my hands on either edge of the sink, a shaky breath escaping my lips. I must've just been so paranoid that my mind was playing tricks on me. I looked up at the window in front of me, and I swear I saw the reflection of a face behind me.

I let out a scream, my whole body wracking. Within a matter of seconds, the lights in my house flickered on, many pairs of footsteps following.

"Carter, where are you?"

The kitchen lights turned on as my friends came to check on me.

"I saw someone." I breathed heavily. "In the kitchen."

The boys split up to look around for any sign of forced entry while Aaliyah stayed to comfort me. "I'm sure it was just like the other day, Carter."

"I know I saw someone," I said through the sobs escaping my mouth.

"Sometimes our minds..." Her voice trailed off as something caught her eye. Aaliyah stepped away from me and picked something off the ground. "Did you drop this?" She was holding a butcher's knife.

I shook my head repeatedly. "No, that's not even ours." My father was very particular about the kitchen utensils, and he only liked a specific brand of knives. This knife, however, didn't look like any I'd ever seen in my house.

The boys returned. "Basement's good," Kellen said.

"Upstairs is fine," Shawn added.

"Did you open the living room window?" Jake asked me.

I shook my head.

"I think we should call the police."

~*~

"I'm going to keep an officer stationed outside your house indefinitely," Officer McNeil promised. "We are taking this threat with the utmost seriousness."

"I don't feel safe anymore," I admitted.

"We're going to take the knife to the station, see if we can get any fingerprints and run it through our database. In the meantime, I suggest you be vigilant and try not to be alone."

"I'm not going anywhere," I told my friends. "Not even the stupid carnival."

"You have to come," Aaliyah begged. "You can't let one stupid person ruin it for you."

"Perhaps staying in isn't the best idea," Officer McNeil chimed in. "The intruder knows where you live, plus it's safer to be with your friends in public rather than alone."

"Does that mean you're coming?" Aaliyah asked.

"Doesn't really seem like I have a choice."