Perfect Places

"Thirsty?"

"Rae, if I need to talk to Kyle myself, I will." Zane told me over the phone.

"I don't know if that's really necessary, to be honest. I mean, he didn't do anything that weird." I admitted.

Zane sighed on the other end of the line, "I guess. Seriously though, what was he doing behind you in the kitchen?"

"I have no idea. Once I knew that he wasn't just gonna answer the question, I just gave up. There is no getting answers from that guy." I expressed.

"I know whatcha mean. I used to hang around the guy sometimes after school. He's ... different."

"That's the best way to put it. I called him weird straight to his face."

I heard Zane laugh, "Nice. He probably needed that."

I checked the time. It was around 11:30. I could see the light from the hallway outside of my door, shining in from the little gap above the floor. All of the sudden, it shut off. Everyone was probably going to bed.

"Are you tired yet?" Zane asked me.

"Nah, not really. I'm still kinda frazzled from Kyle. You?" I answered, twirling my hair out of boredom.

"Me neither. Your scream from the Death Drop is still ringing through my ears." I could tell he was smiling.

I laughed, "Sorry. That's what you get when you persuade me to go on that slide."

He laughed again, "It's fine. Have you thought about Victoria's party at all yet?"

My eyes widened, "Oh ... no. I completely forgot about it."

"Yeah, me too until Nick texted about it not that long ago. Are you wanting to go?"

That question. That million dollar question was one that I couldn't answer. Part of me, the semi-smart part of me, was telling me "HECK NO!"

But the other side of me, the curious part of me, was hungry for an adventure, and possibly a little chaos.

I hadn't seen Victoria in weeks. Which ... was surprising because usually, she would always be waiting around me for the perfect time to pounce.

The party invitation was strange. I had never been invited to anything. And the one time I do, it's from Victoria.

It felt weird.

"Zane ... I still don't know." I stammered, "I mean ... summer has barely started, and I don't know if I want to start it off on a good or bad note."

"Understandable. Rae, I'm gonna ask you a question, and you're gonna respond to it without giving it a second thought. Whatever you say is you final answer. Get it?"

"Yeah ... oh gosh I'm nervous."

"Heh, don't be. Alright ... three ... two ... one. Do you wanna go to the party?"

"Yes." I answered, almost immediately.

"Wow, really?"

I didn't know if I regretted what I said, or not.

"I guess."

"I like this side of Rae. You're such a daredevil." Zane joked.

"Oh lord, I don't know about this." I got nervous.

"Maybe it'll be for the best. I mean, maybe Jessica's right. Maybe Victoria is just gonna apologize."

"I doubt it. I bet she hasn't changed a bit."

"Then why do you wanna go?"

I was going to give him my legitimate answer, even though it was stupid.

   "Because I'm bored. And ... I feel brave." I nervously responded.

   There was a silence. I got worried. All of the sudden, he burst out laughing. Thank goodness.

   I started laughing too, because he was laughing.

   "Good logic, good logic." Zane managed to say in between laughs.

   Once we were done laughing, things went quiet again. I got worried ... again. Then, I heard yelling from Zane's end of the line.

   Oh lord.

   "Zane ... is everything ... okay?" I asked.

   "Oh yeah, uh, Rae, I gotta go. Look, I'll call you back in about ten minutes." He told me, sounding anxious.

   "Alright, if I don't pick up, get nervous, ok?" I grinned.

   "Rae, I'de be nervous if you didn't even respond to my texts." He chuckled.

   I laughed softly, "Okay, well I better let ya go. Bye Zane."

   "Bye Rae." He said, smoothly.

   I hung up before he could. I set down my phone on the side of the bed, and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. We had been talking for about an hour.

   All of the sudden, my throat got dry. And ... I was still craving that apple juice that Kyle spilled all over my shirt.

   I stood up quietly, and walked as slowly as possible, trying my best not to make a floorboard creak.

   Once I made it to the door, I opened it. Something on the ground caught my eye. I looked down, and saw a cup. It was the same cup I had the apple juice in.

   Beside the cup was a piece of paper. I picked it up skeptically, and read the word on it.

   "Thirsty?" It read.

   My heart started pounding. This was weird. The handwriting looked messy, so I knew it wasn't Jessica's. It had to be either Kyle's or Nick's.

   I prayed that it was Nick's.

   I was tempted to turn around and walk right back into my room, but I didn't. Instead, I turned my head in the direction of the kitchen.

   My breathing sped up. I picked up the cup, and put the note in my pocket. I didn't have my phone with me, so if Zane called, I wouldn't be able to answer.

   Good. If it was Kyle that was luring me into the kitchen, there would be a chance that Zane would be there to help.

   My feet got ahead of my brain. They started taking me towards the steps. Left foot ... right foot. Left foot ... right foot.

   I slowly made my way down the winding staircase, and across the tile on the ground. The sound of my socks against the floor was the only sound I could hear in the whole home.

   It was petrifying.

   My eyes caught view of the kitchen from a distance. Was I seriously going to do this? As I came closer to the kitchen, I could hear the faintest sound of breathing.

   Here we go.

   I braced myself for impact, as I walked into the kitchen. And there he was.

   Black high tops and all.

   Kyle was sitting there, on the kitchen counter, staring at me. He had his stupid smirk plastered on his face.

   I wasn't sure if my fear level was rising, or lowering. His dark, black hair was all in a mess, and he was still wearing the same clothes as before.

   "Hello there Rae." He said with his smirk growing larger by the second.

   I didn't answer. No way I was saying anything that I didn't need to.

   My eyes fell down to his hands. They were fumbling with something. The more I stared at it, the more I realized what it was it.

   It was a knife. A huge, sharp, kitchen knife.

   He chuckled, "Can I get you a drink?"