CHAPTER 4 : Fear On Fire

It was strange how easily I became friends with Abby. I had never been a social person and I found making friends rather difficult but with her it wasn't like that. I usually took time warming up to people but Abby was just so easy to talk to.

Abby was genuinely a sweet person. She insisted I sit with her and Adrian every lunch and I couldn't refuse her offer. It was either them or sitting in the library alone. I hated being alone. We would talk about the most random things, from our favorite movies to our hobbies. We had a lot in common. She was into a lot of the things I was, we had the same favorite books, she liked the bands I did and I found I really enjoyed talking to her.

Her personality was so bubbly, contrary to her friend's. Adrian usually didn't say much during our time together. He spoke when spoken to and sometimes he would join in on the conversation but he would never initiate a conversation, not with me at least. I got the feeling he didn't like me very much. He never voiced anything per say but he was never friendly to me. But he was also never mean. I decided not to think too much of it.

I had gotten to know a little more about him as well, mainly from Abby. He was on the football team, which I found surprising. He didn't seem like the type, he definitely had the body for it, not that I was checking out his body, or anything. He was tall, well built with defined muscles. He was drool worthy, not that I was drooling over him. But he seemed a bit reserved unlike the rest of the other boys on the team. He wasn't loud or obnoxious like them.

I had also noticed he liked sketching. I would catch him drawing in our AP English class or sometimes even during lunch. He was really good.

I was glad to have at least made a friend. Adrian and I weren't friends. I wanted us to be. I wanted nothing more than to move on from Jack. New school, new friends, new life. No more crying over Jack Patterson.

.................

It was pouring heavily by the time I woke up. It seemed like a gloomy start to the day. Rain always brought a dreary atmosphere with it. I lugged myself out of bed, stretching out my weary limbs with an exaggerated yawn. I dragged my feet to the en-suite bathroom where I took a shower and brushed my teeth before returning to my room and dressing for the day. I wore a pair of dark jeans, a navy blue t-shirt and a black hoodie.

Downstairs Harrod was already waiting for me by the stairs, dressed in his usual formal attire, a black suit with a white button up shirt and black tie. His shoes were perfectly polished, you could even see your own reflection in them. I greeted him before heading into the dining room where my breakfast was already laid out for me.

The rain was still pouring by the time I got to school. I made a dash for the comfort of dry land as soon as I slammed the car door shut. But I didn't make in unscathed, my hair was dripping and though my clothes weren't soaked through and through they were still considerably wet.

I huffed at the discomfort of walking in wet clothing. I headed straight for my locker stuffing my hoodie in there, before shutting it with the intent of heading to my first class. It was still considerably early, only seven thirty, but seeing as I had nothing else to occupy me I figured a head start on today's topic would be a good idea. I approached my World History class.

I passed students chitchatting by their lockers, not particularly paying any mind to what they were talking about. My mind was preoccupied, but my attention was jerked when a girl and her friend excitedly squealed about Friday's game. Their shill voices left my ears ringing, but they brought something else to my mind or should I say someone. Adrian. Not that I made a habit of thinking about him.

I just so happened to know for a fact that he would be playing in that game and as much as I wished I could watch him play —by him I meant the team— as much as I wished I could watch the team play I couldn't. I had no one to attend the game with. Abby had a family matter to attend to and going alone was out of the question. I wasn't about to become the kid that went alone, it would be too embarrassing. And I very much doubted that the game would be any fun sitting all by myself.

I had my hand on the door knob when someone came up from behind me snaking their arm around mine, catching me off guard. I turned my head to my side to meet Paige's smile.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," I replied returning her smile with a slightly awkward one of my own.

Paige was a whole other story. We weren't friends as such. We would talk between classes and sometimes walk together to the next class, we had a lot of the same classes. She coincidentally had the locker next to mine, so we were locker buddies, I guess. She was really nice to me and I appreciated that.

She was class president, which explained why she'd felt inclined to welcome me to the school on my first day. She was also captain of the volleyball team. She was one of the most popular girls at the school. Which made me wonder why she took the time out of her day to talk to me. Why Abby and Adrian talked to me. They were both fairly popular yet they made the effort to be my friends. It didn't make sense.

I was awkward at times and had the tendency to say the most random things at the most random time. At my last school I was at the very bottom of the social pyramid. I was a geek if I had to be bluntly honest.

In my seventeen years of life, up to that point I had only ever managed to make one friend and that friendship crushed and burned. Said friend was probably wishing for my death at this point. I wasn't good at friendship, I messed things up.

Why were they bothering with me?

Maybe they needed time to realize I wasn't worth their time or maybe they actually liked me. I wanted to be hopeful. Expecting the worst out of everything didn't really seem like a healthy thing to do. But I just really hoped I didn't end up alone, again.

"You know class doesn't start for like another half hour, right?" She said, pulling my focus back to her.

"Yeah," I rubbed my hand against the back of my neck, "I thought I would get in early," I hoped that didn't come out has stupid as it sounded in my head, "So...what's up?" I asked desperate to change the subject.

"Some friends and I are going to the game this Friday, and I thought I would invite you. That's if you're not busy," my mouth was slightly ajar as she asked me to the game. Talk about the best coincidences ever, this was exactly what I was looking for. I really wanted to go to the game and not just for a certain blonde haired jock who would probably look super hot in his uniform. It had nothing to do with that. I just genuinely loved sports.

"Um...sure," she squealed excitedly clapping her hands.

"That's great!" She said as she let go of my arm, "I'll text you later."

"Okay" I said as she turned on her heels with a wave of her hand before she walked off.

..................

It had stopped raining by noon and by the time school was out the clouds had drifted off, leaving the sun to dry up their mess. I was glad to know the rain was gone. I didn't hate the rain as such, I just preferred it more when it was a storm and you could see the flashes of lightning and hear the loud ground shaking rumble of thunder. Thunder was my favorite part about storms. But when there was nothing more than a dreary pour, it was more of an inconvenience.

I found Adrian leaning against a wall by the front doors to the school. He pushed off the wall as soon as he saw me, coming to stand beside me.

"Hey, Mark" Was he talking to me? Of course he was, he said my name. Adrian was talking to me and Abby wasn't even around.

"Hi," I said warily.

"So, Abby and I are hanging out later today, she wanted me to ask you if you'd want to join us," he asked as we walked out to the parking lot side by side. He was close enough to me to send winged creatures fluttering about in my stomach.

"Um, I don't know" I said biting my bottom lip, something about being around him was unnerving. I was used to being nervous around people, especially people I hadn't known for long. But with Adrian it was different, I was nervous for an entirely different reason. I liked him. I knew the symptoms and these where it, I had a crush on him.

I caught myself ogling him countless times, I always got flustered when I was around him and I couldn't think straight when I was talking to him. Which was really annoying because I honestly just wanted to be his friend. Considering how badly my last crush went, I didn't like where this was going. I wanted to be friends. I internally groaned as we stopped next to his bike.

"You have to come," he said running his hand through his golden mane, then dropped it to one of the handlebars of his motorcycle. I was mesmerized as his forest green eyes stared intently into my grey ones. They sparkled as they captured in the afternoon light. I couldn't say no when he was looking at me like that, not that I wanted to say no. I numbly nodded, submitting to his request.

"Great, I'll see you there," he said with a toothy grin, I loved the mirth that came to life in his eyes as he smiled. He didn't smile often so I'd taken into appreciating every time he did. His smile was gorgeous. He slid his helmet onto his head, then mounted his bike with ease. I watched him ease out of the parking lot and onto the road and as he rode away.

Nothing good was going to come from this crush but I knew I was too late to stop it. I could try to snuff it out as much as I wanted but my attempts would amount to nothing.

I wondered over to where Harrod was parked, plopping onto the backseat. I stared out the window the whole drive home. Not really thinking of anything in particular, but instead I just numbly watched every tree we passed.

..................

Convincing Harrod to let me out of the house without him accompanying me proved to be difficult but not impossible. He could be strict at times but I knew if I begged enough he would eventually give in. It always worked when I was a kid and I wanted him to sneak me some extra cookies.

Since I had no idea where we were going I texted Abby my address so she could pick me up. When I walked outside I found her with a gaping mouth as she stared wide eyed at my house.

"This is your house?" She asked incredulously.

"Yeah," I said rubbing the back of my neck bashfully. I realized I had never actually mentioned where I lived. Not that it was a big deal or anything or at least not to me. I just shrugged her shock away as I turned her towards her car.

"You're house is huge," she said still gawking at the house. I sat in the passenger seat as she plopped into the driver's seat.

"I guess so," I said nonchalantly as I strapped on my seatbelt.

"Earth to Abby," I said waving my hand in front of her face and chuckled when she blinked twice regaining her composure, "are we going anytime soon."

She fastened her own seatbelt before starting her car and driving out of the long drive way.

She pulled up fifteen minutes later in front of a diner with a buzzing neon sign in the front that read, Savvy's. It was your average American diner complete with the scent of grease and coffee. As we walked in my eyes immediately landed on Adrian; sitting in a corner booth. He didn't seem to notice us come in, instead he had his head faced up eyes shut, as he leaned back against the booth. He straightened up as Abby and I took our seats.

"Hi," I said and he nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hello, I'm Stellar and I'll be your waitress. Are you ready to order?" A middle aged woman greeted us as she stood in front of us with a notepad and pencil in hand. I skimmed over the plastic menu in front of me looking over the options, searching for something that would best suit me. I was a picky eater and I wasn't that fond of trying new foods, so I usually went for what I knew.

"Can I have a cheeseburger with a side of fries and a chocolate milkshake," Adrian ordered first handing over his menu.

"I'll have the same but with a strawberry milkshake instead," Abby followed.

"And you, dear?" She asked pointing her pencil towards me.

"I'll have a veggie burger, with a strawberry milkshake" I said closing up the menu and handing it over to her. She jotted down our orders then promised to be back soon with our food, before she made her way back to the kitchen.

....................

We didn't take long in the diner . After we ate we filed up in Abby's car. I found myself on another drive to an unknown location. When I had tried to question Abby on our destination she had given me a wicked grin and simply said it was a surprise.

It didn't take me long to figure out where we were headed. There was only one place this far out of town. Well one place besides my house but I highly doubted that she was taking me home. My suspicions were confirmed when we stopped in front of the old abandoned church.

What were we doing here?

The building was creepy to say the very least. It had been abandoned decades before I was even born. The building looked like it was on the verge of collapsing in on itself. The roof had been torn off and the walls were cracking apart. It was as if a dark shadow loomed over the building foreshadowing doom. It sent a chill down my spine but unfazed by the appearance of the building Adrian and Abby went in and I followed after them.

"Why are we here?" I asked trying to keep my voice steady in order to hide the fear that laced every word.

I felt like I was being watched. As if something dark and cold was lurking in the shadows observing my every move. Whatever it was had the hairs on the back of my neck raising. And as if the temperature had dropped, goosebumps formed on my arms. I felt a chill go through my spine and every nerve in my body was screaming for me to run.

"Exploring," Abby said with a wink directed my way, running her finger over a really dusty table, grimacing then wiping it off on her jeans.

"C—Can we explore somewhere that's probably not haunted?" This time my voice was visibly trembling.

She chuckled, "calm down Mark. I assure you, this place is ghost free," she placed her hand over my shoulder as a gesture to reassure me, "we've been coming here for years and no ghost sighting, yet." I exhaled, realizing my paranoia was unfounded.

"And if there are any ghosts, don't worry we'll keep you safe." Adrian added and my cheeks heated up. I turned away to hide my face as I scanned the room.

What he said actually managed to calm me down. I was being silly. Ghosts weren't real, I had nothing to fear.

The room was dusty, there were cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and weeds growing in the corners of the room. Why would anyone want to hang out here? This place was a dump, but I didn't voice my opinion.

I looked out the broken window to where the cemetery laid. Though the church had been abandoned, the cemetery was still in use. It was getting late, the sun was already setting and the sky growing darker.

And it's not like being in an abandoned church with a graveyard for a backyard at night didn't sound like a great idea but I wanted to go home. Now all I had to do was tell to them that without sounding like a baby. This was my thing, running away every time I got scared. I was a coward, undeniably so. I hated it, I wanted to be brave and strong like my mom always wanted for me. But there wasn't some type of cheat to bravery, I had no idea how to do it. How did so many people do it?

"I'm going out for some fresh air," I announced as I walked over to the backdoor which led to the cemetery. The night air was cold and I shivered as a breeze blew past me. Dark ominous clouds were gathering overhead and I really hoped it wouldn't start raining again.

I couldn't just leave because I was feeling scared . There was nothing to be afraid of. I clearly knew that, reason was right there reassuring that I was safe. But fear never listened to reason, he did as he pleased. He ran rampage in my head until all I saw was him. I needed to find a way to silence him.

I walked past tombstones stopping in front of my mother's.

I couldn't count how many nights I woke up screaming from a nightmare. I always had that fear that monsters were hiding under my bed or in my closet. My mom would always rush in, calm me down before checking both under my bed and in the closet and then she'd kneel beside my bed stroking my hair and tell me it was just a nightmare and I had to be strong. She'd always stay with me until I fell back to sleep. I always felt safe beside her.

In moments like this I still really wished she was here for me. It was childish, I knew, but I just missed her so much. I was seventeen, eighteen in a month. I couldn't expect to grow up if I still feared the monsters under my bed. I knew there were no monsters. They weren't real. I resolved to making sure I wouldn't let my fears control me.

"What are you doing?" I jumped with a squeak when Adrian appeared beside me.

"Don't sneak up on me," I said my palm pressed against my racing heart, trying to calm it down.

"Sorry," he said with a smug smirk on his face. I huffed at his lack of sincerity, "what are you doing?" he asked again with a raised brow.

"Nothing," I said walking past him trying to get back into the church.

"Who was Melissa Roselyn Nelson?" he asked and I froze in my tracks.

"My mother," I replied him without turning back.

"Oh," his voice was low, with a hint of guilt, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, she died a long time ago," I walked back into the church, where I found Abby .

"Are you okay?" Abby asked, worry weighing her face.

"I'm fine," I told her coming in to sit by windowsill. I stared out the window again, looking into the woods and that's when I saw something moving from the corner of my eye.

It was probably nothing more than paranoia. But I caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure leaping from the cover of one tree to another. It's just my imagination, I told myself. I got to my feet and slowly backed away from the window, bumping into something hard. I squealed before I turned around to find Adrian. What was up with him and scaring the hell out of me. I had always been jumpy but this was ridiculous, he was like a ninja.

"I told you not to do that," I said as I glared at him.

"It's not my fault you're so jumpy," his tone was cold which made his words sting a little.

"I thought I saw something," I said under my breath, taking a step away from him.

"What?" He asked and my cheeks flushed red. How could I explain what I'd seen without sounding like I was completely crazy. There was nothing out there. I was letting my fear get the best of me the way I always did. Creating monsters where there were none. I hated how easily I got scared. I was such a baby.

"Nothing," I grumbled as sat right back on the windowsill, facing away from Adrian. I took a deep breath, there was nothing out there.

It was growing increasingly darker, Abby and Adrian had settled in one corner playing cards as I still sat by the window. The room was illuminated by the glowing light from a candle Abby had lit. I had one leg pulled up to my chest as the other hung off the edge. I stared out into the night. I was looking for something, but I wasn't quite sure what that was. Maybe proof I wasn't going crazy, that I might have actually seen something but not necessarily anything monstrous, maybe it was a deer or a falling brunch or whatever. I had seen something, I couldn't shake it, but it didn't mean whatever it was, was some monster.

I was just about ready to give up and join Abby and Adrian in their next game when something flashed from within the woods. I jumped onto my feet running outside.

"Where are you going?" Abby called after me but I was already halfway past the cemetery. I heard them following after me. It probably wasn't a good idea to go charging into woods after something that could possibly be dangerous but it was a rash decision, I didn't really think it through. I needed to prove to myself there was nothing to be afraid of. I wasn't a child anymore, things like this shouldn't have scared me, I was determined to prove they didn't.

There was nothing there, just trees and dirt. What was I even thinking? I turned around to go back to the church.

"Mark!" Abby called for me.

"I'm over here!" I called back to her. And that's when it happened. One moment I was walking back to the church then suddenly that eerie feeling, like I was being watched, was back and something else, a scent. I got a sudden whiff of sulfur and then something knocked me down. I hurriedly got to my feet, frantically looking around for what attacked me. That's when I heard it, a deep growl coming from somewhere hidden within the darkness.

Without a second thought I started to run. I didn't look back, I just sprinted until I was out of the woods and I ran straight into Adrian, knocking him to the ground.

"Oh my gosh, Mark! What happened?" Abby asked as I scrambled to my feet.

"There's something in there," I said hysterically. Adrian groaned as he rose to his feet .

"Calm down Mark, and tell us what happened," Abby said rubbing her hand soothingly on my back.

I took my time trying to regain my composure, by steadying my breathing. "Something attacked me," I breathed out, my own voice barely audible to myself as my ears pounded with the sound of heart beating frantically.

"It was probably a deer," Adrian deadpanned, "you've been jumpy since we got here."

"It wasn't a deer," I glared at him stubbornly.

"How are you so sure? Did you see whatever attacked you?" He challenged my gaze and I lost as I lowered my eyes and shook my head. I knew that something had attacked me, something monstrous, but I had no way of proving it without going back and trying to find whatever it was. And there was nothing in this world that could ever make me go back in there. However he didn't have to treat me like this. Why was he being so mean? Why didn't he believe me?

"I figured," he huffed turning away from me.

"I think I better leave," I said, backing away a few steps as I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Are you sure?" Abby asked.

"Yeah, it's late," I didn't understand why he was being so mean to me, but I didn't want to spend another minute longer here. I backed away from him even further, turning towards the car without another word. Abby came after me and Adrian followed shortly after.

"Can you take me home?" I asked her as soon as she was seated beside me in the driver's seat, she nodded starting the car. Adrian had settled in the backseat. I didn't say anything else as I slouched into my seat shutting my eyes tight, attempting to halt the tears prickling at my eyes.