"Don't you dare fucking talk to me like that." I snapped at the seething boy in front of me.
"Like what, princess? Like you're full of shit? Someone had to say it!" He yelled back.
"No, don't talk to me like you're better than me! You and I are the...
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★★★
The Crain house was... terrifying from the outside. Especially at night. John B. came to the conclusion that this house was where the gold was hidden, and we trusted him enough to go along with his plan. Earlier in the week we had seen the well in the basement of the house, but now, with supplies, we could find the gold. We all sat crouched behind some bushed outside the house, and I looked at the windows, just waiting for a light to switch on and our plan to be a bust.
The lights outside her house had switched on after one of us moved slightly, and we panicked, thinking Mrs. Crain, the ax-murderess, was coming to slaughter us. "Oh my god, we're too young to die," I whisper-yelled, squeezing my eyes shut. When she didn't come out, John B. deduced the following: "Okay... So she has motion sensor lights."
"We could, uh... move really slowly, maybe?" JJ suggested, and we all collectively groaned. "What?" Pope asked, and I shook my head. "It doesn't work like that," I said, and JJ sighed. "Oh shit, let's throw a rock at it," John B. said, and I quietly slapped a hand on my forehead.
"Damn, you two are just chock-full of brilliant ideas today," I hissed. "That's a really good idea. Let the ax murderer know that we're here," Pope said, and I mentally laughed at how parent-y we sounded. "Throw a rock at it?" Kie scoffed in disbelief.
"You have a better idea?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see it. "Literally anything but that," I said.
After more bickering about what we were gonna do, Sarah suggested shutting off the breaker in the circuit box on the porch, explaining how she used to play hide-and-seek around here as a kid. With the most experience at this godforsaken place, she was our golden candidate at the moment.
Kie suggested going with her, and I knew it would be up to me to go with them to even everything out. And no offense to them, but even John B. gave me a look that told me I needed to lead this operation. I groaned internally, but got up and stood near the two girls to let them know I was coming.
"Hey, be safe," John B. said to Sarah, and I looked over to them. The two were looking at each other like it might be the last time. They were so lucky. They had each other with no barriers, no obstacles. JJ and I had to hide our relationship from everyone, but now I wasn't even sure why. We hadn't really talked about it, but if he wanted his friends to know, he would've told them.
I had kept my mouth shut because he asked me to let him handle it a few days ago.
Pope knew, but nobody else did, and I worried for a split-second. Was he embarrassed by me? I knew I hadn't been friends with them for years, but I thought we were all close enough to not have too many secrets.
I shook the thought off and didn't even bother looking at him before I left. I didn't want to overthink anything or put words in his mouth, so I decided to just make a point to talk to him about "us" later.
