"WE'VE GOT TO GO!" Delia Jacobson came rushing out from her bedroom to the large wooden staircase at the end of the hall. She made her way down, heading straight for the dirty pair of black Nikes placed neatly next to the front door.
"Come on, we have to start walking now or we'll be late!" Delia exclaimed frantically as she looked up from her half tied sneaker to see her three best friends still in the living room, not having moved a single muscle. "Seriously! You make me miss this movie and I promise it will be the last time we-". "Okay, sheesh we're coming. Come on Jack-attack up and at em!" Teddy cried out, using Jack as support while he pulled himself up. Jack rolled his eyes staying put as Will made his way up and out to where Delia was. Teddy tugged roughly on Jacks arms, watching the smile creep onto his lips as Teddy brought him to his feet. While the boys made their way down and into the entrance hall, Delia stood leaning against the front door, counting the change she had saved up in her wallet and grinned when she found she had extra money for a packet of licorice. "Idiots first." Delia grinned as she held the door open, Jack going first with his tongue stuck out at Delia childishly, than Teddy and finally Will. "Real funny Dee, you should do stand up comedy." Will said dryly as she closed and locked the door behind them, stuffing the key back into her pocket when she finished.
The afternoon was calm, the blazing sun coated the neighbourhood in layers of golden honey like hues as the group made their way down the empty sidewalk. Delia glanced down at her wrist momentarily and saw that they had roughly an hour till the movie was scheduled to begin. "We have to be there by 6:30 and it's already 5:38" Delia informed the others as they continued on with their conversation as if Delia hadn't said a word. She sighed turning on her heel to face the boys, "Did you hear m-". "Delia, stop stressing. We have plenty of time." Teddy interjected before Delia could finish, he flashed her a goofy grin though he could clearly see how unimpressed she was. "Wipe that grin off your face, Frazer." Delia retorted with a smirk growing on her lips. "Why don't you do it for me doll." He shot back sending Delia into a fit of giggles. "In your dreams." She flipped back around, a smile still plastered on her face. She could hear them fall back into their conversation from earlier and felt herself drift off into thought, tuning out the boys. She wasn't even entierly sure what they were talking about in the first place, but from what she already knew from 12 years of friendship with the three, it was arcade games or arguing about some stupid movie.
Delia naturally began to pick up her pace as the last house on their street unfolded from behind a group of tall trees casting a shadow over the three. It had always given Delia the creeps. The house was one of the first to be built in their neighbourhood, and with every year the house seemed to grow more unappealing to look at.
The house's front was made of wood that was faded, chipped and slowly falling out of place, the porch had broken entirely and almost every window pane visible, was shattered. The one thing Delia found the strangest about the home was that some lady actually had the guts to live there. Though she had never actually seen the woman, the stories the kids at her school had come up with had painted a pretty clear picture. Delia kept her gaze on the ground before her, wanting to be as far away from the house as possible maybe even convince herself it wasn't there.
Once the house was no longer in sight, Delia let out the breath she had unknowingly been holding in and slowed down her pace. Though she'd noticed the odd lack of chatter from behind her, it wasn't until she turned the corner of the street when she realized that the other three were no longer following her.
