PSYCHO ― John B. Routledge ✓

25. We Did It

They approached the Crain house, stopping to admire it for a moment. Of course, as soon as they stopped a motion sensor light went on. Cursing, they all went to hide in the bushes and turn off their flashlights before anyone realized they were there.

"Okay, so she has motion sensor lights," Pope said with a groan as they tried to collect themselves.

"We could... uh, move really slow or something?" JJ suggested, but it was a half-assed idea if they had ever heard one.

The other boy shook his head, looking at JJ to say, "That's not how that works."

"Let's throw a rock at it," John B added, which was met with confusion from the rest of the group.

"Yeah, that's a really good idea. Let's just let the ax murderer know we're here," Kie mumbled dryly, a dissatisfied look on her face.

"Throw a rock at it?" Pope repeated, sounding almost in shock at the stupid idea.

"Uh, wait, most motion lights use infrared, right?" Norman cut in, Pope nodded and he kept speaking, "So, like, what if we used something cooler to shield us?"

"Do we have anything to shield all of us with? Do you have a shield up your ass, Norman?" JJ asked coyly to which the boy raised his hands in surrender.

Defending himself, he said, "Hey, hey, better than saying we should throw a fucking rock at it!"

"Babe," John B whined.

"Blegh," JJ retorted, but the bickering was cut off by Sarah interrupting.

"What about the breaker?" she suggested, which was probably the obvious solution they should have gone for in the first place, "In the circuit box on the porch. We used to play hide-and-seek here as kids and if we were brave enough, we'd go all the way to the porch. I've seen it."

John B shook his head, "No, you're not gonna go into that house alone."

"Watch me," the girl shrugged and Norman had to admire her gall for a moment. He was afraid of both the dark and ax murderers, so he could never speak as effortlessly as she just did.

"Crain chops people into pieces," JJ reminded her.

Sarah scoffed, "If you believe that. She's like, what? Eighty-five? She's probably still barely kicking."

"Here, I'll go with you, just to ease their minds," Kie offered, "Since stupid boys don't think we can do anything alone."

"You go to the bathroom in packs," the blond boy said, "How are we supposed to know when you can or can't do things yourself?"

The girls just looked at each other and rolled their eyes before Pope told them, "We'll wait for your signal."

"Hey, be safe," John B warned them as the two girls stood.

"We will," Sarah said at the same time Kie remarked, "Don't tell me what to do."

As the two girls walked away, JJ reached over and grabbed Pope's face to turn him to face the boy, mocking John B as he said, "Be safe."

"I'll be so safe, I'll be safe for you," Pope countered in an overly-dramatic tone. Norman snickered to himself while John B rolled his eyes.

"Aw, don't be offended, I think it's sweet," Norman teased as for a moment he allowed himself to absentmindedly play with the boy's hair. It was odd that he was able to do such things now; he didn't have to bury the impulses anymore since he could simply reach out and touch.