Benny hurries into Ethan's room, clutching a new game and a bag of Kit Kat's. "Dude, your parents are gone, and we have the run of the house-well except for your sister and Sarah, your babysitter." Benny teases, "and Mary is coming over when she's done with her shift."
Ethan rolls his eyes at the babysitter part. "Anyway, do you have any idea what this means?" Benny asks excitedly.
Ethan's eyes light up, "does it rhyme with, gideo vames?"
"Almost," Benny holds up the game in his hand, "Knights of Ninjitsu 4!"
Ethan smiles wide, "wick!"
"I had to wait five hours in line for this puppy and I had to pee the entire time!" Benny exclaims.
Ethan stands up excitedly and takes the game from Benny, "well, it's gonna be worth every bit of kidney damage - wait, why did we need the run of the house for this?"
"You know, so we can yell and stuff," Benny shrugs.
Ethan scoffs, "you yell in here all the time. My mom is constantly telling you-"
Benny rolls his eyes, "do you wanna play or not?
...
"Hey hey hey nerds," Mary chants as she walks into Ethan's room a little while later.
"Ugh, no!" Ethan whines.
"Okay, damn, if you don't want me here, you can just tell me," Mary says, raising her hands up in defense.
"No, it's not you," Benny shrugs, "his processor burnt out."
"Ah, that makes sense, game systems are like forms of life support for you two." Mary jokes.
"Haha," Benny nudges her arm with his elbow. Mary giggles at the action, then gasps excitedly when she notices the Kit Kat's on the table, "you remembered?"
A week ago, Benny and Mary were walking to class and talking about their favorite candies. Mary mentioned how Kit Kat's were her favorite, but she hadn't had them in a while because she hadn't been able to afford them with everything else she has to pay for.
Benny grins, "of course I did. They're your favorite, right?"
Mary nods, "yeah. I haven't had them in like forever. You are the best." She cheers and playfully messes with his mop of brown hair. "Oh come on, why do you do that?" He whines and automatically goes to fix it.
Mary laughs, "because it's funny."
"Hey can you two stop flirting back there so Benny can help me?" Ethan asks.
Mary's eyes widen and her entire face goes red, as did Benny's. "We're not flirting," they state at the same time.
Ethan laughs, "yeah, okay."
Benny clears his throat and opens his spell book. Mary takes her candy and moves to Ethan's bed to put her headphones in and start her homework.
"Hey why don't we just use a minor reparation spell? It can fix anything, it says so right here!" Benny exclaims.
"Eh maybe-wait, boo ya! Got it! We're back in business." Ethan cheers. Benny places his spell book on the table and hurries to sit next to Ethan.
"Sword chopping business!" Benny says excitedly.
After a few minutes, they hear Sarah calling from Jane's room. "Ethan, you're gonna wanna see this!"
Benny and Ethan give each other a confused look and stand up from their game to check it out. Benny playfully takes out one of Mary's headphones as he passes the bed. "Ah! What?" Mary yelps.
Benny laughs, "Sarah needs us, come on."
Mary sighs and follows him out of Ethan's room. "Is everything o-oh my god." Mary gasps at the sight in Jane's room. Standing next to Jane is a tall girl, with bright blue hair and a creepily happy expression on her face.
"What the heck is that?" Ethan whisper yells. "That, is a life sized Debbie Dazzle. I think I had a dream about this once." Benny replies.
"She's so creepy." Mary whispers, not realizing she was practically hiding behind Benny and clutching onto his arm.
Ethan pulls Jane aside to ask her what happened, Benny notices Mary's hand on his arm. "You okay?" He asks, averting his eyes to her hand then to her scared face.
Mary nods a little too enthusiastically, "yeah, I'm fine. Totally great."
Benny raises a suspicious eyebrow at her, "mhm. Sure. If you're afraid it's okay, no one is gonna judge you."
"I'm not afraid. I just don't like dolls. Or dolls that come to life." Mary whispers.
"Let's have ice cream, and go to a roller disco dance party!" Debbie cheers, turning around to flash her creepy smile at them.
Mary hides even more behind Benny, practically looking over his shoulder. "I'm in!" Benny smiles.
Mary shakes her head, "seriously?!"
"No parties. We need to turn her back into a doll." Ethan states.
"I second that." Mary adds.
"No! I don't wanna go back. It's so boring, I wanna have fun. I won't go back, I won't," Debbie says angrily, which scared Mary even more. Benny can sense this, so he gently moves his arm away from her grip to hold her hand. Mary doesn't realize that a small smile formed on her face.
"Don't worry, Debbie. I won't let them change you back, I promise." Jane gushes and grabs Debbie's hand.
"Oh goodie," Debbie flashes a smile at Jane, "let's celebrate. Cupcake dance party!"
Jane leads Debbie downstairs, Sarah shoves the spell book into Benny's chest, "find a way to undo this, now."
Benny sighs, "it's not that simple. I think Jane used a different spell." He pauses and opens the book, momentarily letting go of Mary's hand, "or different words. I can't reverse it until I know the exact spell."
Mary groans, "ugh. I'm so not gonna be able to sleep tonight."
"Kitchen party!" Debbie sings from downstairs.
Ethan sighs and walks out the door, "just find the spell. Fast."
"Oh so, you get to go to the party, that's fair!" Benny shouts at him.
Mary rolls her eyes and steps out from behind the wizard, "come on, I'm sure you can figure this out. I can help too if you want."
Benny nods at the brunette,"thanks."
The two head to Ethan's room and sit down at his computer. Benny flipped through his spell book for a while as Mary peered over his shoulder.
"This is hopeless. I have no idea what spell Jane used," Benny eventually groans then slams his book shut.
"Well, maybe there's another way we can get rid of her. Like throw her down a flight of stairs." Mary jokes.
Benny chuckles, "wow you really don't like any of this, huh?"
Mary shakes her head, "not at all. I'm already having a dream of her following me home and killing me in my sleep."
"You know I won't let anything happen to you, right?" Benny blurts out. He feels his cheeks flush once he realizes what he said, "I- I mean-"
Mary smiles, feeling a swirl of warmth in her chest, "you'd protect me?" No one has ever said they'd protect her.
Benny feels flustered, "I-I mean yeah. You're my friend." But he internally slaps himself, 'dammit, now she's gonna think I only like her as a friend.'
Mary felt a slight sting in her chest when he called her a friend, she wasn't sure why, but she brushes it off and nudges his arm, "you're my friend too. My best friend, even."
Benny's eyes widen, "really?" He can't help but be disappointed that she only thought of him as her friend, but hearing her call him her best friend also made him happy in a way. She cares just as much as he does.
Mary nods at him, "really."
Benny grins, "well then you're one of my best friends, too. I care about you, really. I know we haven't known each other for as long as Ethan and I have known each other, but, I feel like we're...I don't know-"
"Connected?" Mary finishes. She meant that, she really did feel connected to him. He made her feel safe, she still couldn't figure out why, though.
Benny nods, "yeah. That's exactly it."
Mary smiles back at him, he looks at her eyes, then down at her lips, then her eyes again. "I have a question." Benny asks suddenly.
"Shoot."
Benny clears his throat, "well it's not really a question but more of a uh-I don't even know. But, um, Sarah told me about this dream that you had."
Mary raises her eyebrows, realizing what dream he was referring to, "she did? Why?"
"Because I've been having that same dream." He admits.
Mary gives him a confused look, "what do you mean?"
He sighs, "for the past like six months I've been having this awful nightmare. I'm running down this hallway, being chased by this shadow thing. The hallway is filled with doors but all of them-"
"Are locked, except for one." Mary finishes for him again. Benny nods, "yeah."
Mary is stunned, "wow. That's crazy."
"I know."
"Am I in yours?" Mary stammers while fidgeting with her shirt, "because, I mean-well.."
"Well what?" Benny adjusts himself so he's facing her, eager to hear her answer to get some of his own. "Am I in your dream?"
Mary chews on her lip, "kinda."
A smile erupts on his face, he couldn't control it. She has to be the girl now. "What-"
"Benny!" Ethan calls from downstairs. Benny groans at the interruption, 'so close.' He forces himself to stand up, "coming!"
He faces Mary who was now looking at him nervously, "I really want to talk about this at some point, but we gotta deal with this first. Come on." He says to Mary.
She nods in agreement, following him closely but then stopping for a second when she realizes she'll have to face the plastic demon downstairs.
"Wait." She says, grabbing his wrist.
"Yeah?"
She takes a breath, "can you hold my hand? I feel a little...well...safer, I guess." She felt embarrassed asking this, especially since it's clear he only thinks of her as a friend.
Benny blushes beat red and laughs nervously, "I-uh yeah of course." Mary smiles and takes ahold of his hand, "thank you."
...
"Whoa, this is a cupcake party." Benny grins as him and Mary walk into the kitchen, hand in hand, looking at the table that was scattered with cupcake ingredients.
Sarah and Ethan both give the two questionable looks. "What?" Mary asks them.
Sarah points to their hands while smiling, "did something happen up there?"
Mary and Benny blush. "I-uh- no. Mary is just a little bit scared." Benny half teases.
Mary glares at him, feeling embarrassed about her fear, "hey! I told you that in confidence." She snatches her hand away, causing him to sigh, "sorry."
"Did you find anything?" Ethan asks.
Benny shakes his head, "no. I couldn't figure out the spell."
"Hmmm, lemon swirl." Debbie says, handing a cupcake to Sarah.
"No, please, no more cupcakes." Sarah sighs.
Benny shrugs, "I'll take a lemon swirl." He picks a cupcake up and wolfs it down with the biggest grin on his face.
"Oh, no. Look at your clothes," Debbie says to Jane, "I know just what we should play next, Debbie Dazzle fashion show!"
"Okay!" Jane cheers in agreement.
The two begin to walk towards the stairs when Debbie bends forward in pain, "ow!"
"Are you okay?" Ethan asks, grabbing her arm. He instantly becomes still and looks into the distance, his hand on her arm glows a deep blue. Mary's eyes went wide at the sight.
Then, Debbie stands up quickly, "I'm fine, great in fact. Let's go have some fashion fun."
As Debbie walks away, Ethan feels faint, causing him to stumble against the table. "Whoa, what happened?" Benny asks him.
Ethan takes a shaky breath and looks at the three, "I had a vision. Debbie needs life energy to stay in human form. She absorbs it through contact."
"Are you kidding me?" Mary sighs, "can this get any worse?"
Ethan sighs, "if we, if-" Ethan stammers and almost falls over, but Benny catches him. "Whoa, whoa, easy buddy."
"She must've drained you a little." Mary adds, looking at her friend in worry.
"Wait, maybe if we keep her away from people she'll turn back into a doll." Ethan suggests, feeling his balance return.
"Sounds good to me." Mary states.
"Let's hope." Sarah says with a shrug.
Suddenly the door bell rang. Benny and Ethan go to answer it, while Sarah stays in the kitchen with Mary.
"So, what was that before?" Sarah whispers to her.
Mary clears her throat, "what was what?"
Sarah rolls her eyes, "you know what I mean. You and Benny." A smile spreads across her face, "oh my gosh, are you guys a thing?"
Mary shakes her head, "What? No. I mean-I don't know. He told me about this dream that he had, how it was the same as mine and that he was in it-"
"He did? So, it's true then, you're the one in his dream."
Mary shakes her head in disbelief, "what? I am?"
"He didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what-"
"It was just Rory." Benny says as him and Ethan enter the kitchen.
"Come on, we gotta get Jane away from Debbie." Ethan states, and the three follow him upstairs.
When the four entered Jane's room, her and Debbie were tearing apart Jane's clothes on her bed.
Mary starts to feel scared again at the sight of the doll, and instinctively grabs Benny's hand. "Is this what girls usually do with their dolls?" He asks.
Sarah scoffs, "you don't do this with yours?"
"Those are action figures." Benny snaps. Mary shakes her head, "sure they are."
Benny glares at her, attempting to look angry, but she laughs, "you don't have an intimidating stare, ya know."
Benny scoffs, "yes I do."
"No, you really don't."
"Guys, cut it out." Ethan snaps through his teeth.
Sarah leans over to him, "we have to get her alone." Ethan thought it over for a second, then came up with an idea, "hey Debbie! Guess what, I just found a bunch of...uh, things that girls say go with shoes."
"Oooh, I love accessorizing." Debbie squeals. She stands up to follow Ethan out the door, Mary moves far out of her way while holding Benny's hand.
"Bed time!" Sarah says to Jane before she could follow the others.
Mary watches as the boys lead Debbie to Ethan's room, "right in here, go crazy!"
Debbie turns, confused, "but I don't see any-"
Ethan cuts her off and slams the door shut, tying a rope around the door handle "Hey! Let me out! I wanna play! You're a real party pooper!" Debbie shouts while aggressively hitting the door and yanking the knob. The sight was nightmare fuel.
Mary stumbles back, still holding Benny's hand. "Oh thank god." She breathes.
"What about the window?" Benny asks.
Ethan scoffs, "we're on the second floor, it's not like she can fly."
"If she did, it would be game over for me." Mary states.
...
A little while later, Mary was helping Benny and Ethan clean up the kitchen.
"Jane's out like a light." Sarah appears in the kitchen. "Great. Now we just have to convince her she dreamed the whole thing." Ethan sighs.
Just then, the door opens, "hello ? We're home." Ethan's dad calls. The boys's eyes went wide, "my parents! Can you go stall them?" He asks Sarah desperately.
Sarah nods to him and hurries off, leaving the other three in the kitchen to quickly clean the mess.
...
"Think her batteries have run out by now?" Benny asks while they walk up the stairs.
"I hope so." Mary mumbles.
"Probably, but we should still-"
Ethan pauses when he notices the rope holding the door handle to lock it is untied, the three look at each other and run to Ethan's room.
They look around, nothing seemed out of place, except for the window being open. Mary's eyes widen at the sight, "oh no."
"Is it too much to hope that she ran out of juice while jumping out the window and fell into the compost?" Benny suggest with a scared shrug.
But Ethan didn't answer him, he's too busy staring at the horror in front of him. "Ethan?" Mary asks, "what is it?" She walks up next to him, immediately moving her hand up to her mouth, "oh my god."
"What's wrong?" Benny asks.
Ethan picks up two dolls from his bed, wearing the same clothes his parents were wearing earlier. "Mom? Dad?"
Benny's eyes widen, "I'd say she's now running on a full charge."
🔮