The mall wasn't very busy as Mom and I walked around, aimlessly, in one of the clothing stores. Then again, it was Thursday and the mall was only it's busiest on the weekend or on holidays. I wished that wasn't the case though.
If the mall had been a little more busy, with a little more people wondering around from shop to shop then maybe I would've never seen Faye and Ellen. Better yet, they never would've seen me.
"Why don't you try the skirt on first," Mom suggested, pointing to the dressing rooms.
My eyes darted over to Faye and Ellen who seemed to have been following us. It's possible that it was just a coincidence that they showed up at every store Mom and I went to. It was highly doubtful though.
Maybe I was being a little paranoid, but getting undressed behind a curtain didn't seem ideal at the moment. I knew for a fact that they weren't opposed to filming people in dressing rooms and posting it all over social media. I've played a part in many of their revenge plots and I knew all there moves. Now, with a target on my back, I was freaking out a little.
"No," I said, turning back to her. "I buy a lot of my clothes from here. It'll fit."
"Alright, now we just need a shirt," she said, already browsing a rack of blouses. "Do you know where he's taking you?"
"He won't tell me," I sighed, joining her at the rack and comparing a pink, sheer top to the floral skirt I had. It matched perfectly. "What about this?" I held up the skirt and top together for her to see.
"I like it," she said, but her face told a different story.
"You hate it," I laughed.
"Well," she motions to her current outfit. "I'm a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl."
Guess I shouldn't be too surprised that she wasn't a fan of my girly style. I bought the outfit and Mom bought herself a pair of black jeans.
Since she had to get to work to meet with the elusive lobster guy we left the mall. Faye and Ellen were no longer following us which was a relief. That was until we made it back to the car.
"What the hell?" Mom's jaw went slack at the sight of the car. "Who would do this?"
All four wheels were slashed and I immediately knew who was behind it. Looking around the parking lot I spot Ellen's convertible. The three of them waved at me, laughing before they drove off.
Mom was already on the phone calling for a tow truck. They day had been so perfect up until this moment, that I couldn't bring myself to tell her that this was my fault.
+ + +
Smoothing my hands over my skirt, I examined my finished look in the mirror.
"You're sure it not too much?" I asked, turning to my laptop where Alyssa's face appeared.
"That outfit looks good," she replied. "But I think your hair should be up."
Pulling my hair back into a ponytail with my hands, I agreed with her. It did look better that way. I grabbed a brush and a hair tie and quickly tied my hair up.
Calvin would be here soon and I was more than nervous. The only thing that kept me relatively calm was getting ready, but now that I'm done I had no distractions.
"You still haven't told your mom who slashed her tires?"
Well, except that huge distraction.
"No," I told her as I made sure my entire look was finally perfect. "It's not like I have any proof it was them."
"Jasmine documents everything," she pointed out. "I'll bet good money that she has a video of them doing it."
That actually did sound like something she'd do. There was no time to discuss it any further though. The doorbell rang and I froze in a panic. You'd think all of those one-on-one study dates and movie nights would have prepared me for this, but it didn't. The dynamic had changed and I was never any good with change. Even if I opened to it.
It was too late to turn back now, though.
"Don't just stand there idiot, go open the door," she demanded.
Snapping out of my shock, I said goodbye to her, powered down my computer and grabbed my purse. Taking two steps at a time I made it to the door just as he rang the bell a second time.
Taking in a deep breath and releasing it, I opened the door.
I couldn't hold back my smile when I saw him. He was dressed in a dark blue button down, blue jeans and of course his red hoodie. He looked good, which sent the butterflies in my stomach into a frenzy.
"Wow," he muttered as his eyes washed over me. "You look beautiful."
"Thanks," I said trying to ignore the blushing heat that filled my cheeks. "So do you. Handsome, I mean." I fumbled, mentally kicking myself. "I'm actually really nervous about this."
"Glad I'm not the only one," he laughed. "Oh, this is for you."
He pulls a paint brush from behind his back.
Taking the brush, I examine it. "It's been a while since I've been on date, but doesn't the guy usually give the girl flowers?"
"Didn't you say you were going to trust me with this date?" He held out his hand for me to take.
"Yes, I did," I agreed, taking his hand.
Even though the suspense was killing me. The mysterious paint brush only confused me and made me even more anxious to find out what he had planned.
He lead me to the car, opening the door and closing it once I got in. When he climbed in on the drivers side, I looked over at him.
"You can drive?"
"Of course I can drive," he replied, starting the car. "I take the bike because it's faster."
"Oh..." I mumbled, realizing that I was alone on the no driving front.
"Wait, you can't drive?" He asked, an amused look on his face as he began to drive to the unknown date location. "I thought you took the bus because your mom always had the car."
"I can drive," I defended. "The driving instructors just have something against me."
"Instructors?" He repeated, focusing on the "s". "So, they all made a group decision to keep you from obtaining a license?"
"Yes."
"That's the story you're sticking with?" He chuckled.
"Yep."
+ + +
The sun had just begun to set when Calvin pulled up to a mysterious looking gate. The chain linked fence was lined with what looked like green fabric, maybe to keep prying eyes from seeing what's inside. That paired with the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by empty fields and power lines, made the area seem eerie.
A security guard approached the car, his bald head glistening in what was left of the sun light. He asked for our names and Calvin gave them to the man. After checking his list the guy grunted something into his two-way radio and like magic the gates opened up.
Calvin pulled into the gates and it was like being transported into a different world.
Unlike the rest of the area, the gated land looked like a normal neighborhood. There were paved streets, sidewalks and street signs I began to recognize the names of the further we drove in. The were street names from famous Halloween and horror films. That's when I realized that a lot of the houses, which were actually just sets, were from the movies as well.
"What is this place?" I asked, turning to Calvin.
"This is the soon-to-be greatest Halloween attraction in Ohio," he announced as pulled into the driveway of house that looked a lot like the one Max and Dani lived in from Hocus Pocus.
We exited the car and I looked around, admiring the neighborhood. Outside of these gates it was still summer, but here it was fall. The sets were decked out with Halloween decorations and there were even red and orange leaves scattered around, even though this fake town didn't even have trees.
Weird.
"Calvin," a familiar voice called.
It was Mr. Webb. He greeted us both, insisting that we call him Peter outside of school. I was going to stick with Mr. Webb though. Calling a teacher bu their first name just seemed wrong.
"Really glad you two came," he said as we followed him into the house. It was only half a house,the entire back was opened. The inside included a living room, kitchen and stairs leading up to what I presumed to be Max's bedroom. "We've been a little behind schedule and need all the help we can get to finish this up in time for the opening."
We stopped at the end of the stairs and Mr. Webb pointed up them. "That room still needs painting before we can decorate it." He instructed before leaving us to get to work.
Calvin picked up the paint supplies that sat on one of the steps, "I know manual labor isn't an ideal date, but it's what I had to agree to in order to get in here."
"Are you kidding? This is perfect," I assured him as I followed him up the stairs. "Just please tell me there's an Elm street."
He dropped the painting stuff onto the floor and walked over to the window. "It's right down there," he pointed once I joined him.
"So, you've been here before?"
"Yeah, it's one of the art club activities," he explained, walking away from the window and opening the paint can. "Now, the sooner we get this room painted, the sooner we can go explore."
+ + +
Two hours later all three walls were painted an off white color. While it dried Calvin took me on a tour of the neighborhood. It was dark by then, the streets lit up with giant lights so that the construction workers could see what they were doing.
Walking the streets hand in hand with him, underneath the stars, in front of a replica of Carrie White's house felt unreal. It was a dream I never wanted to wake up from.
We circled the neighborhood, geeking out over the sets and talking horror movies. Somehow, we never ran out of things to talk about when it came to our favorite movie genre.
Near the back of the area there was a fake grave yard. It was also where the craft service was set up. Calvin grab two sandwiches and drinks for us and we found a secluded spot next to an marked grave. We sat down in the grass, leaning against the headstone as we began to eat.
"Now," Calvin started after taking a sip of his juice. "Aren't you glade I didn't tell you where we were going? Do you really think you would've been able to keep it together for a week?"
I took a look around the area while I thought about this. "Nope," I laughed. "I would've hunted this place down and camped out in one of the houses."
He laughed as well, his eyes crinkling at the sides. "You are something, Mia Perkins."
Warmth filled my cheeks as I looked don at what was left my sandwich. I felt his hand on my chin as he lifted my head back up to look at him. He was closer than I remembered and my heart beat a million times per minute. He leaned in and my eyes fluttered close as I waited for our lips to meet.
There was an earsplitting scream, ruining the moment. Looking around for the source of the scream I saw one of the workers with a remote that controlled on of the robotic bodies in the fake grave. I knew this because he tested out the mechanics two more times before letting it rest.
"We should head out," Calvin suggested, gathering our left overs. "Your curfews in a little bit."
Just when I thought this place could do no wrong, it goes and ruins my kiss.
//
Do you think Mia should tell her mom what the girls did or continue to ignore them?
&& What'd you think of the date??
Thanks SO for reading!
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