Fear
Part 1
It was Halloween. Claire usually loved Halloween, but this time around, she couldn't get into it. She was too sad that her aunt who also happened also to be her best friend, hated her guts.
"Claire! You look smoking hot!" Theo said as he saw Claire standing by her locker, waiting for him.
She smiled. "You think so?" She curled a blonde tendril around her finger. "I don't even like the movie Alice in Wonderland, but I figured I might look good as Alice."
Theo grinned. "You totally do!"
You look pretty dapper yourself!" Claire said, playfully nudging him. "Are those fangs glued to your teeth?" She carefully touched one of his fangs
He grinned. "Yes! But there is a solvent that will take them right off once the night's over."
"Remember those horrible cheap plastic teeth you had to bite on that they used to sell?" Claire asked as she grabbed her books from her locker.
Theo laughed. "Yes! I think they still sell those as party favors. I wouldn't be able to wear those today. You couldn't even talk when wearing those!" Theo said.
Claire shut and locked her locker. "I know, right?" They both laughed, and headed off to class.
~FEAR~
After school, Rochelle showed up at the guest house Ciara was living in. "I can't believe I let you talk me in to this. I barely even know you," she said as she came into the guest house, dressed in her usual Goth attire. "The only reason I agreed to this is because I've lost a grandmother so I understand your need to talk to a passed on loved one."
"Thank you," Ciara said. The truth was, she really wanted to ask her father's opinion on what she should do about the Claire and Theo situation. Hope was always concerned about doing the right thing and letting things go. Bo however, had always been more practical. He believed when someone did something to hurt you, they needed to be paid back.
"Where should I set up?" Rochelle asked. "I need somewhere dark."
"We can go into the bathroom. There are no windows in there," Ciara replied.
Rochelle shot her a cynical look. "Really? The bathroom?"
Ciara shrugged. "It's the only place without windows. Besides, it's not a normal bathroom. It's huge! You could do cartwheels on the floor and not bump into anything."
Rochelle rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever."
So, they headed into the bathroom. Rochelle took her backpack off. She sank to the floor, as did Ciara.
Rochelle unzipped her backpack and took out a folded up Ouija board. She unfolded the board on the floor, then took out some candles and placed them around the board at a reasonable distance so they wouldn't accidentally be knocked over.
She then took a cigarette lighter and lit them.
"Let's get to it. It's Halloween, and I have other things I need to be doing," Rochelle grumbled. "Place your hands on the planchette."
"The what?" Ciara asked; confused.
Again, Rochelle rolled her eyes. "The thing that moves."
"Oh! Sorry. Duh!" Ciara placed her hands over the wooden piece, as did Rochelle.
"Oh spirts of the other world, is Bo Brady in your presence?" Rochelle asked.
They waited and nothing happened.
"Yes or no? Is Bo Brady in your presence or spirits of the other world?" Rochelle asked; more firmly this time.
Still, nothing happened.
Ciara rolled her eyes. "This is lame."
Suddenly, the planchette moved rapidly over and up to the "Yes."
"You did that!" Ciara said, whipping her head to look at Rochelle.
Rochelle's eyes were big. "I swear to you I didn't."
Ciara looked back at the board. "Dad?"
The planchette began to move again, only this time slower. First it went to yes, then it started to spell out something.
Ciara and Rochelle read the letters out loud.
"D…O…O…D…L…E…B…U…G."
Rochelle looked confused. "Doodlebug?"
Ciara's eyes grew wide. "That's the nickname my dad used to call me when I was a kid! It's him! It's really my dad!" She had years in her eyes. "I miss you, Dad. So much!"
The planchette spelled out. "I miss you too Doodlebug."
Ciara then began to sob.
Rochelle sighed. "Can you not? Pull yourself together and ask him what you want to ask him before I waste anymore of my All Saints night with you!"
Ciara wiped her eyes. "Dad, Theo cheated on me with Claire. What should I do?"
It took a moment for a response, but one finally came in.
"You must make them pay," the planchette spelled out.
Ciara nodded. "I was hoping you'd say that. "How?"
The planchette spelled out an immediate answer. It took forever to spell out, but the answer finally came. "Lull them into a false sense of security."
Ciara smirked. "And then what?"
The response that came back was chilling. "Then you kill them."
"All right this is clearly not your dad, unless he was a psycho killer and you never told me. We're done." Rochelle said. "Be gone, evil spirits!" Rochelle cried out. She grabbed the board, folded it back up, and put it back in her bag.
Ciara stood up. "Wait! I'm sure he was only joking. He had an odd sense of humor at times."
Rochelle shook her head. "No, no, no. When you get responses like that, you've got to abort the mission right away!" She began to blow out the candles.
"But I wasn't finished talking to my dad!" Ciara stomped her foot. "This is the second time I didn't get to say goodbye to him!" Her eyes welled up with tears.
Neither Rochelle, nor Ciara noticed the dark figure in the mirror that stood right behind Ciara.
Before Rochelle could blow the last candle out, the dark figure slipped into Ciara.
Rochelle stood up and turned the bathroom lights on. "That wasn't your Dad, all right? Dark spirits can be very clever. They have ways of finding out stuff that no one else but the person you're trying to contact would know, then they use it to make you believe they are really who you want them to be. Then they try to get you to do their dirty work since they as spirits can't do it anymore."
She finished packing her things. She stopped on her way out the door. "I promise you Ciara, that wasn't your dad. I'm sorry."
"It's all right. I guess talking to him again just wasn't meant to be," Ciara said without emotion.
Rochelle looked at her with sympathy. "I'm sorry. I really am." She then left the guest house.
Ciara watched her leave, and smirked when the door closed behind Rochelle.
~Fear~
There was a knock on the door.
Claire, who was relaxing on the couch with Theo trying to figure out what they were going to do that night, peered out the peephole. "It's Ciara!" she said, surprised to say the least.
"I hope she's not here to attack us," Theo said, only half joking.
"Don't even joke like that," Claire said. She opened the door. "Ciara! I thought you never wanted to see me again."
Ciara smiled. "Don't be silly! You're my niece. How could I possibly stay angry with you forever? May I come in?"
Claire hesitated. "Uh…Sure."
Ciara came in, and Claire shut the door behind her before exchanging curious looks with Theo.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Ciara said.
"You're sorry? For what? We're the ones who cheated," Theo said.
Ciara nodded. "True, but I shouldn't have poured soda on you in front of everyone."
"Well, we kind of deserved it," Claire said.
"I'm so sorry I called you a bitch, Ciara! I'm also sorry I cheated on you. I should have just told you that I was no longer in love with you, and that I was in love with Claire instead," Theo said.
Claire nodded. "And I should have talked to you first about my feelings for Theo."
"It's all right. I wasn't the best girlfriend and friend to you guys lately anyway. I let my anger at Jonah's bullies consume me. Honestly, I didn't really feel much romantically for you anymore either, Theo. I just didn't want to admit that we were growing part." Ciara said.
"Well, just because we grew apart as boyfriend and girlfriend, it doesn't mean it has to be as friends, right?" Theo asked her.
Ciara smiled. "Of course not!"
"So, we're cool?" Claire asked. "You don't hate me anymore?"
Ciara held out her arms. "What are you talking about, hate you? I could never hate you! You're my niece and my best friend for goodness sake! Come here!" She held her arms out to her.
Claire cried out in happiness, ran to her aunt, and hugged her tightly in return. "Thank you for forgiving me."
"Don't mention it!" Ciara said. She then hugged Theo. "All is forgiven."
"Group hug!" Theo said.
They all grinned and hugged tightly as a group.
Theo and Claire didn't see the wicked smirk on Ciara's face as they hugged, or the evil in her eyes.
~Fear~
"Thank you for inviting us over. Though, after what you said about horror movies, I'm surprised you want to see one," Claire said to Ciara as they arrived at her place. "Cool costume by the way."
Ciara grinned. "Thanks." She was dressed as a beautiful witch. "I decided, it's Halloween, so why not?"
"Are Chase, Joey, and Jonah coming over?" Theo asked.
Ciara shook her head. "No. They are all attending Matt O'Brian's Halloween bash."
"Matt O'Brian is having a Halloween bash?" Claire pouted. "Why weren't we invited?"
"Because he's a jerk! He doesn't like me just because I'm autistic. He thinks I am too child-like and don't know how to have a good time," Theo said. "Though, I don't know why he didn't invite you two."
Ciara had been invited, but she had better plans for tonight. Claire had also been invited, but of course, Ciara had intercepted that invitation upon arriving at her house earlier. Matt was known for his last minute party invites. He felt it was all the more exciting to invite people the night of.
Ciara shrugged. "Who knows? He's a jerk, so who cares?"
"True," Theo agreed.
"I made some snacks for you. The DVD is already in there. Why don't you go ahead and press play? I'll be right there," Ciara said.
"What movie are we watching?" Claire asked.
Ciara smirked. "Drag Me to Hell". She then went into the kitchen for the snacks.
~Fear~
Hope and Aiden were spending the night at the Salem Inn to give Ciara and her friends a little privacy. Of course, they were already making use of the bed. Somehow between choosing what to get for dinner and what horror movie they wanted to watch while eating, they ended up in desperate need of each other. It might have had something to do with the way they were dressed. Their dinner and movie weren't exactly top priority on their lists anymore, and their costumes weren't on their bodies anymore.
"You are so beautiful…" Aiden murmured post-lovemaking as he kissed up her arm. "You make one sexy Morticia Addams!"
She grinned. "And you make a very sexy Gomez Addams." She grinned. "That mustache is so sexy on you! Who would have thought?" She gently rubbed at it with her thumb. "I can't believe it stayed on."
"That spirit gum sticks a little too well. You can't get it off without the solvent," he said.
Hope laughed. "Did you bring the solvent with you?"
"Of course! But if it turns you on so much, I'm in no hurry to take it off." He grinned at her and wriggled his eyebrows.
She grinned too. "I also am a big fan of the way you slicked your hair back. Mm… So incredibly sexy!" she purred, running her fingers through his hair.
"You know what I'm a big fan of?" Aiden murmured positioning himself on top of her.
"Mm, more already?" she asked, gently stroking his hair.
"Please?" He asked, kissing down the side of her neck.
"All right," she agreed. Her eyes grew lust-filled. "But this time, I get to be the one in control." She moved them so that she was now on top of him.
"Ugh… Baby, the things you do to me…" he murmured.
Hope smirked. "You mean, then things I'm about to do to you…" she purred in his ear.
He moaned, and pulled her into a passionate kiss.
Their kisses quickly intensified.
However, just as Hope was about to claim what was hers, there was a knock on the door.
"Don't you dare answer that!" Aiden said.
"I'm sorry, it could be important," Hope said. "Who is it?" she then called out.
"I'm sorry to interrupt. I just really wanted to see your room. You see, it was a special room for my husband and I. We spent our wedding night in this room and came back here every anniversary. I'm only in town for tonight. I just wanted to look at the room for old time sake. My husband has passed on, and… I just really wanted to see the one last memory of him I have here," came a voice from the other side of the door.
"I'm sorry but my fiancé and I are trying to make memories of our own in here!" Aiden said.
Hope shot him a look.
"Please? I'll only stay a minute," the woman begged.
"Just give us a moment, please," Hope said.
"Thank you!" the woman replied.
Aiden sighed. "This better be quick," he muttered as he headed to the bathroom to grab a bathrobe.
Hope took his hand, and stopped him. "Trust me. I'll make it more than worth your while." She kissed him passionately.
He moaned, and pulled her in for another kiss. "I'm going to hold you to that…" he murmured before finally heading into the bathroom. Hope quickly slipped her undergarments and a robe on, then opened the door.
Before her stood a lady who looked to be her age. She was wearing a long white dress. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head and her lips were bright red. She was stunningly beautiful.
"Thank you so much for letting me view this room!" She extended her hand to Hope. "I'm Madison Becker."
"I'm Hope Brady, and this is my fiancé Aiden Jennings," Hope said as she motioned to Aiden, who was coming out of the bathroom. "Aiden, this is Madison Becker."
Aiden smiled politely at her. "Hello, Madison. I'm sorry to hear about your husband passing on."
"Thank you. He was such a wonderful man. Our time together was cut too short," Madison said sadly. She looked around the room. "The bedding and the wall paper are different than they were before."
"Do you mind me asking what happened to your husband?" Aiden asked.
Madison looked at him with the saddest expression on her face, then sat down at the end of the bed. "He was murdered. A bad man shot and killed him."
"That's so terrible!" Hope said, a hand over her mouth.
"I'm so sorry for your loss. A murder makes it even worse!" Aiden said.
Madison nodded. "It does… I don't know what I ever saw in him…."
"Saw in who?" Aiden asked; confused.
Madison ignored his question and stood up. "Well, thank you for letting me see this room. I hope you two have a long and happy marriage."
Aiden and Hope both thanked her, then she was gone as quickly as she had come.
"That's awful about her husband being murdered!" Hope said.
Aiden nodded. "I can't even imagine it!" He held Hope tight. "I don't want to think of anything depressing like that. What I do want to think about is what you planned on doing with me before she arrived here."
Hope smirked. "Mm… you never give up, do you?" She undid his robe tie and slipped it off his shoulders. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. He hadn't bothered to put his undergarments back on.
He grinned. "Not when you make me so insatiable…"
Hope moaned.
As they kissed, Aiden made quick work of removing her robe and undergarments, and soon they were back in bed, sharing their love for each other in the most intimate of ways.
~Fear~
Ciara came out with a big tray of cupcakes decorated like pumpkins. "These are really good. I've tried one before. You should really eat more than one. They're that good!"
As she headed into the room from the kitchen, Meredith ran right on front of her, causing her to trip. The cupcakes went flying, and they all smashed face down on the floor.
"Meredith, I could kill you!" Ciara cried out angrily.
"Relax! They're just cupcakes. "Let's order a pizza. If we order form Domino's we can get some of their brownies for dessert," Claire said.
"But I made those special," Ciara said, stomping her foot and shooting Meredith the evil eye. "Let me at least go get your drinks." She headed back into the kitchen then came out with two glasses filled with a blue liquid. "Sorry, Gatorade is all I have for now."
"It's okay. We can order soda with the pizza as well," Theo said.
"Thanks!" Claire said as she took her glass.
"Where's yours?" Theo asked Ciara.
"I only had enough left for two glasses. Sorry. I guess I should have had more snacks here. I can just drink water until we order from Domino's," Ciara said.
"You can have mine. I'll wait. I'm not a big fan of Gatorade, and I'm not really thirsty right now anyway," Theo said. He set his glass down on the coffee stand.
Claire paused the movie, then set her glass down on the coffee table. "I have to go to the bathroom. Why don't you call Domino's while I'm in there?"
Ciara sighed. "Fine. Whatever." She whipped out her smartphone and looked up the number. "Should I get a medium pepperoni and pineapple with breadsticks, brownies, and soda?"
"Yes please!" Theo said.
"Yum!" Claire replied before heading to the bathroom.
As Ciara called Domino's, Theo decided to head into the kitchen. He decided he was thirsty after all, and needed some water.
When he got into the kitchen, he headed for the sink, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw on the counter, the mixing bowl that Ciara had apparently used to make the cupcakes. It was sitting right next to a now empty bottle of bleach. Next to the bleach was an empty bottle of the light blue Gatorade directly next to a bottle of Antifreeze which happened to be the exact color of the remaining Gatorade droplets inside the bottle.
Theo felt his heart sink. She wouldn't… he thought.
He quickly headed back onto the living room, too afraid to call Ciara on it.
Ciara put the phone down. "The pizza and everything is ordered." She studied Theo's worried-looking expression. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!"
"N-N-Nothing," Theo stammered. "I'm going to go to the bathroom too before we start the movie. I'm about to pee my pants!"
Ciara smirked evilly. "You do that."
Theo then took off to find Claire, feeling as if he were fleeing for his life.