It's back! I told you it would be. If anyone is clicking on this story for the first time, this is officially a revamp, rewrite of my story posted with the same name. I wanted to change a few things around, give the story a little more power. I have mapped out the entire thing, and am only a few chapters away from finishing it. That said, the story will be eleven chapters, most of them longer in length. It is a horror and romance story, and I've worked pretty hard on it. My goal is to post the last chapter on Halloween, so that means you'll be seeing updates about every week or so. So... who is excited for some Austin and Ally scaring to happen? I know I am.

Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

"I don't even like to sleep with the lights off!" Ally Dawson exclaimed as she followed her best friend Trish De La Rosa through the parking lot of their school, her eyes wide and her heart hammering. Why was that? Trish had just signed the two girls up to volunteer at a haunted house for the next two months. Forget weekends of reading and working on her music in the store. No, she had to work at some freak show where people thought it was fun to be scared. And if you haven't caught it just yet… Ally Dawson doesn't like to be scared.

"Oh, live a little, Ally." Trish laughed effortlessly as she opened her car door, giving her friend a look. "It's all just a show. You're going to be the one working, so it's not like you have to go through the event either! You'll be dressed up, scaring others! It'll be awesome."

"They'll fire me the first day! I can't even say the word boo without shivering!" As if on cue, she did. "See?!"

"They can't fire you. You volunteered!"

"I quit then!"

Trish giggled, "That's my job!"

Two days later and no luck in convincing Trish that this was a bad idea, they took the drive into the country to where the haunted house took place. It was in the middle of nowhere, where there was just gravel roads and too many woods for it to just be 'fake'. It sent chills down her spine as Trish practically giggled her way there, while Ally tried to calm her beating heart.

"This is dumb," she said. And she hated the word dumb. Not many things were. But this was. "I can't do this. I don't want to do this! Are you sure it's even fake? Look at these woods, Trish! We're going to get murdered! Imagine the shock and horror on my family's face when the police deliver the news! They'll never forgive you!"

"For someone who is so afraid of this, you sure are a great storyteller," Trish commented, raising her eyebrows. "And relax. This place has been going for over a decade. And no murders yet. At least, not for the workers. Can't say no one has died of fright."

"Trish!"

They arrived a few minutes later to a group of people standing around. A large group of people. Some were young, like them probably still in high school and others were older, maybe in college. And then there were adults, too. They all seemed to be waiting as they parked and joined them. Groups chattered around her. Some of them seemed to know each other and Ally couldn't help but think she was not going to fit in here. She still couldn't figure out why her friend couldn't ask someone like Cassidy, who was much more put together than her to do this. Forget her. She was going to die the first day.

"Thank you all for being on time!" A voice boomed. A middle aged man parted the crowd, carrying a skull in one hand and something equally as creepy in the other. Ally squirmed and hid behind Trish. "I'm so pleased by the turnout this year to help put this show on. We do have several paid actors each year, but we also are run by volunteers. So, for that I thank you. We're one of Miami's biggest haunts and with opening weekend only two weeks away, we have a lot of work to do!"

"Now please," another man stated, coming up beside the first man. "Listen closely. That was Jim, my fellow owner of Scared and Screaming! We are going to first check you all in, and then we're going to set you up with a team of people who will decide what capacity you will be working. Returning volunteers get preference over first timers, but we try to work to the best of your abilities too. For example, you might want to play Michael Myers, but you might only be five foot tall. That won't work. For the next few minutes, it'll be chaos. But that's how it is here. It always works out in the end. Now, roll call!"

Ally shivered as names started to be called out. Trish bounced up and down on her heels, grinning at her best friend who only glared back. Their names were called and they were escorted over to a young woman who was probably in college. She smiled warmly at all of them and Ally was captivated by her simple beauty and mesmerized by her colorful locks. She looked around and then stated, "Let's double check this. We have Trish De La Rosa, Ally Dawson, Dez Wade, and Austin Moon, right?"

Ally glanced to the side where two boys were standing, with expressions similar to Trish. She noticed the redhead first, tall and lanky who looked ready to burst. Dressed as if he was already in costume, he grinned at her like they were already friends. She raised her eyebrows and shifted her gaze, only to lay her eyes on the most beautiful boy she'd ever seen. Tall and blond but much more filled out than his counterpart, the other boy looked at her with timid eyes. He smiled, but much more apprehensively.

"Ally?"

"Oh? Yes!"

The girl smiled. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"You'll be doing a lot of that," Trish snickered quietly.

Ally rolled her eyes. "Hi. Sorry."

"I'm Luna. I'll be working with each of you for the next week. What are your strengths? What do you like to do?"

"Uh?" Ally had no idea. She knew her strengths outside of this place, but she didn't think she had any strengths when it came to a haunted house. "I'm not sure. Trish sort of dragged me here. I don't even think I could make it through the house, let alone work it." She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry. I don't know."

"That's okay," Luna assured them. "We'll work on it. First, let me show you some video of last year." The girls and boys followed after her, into a building where they had several TVs set up. Over the next few minutes, Luna explained that she had been working for the house since she was their age. She was now twenty three and was on her seventh year. They usually kept her in the actual house where she'd work as some sort of evil and deranged character, often made up to look bloody and gory while she screamed in people's faces. And she was great at it. Ally wanted to hide behind Trish the moment the TV came to life. They watched it for several minutes and then she took back the lead. "Now, that is one of the more advanced acts. You guys are new at this and until we can find your strengths and work on them, you'll probably be stuck on jump scares."

The boys looked disappointed.

"Don't look so sad, Dez and Austin. We do get some shining stars from time to time. Let's take a walk through of the house and I'll show you what we have to work with." Ally barely made it through. Even without the actors inside, the place was terrifying. There was cuts and turns, creepy mannequins and dolls. Blood covered some of the walls. And then there was the clown room. That alone made her want to run.

"Okay, I'm going to go speak with my boss, why don't you guys go grab some cider and I'll meet up with you in a few minutes?"

The beautiful girl disappeared and Ally was left with the three others in her group. Trish and Dez were arguing about something, leaving her to glance at the silent boy beside her. She smiled tentatively and walked a bit closer. "I'm Ally. You look a bit nervous. Are you scared?"

"Scared?" he scoffed. "No, not exactly. I want to do this." He muttered something under his breath, but she didn't quite catch it. His actions said otherwise.

Ally didn't push his comment further, but she didn't understand. "Well, I'm a bit nervous. I'm scared just walking through the house."

He didn't seem to want to chat, but added, "Maybe this'll make you face your fears."

"I don't know. I hope so."

The rest of the group chatted for a few minutes, but Ally couldn't stop the butterflies in her stomach from each time Austin looked her way. She couldn't help that he looked haunted himself. He didn't look scared when she caught a better look at him. But there was definitely something else, something that caught his interest. Not in a positive way.

"What do you want to do?" Dez asked her and she blinked in surprise.

"Maybe work the concession stand." She smiled honestly and was surprised when both the boys laughed.

"You'll be fine," Dez assured her. "I've been wanting to do this for years!"

The group returned to Luna a few minutes later, who explained that they would be meeting with the costume director in a little bit and would start to work on their characters. The week ahead would be set for doing that, and setting up the actual scenes. The second would be for making sure everything was perfect. "I want you all aware that we have plenty of openings. We have a haunted house and a corn maze. You won't get stuck with something lame. Until next time though, have fun with the costumes!"

"Do you guys want to grab a bite to eat before we leave?"

Trish looked up to see the boys standing over them with creepy masks on. They screamed as the boys laughed, and finally Trish shoved Dez a little. "Only if you take those things off!"

Dez grinned. "I'll be working as a clown!"

"No surprise there," Austin grinned back—the first time he seemed at ease all night, shoving his best friend.

Ally smiled, taking advantage of this. She was wondering why he seemed so closed off compared to his loud-mouthed best friend. "What about you?"

Austin seemed surprised by her question, "Me?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, I'm going to be working in the maze," he stated.

"What as?"

He seemed to shy away at the question, "What about you, Trish?"

"Jim wants to set me up with Luna. She thinks we'd work well together."

"Really? That's a great compliment!"

"Is it? Why?"

Austin again backed away from the question. "I mean, I would think so. She's a veteran here."

"Oh, right. Ally, what about you?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Luna really wants me to work in the event to overcome my fears, but I don't know if I can do it. She thinks because I like books and learning that I could work as a crazy librarian or something, but I'm still not sure. We're going to try it."

"You can do it," he assured her, giving her another timid smile. Ally smiled back at him, glad for any moment that wasn't awkward between them. "You'll do great."

"Thanks."

The next afternoon, Ally arrived a little early, wanting to talk to Luna about her character and how she was supposed to know how to channel scaring, and not being scared. To her surprise, it seemed the group of people she worked with did not believe in early. She wandered around, only finding stragglers that were unfamiliar. Until, at least, in typical Ally-fashion, she ran head first into someone else.

Austin (I'm really quiet and weird, but damn good looking) Moon.

She'd come up with that name overnight.

"Hey, sorry," he murmured, already looking beyond her to the maze.

"It's okay." She was determined all the sudden to get past this. "It's not a big deal. I didn't know you got here early."

"Always do," he said quickly, eyes above her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice sharp.

He looked down at her; taken back by her tone. "What?"

"You are the only person here who seemed preoccupied almost constantly. I was just asking because my mom always told me it was good to be tuned into people's emotions and that picking up on things that are subconsciously being done because…" she trailed off, feeling her face heat up. He was staring at her like she was already in costume. "Never mind. I was just wondering if maybe… you were… I'm going to shut up."

She had a tendency to ramble, and she didn't mean to go on like that.

He smiled to her surprise and Ally tried not to grin stupidly back. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she answered. "So, you're okay?"

"I'm fine," he assured her. "Believe me, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind." He reached over to touch her shoulder and it was then she noticed he was holding paperwork in his hand. It stated something about ropes; looked like a disclaimer of sorts. "Thanks a lot, Ally."

And with that, he was gone.

But something changed in the coming hours. He no longer was as distracted around her. In fact, he was a lot more friendly. This made it all the more worse for her, considering he was absolutely gorgeous and now nice. A combination she wasn't ready for. All her life, it was one or the other, usually. Both? Deadly, if she were to be in the spirit of her job.

The group ended up getting together a couple times in the next few days and Ally was a bit convinced that Trish had a thing for Dez, even though she swore he was 'weird and dumb'. Every time they met up, she would catch her stealing glances at him. And she was falling head over heels for the handsome Austin, who despite not speaking much still, had become her little cheerleader when he did. He believed in her and when they insisted on making her the creepy librarian, he asked if she wanted any extra help with her costume and working on the scares.

"Thanks," she smiled. "I think I could."

And so, over the next two nights, they worked on her. She got better with the jumps (now she jumped out and scared people, not the other way around… after almost punching Luna once the first time, it had to be worked on) and even better with her character. She loved her old fashioned looking costume and the large, cracked glasses she got to wear. Her hair was completely disheveled and filthy looking. All in all, she looked scary! She couldn't believe it.

Austin was showing her how to wait for the perfect moment to jump out, explaining to go off of sound cues and the noises that people made. When his mind was on scaring, it was like he was a completely different person. Open, loud, actually funny. She never expected the change.

He turned the lights off in the house, and made plenty of noise coming up to her. Together, they made her the perfect character. "Thank you so much for all your help the last few days," she told him. "I couldn't have done it without you. Even Luna couldn't get me to do it right. But I feel bad! You only have a day or so for your character now before the walk through!"

"Oh, it's okay. I don't need it."

She offered a disbelieving expression, "Are you sure? I mean, it's not that I don't think you'll be good at it, but everyone needs practice." Was he really going to go into the haunted maze thinking he was perfect? That seemed a bit extreme.

"Believe me, I've had plenty of practice," he stated quietly. "Promise."

Ally shrugged, promising him he'd meet up with him in a bit and went to find Trish. What she ran into first though, made her even more confused. Luna and Jim were standing near the entrance of the corn maze, talked heatedly. "I don't want him doing it!" Jim stated angrily, pointing a finger at her. "You should have known better, Luna! It almost shut us down last time! We can't take the risk of that happening again, and let alone with his damn brother!"

"He wants to do it!" Luna yelled back, pushing away his arm. "He can do it! We fixed the malfunction and have run plenty of test runs. Nothing will happen this time. We're sure of it."

"I know he was your friend and I know you're protective of his brother," Jim said, his voice more level now, but somehow even more serious, "But this is not a game, Luna. He died. I know you know that. You went to his funeral. He died on this maze."

"Yes, he died doing what he loved," she seethed. "And he wants to honor that. So, let him."

"And what if something happens again? Do you think the press will not be all over that? We kept it out of the news for the most part last time, but it doesn't mean it will be this time! And his family. Do they even know he's working here? I'm sure they'd freak if they did!" Jim threw his hands up. "I can't believe you went behind my back and did this! I won't tell you no, but it's all on you if it happens."

Luna sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Mitch was my best friend, Jim. I've watched Austin grow up. I won't let anything happen to him. I promise you that."

"You'd better be right," Jim snapped and then stormed off.

Ally finally cleared her throat, letting herself be known. She had no idea what she had just witnessed, but knew it had to do with something about Austin and what sounded like his brother. "Is everything okay?" she asked when Luna leaned against the maze fence. She looked worse for wear.

Luna managed a smile. "Fine, Ally. Totally fine. How's it going?"

"Great. Austin just helped me finalize the scene. I think I'm ready."

She smiled widely, clapping her hands and coming back to life. Ally was too curious to what had just happened, but knew better than asking anything about it. She would mention it to Trish at some point that night and would love to ask Austin. He didn't seem to know Luna, at least not from what she could tell. What was that boy hiding? "That's great. You two work well together. Maybe if you come back next year, you could do a skit! I think the fans would love it."

Ally shrugged. She did love what she was doing now, but she wasn't sure if it would last. What if the moment the fans came in, she broke? Her hard work would be completely down the drain. "I'm so proud of you," Luna stated. "You've come so far."

She supposed she was right, as everyone else said that to her over the next week as they did run throughs of the haunted house on other staff and tried their best to make sure everything was perfect. She didn't know what went on in the corn maze, as they usually ran the run throughs at the same time as she did her own. She wished to see what Austin's character was and what he did. She had a feeling he was great at it, like she thought. She knew that Trish and Dez were fantastic. Trish especially. Luna made her come even more alive when they bounced off each other, and Dez was right at home in a clown costume, much like Austin had stated the first night.

They were ready.

The opening night was insane. Ally peeked out in her costume at the line that had formed down the dirt road in shock. It seemed to go on for miles and she couldn't believe it! They still had an hour until doors! The group was hanging out before hand though, talking and boasting about their characters. Austin, on the other hand, was very quiet much like he had been the first night they met, and often disappeared. She'd had enough. She'd spent the last two weeks getting so close to him and had even shared a few almost kiss moments. She wanted to know why he was the way he was and she looked for Luna for the answers.

"Luna!" she yelled, finding the girl flirting with one of the other actors that were her age—she believed his name was Ben? The girl turned around, waving goodbye to the guy and smiled at her.

"Hey! Are you ready? You look awesome!"

"You too! I am, but I wanted to ask you a question first, if that's okay."

"Of course," the girl assured her.

"What happened here? Why did you get into that fight with Jim the other day? And what does it have to do with Austin? He's acting weird and it worries me."

Luna for the first time since she met her, seemed taken back. She looked as if she wanted to tell the story, but then shook her head. Her smile turned apologetic, "I'm sorry, Ally. I can't tell you that. You'll have to ask him. I wouldn't do it right now though. I know he's nervous. He's got a big role. Remember how I told you there are stars that sometimes shine through right away? He's one of those. I will tell you this, hopefully it'll make you understand: this runs in his family. He loves it."

Ally didn't understand. She was more confused. But she went about her business, knowing she had to get into character and take her place in the house so that she could begin her scares. An hour passed quickly and soon she could hear people giggling and screaming outside, some of the actors out there who were used to get them riled up. She waited, a bit patiently yet somehow still scared and glanced down the hallway where she could see one of her fellow actors standing in spot. Then there was a pounding on the wall, which signaled that someone was coming in. Ally got into place.

She could hear teenagers giggling, and began to open and close books. She mumbled to herself, mostly her favorite quotes and then louder, scary things that the others could hear. She turned around last second, got into the face of a girl that would have been once her and screamed, "NO TALKING IN MY LIBRARY!"

She followed after them, pointing to a bloodied body on the floor. "THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TALK IN MY LIBRARY! COME ON, COME CLOSER."

The girls went out screaming into the next room and Ally had to bite back a laugh. She'd done it! She actually had done it.

For the next couple of hours, she did just that. She loved every second of it and she couldn't wait for the next night. They ran weekends, so she'd be doing it every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. The newbies got to have one night off where they could experience the house for themselves. They were divided evenly, so that there wouldn't be that many people missing from their stations. They also had back ups for themselves. Her night just so happened to be the second night, which made her happy. Everyone was in their characters at that point.

She thought about that as she closed out the first night and then went searching for her friends. All of them, including Austin, had smiles on their face. He was looking at her though, somehow already out of costume.

It all felt like some huge secret.

"How'd you do?" he asked.

"Great! I scared so many people!"

"Great job, Ally." He came forward and wrapped her into a huge hug, and Ally glanced at Trish, who gave her a thumbs up. She didn't miss her hand in Dez's. Some people moved fast, she supposed.

"Thanks. I can't wait to see you tomorrow night. It's my night off."

"Is it?" he didn't seem all that worried like she had expected. "Great. I hope I can scare you!"

"You can try," she teased. "I've become a scarer! You can't scare me."

They laughed and walked to their cars together.

Ally and Trish had the night off together, luckily and they headed there pretty early into the night. She was thrilled to experience the show and not be part of it, and waited patiently on line with her best friend as others chatted around them. The fans had no idea what was in store and she knew they were in for a treat.

She took her free ticket from Jim, who told her to enjoy and practically ran toward the line for the haunted house. She wanted to save the corn maze for last, since she knew Austin was in there. Trish kept babbling about how she hoped that Dez would still scare her inside and wouldn't do something sweet instead. Ally barely listened, her blood pumping and her excitement rising.

Finally, they were let in.

First, it was a room of what looked like zombies, and then a room of guts and gore. They got to what looked like a room out of Nightmare on Elm Street next, and she knew her room was after that. She walked bravely in, screaming out of pure fear when she forgot where the hiding spot was! The other librarian, who worked her breaks and her days off bounced out, screaming at her for screaming and she couldn't help but smile back. She was terrified, but she loved it. She kept on, going to where Luna was, against a broken TV screen, whispering to it only to turn around in full costume, blood covering her mouth and broken shards of glass around her body. She got into their face, probably extra hard since she knew it was them, sending them screaming into the next room.

By the time they were finished (Dez upped the scare, thankfully), they were out of breath from being chased with chainsaws, and absolutely terrified.

"Corn maze!" Ally yelled excitedly. "Austin! Corn maze."

Trish laughed as she tried to catch up to her, "Who would have thought you'd be excited for this?"

"I am!" And Austin, that is.

They raced to the line, which was a bit shorter and waited to be let in. They were pushed first into a cloud of smoke, only to reveal stomped down corn stalks and a dark path before them. No lights. Ally shivered, her fear coming back, then pressed forward. At some point, she'd be seeing Austin. Even if he was in costume, she was excited. They walked past ghouls and clowns, past Jason from Friday the Thirteenth and some sort of werewolf.

Finally, she saw him. He was part of a detailed set where he dangled from a tree, his body torn and bloodied, holding onto a rope that was close to hanging him. He screamed and pleaded with them to help him, but at one point, she saw him wink. Her cheeks burned in the night as if he could see her blushing. The set, where another guy with a chainsaw came at them, was awesome. He chased them into a circle where half of the exits were blocked. They had to race around, past the man chasing them and listen to Austin's screams of terror when they finally made it through and the man went back to kill him. They got chased by another clown and then finally were out. "Oh my God! That was insane! How was he hanging there and not actually getting hurt?"

"Magic," Trish laughed. "Well, acting magic. That was awesome. How did he get such a great part?"

Ally remembered what she heard Jim and Luna talking about and explained it to her best friend. "Do you think his brother used to do that set?"

"I don't know. That's the only thing I can think of."

"Dez and I are going out tonight, you should ask Austin out and ask him."

"I don't know if I can," she admitted. "What if it's a really bad story?"

"You two are getting so close," she reminded her.

"Not really. He acts different when we're not working."

"Bull," she laughed. "He's been telling Dez how much he likes you."

"What?!"

Trish just smiled, "He has to tell you eventually."

Much to her surprise, he sought her out. "Do you want to grab something to eat after we're all closed up?"

Ally nodded, trying to steady her breathing and not look over-eager. "Sure. Of course. You were awesome tonight, by the way."

He smiled. "Thanks."

So, they closed up and went to the nearest restaurant, still in their costumes. They got weird looks, but no one said a word. Ally was silent at first, but then Austin spoke up. He was the one to bring up what she couldn't stop thinking about, much to her surprise. He was looking at her directly in the eyes when he stated, "I wanted to apologize for how weird I've acted sometimes. I know it's freaked you out. I know you like me, and I really like you too, but this haunt means the world to me and sometimes I forget that I'm with other people who love it too. They just think I'm weird; they don't know."

"I think I might," she whispered.

"No, you don't."

Ally was taken back by how mean he sounded when he said that, but she nodded, "I have an idea. I heard Luna and Jim talking the other day. They were arguing about you doing your scene. Jim said he didn't want to do a repeat of a few years back, but Luna defended you. I didn't even know you knew Luna previously before then."

"I didn't want anyone to know," he admitted. "It's a long story, and I'm not sure I'm ready to tell it yet."

"I can respect that. Just know you don't have to worry. I don't think you're that weird."

He snorted, smiling at her. "Thanks, I think."

They were back on Sunday and prepared as they usually did. The other librarian was on the house that day, so she was put into the corn field to play a jump scarer. She had a lot of fun doing it, and she was also near Austin so she could hear him at times, too. She was still curious about what happened in this haunt, but also wanted to respect her friend's privacy. He'd tell her when he was ready. They took intermission around ten and she went looking for him.

"You know what I totally forgot about?" she asked, as she handed him an apple cider, hot and absolutely delicious. They both carefully tried to drink it without ruining their make up.

"What's that?"

If it was one thing he'd taught her in the last couple of weeks, it was to be brave. And she kept repeating last night over and over again in her head, thinking about what he said. Tonight, covered in blood and being the most open he'd been with her in weeks, she figured she'd go for something she otherwise would never have.

"You said you liked me the other night," she stated boldly. "Was that true, or were you just telling me a scary story?"

Austin laughed warmly, leading forward to hug her. "There is nothing false about that at all."

She shivered in the cool night air in spite of the warm drink. He looked into her eyes, and despite all the blood and gory make up, she saw the absolutely gorgeous and sweet boy she met almost a month before. Before she had a chance to say anything further, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her lips and sent different shivers down her spine. The good kind.

He backed away after it was all done, giving her a smile, but something else caught her eye. She couldn't be quite sure, since it was dark and she was tired, but she saw a boy leaning against the tree behind them, who looked just like Austin, with a huge smile on his face. Ally's eyes widened, and she broke the kiss, looking beyond him, but he was already gone.

"What's the matter?" Austin's alarm immediately brought her back to reality and she shook her head, looking back to where she thought she'd see the boy. Ally smiled slightly, not too sure why she wasn't freaking out and just giggled. "Ally, you're scaring me."

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?" she teased, then nodded. "Sorry. I just zoned out."

"Guess my kiss was just that good, huh?"

"I would have never thought you so arrogant," she laughed.

They walked back toward the tree and Ally glanced around one more time. Did she believe in ghosts? She wasn't really sure. But there was no mistaking that he was standing right where she was right now, looking directly at her. Austin told her he'd be right back, he had to talk to Joe about their stunt, and she was left alone. Her nerves flared momentarily, then she relaxed. From eavesdropping on Luna and her boss, she knew that he'd lost his brother here. How, she still wasn't sure. If it were his brother, he was harmless, she was sure of that too.

"He's doing you proud," she whispered, her voice shaking just a bit. "But I'm sure you know that."