87 First lines: "You know, this is how all the horror movies start."
A/N: Yeah, I decided to actually go back through a community I joined a while back to look at their old prompts. I'm a big fan of the first line idea. And this one just screamed Lilly and Oliver to me. I needed something different to work on since I'm currently blocked with the missing moment I'm working on.
Nothing Like The Movies
"You know, this is how all the horror movies start," Oliver turned the girl next to him on the floor in front of the couch, thinking she would take it as a joke, but he could barely see her face in the darkness.
"Don't be stupid. Horror movies never start with the power going out in a storm. They always start with a bunch of kids having way too much fun without any parents. You know, sex, drugs, rock and roll?" Lilly rolled her eyes in the darkness, forgetting he could not see her, then stood from the floor to begin a search for a flashlight in the table next to the couch. "The power outage always comes later."
"Did you not find the Batman movie marathon without any parents fun? I know I did." Oliver pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to use the screen as a makeshift flashlight while she searched for a real one. Lightning flashed, lighting up both of their faces much better than his tiny phone. "Next time, I'll be sure to ask around for quality drugs to ensure the proper horror experience," he added when the thunder followed.
"What?" Lilly yelled over the noise, pulling a bright yellow flashlight from its spot at the bottom of the drawer.
"Never mind." Oliver pushed the light out of his face as she hit the button to turn it on, already sensing she would be aiming for his eyes. He jumped when the lightning struck just outside of the house.
"What's the matter, Ollie, afraid of a little thunder storm?" she mocked him.
"No, just hoping the house doesn't get hit by lightning." He had to yell over the thunder.
"Yeah, it is getting closer," she muttered, more to herself than him. She then turned her head towards the kitchen, straining to hear over the rain.
"What?" Oliver asked, scooting a little closer to her.
Lilly leaned in close and whispered, "I think I heard a noise in the kitchen. Did you remember to lock that door to the garage? You always forget."
"Oh, no. You are not going to freak me out. I'm not falling for it." He shook his head fiercely, his brown bangs falling across his eyes.
"I'm serious," she hissed. "Go see what it was."
And that was when he heard it. It sounded like one of the cupboards had slammed shut. Except there should not have been anyone in the kitchen to close one of the cabinet doors because they were in the living room, and the rest of his family was at the elementary school's open house for his little brother.
"No way! You have the flashlight!"
"But I'm the girl!"
"I though you were a free, independent thinking woman who was just as good as any guy."
The two of them were huddled together now on the floor in front of the couch, trying to peer over the top of it without being seen by whomever or whatever was in the kitchen.
Lilly turned to Oliver and hit him harshly in the side with the flashlight she was holding, and a brief struggle ensued during which Oliver tried to wrestle their only light source away from her. It ended up falling with a loud crash on to the coffee table and they both froze.
In the seconds that followed, lightning struck, rain pounded the windows, and the wind seemed to pick up speed. Lilly's hands were shaking and Oliver was barely breathing.
"Do you think they heard?" he whispered. His answer was the sound of another cabinet door banging against its wooden frame.
"Eep! I think that's a yes." Lilly grabbed Oliver's arm and refused to let go. "What if it's a burglar? Or a serial killer?" Her heart hitting her ribcage with so much force, she was fighting the impulse to try and hold it in.
"Wouldn't they try to be quieter? Try to sneak up on us?" Oliver's brow creased while he thought.
"If the power hadn't gone out, we never would have noticed. You had the volume turned all the way up." Her voice came from just inches away from his ear.
"That's because you couldn't hear over the rain," he argued, turning to face her.
"Like that matters now," she hissed back. They both looked away at the same time, focusing on the path that led through the dining room and into the kitchen. Lilly slowly climbed to her feet.
"What are you doing?" Oliver reached up to pull her back down, but ended up getting yanked onto his feet as well.
"You mean what are we doing. We are going to see what is in the kitchen."
"Are you crazy?"
"Your mom's a cop! Didn't she teach you to be brave?" Lilly was still whispering, but she kept a hand on his arm, prepared to drag him after her into the kitchen.
"My mom taught me how to call for help," Oliver informed her shortly.
"And do you have a signal in this storm?" She asked him hotly.
He flipped open his phone again before snapping it shut and throwing it to the couch in anger.
"We can't just keep hiding. They'll find us eventually," she added.
"I'm very good at hide and seek. My little brother can never find me. I think I could manage."
"Would you just grab the flashlight?" she retorted.
"Fine."
"Fine."
He picked it up from the table, and they began a cautious trek to the dining room. Oliver stumbled over a pillow, but with Lilly's nails digging into his arm, he managed not to fall over. She poked her head around the doorway, but did not see anything, so she pulled him along, edging around a chair that was still pulled back from the table. Lilly squeezed her eyes shut and pushed him ahead of her when they made it to the kitchen entry way. Oliver gave a surprised yelp and tried to back up, which only succeeded in shoving them both into the wall, and the flashlight falling to the tiled floor with a crack. A clap of thunder followed and the two teenagers let out a scream.
The overhead light flickered to life, and the humming of the refrigerator alerted them that the power was back on. There was no one else in the kitchen, and upon inspection, Oliver found that the door and window were both locked.
"There's no one here," Lilly told him needlessly.
"Ya' think?" he remarked, but then they heard the sound again.
"It came from over there." Lilly pointed to the cabinet closest to the refrigerator and motioned for Oliver to go investigate.
"Oh, no. I came in the kitchen first. It's your turn." He stood his ground and she sighed. They watched as the door briefly opened, then shut with a bang.
Slowly, inch by inch, Lilly reached out to grab the handle. Her fingertips paused when she touched it. Taking a deep breath, she wrenched it open and jumped back to her position next to Oliver.
Out lumbered a green a brown shape, almost as slowly as Lilly had reached for the door.
"Why isn't Trevor in his tank?" Lilly glared at Oliver.
"I don't know! He's my brother's turtle, not mine!"