'One is never afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end.' Jiddu Krishnamurti

SPACE

I looked over at Tate as he had finished telling me his plan for Maddy and her friend. It sounded silly to be incredibly honest, he was going to prank the light bulb in the basement so it would flicker and he was going to make some messed up noises to screw with them.

I had to admit I couldn't see how this was going to get Maddy back, stop the high school kids to leave Jax and I alone… flicking lights, and screaming at them. Honestly didn't seem like something that was going to scare anyone, least of all girls like those two. I didn't know her friend, but I knew Maddy. She wouldn't waste her time with anyone that in her mind wasn't like her.

"So you're just going to sit on some chair and scare them? Using lights?" I asked him as he just grinned. "Yup." He said popping the 'p'.

"You're crazy. So how are we doing this we have—three hours before they get here." I told him looking down at my watch.

Once my attention was back up and facing him I noticed how he had taken the split second to move closer to me, there was something behind his eyes. He looked scared, he seemed so fearless which is why this just seemed so off to me…

"We could hang out downstairs till you hear the door open?" He suggested looking back at his feet.

"Fine but you gotta tell me more about yourself." I told him as we walked towards the door near the back of the house.

Once I had reached the bottom step I noticed a small red ball on the center of the floor being illuminated by the light from the back room. Kneeling down I slowly picked the ball up off the ground shoving it into my sweater pocket, "What was that?" I heard Tate ask me as I could feel him standing behind me.

"Just a ball I found, which is weird because we don't have a dog." I chuckled, "Addie must have left it here or something." I smiled at him moving myself further away from him.

I watched, as his face dropped slightly before he shrugged, "Yea probably, would make sense." He seemed to lie to me. I sat down on the floor watching as he walked around the room looking around as if he was remembering something that had happened here. Which was impossible if since being tutored by that weird man was the first time he'd entered the house.

"What's up?" I asked him, "Tell me about it." I asked him patting the spot on the ground next to me. He quickly took his place beside me as I smiled over at him, "What happened?" I asked.

"I used to live in a house just like this, old freaky, messed up history with a basement that spelled out serial killer's play ground." He explained chuckling nervously.

"This thing attacked me, but this woman she came to me… called it away, she always made me feel safer, and more loved than my own mother did. She always looked at me like I was such a disappointment to her." He told me as I nodded, he hadn't really opened up to me before and we'd been hanging out all week with each other.

"I'm sure she was lovely." I commented as I watched him look up and into the shadows, "She is." He said softly.

I heard the slam of the door in the distance, looking down at my watch. I hadn't expected Maddy and her friend to get home so quickly, than again I never suspected Maddy of doing cocaine either. "I'll get them, will you be ready?" I asked him as he nodded.

"Will you?" I shrugged, "I'm sure whatever you have planned isn't so scary it'll get me too." I told him as he smirked, "Are you saying nothing scares you?" He asked.

"Of course things scare me, but I don't know the unknown has always been more interesting that it has been terrifying you know?" I shrugged as I had turned around running up the stairs.

"Hey Mads." I said walking into the kitchen to see her standing there next to some girl, who I will only describe as a bitch. Because it's exactly how she looked to me… bitchy.

"Did Jax get out stuff where is it?" She demanded she had only gotten worse since we moved here. She never used to be cruel or mean, I mean snotty and prissy yes. This? Never, it had only been since we moved in here that she had been like this.

"Yea it's downstairs so Dad and the witch couldn't find it." I told her as I motioned for them to follow me. "You sister is a freak." I heard the girl mumble, "I mean you brother too but at least he's hot she has nothing." She continued to mumble, I guess she forgot I have ears.

"Dad and Mom aren't even home they'd never know we where dealing coke upstairs." Maddy snarled at me.

"Do you know when dad is supposed to come home?" I stopped dead in my tracks so that I could face her. "Well? Do you know when Satan is coming home?" I questioned her as she shook her head. "No, exactly that's why it's downstairs, do you want it or not?" I asked her as she nodded.

Walking down those stairs felt as if they where taking me a lifetime, I had to admit I was feeling a bit anxious. The entire basement was coated in darkness, with only a soft creaking noise off in the distance. I heard Maddy's friend scoff and comment on how I better not be tricking them. "In the back room over there, it's on the one counter top." I told them, there was no counter top in there. In fact dad and Lillian hadn't put anything in this basement.

If Maddy hadn't suddenly been consumed by vanity she'd have known that. However if she wasn't in her room she wasn't here, she and Lillian pretty much used this house to sleep and eat. They did any actual living somewhere else, not that I cared I loved being around Jax and Dad at least then I knew I was cared about.

"Who the hell are you?" I heard Maddy ask harshly snapping me away from my thoughts to rush towards the door now that the two girls where in the room, they where both facing Tate who was just sitting there on a rocking chair.

He had this shit-eating grin on his face as he sat there like he knew something no one else in this world knew. I had to admit though I wanted his shirt 'Normal people scare me.' Damn right they do, nothing normal about Tate, Jax or I and I loved it.

"He's Tate." I said a little more cheery than I had meant to sound.

"This is the freak you and Jax have your classes with?" Him and that gay guy, which is a shame he's really sexy." Maddy said, I could have sworn I heard someone scoff in my ear, which had caused me to turn around only to see nothing behind me.

"Don't be ignorant." I snarled at her.

"Where are the drugs." Her friend snapped at me taking my wrist roughly pulling me into the room more, which almost caused me to hit the floor if I hadn't managed to regain my balance.

"Don't put your hands on Alexis." I heard Tate say his voice cold as ice, haunting almost. The little emotion he had in his voice had actually brought a chill down my spine.

"Fine whatever, where is the coke?" She asked me.

I moved towards the wall where the light switch was like Tate had told me to I would have to stand to trigger the lights like he'd planned. I waited watching as he just rocked back and forth in the chair causing Maddy and her friend to stand they're staring at him. I knew this plan was going to backfire.

"Are either of you afraid of the dark?" He asked them his voice drenched with the toxic sound. "No we're not babies!" Her friend snapped.

"Leah let's just go, this is not worth paying less for coke." Maddy said moving towards me as I blocked the door instead. "I believe you where asked a question."

"What is your problem Lex, get out of my way now." She seethed to me as I shrugged, "Answer him." I smirked at her.

"No we're not afraid of the dark, now where is our coke Lexis." Maddy glared at me.

I looked over at Tate as he nodded his head at me signaling me to hit the switch, once I had hit it the room grew dark and this mechanical laughter filled the room, I could hear the two girls shuffling around in the room calling out to me to turn the light back on. I wanted to, but I could find no bone in my body to hit the light.

"You think its ok to be the way you are?" I heard Tate's voice flow through the room. I went to take a step backwards after hearing the laughter of small children echo through the halls.

However stepping backwards I felt myself collide into something, looking up I noticed Tate was behind me and not on the chair. How he had managed to get behind me from so far away and with no way around me baffled me. However he just kept laughing this sinister haunting laugh.

Soon the lights had begun to flicker as I watched Leah drop to the ground thrashing around kicking and screaming, her screams and cries for help worrying me as I looked around the room for Maddy only to see her move closer to her friend on the ground. "Leah?" I heard her ask as I noticed some small thing crawl out of the darkness and make its way slowly towards Leah and Maddy.

I nearly threw Maddy against the wall as it had begun to attack Leah on the ground causing her to scream even louder if that was even something that was possible. I looked back at Tate whom was now just standing in silence beside me as it watched whatever the thing was attack the two. Moving into the room I made my way towards Maddy who was on the ground rubbing her head.

"It's coming—" I heard Maddy whisper to me as I noticed the thing that had attacked Leah was making it's way towards Maddy and I, it's tiny little eyes directly on Maddy.

It slowly reached its small hand out towards Maddy's face before scratching her hard across the cheek, gaining a loud whimper from her. I looked directly at it "Go away." I told it, "Now!" I screamed only for the room to return to darkness and the thing soon vanished. I ran back towards the switch turning the light on as both girls stammered over to each other before running out of he room.

I looked over at Tate who was oddly enough back in the rocking chair in the center of the room. "What the fuck was that?" I screamed at him, "You get one of your friends to help you? We agreed we'd scare them not have someone violently attack them." I continued to rant.

"Did I scare you?" He asked me, "Jax and I played scare tricks on each other all the time growing up, make up effects and crap don't really do it for me anymore… but seriously Tate… that wasn't cool man." I shook my head, leaving the room.

I felt his hand take hold of my wrist lightly, "You're not mad at me are you?" He asked.

"Yea Tate, I'm mad at you… we had a plan and you… I don't even know what the hell that was to be honest, was it cool… hell yea but Maddy and her friend are going to kill me for that." I told him.

"Just make sure it's in the house." He said, which I wanted to say he sounded like he was kidding but he sounded extremely serious.

"Like you even got like children's laughter going on and everything like beyond messed up… way beyond…" I sighed as he smirked. "Wanna go watch a movie or something?" I asked as he nodded, "Sure that'd be cool… and Alex I'm sorry…" He said, as his voice grew quiet. "It's fine, just heads up next time will you?"