*Rhea's POV*
After we were done eating, I followed Eric and Dylan to the outside of the house, where they would continue filming their movie. I convinced them not to appear in the film and instead just help them out with the video camera. Neither Nate nor Chad had arrived yet, so it was either me or Sue, and I doubted they wanted Sue to film their Hitman movie.
I followed them around the house as they acted out their characters, trying not to chuckle in some parts. I had gotten to see the other parts they had already filmed too and couldn't help but wonder what their teacher would make of it all. Hitman for Hire was the name of their film, and although it was a slightly odd film they had come up with, I found myself actually liking the whole concept and enjoying it as they played their parts. As I filmed each of them shout threats at the camera, I wondered what it would be like to actually hire a hitman. It scared me how much I found myself wishing it were that easy to kill someone. Simply pay somebody else to do the deed and get rid of any cockroaches you wanted. It didn't take much thought to know who I would get rid of.
"Would you guys kill someone for me if I paid you to?" I found myself asking out loud. We had finished recording and were in Dylan's basement. I had been sitting on an old chair when the question had escaped my mouth.
They had both been sitting across from me on some big boxes, looking through what we had filmed, and turned to look at me in surprise.
I expected Eric to say some witty remark, but it was Dylan who spoke next.
"We would do it for free," He said, and as our eyes met, it scared me how truthful he seemed. Even more, it scared me how the thought of it brought along a pleasant feeling.
"Who would you want us to kill?" Eric asked then, and the way he said it you would think he was still playing his character from Hitman for Hire.
I smiled, thinking through my answer. How to pick just one name? And then it hit me with a hint of dark humor.
"Lynn Myers," I said, looking up at them to show them I was serious.
They looked at each other in confusion and then at me, as though seeing if either of them recognized the name.
"Who's that? Is she a senior too?" Eric asked in sincere doubt.
I nodded. " Yeah, she's a senior."
"Her physical description? We're genuinely intrigued."
I thought for a moment. I knew that if I were to give them a physical description it wouldn't take them much to figure out who I was talking about. Not that I thought they would actually kill someone just because I asked them to, but it would be slightly awkward if they figured out who I had just told them I wanted dead.
Looking up, I realized they were still waiting for me to speak.
I laughed. "Forget it, guys. I'm just messing with you. I wouldn't ask anyone to kill her. If anything, I'd do it myself."
The silence that followed made me regret having ever spoken. I worried that they too were now convinced that I was weird, perhaps even crazy.
Just then Dylan's phone broke the heavy silence, making me thank whomever was at the other line. He hurried to answer, and just like that, their attention was off me.
"Hey Chris, what's up," He said and looked at Eric, communicating something with his eyes that I couldn't quite fathom. "Yeah man, what took you guys so long. We'll be right outside in a minute."
As soon as Dylan ended the call they both rose to their feet and hurried up the basement's stairs. Only Dylan stopped on his tracks as soon as he stepped on the first stair, as though suddenly remembering something, and turned to look at me. I was still sitting on the chair, completely dumbfounded.
He walked towards me and extended a hand to me with a warm smile. I looked at it before looking up to meet his eyes. I took his hand and let him help me up, all the while keeping my eyes on his.
"We'll be going to practice shooting now. It'll be fun, you'll see," he assured me, although I was not convinced.
"I really don't know how to shoot," I told him, feeling nervous. I couldn't imagine myself holding an actual gun. My father had one with him, but since I was little he has always made it clear that I should never hold one myself.
"I'll show you," He said. "You'll see that once you get a hold of it, you won't want to stop shooting."
I laughed, and it wasn't until then that I realized that I was still holding his hand, and tight. The realization sent tingles up my spine, I let go of his hand instantly. He didn't seem to mind.
"Alright," I said, looking away from his eyes. I could feel warmth fill my cheeks and wholeheartedly hoped that he wouldn't notice. When I looked up again, he was still smiling down at me.
We heard voices upstairs, which most likely were Eric and Dylan's friends.
"Let's go," Dylan told me and I nodded. As we went upstairs we found Chad, Nate and Eric along with three other people I didn't recognize chatting at Dylan's living room. I walked behind Dylan as we approached them, feeling annoyingly uneasy as I usually did when meeting new people or hanging around people all together. It was not hard to tell that I wasn't a people's person.
They all turned their eyes at us as we joined them. I stayed behind Dylan, hating the moment I agreed to do this.
