If you're wondering why it took me a long time to update, I got nothing. But I'm making this chapter longer, just for everyone who is currently reading this story. And please review. It helps my self-esteem lol :)

I survived the rest of the school week, and now Christmas vacation was here. Jackie figured it was too cold to investigate for a while, so it looked like they were just going to hang out until it got warm enough to investigate again. I didn't know if those investigations would include me.

When I got home from school, Riley was in the living room playing Christmas carols on the piano. I'd always been extremely jealous of his musical talent. Mom had actually put us both in piano lessons, but I had failed miserably, so I quit so I wouldn't be wasting the teacher's time. Mom got very ticked, but that didn't matter since she gets ticked about a lot of things.

"Nice," I told him when he finished "Silent Night."

"Thanks. What are you eating?"

"Chocolate chip cookies," I said. But since my mouth was full of cookie, it sounded more like gibberish than actual words.

"Arley," he said, sounding like our dad whenever one of us does something wrong. "You better let me have one or risk exposure."

I shrugged. "Kay then. Here. Have a cookie." I picked up the one that looked like it had the least chocolate chips and tossed it to him.

He glared at me. "You gave me the one with the least chocolate chips."

"Funny, I sort of already realized that. You know, when I deliberately tossed it to you."

"Sarcastic little butthead," I heard him mutter.

I smiled and playfully socked him in the stomach. "Shut up."

"Hey, the new episode will be on tonight," he said, "and it's sort of an Othersiders tradition to watch it together and spend the night. Wanna join us?"

I've known of that tradition since The Othersiders were invented, so it was kinda insulting that he felt like he had to tell me about it. After all, I wasn't stupid or anything-I got two pictures of ghosts! Two freaking pictures!-so why did I have to have it explained to me? Then again, this was my first invite to an actual sleepover with the team, so maybe he told me about it so I'd know I was welcome this time.

"Can I invite Willie?"

He half-smiled. "I swear, that girl is like my second, less obnoxious younger sister. She spends a lot of time with us."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

"Yes it's a yes?"

He nodded. "Yes it's a yes."

"Then sure."

So we secretly ate our cookies and then rearranged them on the counter to hide the evidence. Then I texted Willie her invitation and she came over a couple of hours later with her sleepover stuff. I set up a space for her in the living room, since the sleepover thing was always in there. Now all we had to do was wait for everyone else.

They were here at eight. Turns out that Zack was territorial of his spot in the living room, which Willie had. But Willie, stubborn as she is, merely stuck her tongue out at him when he demanded that she move. Eventually he gave up and moved to the side of the room opposite from her. Riley stuck close to us, probably to make sure that Zack didn't get up in the middle of the night and murder Willie for taking his spot.

By the time it came on at nine thirty, the seven of us were in our pajamas, eating popcorn and drinking Coke. Willie snickered when KC and Jackie screamed, then squeezed my elbow when I started walking to the room they were in. Luckily for me KC had switched the lights out in the room. I was blushing like crazy because my arms were shaking on screen. I prayed no one else noticed. But my prayer hadn't been answered because Sam said, very loudly, "Geez, Arley. Got a little scared, huh?"

"It was cold in there," I defended, trying to hold on to my ego. "You could practically hang meat in that hallway."

"Suuure," Jackie said. Then she held up her arms to block the pillow I had sent her way.

After the next commercial break was done, there was the time that Sam and me had gone to room five. It showed our locater beacons moving up the stairs and across the hallway to that room. The marker labeled "ARLEY" was several centimeters in front of the marker labeled "SAM." So I decided it was time for revenge.

"Sam, you're such a slowpoke."

He narrowed his eyes in a what-the-heck-is-she-talking-about? look. "What do you mean?"

"My marker is faster than yours. Your marker is a slowpoke."

"O...kay?"

"Just saying. You don't have to be a sore loser about it."

Oh yeah. Nobody messes with Arley Alice Litman.

Okay, I lied. Everybody messes with Arley Alice Litman.