A/N: Woo-hoo! Another chapter!

HAUNTED

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Sarah felt sick. She was hunched over the kitchen counter, taking deep breaths to help calm her nerves. She hoped she wouldn't throw up. She didn't want to muss her dress.

The big night had finally arrived. Tonight, she would be going on her first date ever. She had spent an hour getting ready. Her dark hair was pulled away from her face with two little tortoiseshell barrettes, her new dress swept her knees, exposing her long, creamy legs, and her sandals pulled the whole look together nicely. She didn't look too fancy, nor was she under dressed.

She stole a glance at the clock mounted on the wall. It was only two minutes till seven. Her stomach did another flip. She rose from the counter, and started pacing around the front hall. Karen came into the kitchen, watching her stepdaughter with amusement. "Nervous?"

"Maybe..." Sarah said, wringing her hands.

"Calm down. You can't go out like this, you'll make yourself sick."

"I'm fine, Karen," she huffed. The clock struck seven, and Sarah jumped about a mile in the air. Karen laughed, and Sarah flushed. The doorbell rang, and Sarah made a mad dash for it. She ran into it, regained her composure, and opened the door.

Nigel's face was blank, and he was very obviously looking her up and down. She smiled, blushed a little bit. Nigel made a brave attempt at speech. "You look... you really look... wow..."

"Thanks," she said, grinning bashfully, "You look nice too." He was wearing a black t-shirt, and a pair of dark blue jeans, casual, and yet it made him look like a model. He was starting to come to, he was starting to smile, his very white teeth glinting in the porch light.

"Ready to go?" Sarah asked, grabbing her purse from the coat rack, and flinging it over her shoulder.

"Ready when you are. Shall we?" he said, bowing slightly, and gesturing out the door. Sarah giggled, and walked out past him, into the brisk evening air. The sun was starting to set, casting a bright orange light over them. Nigel couldn't help but stare. Sarah smiled at him, and the two set off for downtown. It was a fairly short walk, and managed to get there within ten minutes. They didn't say much, though Sarah could feel Nigel's eyes on her.

The streets of the town were lit and bustling with the towns citizens. The sidewalks were lined with stands and games, the smells of foods invaded her nose, making her stomach growl. At the end of the main street, she could see the park, where they had set up a few rides. They continued through the crowds, taking everything in. She knew everyone, there were no strangers in a town this size. Some smiled at her, some were giving her funny looks. She supposed she might look unusual, after all, Sarah Williams, the town freak, was walking down the street with an incredibly cute boy.

Nigel had finally taken his eyes off of Sarah, and was looking instead at the happy fair-goers. Sarah stopped, and checked out one of the game stands, a milk bottle toss. One of the prizes was an adorable plush penguin. She had been trying to distance herself from her childhood, packing away most of her toys, but this penguin was just so freaking cute...

"Wanna give it a try, miss Williams?" a familiar voice said. She saw Mr. Palmero, her English teacher, standing behind the counter.

"No, I'm no good at this kind of thing. Thanks though," she said, as a big hand slap some cash down on the counter. "I'll give it a shot," Nigel said. Mr. Palmero handed him three balls, and backed away. Nigel took a pitchers stance, and threw it full force. He knocked the milk bottles down, and set the other two back on the counter. Mr. Palmero grinned, and set the bottles back up.

"That's quite an arm you've got there, son. You play baseball?"

"I played on my school's team back in Seattle," Nigel said with a nod.

"You thinking of trying out for our team next spring? Coach Thomas would love to have you. Which one?" the older man said, gesturing to the prize shelf.

"I'll think about it. Pick one, Sarah."

"Oh no, that's okay," she said, turning bright red.

"Go on."

"All right, I really like that penguin..."

"We'll take that one," he said. The English teacher nodded, and handed the animal to Sarah. Nigel smiled, his grey eyes twinkling. They set off down the street once more.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Sarah said, looking up at him.

"I wanted to. I could see that you wanted something on that shelf, and I'm a fair pitcher."

"You are just the sweetest thing, you know that?"

The sun had set, and luckily the lights were so bright, and so many colors, that it was impossible for Sarah to tell exactly what shade of red Nigel had turned. Sarah's stomach growled again. "Hungry?" she asked.

"Sure, I haven't eaten yet."

"How does a corn dog sound?" she asked, stopping in front of a vendor.

"Sounds great." Sarah took out her purse, and smiled at the vendor. "Two please." The seller handed her the dogs, and she paid him. She gave one of the corn dogs to Nigel, and they continued towards the park.

They didn't say much, but somehow, they didn't seem to need to. Sarah couldn't help but feel as though she might have finally found a kindred spirit in this quiet, shy boy.

They watched the kids on the rides for a bit, as they munched on the corn dogs.

"They look like they're having fun," Nigel said, looking a bit depressed. Sarah noticed the look, but tried to pay it no mind.

"Wouldn't it be nice to go back to being a kid? You could do all the things you wanted to do, but couldn't, and still can't because you're too old now..."

"You could fix all the mistakes you made..." Nigel muttered, unheard by Sarah. Her bright green eyes were full of light, and dancing with her daydreams. Nigel grabbed her wrist, and pulled her towards the woods. She looked up at him in wonder.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Just come on."

They were plunged into darkness, but Nigel kept dragging her onward. She began to feel a little uneasy. They reached a clearing, a hill overlooking the river, and, Sarah knew, a notorious make out spot. There was even a couple already on the ground, the boy on top.

"Excuse me?" Nigel called to them. They looked up. Sarah recognized them: Andy Samuels and Trista Lane. Trista looked at Sarah with rather unflattering disbelief. "Could you two leave us alone for a few minutes?"

"Dude, come on! Can't you see we're busy?" Andy said, as Trista pushed him off, and brushed her long red hair out of her face.

"I don't care. Get lost, or I'm going to tell the cops about your little lovers lane."

"Oh, lets just leave, baby. It's obviously their first time, and they want to be alone." Trista said, getting to her feet, and brushing the dirt and grass off her shorts. "Later, Williams. Later... cute guy I don't know."

She stalked off, with Andy behind her. Nigel sighed, and plopped down on the ground. "Sit," he said, patting the ground beside him. Sarah hesitated, but slowly sat beside him.

"I found this place a few weeks ago. I'm sorry, I didn't realize that this was what it was used for. Although, in retrospect, I should have suspected when I found the condom wrappers."

"Why did you bring me here, Nigel?"

"I thought you'd like it. It's a pretty view."

They were silent once more, listening to the sounds of the night. Crickets chirped, frogs croaked, and Sarah heard the screech of an owl. She heard something land behind her, in the trees. She looked, but could see nothing.

"Hey Nigel, can I ask you kind of a personal question?"

"Shoot."

"Why did you leave Seattle? Really?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

"I'm here, because my parents didn't want me around anymore."

"That's so sad! Why don't they want you? You're a great kid!"

Nigel hesitated, then said, slowly, and obviously painfully, "They think I'm crazy..."

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A/N: I'll try to get the next chapter up in the next few days. I want to finish it before I leave next week.

Hmm... I wonder why Nigel's parents think he's crazy... you wanna know? You really wanna know?

All you have to do is review...