Chapter 4 – "Because I wanted you to like me."

"Josh, come on, I'm not kidding," Andy said in somewhat of a pleading voice.

Josh quietly felt his way around the kitchen and opened a drawer. He pulled out the flashlight he knew his mom always kept there in case of emergencies, but didn't turn it on. He began to tiptoe back to the living room. Making as little noise as possible, Josh approached the back of the couch. Even in the dark, he could make out Andy's shape, huddled beneath the blanket, biting nervously at her fingernails.

He crept up to the back of the couch and prepared himself.

"Josh, I…"

He jumped up, grabbing her by the shoulders. She screamed as loud as Josh had ever heard anyone scream, threw the blanket off her body, and scrambled to her feet, the screaming never ending. She raced to the door.

"Andy! Andy, it was just me!" He said, unable to control his laughter. Although he hadn't seen the look on her face when he had scared her, he could only imagine how priceless it was. He turned on the flashlight just in time to see her lunging at him.

"You…are…dead!" She shouted.

She jumped onto the couch and playfully hit his arm.

"Hey…woah!" He exclaimed, laughing.

"That," she said, punching him once again on the arm, "is for scaring the crap out of me." She hit him again, but this time in the back of the head. "And that is for luring me over in the middle of a torrential downpour just to scare the crap out of me!"

Josh ducked behind the couch as she took another playful swing at him.

"Just for the record," he said, shining the light up to the ceiling so it illuminated them both. "There's no way I could have planned for the torrential downpour. That just made it all the more fun." She raised her arm to hit him again, but he continued talking. "And I didn't plan for the lights to go out."

She lowered her hand and put her hands on her hips.

"Oh, it was just coincidence then?"

"No, I think it was just blowing a fuse. It went off when I started the microwave."

"And next you're going to get me to go down into the basement with you and scare me even more, is that it?"

"Well, while that does sound like an excellent idea, I swear, I had nothing to do with this."

"Uh-huh."

She obviously didn't believe him. Josh wondered why he hadn't thought of the plan in the first place. What was better than sitting on the couch watching movies with her? Sitting on the couch in the dark with nothing else to do but make out.

"And just to prove it to you, I'll go down into the basement alone to check the fuse box."

"And leave me up here in the dark all by myself? No chance."

Josh shrugged. "Suit yourself." He gave her his hand to help her down off the couch. As soon as her feet landed on the floor, Josh went to let go of her hand, but she held his tightly. He definitely didn't object. With the light from the flashlight leading the way, they headed for the basement.

"What was that?" Andy said in a near whisper as Josh pushed the basement door open.

"What was what?" He asked.

"That noise."

"It was just the wind." He was about to pick on her for being so afraid when he turned and saw her face. She really did look petrified. "Andy, you know there's nothing to be afraid of."

"Who said I was afraid?"

"Well, the fact that you're practically cutting off the circulation in my hand…" she immediately loosened her grip, but didn't let go completely, for which he was grateful. "And you're white as a ghost."

"Okay, so I sort of lied when I said I liked horror movies."

"Why would you lie about something like that?"

"Because…"

"Because why?"

"Because I wanted you to like me," she blurted out more as a really long word than a sentence. "Look, can we just find the fuse box so we can get the lights back on?"

"Remember," he said, smirking though she couldn't see him. "I'll protect you."

Author's Note: I know – cheesy, but it's still fun. Also – I realize that Andy probably wouldn't be this scared (as matter of fact, Josh would probably be more afraid in a situation like this than she would), but this story is meant to be a little off character for both of them. Thanks for reading!