Chapter 19

Alex POV

I nervously walked over to the front door. I opened it slightly and slipped outside. Ross and Ryland were standing in front of me.

"Hey Alex," said Ross.

"Hey guys," I said.

"Uh, what's going on?" Asked Ryland.

"Nothing. What's up?"

"Where's Riker? Can we go in and talk to him?" Asked Ross.

"Uh, he's busy right now," I said.

"Is he in the shower?" Asked Ryland.

I had left the window open and could hear the shower.

"Uh, no. My dog got sprayed by a skunk. Riker's just helping me give him a bath," I said.

"Well how long until you guys will be done?" Asked Ross.

"Probably like an hour," I said.

"Ok, well we were just wondering if you guys wanted to come over to watch this scary movie we got. Riker doesn't like scary movies, but we think they're awesome," said Ross.

"Oh, well, I'll ask Riker. Maybe we'll see you guys later," I said.

"Alright. Bye Alex," said Ross.

I slipped back inside and closed the window.

"Riker?" I called through the bathroom door.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in and get your clothes now?"

"Yeah."

I put Riker's swimsuit and shirt in the dryer downstairs. I came back upstairs and waited for Riker to finish his shower.

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are the towels?"

"In the closet."

"Thanks."

Riker came out of the bathroom, looking just like he did the night I got scratched by Angel.

"When will my clothes be done?" Asked Riker.

"Probably about 20 more minutes."

"Ok."

"Ross and Ryland came by."

"What!?"

"Calm down. They just wanted to know if we wanted to come over and watch a scary movie. The asked if you were in the shower, so I told them my dog got sprayed by a skunk and you were just helping me give him a bath. They said we could come over later when we were finished."

I saw Riker looking at something out the window. I looked over and saw Rocky walking towards my house. I ran over and locked the door.

"Get in the bathroom! Rocky's coming!" I yelled.

Riker almost slipped while running off to the bathroom. I ran over to the front door as I heard Rocky knocking.

"Hey, Rocky."

"Can I come in for a few minutes?" Rocky asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure."

I led Rocky to the porch where we sat at the table.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Um, nothing. I was just wondering if you guys were going to be coming over for the movie," said Rocky.

"Uh, maybe. My dog was sprayed by a skunk so, we're a little busy at the moment."

"Oh…?"

It sounded like I was at the police station being interrogated for murder. Rocky kept staring at me and he sounded like he didn't believe anything I was saying. All of a sudden, my phone buzzed. I got a text from Riker.

"Is he gone? What's going on?"

"No. He's on my porch asking me all these questions. He sounds like he doesn't believe anything I'm saying."

"So where's Riker?" Asked Rocky.

"Oh… He's in the bathroom," I said.

"How dry is your hair?" I texted Riker.

"Um, it's getting there," he said.

"I'm going to try to get Rocky out of the house. When I text you, run downstairs to the basement, and get your clothes out of the dryer. Hold on…" I texted back.

"Who are you texting?" Asked Rocky.

"My friend Katelyn…?"

"Oh…"

"Hey, Rocky?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you could help me move a bench I have outside. It's in the backyard. Could you help me bring it around to the front?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah sure."

Rocky and I walked outside to the bench as I texted Riker to go get his clothes. We carried the bench around to the other side of my house. I made sure to stall a few times, telling Rocky to stop so I could get a better grip on the bench.

We walked back into my house to see Riker standing in the kitchen, waiting for us.

"Hey Rocky," said Riker.

"Uh, hey. Did kayaking go alright?" Asked Rocky.

"Yeah, fine," said Riker.

"You weren't scared?" Asked Rocky.

"No, just a little nervous."

"Well do you guys want to come over to watch a movie?" Asked Rocky.

"Uh, sure, we'll be over in a few minutes," said Riker.

"Alright, I'll see you in a few," said Rocky.

Rocky left, and I locked the door behind him. Riker sighed.

"That was close," said Riker.

"Too close," I said.

"Are you almost ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me change out of my swim suit first. What should I wear? Like clothes? Or pjs?" I said.

"Pjs for sure."

"Ok, I'll be right back."

Riker POV

Alex came out of her room wearing short dark blue pajama shorts, a tank top, and flip flops. She was carrying her phone and the hoodie I gave her a few days ago.

"Here. I still have your hoodie," said Alex.

"Thanks. Ready?"

"Yeah."

Alex and I walked over to my house. The only good thing about the dark was that Alex couldn't see how freaked out I looked. I felt like we were being watched.

"Hey, you guys made it!" Said Ellington.

I ran up to my room to change into my pjs. I went to the bathroom to change so Rocky couldn't walk in on me. I was wearing my black and white plaid pajama pants from the other day and a black T-shirt. I walked back downstairs.

Ryland, Ross, Rydel, Ellington, and Rocky all sat on the larger couch, leaving me and Alex to sit on the smaller one. It wasn't even really a couch. More like a large chair. Ross handed out bowls of popcorn and shut off the lights. Rocky started the movie. Alex scooched closer to me.

The movie wasn't too scary in the beginning, but now it was getting really creepy. I was trying so hard not to start shaking or run away to my room like usual. Alex seemed to be enjoying the movie though.

Alex POV

Ellington had told me that Riker didn't like scary movies. It was hard not to laugh at him. He seemed to be trying so hard not to show that he was scared. Sometimes I would get scared during certain movies, but this one was about ghosts, so I wasn't that scared.

Halfway through the movie, Ross turned on the lights and declared a bathroom break. I looked over at Riker. He was huddled at the opposite corner of the chair, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees that were pulled up to his chest. He looked completely terrified.

"Riker? Are you ok?" I asked.

He looked over at me, embarrassed.

"Yeah. Fine."

Riker released his knees and walked upstairs to the bathroom.

An Hour Later…

The movie was almost over, when we heard a noise in the kitchen. Riker sat straight up, reached around my stomach, and pulled me close to him. Ross paused the movie and everyone looked toward the kitchen door.

"What was that?" Asked Rydel.

"It was probably nothing. Press play," said Ellington.

Ross played the movie. I was still leaning against Riker, not that I had a choice. He hadn't loosened his grip on me. I looked up at him.

"Are you ok?" I whispered.

"I just don't like scary movies, and that was freaky," Riker whispered back.

*CRASH