AN: This new chapter of More Than Just Friends is going to be based on the Howlin' Harriet episode of TGAMM! Since this story takes place in an alternate universe, this is going to have a good couple of changes from the actual episode! Mainly Mollibby moments! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter!
Chapter 3
Camping Trip
It was a rough couple of days for Molly. Ever since her first day of school, Molly couldn't stop thinking about Libby. Everyday, Molly couldn't help but admire how cute Libby was from her cute brown eyes to her beautiful long hair.
The fact that she had to spend time with Libby on her upcoming camping trip today didn't make things any better! Deciding not to worry about it too much, Molly gathered her supplies and got ready for her camping trip.
"Alright! Looks like I have everything I need for my camping trip with Libby and the others!" Molly exclaimed. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me, Scratch?"
"Nope! I'm comfortable right here!" Scratch laid down, eating snacks.
"Come on, Scratch! You know you can't stay in the house forever! Don't you have any friends your own age that you can hang out with?" Molly asked.
"Hmm! Not that I can think of! Other than you, I don't have any best friends!"
Right as Scratch said that, a green ghost appeared right next to Scratch before hugging him tightly.
"Scratch! Oh, my best friend of friends!"
"Huh? Who are you?" Molly asked, surprised by the presence of this new ghost.
After letting go of Scratch, the ghost floated towards Molly before shaking her hand. "Hi! I'm Geoff! G-E-O-F-F! Not to get confused with Jeff! J-E-F-F!"
"It's nice to meet you, Geoff! I'm Molly!" Molly introduced. "Scratch, I've known you for nearly 10 years! Why didn't you tell me you had a best friend?"
With an annoyed sigh, Scratch replied, "I wouldn't exactly consider this guy to be my best friend! More like a work acquaintance!"
"Oh, don't pretend we are not friends, Scratch!" Geoff said before noticing Molly's camping gear. "Hey, are you going camping? That sounds like.a lot of fun!"
"It is! What to come with us, Geoff?" Molly offered.
In response Geoff excitedly flew next to Scratch. "Of course! Scratch and I would love to go!"
"What? I didn't agree to-" Scratch couldn't even argue before Geoff grabbed his hand and dragged him out the house as he followed Molly.
"Come on, Scratch! It's going to be fun! We're going to roast marshmallows, learn about nature, and tell scary stories!"
This caught Scratch's attention. "Ooh! What kind of scary are we talking about here?"
"Oh, so scary! We've got bugs, fire, wolves, bears, and pit toilets." Molly shuttered at that last one.
Seeing this as an opportunity to keep his scare numbers up, Scratch changed his mind and decided to come along with Molly on this camping trip.
Before long, Molly waited outside the bus, where she met up with Libby, along with two other girls named, Kat and Sheela. While they were waiting for the camp councilor to bring them to camp, the girls decided to catch up.
"So, is everyone excited for the camping trip today?" Molly asked her friends.
"Well, I normally don't care much for camping, but I'm glad to at least be spending time with you and the others!" Libby replied. "I have been practicing other camp activities like crafting though."
It was at that moment when the bus started. The girls turned to see that their camp councilor was ready to leave.
"Looks like our camp councilor is waiting for us." Sheela noticed.
"Then we'd better not keep her waiting!" Kat said as she was ready to board the bus.
Right when Libby was about to get on the bus, she didn't watch where she was going and ended up tripping. Thankfully, Molly noticed it and rushed to grab her.
"I got you!" Molly managed to catch Libby in her arms.
At that point, Molly and Libby realized that they were staring in each others eyes. Upon noticing how long she was silent for, Molly helped Libby down before the two of them shyly looked away from each other. This caught the attention of Sheela. She stared at the girls in suspicion as she had an idea of what was going on.
"Kat? A word, please?" Sheela took Kat's arm and pulled her away so Molly and Libby won't hear her.
"What is it, Sheela?" Kat asked, wondering what her friend wanted.
"Have you noticed that Molly and Libby have been acting a little strange since school began?"
Kat took one glance at how nervous Molly and Libby seemed before she replied, "Now that you mention it, they do seem to be a little nervous around each other."
"Exactly! Don't you see? Molly and Libby are in love with each other!" As Sheela said that, Kat's mouth widened into a huge grin as she squealed in joy. "Shh! We can't let them know that we are aware of what's going on?"
"So, what are we going to do?"
"Well, it's clear that Molly and Libby have feelings for each other, but are too scared to say anything! I think we should help them out, but we'll have to be subtle about it!" Sheela explained to which, Kat nodded in response.
Everyone soon got on the bus to realize that most of the seats already had a bunch of camping supplies on them. This left only two empty seats on the bus. Seeing their chance, Kat and Sheela thought of a way to keep Molly and Libby together.
"Hey, Molly! Why don't you and Libby sit on this seat together? Sheela and I know how much you two like to be together!" Kat explained.
"Right! And we won't interrupt if you have any romantic conversations you like to share with each other." Sheela added.
"Uh, okay. Let's go, Libby!" Molly had no idea why Kat and Sheela were acting so strange, but decided not to think too much about it as she and Libby sat down together.
As Molly and Libby sat next to each other, neither of them were aware that Kat and Sheela were secretly watching them, hoping to see some romance between the two best friends. The bus soon drove down the road as everyone was ready to begin their camping trip.
A couple of hours had passed before Molly felt something lean against her shoulder. She looked to her side and blushed when she found out it was Libby, who just fell asleep. Since she didn't want to wake Libby up, Molly just decided to let it happen. After all, she couldn't help but think that Libby looked kind of cute when she was asleep. She was soon startled when the bus hit a bump in the road, waking Libby up. Libby let out a yawn before looking around groggily.
"What happened? Libby asked, still half asleep.
"Nothing! Hey look! We're here!" Molly pointed to the campsite, not wanting to bring up the awkward moment.
The bus came to a stop as it reached the campground. After Molly and the others got out they decided to set up camp. While Molly and Libby were setting up their sleeping bags, Kat and Sheela gathered flint and firewood for the night.
Meanwhile, Scratch was planning to scare the girls in order to keep his scare numbers up. The sun was about to set, so he was about to put his plan into action when he got startled by a voice behind him.
"Hey, Scratch!"
Scratch let out a scream before turning to Geoff in annoyance. "Geoff, would you get out of here?! You're going to ruin my plan to scare everyone!"
"Wait, you're going to scare Molly's friends? I know we are ghosts, but I don't think Molly is going to like that." Geoff explained.
Scratch soon let out a sigh. "Look, I wasn't going to tell you this, but my scare numbers are at an all-time low, and I need to do this to keep the Ghost Council from sending me to the Flow of Failed Phantoms."
"What? No one's going to send my best buddy to the Flow of Failed Phantoms! What can I do to help?" Geoff asked, determined to do whatever he can to help Scratch.
"Just follow my lead, and don't do anything unless I say so!"
It wasn't long before the sky turned dark and Molly and her friends were sitting around the campfire. They were all roasting marshmallows and singing songs until they decided to tell some scary stories.
"So, does anyone have any scary stories to tell before we go to sleep?" Molly asked her friends.
"A story? I've got a story!" Libby turned to the girls, speaking in a creepy tone.
Surprised by Libby's reaction, Molly replied, "Okay. Uh, Let's hear it, Libby!"
"This is the haunting tale of Howlin' Harriet! Many, many years ago there was a bloodthirsty criminal named, Harriet!" Libby began.
"What was her crime?" Sheela asked, now invested in Libby's story.
"She sold uncured salami on Wednesday!" Libby answered, much to Molly's confusion.
"What?"
"The laws were different back then. Anyway, Harriet was chased out of town by the angry citizens of Brighton! As she was running, she tripped on the tracks and fell in the way of an oncoming train! Bam! And all the folks of Brighton found were her mangled toes! And now, on nights like tonight, when the moon is full, her ghost roams these very woods, howling in pain, looking for toes of unsuspecting campers to replace the ones she lost!" As her story came to an end, Libby let out a howl, causing Kat and Sheela to scream in unison.
With the story over, Molly was left in shock. She knew that Libby had a thing for horror stuff, but she had no idea Libby was able to tell a story so intense.
"Wow! That was quite as story, Libby!" Molly said, surprised what she just heard.
"Oh, you know me! I always have a love for horror." Libby gave a sheepish grin.
"Well, after hearing that story, I don't think I would be able to sleep tonight." Sheela shuttered.
Terrified from the story, Kat put on a couple of extra pairs of socks to protect her toes. "I don't think I would be able to sleep again!"
"Sorry. I guess I went a little overboard with the story!" Libby apologized before looking up at the sky.
Upon realizing what Libby is looking at, Molly looked up at the night sky and gazed at how beautiful the stars were.
"The stars are pretty tonight, aren't they, Libby?" Molly asked.
Libby nodded. "They sure are! I think I might stay up a little later to watch them! Would you like to join me, Molly?"
"Of course!"
At that moment, Kat and Sheela shared a couple of excited smiles with each other, seeing another opportunity to bring Molly and Libby together.
"If you want to watch the stars together, then don't let us stop you!" Sheela smiled.
"It could get cold tonight, so feel free to borrow my blanket in case you two want to snuggle together!" Kat offered.
Both Molly and Libby exchanged a couple of awkward glances with one another as Kat said that.
"I think Molly and I will be fine, but thanks anyway, Kat." Libby replied.
Both Molly and Libby stared at the stars for a couple of moments before they decided to go to sleep as well. Once everyone was asleep, Scratch decided it was time to finally scare someone.
"Hey, Scratch! I have an idea!What if you dress up as Howlin' Harriet to scare the campers?" Geoff suggested, much to Scratch's annoyance.
"I have another idea. Why don't you go away and dress up like Howlin' Harriet and then run in if I need you." Scratch said, only to get Geoff to leave. "I'll give you a special buddy signal."
Geoff gave an understanding nod. "I won't let you down, Scratch!"
Once Scratch was left alone, he took one glance at Molly and felt a little guilt. "I know Molly is going to be mad at me for doing this, but I need to keep myself from being sent to the Flow of Failed Phantoms."
Using his ghost powers, Scratch lifted up Molly and Libby in their sleeping bags, careful not to wake them up. He gently placed them in the middle of the woods to give them a good scare. A few moments of silence passed before a howling in the distance can be heard.
Startled by this, Molly and Libby woke up in shock before they took a look around. They were both shocked to see that they were lost.
"Wh-Where are we?" Libby trembled.
Molly looked around and had no idea where she was. She could only assume that Scratch had something to do with it, so she wasn't too worried. After all, they could't have been too far from the campsite.
"Don't worry, Libby! I'm sure that the campsite isn't that far! Just follow me, and we should be back in no time!" Molly assured.
Libby's fears slowly diminished as she accepted Molly's hand. "I understand, Molly! Thank you!"
Scratch watched as Molly and Libby made their way through the woods. Even though he was used to scaring everyone, he felt kind of bad for doing this to Molly. Libby, not so much! The girls traveled through the woods for a couple of hours before Libby started to lose more hope every passing second. Before long, Libby collapsed on the ground before she cried softly.
"Libby!" Molly rushed over to Libby's side.
"I'm so scared, Molly! I know you want me to stay positive, but we have been searching these woods for hours! What if we are lost! What if I never see my mom again!"
Seeing that Libby was upset, Molly embraced her best friend in a comforting hug. As Molly hugged her, Libby slowly calmed down. She enjoyed the feeling of Molly's hug, so she hugged back and didn't want to let go.
After seeing what happened, Scratch decided that they were scared enough. Before long, another howling noise could be heard. Scratch looked in the direction of the sound before a mysterious entity could be seen. It was too dark for him to see, but he assumed that it was supposed to be Geoff.
"Geoff!" Scratch whispered, trying to get the ghost's attention. "I think we should call it quits! We've scared them enough! I'm sure that this is more than enough misery to satisfy the Ghost Council!"
"Oh, good!" Scratch was startled by a voice behind him. He turned to see Geoff in a poorly made Howlin' Harriet costume. "Molly has always been so nice to me, and I thought scaring her would have been cruel!"
"Wh-What? If you're here, then who is that?" Scratch turned to face the entity once again and was shocked to see that it was approaching Molly and Libby.
The rustling of the leaves caught Molly and Libby's attention. They turned around and were both shocked to see tall pitch-black ghost, staring at them with green eyes. Despite being face to face with the ghost towering above her, Molly wasn't as scared of it as Libby was since she was convinced it was Scratch. Molly was taken by surprise when the ghost grabbed her by her shirt and lifted her up to its eye level.
"No!" Libby started to tear up as desperately reached out for Molly, now worried for her best friend's safety. "Please don't hurt Molly!"
Even though she wasn't as scared as Libby was, Molly couldn't stand to see Libby this upset. Molly turned to face the ghost with a glare, assuming that it was Scratch.
"Scratch! That's enough! Can't you see Libby is upset?" Molly whispered to the ghost in an angry tone. "I know that you are the one who got us lost, so just stop it! You are going too far!"
"Molly." Molly heard a whisper and was shocked to see Scratch and Geoff hiding behind a bush. "That's not me!"
Putting two and two together, Molly finally realized she was in the grasp of Howlin' Harriet. Harriet let out a screech as Molly now began to fear for her life. At that moment, Libby picked up a rock on the ground and threw it at Harriet in desperation. The rock only flew right through her, leaving her distracted more than anything else. Thankfully, it gave Molly the perfect opportunity to struggle out of Harriet's grasp.
Wasting not time, Molly grabbed Libby's hand as the two of them hid behind a tree. They stayed as quiet as possible as Harriet searched for them.
"/What are we going to do?" Libby whispered, trying not to give away her hiding spot. "Howlin' Harriet won't leave until she steals our toes!"
As Libby said that, Molly thought of an idea. "Wait! You said that you have been practicing crafting, right? Do you think you can craft a set of toes for Harriet so she would go away?"
"Of course! Molly, you're a genius!" Libby exclaimed. "If I can just get a little bit of time, I might be able to come up with something!"
Scratch soon floated over to Molly in his invisible form. "Looks like you have an idea to get rid of Harriet."
"Yes. While Libby crafts the toes, I want you and Geoff to keep Harriet distracted." Molly whispered, but Libby was still able to hear her.
"What did you say, Molly?"
Molly briefly panicked before she replied, "Nothing! Let's just focus on getting those toes crafted!"
While Scratch and Geoff were keeping Howlin' Harriet distracted, Libby used everything she learned from crafting to make a set of toes to the best of her ability. It wasn't long before Libby finished, leaving Molly impressed by her crafting skills.
"Molly, check it out!" Libby showed her the set of fake toes.
"They look so real!" Molly exclaimed.
"I used my foot for reference!" Libby explained, showing her bare foot to Molly, who blushed slightly before awkwardly looking away.
Once the toes were finished, Molly and Libby placed them on the ground before hiding behind a bush. The moment Harriet noticed the fake toes, she floated towards them before picking them up.
"Toes! Pretty toes!" Harriet spoke before placing them where her original toes were missing.
This ended up transforming Harriet from her corrupted form to a more happy appearance as she was now a green ghost with yellow eyes. Now that Harriet was finally at peace, she disappeared, leaving the woods. With Harriet gone, Molly and Libby were finally able to relax.
"Libby, you did it!" Molly exclaimed, giving Libby a tight hug.
As she shyly looked away, Libby replied, "Thanks, Molly! I couldn't have done it without you though. If you weren't there to comfort me when I was scared, I would still be trembling in the middle of the woods! Thank you for helping me!"
"Hey, I would do anything for you, Libby! I love you!" Molly admitted before Libby blushed. Molly immediately placed a hand over her mouth, regretting what she said. "Uh, as a friend! I love you as a friend!"
"I don't know. After seeing how you two are interacting, I wouldn't call it platonic." Geoff said, appearing out of nowhere.
"Wha- Aaah!"
Libby screamed upon seeing the ghost in front of her. Startled by Geoff's appearance, Libby tripped and knocked her head against a nearby tree, knocking her unconscious.
"Libby!" Molly rushed over to Libby to make sure she was okay. "Geoff! Why did you do that?"
"Oops! Sorry!" Geoff realized his mistake.
Worried for Libby, Molly tried to shake her awake. "Oh, please be okay, Libby! Please wake up!"
"Relax, Molly!" Scratch tried to calm Molly down. "If Libby was dead you would be seeing her ghost right now! Just look at her! She is still breathing! She'll wake up soon and think this was all a bad dream!"
Molly sighed as she started to calm down. "I suppose you are right. Let's find our way back to the campground."
With that, Scratch and Geoff led Molly back to the campground. Here, Molly gently laid Libby on the ground before giving her a quick goodnight kiss on the cheek. After the long night she had, Molly got in her sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning the sun rose above the woods. Once she noticed the sunlight, Libby woke up with a start, breathing heavily. Molly noticed this and tried to keep her calm.
"Libby, are you okay?"
Once she noticed Molly, Libby calmed down. "Oh. Yes, I am, Molly. I just had a weird dream last night! I dreamt that we got lost in the woods and we encountered Howlin' Harriet!"
"Oh, really? Sounds scary!" Molly gave a nervous chuckle, pretending that none of it happened.
"It was, but I ended up helping her by crafting toes for her, and in the end, you told me you l-" Libby paused before deciding not to go into that part of her "dream." "Actually, never mind! It was nothing!"
Wanting to forget about the events of last night, Molly and Libby joined Kat and Sheela in eating breakfast together. Once they were done eating, they got back on the bus as they all returned home now that their camping trip was over.