Who: Liam & Jen Where: Liam's House When: Evening, Tuesday, October 31 Status: Complete
Jen still didn't know if her invitation to Liam's house was just for her or if there would be more people there. Which was stupid and she knew it. She'd meant to ask him, or even ask Ophelia if she was going, but it had seemed awkward. Probably less awkward than showing up not knowing but oh well. He'd texted her his address and she took her bike over there, not bothering with a costume. It hadn't been that long since a costume was a must on Halloween itself but these last few years it was more about the weekend and she felt a little old as she rode by some kids who were trick or treating already, most of them accompanied by adults.
She just hoped she had the right address as she walked up to the house, checking the mailbox to be sure. Wolfe. It was the coolest last name ever. Time of truth she guessed as she knocked, straightening her jacket unnecessarily and fluffing her hair a little. Also unnecessarily.
Liam still wasn’t sure whether this was a date or not. He wanted it to be, but not if she didn’t want it to be, and he didn’t really know how to ask her. He’d written about five different text messages and deleted them all before sending because they all sounded lame. It seemed better just to feel it out, or maybe try and ask her in person if the moment felt right. Around the time that he expected her, Liam started answering the door for trick or treaters, really not wanting to have a moment with his mom or dad, but that also meant that every few minutes he jumped up, only to end up handing out candy. He was expecting as much when he answered the door, but then smiled widely when he realized it was Jen. “Hey, come on in,” he said, stepping back, a large candy bowl in his arms. “You want anything?” It was for the kids, but they might as well take what they wanted too.
"Trick or treat, clearly," Jen replied with a glance at the candy bowl, snagging one of the mini-snickers for herself. "Hi." It was a little surreal being there since she'd never been to his house before and she still didn't know if there were other people there or not. They went through the motions of saying hello to his parents and handing over the trick-or-treat duties to his mom and Jen did her best to not look like a bad influence as she put on a smile and gave them a little wave. For a brief moment she was worried they were actually joining his parents watching TV there but thankfully Liam pointed out they were going upstairs. It was both a disappointment and a relief to know there were parents present, it was so normal and it made everything feel a little safer but at the same time... Parents were dull.
Liam would’ve liked to avoid his parents, but they were curious about the girl he was having over and he couldn’t really tell them no, they couldn’t meet her. His mom had asked if it was a date and he’d told her he wasn’t sure, going into full ramble mode before she’d told him to stay in the loft. Like he and Jen might end up in his bedroom. He’d blushed and said of course and was glad that he’d had that conversation before Jen got there. It made it easier to breeze by and say hello before heading for the stairs. He took two steps up, then stopped, looking back at Jen. “Do you want to go make popcorn first? And grab drinks? I think I promised you a drink.” Non-alcoholic this time, coke, not pepsi.
"I do remember you making promises, yes," Jen teased. "Sounds good." She followed him to the kitchen and it was getting pretty clear it was just the two of them which was something she wasn't at all sure how to feel about. Happy, nervous, something else. "We should bring a bunch upstairs so we don't have to run up and down all the time, right?" she suggested since she really wanted to just curl up and watch a movie and not have to deal with his parents. At least she hoped they weren't the sort to keep coming upstairs to check on them. People got weird about teens hanging out with the opposite gender, which was hilarious when you thought of all the queer kids.
“I keep my promises,” Liam smiled, leading the way to the kitchen. Once there, he popped a bag of popcorn in the microwave, then began grabbing sodas out of the refrigerator. In the background, the doorbell rang, followed by a chorus of ‘Trick or Treat!’ “I kind of miss trick or treating,” he said, handing her a couple of sodas. “Not that I want the candy, or even going door to door, but I liked running around in the dark with my friends. Which sounds like of silly when I say it out loud.” That was the best way he knew to describe it. He’d gone to Main Street in year’s past and that was fun too, but it didn’t appeal to him as much this year. He also hadn’t expected to be so nervous around Jen now. It had been so easy before, so maybe he just had to get past his nerves.
Jen shook her head. "It doesn't sound silly. I like running around in the dark too, I miss playing. I kinda get why people get into the renaissance fairs stuff and larping. You get to dress up and act silly, it's fun." Not that she'd ever actually tried it but it seemed like acting without having to learn any lines. "My dad would have a heart attack if I went running around in the dark though, being a girl and all." It wasn't fair, she wanted to travel and roam around in dark woods by herself without worrying about some creepy asshole seeing it as an invitation.
“What if you weren’t alone?” Liam asked. “Like… there are definitely some places around here that I wouldn’t recommend running around in the dark, but there are others that aren’t so bad, so long as you’re with someone.” He knew they’d both be in agreement that going back to some place like the Ludlow house was out of the question, but not every place in Point Pleasant was supposed to be haunted. “Plus, you can take one of those huge flashlights. The kind that can be a weapon. Just in case.”
"Is that an offer to come out in the woods and play spooky games with me?" Jen asked with a little smile because it was too heavy to get into the whole spiel that had been drummed into her head about how any weapon she had could be used against her. She also didn't want to tell him how she was alone a lot and didn't really have a group to hang out with. Until now, anyway - this friendship with Liam and Ophelia was really nice and it would be a shame to fuck it up somehow. Like going on a date. God, she had conflicted feelings about all of this.
“Depends on if the answer is yes,” Liam said with a little laugh. In the harsh light of the kitchen it was probably obvious that that brought a hint of a blush to his cheeks, so he looked towards the popcorn as they waited for it to finish. “Sometimes I go out to The Fallow with the guys, when it wasn’t so cold. I always thought it’d be fun to go some place and build a fire, but not in the high grass. And I have no practical knowledge in how to actually build a fire,” he said, sticking out his tongue at himself.
"There are probably youtube videos on how to do it right," Jen said and leaned back against the counter as she waited for the popcorn too, trying not to stare too hard at that blush in Liam's cheeks. "All I know is that yeah, definitely not in high grass and you need to put rocks and stuff around it to contain it." Of course he could probably contain it himself if he focused really hard but he did seem like he was easily distracted so the safety rules that applied to regular non-magic humans were probably safest even if he was a witch.
“The temptation to fake it is just so strong,” Liam grinned. He could start a fire, just… not the normal way. And the number of people that knew that was, like, her. Well, no, there were more, but they were witches too. Witches knowing about witches wasn’t a problem. “I think that’d be fun though, to go out in the woods, build a fire, and tell ghost stories. The fake kind, not the real kind,” he laughed and the microwave dinged. “You can probably tell I’ve never been camping,” he said as he grabbed the popcorn out of the microwave and poured it into a bowl.
"Well if you do, count me in," Jen said. "I've been camping but my dad took care of everything. I kinda regret it now but I was just reading the whole time. I was so not in the mood to be there." She wasn't sure she'd be in the mood now either but actually building a fire and stuff seemed like useful knowledge now that she might impress someone with it. So maybe she was just lame and shallow like everyone else. "How have never been camping?" she asked. "I thought it was like a rite of passage or something."
“I wasn’t into it back when my dad wanted to go,” Liam said, giving a shrug. “I was more into video games than learning to put together a tent and build a fire. Now I’m like, why wasn’t I a boy scout? It seemed lame, but now it would’ve been useful.” He’d just been too much of a nerd to be interested in the outdoors and now that there was an appeal it felt like that time had passed. He wasn’t as interested in going with his dad, but it would be fun with friends. “What do you like to read?” he asked, leading them back towards the stairs.
"Sci-fi, fantasy," Jen said with a shrug as she followed. "It's not too late to learn that stuff though, we just do the modern thing and learn it on the internet instead of in action." She was curious about where they were going so she paid attention as the reached the upper floor, looking around as they walked. "Must be nice but kinda lonely having no siblings," she said. "You ever get lonely?"
“I don’t know what people did without Google and YouTube. You can pretty much look up how to do anything,” Liam agreed. When they got to the top of the stairs, a large room opened to the left fitted with a large sectional facing a tv hanging on the wall. Below was an assortment of gaming systems, the controllers all in a pile in a basket, Liam’s hasty attempt at cleaning up something he’d never had to clean before. His bedroom was to the right, along with another room that they usually kept locked, his mother’s workroom for magic. “Yeah,” he admitted. “I mean… I have two half sisters, but they’re way older and we’re not close. Like, at all. I think it’d be cool to have someone like you have Hunter,” he said, moving to set the popcorn down on the couch.
Jen put down the bottle of soda she'd ended up carrying and sat down, snagging some popcorn. "Hunter's lucky he's got me," she said jokingly though lately it was kinda true. It wasn't like he could tell their dad everything that had happened and he'd had her to come to when he got scared. Not that she could tell Liam all about that even if she'd wanted to. Then again he did know how to keep a secret - unless cornered and terrified in a haunted house but she didn't think that was a regular occurence. It was something to keep in mind at least, for when she needed someone to turn to. "So... Night of the Living Dead? Or something else?"
“Are you the big sister?” Liam asked with a smile. He knew that if she was, it was probably only by a matter of minutes and didn’t really make her the older in terms of years, but he could kind of see if it that was the case. Even if she wasn’t, that might still be the role she played. “So, I made a list of, like, ten different movies because I wasn’t sure what you wanted to watch and I’m good with all of them. We can totally do Night of the Living Dead, but I didn’t want you to feel stuck on that if you weren’t feeling it,” he said, turning on the TV and pulling up his digital movies, flipping to the horror section. He’d said ten, but they really had his whole library to choose from. Liam offered her the remote. “You pick?”
"No, but he's a big baby," Jen replied with a little grin before focusing on the which movie to watch and finding something more interesting than their original pick. She thought it'd be fun to see that movie in the theater but here at home with Liam she thought they might enjoy something modern a little more. It worked just fine, she made suggestions and he agreed. She wasn't sure if he was just agreeing to be nice but if he was that was his problem and not hers since she wasn't a mind reader. At least it wasn't something he'd already seen. "I don't know any of these actors," she said as she settled in, pulling her feet up on the couch again. "That can be either really promising or a total disaster."
Liam was glad he had other options to offer, even if he would’ve been fine with their original selection. It was fun to watch something new and, really, everything he had to offer he was interested in. “I don’t either, but it got good reviews, which I don’t always care about with normal movies, but really help weed out some of the worse ones when it comes to horror,” Liam said, turning down the lights, then settling on the couch with her. Not too close, but not too far, with the popcorn bowl between them. He thought again about asking if this was a date or not, but he couldn’t find the words and was sure it would just make things awkward. “You ready?” he asked, remote in hand.
"The question is are you ready," Jen teased him. "Because if this movie is really scary I'm gonna end up digging my nails into your arm." She didn't really mean that, she didn't have a habit of doing that at least, but it was a funny mental image and she had to wonder how he'd react if she was the type to do that. Or crawl up on his lap or something. Yeah, she didn't need to let her mind go there. "Are you good with pain?" she added with a grin.
“Seriously? I didn’t take you for the type,” Liam laughed. “But I can take it. I’ll protect you.” He puffed himself up dramatically, but then had to laugh at it. Movies didn’t scare him, but it turned out real life hauntings did. So long as something didn’t crawl out of the tv, then he’d be brave for them both. “You didn’t file your nails into claws or something, did you?” he asked, teasing her. He kind of liked the idea of her holding onto him when she was scared, even if it did hurt a little.
Jen made a little dramatic sound that she thought sounded like one of those movie sounds they often used for sharp weapons, wagging her fingers at him. But no, her nails were short and blunt because she apparently failed at everything girlie and now she couldn't help but wonder if he minded that. "You're lucky I'm not one of those claws girls," she said as she settled down again and helped herself to more popcorn.
Liam wouldn’t have even considered her nails if scratching hadn’t come up and still wasn’t sure he had an opinion on them. He’d never paid a lot of attention to nails, unless they were something that stood out. Jen’s seemed just fine and unlikely to draw blood, which he considered a plus. “It just means I don’t have to worry about blood stains,” he said, smiling back at her.
"I won't hurt you," Jen promised and she was confident in that since she was usually pretty good about horror movies. She got scared, yes, but she'd never understood people who flailed or screamed when they were scared. She liked her own reaction, it just seemed more likely to see her through danger alive but then again the only real danger she'd ever been in had been that haunted house with Liam. He had seen her really scared and probably had a good idea of what to expect. "And you're not allowed to set anything on fire if you get scared," she added since yes, she had seen him scared too.
Liam didn’t blush often, but nothing embarrassed him quite like accidentally putting a fireball in someone’s face. His face flared up at the reminder and he quickly shook his head, glad for the darkness now to hide his reaction. “I wouldn’t,” he promised. “Movies don’t scare me like that. I know they’re not real. Plus, my mom would kill me.” She’d probably be horrified to know about his lack of control at the Ludlow house, but he wasn’t going to tell her about it, so that was that. “You’re safe, I swear,” he told Jen, hoping that she understood nothing like that would happen again… at least, so long as a real ghost didn’t wander into his house or something.
Jen smiled at him and yes, she absolutely believed it. If something did come in that threatened them it helped to know the guy she was with could conjure an actual fireball. "I feel safe," she told him jovially. "So let's do this thing." She bounced a little when he pressed play but then of course they had to wait through the oh so spooky intro so she leaned back and got more comfortable, subtly eyeing Liam's profile in the dim light.
Liam settled down as the movie started, his eyes cutting over to Jen every so often. Normally he’d be engrossed in the movie almost immediately, but his mind was only half there. He felt like he was hyper aware of everything-- the brush of her leg against his when she changed positions, the way their hands occasionally touched when getting popcorn. Then the first jump scare came and it actually caught him off guard, effective enough that he flinched instinctively, a reminder that while he might or might not be on a date, he was still definitely watching a scary movie.
Jen laughed, her heart going a little too fast after that first one. "Rude," she said, clutching her chest. "Jesus, I didn't see that coming. Ew." His arm was safe though even if she wondered if she should use it as an excuse to grab onto him. That was so lame and she so shouldn't pretend to be something she wasn't. It was tempting though, in a weird and annoying way. Instead she made a quiet but high pitched little sound as she covered her mouth, waiting for their protagonist to get the hell out of dodge.
“Damn,” Liam laughed softly, nudging Jen lightly with his shoulder. That one had caught him completely off guard and now the suspense was building, the adrenaline pumping through his veins, even though the threat wasn’t real. He grinned over at Jen when she squealed softly, enjoying the way she covered her mouth, not her eyes, all nervous but unwilling to look away. It struck him how cute she was, how he was so in over his head. Liam bit his lip and looked back at the movie, though now he wasn’t sure what made him more nervous, the movie or Jen.
"I hate this movie so much," Jen said in a tone that said she actually loved it because she was legitimately scared and worried about the main character. It didn't happen that often, so often the characters in horror movies were idiots she didn't mind seeing die - since it was fiction and all. But this... She could see herself do everything the same way and that just made it worse. "You're driving me home after this, right?" she added and glanced over at Liam. No way did she want to bike home this late on Halloween after watching this.
“Is it too much for you?” Liam teased, pleased that she was enjoying it, while also gripping the arm of the couch in a death grip. Every once in a while he’d jump, but he felt like he was maintaining his cool really well for a movie that definitely had him on the edge of his seat. “Yeah, of course,” he nodded, since no one should have to bike home alone after this. He’d just ask his mom if she could borrow her car. He couldn’t imagine her saying no. “Oh shit!” he suddenly jumped, fists coming up to his face as he watched with wide eyes. Damn this movie!
It was nice to distract herself with something mundane like how she was getting home and how he had to borrow his mom's car but she still jumped at the next big scare. "Fuck this, I'm going home," she laughed but so obviously didn't mean it, curling up more tightly and shoving more popcorn in her mouth to nervously chomp down on it. "I don't often give a shit about these characters but I really want to see all of them get out alive," she admitted with a little grimace because she knew that at best only one would survive.
“Noooo, don’t leave me to finish it alone,” Liam laughed, pulling his feet up on the couch and a pillow into his lap so he could squeeze it to death. He really wanted to appear brave and was sure he was failing, but at least they were failing together. “No way will they all live,” he said. “Who do you think will make it? I’m thinking the brunette. The guys never survive. It’s always the final girl.” He knew his horror tropes, but he wasn’t as confident this time. The movie kept him guessing and jumping, but that was what made it good.
"Either they all die or the last girl turns into some kind of a monster herself," Jen said. This did not feel like a happy ending in any capacity sort of movie. "And I'm not sure I want to see how it ends," she added but despite that statement they were glued to the screen until the end of the movie, riding the jump scares like pros and only really speaking to make guesses on whether there was something horrible about to happen or not. Jen wasn't sure why she'd been worried about coming here tonight, watching a movie with Liam was easy, he wasn't one of those annoyingly chatty people who talked a lot about nothing or asked stupid questions and they seemed to be on the same page throughout the whole ordeal. "God," Jen groaned when the credits started rolling. "We should... watch something else, something... Cute but horrible, like Beetlejuice or something."
“Daaaaaamn,” Liam said, slowly stretching himself out when the movie ended. It felt like he’d been tense for the entire span of it and his muscles were paying for it now. “That was the most legit scary movie I’ve watched in a long time. I still feel like… like something might pop out and get me,” he laughed, then nodded. “Yeah, we can watch that. I think I’ve got it. And, like Hocus Pocus and The Lost Boys. Though that’s not as funny in the same sense.” And he felt like something that made them laugh a little would help. But also with less death, otherwise he’d suggest Shaun of the Dead.
"Ooh Lost Boys," Jen said cheerfully. "That's a classic." Also not too scary, especially since she'd seen it before and knew how it ended. "I feel like I need to stretch first, I'm super tense." She laughed a little as she scooted off the couch and shook her arms to get some of that tension out. She'd been sitting tight for nearly the whole movie and she was really feeling it now.
“Right?” Liam laughed. “I can rub your shoulders for you. If you want. Or not,” he amended as his brain caught up with his mouth because he had no idea if she wanted him touching her and he wasn’t all that sure it was a good idea for him. Wow. He really needed to think before he spoke. He shook himself out dramatically and laughed it off, hoping he hadn’t made her uncomfortable. “What was your first scary movie?”
"This movie called American Mary," Jen replied, letting the massage thing slide. It definitely put a little color in her cheeks, or it felt like it did, but it wasn't too bright in there so she was sure Liam didn't see it. He sounded a bit awkward about it so she wasn't going to rub it in. For now. "It was so weird, my friend Lily and I decided to rent it and it was... basically just torture slash revenge porn. I still don't know if I liked it or not."
Liam was glad she let the slip go, because he wasn’t sure how he would handle being teased about liking a girl from the girl he liked. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it,” Liam said, brow creasing in thought for a second. It sounded familiar, but then that was a common plot for revenge porn. “I think that’s maybe the only kind of horror I’m not as into. Like… it’s not the same being scared because something looks horribly painful.”
"Yeah you'd hate this one," Jen said with a little smirk and some small part of her liked that. Ugh, what was wrong with her? She kinda wanted to tell him the plot but at the same time she didn't want to gross him out and make him think she liked that stuff. She still wasn't sure how she felt about it, it had been intriguing in its disgusting and weird way but was it good? She let her arms drop down and turned to face Liam, her amusement only growing with that urge to gross him out. "The main character is a surgeon," she murmured, leaning down a bit so their faces were closer. "So you can imagine what she could do with that."
Liam’s imagination could do a lot with that. Ideas instantly began to form and he scrunched up his face, pretty sure the movie wasn’t of his taste. And yet, he couldn’t quite pull away because he really liked having her that close. The last thing he wanted was his disinterest in the movie to be read as disinterest in her, so he held his ground, head cocking to the side as he spoke. “This isn’t one of those Human Centipede type movies, is it? Because I’ll admit it, I’m a wimp. I couldn’t make it through that one.” Maybe a more manly-man could. Or Jen. But he’d actually started hiding his eyes before he realized he was not enjoying that movie.
Jen wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "No, I hated that one," she admitted. "It was just gross, but no this one was less attaching and more... detaching." She let out a little laugh as she straightened up again and found her way to her seat, leaning a little closer to him this time. Because they were talking. "She pretty much leaves the guy she hates without arms and legs, like... Hanging in some room and keeping him alive. The rest of the surgeries were all something people wanted, like... You know those weirdos who want to look like dolls or elves or something? It was all illegal surgery for them in this movie. I don't even know if I hated it or loved it."
“Okay, good,” Liam said, relaxing. “I mean, it’d be fine if you liked it, to each his own, but it was so gross.” He shuddered thinking back on it, then shifted slightly where he was sitting to face her better. “So that’s not horrible. Probably painful, but I’m sure he did something to deserve it. Not that that justifies murder in real life. But, you know, horror movies,” he smiled. “I saw something once about a guy and a girl who were really trying to look like Barbie and Ken. It was freaky. They barely looked human.” And that wasn’t even a movie, just weird real life.
"Well, he wasn't a good guy," Jen said with a little cringe and a grin. "But yeah there were people who wanted to look like dolls and something about these twins who wanted to be... I don't know, conjoined or something. I can't really remember. My friend was so grossed out but she loved it anyway because she's a horror nut." She shook herself a little and pulled a face as she thought about it then abruptly changed the topic. "What was your first horror movie?"
“Most of the time conjoined twins want to be separated, not the other way around,” Liam laughed quietly. He could see how it would be interesting, even though it didn’t sound like his thing. And it didn’t sound disgusting, so he could probably handle it just fine, though from Jen’s reaction he could tell that she wasn’t sure about it herself, like she’d said. “I think my first real horror movie was 28 Days Later. Have you seen it? If not, it’s pretty good.”
"Yes, it was so good," Jen said with widened eyes. "So not technically a zombie movie but still the best zombie movie I've ever seen. The sequel was just kinda annoying though. Did you see that one?" She'd all but forgotten they were thinking about watching another movie, this was just nice on its own and she could watch movies by herself whenever.
“I still consider it a zombie movie, even if it’s not technically,” Liam agreed. “The sequel was just ugh. Nowhere near as good as the original. And I thought maybe that was because I’d hyped it all up in my mind, since I loved the first so much, but I’m pretty sure it was just bad. I like to pretend it doesn’t exist.” He knew there were so many horror movies out there that he had to narrow them down, but it was hard to pass up a sequel when the first was so good. Now he’d learned his lesson.
"It had its moments but way too many annoying flaws," Jen agreed. "Which is almost worse, when a film has potential and could be good but then it just isn't. I think I prefer an honest bad movie. Like it's so bad it's funny or at least they're trying with a really bad budget."
“Like the original Evil Dead,” Liam said. “I’m not sure if it’s because of the budget or the writing, but it’s so bad it’s hilarious. The remake? Must less funny because they had the budget for all the special effects. Still a good horror movie in it’s own right, but it didn’t have the charm of the original.”
"I never saw the remake," Jen replied. "But I saw the trailer and yeah, absolutely." They talked for a while longer about horror movies before remembering to turn on the one they'd meant to watch. Not that they did a lot of watching. They'd both seen it before so it became more of a running commentary party and Jen was more than okay with that. "I would like to think I'd be more subtle than that if I was testing someone for vampirism," she giggled at one point but maybe not, maybe she'd be just as blatantly obvious as those boys in the movie.
At some point Liam became more comfortable with Jen being there on the couch with him, relaxing with his arms across the back of the couch, close to her, without quite touching. It was fun to have a movie they could talk through, especially with someone who liked horror movies as much as he did. “I’d probably just ask you out in the daylight, but if not, I feel like a glass of holy water would be the easiest. Everyone drinks water and I could drink it without causing a fuss.”
That actually raised an interesting question in Jen's mind. "Do you think there are any vampires for real?" she said, wrinkling her nose. There were demons and witches, so why the hell not, right? She hoped not though, it was already hard to grapple with the concept of actual demons. Having to worry that someone might just want to drink her blood and snap her neck? No thanks, it really wasn't something she wanted to entertain.
Liam frowned a little, thinking. “I’m not sure,” he said. “I’m going to guess yes, because a lot of legends have some basis in reality, but if so, then I think they’re super rare and it’s really not a good thing. I know a lot of movies glamourize it, but… I think in reality they’d end up being a serial killer who catches on fire in the sun. I’m totally guessing though. I could ask my mom, but she’d probably blow me off. The girl who made your mask might know.” The Castells knew all kinds of random shit.
"There are all sorts of reasons why the vampire myth could have started, not all of them actually supernatural," Jen said. "I kinda hope they're not real. I'm already struggling with demons being real." Witches were fine, as long as they weren't evil, but they were still people. People could hurt other people horribly without using magic. A monster though? Those were mindless and unrelenting. "Think zombies are real? I mean obviously not like the modern zombie movie type but like... the voodoo kind or whatever."
“That’s true. They might not be,” Liam agreed, but turned a little to face her, his expression growing concerned. “Why do you know about demons?” He’d never had to face one himself and he prayed he never had to. He’d rather deal with a vampire any day. At least they had a human soul of some sort. Demons… they were just evil. “I’m gonna say definitely no to zombies. I think there are witches that can raise the dead, but none that would cause mass amounts of corpses to crawl out of their graves and eat brains. I mean, a voodoo zombie’s kind of a witch zombie, isn’t it?” Was voodoo even real? Maybe it was just another branch of witchcraft.
"Yeah I think voodoo zombies are just like mindless servants or something, not the brain-eating kind," Jen replied. "I'm not even sure they're dead? Like they're just cursed people." She didn't really know, she'd seen in it in some movie, read something briefly. Now she wanted to dig deeper and find out. "And you know, I have my sources." She wasn't about to go tell him all about what had happened to Hunter but he seemed to know about demons already so he didn't need a warning.
“I think those could exist? But only if you have a witch that’s puppeting them. I’m sure it’d some kind of dark magic that I don’t even wanna mess with,” Liam said. He knew there were spells out there and some of them were interesting, but he didn’t want to get into anything that required cutting. “I’m sure you do,” he said with a little laugh. “Do you know any other witches?” He had assumed the answer was no, but she did seem to know things.
"Not personally," Jen replied, then smiled and leaned a little closer to him. "Just you." It definitely had her wondering what the witch to mundanes ratio was, how common were they. She really didn't expect him to tell her who they were though, it was all so hush hush so it seemed futile to ask at all. "Do you know many witches?" There was still so much she didn't know about them but she didn't want to go overboard in asking him too many questions.
Liam smiled, laughing softly. “I feel special,” he said, leaning a touch closer for an instant. He kind of liked being her lone supernatural source, but he did wonder if Ophelia would tell her eventually. Especially since Jen already knew they existed. “Outside my family, only a few. I know the other descendants of the six. Most of ‘em are older. Like, mid-twenties, I’d guess. Or my mom’s age. It’s not a lot, but it’s always seemed like a high number for a small town.”
"I know of some of them," Jen replied with a nod. "And I know that witches can exorcise a demon, which sounds super weird when you have nothing but popular media to go on but makes sense when you think about it. I mean, like I'm not religious so I often think like... Fuck what do I do if I run into a demon? I have no bible or a cross to lean on and it'd be fake if I did anyway." She wasn't mentioning Hunter but she could still feel how good it felt to actually talk about things with someone who was outside of it all, even if he didn't have all the facts.
“If you run into a demon, you pour a circle of salt around yourself and you call me A-sap. And then I call people who know how to deal with demons,” Liam said in all seriousness. It wasn’t macho, but he knew that was way out of his league. “I think priests can exorcise a demon as well, but it’d be a different process. Less magic, more The Exorcist. I think. Neither ever sounded pleasant.” It was a scary thing to think about, but he liked to think he’d keep a clear head. Then again, he’d run away scared from a haunted house, so probably not.
"I'm just going to start carrying silver, salt and hexbags with me wherever I go," Jen said with a little roll of her eyes, not because it was ridiculous but because it was a little overwhelming. "Don't you kinda have to summon demons? They can't just... pop up and start bothering you out of nowhere, right?" That would suck. Hunter and his friends had done something stupid and that's why they got haunted by one, that seemed easy enough to avoid.
“Yeah, demons don’t usually just come out of nowhere,” Liam agreed. “I guess you could have one that’s been hanging out in our realm for a while, but that seems… I’m going to say no. Ninety-nine percent of the time, demons show up because you’ve done something to draw their attention. That extra one percent where you just happen to stumble upon one? You’re probably more likely to die in a plane crash or something wild. So the silver and salt on a daily basis are probably a bit much.” He realized he’d been rambling and stopped, giving her a little smile.
That made her feel a little better, assuming Liam knew what he was talking about. There were no guarantees that there even were rules that applied to demons or other entities but Jen decided she preferred to believe that. Looking pleased she turned to pay some attention to the movie they were supposed to be watching, then leaned back again, letting her head thump back against the couch back. "If someone got possessed and the demon got exorcised, that's it, right? It's just gone and it won't affect anything again?"
Liam had to think about that for a second, since it was something he had almost no experience with. He’d done a lot of research though, always hunting for more information on the supernatural, and exorcisms were one of the easier topics to find information on because people actually believed in them. They were woven into multiple religious faiths, accepted even if people didn’t really believe they happened anymore. “Yeah, I don’t think so. The demon gets sent back to it’s realm and the host is safe. I think the only real issue is the damage that might’ve been done while they were possessed? I think there’d be a lingering fear. Nightmares. It might take time to feel normal again. I’ve never known someone who was possessed, but everything I’ve read seems to indicate a full recovery after an exorcism.”
"I think in the case I know about the demon got killed," Jen said. "It was attached to an object and the witch burned it. But yeah, definitely lingering nightmares." She thought about it for a second before shaking her head, almost sensing the question coming up since she'd almost made it sound like she'd been involved. "Wasn't me. Just someone I know." Pursing her lips she thought about it some more. "You're good at keeping secrets, aren't you Liam?"
Liam was getting more concerned by the second because this definitely sounded like first hand knowledge Jen was speaking from. He opened his mouth to ask just before she clarified, and he shut it, waiting patiently, as she seemed to be thinking to herself. “Yeah, I’d like to think I am,” he nodded. When it mattered, he thought. The only time he could recall epically screwing up a secret was Jen finding out he was a witch, but he considered that special circumstances.
"Okay," Jen said and huffed a little breath. "If you tell anyone I will straight up sugarplum fairy murder you but yeah... My brother got possessed a couple of weeks ago, he almost hurt his friend and he's just been kinda freaked out ever since. That's how I know about some of the witches in town, someone helped him. He's like a friggin puppy, you know? It was so weird seeing him like that, all fucked up." God it felt good to talk about it, even if she probably shouldn't, but she'd kept it to herself and she'd had nobody to talk to about it and it felt like something small and sharp inside her chest was just waiting to explode.
“Oh my god,” Liam muttered, eyes wide as he listened. Hunter was so lucky to be alive, as was his friend. Demons had no regard for human life, as he understood it, and could have easily killed him for fun. “Is he okay now? I mean, he seemed okay, but that--that’d freak anyone out.” He wasn’t sure there was a way to mentally prepare yourself for being possessed. There were a few people he knew that would be more pissed than afraid, but he didn’t think he could count himself among them.
Jen hadn't talked about it to anyone how Hunter had actually come to her room that night, stood in the doorway all weird before leaving. He could have killed her - or worse - and she didn't have the heart to tell him that. "He's okay but he has nightmares and we talk a lot at night so... I have even more excuses to fall asleep in class now. Probably a good thing that he doesn't remember any of it except waking up from it." Could they call it that? Waking up? That was how Hunter described it.
“Yeah, but even that’s gotta be disorienting. And painful. I mean, I doubt the demon left willingly.” Liam gave a little shake of his head, honestly a little worried for Hunter, even if he didn’t know him. “He’s probably lucky he doesn’t remember, but I think that’d be hard too.” He had to be wondering what he did and if there were things people weren’t telling him. Liam knew, if it were him, his imagination was sometimes worse than reality. “You’re a good sister,” he said, giving her a little smile. “He’s lucky to have you.”
"I know," Jen said jokingly since it felt easier than to get all mushy about it. "He knows what he did, his friends told him and it wasn't easy but... it could have been a lot worse. I'm just... glad it can't happen out of the blue. They played with some old ouija board and summoned it that way so... Now they know better." Of course had she been home she wouldn't have known better either. She would have thought it was funny and possibly turned the lights off and on just to fuck with them.
“Definitely not something that happens randomly. And I’m kinda shocked they found a working Ouija board. I’ve heard they exist, but most of the time those are just silly party games.” Liam was guessing they didn’t buy it at Walmart though. An authentic Ouija board could be dangerous. “It’s kind of frustrating, knowing things are out there and feeling like you can’t tell everyone. Like you can’t prove it. Or warn people. Or you can, but they won’t believe you. I know, if I told most of my friends not to play with a Ouija board, they’d probably blow me off.”
"Yeah, if you told people about it they'd probably buy one and play just to spite you," Jen sighed. "It wasn't some fake thing though, they got it an antique store. Which to me just means it was even more of a 'why would you fuck with it' kinda thing." She knew why though, it was kinda cool, messing with those things, especially if you didn't actually believe they could do harm. "At this point I don't think I'd even fuck with a cheap one from Walmart."
“That’s ‘cause you know better,” Liam said softly, his fingers lightly brushing her shoulder. “Now you get to be the responsible one. You get to help keep your friends safe because you know what’s out there. I think you can handle it,” he said, giving her a little smile. Jen seemed like she was strong and smart, like she could put her foot down when she needed to and knew when to run away. Because sometimes running was necessary.
"My ability to keep them safe only works if they don't act like total morons," Jen replied, well aware of that little touch, her stomach fluttering a little. "Does Ophelia know about all of that stuff?" She knew damn well they probably wouldn't even be talking about it if they hadn't shared that strange experience at Ludlow Lane and especially if she hadn't seen what Liam really was. She was pretty damn grateful for his indiscretion at this point.
Liam considered it for a second, then nodded, deciding it couldn’t hurt to answer truthfully. “In bits and pieces, yeah,” Liam said. “She knows what I am and what’s out there, so she should know to stay away from things like that.” He couldn’t say that Ophelia was a witch too. That was her secret to share, if she decided she wanted to, though maybe she’d decide she could trust Jen. At least Ophelia already knew that Jen knew about him.
"Good, then I don't have to worry about saving her ass from stupid ouija boards," Jen replied. She glanced at the screen where the credits had started rolling and smirked. "We really watched the shit out of that movie," she said with some amusement. Not that she minded, she'd seen it before and chatting with Liam was way more interesting anyway which was much better than showing up and watching movies awkwardly.
“I mean, we knew they’d get the vampires in the end,” Liam grinned, laughing a little before he bit his lip, looking back at her. He took a breath, then told himself now or never. “If this was a date, would you have said yes?” He hated how unsure of himself he sounded, but he hated to think he was screwing something up with a friend. And at the same time, he wasn’t sure he could ask her out again and not know.
Jen could have teased him about it, asked him wasn't it a date? But he sounded so earnest and so nervous she didn't have the heart to. Something twisted a little uncomfortably in her gut. She'd finally made friends and she didn't want to ruin it all by doing something stupid. "Do you want it to be a date?" she asked, tilting her head as she studied him.
Liam laughed softly and dropped his head for a second, his blond hair flopping in his face before he smiled back at Jen. “Kinda, but not if it screws things up. ‘Cause this was fun.” And it would still have been fun if it wasn’t a date. He might be a little disappointed, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. He’d been turned down by plenty of girls in the past and he’d rather be just friends than nothing at all.
Jen thought about it, narrowing her eyes at him as she tried to sort out what she was feeling. "I really like you," she said then. "But I'm really shit at like... relationships and snuggling, like I don't really like any of it all that much." Honesty was the best policy, wasn't it? And maybe she'd like sex with someone she was actually attracted to but the rest of it all seemed so smothering. The way Hunter got all mushy when he talked about Sebastian, the way she saw couples at school constantly pawing at each other. She shifted in her seat so she was facing him more since they were talking in seriousness and all. Despite her feelings on all those mushy things she had to admit he was really fucking pretty for a boy and she kinda wanted to kiss him. It just wouldn't be fair to kiss him and then change her mind about it. "Have you been with anyone before?" she asked then, arching a brow.
As glad as he was to hear that she liked him, the rest didn’t sound very promising. Liam didn’t know if he could claim to be any good at relationships himself, but that didn’t mean he didn’t keep trying at them. But if she wasn’t interested, then… that was okay. Disappointing, but he didn’t want to be that guy that turned all moody because he didn’t get what he wanted, especially when what he wanted was so unclear to begin with. “It’s okay,” he started to say, giving her a small smile, which kind of froze in place with the question she asked. “Been with… like… I’ve had girlfriends,” he said, not sure if that was what she was asking, but he wasn’t going to make that jump. “A few. They didn’t really… I’m not very good at this either.”
Jen smiled at that and nodded. "But you know what you want? I have no idea what I want and I don't want to jerk you around just because I'm weird." She couldn't help but envy Ophelia a little for the intensity of her feelings for Greg. She definitely had a crush on him and she wanted to be with him and kiss him for hours. Jen couldn't help but feel a little defective because she never felt those things with anyone. Not like that.
“You’re not weird,” Liam said with a little shake of his head. Her not liking him didn’t make her weird. It was just a place he often found himself in, even if he didn’t particularly like it. He could make it work though. He always did. “I just… thought I should ask. For future reference,” he said, giving her a little smile.
Jen had the sudden urge to lean over and kiss him which was just the worst thing she could do right now because talk about sending mixed messages. It made her wonder if she was just scared or something and her stomach coiled uncomfortably again. Why couldn't it just be simple like in dumb rom-coms? "And you still don't have a clear answer," she sighed, flopping back down in her seat. "Don't decide not to hang out with me in the future, okay?"
“I’m always good with hanging out,” Liam smiled. “Plus, you’re like the best person to watch scary movies with ever. You know I’m gonna drag you to the theater for ‘em from now on.” Going to the movies with a girl didn’t have to be a date. Just like this wasn’t a date. He supposed there wasn’t a huge difference, except for all the physical stuff, which… he generally tried not to think about. It was way easier to be friends with a girl when he wasn’t thinking about kissing them.
Jen definitely liked being the best person to watch movies with and she gave Liam a little grin. Only time would tell if he ghosted her, he still might, there was no guarantee with people but she really hoped he wouldn't. Right now she was just glad that he'd proven he wasn't an asshole who got all upset about rejection. She hadn't outright rejected him but still, he'd dealt with it well. "I'll be really sulky if you don't watch scary movies with me again," she told him. "Just so you know."
“Noted,” Liam said, giving her a little smile. “You still want me to drive you home?” It was getting late and it was a school night, even though he thought Halloween should be a holiday. They could always hang out a little longer, but he was still feeling a little rejected and kind of wanted to crawl in bed.
Jen nodded. It was probably a good thing he'd asked her this late because now she could go home and try to sort out her feelings instead of awkwardly watching movies with him while incapable of doing just that. The way he reacted to his sort-of rejection was another feather in his hat for sure and Jen thought maybe girls should always reject guys to start with just to see what they were really like. "I really don't wanna bike home in the dark on Halloween after that first one, oh my god."
“Come on,” Liam laughed, rising to his feet. “We can load your bike in the back of the car. Even if it wasn’t the scariest thing I’ve seen this year, I wouldn’t want to ride home this late. It’s cold out.” He offered her a hand up, trying his best to be normal. He knew it would feel weird for a little bit, but hopefully he’d get over her and move on and they could be friends like he never said anything. That was really the best case scenario at this point and Liam was determined not to screw it up.