Opposites Always Attract.

At 9 o’clock on that Monday morning, I found myself squished between Ray and Bob in the back of Gerard’s car as he drove us away from school. Poor Mikey was pushed up against the window, while Gerard and Frank took the front seats.

I was surprised four of us managed to squeeze into the back of Gerard’s car, but then again Mikey is so thin he didn’t seem to take up much room. I folded my arms as Bob accidently (on purpose) elbowed me in the stomach. I elbowed him back, and frowned.

“Hey, Elliott!” Frank said, turning around to face me from the passenger’s seat, looking overly happy that he wasn’t in the back with the rest of us.

“How’s it going?” he grinned at me cheekily.

“Oh, just fine, Frank. I’m kicking in the back seat!” I said sarcastically, quoting Rebecca Black’s fabulous (ahem) lyrics.

“I’m sitting in the front seat” he continued to grin; he turned around, humming the devilish song to himself happily, while Ray groaned.

“I hate you, Frank” Ray mumbled, looking genuinely upset that ‘Friday’ was now stuck in his head.

“Where exactly are we going? Because I swear to God I will pass out if I’m in this car any longer” I moaned.

We’d been driving for around 10 minutes, and was nearing towards a place I was familiar with, Mount Pleasant Cemetery. As Gerard’s car began to slow down, I started to get nervous. We were going to a graveyard?

“You have to just wait and see” Gerard said, not taking his eyes off of the road.
“Why are we stopping here? W-We’re not going to the graveyard are we? What’s going on?” I stammered as Gerard took a left turn, we were now in a deserted road next to the cemetery, where only a few large houses were left. Each one empty and abandoned.

I knew it was ridiculous, but Tara’s words swirled around in my head. ‘Cult’, ‘sacrifice’, ‘vampire’, ‘blood’. It was like Jennifer’s Body all over again. What good would I be as a sacrifice, I mean let’s face it, I wasn’t a virgin. I would just end up as a demon, living off of human flesh for the rest of my immortal life.

“Are you gunna get out or what?” Gerard raised an eyebrow at me, I realised I was the only one left in the car, sitting with a blank look on my face.

“O-Oh yeah – Yes, um – Thank you” I stumbled out of the car and pulled the sleeves of my light blue hoodie down once I realised how cold it was. My black and white spotted skirt danced around my thighs as I followed the five boys towards one of the large houses.

“Lady’s first” Bob said, once we’d reached the broken-down home. He gestured towards the white front door, its paint peeling off, while colourful graffiti covered its once attractive look.

I gave a quick look to Gerard, who smirked encouragingly. They had lead me to an abandoned house? I was afraid of what was inside, if it was as bad as the outside, I certainly didn’t want to go on.

“A-Are you sure?” my hands not moving towards to door handle.
“Go on” Frank said, bouncing up and down a little, making him look like an excited child. I grabbed the rusty door handle, and opened the house, the large hallway was empty, causing the squeak of the door to echo around its walls.

I stood outside, not wanting to move indoors as I was afraid of what I would meet inside. The boys, however, charged past me into the building, Mikey and Frank running off to the left, while Bob and Ray ran to the right.

“Well, are you coming in?” Gerard asked, pulling me in by the arm before he’d even heard my answer.

“What is this place?” I asked, gazing up at the dusty chandelier that hung above me. The place wasn’t as dirty as I thought it would be. The walls were coated in graffiti and paint, while the floor was surprisingly clean. To the left of me, in a very spacious room, which I assumed, was once a living room, Frank and Mikey were riding around on small tricycles, battling each other with rolled up pieces of cardboard, obviously substituting for swords. I stared in wonder as they giggled like school children, Frank yelling in victory when Mikey crashed into an old couch which was sat in the corner.

“Oh, this place? It’s our little hang out; people have parties here all the time. Most people come at night, like Bob’s friends, but we come here in the day sometimes, just to chill out” he lead me to the right of the large house, where Bob and Ray were sipping cans in the kitchen. Multiple beer bottles were littered on the floor, while several ash trays piled high with stubbed out cigarette’s sat on the counters.

“It’s a uh – It’s a nice find” I said, still admiring the place. Speakers were wired up on the walls, with cables leading into another room. The place still had a homely feel to it, almost like it wasn’t necessarily abandoned; more like someone went away and forgot to come back.

It wasn’t like a horror movie. No blood written messages covered the walls, just bright paint. The carpet was still fluffy and comfortable, despite all of the alcohol stains on them, and relaxing and obviously expensive furniture was still present in each room, although they had been pushed against the walls to make more space.

“This isn’t how I expected my day to go” I said, watching as Gerard offered Bob a cigarette, which he of course took.

“You’re telling me! I never would have thought I would be hanging out with you, it’s fucking hilarious” Bob said.

I laughed “what do you mean?”
“I mean, come on! When Gerard said he was paired with you, we all thought you were gunna beat the shit out of him or something. Not that we’d end up, like, actually hanging out with you or whatever”
“Yeah, we thought you were like, a total Barbie. You’re not that bad, Elliott” Ray said. His adorable face lit up in a pleasant grin, which I returned.

“I’m taking that as a compliment” I said, brushing my hair out of my eyes. Gerard went to open his mouth, but instead a screaming Frank ran into the kitchen.

“Holy fucking shit, Mikey and I just saw a ghost!!!” his eyes were wide in fear. Bob and Ray laughed loudly at him, while Gerard just snorted.

“You – You what?” Gerard said, his eyes brows raised, he was clearly biting his tongue to stop himself from laughing. Ray and Bob on the other hand, were doubled over as they continued to watch Frank pant in horror.

“Mikey and I, we were upstairs, and there was a fucking ghost I swear to God!!!”
“And where is Mikey?” I asked, holding back my laughter. Frank’s face was truly hilarious.

“Oh – Oh God! MIKEY?! MIKEY?! OH MY GOD WHERE ARE YOU?!” Frank ran off screaming, while Gerard joined Ray and Bob in their laughter. While I chuckled to myself as Franks voice echoed around the house.

Gerard stopped laughing once he heard Mikey’s high pitched scream.

“Mikey?” he said concerned, stubbing out his cigarette in the already full ash tray “Mikey, was that you?”

Ray and Bob were now sniggering to themselves, while I followed Gerard into the hallway. We were met with a manic Mikey running down the wide staircase, tears in his eyes.

“Oh my God. It’s – It’s a ghost! WE’RE ALL GUNNA DIE” he screeched. Gerard rolled his eyes, while Frank, Ray and Bob joined us in the hallway.

“Where is it?” Gerard said, pretending to take the younger boys seriously
“U-Upstairs, in the first bedroom” Frank whispered.

“You guys are such babies! You’re like, 16 and you believe in ghosts?” Gerard marched up the stairs, the five of us following him, Frank and Mikey holding hands like toddlers.

We arrived at a large bedroom, whose curtains were drawn, leaving only a small stream of light to escape. The room was dark; all I could see was a large double bed, and what looked like a mirror in one corner.

Gerard strutted into the room, clearly unafraid but what the younger boys had said. The rest of us hung back, watching. The door closed a little on its own accord, making Mikey whimper in fear, and leaving only a small gap, so that Gerard could not be seen.

“There’s fuck all in here guys. You’re so stu-Oh my God!!!” Gerard screamed. Yes, screamed. Ray and Bob retreated back hastily, while Frank and Mikey continued to whimper.

Gerard ran out of the room, staring back at the door evilly.

“There is something in there” he breathed, his eyes still narrowed at the innocent room.
“Someone make it go away!” Mikey said, sounding like a small girl
“Fuck that” Bob said
“Yeah I’m not going” Ray agreed

All five boys looked at me.

“Oh, God. Really? Fine” their eyes widened as I threw the door open and walked into the room, with absolutely no fear. I strutted across the soft carpet towards the window, and pulled back the curtains, the room erupting into light. I searched the room, and laughed so hard at what I discovered that I was bent over, clutching my stomach.

“Wha- What is it?” Gerard asked, edging into the room, the others following him. I pointed to the wardrobe, my throat hurting from laughter. They all turned to look at where I was pointed.

Inside the open doors, a very ugly and very big white dress was hung up. It swayed lightly from the breeze produced from the open window. It looked like a very old wedding dress, and was clearly worn by someone who was very rich, but had little to no fashion sense.

“Oh, my God. You’re were scared of a dress!!” I said through my tears. They all blushed, and began arguing back at me all at once, their excusing entwining into each other.

“You guys – Are pathetic – And I thought – You were meant – To be – The brave ones” I said through gasps of laughter. I straighten up and pushed past the embarrassed boys, wiping my eyes and chuckling to myself.

Elliott Haile, the popular cheerleader, was braver than five guys who knew horror movies like the back of their hand. I continued to wave off their excuses as I walked down the staircase. I would never let them forget that.

-

“So, can you do that thing were you lift your leg above your head?” Ray questioned with interest.

We were sat in the living room in a circle, chatting about random things. The boys were interested in me, and had been asking me questions for the last 20 minutes. About my cheerleading, about my friends, about my clothes. They found my lifestyle fascinating, as of course, they had never spoken to someone like me before (apart from Gerard) other than to insult them.

“Yupp” I nodded, my long legs stretched out in front of me.
“Do it!!” Frank said.
“No, I’m wearing a ski-“
“Doitdoitdoitd-“ Frank persisted.
“Fine, for fuck sake, it’s not even that interesting” I got up from the floor, brushed myself down, and stretched my leg up. Luckily my skirt didn’t reveal too much of my underwear, but I still blushed as the boys stared opened mouthed at me, Gerard particularly fascinated by my flexibility.

“That’s so cool”
“That’s hot”
“I wish I could do that”

Frank had said the last remark, and we all looked at him in confusion. He got up and stood next to me.

“Teach me!” he demanded
“It’s a bit more diff-“
“Teach me!!” He said again.

I rolled my eyes and told him to grab his leg, and stretch it upwards as far as he could. He did so, not getting any higher than his waist in his skinny jeans. He tripped and fell to the floor in a bundle of limbs, making us all laugh.

“It’s a lot harder than I thought it was” Frank said, his voice muffled against the carpet. I giggled and sat back on the floor, my pale legs crossed as we continued to talk.

-

Checking my watch I realised it was 3 o’clock already, meaning school was about to finish. As my eyes widened, the boys looked at me.

“Shit! I have to get home! I have to get my car!!”
"What?" Mikey said.
"It's 3 o'clock already! I have to get my car!"

A collaboration of curse words flew around the room as we all clambered to our feet and raced towards Gerard’s car. I leapt into the passenger seat, and crossed my legs, holding my head high as the other four struggled to fit in the back.

“I hate you” a very squashed Frank said from the back seat. I just smiled arrogantly as Gerard pulled away.

“I’ll drop you a little way away from school, so no one sees us” Gerard said to me, I just nodded in agreement as we drove, listening to Frank and Bob squabble.

-

“See you tomorrow” I smiled at the boys as Gerard pulled up on a random street near school. They all smiled back, Frank waving enthusiastically as I slid out of the car, shutting its door behind me.

Gerard and I shared a secret glance before I walked to school to get my car. It made my insides flutter, only slightly. I pulled my Blackberry out of my bag, checking it to see if I had any messages.

14 New Messages
27 Missed calls
8 Voice Mails

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