In the *** House

"Tate?" Victoria grabbed onto the railing as she descended the steps to her basement. She wasn't sure if it was Addie's words that had convinced her otherwise, but she'd decided to just keep on what she'd been wearing. Tate already obviously liked her, it would be stupid to try and act differently.

"Tate?" It was just after midnight, when they normally met in the basement only this time he wasn't waiting at the foot of the stairs as usual. "If you're trying to scare me I swear I'm gonna kick your ass." She whispered more to herself, making her way around the corner to peak back into the room where they had scared Leah. There was still no sign of him, though the thought of Leah annoyed her. She was angry at Vi for spending all of her time with Leah now, as if the whole ordeal was some kind of bonding experience between the two. "Marco..."

Victoria rolled her eyes, turning to head back towards the stairs just as a dark figure grabbed hold of her. They cupped their hand over her mouth, preventing her from screaming as they pushed her towards the railing. Victoria flailed in the assailants grasp, reaching for their arms as her knee came up, making contact with their groin.

"Jesus, Vic!" It was Tate's voice.

"Tate?" Victoria reached out, unzipping the mask to release his mess of blonde hair. Her heart was still racing as she smacked him across the head with the rubber mask. "You asshole!"

Tate smiled up at her, still in obvious pain but amused by his little prank. "I scared you," he teased, slowly attempting to stand up straight.

Victoria rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. He had scared her. Her first thought had been that the attackers had returned to finish the job, kill her for killing their friend, though Tate had assured her they'd been taken care of. There was no way she was going to admit that to him though, so Victoria feigned an annoyed expression.

"No," she lied, "and where did you get this thing?" It was the rubber suit her mom had found in the attic the first week they'd moved in. "I saw my dad throw it out."

Tate's gaze fell to her lips as he slowly leaned in for a kiss, sending her heart racing once again.

"Finder's keepers," he whispered, letting his lips gently fall to hers. Victoria was almost positive she'd never get used to the nervousness that came with Tate's touch. He made her so unsure of herself and that wasn't a feeling Victoria was accustomed to.

He pulled away, leaving her screaming internally.

"Really? I didn't scare you?" He seemed confused and Victoria couldn't suppress the smile that found it's way to her lips.

"I said no," she playfully pushed him away, tucking a lock of her dark hair behind her ear as she fought to steady her breathing.

Tate only smiled, gazing almost wickedly at Victoria before responding, "I bet I can."

Victoria sat quietly at the foot of the steps as Tate set everything up. It appeared that his great plan to scare her was a Ouija board and some red candles.

"Candles, sexy." Victoria mocked, resting her chin on her knees. She'd never been afraid of supernatural nonsense, which Tate already knew.

"You have to put your fingers on the other side." He explained as he lit the candles. Victoria let out a long, exaggerated sigh hoping Tate would take the hint.

"You do know," she began, standing up and making her way to the other side of the makeshift seance table Tate had built, "this is a bunch of bullshit designed to further hype up Halloween." Setting down on her knees, Victoria rested her hands in her lap. "Which everyone knows is just a holiday created by the candy companies."

"Charles is gonna answer all your questions," Tate teased, grabbing the Ouija board from the floor beside him and placing it onto the box/table in front of them. "He used to live here." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Is 'Charles' gonna tell me what you did to those psycho's that broke into our house?" Tate's face fell at the mention of that night. Victoria wasn't sure why, but it was something that had been eating at her ever since though she didn't normally bring it up. Tate didn't like to speak of it and she normally didn't either, she wasn't sure what had gotten into her tonight.

"I told you, I didn't do anything."

"But you said you'd take care of it and they just,"

"I had some help," he cut her off, outstretching his hands toward her. She didn't want to press the issue further so Victoria complied, placing her hands in his before he gently placed them on the Ouija board.

"Okay," Victoria looked up at Tate, ready to change the subject, "what attacked Leah?" He didn't look at her, but she noticed him grin a little. "And I want the truth," she added.

"What I'm about to tell you might scare you," he looked a little concerned before glancing back up at Victoria with a smile, "to death!"

Victoria rolled her eyes, biting back a smile as she pulled her hands away to fold them across her chest.

"I think I'll survive." She assured him, though the whole point of this was so that Tate could try and scare her.

"Doctor Charles Montgomery built this house," Tate began, pointing a finger to the room on Victoria's right, "and here in this basement, is where he worked."