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"Oh. Yeah. Totally. Love cemeteries. Let me guess-Jack's idea?"
"Yes!" She giggled. "I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner!"
Jack's eyes were bright, almost feverish in his excitement. "Isn't this fun? I haven't been to a party like this, well, ever!" I still hated him for dragging me out here, but part of me was jealous. This was the exact thing I'd always imagined for a Halloween night party, but I had to play Miss Responsible now and get him away before he did any damage. Then again, this didn't look anywhere near as fun as the bowling had been. It was mostly just cold, and half the students looked like they were working up to being good and drunk.
"Hey!" A lanky, dark-haired guy I recognized from the hallways at school stood on the bench to get everyone's attention. "Hide-and-seek! Feel free to hide in pairs. " He gave a leering wink, then jumped down. Carlee turned to Jack, way too excited, but the guy slapped her on the shoulder. "Carlee's it!"
With shrieks, everyone scattered into the darkness. Carlee stuck her lip out in an exaggerated pout. "Don't hide too hard, okay, Jack?"
He winked at her. She giggled. And I threw up a little in my mouth. He turned to run into the trees and I was forced to follow him. If this was what parties were, well, lame. Although I probably wouldn't have thought it as lame if I were with Lend.
When I caught up, I grabbed Jack's arm. "What are you doing here?"
"Hiding! That's how you play the game, right? I thought the title hide-and-seek was fairly self-explanatory. Then again, you are blond. "
"So are you, idiot. Again, what are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "I thought it would be fun. I found the invitation on your bed the other week. "
I hadn't seen Jack since I got the invite. Which meant he was in my apartment when I wasn't home and snooping through my stuff. "What were you doing in my room?!"
"I stopped by to make sure you were okay. You've seemed kind of down lately. "
I frowned, taken aback. I'd expected a glib answer, but he seemed sincere. "Oh. Well, don't mess with my stuff. And you shouldn't be here. "
"Come on. What's wrong with what we're doing? Not everything is life and death. A little party never hurt anyone. " He turned and ran deeper into the trees, and I followed him with a groan. I needed to get him out of here, even if he did genuinely seem to
be having a good time and hadn't caused any damage that I could see. So far. But how dare he accuse me of not being able to have fun? I'd been having plenty of fun before he ruined it.
My phone rang and I pulled it out. Lend. "Hello?"
"Did you find him?"
"Yup. We're leaving. "
"He's coming back with you?"
"No! I'm just getting him away from the innocent high schoolers. " Someone screamed close by and I stiffened, all senses on alert, but then the scream melted into laughter and playful shrieks.
"Probably a good idea. "
I bit my lip, scanning the darkness for Jack. I'd lost him. "Yeah. " I struggled for something else to say.
"Call me when you get home, okay? I want to make sure you get back safe. "
"Sure, of course. "
He sighed heavily. "I should have stayed. I'm turning around. "
"No, really, it's okay. Jack's my problem, not yours. I'll call you when I get home, and you'll be back tomorrow night. "
"Alright. " The static silence between us felt like the miles were stretching, deepening. "Talk to you soon then?"
"Yeah. Bye. "
I hung up the phone, staring sadly at it for a moment. Then I looked around, determined to find Jack and get him out of here so I could call Lend back. I was deeper into the cemetery than I'd ever been-in fact, I wondered if I was even still in it or if there was no fence separating the outer boundaries from the surrounding woods. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. It felt like I was being watched.
Something grabbed my arm, and I screamed, dropping my phone.
