Leah

"Okay, what's next?" Kayla asked. "We have Us or Beetle Juice as our next two choices."

"Two really great picks." Luke said thoughtfully. "I vote Us."

"I second that." Ian added munching on some popcorn.

We had just finished The Nightmare Before Christmas. And yes I did sing along to the songs. It's part of the experience.

This is Halloween. This is Halloween, Halloween.

It always gets stuck in my head for days after watching.  You can't blame me. It's so catchy.

The trio turned their attention to us waiting for our answers.

Luke and Kayla were seated on the floor in front of the TV. Kayla made an areas with pillows and blankets with a bowl of popcorn between them. Ian was on the smaller end of the couch. He claimed that spot before anyone else could get to it.

That left Jace, Nate and myself on the larger end of the couch.

And trust me I tried to get out of that situation. So much so I tried to roll Ian off his section. I even tugged on his leg and pulled in his arms, but he wouldn't budge.

He just gave me a grin and made sure to stayed secure in his spot. I glared daggers at him. He knew what he was doing.

And you know, you know there was no way in hell that Jace and Nate were going to sit next to each other. So I was left to be the middle man. Quite literally.

It was quite awkward to say the least. So I threw my whole attention into the movies we were watching. Every now and again I would feel eyes on me from both parties. I tried my best to ignore them and munch away on chips.

Trust me all that salt was getting to me. But I just couldn't stop. I had to focus my attention on something.

Jace grabbed the bowl from my lap and and placed a can of soda in my hands. He could feel my uneasiness and the fact I was literally swallowing chips didn't help my case."

"Us." Jace answered placing the bowl on his lap instead.

"Now wait." I countered after downing some soda. "I prefer Beetle Juice." I was not ready for a scary movie yet. Even though I was the one that placed it on the list.

Why did I do that again??

"I agree." Kayla chimed in. She wasn't ready for a scary movie just like me. Yes, we are scaredy cats. I don't care what anyone says.

"Aw, is someone scared?" Ian teased.

Kayla and I scoffed. "You wish." I said. "I just prefer Beetle Juice between the two options."

"Well, that means Nate is the deal breaker. If he chooses Us we win. But if he chooses Beetle Juice we go to a tie breaker." Luke stated.

Everyone's attention turned to Nate who looked uneasy from the looks.

He glanced over to me and I gave him the puppy dog eyes that I know he can't resist.

I know I'm using it to my advantage. Just let me slid this once.

He hesitated for a moment. "Sorry guys. But Beetle Juice."

Kayla and I cheered. That's a true friend!

"Dude, really?" Ian asked incredulously and Nate shrugged his shoulders.

"That's not surprising." Jace took a jab before popping a few chips into his mouth.

I shoved his shoulder with my own as Nate arched a brow at his comment. Jace just gave me a pointed look as he took a few more chips.

"Whatever." Kayla intervened. "What's the tie breaker?"

Luke had a mischievous look on his face. "The first person to finish one of those cookies." He said pointing to the ghost shaped sugar cookies. "And whistle clearly wins. No liquids to help."

"Deal." Kayla said without a second though. "I'll do it."

"Are we sure we want Kayla to do this? You know she's not that great at whistling." Nate whispered into my ear his shoulder touching my own at his closeness. I became aware of this action because of the eyes that were on me from behind.

"I mean we can't stop her. She just volunteered." I whispered back.

"We're gonna lose." He said and glanced down at my lips. "You have some crumbs." Handed me a napkin.

"Thanks." I muttered my cheeks warmed slightly as I grabbed the napkin.

I sat back in my original position and caught Jace's gaze. He just rolled his eyes as he popped another chip in his mouth.

Luke and Kayla grabbed a cookie off the tray in front of them.

"Ready?" Ian asked and they both nodded. "Set. Go!"

Kayla and Luke literally inhaled the cookies. Crumbs flying everywhere. Their jaws working a mile a minute to chomp down the cookies as we cheered them on.

Kayla swallowed first, trying to clear her throat to blow a whistle. On her first attempt there was no success. She tried again, nothing,

At this point Luke downed his cookie and cleared his throat. And just when Kayla was about to attempt again for third time, Luke beat her to the punch and blew a clear and loud whistle.

The guys cheered in victory.

Nate gave me 'told you so' look.

"Why did you guys let me do that?" Kayla asked tossing a pillow at us. Someone was upset.

"No no no. Don't give us that." Nate argued. "You volunteered. All high and mighty."

Kayla looked over to thinking I was going to defend her. I shrugged my shoulders. "You offered."

She tossed a handful of popcorn towards us. "Whatever, traitors." She muttered and turned back around to the TV.

Luke grabbed the remote to select the movie, just as the doorbell rung.

Trick or treaters. We've all been taking turns answering the door through out the night.

"You're up." Kayla said to Nate as she handed him the bowl.

"I swear, I just went." He muttered under his breath as he head towards the door.

I chuckled because he went right before Kayla.

The movie started to play when I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. I looked up to Jace confused as he pulled me closer to his side.

He leaned close to my ear and whispered. "Selling it."

Right.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you from the scary movie." He teased.

I scoffed. "Pff, I don't need protecting."

Jace let out a deep chuckle. "We'll see."

The opening scene started as Nate took his seat again. His eyes glued to the TV screen, but I could tell by his demeanor he was irritated.

The movie continued on, nothing too serious happening as of yet. I started to feel uneasy at the scene when the little boy said 'there's a family in our driveway.'

I knew Kayla was feeling the same way when she mimicked my actions and picked up a pillow to hold for safety.

Something is gonna happen.

Ohh, something is gonna happen.

The guys were all focused on the movie.

When the family broke into the house, I jumped a bit and hid behind my pillow.

Jace felt my uneasiness and pulled me in closer allowing my head to rest on his chest. I heard the steady beats of his heart. The sound allowed me to calm down.

Our hands would brush against each other's every now and again when we went to grab some chips.

It was alway the little things that made my heart skip a beat.

The scene that threw me over the edge was when the other rich family was brutally murdered by their look a likes.

When that happened I buried my head into Jace's chest to hide myself from what I witnessed. At the same time Kayla squirmed around in fear and threw the pillow from her lap onto Luke.

He chuckled causing her to blush from embarrassment and handed her back the pillow. Ian and Nate were totally engrossed.

"Sorry." I muttered to Jace in embarrassment and tried to move away. But he kept his strong hold on me. He didn't utter a word and just softly stroked my hair in a soothing way.

Any other time I would have protested, but I was still a bit shaken and this was comforting. We stayed in that position for the remainder of the movie.

"That was awesome." Ian announced as the credits start to roll. "You should have seen your faces." He directed towards Kayla and I with a chuckle.

We threw our pillows at him causing the bowl of popcorn to tip over onto his lap. "Aw man!" He whined.

We all laughed while Ian tried to scoop back the popcorn into the bowl.

"All right! Beetle Juice is next." Luke said looking through the TV list for the movie.

I grabbed the empty bowls and took it to the kitchen to refill them before we start the next movie. I felt a presence approach as I started to fill the bowls.

I looked up to see Jace leaning against the doorframe. "So not a scaredy cat?" He asked with a smirk on his lips.

"Shut up. I wasn't that scared." I tossed the empty bags into the trash.

"Okay, keep lying to yourself." He approached the counter and snagged a few popcorn kernels. "You in my arms tells me something different."

"You put me there." I told him deadpanned.

"I didn't see you protesting." He gave me a knowing look.

I waved him off dismissively. "Not like you were letting go."

"I'm just trying to play my part. Just like you asked." He pointed out. "I can't say much for you."

"What is that suppose to mean?" I asked incredulously.

"Come on, Leah. You're barely giving me the time of day in there." Jace pointed out.

He was right. I wasn't keeping up on my end. He was doing all of the leg work.

"Unless." He started staring straight into my eyes. It was like he could see my soul with those eyes.

"Unless?" I questioned.

"Unless, you actually still have feelings for him." He said referring to Nate.

His eyes stared directly into my own awaiting my answer. So many different emotions swirling in them.

But no words were forming.

Nothing.

Why can't I say anything?

I didn't know what my feelings towards Nate was.

How was I suppose to explain that?

Jace took my silence as confirmation as his features displayed hurt and anger.

"You have to be fucking kidding me." His voice cold as ice. "I should have known. All those moments. I should have fucking known."

"Jace, I-" I started but stopped.

I wanted to explain the situation. I didn't want him to think I was just using him, but that also meant explain how I felt towards him.

Was I ready for that?

I opened my mouth to say something, but Jace walked away before I got the chance leaving me behind.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair in frustration because I knew what I just did.

I just fucked everything up.

***

Hello loves!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Don't hate me too much, but this will force Leah to come to terms with her feelings for both Nate and Jace.

What's your favorite Halloween movie?

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Lisa S.