Ethan

The sound of video games and teenage laughter filled the air. All around me were people with their eyes fixed on big screens, playing a variety of different games.

The arcade looks a bit different than it was when I was a kid.

The poorly painted walls now have a nice purple wallpaper. That one broken ceiling light that dad and I joked would never get fixed in a million years is now replaced with a sleek hanging light like all the others. There are new games available now. The guy who used to run this place was an old friend of my dad. However, I heard he moved away and so someone else owns the business now. Of course, things have changed...

The loud thud made by Rachel as she slammed the mallet on top of a mouse popping out of the whack a mole machine, makes me flinch.

"You know, you don't need to hit it so hard," I tell her calmly as I shift her bag and the tickets between my hands.

"Shut up, will you? Let me focus" She answers with an irritated look.

I sigh, trying to calm myself. How did we end up in this situation?

The game comes to an end with a string of tickets coming out of the machine. She takes them out and hands them to me.

"Ok next game. Give me a coin." She demands with an excited look on her face.

"We're all out. That was the last one. How about we call it a day and go home?" I say to her. I need to follow her if I ever want to find out if she's actually Morgan or not.

Her excited look gets replaced with a grim one.

"Then why are you standing here like an idiot? Go and get more."

I stare at her for a few seconds with an annoyed expression.

"Excuse me!? I already wasted a lot on these coins. We've been here for more than an hour. It's enough now!"

All of a sudden she grabs my collar and pulls my head towards hers. The motion surprises me has me feeling frustrated. She silently stares at me with a smirk, our heads just inches away from each other. Unable to look her in the eye, I turn my gaze left as the warmth on my face makes me uneasy and I could smell the scent of her citrus perfume.

What the hell is she doing!?

"What? You did say you wanted to be my friend, right? Well since we're 'friends', and friends would do aaaanything for each other, can't you do this for me? Or is it that in your books, money is more precious."

I frown and manage to look back at her. Her big brown eyes.

"What are you trying to do here?"

She flashes a devilish grin "Just trying to have fun. You have a choice too, Ethan. Either leave and stop bothering me. Or stay here, be a good friend and do as I say. But if you won't leave or obey me...well, you remember that buff looking manager we saw earlier? He's an ex-soldier. Rumour has it that he once sent a guy who was harassing a girl in his arcade to the hospital. You get what I'm saying right?" She lets go of my collar and steps back.

Seriously? While I would say she has me trapped, I can think of many loopholes. If she really is Morgan, all I'd take for me is one call or shout. She's the one at a disadvantage here but yet she's acting like she's got me all cornered.

But not I'm going to call or shout. That's why I'm following her in the first place.

"Fine, Whatever" I accept defeat and walk towards the counter. I don't need to look back at her to tell she's smirking. How easily readable can you be.

Better yet, how did we even end up in here? I can't tell if she turned the tables on me or got rid of the table altogether.

I had her right where I wanted. Everything was going according to plan. Following her and annoying her to see what card she's going to play. If she really was Morgan, then like any other serial killer, she'd have suspected me of knowing her identity and then her first priority would have been to get rid of me. Normally most of them, I think, would play along or later keep tabs on me, searching for the right time to kill me but from what I've seen of Morgan, she's emotionally driven and impulsive. She would have wanted to get rid of me right then and thereafter leading me to a quiet and dark alley. I was finally sensing a murderous vibe from her. I had, of course, came prepared with my taser. I doubt she had any fighting abilities but even if she did, I could take her down easily.

I hand over the money to the cashier and wait for him to hand me the coins.

If she had attacked me, It would prove she was Morgan. But then she had turned around and said ' hey, if you wanna be friends, then let's go to an arcade' it really caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting any of this. Before I could come up with a reply, she was dragging me by the arm. After that, I guess I just sort of rolled with it.

"Here you go, kid," he says and hands me the coins. I carefully take them and search for Rachel. I spot her next to a racing game, staring at the screen. The light glowing on her face as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

I shook my head and walk towards her. She looks at me and grins.

"Now that wasn't too hard was it?" She laughs and takes a coin.

"That was for the bus. Now I'll have to walk my way home thanks to you!" I answer her bitterly. She, of course, ignores me and inserts the coin into the machine. After settling down on the seat, she grabs hold of the stirring wheel, ready to drive. I sit down on a nearby bench as I watch her.

"You know, I never said you aren't allowed to play," she says as she selects a red and black coloured race car with a skull on it.

"Nah, it's ok. I haven't been here for so long and kinda lost interest in games." I answer blankly. This place is filled with memories. Dad, Zane and I used to come here all the time. I never wanted to come here because of the haunting memories.

"Why? Any particular reason you stopped coming?" She asks as she stares intently at the screen and drives without hitting anything. She's good at this game.

I think for a sec whether to tell her or not. Meh, why not? Not like it'll change anything.

"I umm...used to come here with my dad. After he died, I just didn't feel like it." I shrug. I look at her and see a flick of emotions on her face. Her car crashes into another car and then drifts towards the side of the road. She seems...kinda sad now.

"I...lost someone too. We both used to come here after school sometimes. We'd race together and...it was fun. After she was gone, I...stopped coming here too...that is, until today" she says as she focuses her attention back on the game.

It then occurred to me that somehow, in a way, we are similar. That thing I said on the road about fake friends. It wasn't all a lie. But I still wonder why she brought me here despite her reluctance to come back. I did say I wanted to be friends but that was all an act to get her annoyed. Now that I think about it, I've always seen her alone. What if she actually doesn't have friends and...is telling herself that she doesn't need and can do without them? Like...me. so when I insisted on being one she's decided to give me chance? I'm probably just overthinking it but...if I'm right...I do feel a bit guilty.

I sigh and get up. Taking an empty player seat next to her. She looks at me as the words game over displays on her screen.

"How about the loser buys the other a drink," I say as I hand her a coin while inserting mine into the machine.

She smirks and takes it " I thought you had no money"

"I don't. I just gotta win." I answer and press play. I'm pretty good at games in general. I've played this game hundreds of times so I'm confident in my skills.

In the end, the results were unexpected.

I lost.

After that, we spent most of our playing games. Competing against each other. It was...fun. I honestly never thought I'd come back here with someone. And I'm probably sure she didn't either. The previous tension between us regarding the case and the identity was slowly starting to melt. Abit though. I plan on pretending to leave her only to hide and follow her. The only reason I didn't do this in the first place was because I can tell she's hyper-aware of her surroundings. If she found me following her, she'd change herself again along with her location. And if she is holding Jessica and her brother hostage, then she'd...kill them. Then it'd be on me. That I didn't inform the police sooner and caused their deaths.

But right now, as I look at her, standing with a rifle at the shooting simulation game, killing zombies with an enthusiastic and determined face.....I don't see a serial killer. I don't see a Kidnapper. I don't see...the Morgan everyone talks about.

"Hurry up!!! They're ganging upon us!" She glares and yells, breaking my train of thought. I quickly come over to her and grab the other gun.

Please...let it be all a lie. My instincts tell me she's actually Morgan and I should turn her over to the police but...I don't...I can't! I'll...I'll first get proof.

Am I just making excuses because I don't want her to get arrested? If I do find out that she's actually Morgan, what then? What will I do after that? Obviously, I'll have to give her to the police but...I feel like it'll be tough.

With only one coin left, we look for a game that we haven't played yet. As I search, my eyes fall upon...a marvellous machine!

Running over to it, I stare down at the countless candies and chocolates. Crane games aren't exactly my strong suit but small stuff like this is easy to grab.

"Ethan!" Rachel yells. I look to my right and there she is, standing next to another crane machine filled with stuffed toys.

"Let's try this one," she says with a smile. No way. If I can get five candies in one grab, I'm not letting that opportunity slide.

"Nah, the toy ones are always a waste. They're hard. But candies, on the other hand, are easy to grab and you can get many in one grab." I calmly explain to her.

She looks at me, at the candies and then back at me.

"Don't you think you eat too many sweets?" She says in a matter-of-fact tone and folds her arms.

"Why do you even want these? No offence, but you look like the type of person who'd prefer voodoo dolls over cute ones" I say back at her. Causing her to glare at me.

"What I do with them is none of your concern. Plus You must already have a stack of candies at home, so why bother arguing over a stupid coin like little kids!?" She says, clearly irritated.

"You're the one being greedy here. Just let me have this, you obviously used up more coins than me. Plus, I paid for it" I tell her sternly. Why quarrel over something so stupid?

I can tell she's getting frustrated. Quickly, she steps forward and reaches to snatch the coin away from me. Thanks to my reflexes, I hold it high above where she can't reach.

Seeing her stand on her toes and stretch her arm out to grab it, amuses me to a great degree. She's shorter than me. It reminds me of what that girl I met at the graveyard said about my height.

I look down at her, smugly " Ha, if only you were as tall as me"

She backs off and looks at me annoyingly. After rolling her eyes, she swings back her foot and lands a hard kick on my right leg. Pain like electricity spreads throughout my body and my hands drop the coin and wrap around my leg as I sit down.

"The hell!? What is wrong with you!? Are you crazy!?" I yell at her.

"Wow, you must be pretty weak if a soft kick like that actually hurted you. How manly" she smirks and laughs Causing me to grit my teeth.

"The coin!" We both yell in realization and look around. Our eyes fall upon the item that had been rolled this whole time towards the floor drain. We watch in disappointment as it rolls between the grills and falls.

"What's going on here?" I hear someone among the people that are watching us ask.

"Nothing much. Just a lovers quarrel" another person answers.

I feel myself getting red with frustration and embarrassment "IT'S NOT A LOVERS QUARREL! WE'RE NOT EVEN LOVERS! SHE JUST ASSULT-" I yell as Rachel places a hand over my mouth and smiles at the audience.

"Sorry folks, Nothing to see here. Someone just forgot to take his medication today. We'll get going now" she says and drags me out of the arcade as I try to pull her hand away from my mouth and give her a piece of my mind for indirectly calling me mad.

How could she be this small and strong at the same time!?

Once we're out, she pulls her hand away.

"You really are a drama queen, you know." She rolls her eyes and checks her bag.

"You've got some nerve...plus you have no idea how strong that kick was. It's true I'm not exactly strong but I'll have you know my strength lies in here" I answer her pointing towards my head.

"I honestly couldn't care less. Anyway, I'll get going now." She says as she checks her phone.

"Wait, take this," I say and dig my hand into my pocket. Taking out a piece of paper, I give it to her.

"What's this?" She asks as she takes and looks at it.

"My...my number. Since we're finally friends and all, so.." I begin to say until she looks at me, trying to hold back her laughter.

"Ok but tell me, do you always walk around with a piece of paper with your number on it? Hoping to give it to someone? How sad and pathetic." She chuckles.

"N-no! I was planning to give it to you once you agree to be my friend!" I say, embarrassingly.

She smiles and puts it inside her back.

"Thanks. Bye now" she says and walks away.

I stand there contemplating what to do as I watch her. Should I follow her? Of course but...am I prepared to face what I might find? And what if she notices me? She'll kill the hostages...

As soon as she's out of sight, I gulp and take a step forward.

No matter how much I tell myself that it's all a lie and that's not Morgan, the truth will not change. Is the reason my legs are shivering because I already know what I'll find? And after that these excuses will mean nothing and I'll be forced to make a decision. I don't even know her that well, why am I getting mixed up in all of this!?

What do I do!? What do I do!? What do I do!?

As I take another step, my phone begins to ring. I stop and look at it. It's my aunt.

"H-hello?" I say after answering it.

"Ethan? Where are you?" She asks worriedly.

"Nowhere. Is something wrong?" I ask innocently. Guess she found out about me skipping school.

"Something wrong!? I called the counsellor to have a talk with you and she said you weren't at school! Don't tell me you've been skipping school!" She's starting to raise her voice.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this. I'm not skipping school. I did go. But then I wasn't feeling too well so I got permission to go home. Then I thought to go to a cafe to make myself feel better." I lie

She stays silent for a second " just come home. NOW " she says and ends the call.

I realise I had stopped in my tracks as I was talking to her due to which I've lost Rachel.

I sigh.

Next time, I'll get her address. I MUST do what's right. I MUST report her after finding out she's Morgan.

I...I have to...