Chapter 10: Down Hill

I stare at the TV screen ahead of us, my patience wearing thin and my impatience growing obese. Boredom is a dangerous emotion to feel, at least for me it is. I kick my feet up on Blubber's head for the umpteenth time and ignore his whining for the umpteenth time.

"Would you two just pick a movie already?" Jay complains with a yawn, glaring at AJ and Benley. He's not cut out for all-nighters and sleepovers, not at his ripe age of twenty-three. "I'm not missing the Grand Prix for nothing."

"Get your head off my feet!" Blubber whines, choosing to bicker with me when I'm doing absolutely nothing wrong.

I lean back on the couch, getting comfortable, and give his head a little kick with my white sneakers, or my sneakers that used to be white. "Shut it or I exile you from this friend group. You'll be banished from our awesome presence."

"Yes, my goddess," he submits, being wise for once.

Susie giggles, amused by my loving antics.

"No harm, no foul, kiddo," I reply lazily, tapping his head with my shoe yet again for good measure.

"Except some harm to his head," Dylan, a.k.a. sexy hot manager dude, points out with a concerned look in his eyes. "There's a mountain forming," he adds, gesturing to the bump on top of Pork Chop's head.

"Whatevs," I brush the matter aside, uncaring, and zone back into the argument at hand.

"Why not, AJ?" Ben asks, frustrated.

"Because it's a dumb movie!" AJ argues with Ben, blowing all of our eardrums in the process.

"You're dumb," Ben huffs in defeat, fighting a losing battle – what else is new?

"Never seen a guy, or someone that calls himself a guy, want to willingly watch 'The Notebook'," Landon shakes his head in disgust. He glances over at AJ. "You can do a lot better."

Sarah quickly elbows Landon in the ribs. "Stop, Kitler."

AJ nods at Lan. "I know. I'm fully aware."

Gland whistles mockingly under his breath before smirking at BoyBand. "That's what's up."

"I'm with the girl," Landon makes his opinion known, having no shame whatsoever, "I think an action movie is better than the sappy garbage that her sappy garbage boyfriend wants to watch."

"Sappy garbage fiancé," I correct Lan before winking at BoyBand. "Got your back, dude."

Benley sends me a fake smile. "Chee...thanks, Aqueela. What would I do without you?"

I tap my chest twice with my fist and send him the 'peace' sign, a happy-go-lucky grin on my face.

He rolls his eyes at me in response.

"So, that's still a 'no' to the F1 then?" Jay asks, trying his luck with the crowd yet again. He's really keen to see the race but I worry that it will make him nostalgic.

"Yes!" Everybody exclaims in exasperation.

"Yes?" Jay questions, ecstatic.

I throw a pillow at him. "No." I clarify, "They say no, my love."

Jay sighs and throws his head back, staring up at the ceiling, looking almost, almost, as defeated as BoyBand.

"Action movie!" AJ shouts, having lost it with her future-to-be, the two of them still furiously debating with each other. "That's my vote, Ben! And it's final!"

"Romantic movie!" Benley shouts back at her, refusing to stand down and acknowledge how stupid he is.

"Tone it down!" I raise my voice above theirs, drawing all the attention to me. "Everybody shut up because I'm about to save the day!"

"This better be worthwhile," Frankenstein groans before shooting me a somber look.

I return the fierce look. "Who even are you, Dave?" I narrow my gaze further. "Hear me, hear me, my iron will shall not be threatened by the likes of you!"

Blubber snorts. "Pshaw. Iron will? My big fat—"

"Where is your grown-up?!" I shush him before he can finish his inappropriate sentence.

"Simo here!" Simo chimes in with a big smile, four bowls of popcorn on his lap – yeah, I'm pretty sure he's supposed to share.

Aww man...I was really looking for an excuse to kick Blubber out.

"Control your kid," I tell Simo, displeased. "If he can't behave, you're both out."

"That's it! I better be watching a good movie within the next ten seconds or someone's going to lose their face to my blowtorch!" Landon pipes up once again. This time, he's fuming.

It's really not all that surprising that he owns a blowtorch purely for the sake of melting others.

"I vote Benley's face gets blowtorched off!" I throw in my two-cents for the heck of it.

"Yaaas Queen!" Troy agrees with me, his idiocy refusing to relent – it gets no days off. "Preach!" He applauds me, infuriating Benley further. "Preach it, sister!"

"First acid in my face, now melting my face off?" Benley asks in shock before glowering at me in anger. "What is wrong with you tonight?!"

"That!" I motion to Dean and Bex making out on the couch in the corner of the room. "I'm being subjected to seeing that because no one wants to pick a freaken movie!" Unfortunately, the disgusting couple is opposite me, directly in my line of sight.

Bell nods, also siding with me. "I feel you, girl. They're gross." Her gaze then moves from Blubber to Susie to Max before finally settling on me again. "We should pick an animation or something. We have underage children and underage adults here. There are age restrictions, guys."

"Why'd you look at Aqueela and me?" Max asks his wife with a frown, catching on.

She smiles sheepishly, looking very guilty. "Well..."

"Not cool, Babe," her husband replies, offended. I, for one, don't give two flying ostriches. She's probably right; I am an underage adult. Also, I love animations!

"Not to interrupt but I'm interrupting," Sarah interrupts quietly, "but why not a comedy? I mean, everybody loves those, don't they?"

I put my hands together and bow my head at her in earnest. "Thank you." That's exactly what I was going to suggest.

Boss Man shakes his head. "Nah. I hate comedy. All in favor of a horror, say aye."

"Aye...vote comedy," I trick him and then laugh at his annoyed expression.

Immediately, everyone begins to argue with each other. I watch Jay shake his head in irritation before subtly reaching for the remote...and that's how we all end up watching the Grand Prix.

*~*~*~**~*~*~*

"I can't believe Hamilton won on that track. I was sure Leclerc or Vettel would take the win," Jay complains, unhappy with the race results.

Landon shrugs. "Never count Lewis out."

"True," Jay agrees. "But I'm still supporting Charles. Leclerc is not only the face of Ferrari but the future of F1, so is Verstappen. They're really talented. I'm rooting for them. They have done well."

I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that my fiancé used to be an F1 driver. I wonder if he misses it. I wonder if I'm holding him back. I wonder why this still bugs me despite Jay reassuring me over and over again that he made his choice and that it wasn't Formula 1.

"Alright, fives, the ten is finally ready!" Troy suddenly announces, deliberately standing in front of the television, blocking all of our views. He glances over at Simo before correcting himself, "And twos." He then glances over at Ogg and adds, "And negative eights."

"Simo favorite number is two, so in Troy fat face," Simo replies cockily in an attempt to deflect Troy's insult.

"Oog positive! I positive!" Oog argues with Troy, defiant in nature.

Troy, busy with his own agenda, ignores them. "Let the slumber party festivities begin!" He cheers loudly, showing off the apricot facial mask he has on and the curlers in his hair. "It's time to look fabulous! Braiding of hair, pillow fights, manis, and pedis, you name it! How scandalous?!"

"So scandalous, dawg!" Surprisingly, Gland jumps up in excitement first...well, I mean, he's the only one who jumps up.

"Now, I know you're all excited but everybody has to line up first!" Troy commands, unable to read the room.

"Yay! I need to get a manicure, gals!" Gland takes off his socks and accidentally flings one on Dylan's face. "I'm also due for a pedi!" He tosses his foot in Troy's face, showing Troy his yellow, jagged toenails.

"Bye, Felicia!" Troy turns away and coughs in repulsion, barely able to breathe. "That smells so bad. I'm going to faint."

"Please do," Landon mutters just loud enough for everyone but Troy to hear. "And never wake up."

"Make him put his shoes back on," Jay groans, disgusted.

"Those are weapons, my friend!" I praise Gland, admiring his yucky toes. "How long have you been growing those things?"

"My whole life; ever since I was a wee little fat boy," Gland tells me, beaming with pride. "It's been hard work. I couldn't have done it without Oog's help. These babies have sliced a man open before."

I nod, deeply disturbed. "No doubt, no doubt."

Jay offers me a flat look. "Why encourage him?"

"'Cause I want everyone to reach their full potential, even if it means growing knives on your toes," I carefully explain it to him, hoping to sway him over to my side. I smile at Gland when Jay fails to respond. "Good talk. Good talk. You do you, dude. And don't let anybody stop you."

"So supportive, Eela," Glands smiles warmly at me.

"Alright, BroBoyBand, step right up. You're first," Troy beckons Ben forth.

"What?!" Ben freaks out. "Why is it always me?"

"Because you behave atrociously and everyone here despises you," I provide him with an answer.

Ben glares at me. "It was a rhetorical question."

I nod. "Yes, but I answered it anyway."

"You better step forward, BoyBand, and do as T-Dawg says. Or else, I'll bash your brains in," Gland immediately seizes the opportunity to threaten Benley.

Benley takes one look at Gland before giving in. "Let's get this over with!"

Troy grins from ear to ear. "You won't regret this, BroBoyBand. I'm going to make you look gorgeous for once in your life. I'm a pro at touching up ugly, an expert with the beauty blender. In fact, I'm a beauty blender guru!"

Ben frowns. "The fact that you want to adorn me in makeup is really not as reassuring as you'd think, Troy."

Landon shakes his head. "Ben, bud, just admit that Troy and his people are your kind of people."

Sarah hits Landon upside his head. "That's enough out of you."

"Don't worry, BroBoyBand, it's all in the muscle memory," Troy assures Benley, tugging on his arm in excitement. "I'm seriously talented. I'll be the one teaching Riosh how to apply makeup."

We all glance over at Jezel for confirmation.

Jezel shrugs. "Honestly, guys, I may be a model but he's way better at makeup than me. He'd be better at teaching our daughter someday."

Troy sighs in content, happy as ever because once again, he's getting his own way. "I cannot wait to transform you beasts into princesses!"

While Troy leads Max, Bell, Jezel, Oog, Gland, Jam and BoyBand into his 'makeover room', the rest of us finally decide on an action movie.

Half an hour in and I find myself not paying attention to the movie, mostly because of FeeBee and Dylan. Feebs is so lost and Dylan has to keep explaining the movie to her.

Why did they have to sit next to me?

Bored, I glance around in search of something to do. I catch sight of Sarah making herself comfortable against Landon. She rests her head on his shoulder. I notice him quickly smile down at her before fixing his eyes back to the TV screen, entranced by the movie.

I don't know how Lan scored a girl like Sarah but I'm glad he did.

Meanwhile, Dean sees Bex out and I let out and I grin, satisfied.

Finally!

And little Slobs, he's more in love with Jay than I am. Jay barely takes notice of Slobber turning in circles on his lap before settling down. He's used to Slobber's affection. For him, it's the norm.

Unfortunately, the moment is ruined when Troy and his posse return from 'How do I look?'. I'm scarred by the sight. For one, Oog's beard is curled.

I raise an eyebrow at Troy. "Did you really give his beard a perm?"

Oog strikes a pose – hand on hip – before doing a little spin. "Oog is perfect!"

Yup, it's clear Troy's got to him.

Jay sighs in distaste before leaning down to whisper in my ear, "He's going to brainwash them all. I can barely handle one Troy." He shakes his head, softly kissing my neck. "I mean, just look at Benley's face."

"Babe! You look more beautiful than me!" AJ teases her fiancé upon seeing his thick eyeliner and dark eyeshadow.

"Ignore your wife! She's just jealous!" Troy tells Benley, beaming in pride. "You've never looked better. This is your glow up!"

"Totes jelly," AJ confesses in an act to annoy her soon-to-be husband. "You're shimmering, Babe!"

Benley groans, embarrassed. "I'm gonna go wash my face, repeatedly."

"It won't change what's on the inside, bud," Lan chuckles tauntingly.

"How about that acid in the face now, Ben?" I mock him before laughing aloud. "Sorry, not sorry."

"I feel so relaxed, dawgs," Gland says, fanning himself with his hand before sitting down beside Frankenstein. He places an arm around Dave, randomly drawing him closer to him. "Have you dawgs always been this pleasant?"

Great. Troy broke my bodyguard.

I bite back a smile at seeing Dave's face as he tries to squirm away in discreet but Gland's not having it.

Landon answers Gland, "No. In truth, we're garbage people."

He has a point...

"Well, I'm living my best life now, and that's my truth," Gland insists, forcing Dave's head against his shoulder before unconsciously brushing a hand through Dave's hair, completely unaware of his creepy actions.

Landon glances at Troy in accusation and narrows his gaze. "What did you do to all of them? I actually used to respect Gland."

"I'll come over there and show you," Troy replies, a makeup brush in his hand – he's waving that thing around like it's his magical wand. "I did magic on BroBen and I can do magic on you."

"Sure," Lan agrees. "Come over here and I'll show you some of my magic too. You're not the only one who can rearrange faces," he says while cracking his knuckles.

Jezel places a hand on Troy's arm, stopping him from going anywhere near Landon.

"It looks great, Jammie!" I hear FeeBee tell Jam at seeing Jam show off his French tips to her. "Beautiful! You're a stunner!"

Bell and Jezel are the only two who actually look beautiful with their natural-looking faces of makeup and their braided hairstyles.

I shake my head at Max, staring at the butterfly clips in his hair. "I'm so ashamed of you."

He uses his arm to cover his face. "I'm so ashamed of me too."

*~*~*~**~*~*~*

We end up watching a romance next due to Benley's pestering. We all decided to throw him a bone because he's endured a lot today. Other than Jam falling asleep on his shoulder, he's having a blast. Unfortunately for the rest of us, the movie sucks. I mean, it really, really sucks!

Simo fell asleep within seconds into the movie. He fell asleep during the opening credits – that's how boring this dumb movie is! At least, one can always find positivity in the midst of a storm. For instance, I'm finding enjoyment in watching Blubber and Susie draw a mustache on Simo's face with a permanent marker.

The big guy deserves it for the thunderous snoring!

Gland and Oog are hugging each other like it's normal, which it probably is. And I'm pretty sure Troy is unknowingly playing footsie-footsie with Oog instead of with his wife. And Bell is cuddling pillows instead of her husband, which explains why Max is busy glaring a hole in the pillows out of jealousy. It's as sad as it is pathetic.

Boss Man's gone to his room to escape us. Jezel and Jay are joking around while AJ and I are discussing (more like poking fun at) how Landon has fallen asleep with his foot on Dean's face.

Benley's startled gasp interrupts my conversation with AJ. I roll my eyes at Ben. "Are you seriously crying right now?"

"Aww, he's tearing up," AJ coos, amused.

"He just loves her so much," Ben says through a mouthful of salty tears, captivated by the stupid movie.

"And you're sure he's the one for you?" I ask AJ teasingly.

AJ nods, a smile on her face. "As sure as the sky is blue."

The sky isn't blue when the sun sets...just saying!

I get up to get a soda. On the way to the kitchen, I get distracted by Boss Man's disgusting statue. It freaks me out. I pull a face and start turning it around – I don't want it staring at me – when Max decides it's a good time to scare me from behind.

It's an unfortunate situation (for Greg) because when I jump in fright, my elbow hits the statue and it crashes to the floor before shattering to pieces. I gasp in shock. I'm dead. I'm so dead.

Is a part of me happy about this?

Yes.

"You killed her!" I immediately scold Max. "You killed the naked lady!"

Max takes a bow. "And you are welcome!"

I hit him upside the head. "Boss Man is going to devour us in rage! Can your idiocy never take a break?!"

"It was an accident!" He insists – like Greg will care whether it was an accident or not.

"No, you were an accident!" I angrily correct him. "And now Boss Man will make your death look like an accident!"

As expected, Max breaks out into panic. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" He stoops down and tries to fit the pieces together but to no avail. "She's dead! You killed her!" He assigns blame to me – un-freaken-believable but so predictable!

"You killed her!" I exclaim in an outrage. How dare he?! "Now, unkill her! Resurrect her! Quick!"

"We have to get rid of the body!" He flips out, trying to fit her leg into her head but obviously failing. His knowledge of the human anatomy is limited. "Medic! Medic! We need super glue! Or in my professional opinion, duct tape!"

No, no medic, no glue, and no tape...for she cannot be saved...

I shove Max aside in order to shut him up. "Get the feet, Dope Shadow!" I command, picking her up bit by bit as fast as I can. "I got the head! It's time to commence the passage right of burial!"

And that's how Max and I end up in Greg's back yard in the middle of the night with one body – well, pieces of one body – and two shovels. Fortunately for us, everyone else is watching movies and too invested to care where Max and I have disappeared to.

"I think that's deep enough," I tell Max after one dig before tossing the head into the shallow grave – or, in other words, her final resting place. That's enough work for me for the rest of the year.

"Agreed." Max tosses the rest of the body pieces in the hole, a guilty expression on his face. He gets on his knees and uses his hands to bury his victim. He's so desperate to cover up his crime that he doesn't even care that he's getting mud on his everywhere.

"Hurry up!" I whisper-shout at him when I hear the back door open.

"You could help!" He hisses at me when realizing that I'm not lifting finger.

"I can't believe I have blood on my hands because of you," I complain, ignoring him. "This is so typical of you! Killing someone is just so typical of you, Max Mills!"

"I'm so sorry that I can't control my urge to kill! I'm so sorry for inconveniencing you by going on a killing rampage!" He retorts in sarcasm, annoyed.

I nod, hearing him out. "I forgive you for your killing spree."

Max scrambles to his feet to slap me when suddenly footsteps approach us. That's when we find ourselves staring into a flashlight shining directly on us. It's blinding and I can't quite make who it is, but I sure can guess.

"What are you guys doing?"

Max answers him before I can. "We no speak Englisho."

Jay's gaze meets my own. "Aqueela?" He asks firmly.

"Run, Aqueela!" I yell and start to run before Max tugs me back.

Max frowns down at me as if it's all my fault that we've been caught red-handed. "You really need to keep him on a shorter leash. It's disgusting how attached he is to you."

I ignore Max and send my love a sweet, innocent smile instead. "We're just playing outside, JJ."

Jay cocks his head to the side, skeptical. "And why at this hour?"

Max glances down at his filthy clothes and shrugs. "Mud fight, J-Cakes."

I cringe at the new nickname. Gross.

Jay gaze strays to the shovels at hand and the newly dug hole. "I don't want to know," he decides. "I'm going to bed, Aqueela. Join me later when you're done doing whatever the heck it is you're doing."

Max wiggles his eyebrows teasingly. "Ooh! Sizzle, sizzle!"

Jay sends him a look before making his way to the back door.

"That was close," Max says, pretending to wipe a bead of sweat away.

It's then that Jay throws one last comment over his shoulder. "By the way, you two, her head is sticking out of the ground." He heads inside after that.

I glare at Max, fed up with his lousy efforts. "One job, Max! One job!"

Max uses his foot to push mud over her face, suffocating the poor thing. "May her trashy self rest in pieces."

"In all honesty, she deserved it," I remark, uncaring.

"Keep it up and she'll come back to haunt you," Max warns me.

"She was haunting me already when she was alive," I inform him, unfazed. "Her death...collateral damage, in my opinion."

He sighs at the unfortunate events and shakes his head in dismay, dramatic as ever. "It's almost like I can hear her wailing, like I can taste her salty tears on my tongue. She's crying out to me. Her soul is crying out for revenge."

I roll my eyes at his stupidity. "By all means, Maxipad, avenge an inanimate object."

I know he's trying to spook me. I also know that he'll end up scaring himself.

"Did you hear that?" Max asks with a guarded expression.

I shake my head and listen. "Hear what?"

"Don't play with me, Aqueela," he says in a low voice, fear flickering through his eyes.

I can't tell whether he's joking or not...

And that's when I hear a rustling noise coming from around the front of the house.

"Jay?" Max calls out warily.

Yup. He's successfully spooked himself out.

I take up a protective stance while Max cowers behind me. "Reveal yourself to us before I become unhinged and sucker punch you in the face!" I scream into the darkness, preparing for battle.

Max slaps a hand over my mouth. "Don't anger her!" He shushes me.

I raise an eyebrow, confused. "Her?"

He motions with his eyes to the poorly dug grave, sending a shiver down my spine. "What if she's controlling the elements and trying to kill us?!" He suggests in panic before filtering his panic down to me.

"Well then, we need to get the jump on her," I tell him, taking charge. "Now fall in line, soldier!" I snap my fingers at him. "You're in good company. Whatever it is, I'll split its face open."

"I don't know if I should be reassured by your confidence or afraid of it," Max whispers his reply, shaking in fear.

How is it that Max and I always find ourselves in situations like these?

"Both, Maxy," I answer him. "Now hand me a shovel and weaponize yourself. Gear up! Armor up, man! She's getting closer!"

"Ever heard of picking your battles?" He asks but hands me a shovel nonetheless.

"Beggars can't be choosers," I tell him simply.

He furrows his brows and scrunches up his nose. "That makes no sense."

We both let out a breath of relief when a bird flutters into view.

I pat Max on the arm in an attempt to comfort him. "You see, Max, I told you that she—"

Max takes off running to the house, leaving me alone, when a figure emerges from the darkness.

Coward! Guess I'm on my own. Luckily, I'm trained in the art of ninja!

I courageously step toward the figure and begin circling it. I taunt it by yelling out action words at the top of my lungs. "Punch, punch, punch!" I shout and then feign the movements, not actually touching the revolting thing. "Kick, kick, punch, punch, chokeslam!" I conclude with my finale move, "Roundhouse kick to the face!" I lift my leg and am about to imitate the words when the figure suddenly steps back, just out of my reach.

"Don't touch me, that's harassment!" A voice snaps through my daring and awesome stunt moves.

I stop mid-roundhouse kick and look up, meeting his gray eyes beneath the soft glow of the moon.

"Satan?"

*~**~*

Hey guys! :D

I hope you are all well and keeping safe from covid 19. It's been hectic! I also know that it's been a long time and I'm so sorry for that. I've been busy with so many other projects and I was lacking motivation for this story. I had to force myself to sit down and write this chapter. Finally, it's done! :D

1. At the end...who is it?
2. Did you enjoy some Max and Aqueela time again?
3. Highlight of this chapter?
4. Funniest moment of this chapter?
5. What are you expecting out of the next chapter?
6. Who is most responsible for the murder?
7. What will Greg do when he finds out?
8. Will Jay betray Max and Aqueela and tell Greg?
9. Who do you think looked best after Troy's makeover?
10. Who do you want to appear in the next chapter?

All the best in fighting against the craziness currently taking place all around the world. Keep your head up!

Take care!

~ CJ