•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧

CHAPTER TWENTY

•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧

SOMETHING WAS OFF. Addie could tell, but couldn't say exactly what. Billy had ended up telling Max to tell Will that dinner with his family was off. When Addie asked if Max said anything else, Will shrugged and said "just that you didn't need to come over for dinner anymore."

She tried to call his house, and was happy that it was Max that picked up, but she sounded worried, or scared to say the wrong thing.

She said Billy had just left the house and he didn't say where he was going. Addie didn't want to press her too much, so she thanked her away and hung up the phone.

Tonight was the night before Halloween, and Joyce decided that when Bob came over, they were going to have a movie night. She was in the kitchen, making popcorn on the stove, and it was Jonathan's job to get Will and Addie into the living room.

They'd been spending a lot more time together, usually to discuss theories about what happened to them. Neither wanted to bring it up to their mom or Jonathan, they already felt crazy enough.

Currently, they were both in Will's room, with him on the bed sketching a "zombie boy" drawing, and Addie laying down on the floor, drawing "ghost girl". There was a drawing taped to Will's locker at school, and apparently they'd earned some new nicknames.

Addie felt terrible, but was also grateful those names hadn't reached the high school. She was also thinking about Billy, but she tried to force those thoughts from her head, at least until tomorrow when she might see him at the party.

There was a knock on the door, and a second later, Jonathan came in. The kids had all technically been in charge of deciding what movie to watch, but after seeing the mood that his siblings were in, Jonathan offered to run down to the local video store and choose for them.

"Hey, umm, I didn't know what you guys wanted so I just got a few. You guys can choose from these."

"Whatever you want."

"Any of those look good."

"Alright guys. Wait... who's zombie boy and ghost girl?"

"We are," Will said softly.

Jonathan sat on the floor next to his sister, and gently took the paper from her when she rotated it around for him to see. "You guys, you can talk to me. Whatever happened, you know that, right?"

"Stop treating us like that," Will put the pencil down and the paper down next to it.

"Like what?"

"Like everyone else does. Like there's something wrong with Addie and I."

That caught Addie's attention. It wasn't often that Will snapped like that. Sure, she felt like everyone was walking on eggshells around her, but apart from mentioning anything to Steve, she hadn't said those thoughts out loud.

"Mom, Lucas, Dustin, Mike, Steve, everybody treats us different. Like they think... I don't know, like we might break or something."

"Addie?" Jonathan looks at her.

She shrugs, and slowly nods. "I mean everyone acts like they're treating us like normal, but... and it doesn't help that we keep getting dragged back for more monitoring and testing. That always makes it worse because you're asked question after question after question and then you have to relive it all over again."

"It just makes us feel more like freaks," Will adds.

"You guys aren't freaks."

"Yes we are!" Will looks at Addie. "Sorry, I mean, yes, I am."

"Okay. You're right. You guys are freaks."

Addie and Will both look up, having gone back to sketching. "What?"

"You both heard me. You're freaks. But that's okay. You shouldn't want to be normal and just like everyone else. I'm a freak too."

"Is that why you don't have any friends?" Will asks bluntly. Addie can't hold back, and a little laughter slips. Jonathan pretends to glare at her, but he's just happy to see his sister laugh.

"I— I have friends Will. But out of everyone, you guys are my best friends. I'd rather hang out with Zombie Boy and Ghost Girl than with regular old boring people. And hey, nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world. Think about that. Here's an example, Bowie or Kenny Rogers?"

"Well some people like Kenny Rogers..." Addie sits up.

"Kenny Rogers? I love Kenny Rogers!" Bob sticks his head in the door. "Sorry to interrupt. I've been sent to see what movie we're watching tonight. Mr. Mom, woo! Perfect!"

The movie night ends up being just what Addie needed, even though it wasn't exactly to her taste. But seeing her mom genuinely happy and laughing with Bob, it took Addie's mind off of things for those couple of hours. She sat next to Will on the couch, and there was even a mini popcorn fight, which cheered him up too.

After the movie was over, Addie decided to go to her room and pick out her outfit for school. She knew it wasn't a big deal, and no one really cared, but she learned it was always better to pick it out the night before, or she'd be late to school if she left it until that morning. Will and Jonathan got up too, saying they were both pretty tired.

Later that night long after everyone has gone to bed, Addie and Will both exit their rooms at the same time. Will said he just needed to pee. Addie had a nightmare, and was headed to the kitchen for some water.

At the exact same moment, they both see flashing lights outside. One look at each other, and they know they've both seen the same thing.

Addie whispers to Will to stay where he is as she slowly steps closer to the front door, feeling like she needs to see what's outside. But he grabs her hand, whispering "no, together. Remember?"

The front door creaks open by itself, and outside they can see the flashing red lightning. It's loud too. And when they step outside... there's snow. And... they're back there.

This hasn't happened before, both siblings have had "episodes" but have never been together when they happened. They're both frozen in fear, as Addie finally sees it.

•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧

Halloween morning, and Addie and Will are nowhere to be found according to their mom. She panics and rushes to Jonathan, asking where they are. The siblings then emerge from the bathroom, and Joyce is instantly relieved.

"Where were you both??"

"Umm... the bathroom? I was trying out different makeup looks for my outfit and Will had just come out of his room so I asked for his opinion...?"

"Oh. Well you look pretty Addie."

She had decided not to wear a "costume" to school, since she never did talk to Billy and decide what to wear, but she secretly hoped that their outfits would somehow go together.

Addie helps Will put on his Ghostbusters costume, and Jonathan spends the next 10 minutes taking photos, even making Addie get in some of them. She's ecstatic when he even lets her use his precious camera to let her take a photo of him and Will.

Jonathan heads to school before Steve gets there. He offers his siblings a ride but Addie declines, saying Steve will be there any minute and she doesn't want him to have made the extra stop for nothing. Sure enough, a minute later, Steve pulls up.

"Nice!" He gives Will a high-five as he sees his costume when he gets into the back seat.

Addie is worried when she doesn't see Billy at school when they arrive. She even waits after the warning bell, and gets to class just seconds before the second bell rings. He doesn't show up by lunch, or fifth or sixth period either.

But it's weird, because Addie sees his car pull into the lot after school as they're leaving. She turns around as Steve's car exits the parking lot and sees Max getting into the passenger seat of Billy's car.

She tries to think back to their last conversation. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and he didn't show any sign of being upset with Addie, although even if he had, she still couldn't think of anything, so she worried that something happened at home.

Did Billy get in a fight with his dad, and he wasn't allowed to come to school again?

Will spends the entire car ride home complaining that everyone was going to think they were losers because the boys were the only ones to wear their costumes to school. Addie was thankful for the distraction, even knowing it was only temporary.

After quickly doing her homework, she puts everything back in her backpack and decides on impulse, to call Billy's house.

She decides ahead of time though, that if it's Neil that answers, she's just going to hang up and let him think it was a prank call or wrong number. Her heart feels like it's beating way too fast, until the phone is picked up after the fourth ring.

"Hello?" Addie is relieved to hear Max's voice.

"Hey, Max, it's Addie. Umm, is Billy home?"

She hears Max sigh. "No, but somethings up with him."

"Oh— is everything okay? He wasn't in school but I saw him pick you up after."

"I missed first period because he decided at the last minute not to go to school. So I hid in my room for a bit because Neil left for work later than usual. Once he was gone my mom took me, I guess she talked to him though because he was the one who picked me up."

"Has something happened?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. He has been in a bad mood lately, but I can't ask him about it or he'll get mad."

"Oh, okay. Sorry for all of the questions but did he say where he was going?"

"It's fine, umm no. He sort of stormed out when he left. But he said he wouldn't be back for a while because of some party tonight?"

Addie felt a little relieved. Good, so she'd at least see Billy tonight and she'd hopefully find out what was going on then.

"Okay, thank you."

"Hey are you taking Will trick-or-treating tonight?"

"Yeah, Jonathan and I both have to, it's the only way our mom would let him go. What's up?"

"Oh nothing. Umm Dustin and Lucas asked me to meet up with all of them tonight. So I'll probably see you later. And don't worry, if you ditch us for the party I promise I won't tell." Addie can tell Max is smiling on the other end.

"Well thanks I guess. See you tonight, bye Max."

"Bye Addie."

After they hang up, Addie lays back on her bed. She's sure that if Billy was hurt or anything like that, Max would've told her. But what other explanation is there for Billy basically ignoring her?

It's still at least a few hours before Addie and Jonathan are supposed to take Will to meet the boys, but at the last minute, Addie decided to try and put together a costume. After 20 minutes, when she still can't think of anything, she goes to her bed, puts a pillow over her face, and groans.

This is stupid. Why is she even going to the party? Billy had been ignoring her, and they'd probably end up fighting if she does see him tonight. After a moment of internal debate, she grabs the phone and calls Steve's house, breaking the news to him as soon as he answers the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hiumyoudontneedtopickmeupforthepartyanymore!"

"Uhh come again?"

"I said you don't need to pick me up for the party anymore."

"Oh, you driving with Billy?"

"Umm... no."

"Then how are you getting there?"

Addie stays silent, wondering how long it'll take him to figure it out.

"Oh come on you're not bailing!"

"What? Why can't I? It's just a Halloween party. And besides I'm pretty sure Billy's mad at me for some reason and so I'd spend the whole party either arguing with him or sitting on a couch being sad the whole time. Plus, this way since I'm not going you don't have to worry about taking me home if I want to leave before you do."

"Did Billy say something to you??"

"No, but that's the point. We haven't spoken, he wasn't at school today but he came and picked Max up. I talked to her when I got home and she said he has been in a bad mood. So I don't feel like fighting with him tonight."

Steve can tell from her tone that she genuinely doesn't want to go.

"Are you absolutely 120% sure that you really don't want to come?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely 120% sure."

"Fine, but you're definitely coming to the next party. And I'm coming over tomorrow to steal some candy."

They say goodbye and Addie lays down, relieved she's avoiding a potential fight with Billy. But she knows it's only putting off the inevitable, if he really is mad at something she doesn't know about.

"Addie, are you busy?" Her mom knocks on her door 10 minutes later. Addie opens it to reveal her mom holding a black garment bag.

"Umm... what's this?"

"Well I know you were frustrated this morning about not being able to figure out a costume and so while you were at school I ran out and got this for you. Go on, see what's inside," she handed the bag over, grinning.

Addie carefully put the bag down on her bed and unzipped it. Inside is a black dress, long black gloves, lots of pearls and diamonds, a small tiara, and black sunglasses.

"You've always loved Breakfast At Tiffany's, so I thought you might like to be Holly."

Addie feels like she could cry, her mom is so caring and thoughtful.

"Also, I know you were on the phone just now and I promise I wasn't eavesdropping. All I heard was "party". So if you want to go, after you and Jonathan bring Will home, you guys can go. But call if you need anything, and let me know if you'll be sleeping over at Nancy's or one of the other girls houses."

She doesn't have the heart to tell her mom that after trick-or-treating, she planned on taking a shower and going straight to bed, so she just smiles and nods.

"That's so nice of you, and I promise to have her home at a reasonable time. Scouts honor."

They both turn to see Steve standing in the doorway.

"Oh good you'll be with Addie too! Alright well I know it's still pretty early but I think Will wants to meet up with the other boys soon so Addie why don't you change into your costume, I can't wait to see you in it!"

Once she leaves the room, Addie turns to Steve and stares at him, crossing her arms. "Please don't tell me you're here to—"

"Take you to the party after we go trick-or-treating? Yes, yes I am. And before you say anything, just hear me out. In the entire time I've known you, any time you cancel plans at the last minute you always spend the entire night just sitting in your room, moping around. And the next day you regret it and wish you hadn't cancelled. So you're getting dressed up, we're gonna take Will to get some candy, then we'll pick up Nancy and we're heading to Tina's party. If you hate it and want to leave I promise to bring you straight home, no questions asked. Deal?"

Addie smiled, she really did have the worlds best friend. She held her hand out and they did their secret handshake that they'd made up when years ago.

"Deal."

•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧