Max bit down into her cheeseburger as Haley poked at her salad. She had demanded they go to the most greasy diner in town. Haley was convinced that her sister would have horrible cholesterol by the time she was twenty five. Max on the other hand was convinced that Haley was part rabbit or something, due to the fact she was a vegetarian and never ate anything unhealthy, only drinking milk or water -- no soda. Max lived on energy drinks and Twizzlers.

  "There's grease oozing from your burger," Haley pointed out, watching her sister devour her meal.

  "That's how you know it's good," Max said with her mouth full. She loved how much this was grossing her out. Finally finishing the burger she preceeded to pop fries into her mouth, only stopping momentarily to belch. A middle age woman scowled at her and she laughed.

  "You're disgusting, you know that," Haley said. "Can't you act like an adult for once?"

  Max rolled her eyes. "Haley, I'm seventeen -- meaning, I'm not an adult. I'm an immature, rude, obnoxious, sloppy teenager with a big girl job." She ate a few more fries before asking, "So, where can we find that kid? The survivor?"

  "He works at this very diner actually."

  "Seriously?"

  "Yeah," Haley says, "he's over there, at the counter." Max turned on her spot in the booth to look. He looked about her age, dark brown hair, diner striped uniform, and a brooding disposition. "You're up."

  "Woah, wait--" Max sputtered, a few fries falling out of her mouth ungracefully. "What?"

  "You get to go talk to him about the attack."

  "But that's your job. You always handle the interview stuff. I'm not a people person, remember?"

  Haley chuckled. Max had faced countless nightmares and killed monsters without even flinching, but she was still nervous to talk to people her age. "He's not gonna tell me anything. You're gonna have to flirt with him to get the info."

  Max's eyes widened. "Please tell me you're joking." Haley shook her head. "Ugh... fine." She composed herself, wiping mushed fries and crubs off her Nirvana shirt, running her fingers through her messy hair, and straightening her posture. Mouthing the words 'you suck' to her sister, she made her way to the diner counter.

  Clearing her throat, Max smiled at the cashier. He visibly perked up and Max noticed that he was kind of cute. His blue eyes shone as he smirked coyly at her. "Hi," the huntress said, "I'm Haley." The lie was small, but she knew it would bug the hell out of her sister when she found out.

  "I'm Mason," the boy replied, finally giving her a real smile. "You new in town?"

  "Just passing through actually," Max answered. "My sister and I are kinda taking a road trip." She wasn't really lying... just not telling him everything. "The burgers here are great by the way," she added.

  "Yeah, best in town," he chuckled. "So, Haley, what can I do for you?" Max tried to ignore the fact he was talking to her tank top and not her face.

  "Well, my sister is a journalist and is doing a story on those wild animal attacks. You know anything?" She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, but she noticed Mason's face drop slightly. He paled and swallowed hard, straightening his posture. He knew something and wasn't eager to share.

  "Uh, no... I mean, only what's been on the news, ya' know. Bear attack." This kid was not to great hiding things from pretty girls -- meaning Max was at an advantage.

  "Really?" Max gave him her best puppy dog eyes and batted her eyelashes. "That's too bad... I mean, if there's no story, I guess there's no reason for us to stay in town."

  "Well," Mason said. Max had him right where she wanted him. "Maybe I saw something." Another customer entered the diner and he sighed. "Look, my break's in ten minutes. Could we talk then?"

  "You bet," she smiled, quickly hurrying back to her booth. She looked at the blonde across from her who was currently stifling giggles. "Shut up."

  Haley let out a laugh. "You looked so awkward!" she chuckled. "We're you actually twirling your hair? Geez, Maxie! How long has it been since you interacted with another human your age? Or a boy? Not even human, just a teenage male."

  Max stared blankly at her sister. "Shut. Up." When she let out another small laugh Max said, "I told him my name was Haley." That shut her sister up real' fast.

  "What? Why?" She sounded fairly annoyed, which pleased Max to hear.

  "I just used the first name that popped into my head," she replied innocently. Now it was her turn to laugh. Haley gave her one of her defining bitchfaces which made Max laugh harder. For the next ten minutes they continued to tease each other. They were in the middle of their usual 'classic rock is better than top 40' argument when Mason approched their booth.

  "Uh, am I interrupting something?" he asked cautiously.

  "No," the Becketts answered in synchronization. Max glared at her sister before turning to smile at the teen boy. She schooched over so he could sit next to her on the booth.

  "Mason, this is my sister--"

  "Maxine," Haley interrupted. Max cringed. She despised her full name. Haley was trying to get back at Max, and she was doing a bang up job at annoying her.

  "Nice to meet you, Maxine," Mason said, making Max cringe again. "So, you're a journalist?"

  "Um, yeah," Haley smiled. She had, in fact, taken a journalism course at Brown before she left to help Max. "I write for 'hauntinghowlers.com'. We investigate weird happenings, ya' know?"

  Mason raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, I kinda forgot to mention that my sister's a little nuts," Max or 'Haley' chuckled. "She thinks that it wasn't a wild animal that killed those people." Mason nodded, biting his cheek nervously. "What?" Max asked, "You think it wasn't a bear?"

  "Well... I was there. With those other teenagers," he admitted. "It was supposed to be fun, ya' know? Go spend the night where a murder happened. It was just a stupid dare. We didn't think the thing would come back."

  "What did you see Mason?" The oldest of the two sisters asked, urging him on. He hung his head and let out a shaky breath. "Mason? Did you see it?"

  "You wouldn't believe me."

  "Yes," she argued gently, "I would. We both will. What was it?"

  "It... I'm not really sure what it was. It looked like... like a man. A man with claws and teeth. Like, he wasn't quite human," he explained. "It's been driving me crazy, thinking about it. Like I'm going insane."

  "You aren't crazy, Mason. I believe you." Haley smiled sympathetically at him. Max nodded, smiling at him as well. "Listen, if yoh can think of anything else, call this number," the eldest said, handing him a business card.

  "Yeah, will do," he confirmed. He turned to Max. "So, Haley, I gotta get back to work. I'll see you later?"

  Max smiled half-heartedly. "Sure." She waited until he walked out of hearing distance before saying, "Let's get out of here before he comes back." Haley chucked and follwed her sister out the door.