The Monsters Inside and Out (Scott Howl x Depressed Reader)

97. Mall Day

The next day, you sleepily walk through the front doors of the school. After last night, you could barely sleep. You spent a lot of the time looking at the piece of paper that was given to you. You have no idea what's inside, and you haven't opened it yet. You're scared to see what could possibly be written in there, so for now, you've just left it under your pillow for now. You walk aimlessly and slowly through the main hall, not really sure of what you want to do. You suddenly hear a pair of loud footsteps running towards you. You turn around and see Scott. He's smiling widely and has his arms out for you. Once he gets to you, he scoops you up in his arms, and holds you close. "Guess what, (Y/N)! Mawmaw is supposed to be getting released from the hospital soon!" You can hear his tail hitting himself with how hard it's wagging. That information alone is enough to put a smile on your face, and wrap your arms around Scott's neck. "That's wonderful news, I'm so happy." You giggle slightly. He says, "I know right?! We should celebrate! Let's go out tonight! With all of our friends!" You nod at the idea, and you talk to all your friends about what to do.

The school day goes by rather quickly and before you know it, the final bell of the day rings. You go to your locker and grab all of your things that you will need for the weekend, and you start heading outside to meet your friends. Before you make it to them however, Scott is already scooping you up in his arms, again planting multiple kisses on your cheek. He carries you outside and takes you to your group of friends. The whole gang is here this time, Vicky, Amira, Oz, Brian, Zoe, Liam, Damien, Calculester, Scott, Vera, Polly, Miranda, and yourself. You can't remember the last time that you hung out with everyone like this. You all had debated throughout the day on what you should do, and you finally settled on going to the mall. With so many things to do over there, it seemed like the most obvious place to go. After deciding who sits in what car, you all head off.

You end up riding in a car with Scott, Oz, Zoe, and Polly. Polly naturally has her upper body through the sunroof, and Oz and Zoe are being all cutesy in the back. Scott turns his music way up, and everyone sings along to the music, having a generally good time. 24 hours ago, you would have never guessed that you would have such a good time today. Although, deep in the back of your head, you can still hear a little voice telling you that what happened to your dad was your fault, but you just push those negative thoughts aside and focus on what's important, hanging out and spending time with your amazing friends.

The entire group arrives at the mall and parks together. You all walk towards the entrance of the mall, and debate on what you should do first. A few minutes of arguing later, the activity with the most amount of votes was to go to the arcade. Most everyone was okay with that. The only people who had any real objections were Vera, Miranda, and Liam. Once you get there, everyone disperses into smaller groups. Vicky and Zoe play Dance Dance Revolution, Amira and Damien play a shooting game, Miranda finds fun with Brian at a different shooting game, Scott and Oz play yet another shooting game, and Polly and Calculester play a heated game of virtual chess. They seem to be pretty well-matched. The only stragglers were you, Vera, and Liam. The three of you decide to play a game of pool. Vera wins almost immediately though, seeing as you and Liam have little to no knowledge of what you're actually doing. After spending about an hour at the arcade, the group leaves to go and do something else.

The next thing on the agenda that is decided is a fashion show of sorts. Basically, you all just went into a bunch of different stores and tried on a bunch of different clothes without buying any of it. You were a real nuisance to all the employees working, but that's where the fun is. The most notable outfits of the evening were Amira in a tux, Brian in a speedo, Zoe in lingerie, and Vera in a kimono.

After all of that stuff is when you all decide that it was time to get some dinner. You all just chose whatever you want at the food court. While Liam was telling a surprisingly funny story about an Instagram filter gone wrong, you notice Scott get a text. After reading it, his face sinks for a brief moment until a funny turn from Liam's story makes him crack up and smile again.

You are struggling what you want to do next until Zoe squeals and points. What she points at is a sign for the bookstore, advertising signed copies of the ever so popular Dragon Heat. You all stop what you're doing and immediately go to the bookstore as fast as possible, because nothing else matters. You all wait in a line for the most worthwhile hour of your life, seeing as now you can proudly and truthfully say that you own a signed copy of Dragon Heat: Part XIV: Harold McDonghard and the Eternal Thrust.

You end up wrapping the night up with a movie. All of you go to the theater in the mall to see the latest installment of the Twilit series. After an excruciating 2 hours, you all unanimously vote that the movie was not that great, since it was basically the first movie, but in the perspective of the vampire. You all to head back out to the parking lot and get in your cars, and then drive back to the school so that your other friends can pick up their cars that weren't taken. Everyone exchanges their goodbyes for the night and splits up. Scott places his hand on your shoulder, and you look up at him. He looks softly into your eyes and asks, "Would you like to go to the park?" You smile and nod your head, and you both get into his car.