slowly drifting ★ circa waves

VIII.

-

"why do i deserve this?
i was never good on purpose.
so why,
oh, why?"

-

eleanor selected a horror movie with a devilish grin. emma kept shaking her head and repeating, 'this isn't fair'.

as the title screen for 'annabelle' came on the tv, emma's head was buried underneath a pillow.

"popcorn, anyone?" kieran asks, walking towards the small kitchen of the motel room. eleanor and sam and colin race over to him, leaving emma and joe alone.

"guys," says kieran in a quiet voice once they reach the kitchen. "we totally should scare them."

eleanor questions, "both of them? i don't think joe would be scared."

sam bursts out laughing.

"what? am i missing something?"

colin answers. "joe is terrified of everything. that tough guy act is, well, an act."

"it's hilarious," sam joins in. kieran gets out a bag of popcorn and puts it in the microwave.

"so, what should we do?"

all eyes go to sam.

"me? you think i have an idea?"

everyone shrugs.

"eleanor, do you have any ideas?" colin asks. she shakes her head. "we're kind of screwed then."

"sam, you've got to have something. if you think of anything, tell me and i'll help," eleanor suggests.

"but for now, let's just watch the film."

the four walk back into the living room.

-

the film is about a quarter of the way through, and joe is barely managing to keep his cool. emma's clinging onto him, and he's desperate to be the brave one.

sam has been recording joe at his weakest moments, and taking photos of his mortified face.

colin and eleanor found emma and joe's fear really funny. they also found the film to be funny, which meant constant laughter. colin had grabbed a blanket, which eleanor now shared.

kieran was the only one actually trying to understand the plot, and kept asking questions.

overall, most of them were enjoying the experience.

-

the film had now ended, but joe and emma were still glued to the sofa.

colin and eleanor get up to eat some more food, soon followed by sam, and then kieran.

"i think i have a plan," sam informs them. he's about to explain, when joe walks in.

"that wasn't cool, guys."

the others look at each other, slightly worried.

joe gestures to emma. "look at how scared you made her."

sam howls with laughter, and colin and eleanor roll on the floor unable to breathe. sam falls over eventually, too. kieran holds his stomach and takes deep breaths to calm down.

"what?" joe is extremely confuzzled. colin stands up to talk to him.

"are you joking? did you see your face? emma might've been scared, but you were frightened to death!"

joe narrows his eyes and walks away, the others slowly follow him. they plonk down on the sofa next to emma.

"what time is it?" eleanor yawns.

kieran checks his watch. "one in the morning."

"Oh."

emma talks this time. "we should probably get going..."

"no!" sam and eleanor scream at the same time. emma stares at eleanor with a death glare.

"it's too late. or too early. and you don't have work tomorrow, right? just sleep here," kieran rationalises.

emma's not convinced. joe abruptly stands up.

"i'm scared, ok? terrified. i do not want to be left alone with these guys, so don't you dare leave me."

emma laughs at him, before shrugging and sitting back down.

-

they'd gathered all of the mattresses and laid them down by the sofas, hauling over the blankets as well. emma and sam wouldn't quit jumping on them like trampolines.

joe fell asleep almost immediately, but they had to wait longer for emma.

it was about four am when they were both sound asleep, and it was the perfect time.

they had all stayed awake except for colin and eleanor. sam decides to wake colin up, but colin didn't want to wake up eleanor, who was in his arms.

kieran sighs and makes another bowl of popcorn, hoping the scent would wake her up. after a few minutes, she started to stir. eventually, it worked, so they proceeded with their plan.

-

joe and emma wake up on the roof of a building, on a mattress, still holding hands. emma is quick to stand up and wonder what the hell had happened.

joe soon joins her, but starts to hyperventilate.

"what the fuck? where are we? did the ghosts move us? it was annabelle. EMMA. IT WAS ANNABELLE."

"dude, calm down," emma pats his head like a dog. "this is a prank."

joe remains skeptical, but lies back down on the bed, taking in the view. luckily, it wasn't too cold out so it was survivable.

"i don't get it, what did we do to deserve this?" joe questions. emma rolls her eyes, peering out at the beautiful city below her. sea gulls barked above their heads.

"sometimes you're an idiot. it's because we got scared. and they're jerks."

joe nods his head in understanding. he gestures for emma to sit down next to him.

"we might as well enjoy this beautiful morning."

-

(song is deserve this by circa waves)