I rush past Tora’s bedroom window and notice it’s been left open. I laugh to myself, realizing Nate probably did that. I slip inside while listening to the soft chuckles coming from Puck as he watches me from the power box.
With the TV on, it’s no problem hurrying up the hallway without being caught, though the tricky part comes when I get to the top of the hallway and see Courtney’s head peering through the kitchen window.
I press my lips down into a hard line, forcing myself to keep my cool, but not a second later, the house plunges into darkness.
Tora and Brooke instantly groan, murmuring about the power going out and doing a quick round of ‘scissors, paper, rock,’ to figure out who has to go and fix it. Tora loses and as she goes to get up, Courtney appears at their back door, making the wood beneath her feet creak and instantly sending panic over the girls.
They gasp and I hold back a laugh, only feeling slightly like a bitch. They might not think it’s funny now, but come tomorrow…or maybe a few years, they’ll laugh along when we tell the story.
“Did you hear that?” Tora whispers into the too-quiet room.
Brooke nods, looking around the house but it’s a bit too dark to see. “Is someone in our house?”
Tora pulls Brooke to her feet and they silently start making their way to the front door, ready to make a run for it. I peer around the corner, making a floorboard creak under my foot and I curse myself. That wasn’t supposed to happen. We want to scare them for a little fun, not terrify them into shitting their pants.
A gust of wind has the back door clicking into place and I watch as both of Tora and Brooke’s expressions harden. Fuck. I can only imagine what they’re thinking. I’m just moments from stepping out of my hiding spot and screaming ‘Surprise’ when Puck makes his presence known with that ridiculous stick on their front window. He’s literally just a dark shadow at the window and despite knowing it’s just Puck, it’s kind of creeping me out too.
I hold back a laugh. They’ll be freaking out, but picturing the grin on Puck’s face as he does it is kind of worth it. Puck continues haunting the girls and Courtney starts moving across the house, making unintentional noises with every step.
A terrified scream rips out of Tora, prompting Brooke to scream right along with her and in the blink of an eye, they start running back towards the kitchen. Tora grabs a knife and shoves it into Brooke’s hand before scrambling around again and pulling out a frypan.
Oh, fuck. Too far. Way too far.
Puck must haul ass to get the power back on because one second the girls are screaming and the next, light flickers on and I step out from the hallway, pushing my hoodie back off my face with a cringe. “Surprise,” I tell them, throwing my hands up in a half-ass attempt to make this okay while Puck’s light laughter drifts in from outside Tora’s open bedroom window.
“Bry?” Brooke questions, bringing her hand up to wipe the tears from her confused face as Tora clutches the frypan a little tighter. Courtney pushes her hoodie back and makes sure they see her too, though she wears an equally as guilty expression on her face.
Tora is the first to snap into action and lowers the pan before helping Brooke to do the same with the knife. “What the hell was that?” she demands, throwing the frypan in the sink as Puck waltzes through the door, extremely proud of himself.
“Cutting the power was a good touch, huh?” Puck laughs, walking deeper into the house.
“Fucking stupid, is what it is,” Tora growls, pretty fucking unimpressed with us. “I was about ready to beat the shit out of you guys with a frypan. Brooke has a fucking knife in her hands. Are you morons?”
That would be a yes.
“Shit, Tora,” Courtney says with a cringe, trying to defuse the situation. “It’s a joke. Calm down.”
“Yeah, funny joke,” Brooke scoffs, tossing the knife into the sink and walking out of the kitchen. “I nearly wet my fucking pants.”
“Sorry,” I grumble, hating that I’ve scared them this much. It was supposed to be a little innocent fun. “It originally wasn’t our intention to scare you but when Puck suggested it, well…we couldn’t resist.”
Tora narrows her eyes and shoots a nasty glare at Puck. “Nate is going to pulverize you for this.”
His eyes widen in horror, clearly not having thought that part through. “Fuck. I didn’t even think about that,” he says. “Shit, I’ll make it up to you. Don’t tell him. My face is too pretty to be broken into a hundred pieces.”
Tora shrugs, teasing him. “Good luck with that.”