THE LEGENDS

SIX

There is a car parked in the middle of the forest.

And in it is a young couple making out, probably teenagers, because they look much younger, and the car they are in is a little old-school, not theirs.

It's too dark for people their age to be out at this time of the night and in the forest.

But the town's teenagers are used to staying in the forest until late hours.

The wind is a little too strong as it sways the trees, and even its whistles can be heard.

The young lady pulls away from the kiss and listens.

"Did you hear that?" she asks the young man, who would rather get back to the make-out session they were having.

"What?" he asks in a bored tone.

"The whistles."

He rolls his eyes.

"It's just the wind." As if it wasn't that obvious.

"What if..."

"What... please don't tell me you also believe in that stupid legend."

He says it, hoping that wasn't what she was going to say.

"People talk, babe. What if it's the creature of the night?"

He laughs sarcastically.

He never thought she would be this dumb.

He had stolen his father's car just to take her out so they could make out, and now she was coming up with an excuse to get out of the situation.

Too much for him having to face his drunk father the next day for stealing the car.

"There's no such thing as the creature of the night," he says and leans in for another kiss, but she moves back.

He frowns.

What the hell is wrong with her?

"Take me home," she says, her voice shaking.

"There is nothing out there."

"I'm scared."

He sighs and takes a flashlight from the dashboard.

"Fine, I'll go check," he says as he reaches for the car door, but she holds him back.

"What now?"

"You can't go out there. It's dangerous."

He shakes his head in disbelief.

What did she want him to do?

"I'm going to prove to you that there is no 'creature of the night' out there," he says, making air quotes.

"What if it's there?"

He rolls his eyes.

"I'm sure if it's out there, it won't kill me."

"What?" She doesn't understand what he means by that.

"If it is whatever the legend says, then I'm pretty sure it won't be attracted to a man. Doesn't the legend say it's an attractive, handsome, good-looking man who uses his looks to attract beautiful ladies and then kills them?" he asks, and she nods.

"Yes, but don't go out there."

He sees a tear roll down her cheek, and that's when he realizes she is actually scared.

He didn't think she would be this frightened.

"Fine, let's go home."

He starts the car, but when he tries to, the engine won't start.

He hates himself for taking that car.

It was an old beaten-up car, and at times it would jam.

And it seemed to have chosen this as the perfect time to misbehave.

"What is wrong?" the girl asks. She is still shaking, and the guy just doesn't understand what is wrong with her.

He knows it is normal for ladies to be scared, but only when there is actually something to be scared of.

"The car is jammed."

"What?"

"I'll go check."

She quickly grabs his hand again to stop him.

He shakes his head in disbelief.

"Don't go out there."

"What is wrong with you? You want me to take you home, yet you don't want me to check the car so we can get out of here."

She tightens her grip on his arm, and he looks at it in surprise.

It was just some stupid legend that had been around for years. It wasn't true.

Stupid bedtime stories they told children to scare them into sleeping.

He couldn't believe she believed those stupid stories too. There was no such thing as the supernatural.

She was a grown woman. She was supposed to know that.

"Please don't go."

He was getting tired of her, so he snatched his arm away and unlocked the car door.

"I'll be back in a minute. Love you."

But what he didn't know was that he should have listened to her, because the moment he stepped out of the car, the whistles grew louder.

It felt like someone was whistling from behind the car.

And when he turned to look behind the car, that was when he saw him... it.

The half-human, half-creature.

He had never seen something like that before.

He couldn't even scream.

And as fast as lightning, the creature moved to the other side of the car and pulled the lady out. The man was just in a trance. He couldn't move, couldn't scream, or do anything to help the girl.

It was like he had been paralyzed.

He felt as if his body had been injected with paralysis.

And just like that, his girlfriend was gone.

And as he stood there, still feeling paralyzed, he saw someone. A lady. But this wasn't his girlfriend. She was in an all-black outfit, and her face looked like it was glowing. She was a distance away from him, and she just kept staring at him like he was a statue.

He couldn't scream for her to help him because, again, he was still paralyzed.

He felt as though something grabbed him from behind, and the next thing he could see was darkness, total darkness.

And as he embraced the darkness, he cursed himself for never believing in the legend.

*****

His eyes land on me, and he frowns.

He is in a black T-shirt, a black pair of pants, and a leather jacket. He definitely dressed for the occasion.

I'm still trying to understand how he was invited to this party and who invited him.

The party is open to everyone, but I did not expect to see him here.

"Come, let's play the game!" Poppy says and makes me sit just beside Arnold.

It's obvious that no one knows Arnold and I have met before, and I don't want to make things awkward. It's not like we know each other. We met once, struck up a conversation, and he never came to campus again.

The moment I sit next to him, I suddenly feel like the air in the room is too little for me to breathe.

Maybe it's the cologne he has on.

It's a little too much.

It feels like he showered in cologne instead of water.

"You need to breathe," he whispers from beside me, and I take in a deep breath.

"What?"

"If you don't breathe, you'll slow your heartbeat and, in turn, die. And all that just because you were sitting next to a good-looking guy."

I frown when I get what he means.

He is stupid to think I would die just because I'm sitting next to him.

"You wish."

He chuckles and leans closer to me.

I most definitely hold my breath.

Which is not a good thing, honestly. I need to know how to get my s**t together.

"You can't wish for something you already have," he says, and I roll my eyes.

Jerk.

"Actually, it's the cologne. It's a little too much. I know you can afford it, but showering in a whole bottle doesn't attract girls," I whisper to him, and I can see him frown.

And I smirk.

I got him.

He wanted to make fun of me. He just got a serving of his own medicine.

Poppy spins the bottle, and it lands on some guy in the group.

"Kiss!" the group chants, and I crease my brows.

When did they turn the game into a kissing game?

It's normally a mix of Spin the Bottle and Truth or Dare, where, when the bottle lands on you, you choose to do a dare or tell the truth.

But it seems like these people have been playing a different game from the one we normally play.

Spin the Bottle is a good game, only if the people you're playing with aren't some hot guy sitting next to you who makes you lose your breath.

"Can we join in?" I hear Connor's voice, and when I see Maya beside him, I sigh in relief.

I have never felt this relieved before.

"Maya," I call to her and wave for her to come sit next to me.

She didn't seem to have seen me, so when she does, she smiles and walks over.

I'm really glad when she chooses to sit between Arnold and me.

I can now breathe.

Funny enough, her sitting there breaks the strong scent of his cologne. Or maybe it was just me.

"Do people in here use cologne as shower gel?" Maya asks, unaware, and I swear I hide the smirk on my lips.

I watch Arnold from the corner of my eye, and I can see the frown on his face.

Which makes me even happier.

Maya just acted like we had planned the whole thing. I think that's why she is my best friend, because somehow we seem to have a supernatural means of communicating.

"Maya, I thought it was your friend that was the mean one," Arnold says, and Maya turns to look at him in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

Then it hits me.

Maya doesn't know this is Arnold.

I only told her about him, but she never got to meet him personally because, well, he has never shown up to campus.

I remember Maya telling me I had lied to her, and that the whole story I had told her had just been some fictional story I had created in my head.

Even after I told her he was Eric's brother, she still didn't believe me.

In fact, she claimed I was being delusional because there was no way I would know Eric's brother, so I stopped convincing her because, after all, Arnold himself had been a no-show.

"I didn't shower in cologne," he says, and Maya chuckles.

"Oh, so you're the destroyer of our breathing systems?"

I try to tap her to warn her to stop, but it seems like she is just getting started.

I swear I can't hold back the laugh.

"I guess we haven't met yet. I'm Arnold."

"Cool. Nice to meet you, Arnold. Next time, maybe you should go low on the cologne. It's not attractive."

It's so clear that he feels embarrassed.

"I'll have less cologne when we meet in class on Monday."

When he says that, I watch as Maya's mouth goes wide open, and she turns to look at me with wide eyes.

"Wait, Arnold..."

I nod.

"As in the Arnold you were telling me about?"

I nod again.

"Eric's brother Arnold?"

I don't know how many times she wants me to nod for her to believe me, but still, I nod.

"Seems like you have been talking a lot about me," he says, but Maya isn't even turning to look at him.

Instead, she stands up and scoots to my other side, leaving me back in my previous position, next to him.

Curse her.

And just at that moment, the bottle is spun, and guess who it lands on?

Arnold.

"Choose the girl you want to kiss," Poppy says, and I'm surprised when he turns to look at me.

I crease my brows.

What does he think he is doing?

"I'll be kissing this lovely girl beside me," he says, and my eyes shoot wide open.

I shake my head.

There is no way in hell I'm kissing him.

"No," I say in the kindest way.

"Come on, Bee, don't ruin the fun," Poppy says, and I shake my head at her, but she seems to be having none of that.

"Come on, Bee."

And I can't believe Maya is supporting that.

The "kiss" chants are filling the room.

Arnold is just staring into my eyes, waiting for me to make the move.

I internally cuss and lean in for the kiss.

The moment our lips lock, my heart stops beating.

And I expect to feel something, but instead I can't feel my heartbeat. Like, I literally can't.

And when I close my eyes, I'm surprised when I see two blaring lights just close to me, but they aren't lights. They are eyes.

The burning red eyes.

I open my eyes and pull back from the kiss so fast.

"Are you okay?" he asks, but I don't reply.

What did I just see?

Suddenly, I feel suffocated and dizzy.

I need to get out of here.

I hear Maya call out to me, but I rush out of the room and out of the house. I don't know where I'm running to, but I know this is the road that leads to the forest, and I just can't seem to stop my feet from running in that direction.

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