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It really starts as something they do for Rachel.
Leah’s not a massive horror fan. She could take it or leave it, really. She’s never been scared enough during a movie to get the adrenaline that she assumed was the reason people liked that stuff.
Rachel, though? God, Rachel was so into that shit. Slasher Saturdays had become a tradition in their freshman year because Leah was the only one willing to sit through them with her. Nora had eventually joined (she and Rachel had some shit to work out first), and now they were solidly aware that getting Rachel anything horror-related was always going to be a hit.
Which is why Leah’s birthday gift to her was a fucking jackpot.
Rachel shook the thin package before tearing into it. “Why does it sound like this is completely empty? Rilke, did you get me an empty fucking box?”
“Yeah Rachel, it’s your twenty-first birthday and I decided to get you the only thing nobody else would have gotten you, which is an empty box.”
“It’s filled with her love for you,” Nora suggested.
“Yeah, like I said. An empty box.”
Rachel snorted. She, Leah, Nora, and Nora’s boyfriend Quinn were all gathered around her small kitchen table. The apartment was shared by Leah and Rachel, but Nora and Quinn were there frequently enough that Leah had truly considered charging rent. Just like, a little bit.
“Just open it,” Leah sighed. Rachel immediately tore into the package, grimacing when she got it open.
“It’s a piece of paper. Thanks.”
“Turn it over, dumbass.”
Rachel turned it over and-
Fucking screamed like a lunatic. Jesus.
“YES! FUCKING- YOU GOT- YES!”
“Oh boy.” Nora turned to Quinn, who dutifully placed his hands over Nora’s ears until Rachel had calmed down.
“What is it?” He asked, leaning around Nora to try and get a glimpse.
“It’s the fucking event of the summer, that’s what!” Rachel exclaimed, still very loudly. “It’s fucking tickets to Hell Park!”
“Hell Park?”
“It’s like this, immersive horror experience,” Leah began to explain. Quinn moved his hands away from Nora’s ears, content that Rachel was too busy staring in shock at the paper to continue screaming. “You basically go to this park at midnight, and there are a bunch of haunted house actors roaming around, and you have to evade them for like 3 hours to ‘survive’. It’s like a massive game of tag except they tag you with fake chainsaws and shit.”
“That sounds like-“
“I only got three tickets,” Leah interrupted gently. Quinn’s answering smile gave her the urge to pat herself on the back. “I figured you’d prefer not to actually join us in the park.”
“No, definitely not. I’d be happy to be your ride, though? I’ll drop you off, take a nap, and then come pick you all up again when you’ve all, um, survived?”
“That would be great,” Nora smiled, squeezing Quinn’s hand.
“Yeah, thanks man. Personally, I’m hoping to be too bloody to drive,” Rachel grinned.
“You know they won’t like, actually hit you, right?” Leah asked. “Because I checked the website. They won’t.”
“Oh, I know.”
“You can’t hit them either.”
“Oh, really? Damn. That’s kinda disappointing. What if they really startle me?”
“No!”
————
“What if they like, really startle me, and then I just have no choice but to swing on them?” Fatin leaned over into Dot’s mirror, making eye contact without shifting her head too much.
“Still not allowed.”
“The ax is fake, though!”
“It’s still heavy, Fatin.”
“God, I know.” Fatin slumped in her chair, still careful not to jostle her head too much. The shitty mask was still wobbly on her head, and she set to secure it properly. “I’m the one who has to carry it for four hours. How come you get a slingshot? You have shitty aim!”
“Probably because I’m the only one they trust not to actually use it to throw rocks at the guests,” Dot answered drily. “Imagine if they gave it to Toni.”
“Toni’s unarmed this year, remember? The whole, you know, threw a fake knife at a homophobe thing. I don’t think they’ll give her anything anymore.”
“I mean, she got a girlfriend out of it, I don’t get the issue. Shelby didn’t even complain to management.”
“Yeah, obvi. She was like, mid-crisis about her gayness.”
“Sure, but- what were we talking about?”
“You think I could pawn the ax off on Toni?” Fatin mused, checking out her reflection in the mirror. Still no peripheral vision in her beloved Mike Myers mask, but it would have to do. Last time they tried to make her a sexy cannibal, which, no. At least in her generic costume she could actually do something for her figure.
“No, you cannot pawn the ax off on Toni. And, I’m again asking, what are you even supposed to be?”
“Generic slasher number 47?”
“Uninspired,” Dot scoffed.
“Or, original.”
“Lazy.”
“We can’t all do a good enough accent to be Texas chainsaw, Dorothy.”
“You could be Megan Fox in that one movie where she like, hooks up with guys and then kills them.”
“Babe.” Fatin turned to look at Dot. “That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“You live a sad life.”
“I’m an outdoor haunted house actor. What the fuck other kind of life should I live?”
Dot snorted. “Like you don’t love it.”
Which, ok. Fine. Fatin could admittedly do worse. For one, this gig paid unexpectedly well. For another, she had been wildly desperate when she found out about it, having just run away from boarding school. Her parents hadn’t managed to track her down until she was living with Dot and entirely self-sufficient, having made enough money from that year’s Hell Park event to pay her half of the rent.
That was nearly four years ago, Fatin reminisced. She had never stopped living with Dot, and never stopped doing Hell Park, but thank god for the little changes since then.
Little changes like her adoring followers, who were probably waiting for a post right about now.
Fatin pulled out her phone and slipped behind Dot’s chair, wrapping her arms around her from behind. She aimed the phone at the mirror and hit record, despite Dot’s groans.
“Hey hotties, don’t forget to get your tickets to Hell Park this year! Me and your favorite grandpa will be here doing our best to slay literally and metaphorically. Dorothy, what’s the look for tonight?”
“Fuck off.” Dot flipped off the camera in the mirror.
“As you can see, Dorothy’s the most horrifying thing of all: herself. And I’m the hottest generic serial killer you’ve ever seen, so for everyone in my comments asking me to step on them, come to Hell Park, this week only, and I’ll do even worse. Love you!”
Fatin ended the recording and went to post it, adding the caption ‘giving murderer realness’. She slipped her phone back into her pocket, ignoring the fact that it immediately started vibrating with notifications.
Dot looked unimpressed. “Are your millions of friends aware that if you actually step on them, you’ll be fired?”
“Sex sells, Dorothy. You realized we’re sponsored by this event now, right? We get more of our bills paid by them than ever before. It’s why we have like, a real dressing room now.”
“It is kinda nice to not have Toni trying to steal all of my snacks,” Dot answered wryly.
“Exactly! You and me, Dot. A nice dressing room, un-stolen snacks, and 4.6 million supporters. Is this not the height of your life?”
“I, for the record, remain having exactly 17 followers.”
“If you would take your account off private-“
“The instagram influencer life is not for everyone,” Dot grinned. “Some of us like being real people most of the time.”
“Influencers are people too, Dot.”
“Liar.”
“Spit on my job all you like, but one day, when we have our own show like the Kardashians, you’ll be grateful.”
“If we ever become comparable to the Kardashians, I’m going into the backyard and shooting myself like a lame horse.”
“Dark,” Fatin said admiringly.
“Thank you.”
A loud banging on the door interrupted them. “Hey, places in 10! Get your shit together, it’s a fucking massive crowd!”
“Shut the fuck up, Toni!” Fatin called back sweetly.
“I blame your fucking fans!” Toni pounded on the door one more time and was gone, presumably to head towards her assigned zone.
“Ugh. This is gonna suck,” Dot said, checking herself one last time in the mirror. “What do we think?”
“What the fuck are you?” Fatin asked, taking in all the pieces of Dot’s bizarre costume.
“Nuclear fallout cannibal survivor.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Fuck if I know. C’mon, I wanna make sure my zone has a good spot to sit down for most of the night.”
————
Rachel paced at the gate, Nora sat in what Leah could only assume was some sort of meditative state, and Leah checked the time again.
“Five minutes,” she announced. Nora nodded serenely, and Rachel started shaking out her limbs.
“You know, the two of you really ought to consider stretching. This is about to be a hell of a cardio session.”
Leah scoffed. “For you, maybe. I’m gonna walk up to the first asshole I see and spend a lovely time napping in the dead zone.”
“Boring.”
“Statistically, based on most slasher movies, running away from a serial killer is less likely to truly be an escape and more likely to be a momentary delay of your doom,” Nora said brightly.
“Yeah, because those dipshits run upstairs instead of out the front door,” Rachel answered. “We’re smarter than that. We’re making it through.”
“Oh god,” Leah groaned. “I thought you’d do this as an every man for himself thing.”
“You thought I’d just abandon my best friend and my sister to die?” Rachel asked incredulously.
“I was hoping you would.”
“She wouldn’t,” Nora said. “Although, I firmly believe she’ll use one of us as a human shield if her competitive nature kicks in.”
“Well, you get a prize for surviving the whole night, of course it’s gonna kick in eventually. But don’t worry, I’ll give you a heads up if I’m planning to sacrifice you for the greater good.”
“How benevolent,” Leah muttered. She pulled out her phone again to check it, but Rachel’s glare had her sliding it back into her pocket. “I was just checking the time.”
“Right.”
“You just did though? I thought you were probably checking for texts from that guy who ghosted you,” Nora interjected.
“What? No. Why would I do that? That would be dumb and embarrassing,” Leah defended, feeling her cheeks grow warm.
“Well, you’d probably do it because you haven’t been on a real date in about 5 months and you’re getting tired of leaning into the loneliness.”
“Sorry, do you keep track of my dates?”
“Sure. What if one of them was a murderer and we needed to know how long ago you’d been taken?”
“At this point, she may have better dating luck if she did go out with a murderer.” Rachel slung an arm around Leah’s shoulders. “Maybe we’re about to meet your soulmate.”
“That would only make them a fake murderer,” Nora reasoned. “Much less dangerous.”
“Thank you both so much,” Leah said sarcastically, ducking away from Rachel’s arm. “I’m throwing you both to the wolves the second I can.”
“Luckily for you, that second is right about now,” Nora said, and sure enough, the surrounding crowd’s general frantic energy fell into a hush as the crackle of a loudspeaker rang out.
“GOOD EVENING, HELL PARK.” The voice was calm, but loudly projected. A cheer went up at the words, and Rachel started practically bouncing in place. “HOW ARE WE ALL FEELING TONIGHT?”
Another cheer. Leah handed Nora a pair of earplugs, which were gratefully accepted.
“WE HOPE YOU’RE ALL QUITE EXCITED TO ENTER YOUR FINAL RESTING PLACE. OUR MERRY GANG OF MURDERERS IS READY TO RECEIVE YOU, BUT REMEMBER THIS: RUNNING WILL NOT SAVE YOU, SO DON’T EXIT THE FINAL RESTING PLACE ONCE YOU’VE BEEN KILLED. FIGHTING WILL NOT SAVE YOU, SO DON’T ATTEMPT TO ASSAULT OUR KILLERS. AND THE FINAL RULE OF HELL PARK; SURVIVE THE NIGHT!”
The announcement ended with a hint of ghastly triumph, so Leah was suspicious when the gates barely swung open.
“Oh, that’s odd,” Nora remarked hesitantly. The crowd crept up around them, and Leah began to feel uncomfortably boxed in.
“Do we just. Go in?” Rachel asked, reaching towards the gate.
“Fuck it.” A random girl moved past them and shoved the gate wide open. It creaked as it moved, but no fake killers jumped out at them.
Leah could feel it though. She tensed, and Rachel did the same beside her.
The girl who pushed the gate open moved through, looked to her left, and screamed.
The stampede began immediately.
———-
Fatin, quite frankly, could use a fucking break.
Nobody had come by her area yet, and it was about ten minutes into the event, and she fully had a battery powered portable fan set up to blow directly at her as she lounged on a tree stump.
Still, though. A nice break would be lovely.
The screams from the initial opening had faded by now. There was a general rule to not kill anyone immediately out of the entrance, but Fatin knew Toni liked to hide just out of view and spook everyone as soon as they got in.
Honestly, she had never met anyone with a better temperament for this kind of stuff.
She failed to resist the temptation to pull her phone out, scrolling through the many comments that had built up on her most recent post, liking a few particularly fun ones. The ridiculous mask was beginning to slip down her face, and after a quick glance around to make sure she was alone, she tugged it off of her head for a few moments of blessedly cool night air on her face.
“Fuck,” she said aloud, mostly just for the feeling of saying it. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
Fatin swore she jumped about three feet in the air. “Holy fuck! What- Jesus! What the fuck!”
The voice from behind her- well, the person responsible for it- spoke again. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Just, you know. Related to your whole… vibe.”
“Yeah, sure.” Fatin tried to make out the person, but she had specifically chosen a dark, secluded spot for her little hideaway, and she couldn’t see their face. They kinda had a hot voice though. Low and raspy, with some hint of amusement in it. Fatin found herself wanting to keep them talking. “Are you like, lost, or something?” She asked, trying to look directly at the person’s face.
“Got separated from my friends during the entrance chaos,” the voice answered. “I like the set-up you have going on.”
“Oh, thanks,” Fatin answered brightly. She’s glad that someone is recognizing her genius. “My friends thought it would get me in trouble, but I can’t be expected to go three hours without air conditioning like it’s the dark ages or some shit.”
“Definitely.” The voice was more than vaguely amused now, and Fatin congratulated herself for it. “You mind if I join you? I came here for my friend, but I don’t have it in me to run around for three hours getting chased by people in bad makeup.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know that our makeup is mostly good this year. Toni can’t be helped, but that’s a separate thing.”
“Our makeup? Who’s- oh holy shit, you’re one of the killers.” The person laughed, and Fatin-
Oh god.
No.
Fatin practically felt her heart speed up and her lungs constrict.
Of all times, now’s the moment to get butterflies over someone’s laugh?
“Um.” Oh good, now her mouth was going without her say-so. “Yes?”
“Great,” the voice said. “You want to tag me so I can go nap in the dead zone?”
“Sure.” Literally anything to get this stranger with the cute laugh away from her. “Hold on though, I can’t even see you, it’s fucking dark out here.” She turned on her phone’s flashlight and propped it up on the stump next to her so it was pointed at the person.
Fuck.
It was a girl, and more importantly, she was hot.
She was taller than Fatin, for sure, with brown hair and broad shoulders. She was dressed comfortably, which already gave her an advantage because Fatin was in a tracksuit and hockey mask. Well, luckily she had already taken the mask off. She could only hope it hadn’t fucked up her hair too much, because now the goal had changed.
She was getting this hot girl with the cute laugh to stick around for as long as possible.
“Hey there,” she started. “I’m Fatin. Nice to actually be able to see you.”
The girl chuckled. “Yeah. I’m Leah. So, can you tag me, or would that get you in trouble?”
“Nah, it’s pretty much my whole job. You’re not the first person who just wanted to get out as quickly as possible.”
“Right, that makes sense. Sorry, that’s probably less fun for you.”
“God, no.” Fatin snorted. “Do I give off the vibes of someone who’s really eager to chase someone around in the dark for hours?”
“Kind of a waste of a tracksuit if you don’t do that.”
“This? No, this is just because I look hot in this. I will not look hot if I get all sweaty.” Fatin leaned in with a grin. “At least, not in this context.”
She was hoping Leah would blush, but she laughed loudly instead. Fatin would feel a little insulted, honestly, but the laugh was just too damn endearing.
“I’m sure you’d be fine,” Leah said, smiling. “Besides, you have your nice little battery fan.”
“I do, thank god.” She had never been more grateful for her general need for luxury. “Which, for the record, the dead zone does not have. It’s in the park center that, tragically, is not air conditioned.”
“Fuck, that’s annoying.”
“Yeah. It is normally, but something went wrong this afternoon and I don’t know if they had a chance to fix it.”
“Ugh. I don’t want to run around and evade fake killers, but I’m not a fan of sitting in a crowded building with no air conditioning,” Leah groaned. “My strategy has failed me.”
“Maybe not entirely,” Fatin responded. She almost felt stupid, and she hoped that her voice didn’t sound too eager. “I’ve got a fan, a portable phone charger, and a thermos of coffee that I could maybe be convinced to split?”
“Oh god, you have coffee?” Leah looked immediately happier, and Fatin mentally congratulated herself. “I’d kill for literally anything, I don’t care if it’s some insane Starbucks milkshake.”
“Ok, firstly, rude. Second, you take yours black, don’t you?”
Leah sat on the ground, leaning up against the stump next to Fatin’s. “Black with a tiny bit of sugar. Sometimes a bit of caramel syrup.”
“Disgusting. You do have that black coffee hipster aesthetic.”
“I’m in a t-shirt and leggings.”’
“It’s about the vibes,” Fatin said decisively. “Here, see if this will cure it.” She held the thermos out to Leah.
Leah took it, her fingers brushing against Fatin’s, and Fatin felt a small shock travel up her arm.
Leah had pretty hands.
Fatin watched as she lifted the thermos to her lips, and smirked when she saw a grimace immediately form on Leah’s face.
“What the fuck is in that?” Leah asked immediately, spluttering slightly.
“So much sugar. Just a fuck ton. Also, strawberry flavoring.”
“That’s so… much.”
“Yeah,” Fatin said proudly. “It’s horrific. I don’t drink anything else.”
“I’m convinced you’re an actual serial killer now.”
“You’re lucky I’m not, you’d be my type.” Fatin winked.
Leah went in for another sip of the coffee and promptly choked on it.
————
“Nora! Nora!”
“Rachel!”
Rachel ran in the direction of Nora’s voice, dodging trees and bushes as she went. She pushed herself as hard as she could, knowing the man with the pickaxe was just behind her.
“Rachel!” Nora appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Rachel and pulling her behind a tree.
“Holy fuck, Nora-“ Rachel gasped out, but Nora immediately clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Shh.” She looked around the tree and turned back to Rachel. She didn’t have to say anything for Rachel to know that the murderer had caught up with them.
Nora raised a single finger to her lips, silently telling Rachel to stay quiet. She nodded frantically, trying to calm the beating of her heart. The adrenaline coursed through her, and she felt a scream beginning to bubble out of her throat. She clamped her own hands over her mouth even after Nora had removed hers.
Nora crouched on the forest floor next to her, moving carefully and quietly. Rachel could tell she was looking around on the ground for something, but she couldn’t tell what exactly she was rooting around for. At least, not until Nora stood back up with a rock enclosed with her fist.
She threw the rock as hard as she could in the opposite direction from the tree and then hid her face against Rachel’s shoulder.
Rachel wrapped an arm around her and listened tensely for the sounds of the killer who had followed her.
After just a moment, she heard the sound of his footsteps moving away quickly.
Nora sighed, and Rachel relaxed.
Then they bolted away.
————
“Ok, so: I was a cello prodigy, I ran away from boarding school, and I’m doing this because an ex got me into it.”
“Fuck, that’s difficult.” Leah screwed up her face comically as she thought, and Fatin grinned at the expression. “Um. Running away from boarding school feels too, like, young adult coming of age book-ish. That’s the lie.”
“Nope, drink up!” Fatin crowed triumphantly. Leah scoffed, but sipped hesitantly at the thermos.
“What was the lie?”
“My friend was doing this when I moved in with her after running away from boarding school, and she got me a spot along with her. It paid way better than I expected, so we both stuck with it.”
“Oh. That’s cool.”
“Yeah.” Fatin looked at Leah, who was visibly curious. “You wanna break the no follow-up question rule, don’t you?”
“Whydidyourunawayfromschool?” Leah asked in one breath, then grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. I’m just, like, so impressed and that’s so insane. You don’t have to answer if it’s too personal.”
“Nah, it’s cool, you’re not the first to ask.” Fatin prepared to recite one of her many outrageously untrue explanations, but instead, she surprised herself when she started to speak. “I caught my dad cheating.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah. And I was like, infuriated. He was my best friend, and I thought he was this great father, and it turned out he was just a cheating dick. So, I got mad, and petty, and I sent his dick pics to his entire contact list.”
“Fuck,” Leah said, but unlike anyone before, she sounded almost admiring. “You really went nuclear, huh?”
“Right away,” Fatin laughed. “But it backfired. My mom didn’t kick him out, didn’t do anything except punish me. They said I was like, ‘a threat to the family’, or whatever, and they sent me off to this super muslim boarding school in Oregon.”
“That’s so fucked up,” Leah breathed out, and Fatin was surprised to find her own eyes sting with tears. She was usually able to tell this story in a funny way, but to be fair, usually nobody responded like Leah.
It had been awhile since someone had been totally on her side.
“Yeah, well, I got out eventually. Waited until I turned eighteen and then got the fuck out of dodge. Stumbled back into LA, found Dot, my best friend and roommate, and did this Hell Park thing to pay my half of the rent for my first month. Rest is history,” Fatin finished. She shifted uncomfortably under Leah’s piercing gaze. “Anyway, your turn now.”
“Right, sure, but. Ok. I’m gonna try something, and I can’t promise it’s gonna go ok.”
Fatin nodded, and Leah rose to her knees in front of her and wrapped her arms around Fatin.
She was warm, and her t-shirt was soft, and Fatin felt completely enveloped. It was the best she had felt in awhile.
“I’m glad you’re ok now, but that never should have happened to you,” Leah murmured. Fatin shivered in her arms, and she honestly wasn’t sure if it was because Leah’s breath was warm against her neck, or if it was because someone was finally saying those words. “You deserved better.”
Fatin smiled when Leah pulled away after a moment. “You’ve known me for like, two hours.”
“Yeah, well, I can tell.”
“God, don’t make me cry, this eyeliner took forever.”
“It looks like it,” Leah joked. “Ok, my turn?”
“If you would.”
“Ok. Um, I dated a famous author, I write for a living and it’s going better than expected, and I once went on a camping trip that ended up being way longer than expected and was also totally hellish.”
“Hm.” Fatin thought for a moment. “Can I have the famous author’s name?”
“If you get it right.”
“Ok, fuck. Uh. You seem like you wouldn’t go camping in the first place, you literally immediately tried to take the easy way out of this outdoor thing, so that’s the lie.”
“Fuck.” Leah seemed almost genuinely embarrassed. “I didn’t think you’d get that one.”
“You add extra details to the lie,” Fatin answered thoughtlessly. “The writing thing actually makes sense, it’s like you automatically want to add details to make the fiction more believable.”
“Oh.” It could be the shitty lighting, but Fatin was also pretty sure that Leah was blushing slightly. “Normally people don’t notice.”
“Well, I’m just good at what I do,” Fatin grinned. “Which, of course, is paying attention to beautiful women.”
“Terrible,” Leah pretended to groan, but Fatin noted that she had moved closer during the night. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Oh yeah, talk dirty to me.”
Leah laughed, and Fatin grinned even harder.
“Worse.”
“Yeah, yeah. So, do I get to know the name of this mystery author?”
“Um.” Leah sobered fairly quick, and Fatin wondered if she had misstepped. “Jeff Galanis.”
“Oh, ok- wait, I know that name. I had to read his book in school.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“Wait.” Fatin took a second to do mental math. “Wasn’t that guy like, forty? As in, forty when I was in high school?”
“Um. Thirty-eight.”
“So this was recent?” Fatin tried, feeling her heart sink when Leah shook her head. “Oh, Leah.”
“I was seventeen,” Leah whispered. “He thought I was eighteen, and I thought he was, like, everything, so I never told him. He found out eventually, and left me, and it wrecked me for a long time.”
“That’s so-“
“Messed up? Yeah, I know. I mean, I know now. For awhile, I would have died to get him back. Probably a red flag, now that I think about it,” Leah laughed roughly. It sounded nothing like the sound that had sent butterflies flying through Fatin’s stomach earlier.
“It would have been fucked up even if you were eighteen,” Fatin spat. "He was twenty years older than you, it would have been fucked up no matter what.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” Leah said hollowly. Fatin clenched her hands, almost wishing for something to hit, before she forced herself to relax. She slid off her stump to sit next to Leah on the ground.
“Ok if I try something?”
Leah opened her arms without a word, and Fatin wrapped herself around the taller girl without hesitation.
“Thank you,” Leah whispered against her hair.
“You deserved better too,” Fatin replied. She meant it too. It had been a long time since she had so instantly connected with someone. Actually, the last time had been Dot, and that bitch was her platonic soulmate. So, really, she figured she was two for two at this thing.
“You’ve only known me for like, two hours,” Leah chuckled.
“Yeah, well, I can tell,” Fatin returned easily, smiling when Leah recognized her own words. “Also,” she said as tenderly as anything, “I got it right and you have to drink.”
“I think I hate you.”
“I have that effect. Drink, bitch.”
“Ugh.” Leah groaned as she picked up the thermos, but she smiled at Fatin when she took a sip, and when Fatin shifted to sit beside her, she kept an arm around her shoulders.
————
“If we kept our arms linked and ran at him, we could clothesline him.”
“We’re not allowed to hit them, Rachel.”
“That’s so unfair.”
“They’re people!”
“Yeah, but tonight they’re killers!”
“You’re too competitive for your own good,” Nora replied. “You’ll get us into trouble.”
“Fine, we won’t clothesline anyone.” Rachel thought for a moment. “We could set a trap.”
“I… don’t think that’s actually against the rules. They didn’t say anything about it.”
“Fuck yeah, ok. You get some sticks, I’m gonna start digging. I’ve got a plan.”
————
“So, shitty ex, but any boyfriend these days?” Fatin asked.
Leah hesitated. She didn’t want to sound totally pathetic by saying she hadn’t been on a real date in months, but she didn’t want Fatin- literally the most gorgeous person she had ever met- to think she was taken. “Uh, no boyfriend. I’ve been on a few dates here and there, but nothing really feels right.” Fatin hummed in response, and Leah felt herself flush. “Do you have one?”
“Oh, god no,” Fatin laughed. Her shoulders shook under Leah’s arm. “No, I’ve never really been the monogamy type.”
“Oh.” The sinking feeling of disappointment settled slowly into Leah’s bones. It was probably insane to hope for this crazy beautiful girl to be interested, but she thought that maybe the signals were there. Well, another attempt and failure for Leah. She was really batting a thousand with this. “Sure, I get that.”
“Do you?”
“No, not really. I’m kind of a serial monogamist.”
“I figured.” Fatin smirked. “It’s your vibe.”
“Literally what does that mean?” Leah asked. Fatin laughed, and Leah felt her face heat up again.
“I’m not trying to be mean, I think it’s sweet. And, you know, I’ve been thinking lately that maybe you’ve got a point. You and all the other monogamists out there.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Mhm.” Fatin turned to look Leah in the eyes. “I think maybe it’s time to pursue connections when I feel them, instead of running from it and fucking someone mindlessly.”
“Is that your usual plan?”
“Pretty much. But, you know, maybe it would be better if I gave someone time to really learn how to please me.” Fatin’s eyes flicked down to Leah’s lips, and Leah could feel her own heart pounding. “Are you a quick learner, Leah?”
Fuck. Oh holy fuck. That was a signal, right? That was clear and obvious and definitely a signal.
“Um.” Leah completely failed to respond with anything resembling game. “I could be?”
“Oh, could you?”
“I have a great gpa.”
“You do strike me as very smart.” Fatin reached up to play with a strand of Leah’s hair. Fuck, she was so smooth and Leah was so not.
“Yeah. Well, I’m not great with math, or chemistry. But chemistry is basically math, so I think that’s expected. Biology though, I’m top notch.” She could not make herself shut up.
“How about anatomy?” Fatin asked breathily.
“I have an eighty-eight?”
Fatin stopped playing with her hair. “You’re not into this, are you?”
“What? Into- into what?”
“Oh, god.” Fatin leaned back and groaned. She let her head fall back, and Leah was momentarily distracted by the arch of her neck. “I’m over here, trying every stupid thing, and you’re not even into women.”
“What? No, I’m very into women,” Leah defended. “I’ve known I was bi since high school.”
“Perfect, so you’re just not into me.”
“I didn’t say that!” Leah exclaimed, face flushed again. She truly could not remember the last time she felt so dumb. “I just didn’t think you were hitting on me!”
“What?” Fatin turned back with wide eyes. “Of course I was! I was so obvious!”
“How long have you been flirting with me?”
“Since I turned on my flashlight and saw that you were majorly hot!”
“You think I’m hot?” Leah questioned stupidly.
“I was so clearly hitting on you! I made excuses for you to stay here instead of going to the dead zone!”
“I thought you were just being kind!”
“Oh my god.” Fatin groaned again. “You really didn’t know?”
“I thought maybe when you looked directly at my lips?”
“That’s what it took?”
“I am not a deeply observant person!”
“Clearly!” Fatin shot back. She fell silent, and Leah stared at her for a moment.
There was a beat, and then they both burst into laughter.
“I can’t believe you didn’t know!” Fatin said between gasps.
“I thought you were like, wildly out of my league! Why would you be flirting with me?” Leah asked.
“Because, again, you’re very hot and smart and I think you’re sweet? And also funny when you’re being deeply awkward.”
“Well, that’s good for me, because it’s pretty constant.”
“It’s cute,” Fatin said. Leah was pretty sure she had blushed through the whole night at this point.
“I’m glad you think so.”
“Mhm.” Fatin leaned in closer to Leah. “ So, to clarify: you are into me, you can’t flirt for shit, and you think I’m wildly out of your league?”
“Yeah, that sounds right.”
“Kiss me.”
Leah leaned in, but hesitated. “Are you sure?”
Fatin pulled her in by the collar of her shirt and pressed her lips to Leah’s, tangling one hand in her hair and grabbing at her waist with the other.
She seemed pretty sure.
————
“Ok, you know what to do?”
“Yep. This feels wrong, though. I think it’s against the spirit of the rules.”
“Follow the letter, not the spirit.”
“You usually say the opposite of that.”
“This is survival, Nora. If ever there was an exception, it’s now.” Rachel put her hands on Nora’s shoulders. “Now go. Remember, it’s a rough leap-“
“I can clear it,” Nora answered confidently. “You’ll be ready?”
“Of course. Now go!”
Nora shot off into the woods, and Rachel waited exactly where she was.
It took a little less than 3 minutes for Nora to come tearing back in her direction.
“Rachel! Rachel, run!” She shouted, and Rachel moved out of the way. She got a glimpse of the person chasing Nora. They were short but fast.
Rachel grinned. What was it the announcement said? Running can’t save you?
Nora drew closer, and Rachel got ready for the conclusion of their plan.
————
Fatin had shifted into Leah’s lap, straddling her. Her hands were slowly drifting towards her chest, and Leah’s arms were wrapped around her waist, hands pressed up against her back.
Fatin had figured Leah would kiss softly, would be gentle and tender and kind.
She was a whirlwind instead.
Her hands were drifting up towards Fatin’s bra strap, and she alternated between pressing kisses to Fatin’s lips and sucking small marks into Fatin’s neck.
“Hickeys?” Fatin gasped out. “Really?”
“You’re good with makeup,” Leah answered, only pausing for a moment. “You’ll be fine.”
“God.” Fatin exhaled shakily as Leah went back to mouthing at her neck. “Use your teeth, I’m not fragile.”
Leah’s answering moan made her swear and grind her hips down into her lap.
It was the best she’d felt in ages, and-
“Fatin!” A voice rang out. “Fatin, where the fuck are you? We’ve got a problem!”
“Fuck, who’s that?” Leah looked around.
“Who cares, who cares, go back to what you were doing-“ Fatin pulled Leah back in by her hair, but the voice shouted again, even closer.
“Fatin, I’m not fucking kidding! This is a real situation!”
“God fucking damnit,” Fatin groaned. Leah huffed out a laugh against her collarbone. “Quick, we gotta get our shit together before she finds us.”
“Somehow already too late.” Fatin whipped around to see Dorothy standing behind them. “Hey there.”
“Hey,” Fatin said weakly. “What brings you to this zone of the park?”
“Well, weirdly, I was looking for my best friend to help me with the event we’re both working, but she seems a little busy trying to hook up with one of the guests. Can you believe that?”
“Ok, there are no rules against hooking up with the guests,” Fatin argued.
“Public sex is a felony, Fatin. And could you please climb out of the girl’s lap to talk to me?”
“Oh, right.” Fatin stood, and offered a hand to Leah to help her up.
Leah remained frozen on the ground.
“Yep, ok.” Fatin gestured at her. “Dot, this is Leah. Leah, this is Dot. The roommate and best friend I told you about.”
“Hi, Leah.”
“Um. Hi.” Leah gave a dorky little wave- which, god, it just squeezed at Fatin’s heart- and stood up. “Sorry for. You know.”
“Not the worst thing I’ve walked in on Fatin doing.”
“That… makes sense actually.”
“Rude,” Fatin said, but Leah grinned and she couldn’t hold any type of grudge. “Anyway, uh. Why did you come looking for me, Dot? We have like, half an hour until close.”
“Toni’s in a pit.”
“Sorry?”
“Toni,” Dot said dryly. “In a pit. Do you need me to say it slower?”
“There’s not a pit in the fucking park.”
“Guests dug it as a trap. So, now there is.”
“Are they allowed to do that?” Fatin asked, truly bewildered. “What the fuck? Is that a thing?”
“Well, given that it would take normal people hours to dig a pit, we never specifically banned it.”
“How big is this fucking pit?”
“Toni is in it and can’t climb out.”
“Holy shit.”
“Wait, sorry,” Leah interrupted. “Did you say guests dug the pit?”
“Yep.”
“Um. Can you maybe describe the guests?”
“I don’t know. Two of them, sisters I think? Maybe twins. One is a lot more athletic than the other? She also did not seem to feel bad at all, but the smaller one did.”
“Rachel and Nora?”
“Yeah, that’s- how did you know their names?” Dot asked incredulously.
Fatin turned to look at Leah. “Babe?”
Leah blushed slightly at the pet name, but kept her gaze trained on Dot. “Take me to them.”
————
“So-“
“No.”
“You haven’t even-“
“No!”
“It was for-“
“Rachel, it is a scare park. You can’t hit the actors. You can’t fight the actors. You also, despite it not being spelled out in the rules, cannot trap the actors in a fucking pit!” Leah yelled.
Nora had her ears covered, but nodded along. “I told her it probably wasn’t allowed.”
“Still did it though,” a voice called from the pit. Presumably Toni, given that Dot was working to try to lift her out and Fatin was laughing her ass off at the edge of the pit. “You literally lured me in here.”
“Should have been smarter,” Rachel called back.
“When I get up there, I’m gonna kick your ass.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“Yeah, so would I,” Fatin laughed. “God, this is the best day of my life. Literally ever. Toni, smile for the camera.”
“You’re next, Jadmani.”
“Leah, protect me!” Fatin cried dramatically before dissolving into laughter again.
“Do you know that girl?” Rachel asked, gesturing towards Fatin.
“Uh. We’ve become… acquainted.”
“You’re blushing,” Nora observed.
“How can you see that, it’s so dark out here?”
“Literally all of our flashlights are on, Leah, I could see that blush from a mile away,” Rachel answered. “Wait. Hold on. Did you-“
“No pits,” Leah interrupted, hoping to derail them. “Ever again. Can you promise that?”
Nora nodded immediately, and Rachel looked down and mumbled sheepishly.
“Good. Now help Dot get that poor girl out of your fucking trap.”
They both moved to Dot’s side, Nora immediately spouting off suggestions.
Leah watched them until she felt Fatin at her side. “So, these are the friends you came here for?”
“It’s Rachel’s birthday gift,” Leah answered. “I swear I didn’t know she’d go insane and try to fucking trap one of your coworkers.”
“I don’t know, that could be kinda hot. Like, you were sent to seduce and distract me so they could get the job done. That’s pretty sexy.”
“You are so strange.”
“And sexy?” Fatin asked hopefully.
Leah laughed. “Yes, and sexy. In case it wasn’t obvious that I thought that.”
“Don’t worry. Unlike you, I’m pretty good at picking up on signals.”
“Oh, fuck off.”
They watch together as Dot and Rachel pull Toni up from the small pit, Nora fretting over the best way for Toni to climb.
“So, hey. It’s just about three now,” Fatin said as they watched Toni immediately begin to chase Rachel. “You survived the night.”
“I feel like accidentally seducing the killer shouldn’t really work for me,” Leah answered wryly.
“Yeah, well, it did. And you know what the prize is?”
“A lame t-shirt?”
“Better. Well, hopefully better. Your prize is a date with me, if you’re interested,” Fatin said casually.
Leah could feel her face flushing once again. “I, uh. I am. I’m- I’m very interested. Very. Yes.”
“Cute, babe.”
“God, shut up. You’re insufferable, I changed my mind.”
“Too late,” Fatin said brightly. “Running won’t save you. Fighting won’t save you. Nothing can save you from me taking you to a mid-range restaurant, paying too much for the food, and then taking you back home for dessert.”
“Oh wow,” Leah teased. “I wonder if I’ll survive the night.”
“With me, sweetheart?” Fatin grinned. “You’ll feel more alive than ever.”
Leah got the distinct impression that Fatin was right.