12:00 A.M., and the late night thoughts hit you hard. What is my place in this world? Why am I here? Isn't it crazy how there used to be ancient civilizations that knew crazy amounts of technology? Am I related to the Ancient Egyptians...I mean I am kinda tan...? Everyone has these thoughts along these lines before falling into a deep slumber, but will curiosity get the best of you? If so, you might relate to a certain someone, who spends late nights doing some...pretty crazy-intense research, all because of one late night thought that gnawed at her mind endlessly.

Charlene Turner sat hunched over her computer, a blanket draped over her, the lights out, and a few bags of chips sprawled around her computer desk. Her eyes were drooping due to the lack of sleep she had gotten in the past few days. It was almost ridiculous to how she got herself into this world-wide web of messes. This isn't her first time staying up till all hours of the night on her computer, this is about her millionth time. She couldn't control this weird fascination she had with conspiracy theories, and there were binders and binders underneath her bed to prove it.

She wouldn't tell the Keepers her thoughts on the Illuminati, Extraterrestrial life, the Mandela Effect, and many more theories she had; but she would keep them in mind almost 24/7. Charlene got defensive when her friends would say stuff like "Illuminati confirmed."

No, she wanted to say, that is the most asinine example of the Illuminati ever.

Instead, Charlene sat with her lips pursed tightly and hands balled into fists to keep herself from lashing out. Idiotic, oh how idiotic they are.

Finally, the last sheet of the article was printed and the printer beeped.

Low ink, the flashing red light warned the obsessive girl.

She shrugged and stapled the article together; admiring the title for a bit before shutting her lap top off and turning on the lamp, beginning to highlight key details and write notes in the margins of her own speculations.

Terrence Maybeck was a man of his word. He had been texting back and forth with Charlene, purposely, so he knew when she wasn't home.

Getting into her house, it was easy. Mrs. Turner let him in, given the excuse he said he needed to pick up a few things for their school project. Finding something to expose Charlene with, not so easy.

If everyone has a guilty pleasure then why can't I find any evidence of Charlene's?

He shrugged it off and got on his knees, peering under the bed, but all he saw were stacks of 2 inch binders. He figured they were for school, until he caught a glimpse of the front cover of one. He pulled it out, quirking an eyebrow at what he saw:

Proof of Extraterrestrial life in Ancient Times

He quickly flipped through the stacks of papers, his eyes widening. Charlene was a conspiracy theorist! He dug out the other binders and stuffed them in his bag, heading out of her room, bounding down the stairs.

"Did you find everything you need, Maybeck?" Mrs. Turner asked, smiling.

"Yes! I found everything I need." Maybeck said, "Thanks for everything." And with that he headed out, texting rapidly:

New Message

To: Willa, Professor, Finn

Message: guys meet me at the back of crazy glaze in 15 min

After a half hour, everyone has arrived, and Maybeck had shown his discovery with the three. Payback was indeed sweet, however on the other hand, he knew his girlfriend had more than just a guilty pleasure. Well, yes, as it was technically a guilty pleasure because it was an unpopular thing to do...however she had an obsession. Just by looking through the binders he could tell she was more than just obsessed. Conspiracies were probably her life (outside of cheerleading and gymnastics of course).

"Well, why don't we mess with her?" Philby suggested, smirking slightly.

"Noooo, that's mean." Willa opposed, but so far it was the three boys against her.

"I'll text you guys later and invite you to the Frozen Marble tomorrow to hang out." Finn said, sharing a sly look with the other three males.

"Sounds good." Maybeck stretched out with content.

When Charlene got home from cheer practice that night, she took a shower, ate dinner in her room, and was ready for more research. She had a bowl of Sour Patch Kids on her desk to keep her awake, along with her music playing quietly. She got up, going to pull out one of her many binders. An internal panic arose as she shoved her bed away. There was nothing there but dust bunnies.

"Mooooooooom!" Charlene screeched from upstairs, moving her bed back.

Like any normal parent, her mom bounded up the stairs, worried that Charlene was in trouble. "What? What is it, Charlene?"

"Have you seen any of my binders I keep under here?!" She pointed to her bed, her face red.

"What? What binders, honey? Good lord, I thought there was something wrong." Mrs. Turner said, exasperated.

"There is! Where did they go? They couldn't have disappeared in a matter of hours! They were here when I left for practice!" She said, beginning to panic again.

"Were they for a project? Because Maybeck stopped by to pick up something you guys were working on for school." She explained calmly.

Charlene showed puzzlement for a moment, why the hell...? Bing! Maybeck wanted revenge! She took a small breath. "Oh yeah...sorry I forgot.."

"It's okay, hon."

She huffed once her mom left, nearly slamming the door. She plopped on her chair, stretching her sore muscles and trying to think of ways to get her binder back when she got a text from Finn.

Group Chat: Lava fam

Members: Willa, Finn, Philby, and Maybeck ((with corresponding emojis of course))

Message from Finn:

you guys free to chill tomorrow frozen marble after school?

A series of answers popped up on the screen and Charlene quickly texted yes, then got ready to go to bed.

"Y'know, my mom worked for NASA before, she knows a thing or two about aliens." Finn said to the group taking a bite of his ice cream.

Charlene was fuming. For the past hour, Willa, Finn, Philby, and Maybeck have been slipping her conspiracy theories into the conversation. She was trying to pretend like she didn't know, only her face kept getting red.

"King Tut was an alien. Clearly by the shape of his head-" Willa began but was cut off by Charlene.

"Okay! Okay! I get it! You don't have to tease me anymore!" Charlene snapped, which quieted the snickering group down.

"Tease you? What are you talking about? We would never do such a thing." Philby said with a shrug, tapping the inside of the empty glass cup with the spoon.

"Oh you guys know! Maybeck took my binders and showed them to you! That's why all of a sudden all of y'all are talking about ancient aliens, the Illuminati, and the Mandela Effect!" Charlene face palmed unhappily.

Maybeck shot her a smug look, "Payback's a bitch isn't it?"

So as you found out in this chapter, Charlene has a ludacris fixation on conspiracy theories that most would not even take a moment to believe. Sometimes late night thoughts get the better of us, are you willing to go as far as Charlene has? It'd be better for your sake to keep research to a bare minimum, unless you want your "nosy, good-for-nothing, annoying, mean, (but still unbearingly hot) boyfriend" to find out and tell all of your friends (well as Charlene tweeted out later that day). Stay tuned to find out another enjoyable weakness of the Keepers.

Soooo if you liked this chapter please fav/follow/review! Thanks loves!

~fangirl for days