Mac yawned as he closed the door behind him. Two grocery bags crinkled in his arms as he aimed for the kitchen table.
"Helooo? Anyone home?" Mac slid out of his jacket. He could see the flickering light from the firepit and could hear soft murmuring outside. Mac glanced around the kitchen and grinned. He pulled out three bags of candy and stepped on a chair putting them in a secret back to the cuboard over the refrigerator. Mac glanced over his shoulders relieved no one saw his secret stashing place. He closed the door and jumped down. The rest of the bags, all containing candy he put in the fridge. He put the plastic bags in the recycling bin then grabbed a beer heading out to the deck. Holloween was three days away. Mac had learned from bitter experience no matter how much candy he bought or set aside, it would be gone by Beggar's night. Two years ago, Mac had built the secret stash and managed to save candy for the trick or treaters.
"...we can go...shush." Mac raised an eyebrow as he stepped out onto the deck. Riley, Jack and Bozer were huddled close mumuring to each other. The second they saw him they shushed each other and scrambled to pull apart and sit back as if they were relaxed and hadn't been in on some sort of conspiracy. Mac chuckled and sat beside the fire opening his beer.
It was a beautiful night. The sky above gleamed like a bright saphire with stars as glitter. The city looked magical and familiar shining like a mirage. Mac sighed and stared into the fire feeling himself unwind. He watched the others out of the corner of his eye. They glanced at each other and squirmed wondering how much he'd overheard. Mac smiled around the mouth of the bottle letting them wonder a long minute. He leaned back and eyed the trio. If they could look any more deer in the headlight's startled Mac would love to see it.
"So, guys, what's up?"
"Oh nothing." Jack said immediatly. Riley nodded.
"That's right nothing going on, just hanging out." She added.
"So did you get the candy?" Bozer asked. Bozer rubbed his hands together like a hungry squirrel. Mac rolled his eyes. He denied it every year, but Mac was pretty sure he knew who the biggest candyvore in their odd family was.
"Yeah, it's in the kitchen." Mac indicated with a thumb over his shoulder. Bozer's eyes gleamed and Mac could read his roomie trying to come up with some reason to run in and open the goodies. Mac eyed the trio. They shifted and glanced at each other under his gaze. Mac leaned forward.
"Alright, out with it."
"What?"
"We aren…"
"I don…" Mac sighed and held up his hand.
"You know what, I don't even care. Keep doing what your doing." Mac stood up and went in to the living room. He finished his been and yawned. Somehow everyone keeping something from him really bothered him. Mac set the beer in the recycle then climbed to the attic. Tommorrow everyone would be over to decorate. Mac grinned as he pulled out the decorations. He coughed and waved off the dust. Mac loved holidays. All of the people he loved came together and they all got their inner kid on, it was awesome. Every year they tried to out do the last.
Mac pulled out his favorite decoration. It was a skeleton he'd made out of plaster and talcum molded from real bones. He checked all the joints and frowned, the hips needed new wires and the swivel on the neck needed oil. Mac gathered up Bones, Bozer's name for him, and hauled him downstairs. Mac frowned the others were still gathered around the fire pit. Mac frowned. He'd been an outsider most of his life. He was used to people not understanding how his brain worked. Mac shook his head knowing he was being stupid. They were his family, they wouldn't ostracize him. He carried Bones out to the garage and lost himself in repairs.
As he changed the swivel joint he noticed a crack appear in Bone's lower skull. Mac frowned then used glue to seal it up mixing in chalk dust to blend in the texture. Mac left the skull gently fixed in a vice clamp and wiped his forehead. He glanced at the watch. Mac's eyes widened. He'd been in the garage two hours! He frowned. Why hadn't anyone come to get him?
Mac went upstairs. Everything was quiet. The fire was out and no one else was there. Mac even checked in Bozer's room. No Bozer. Mac's heart picked up tempo. Where were they? How long had they been gone? And in the 10 year old voice he wished would shut up, why did they leave him behind? Mac shook his head and told himself he was being stupid. His friends didn't have to answer to him. They had their own crap going on that's fine, he was a big boy now.
Mac couldn't deny the lump of abandonment he tried to swallow. Mac decided he needed to do something to keep busy. He hauled down the decorations and began hanging them. Mac lost himself to ideas as they flared. He grinned as he set a trap for anyone who walked under a giant screaming spider. Mac yawned again glancing at the clock. He frowned. Dawn would be in another hour. He looked over the house. Everything was perfect except the pumkins.
Mac picked out three and started to carve. He lost himself in his designs. One he made for Jack. It had the bat signal overlayed with the names of all the Hair bands Mac could think of. The next one he made for Bozer. He carved a fairly intricate picture of Freddy and Jason about to go at each other with chainsaws. Mac smiled wiping pulp off his hands. He wasn't the artist like Bozer was, but the most complicated thing to carve was the chainsaws and Mac knew chainsaws. Mac stared at the last one. He bit his lip a minute thinking about Riley. He didn't know her as well as the guys. Mac grinned. He drew a silhouette of a woman, or at least a figure he hoped looked like a woman, singing into a microphone. He put in stars and "Beyonce" in a banner over head. Mac smiled and wiped his cheek. He frowned realizing he'd only smeared on pumpkin guts. Mac cleaned and lit candles inside the pumpkins. He turned off the lights and smiled. They weren't perfect, but they'd come out pretty damn cool.
Mac looked at his watch and frowned. He glanced out the window. The only car missing was Bozer's. Mac figured that meant the missing trio planned on coming here after...whatever the hell they were doing. The city outside was sillhouetted by a bright orange-pink sunrise. Mac felt worry knot in his gut. Where were they? Were they ok? If he'd known computers as well as Riley he would have tracked their phones. Mac shook his head. He was driving himself crazy. Mac changed into shorts and a T and hit the road for a run. Mac felt his body warm and stretch as he fell into a fluid rhythm. Mac could feel his worry and insecurities fall away. He lost himself in the runner's high. He returned after running ten miles. He slowed to walking the last half mile. Mac took slow breaths and wiped sweat off his forehead. He sighed in relief as he saw the missing trio standing outside on the front lawn. Mac almost called to them but they were laughing and gesturing. Mac frowned again feeling as if he didn't belong.
"I can't believe that!" Jack was gushing. His face was red and his eyes round
Saucers. "I mean did you see…!" They trailed off as Mac walked up to him. Immediatly they were quiet and looking everywhere but at him. Mac frowned telling himself he didn't feel hurt, not really.
"Hey guys." He said calmly. None of them met his gaze. Mac nodded and walked past them. Tears pricked at his eyes as he went into the shower. With the water rolling down his hair and face Mac closed his eyes and told him he wasn't crying, not really. So his friends had gone somewhere and did something without him that they couldn't let him in on. That didn't mean anything, right? Mac yawned. At least they were home safe. Mac focused on the relief he felt, and the exhaustion. He dried off and stepped out throwing his clothes in the hamper. He was about to walk to the living room when he heard the others come in.
"What the…Will you look at this?" Jack said surprise and wonder in his voice.
"Look, it's Beyonce!" Mac could hear the happiness and excitment in her
Voice.
"That is too...YEAHH!" Bozer screamed as the spider fell. Mac smiled. He'd hoped they'd like it all and was glad they did. The heavy stabbing in his gut got worse.
"Hey, Mac?" Jack yelled. Mac shook his head. He was too tired to deal with their excitement. Mac turned into his bedroom shut the door and climbed into bed.
"Yo, Mac?"Jack called again. He frowned when the kid didn't come out after his shower. He turned to Bozer and Riley. "What's up with him?" Riley shrugged.
"Probably tired," Bozer said around a yawn. "Look at all this, I can't believe he did it all by himself." Jack frowned. His MacGyver instinct was tingling.
"Why did he? I thought we were all going to do it tonight?" Riley shrugged and yawned.
"I don't know, I am too tired to think. I'm gonna go to sleep." Bozer looked at her and shuddered.
"How can you think of sleep after all that crazyness?" Jack put a hand on Bozer's shoulder. Bozer jumped and went a shade pale.
"Easy Bozer, it was all your imagination, dude."
"Really? Then why did you scream when that door closed on itself? And what Miss Davis, the 'something's touching me.' doesn't ring a bell?" The three of them were silent a minute their eyes wide and they glanced around the room unable to help themselves. "So do you believe me now? Ghosts are real, you saw the evidence for yourself." Bozer finished crossing his arms. Riley rolled her eyes and put her hand on Jack's arm.
"I'm not sure what to believe, Jack take me home?" Jack looked down the hall at Mac's closed door with a frown then nodded.
"Yeah, Ri let's go." Jack dropped Riley off and headed home. He yawned. If he was honest with himself he'd admit spending the night in a 'murder house' had freaked the crap out of him. Bozer was right they had seen and felt things that couldn't be explained. The ghost hunters or busters or whatever that they went with had brought the latest in tech and caught some stuff that sent goose bumps up his arm. He shivered in the warm morning. Jack sighed in relief happy to be home.
He liked his ghosts to be calm family, not folks pissed off they were murdered and were now dead. Jack took a quuick shower and climbed into bed. He relaxed and breathed out. He wasn't sure when the familiar curves of his own bed felt better. He closed his eyes ready to drift off. Jack opened his eyes and sat up.
"I am such an idiot." Jack said looking at the ceiling shaking his head. How could he not see it before? Sometimes his best friend the genius is an idiot. Jack sighed and crawled out of bed getting dressed again. He rubbed his eyes and stopped to get donuts and coffee, Mac's favorites.
The house was quiet when Jack let himself in. He stowed the donuts on the table and shook his head. Half the candy Mac had bought had been mauled and torn leaving only shining foil husks. Bozer's going to have himself a hell of a belly ache. Jack silently crept down the hall to Mac's door. He paused listening. Hearing nothing Jack hesitated. What if Mac was just asleep? His gut knew something was off. He knocked gently and wasn't surprised to get no response. Jack opened the door.
Mac sat up on the bed looking out the window his back to Jack. Jack could almost see each vertebrae raise to attention laying down piles of armor as they went.
"Hey." Jack said. Mac didn't say anything. "I saw all the decorations up, I thought we were going to do them all tonight." Mac shrugged but still didn't say anything. Jack frowned. Mac was bothered more than he'd thought. Evidently the three of them had accidently triggered an old wound. Jack came in and perched on the side of the bed facing Mac's back.
"Are you ok, bud?"
"Yeah, just tired." Mac did sound tired, but there was a note of strain Jack didn't like. Jack reached over and put a hand on Mac's shoulder. His eyes widened in surprise. Mac flinched and stood up stepping away. Mac glanced at Jack and Jack swore the kid looked like he'd been crying. Jack stood up alarmed. Mac pushed past him avoiding Jack's gaze.
With his mile-eating stride, Mac was already on the deck leaning on the railing before Jack took two steps. Jack paused gathering his thoughts. As brilliant as Mac is, sometimes that 10-year old peeps out in the oddest ways. In a million years, Jack would never think that the three of them sleeping in a real haunted house would trigger Mac's abandonment. The more he thought about it, the more he kicked himself for being the real idiot. What would the kid think when the others shut him out without explanation? But how can you explain that Mac wasn't invited because he'd kill the fun? Whenever they watched or talked about paranormal anything Mac always calmly and scientifically explained everything away.
On some level, Bozer, Jack and Riley wanted it to be real, wanted to be frightened-not that Jack had been of course. Jack sighed and ran his hand through his short fuzz of hair. The three of them had never taken into account how Mac would feel being left out of the loop so completly. Jack eyed the decorations and felt a pain in his heart. Mac loved the holidays so much because they all came together as a family and in a way he could be a kid again. Jack railed at himself as he saw the pumkins. Mac as always thought of others first, even while the others didn't give him a thought. Jack took a deep breath bracing for the emotional minefield. He leaned next to Mac and glanced over. Mac's jaw was flinching and he studiously avoided looking at the older man.
"Nice day."
"Yeah." Jack sighed. The kid wasn't going to make this easy was he?
"You know you didn't have to put up all the decorations we were all up for that tonight." Mac shot Jack a cold glare that vanished as quickly as it came.
"It doesn't matter." There was a fatalism in Mac's voice that hurt like a gunshot. Mac went to walk past Jack. Jack caught his arm and spun Mac to face him. Jack's eyebrows raised when he saw Mac's eyes sparkle with unshed tears.
"Oh kid." Jack breathed out realizing the depth to which they'd screwed up. Mac pulled his arm free and turned away rubbing his face. "Mac, look we went…" Mac spun.
"It's fine, Jack. It doesn't matter, ok? I saw donuts, did you get the chocolate filled…" Mac went to walk back inside. Jack grabbed Mac again and spun him back to face him.
"Look we went to go ghost hunting at a murder house last night, it's not a big deal." Mac looked at Jack his eyes a mixture of anger and sadness.
"Then why didn't you just tell me?" Jack sighed and let Mac's arm go. Mac crossed his arms and waited.
"We...we didn't think you'd like it. You always poke holes in all the fake sciency stuff they do…" Glancing at Mac, Jack was alarmed to see the anger fade to a resigned sadness. Mac smiled and nodded.
"You didn't me to ruin your good time. That's ok, I get it. I was worried, that's all." Jack huffed as Mac turned away his shoulders slumped. In Mac's mind, Jack had just reinforced every word a bully every shouted at him. Stupid geniuses. Jack rubbed his face wondering what the hell to do now.
Mac wanted to curl up and bawl. He really didn't know why and thought he was being an overly dramatic child. It stung that the others had a valid point. What passed for paranormal investigation got under his skin, he couldn't help pointing out the truth and debunking the pseudo science. Mac gritted his teeth. In his mind he saw himself again in school trying to explain some of what rattled through his brain but no one understood, he would make it simpler and then everyone thought he was looking down on them. Mac wondered back into his room and sat on the bed leaning his head in his hands. He never meant to show off or grandstand, it just came off that way. Mac knew that and over the years has gotten better at reading the room, as Bozer called it. Evidently he still had room to improve. Mac looked up as Jack leaned on the doorframe munching on a donut. He held out the box. Mac smiled finding a chocolate with sprinkles. He sat on the edge of his bed.
"These are still warm." Mac said smiling at Jack. Jack chuckled pulled out a glazed and sat beside Mac munching on his. They ate both lost in their own thoughts. Mac waved off a second one, Jack tore into an apple cinnamon crueller.
"So did you see anything?" Mac asked looking over at Jack. Jack froze in midbite. After he swallowed it Jack flew into the story of the night. They'd seen a door open and close on its own, heard knocks and felt things. Jack told about Riley being freaked out feeling someone breathing down her neck. Mentally Mac explained away each as Jack discribed it, he kept his mouth shut. Finally Jack wound down and sat back shaking his head.
"I have to confess, bro. I just about dirtied my drawers." Jack finished. Mac smiled and nodded. He was quiet not quite knowing what to say. Jack studied him. He sat up and put a hand on Mac's forearm.
"You know we never meant to leave you out or make you feel like we didn't want you there…" Mac held up a hand.
"Jack, it's fine. I was just being a little sensitive. I get it, I do." Jack frowned. Mac could see his friend's brain ticking over about something. "What?"
"Well, we have two days until the sprouts come by, the decorations are all up, what the hell are we going to do tonight?" Mac thought a minute then grinned. Jack felt a sinking in his stomach.
"Well, if you really want to experience hunting real ghosts, why don't we go to the Queen Mary?" Mac suggested. Jack felt his heart pound in fear.
"Dude, do you know how haunted that place is?" Mac's mouth quirked into a smile and his eyes were lit by a mischievious dare. Jack straightened.
"Ok, alright. If that's what you want, we can do that. Don't blame me if you get the crap scared out of you." Jack stood up and grabbed his donuts. His stomach churned at the idea of going in one of the most haunted places in America. Jack had been lucky to make it through the murder house with dry underwear.
"Great! We can meet up back here then go?"
"Sounds great!"
"Great." Jack smiled and almost ran out of Mac's house. Mac watched him go laughing. The smart guy doesn't know how to have fun? Mac thought about the chemicals he had around the house and what he could round up. He picked up his keys and headed out mentally making a list of everything he could use to make the night unforgettable. His friends wanted paranormal? Mac felt morally obligated to give it to them. Mac snickered. And he was definitly going to give it to them.