Salut! Long-time no see! Yeah, a pandemic kinda happened, didn't it? And since I work in the health industry, I was classed as an essential worker, and have been working so many extra hours due to colleagues catching the virus, needing to self-isolate due to medical conditions, or just straight up refusing to show up to work. Not that I blame them. But that means everything has fallen onto me. Whoopie.

Thank you so much for being patient with me though! I hope that you've all been doing okay and have managed to stay safe during this pandemic. Please make sure that you're self-isolating as much as you because this virus is not a joke. In the meantime, thank you so much for all of your amazing reviews and I'm so glad that you're all enjoying the story so far! All feedback is greatly appreciated!

Chapter II: Night of Horrors

Screams of terror filled the room. A high pitched wail followed as it sounded like the main protagonist was being attacked. Marinette certainly wasn't going to come out of her hiding place to find out. She clutched the cushion tighter to her chest, further burying her face into the fabric in a desperate attempt to block out everything that was going on. All of her bravado from earlier had completely vanished. Vanished the moment the creepy music had started at the beginning to the movie Juleka had insisted on them all watching.

Marinette could feel Mylène tense up next to her, making her glad that she wasn't the only person that was struggling through this. Though while Mylène was likely at least attempting to put on a brave face, Marinette wasn't even trying to hide her fear anymore.

She hated horror movies. Hated them with a passion.

But of course, since this was a Halloween themed sleepover, the others had insisted on watching them. Marinette was terrified of anything to do with the paranormal, even though she wasn't sure if she believed in that stuff in the first place. Go figure. Why couldn't they watch something with a Halloween theme that wasn't super scary? Since Alya's parents weren't here, they had all taken full advantage of watching the movies that they weren't supposed to. Plus, they reasoned they were only two years away from reaching eighteen, so what harm could it do?

Every harm, Marinette thought to herself. Even if she was eighteen, she wouldn't want to watch these movies. She wasn't even sure what the plot to this particular movie was. All she knew was that it involved some sort of demonic curse. Definitely one of Marinette's least favourite horror sub-genres.

The creepy music continued to loudly blare, and every now and again, Alix would laugh, to which Alya and Juleka would respond with a harsh shushing sound. Though Marinette mentally begged Alix to keep laughing. At least it helped somewhat drown out the sinister strings that built up to a jump-scare every single time.

Finally, the room was filled with one final scream before everything went dark, and the atmospheric music of the credits began to play. Marinette could feel Mylène relax next to her, and that's when she knew it was safe to come out of her hiding place.

Slowly peering up from behind her cushion, Marinette straightened herself out from her foetal position on the couch when she got visual confirmation that the credits were indeed rolling. Everyone else sat around the TV also shifted while Alya began crawling towards the DVD player to take the disc out. Rose remained huddled against Juleka's side, looking like she'd had just about as much fun with that as Marinette and Mylène had.

"That was so scary!" Rose squeaked out, further burying herself into Juleka's shoulder.

"Pffft, you wimp," Alix dismissed.

"Hey, Rose wasn't the only one who was frightened," Marinette tried to defend her friend.

Alix rolled her eyes. "And how would you know? You were hiding under the cushion throughout the whole movie."

"Y-yeah… well…" Marinette's face turned red as she stuttered in embarrassment.

"Some of us just don't like that sort of thing, Alix," Mylène chimed in, folding her arms across her chest as she relaxed further back into the couch.

Alix laughed.

"Guys, chillax, we're supposed to be having fun remember?" Alya tried to cool things as she began sifting through the rest of the DVDs that Juleka had brought with her. "So, what do you want to watch next?"

"Do we have to?" Marinette whimpered before she could stop herself.

"What about the one with the serial killer?" Juleka urged, leaning forward with an excited glint in her eye, Rose still clinging to her as she did so.

"Ugh, Marinette is right, do we have to watch any more right now?" Alix sighed in boredom as she threw her head back against the couch dramatically. "None of these are very scary. We should do something else for a bit instead."

"Like what?" Alya asked as she placed down the DVDs.

"Something that's actually scary," replied Alix.

"We could always look through Chloé's Instagram? That always terrifies me." Alya chuckled.

"Well… I did bring my Ouija board with me," Juleka announced as she reached around to grab her backpack.

"Awesome!" Alya got up and began dragging the coffee table back into the centre of the living room area. Alix shifted out of the way while all Marinette could do was cringe further back into the couch. Why did she have to open her big mouth? She was pretty sure she would rather deal with the horror movies than take part in this paranormal game. Not that she believed in ghosts but… she didn't want to be proven wrong…

"The first one to scream has to pay for the pizza!" Alix yelled in excitement.

Great, so not only would Marinette be humiliated and terrified, but she would also be out of pocket.

"Hey, no fair!" Mylène snapped.

"You're just saying that because you know that it'll most likely be you," Alix teased.

"No," Alya giggled, "I think we all know that if anyone is going to scream first, it's going to be Marinette."

Marinette blushed even more as all of her friends began nodding in agreement.

The knot in Marinette's stomach further tightened as Marinette watched them set up the game. Everyone began gathering around the coffee table, sitting cross-legged as Juleka pulled out the board and unfolded it, setting it neatly down on the table. Alya moved the candles so that they too were also set around the coffee table, surrounding the game in an ominous orange glow. It made the surrounding room look even darker now that the candles were all in one place, and it gave Marinette the sense that at any moment, something was going to reach out from the dark void and grab her. Before the game had even begun, it was like she could feel someone breathing on her neck, hauntingly tickling her.

"Gah!" Marinette yelped as she leapt back, Alix quickly bursting out laughing afterwards.

"Marinette screamed! She pays for pizza!" Alix shouted.

"That wasn't fair! You cheated!" Marinette protested, her heart still not having recovered from Alix's dirty trick.

"Oh come on, Alix, leave Marinette alone," Alya stuck up for her. "The game hasn't even started yet, so it doesn't count. And you can't cheat either!"

Alix sighed in annoyance. "You guys make it too easy though."

"Yeah well, you can all have fun without me because I'm not playing," Marinette huffed as she got back up to collapse onto the couch, once again cuddling the cushion against her chest as she pouted in annoyance. She was tired of Alix's stupid tricks and teasing. It wasn't her fault that she spooked easily. She wasn't just going to sit there and let her friends gang up on her.

"Oh come on, Marinette," Alya protested. "This is a Halloween themed sleepover after all."

"I can't believe you're scared of toy, you chicken," Alix continued to mock.

"This is not a toy!" Juleka gasped. "It's all real and we have to be careful."

"Not exactly helping…" Rose shuddered.

"I'm sorry, Rose, it's okay," Juleka quickly reached down to comfort her, "we'll be safe as long as we play by the rules."

Alix rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you actually buy into this sh –"

"I'm not doing it if all you guys are going to do is tease me!" Marinette interrupted.

"We won't!"

"No promises – OUCH!" Alix cried out as Alya elbowed her in the ribs.

"Please, Marinette? It'll be less scary if all of us do it," Mylène tried to persuade.

Marinette sat stiffly for a few more seconds as she regarded the board on the coffee table below her. Alix was right. It was just a stupid toy. How were spirits supposed to communicate through that thing anyway? Not that spirits were real of course. So maybe it would be best to just get this over and done with. After all, nothing was going to happen. She could prove to her friends once and for all that she wasn't that much of a chicken.

Marinette sighed. "Fine. But if you guys prank me into thinking a demon wants to possess me, you're dead."

And with that, Marinette slid herself off the couch and sat around the table with the rest of her friends. Juleka was the first to place her hands on the planchette, smiling in anticipation. Alix quickly followed, looking slightly bored as she did so. Next came Alya who appeared indifferent to the whole thing, and she was then followed by Rose and Mylène, though they were definitely a lot more intimidated and apprehensive.

That's when all eyes once again fell upon Marinette.

Gulping, Marinette shakily reached her hand out and slowly placed her finger on the planchette. She watched the hands of her friends suspiciously, making sure that none of them were going to try and move the small piece of wood themselves in an attempt to freak her out. None of this is real, none of this is real, none of this is real. Marinette kept repeating that phrase to herself over and over again. She could prove to her friends that she wasn't some easily scared whimp. She could do this. None of it was real anyway, so nothing was going to happen.

Juleka cleared her throat and Marinette, Rose and Mylène shrank back nervously. Marinette had to force herself to keep her finger on the planchette. She had to swallow her fear. She couldn't show to the others that she was currently terrified out of her mind. She would never hear the end of it. Especially off Alix.

"Is there anybody there?" Juleka asked.

Marinette held her breath.

Nothing happened.

"How many spirits are in here with us?" Juleka continued.

Again, nothing happened.

Alix sighed and rested the elbow of her free arm on her knee, looking bored. Alya too relaxed slightly, staring at the board with a fed up expression. Marinette found herself growing slightly more comfortable. She had been right. These things were just stupid toys. Ghosts and demons weren't real. This whole thing was stupid. Juleka frowned at the board in frustration, waiting for any form of response.

"Sometimes spirits can be slow," Juleka explained.

"Things that don't exist typically are." Alix chuckled.

"Is there anybody there?" Juleka asked again.

However, everyone in the room soon gasped as they began to feel the planchette moving beneath their fingers. Marinette's heart sank all the way down to her stomach as if it was suddenly made of lead. Slowly but surely, the planchette began drifting towards the corner of the Ouija board before finally landing on the word 'yes'.

Marinette screamed, promptly followed by Alix's fits of giggles.

"You should have…seen…your faces!" Alix managed to gasp out between her laughter.

Everyone else sighed in annoyance while Marinette continued panting, trying desperately to calm her racing heart as her face once again turned a bright shade of red.

"Very funny, Alix," Mylène grumbled.

"Okay, I think we've all proved how brave we are," Alya said as she placed her free hand on Marinette's shoulder in a small attempt to help calm her friend down. "What do you say that we order some pizza and watch some more movies?"

"Oh, please, not another horror movie!" Rose begged.

"Hang on guys!" Juleka cried out in alarm as everyone was about to take their fingers off the planchette and stand back up. "We have to say goodbye first!"

"Does it matter?" Alya asked.

"Saying goodbye closes the session. If you let go before doing so, you invite a spirit or demon to latch onto you. An Ouija board is like a portal and it needs to be closed," Juleka explained gravely.

Marinette looked down at it nervously, allowing Juleka to guide the planchette, with their fingers still in place, all the way to the section of the board that had the word 'goodbye' written on it. Once that was done, Juleka flipped the planchette over and everyone let go. Marinette scooted away as far back as possible before pulling herself up back onto the sofa. Everyone else waited patiently while Alya got up and grabbed her phone to begin ordering the pizza.

Alix let out one last giggle before making her way into the kitchen and rummaging through the cupboards. Marinette watched her through slightly narrowed eyes, still unable to get over Alix pranking them all like that. As if Alix could sense her friend glaring at her, she turned around and pointed at Marinette.

"Don't forget that Marinette's paying!"

"No, she isn't," Alya interjected as she ended the call.

"But she screamed first!"

"Only because you tricked us again," Alya argued, "so we're all going to split the payment like we agreed to do in the first place. And leave Marinette alone. You're going to end up giving her a heart attack."

Marinette shot her best friend a grateful smile.

"Ugh, and here I was hoping for free food," Alix moaned.

"Sorry to disappoint," Marinette muttered sarcastically, pulling her knees up against her chest before resting her chin on top of them. She'd definitely had enough excitement for one night.

"Oh and by the way, we're out of snacks," Alix added.

"But we're ordering pizza," Mylène replied as she turned to stare at Alix in disbelief.

"So? We at least need popcorn while we watch more movies. It's an unbreakable sleepover rule."

Alya sighed. "Fine! There's a twenty-four hour store just down the road so we can go and quickly pick some stuff up from there."

"What about the pizza?" Juleka questioned.

"I'll stay in and wait for it," Marinette offered, "you guys go ahead." She could do with the peace and quiet for a bit.

"Are you sure? One of us could stay with you?" Alya offered.

"And have you all arguing that the stuff you wanted didn't get brought back?" Marinette half-joked. "I'll be fine. I don't want anything anyway."

She wasn't exactly thrilled about being left alone in the middle of the night, but if it meant that she could grab some time to try and calm herself down after everything, then she'd take that opportunity. Maybe she could even hide the rest of the horror movies while her friends were gone. That way they would have to watch something much more pleasant.

"Well if you're sure," Alya responded as everyone began pulling their jackets on.

"She's sure!" Alix replied for her, practically pushing Alya out of the door.

"Thanks, Marinette!" They all called out over their shoulders as they were all pushed out of the door by a hungry Alix. Marinette rolled her eyes but waved to them anyway.

As the front door slammed shut and locked behind them, an ominous feeling rolled over Marinette. It felt weird being virtually alone in a friend's apartment. The whole apartment was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

It was incredibly unnerving, but Marinette managed to swallow back her fear as best as she could. There was no such things as ghosts and demons. The lack of response from the Ouija board had proved that. Not to mention, her friends would be back within a few minutes, so it wasn't like Marinette was going to be alone for long. She contemplated turning the lights on, but no doubt her friends would tease her for doing so. The only light in the room came from the glow of the two candles on the coffee table, filling the room with ominous orange light.

The minutes ticked by and her friends still hadn't returned. Marinette was growing bored and impatient. Her eyes found themselves darting over to the Ouija board that Juleka had left on the table. How could Juleka believe that spirits were real and that the board game actually worked? Maybe she should have a try at the game on her own? To prove to herself once and for all that the things that went bump in the night were not the result of ghosts and demons. Marinette would finally be able to have peace of mind. Maybe then she could watch horror movies without flinching. If she could do this, then she could do anything. These thoughts whirled around in Marinette's head as she reached one hand towards the board.

No.

Marinette pulled her hand back. What if something did happen? She was all alone in the living room with nothing but young girls for company who were asleep in their room. But wait, how could something happen? It had been proven earlier that the game didn't work. Ouija boards were just cheap mass marketed toys, so how could anything happen? Nothing could happen. Right?

Marinette then sighed to herself, moving off the couch to sit next to the Ouija board again.

"I must be out of my mind."

Oh man, I have missed writing! It feels great to be back in the saddle again. You watch, they'll be chaos at work again now meaning that I have to disappear for another few months. But here's hoping that doesn't happen. If this current trend continues, I'll be back to more regular updating again. One can only hope anyway. Be sure to follow my Twitter or check out my blog if you want potential update information.

Anyway, I think Marinette is going to do a stupid. What do you guys think? Sorry to leave it on that cliffhanger, but the chapter would have been way too long otherwise. As always, please feel free to let me know what you thought of this chapter, as reviews always help me out a great deal and inspire me to keep writing. I hope that you're all staying safe during this pandemic and remember to wear a mask, keep your distance, and wash your hands. I had my own COVID-19 scare, and trust me, you really don't want to have to go through the test. Or the disease itself for that matter. But don't worry, I tested negative – phew! Stay safe out there!