Page 32 of Finding a Melody

I froze, about to put it back in the oven. He grabbed the bag of cheese and dumped even more on top until there was a really thick layer of cheese. We couldn’t even see the layers underneath. “Now it’s perfect.”

I laughed as he took over, putting it in the oven for me.

“It’ll be done in about fifteen minutes.” I set the oven timer.

He chuckled. “Looks delicious. That might not be enough with the way some of them can eat.”

I poked him in the chest. “You mean the way you eat.”

His cheeks turned a little pink and I laughed as I walked into the living room. Everyone was already settled on the floor. Blankets were pulled out, layering the floor with a soft cushion. Pillows scattered around on top.

I blinked at the floor. “Are you guys a bunch of puppies?” I asked. The floor looked like it could be one big doggy bed.

“Only if you’re in the middle,” Seth said, making me blush at the image he just implanted in my brain. I shook it off. I wanted to be friends, and I only had space in me to focus on friendship right now. I couldn’t let him keep sending my thoughts into the gutter with the way he flirted so easily with me.

Maybe if I kept telling myself that, I’d start to finally believe it.

“What are we doing?” I asked.

“I bought a new game, it’s a storyline and you make decisions and the decisions you make affect the outcome of the game. And it’s scary.” Seth smirked.

I looked at his big TV. Toby already had everything up and running. The screen showed a haunted house and the background had soft creepy music playing.

“So I get to watch you play a game?” I asked, finding a spot in the doggy bed, tucking my legs underneath me.

“Trust me, it’s just as fun to watch,” Paxon said. “It plays like a movie. All the person with the controller has to do is make choices. Like going left instead of right, taking the long way or the shortcut, being reckless or playing it safe, and so on.”

“And watch as our choices kill people off,” Toby laughed, the sound evil.

“You want to kill everyone?” I asked. Wasn’t the point of a game to save everyone?

“Depends on the player,” Seth said, rolling his eyes. “Toby likes to kill as many characters as possible when he plays these kinds of games.”

I turned to Seth. “And you?”

He grinned boyishly. “I love saving the girls.”

I laughed and shook my head as Toby began the game.

He was right, it was like watching a movie as they played and it was hilarious. I got up only to take dinner out and then Paxon helped me make everyone’s dishes. We had a little mini picnic in the living room as we sat on the floor, ate, and watched the game. Toby was really good at getting the characters killed.

We got into an argument about killing off a woman who I found to be too weak. She wouldn’t survive on her own, or to kill the brother who already lost his twin sisters at the beginning of the game.

I wanted the brother to live, he had a better chance, and I didn’t think it was fair for his family to lose all their kids. Toby wanted to let the girl live. We were so busy arguing that the game made the choice for us and killed the brother. I playfully hit Toby and felt so bad for the brother. Yes, he looked creepy and acted it, but he did lose his baby sisters.

After I wrestled the controller from Toby, I took over making the decisions and laughed when I managed to shoot the girl I wanted to die.

“You know,” I said thoughtfully. “This game is like a massive personality test.”

“And says a lot about you,” Toby grumbled.

I cocked an eyebrow. “And you too, Mr. Save the Bimbo.”

“She’s not a bimbo.”

“Oh, she definitely is. I’m glad I killed her.”

Toby smirked, his eyes lighting up with mischief. He shifted closer to me, leaning in so his lips were inches from my ear. “Jealous much?” he whispered.