-The Maroon Menace- -1-

Rosalina sat on a long log next to her long-time friend Olivia Flynn. For years they shared scary stories under the stars in the Danville Woods every Saturday night. No matter the circumstances. Of course, Olivia always had managed to fetch some ghoul from some alter dimension and drag it into her story.

The only thing that had changed their scary story…meetings had been that two boys, a half-vampire named Darwin and a mysterious, 'blue-blood" named Drake. Of course, the traditional scary story time hadn't changed a bit.

Darwin looked distinctly bored as Olivia told her story, although she managed to get a real ghoul from the Underworld, he still stared out into space. Drake strummed his guitar, trying to make an eerie "OOO" sound from the base. He still looked up a few times at Olivia, paying the least bit attention, but, never the less, still paying attention.

Rosalina was hiding behind the log now, because any second now she knew something was going to possess her, or scare the living wits out of her.

"Hmmm…It should be coming…any second now…." Rosalina thought in her mind.

You would've thought she had become immune to the scares all these years, but that wasn't the case for this red-haired peace-lover.

~Ten Minutes Later~

"…And that's the story of the Blind Banshee."

Drake and Rosalina were on the ground, scared out of their minds. Rosalina's hair was a mess as a result of her pet, Cienna the Coyote, jumping on her in fear. Olivia's Octopus, Otto, was next to Olivia, right on top of a fresh puddle of ink. Drake quickly got up off the ground and offered his hand to help Rosalina get up. Darwin, on the other hand, was laughing his head off.

"Hah, you guys should've seen your faces, you totally were horrified! You were like 'AHH!' and I was like 'Hah!'." Darwin smirked, still stifling a laugh.

"Hehe, that story always scares you, Rose, not matter how many times I've told it." Olivia grinned, picking up her pet and petting him as he shook as if there was an earthquake.

Rosalina dusted herself off. "Maybe that's because you always send some spirit to possess the life out of me" Rosalina shuddered, and then narrowed her eyes.

"You know, I have a story about my great-great grandmother that I'm sure will scare the wits out of even you, Olivia." Rosalina turned to the two boys seated behind her. "…And you too, Darwin."

"Heh, like you could scare me." Darwin snarled.

"Oh, contraire, I take that as a bet."

"You bet you do."

"Hrm, I bet my favorite vial of rosewater for the satisfaction of scaring you."

Olivia and Drake jumped up and gasped in complete shock.

"R-Rosewater? That stuff is AMAZING!" Drake said in awe.

Darwin raised his eyebrow at his friend.

"Um, erm, not that I like it or anything…I'll shut up now." Drake covered his embarrassment by sitting back down on the log and grabbing his guitar.

"Rosalina, are you sure? That stuff is pure magic, why'd you want to bet that?" Olivia said, concerned that her friend was making a big mistake.

Rosalina grinned deviously. "Oh, don't worry; I know what I'm doing."

"Heh, your soon-to-be-famous Rosewater, that's quite a hefty bet, of course i wouldn't mind getting a vial of the sweet stuff." Darwin grinned ear to ear. "And if you somehow manage to scare the living wits out of me, what do you want?"

Darwin put his hands behind his head and leaned on a nearby tree, not worried at all about the bet. He was sure that he would win.

"Hmm, you'll have to go to the beach with Olivia and I tomorrow, all day." Rosalina smirked, knowing how much the half-vampire hated the beach.

"W-What? I-I mean, yeah sure, whatever, Deal." Darwin recomposed himself, trying to be overconfident, as usual.

Olivia looked at her friend with a curious glare; her usual clam aura had been replaced with a much darker, fiercer aura.

"If you really think so…" Olivia winced. "Tell us your most twisted, dark, scary story you have in store for us."