"You can't come!" Reggie says it in such a strict manner that surprises even himself, and he cringes at the fact that he sounds like a mother. "But why? It's not like I won't participate, I'll play the game too.", Ian says, lying back on the green couch and smiling at the ceiling.
"Dude, you don't even have a costume. And you have the house to yourself, just stay here and do whatever the hell you want!"
"But I want to play the game, come on! It'll be fun!", Ian says while wiggling his toes on the couch's armrest.
The annual game, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, is something Reggie and his buds have done for the past three years. The name was derived from an old arcade game Dimitri has in his garage, one that he proclaims is The-Best-Of-All-Time. Surprisingly however, Dimitri isn't the one who got the idea for the game (it was Dexter), and he only spat out Ghouls 'n Ghosts since Dexter was struggling to create a title.
While playing Ghouls 'n Ghosts last year they were in for a scare, because Trevor fell and cut his knee off a rusty pipe. Whew! They were sweating balls when they reunited with their families, partly due to the fact that they had to carry Trevor on the way back, but mostly because they were in big trouble. They were certain they wouldn't be allowed back there again, but luckily their parents didn't reprimand them, especially since Trevor's knee needed stitches.
There were other accidents the previous years, but nothing quite as bad as what Trevor's knee endured: The first year, Reggie fell straight on his hands and got a bad brush burn; The second year, four of the boys got minor cuts from falling or running into the broken down walls; The third year, Damonte and Roy buttheaded and got splitting headaches.
But, despite the minor injuries they obtain, they always come back home feeling rejuvenated. The game is tradition, it is special and, most of all, it is risky fun.
They play it at an abandoned cement plant Dimitri told them about—he found it while going on an adventure through his backyard woods one day. Cement plants use construction workers and lots of raw materials, so you'd see many mounds of rock and dust covering the surrounding area. The workers were planning to build a fresh, new mall. But, when the town mayor wasn't re-elected, they lost all funding for the project. Now, it is nothing but shambles and a breeding ground for horny teens.
Dimitri leads Ghouls 'n Ghosts—he is a reasonable leader, considering they reach the abandoned cement plant through his backyard—by randomly selecting the teams. Since there is only seven boys in their group, Dimitri normally puts four people on the ghouls team and only three for the ghosts. They won't have to worry this time if Ian goes, since he can go on the ghost team to break even.
Ghouls dress in all black and wear scary masks (comes in handy for a nice jump scare!), while the ghosts wear all white. Well, not quite. Last year, Dexter made a pretty convincing argument against the All-White-Rule, proclaiming that it's an unfair advantage for the ghouls. Therefore, they all agreed that ghosts can wear light gray as well, but they must have some form of white incorporated in their outfit.
The teams are chosen the week before, that way, they have time to buy a costume that matches with their particular team.
On this night, the night before Halloween, the boys plan to play the game for their 4th year in a row. Their parents have enjoyed this little "tradition", each for their own personal reasons. But for Dimitri's parents, specifically, this night offers three hours of amazing sex. Not that they care if Dimitri sees them (He saw them being hot and sweaty on many occasions. He even got a glimpse of his mother's lower area while she was butt-ass naked, right before his father reluctantly slammed the door shut), but they wouldn't have to hear his bickering about it. For Reggie's parents, they are off at a fancy steak restaurant, celebrating his father's latest convert.
Apparently about a month ago, a teen stumbled into the church looking completely distressed (this was after the 10:00 am service had concluded), desperate to know why her life had gone to shit. Reggie's father took the girl under his wing, teaching her to have faith in our lord and savior. This past Sunday, she was baptized and accepted into the church, so his parents were out to dinner with the teen to celebrate.
That left Reggie alone at home, having to babysit a brother he wasn't even related to.
"You know what? Fine! You can come, but I'm not waiting up for you, you can meet us there after you change.", Reggie says. He did contemplate leaving Ian at the house for the whole night, but then he realized his parents would be home before Ghouls 'n Ghosts was over, and they would be furious when they saw their little pet home alone. The game ran from 9:00 to 12:00, and Reggie's parents would surely be done eating by then. Not to mention, if Ian somehow fell and broke his neck,—though Reggie smiled at that thought— Reggie would feel his parent's wrath.
Maybe in other circumstances Reggie wouldn't let Ian walk a long distance by himself, but he trusts that Ian can find the way to the cement plant on his own. He may be a bit slow at times, but he's still an A-class student, and all his grades are either A's or B's. In fact, Ian was getting higher test scores than Reggie earned his freshman year. Reggie really wanted to beat Ian to a pulp after his parents compared their test scores, because it resulted in Reggie getting Saturday tutoring sessions. Yay....he was totally going to look forward to that!
Besides, Ian knows his way to the cement plant, because Reggie has taken him there on a past Friday. Ian was insistent about seeing the place, since Reggie and his boys spoke of it more and more as it got closer to the 30th.
Dimitri's house is at the far end of the street to the left of Reggie's house, and it is noticeable by a basketball hoop (with no net) stationed in the driveway.