Girl Talk

"Can you keep a secret?" Vera whispered to Ren, her distance too close for comfort. Ren could feel Vera's smile creeping up against her ear. There was no need to whisper considering Vera's parents were out on date night, which made the action all the more strange. 

"I suppose," Ren whispered, her voice slightly breathy. They were in her dingy basement of all places, the only light source being a lightbulb looking to be at least a decade old. Soundproof walls surrounded them. Ren's heartbeat became more demanding.

Vera leaned back to prop her elbow on her knee, simply gazing at Ren with a warm, tight smile. Vera had been the new kid in school, and as such, Ren had naturally sought her out and made her feel comfortable. She had only known Vera for a month but Ren had always prided herself on being a good judge of character. She wasn't so sure now.

"You know what I like about you?" Vera asked, tilting her head and running her eyes up and down Ren's body as if she were to make it up on the spot. "How caring you are. You really make the extra effort to befriend people and make them feel less lonely," she smiled sweetly but her eyes remained unchanged. Ren could feel her stomach knotting.

"Not a lot of people have that trait nowadays, they're selfish and conceited. It's a challenge to get to know them. Not you." Vera traced her fingers along the cracks of the concrete floor, making occasional scratching noises that made Ren's ears twitch.

"Is that the big secret, then?" Ren laughed nervously, fidgeting with her sleeve.

Vera's hand froze mid-scratch. She gave Ren an amused look. 

"I've changed my mind. Let's not get too serious just yet. Can't forget about girl talk, right?"

"Right." Ren laughed loudly, her mind racing for an appropriate excuse to leave, feeling drawn to the steps up to the front door just behind her. "Are you okay?" Vera asked leaning into her and caressing her knee reassuringly. Ren flinched. Vera decided to ignore it. "I'm guessing a certain boy hasn't texted you back. You can tell me," Vera teased, watching Ren attentively.

Ren forced a stiff smile and managed to utter a response.

"I mean Aaron hasn't texted me back in a couple of hours."

"Aaron, huh? Well, Ren, you are many things but I never thought of you as that naive. At least when it comes to boys." 

"I mean, he can be really sweet sometimes when it's just him and I."

"Oh, I bet."

Vera plastered a passive-aggressive smile. She was getting annoyed.

"You know, come to think of it, boys are overrated. Any secrets you want to spill? It'll be an even swap, I promise."

"I'm pretty much an open book."

"That's a cop-out."

Ren was trying to remain calm, but her palms were growing clammy and she could feel a cold draft of air creep up her back. Vera was becoming more hostile.

"Last chance..." Vera mumbled under her breath as she glanced at her nails, practically bored.

Ren suddenly started running for the stairs, Vera's remark acting as the cherry on top of her disturbing behaviour. Vera chuckled at Ren's pathetic attempt to break free before swiftly pinning Ren down on the stairs.

"What do you want from me?" Ren cried, clawing at the steps to drag herself out.

"Well, you made such a rude exit that I didn't get to say! What happened to your manners, Ren?" Vera grimaced as she began to drag her down the concrete steps, doing it in such a way that by the time they had reached the basement again, bruises scattered across Ren's face and her blood had smeared on the once lacklustre steps.

Ren could barely move without wincing. Vera, content with her work, sat across from the bruised figure before her. 

"Essentially, my secret is that I'm going to kill you. But from your feeble attempt to escape, that doesn't come as much surprise," Vera said leaning closer to a shaking Ren, "You see, the Vera you have come to known is actually not Vera at all. Vera's been dead for three months now. I just happen to possess her body."

Ren began hyperventilating, trying to get away from whatever it was that was possessing Vera's body. She simply sighed, pinning down Ren's legs again.

Ren was going to die tonight.

"It's funny how whenever you watch a horror movie, you scream at the characters to not be so stupid and so naive, and you wonder... how would I react in that situation? Would I be able to get out?" Vera laughed, pushing aside her hair to inch towards Ren's face.

"I think you know your fate by now."

Ren let out a bloodcurdling scream, her throat becoming hoarse as tears began to run down her flushed face.

"Gotta love the chase." Vera giggled as she snapped Ren's neck with ease, her writhing body settling down to become limp and her eyes glazing over with a fixed stare.

Vera smiled to herself, brushing the hair out of Ren's face and softly caressing her face. 

"Now, my turn."

With excitement in her eyes, she snapped her neck, smiling as she hit the concrete floor. The demon within Vera delightfully jumped into Ren's skin, leaving Vera's poor body strewn across the floor. The devilish grin that had been plastered on the young girl's face faded, leaving only the tragic death of an innocent teenage girl.

"Vera, honey, we're home!"

Ren suddenly rose up with a gasp, looking at Vera's lifeless body before her. She hadn't anticipated the parents coming back so early.

With a frustrated growl, the spirit occupying Ren had to think fast. She had just the idea.

"Help! Help! Please, down here, Vera's fainted!"

 The sound of a stampede rushed towards the basement and Ren stepped out of the way as Vera's mother hurried to her side and her father dialled an ambulance. Preoccupied, they paid no mind as the demon left the site of the tragedy.

She practically skipped down the street.