It was sunny out. The small town of Dullmoore was bathed in radiant light. and William Jonas was sat at his desk with his nose buried in a book.

He sighed and adjusted the reading glasses that were perched precariously on his nose. Authors were frustrating.

He had just finished a book on Trolls and Ogres, which had held a very interesting and descriptive theory on how they lived in the more western regions of the world, like the Americas. He had found the theory endlessly fascinating, and had included it in his special document of discoveries and theories that he had particularly liked. But then, he had picked up another book on the same topic, and almost immediately this author had counteracted the first author's argument with another very interesting theory, that had made him second guess everything he had just learned.

Will sighed and put down the book, looking at the clock that sat on his bedside table. Ten thirty. He turned back to his desk. He could read a little while longer. His eyes slowly regained their speed, darting back and forth across the page as he reabsorbed himself into the book. He was so focused on his book, that he failed to notice his bedroom door slowly open, and two figures slip inside.

He had just gotten to part were the Author was trailing off from his rant about hot climates, when suddenly his glasses were snatched off his face. He sighed, set down the book, and looked towards what he hoped was one of his best and only friends.

"Maggie, what did I say?"

A teasing female voice issued from the left of where he was looking.

"Not to take your glasses or you won't be my friend anymore?"

He groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Yes, exactly that." There was a bark of familiar laughter from his right. Syd moved so that he was peering into Will's face. "Will, mate, you have got to get out more," Will rolled his eyes as he fumbled for his glasses, but Maggie moved out of his reach. "you look like a vampire."

Will slumped in his seat, and glared in Syd's general direction. "I do NOT."

"You do. Which why you, William Marcus Jonas, are coming with us to the lake." Maggie stated, putting his glasses back on his face. Will groaned and let his head hit the desk. "I have permission from your mother to use physical measures if need be." Maggie added lightly, crossing the room to the door. Syd stood up and followed her.

At first he wondered if they were going to leave him alone for once, but then Maggie stuck her head back into his room.

"You've got two minutes before I come back in here, regardless of the state you're in."

Will practically leaped out of his chair and began to change into swimming trunks as fast as he could. After hurling his towel and a small bottle of sunblock into his bag, he sprinted out the door, and into the hallway. He was going so fast that he collided with someone halfway down the hallway. The two landed in a heap on the floor with an almighty crash. Will winced as he sat up, patting his face to make sure his glasses were still there. They were. Then he realized he was sitting on his older brother Alex. He scrambled off him as Alex groaned, sitting up as well. Will was already running down the hall, calling behind him. "Sorry Alex!"

He threw on his flip flops, ran through the doorway and into the warm sun. At first he had to squint, not used to the bright sunlight, but then he found his bike by the family shed, and walked it out to the road. Already waiting for him on their bikes were Maggie and Syd, and both of them looked surprised.

"Honestly I was prepared to go in there again." Maggie said with a laugh. "but I think that's a record!" Syd grinned, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Race you to the lake!" He hollered, already pedalling away. Maggie made a furious noise in her throat and sped after him, with Will bringing up the rear.

The three friends sped down the street and turned the corner, onto the main road that trailed through the neighbourhood into downtown. Maggie laughed and stood up on her seat, arms spread wide to keep her balance. Will laughed himself, watching her fail her arms as she almost lost her balance. With a huge breath, she squatted back down on the seat, and resumed pedalling. Syd fell in line with them, and shot Maggie a look.

"Why won't you teach me that?" He whined. Maggie grinned at him.

"Because I don't want you ending up like I did when I first tried it!" She yelled in his ear, making Syd recoil and shift onto Will's side.

Will smiled. He would never admit it to them, but it felt great to be outside. The sun was warm on his face, the wind gently ruffling his hair, and his two best friends were laughing and having fun with him.

The trio continued on their way towards the lake, also known as Lost Lake Campground. Normally, the beach would be packed, but on days after the blood moon, business would slow down for a couple of days. Alex often complained about it.

"The Blood moon is an old superstition, for old people who like scaring little kids. There's nothing to worry about, they're all just scared."

Will rolled his eyes at his brothers voice. Alex sounded like a two year old whining for a popscicle. His mother had often remarked on how passionate Alex was with the Campground, but even she got annoyed when he didn't have a good day at the lake. He would come home, grouchy and ruffled, and he would subject his family to hour long rants at the table during dinner. Eventually Dad would get fed up with his eldest son whining about 'disrespect of the local beach'. So he would politely stop the conversation, and they would excuse themselves one by one.

Suddenly Will noticed that Maggie had slowed down in front of them, her face a mixture of shock and confusion. He frowned, and looked ahead. His eyebrows rose. Beside him, Syd's mouth dropped open.

Parked by the lake, practically plowed in the sand, were two trucks, an Ambulance and a Police car. The Policemen were conversing with the owner of the Camp, Mr. Landern. Beside him was his son, Louis, and his wife, Sally. Upon seeing Louis, Maggie groaned. "Not this clown again." She grumbled. Syd gave her a mock offended look. "But I'm the class clown!"

Louis had transferred from a private school in New York, and was the 'Spoiled rich kid' in their grade. His mother had kept him in the Big Apple for most of his childhood, and then brought him to Dullmoore for 'Quality bonding time' with his father. He had kept to himself for the first couple of weeks in the high school, looking down his nose at everyone in his grade. It was only after his mother had told him that friends might make things easier, that he did start to talk to people in his class.  When he had first approached Will, Will had been hopeful. He had envisioned the two becoming best friends. Nevertheless, he had been bullied relentlessly by Louis. When Maggie had found out, she had been furious. It had taken Will, Syd, and two other teens from the grade above to stop her from storming over to Louis and giving him a black eye.

Louis had seen the interaction from afar, and had suddenly claimed the next day that they were meant for each other. Will clearly remembered the expression of disgust on Maggie face as Louis had kissed her hand, murmuring how he would make her his queen.

She now had a identical expression plastered on her face as they pulled up beside the Police car. Syd hopped of his bike, abandoning it on the grass as he ran over to the water were a knot of Police officers were struggling with something. Maggie placed her bike on the ground beside Syd's , and Will's, and walked over to Mr. Landern and the Policeman. Will remained still for a moment, and then followed her.

He arrived into the conversation just as Louis wrapped his arm around Maggie's waist, which she shrugged out of. He sent her a mockingly wounded look, which she returned with a venomous glare.

"Yeah, anyway," The Policeman continued, casting a curious glance between the two as he resumed his conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Landern, "Real shame, about the guy. His friend down there is going nuts. Keeps ranting about how he was destroyed by some kind of demon horse. A Kappa? No, that's not right-"

"A Kelpie?" Will questioned.

"Yeah that's the one. Says she saw it with her own eyes, but I know her. Chrissy's mind can get unscrewed sometimes. She's probably just in shock, poor thing. I wouldn't be in my right mind either if I saw my friend drown."

"Drown? Who was this man exactly?" Maggie asked, a frown creasing her features, ignoring the whispered comment Louis made about how she looked nice in a tank top.

"Matt Angus, the drunk guy who camps out here with his friends on Blood moons. Serves him right, the guy had it comin' really." The Policeman shifted nervously at the mention of the Blood moon.

Will didn't blame him. Dullmoore wasn't devoid of myths and legends. An centuries old superstition revolved around the lake. Every blood moon, anyone who was camping at the lake at the time would go missing, never to be seen again. Will mulled this over in his head, pretending not to see the way Louis was now trying to cuddle Maggie, who was holding him at arms length.

Suddenly a wail rose up from the policemen, and several of them jerked backwards as if they had been struck. Through the small gap that was made, a small woman barrelled out of the group of policemen. She sprinted up the sandy bank, across the walkway, and hurled herself into the policeman's arms, shaking him slightly.

"RALPH, I SWEAR I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP!" She began to shake more violently, her grip tightening on the Policeman's shirt.  "MATT DIDN'T DROWN! HE WAS MURDERED! BY A DEMON HORSE! IT'S ALL TRUE!" She continued to shake Ralph until several Policemen arrived on the scene, gently prying her hands off Ralph's vest and leading her away. A few of the officers began to talk to her in soothing voices as they gently loaded her into the waiting ambulance. As the trucks began to drive away, save for Ralph's car, William saw Maggie watching them with a worried expression.

Louis saw him staring at her, and he threw a filthy glare in Will's direction. Will rolled his eyes and turned away, watching the service trucks careen around the corner. As if he would ever see Maggie like that. He shuddered inwardly at the thought. Maggie was like a sister to him in more ways than one. To him, it would be like trying to see Alex in a romantic way.

There was a whooshing sound, like air being released from someone's lungs, and Will turned back to Louis and Maggie. The teen was doubled over, holding his family jewels as Maggie stalked away, a furious air surrounding her. She jogged down to where Syd was sitting on the dock, his feet dangling in the water. Will watched as she exchanged a few words with him, and suddenly Syd looked a lot happier. He was interrupted by Louis's face appearing nose to nose with his own.

The boy had a glare plastered on his face as he peered into Will's. "Listen William," he spat the name like a rotten tomato, and Will felt tiny flecks of spittle hit his face. Gross. he thought, moving away from Louis. "I don't want you near Maggie. She is mine. And nobody else can have her." At first William was focused on getting as far away from Louis as possible, but then his brain caught up with what Louis had said.

"She isn't an object for you to own." He ground out, his brown eyes pinning Louis were he stood.

"Oh, really? And what makes you so sure she doesn't want me to 'own' her, so to speak." Louis snapped, losing his cool.

"Because she doesn't like people like you! She likes people who put others before themselves, people who actually care about what happens outside their own personal interests!" Will was yelling now, all his frustration and anger at the teen in front of him pouring out in one large storm. In front of him, Louis was looking shocked, his eyes wide. "She only lets precious few into her heart, and you, you stuck up piece of craven shit, are not one of those people, and you never, EVER will be!"

Deathly silence rained on the boardwalk as Will and Louis glared daggers at each other, completely oblivious to their audience. Mr. and Mrs. Landern were staring at the two boys with identical looks of shock on their faces, Syd was gaping at the two as well, his mouth opening and closing stupidly, and Maggie, Maggie was furious. She stormed over to Will, grabbed him by the arm, and started to drag him towards their abandoned bikes. Syd shook himself out of his stunned silence and jogged after them, practically ripping his bike off the ground. Louis took a step forward.

"Babe I-"

"I was never your 'babe' and I never will be. Sod off before I change my mind about giving you a black eye." Maggie snarled, her blue eyes flashing dangerously as she rounded on Louis. Still gripping her bike, she shoved herself into the seat and began to pedal away from him as fast as she could.

Will looked at Syd, who looked at him, and then they both looked back at Louis. He was standing quite still, watching Maggie pedal around the corner, blinking stupidly. Will mounted his bike, turned away from the boy, whose lip was starting to wobble, and began to bike after Maggie. He faintly heard Syd say something to Louis, and then he caught up with Will a second later, a filthy glare painted on his face.

"What a piece of work."

Will nodded, and the two pedalled faster after their friend.

They caught up with Maggie as she was crossing the bridge that led down the street to her house. Will pulled up along side her as she stopped. For a moment, the three of them stared at the rows of houses that lined the countryside.

Syd turned to look at Maggie.
"Do you want us to come with you?"

She shook her head, taking a deep breath. "They just do it after you guys leave. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Syd persisted, his expression worried.

Maggie gave him a weak smile. "Just don't get into a fight on your way back, eh?" She hugged him, then turned to Will. As she put her arms around him, she whispered in his ear.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

And then she was gone, speeding down the hill towards the white picket fences and spotless lawns.

Will looked over at Syd, who was watching Maggie as she disappeared around the bend in the road. He sighed as Syd ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

"You have got to buck up. She won't stick around for long."

Syd stopped his motions and looked at Will in surprise. Will raised an eyebrow, and Syd looked at his hands.

"Do you think that she's playing hard to get? For Louis I mean. Does she like him?"

Will stared at his friend, his entire brain on pause. Syd must really like Maggie if he were to even suggest that Maggie even remotely enjoyed Louis's company.

"That's like asking me if I got a tattoo on my ass, of course not!"

Syd laughed at his change in volume, relief smoothing his features back into the mischievous grin he always wore.  "I guess you're right. She has higher standards than stuck up city boy."

Will smiled. It felt nice to sort out Syd and his confusion. It was a nice change from annoying authors.

Syd turned back to look at the endless rows of houses.

"See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

And then Will was alone on the hill, watching as his friend pedalled away from him.