It had been three days since Zoey's family had come over. She chose to lay low by mainly staying in her room and going to work. It wasn't hard to avoid her parents as she mostly saw them when people were coming over.

Zoey hadn't had the feeling someone was watching her for three days now, and it brought her so much relief. She wondered why it had suddenly disappeared, not that she was complaining.

Amber had finally come, and she told Zoey to meet her at the town square to introduce her to the people Amber had brought with her. Zoey pulled up to it and parked underneath one of the many sycamore trees surrounding the fountain in the middle of the town square. The fountain was made around 100 years ago when the town was founded. It's cracked and doesn't work, but it's a part of the town's history, so it's been left alone.

Zoey got out of her car and admired the orange colors that covered half the tree while the other half were still green. She made her way to the old gazebo on the other side of where she was. She didn't like to think of this gazebo as it was formally known as Arias make-out spot.

Zoey had been here only once at night, with her boyfriend she had last year. It was so awkward, and she vowed to never come back. Her friends, on the other hand, came here quite often. Amber had told her there was even a line to get into the gazebo. People had to wander through the town square waiting for their turn.

Anyway, Zoey was here today because Amber asked her to meet them there. The small gazebo came into view, and she noticed four people standing in front of it. Amber's face lit up the moment she saw Zoey. They pulled each other into a hug, squealing about how long it had been. She pulled away and began introducing her to everyone.

"Zoey, this is Zac, Brady, and Jennifer, but she goes by Jen. Guys, this is Zoey!" She smiled shyly at them as she looked at each of their features.

"Hey Zoey, Amber had told us so much about you she feels as if we already know you." Zac grinned while looking her up and down. She shifted from one foot to another, uncomfortable under his heavy gaze. The rest of the group nodded, agreeing with him.

"Well, let's sit! We have so much to talk about." They all went inside and sat down on the two benches. Zoey looked down at the benches, feeling disgusted to sit down.

"This is a very memorable place. Wouldn't you say so, Zoey?" Amber sneered while she rolled her eyes.

"What's so memorable about it?" Brady asked, looking around at the old gazebo.

"Oh, this is where everyone in Aria comes to make out," Amber stated nonchalantly and shrugged her shoulders. Jen instantly hit her arm, "why would you bring us here to talk?! That's so disturbing."

Amber just giggled and looked between Jen and Brady. "I wanted to show you where it was so you two could find it tonight."

They both turned bright red and tried to shield their faces.

The group began to talk about old memories involving Amber and forgot all about Aria's make-out spot.

"Remember that time all our friends from high school went to Cupid's Cafe to get a milkshake, and Garret made you laugh so hard that milkshake shot right out of your nose?" Amber asked. Zoey was holding her stomach from giggling so hard.

"Yes! That was so embarrassing! It hurt so bad, and she couldn't look him in the eyes for a week!"

They laughed so hard from all the memories they shared, and Zoey felt as if she had gotten closer to her friends. They were surprisingly easy to talk to. Soon as most of her conversation lately, the Beast entered them again.

"So you guys excited to go find the Beast on Friday?"

They all hollered and yelled yes! While Zoey said nothing.

"What about you, Zoey? Are you excited to go look for it?"

Ambers's eyes held a mischievous glint, but Zoey just shrugged her shoulders. Amber knew Zoey was not excited. She was there when it happened.

"Come on, Zoey, forget about what happened last year."

"Why does she feel like there's a story we haven't been told."

Brady inquired, looking back and forth between us. Zoey hated bringing up this story. Not only did it make others think she was crazy, but it also brought back memories. Her eyes pleaded with Amber to not say anything, but she should have known better.

"Well, Zoey is apparently the only person who the Beast has actually touched."

Zoey shifted her eyes to the ground. The group perked up, waiting to hear more of the story.

"Amber, don't." She pleaded with her. Zoey didn't want them to look at her like everyone else did. But Amber ignored her. Zoey was brought right back to that night as she began telling the story. She could remember how she felt, the smells, how everything looked as if it had happened the night before.

"It was August, and we finally got Zoey to agree to find the Beast as she was too scared to go before. We went up a hiking path up by ravens falls. The only light we had was from the moon. Well, Zoey "accidentally" got separated from us. Or as we told everyone, it was really a prank to get her freaked out."

Zoey snapped her head up at that. Amber never told her this before. The group they were with had told her they had stopped but didn't realize she hadn't. Zoey couldn't believe she had spent a year not knowing this. People told her how stupid she must have been to get separated from the group. That of course the Beast found her as she was all alone in the woods.

Zoey remembered as she lost them; she shouted for about 10 minutes for them, thinking they must have not gotten far. She stayed where she lost them, but Zoey decided she should find her way back to town. Zoey remembered shaking, not just from the cold but also from the fear that weakened her knees. Which would cause her to tumble to the rocks at her feet if she lost her balance.

A twig snapping had her body jumping ten feet in the air. Her blood ran cold, and she was paralyzed in fear. Her brain screamed at her to run, but she couldn't get anything to move. She could only see a shadow moving along the trees. Suddenly a hand reached out from the darkness, grabbing onto her wrist. A scream slipped out from her lips, but she was still unable to move.

"B-Beast?" Fear was thick in her voice. The hand instantly let go of her arm, and the shadow vanished as if it was never there. Her body fell to the ground losing all strength in her legs. Zoey remembered hands wrapping around her shoulders. She looked up to see Amber shaking her. She was saying something but Zoey couldn't hear over her thumping heartbeat. Amber wore a large grin, and she now knew its reason.

"I-I s-saw it," Zoey stuttered, looking frantically around her.

"You saw what?"

"I-I saw the Beast! He touched me!"

Amber dragged her home while Zoey kept saying the same thing over again. She was absolutely in shock and could not stop her shaking body.

After getting over the shock, she realized how crazy she was sounding. Eventually, everyone had heard of her adventure with the Beast a week later. Most thought she was crazy as they heard how she reacted, while some believed her. Her own parents thought she wanted attention and paid no attention to her. No one close to her believed her, not even Amber.

Zoey struggled for months. She had nightmares almost every night of hands grabbing her and pulling her into darkness. It didn't help that a few months later, she started feeling like someone was watching her, which added to her paranoia.

"Wow," Brady exclaimed as Amber finished the story. "What's it like being the first person the Beast has touched. You have to be pretty famous around here."

Zoey picked up on some sarcasm in his voice. Of course, he wouldn't believe her.

"It's all just a made-up story, right Zoey?" Amber stared harshly at her as if saying, "don't act crazy and embarrass us in front of my friends."

Zoey nodded, "yeah, of course. It didn't actually happen."

They all started laughing, saying what a great way to get attention. She didn't know what was worse. Everyone thinking she actually believed the Beast grabbed her, or everyone thinking she was an attention seeker.

The sun eventually set, and they decided to leave before all the couples got there.

Amber suggested going to the Night Lights club that was about an hour away, but Zoey declined since she had to wake up early tomorrow for work. She also didn't feel like going, but she wouldn't tell them that. Zoey told them to go ahead, and she would see them soon.

Zoey walked them over to Amber's car, they said our goodbyes, and she walked back to her car, which was on the other side of the town square. It was now dark outside, and the sky was a dark blue with a few stars peeking through.

The town was quiet and calm, making her feel like she was the only one there. Once she got closer to her car, she noticed no other vehicles were in the parking lot yet, which was rare since there was always someone here. She kept checking behind her, making sure no one was following.

Zoey felt the presence of someone there with her, but she couldn't spot anyone. She moved faster to get to her car as she realized how stupid it was to be out here alone with a potential stalker watching her.

Zoey made it to her car but fumbled with her keys as her hands shook so badly. She worried she would die from the number of times her heart rate spiked. Her car beeped, signaling that it was unlocked, and just as it did, the street lamp near her started to flicker.

Don't freak out! It's just an old lamp. It's normal for them to flicker.

Zoey reassured herself, but this wasn't a regular flicker. It would turn all the way for a couple seconds, then turn back on. The most disturbing part was that it was the only street lamp doing it.

Zoey quickly climbed into her car as fast as possible and immediately locked the doors. She felt like she was hyperventilating, and she was concerned she would pass out right on her steering wheel. Zoey turned on the headlights and started the engine.

Zoey glanced briefly in front of her but wished she hadn't because a couple feet in front of her was a person's silhouette. She gasped and placed her car in reverse to get out of there as fast as she could. She turned her head to check behind her as she pulled out of the parking place. Her tires made a screeching sound as they skidded against the pavement.

The silhouette or shadow was now standing closer to the light. Zoey could barely see any features since the lamp was still flickering, but the shadow appeared similar to a shape of a man