So, lately I've been alone in the apartment all weekend long. Because my roommates have lives and boyfriends and jobs and cars and I sit on my computer all day when I'm not in classes and write fics. This is directly inspired by the weekend before last except for the fact that I have no Jason to save me.
And I meant that thing about fic writing as a joke.
Caitlyn jumped and hid her face behind her hands as she heard the deep, slightly demonic-sounding voice that Zak was talking about on the TV.
Why did she do this to herself?
Oh yeah. Because Jason hated Ghost Adventures with a passion and all but forbade it in the house.
She had been alone all weekend in the house with only a dopey black Lab and a tiny Bichon to keep her company. And a twenty-four hour marathon of Ghost Adventures.
She was on the Villisca Axe Murder House episode when she heard a loud, shrill whistle from the sunroom and let out a shriek before diving into Cornelius' neck. The Lab twitched in his sleep, but didn't wake up and Caitlyn snorted as she sat up again.
"Dumb dog," she muttered to herself. "Buzz is a better watchdog than you, and she's a spaz."
Cornelius stretched out a paw, batting her on the knee.
"Thanks, Corny," she said, patting him on the head. "I'm going to go feed those ridiculous birds. Make sure the ghosts don't come out of the TV like in The Ring." She paused and shivered. "Great. I just scared myself even worse."
Caitlyn pulled her cardigan up onto her shoulders and shuffled through the kitchen to the sunroom where Jason's two lovebirds stayed.
"Hi, Romeo. Hi, Juliet. How are you? You scared me pretty bad with your creepy mating rituals."
Romeo flapped his wings indignantly and squawked. Caitlyn rolled her eyes and pulled out the box of birdseed before opening the cage door and dumping some in the feed bowl. Juliet hopped onto her arm and studied the bracelet she was wearing before hopping away to eat.
Caitlyn sighed as she put the seed back into the crate under the cage. "You're sort of lucky, Juliet. Romeo here doesn't have to go on tour or anything. He always stays with you."
Juliet picked up a seed and broke it open, and Caitlyn snorted. "You don't even know what I'm talking about." She stroked Juliet's head before closing the door and headed back to the living room. Sitting down on the couch, she took a swig of her Mountain Dew and waited for the show to return.
Zak was under the impression he was being possessed by the spirit of the former resident of the house they were in. And he was giving the camera some pretty scary looks. Caitlyn clenched her hands into fists and let out a long breath. She would be fine. There was nothing to be scared of. It was just a stupid TV show.
She was staring so hard at the TV, trying not to pay attention to any of the freaky noises Jason's house sometimes made at night. So when Buzz jumped into her lap, Caitlyn freaked again. Cornelius snorted and lifted his head sleepily, putting it back down on the couch when he saw it was just Buzz.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Both my dogs are insane," she muttered, dropping Buzz on top of Cornelius. Buzz yelped when she hit Cornelius but quickly recovered and tugged on his ear with a growl before curling up next to him and falling asleep.
Caitlyn pouted and crossed her arms. Even hers and Jason's dogs were being all sweet and adorable while she was being scared witless by a trio of over-dramatic ghost hunters.
She really needed to find the remote. Stupid Jason with his TV in the wall unit that blocked access to the buttons on the side.
She tried getting back into the show, but then the lights flickered overhead and suddenly she was entirely aware of every single noise in the house. From the creaking of the walls to the hum of the air conditioner to that annoying drip of the kitchen sink, every sound was setting her on edge.
Then she heard the front door lock jiggling.
With wide eyes she reached for the baseball bat Jason had left by the couch the other day and clutched it tightly in her hands before creeping over to the front door.
The door swung open and Caitlyn let out a short shriek before dropping the baseball bat and jumping into Jason's arms. He stumbled as he caught her and they fell against the wall.
"This is a really enthusiastic greeting considering I was only gone for a weekend," Jason commented with a grin.
Caitlyn shook her head and buried her face in his chest, fisting his shirt as she clung to him tighter.
"Caity?" Jason asked softly, as he tipped her face up to look at her. "Are you okay?" he asked seriously. "You're starting to worry me."
Caitlyn giggled and kissed his cheek. "I'm great."
"Really? Because the baseball bat on the floor is making me think otherwise."
Caitlyn blushed. "I'm great, really."
He gave her a look of disbelief as he picked it up. "You know you fail at lying. Especially to me." He walked into the living room and frowned when he saw the TV. Turning to Caitlyn, he gave her a look.
"We lost the remote?" she said with a shrug and sheepish grin.
He shook his head. "See, this is why I don't like this show."
Caitlyn pouted. "I thought you liked my overly-affectionate greeting."
Jason grinned and reached under the couch cushion Cornelius and Buzz were snoozing on and pulled out the remote control with a flourish. "It was wonderful. I just would have liked it better if it was just about me." He flopped down on the couch and scratched Cornelius behind the ears as he flipped through the channels.
"Are you mad at me, Jase?" Caitlyn asked as she sat next to him.
"Of course not," Jason said. "What would make you think that?"
"The way you said 'me' and then sat down and started channel surfing?" Caitlyn said.
"What would you have preferred?" he asked as he muted the TV and turned to her.
Caitlyn shrugged. "I don't know," she said with a sigh as she slumped forward and rested her forehead against his shoulder. "I really did miss you this weekend, you know. Not just because I got all scared and panicky."
"Oh?" Jason asked with a smirk.
Caitlyn glared at him. "Shut up. I'm trying to be vulnerable or some shit like that."
Jason laughed and pulled her into his lap. "You're doing a very good job at being vulnerable," he said as he kissed the side of her head.
She snorted. "But seriously, Jase. You went to San Francisco for a concert and like, two appearances. And I went insane. It was ridiculous."
Jason smiled. "There were two other lonely girls this weekend, Caity. You could have hung out with them."
Caitlyn pouted sheepishly. "I wanted to be alone and mope."
"Well, now I'm here, so…no moping."
Caitlyn snorted. "You're such a dork, Jase," she said, sliding an arm around his neck.
"Hey, you asked me out."
"Well, it was obvious you weren't going to ask me out. I mean, you tried. A for effort and all that. But seriously. You would just stammer ridiculously and look down at your feet."
Jason nudged her. "I was nervous. I mean, I was reasonably assured that you would say yes, but I just wanted it to be perfect when I asked you out."
Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "I love you and your ridiculous, idealized notion of romance."
Jason grinned. "It's how I lured all my ladies."
"All your ladies?"
"You're my favorite, rest assured, Caity," Jason said. "You'd never let anyone beat you in my affections, I know that for a fact."
Caitlyn tossed her hair. "Well, I'm the best. And you deserve the best."
Jason laughed. "You're amazingly self-assured, you know that? It's very attractive."
"Almost as attractive as you, Mr. Gray."
"Is this your way of saying you want to make out now?"
"I thought you knew me better than that. I always want to make out with you. You're so much fun to play with."
Jason shifted and whined. "Caitlyn…"
"Don't call me Caitlyn, Jase."
He rolled his eyes. "Caity, then."
"Better," she said, pressing her chest against his. "I like the way your mouth moves when you say my name. It's hot."
Jason let out a long breath. "Caity…you're evil. You know that? Completely evil."
"But hot, right? Tell me I'm hot." Caitlyn kissed Jason cheek and began trailing kisses down his neck.
Jason groaned as Caitlyn slid a hand under the collar of his shirt and kissed the other side of his neck. "Yes, entirely hot."
"What else am I, Jase?" Caitlyn asked.
"You're…a terrible sight to behold."
"Anything else?" she asked as she began unbuttoning his shirt.
"A really good kisser?" he said weakly.
"Mmm. I knew that already," she said. "Break out the big compliments," she ordered, pushing his shirt down his shoulders.
Jason rolled his eyes and grabbed her firmly by the waist. "Compliments are overrated, Caity," he growled as he pushed her down onto the couch.
Caitlyn grinned. "I knew that'd get you," she said softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close.
"You're sneaky and manipulative and I love you, you know that?" Jason said.
Caitlyn laughed. "Yeah. And you're not too bad yourself, you know that? Now kick the dogs off the couch so we can use it."
Jason turned slightly and nudged Cornelius with his foot. "Dude. Off the couch. Lady asked."
Cornelius opened one sleepy eye before getting off the couch, picking up Buzz in his mouth and hopping into the armchair by the TV.
Caitlyn smiled at the two dogs before looking up at Jason. "Our dogs are adorable together," she said.
"I don't know how Corny puts up with Buzz," Jason said. "She's crazy."
"He puts up with her the same way you put up with me, mister. Now kiss me on the lips or I'm going to have to do something drastic."
"As you wish, Lady Caity," Jason said, brushing back a strand of her hair and grinning softly. He leaned down and captured her lips with his, smiling when Caitlyn hummed happily and tangled her fingers in his hair. He pulled back for a moment and kissed her forehead. "Still scared, Caity?" he asked.
"Nope. I got my warm, cuddly, muscle-bound teddy bear right here."