A/N: Been watching too much Supernatural, methinks.
. . .
Placebo
. . .
I hate Halloween.
Costumes are ridiculous, there are too many sweets entering my ten feet-wide anti-candy perimeter and carved pumpkins make me want to punch someone in the face.
Also, open house parties. Where people generally go to get shitfaced and/or laid. Guys go shirtless, girls end up shirtless (although it doesn't make much of a difference from when they were wearing their costumes, which mainly consisted of imaginative underwear) and everyone wakes up the next day to venereal deceases and seeded ova. Open house parties are like leggings; annoying, uncomfortable and only worth bearing with in teen movies from the 90's.
So it should come as a wonder that I'm currently riding a bike to one of those because, well, first of all, I hate social gatherings of any sort, and second, I'm riding a fucking bike. I would've taken my car, had I not left it at my friend (that's a strong word) Naruto's house because I, and I quote, "only need to go get your cellphone, dude, don't destroy the planet. I'll lend you my bike".
Only thing is, once I got to my house and to my cellphone, there was a new text from Naruto telling me fifty people had showed up, with the promise of even more people (we were originally supposed to be five, plus an Xbox 360 and Naruto's grandma's alcohol cabinet) and suddenly, the perspective of going back to his house didn't seem that enticing anymore. But, you know, I couldn't just leave my car where I knew it would get completely trashed. So I got back on the stupid bike and devised a plan to get my car back without anyone noticing I was even there.
I'm gonna use stealth. I'm good at stealth. I can walk behind someone in an empty corridor for twenty minutes without being discovered. I'm a stealthy guy. I am stealth itself. I'm also a genius, henceforth no plan of mine will ever fail. So, as I'm creating my master plan, I distractedly notice the road sign that's only a few feet away from being halfway between my place and Naruto's. It comes as a relief, because the road is only uphill towards his house and after the first half, it gets flatter. Not that, you know, I'm tired or anything. It's just that I'll be there soon and my evening'll be salvaged.
However, I do a double take to make sure what I've just seen is real. There's a girl standing next to the sign, reading it. I cross the street and stop close to her. She doesn't seem to notice me at all (STEALTH.) and keeps staring at the sign – because that's obviously what she's doing; it doesn't take that long to read a road sign – until I clear my throat.
She turns glassy eyes slowly towards me, as if she's been spacing out. There are dark circles under her eyes and her lips look livid – it's hard to tell in the dark. I look her up a few times, trying to figure out if there's something wrong with her. As a matter of fact, there is. She's wearing some old-looking white dress that's completely torn at the bottom and dirty all over, her hair's all bunched up and from what I can see through the tall grass, she's not wearing any shoes.
"Uh... Are you okay?" I ask pathetically. I mean, come on, it's pretty obvious she's not okay at all.
"... I'm lost," she says in a raspy voice.
"Where are you trying to go?"
"I don't know."
"Uh... Do you want to go home?"
"I want to, but I can't."
"...You can't?"
"I can't go home."
...
Whoa.
Déjà vu.
She's starting to freak me out a little. A little.
"What do you mean, you can't go home?"
"I'm lost." Ah, well, yes, that makes sense.
"Look, uh... I can't help you with this bike, but I can go get my car. I'll be back in ten minutes, fifteen tops."
Ploc.
"Can you wait for me here?"
Ploc. Ploc.
"Don't leave me," she takes a step towards me. I take a step towards my bike.
Plocplocplocplocploc.
"I'll be back really soon. Promise."
I barely have time to climb back on the bike before heavy rain starts pouring down on the girl and me. My hair sticks to my face, my clothes become cold and heavy and my shoes soak up as quickly as if I'd jumped into a swimming pool. I mutter a few curse words for good measure, have a last glance at the girl and start to pedal my way up the road.
It really is just my luck. The rain keeps hitting my eyes and making me blink, I can barely see three feet in front of me and, although there is absolutely no manly way to say this, I'm cold. As I curse all my frustration out, I inwardly hope to any all-mighty entity to stop any car from driving by, because I can't tell if I'm closer to the middle or the side of the road and I'm not wearing anything remotely reflective enough to give away my presence to drivers.
Of course, I'm living the dream compared to that girl I promised a ride to. At least I have shoes. And a sweater. Aw, crap, maybe I should've given her mine. She's going to be mad at me. And that's if she doesn't die of hypothermia before I get back. Although, between all up in my hair and half-frozen to death, I don't know which is less annoying. In any case, she's going to be complaining, and sniffling in my ear, possibly crying even, and she's going to mess up my car by soaking the seats. I paid for that car! With my parents' money, but still. It came from my bank account. I don't want to have to pay for new seats.
My God, since do I whine so much? I sound like a bitchy five-year-old. I inwardly punch myself while I tell myself out loud to man up. What right do I have to complain? I'm almost at Naruto's place while that girl is still waiting for me, alone in the rain, without even so much as a flashlight to see what's going on around her. I feel the urge to stop my bike and punch myself for real, but before that thought can reach my legs, Naruto's porch lights come into view.
Finally.
I pedal faster until I reach my friend's driveway. I don't bother to fully bring the bike to a stop; I practically jump off of it and let it fall to the ground once I catch sight of my car. I run to it, eager to get back home at long last, but it's only when I search my pockets that I remember I left my keys inside Naruto's house when he lent me his bike.
"Shit."
I hurry to the front door of the house, which has remained open even while it's raining, and will probably stay that way all night.
Right. All I have to is retrieve my keys from Naruto's room, where I know they are, and then fly out as quickly as I can before anyone relevant realises I'm there.
"Remember, Sasuke. Stealth."
I haven't taken two steps into the lobby that someone hurls himself at me, yelling things I don't think any human being can comprehend, with a beer in his hand, a cigarette in his mouth and a stupid-looking cowboy costume. And man, he reeks. I push him off me, hoping no one of importance has paid attention, and try to make my way up the stairs.
Keyword being "try".
There are ten feet separating the front door and the lobby staircase of Naruto's house. In Sasuke pedometer rules, that's about five steps, which generally equals three seconds of walking.
It takes me ten minutes, at the end of which I'm drenched in beer, coughing out secondary smoke and peeling drunk girls off my arm. I stumble six times (which I counted because stumbling is something I do not do) over costumed unconscious bodies sprawled on the floor. When I finally make it to the stairs, I actually have to calculate the path to take to avoid stepping on any of the couples sitting there sucking face. I use up another ten minutes of my precious (yes, precious) time to get to the second floor that, luckily, only very few people have successfully reached and are all sitting against the walls of the hallway, sleeping. Some dude dressed as an L-shaped Tetris piece is lying on his side with a puddle of puke next to his head.
I spot Naruto coming out of his room (without a shirt and pulling up his pants) and walking towards the bathroom at the end of the hallway. I duck for cover inside another room and wait until the bathroom door's closed. I tiptoe (manly) into his bedroom and stop dead in my tracks.
Who's that?
There's a girl. In his bed. Under the covers. Probably naked from the waist down.
Who in their right mind has sex with that idiot? Who deliberately exerts the necessary effort to make it obvious to him that they want to get in his pants? And who feels safe enough to go to sleep in his bed, in only a bra, and just assumes that lying on their stomach is the best position to sleep in while still in Naruto's bed and still in only a bra? Admittedly not the sexiest bra I've ever seen, but still, who does that?
And, wait... Are those my keys?
I can see the dog tag keychain my ex-girlfriend gave me a year ago (I've been meaning to take it off) peeking from under the pillow. I curse again, because, well, my keys are right under her head, and waking her up is definitely not something I want to do right now. Still, I walk up to my dumb friend's bed and grab hold of my keychain, praying to whomever rules bad luck not to strike me down at that particular moment.
Guess what? No dice.
The girl stirs and raises her head to look at me. She sleepily brushes her dishevelled hair away from her face and groans in what I assume is an interrogative tone. And then I recognise her. Well, sort of. She's that computer geek, Hana or something, who's been helping Naruto with his Geography class (because the idiot had the brilliant idea to get into the Social and Political Studies program in college, which requires he passed a Geography course, a subject he never got close to not failing in high school). I guess she's not doing it just from the goodness of her heart. Still, who schemes to have sex with the Witless Wonder?
I don't take time to answer her wordless question, I simply yank the keys out and spin on my heels, ready to make a run for it before Naruto gets ba-
"Bastard?"
Well, shit.
"Hey, man, did you bring my bike back?" He asks with a grin on his face, as if the situation were a perfectly normal one to be in.
I hear a yelp behind my back. I guess the girl finally realised where she is and everything it implies. I dismiss it. It's her problem. And, apparently, it's Naruto's problem too, because his grin falls off his face and he pounces at her, falling to his knees next to his bed.
Tch. Idiot.
"Hinata! Are you okay?" I don't let Hinata – oh, right, that's her name – answer.
"Look, I'm gonna go, man," I say, taking a few steps towards the doorway.
"No, wait, Sasuke!" I don't stop. I really need to get out of here, and if I stop, I know I'll be within Naruto's reach for him to grip my clothes and hold me back. He's a moron, but he's a strong moron.
Not as strong as me, but still.
"Hinata, don't move," I hear him tell the girl in his bed, who responds by a weak "Y-yes". "Bastard, wait up!"
He follows me out (damn) and grips my shoulder.
"Dude, don't leave."
"You're busy. I'm going," I reply in the driest tone possible.
"Aw, come on, man! I can't always stick around you to hold your hand. You can have fun without me, there are plenty of girls downstairs."
Clearly, he's missing the point. I don't need him constantly around at a party. Hell, I usually avoid him whenever we attend the same parties. He's loud, clumsy, annoying and a complete embarrassment to anyone who's known to be friends with him. In fact, he's the one who needs me around, because every time, at some point in the evening, someone drags him back to me either unconscious or so wasted he can't make the difference between his mouth and his belly button.
Besides, right now, being in the presence of over one person is the last thing I want and there's nothing Naruto can do to make me change my mind. Plus, I have a lost girl to pick up at the road sign before she dies or gets attacked by whatever lives in the forest bordering the road.
"I said I'm going," I insist, yanking my shoulder out of his grasp and walking to the stairs.
"Man, you're no fun at all. Remind me again why we're friends?"
"That's a question I ask myself every day. Go back to your tutor."
He mutters an answer I don't hear (nor care about) and I climb down the stairs, once again cautiously avoiding bodies and patches of vomit. I push and hit around with my elbows to get myself to the door faster, wondering how long it's been since I've left the girl alone. I launch my elbow at someone's abdomen and realise too late what a mistake that is, because see, at parties, people drink and/or do drugs, so they eventually have either oversensitive bladders or very upset stomachs.
The dude – the same one that spilled half his beer on me when I arrived at the house earlier – gives back very possibly every single thing he's swallowed in the last twenty-four hours right on my shirt. Not even my sweater, that I could easily take off, no, my actual shirt. Because I have rotten luck today. And it's warm, too. I can feel it through my shirt, and it make me want to puke too.
I shove the guy away from me and dash to my car. I unlock it with a sense of relief washing over me, as I'm finally going home, put my sweater on the back seat, take off my shirt and throw it in the general direction of Naruto's garbage bin. I would've taken it off anyway, because it's soaked, but I don't want to put barf on my seats and the smell is just terrible, plus it's not a shirt I particularly like, so throwing it away is the best option in this case.
I get behind the wheel, put on my seatbelt, start the car and drive away. This is it, finally. My nightmare is over. All I have to do now is to get that girl to her house and then go home to be alone and at peace. Naruto says I'm the human version of the Forever Alone meme, but I know better. At least I've had sex more than once and I don't have to seduce my tutor to get some. Mostly because I don't need a tutor period, but even if I did, I'd still be able to get any girl I want.
Logically, travelling by car goes faster (no shit, Captain Obvious) than riding a bike, so I reach the road sign in no time. But the girl's not there. I can't see her anywhere. I park my car and get out. Maybe I should call out to her.
Crap, I can't. I don't even know her name.
Oh well, let's go for the next best thing.
"Hey, I'm... I'm back! Come on, I'll take you home." Jesus, where was she?
I wait a few seconds in case I hear her move, I check the ground near the sign to see if maybe she's decided to sit there and fell asleep or something, but there's no trace of her whatsoever.
Oh well. She probably hitched another ride. At least I told her I'd help her instead of ignoring her, so I guess I still did something good. I turn around to get to my car.
"GAH!"
Fuck.
Shit.
Jesus Christ, Lord almighty.
She's there.
Standing next to my car.
Staring at me.
I didn't even heard her move.
"Take me home," she said, in the same raspy voice. Definitely creeping me out.
"Y-yeah, that's why I'm here." Man, I'm stuttering. "Get in."
She opens the passenger door and slips in. I shake off the shiver her appearance sent down my spine and get into the car too. She's already strapped in, just sitting there, looking straight in front of her. Once I start the car, the lights turn on and I can finally see her clearly. And I wished I didn't.
Not that she's ugly or anything. In fact, she'd be really hot in my tastes if it weren't for her dark circles, her emaciated cheeks, her blueish lips and eyelids and her blank stare that, all in all, belong on a corpse. She's not even shaking from the cold as she should, considering the colour of her lips and her fingers. Her pink wig's dripping water, her dress is soaked all the way through and man, why don't I have some sort of blanket or towel, either to dry her up or spare my leather seats? Or both? I should really invest in some essential stuff for my car.
"Um... Where do you live?" I ask. It takes her a moment to answer.
"Down the road." Well, that's... vague.
"Could you give me an address?"
"... I can't remember."
What the fuck? Jesus Christ, she is no help at all. What can possibly be so wrong with her that she can't even remember her own address? Maybe she's doing it on purpose, to piss me off. Maybe Naruto hired her to make me wish I were back at his party – I'm actually starting to.
No. He doesn't have the brain power to have that kind of idea.
Shit. Well, I'll have to take her to my place, then. Not what I intended to do tonight, but I mean, I can't just drop her off somewhere in town and hope she finds her way home. Plus, my parents are away on their second honey moon for the next two weeks and my brother's out for the night, she won't be bothering anyone. Well, except me, but I'll just get her into one of the guest rooms and wait until morning to ask questions.
I mean, there's definitely something going on there.
HOLY SHIT, A DEER.
. . .
"Ugh..."
I slowly regain consciousness and immediately check for serious injuries. Oh, good, my legs can move just fine, I'm not bleeding anywhere and the only pain I feel is in my skull, because I remember hitting my head on the steering wheel. How long have I been out? I reach into my pocket and get my cellphone out. It reads 9:24 pm. It's not of any help to me, though, because I have no idea what time it was when I left Naruto's house or when I picked up the girl.
The girl.
I turn to my right to check up on her and...
She's not there.
What the hell?
Where is she? Her door's closed and her seatbelt neatly retracted. She can't have been ejected from the car, no windows are open or broken. Did she just leave? Was she even here to begin with? There's no reason for me to hallucinate things and I'm very clearly awake, so it couldn't have been a dream either, but I can't help but start doubting myself. I mean, I did just hit my head hard enough to be unconscious for possibly over an hour.
I dial Naruto's number and get out of the car to inspect the damage. Of which there's none, strangely enough. I didn't hit anything, I barely skidded into a shallow ravine. There's literally nothing about my accident that could've made me lose consciousness, and yet I had.
"'Sup, Bastard?" I hear Naruto say at the other end of the line.
"I crashed my car." No need to be elusive nor make small talk at a time like this.
"Dude, what?"
"What didn't you understand?" God, he was stupid.
"Holy shit, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. My car's fine too, I just need someone to help me pull it out of the ditch."
"Where are you?"
"Still on Orchard Road, somewhere past the road sign. Can you drive?"
"Sure, man, I'm coming over. Don't move." Do I really have a choice on that matter?
"Didn't intend to."
I get back in my car and start it again, to keep myself warm.
Talk about Karma. I go on all night about how much I don't want to be at Naruto's party and everything around me seems to make it impossible for me to be anywhere but there, as if I had no other purpose in life than to waste my time with drunk people I've never talked to. On top of that, I try to help a girl who clearly needs it and I can't even do it properly. I leave her in the rain, I make her wait forever and when I finally pick her up, I don't even make it to the city and crash my car in the middle of fucking nowhere.
And she disappears.
Jesus Christ, she just fucking leaves!
For fuck's sake, why did she leave? Didn't she think of waking me up, or at least use my phone? She's probably half-dead already. I should've known she was an idiot. I mean, who goes out barefoot in the middle of the night, in fucking October, when it looks like it's going to rain? Retards! Fucking retards do that!
GOD.
To think I could be home, finishing Dead Space 2 or watching Supernatural. The first season only, of course. Not the others. Too much fucking drama. No, only the first one has somewhat scary episodes – not really scary, but scarier than the other seasons. I'd need that right now. Blood, fog and scary dead chicks who hitchhike and kill unfaithful-
Oh.
Oh shit.
Oh, shit.
Is she...?
Nah, she can't be... It's not real. It doesn't exist.
No, of course it doesn't. Wake up, Dickface. Ghosts don't exist. You're not superstitious, you never were, not for a second of your life. Don't fucking start now. It's not a few coincidences that are gonna make that girl an evil spirit or whatever.
I mean, sure, she didn't talk much, and she looked fucking weird and she's a lot like that chick in that episode, but that doesn't fucking mean anything. They're just fucking coincidences.
AND STOP FUCKING SWEARING, GODDAMNIT.
HONK.
"FUCK!"
Lights illuminate my car. I turn around in my seat and squint my eyes at the blinding brightness. I faintly see the driver's door open and someone steps out. He walks down to my car, stops next to my door and knocks on the window. I recognise Naruto's pants – he's the only person in the universe who wears bright orange pants – and violently open my door on him.
"OOOW! Jesus, Dickhead, what the fuck's wrong with you!" he screams, because he always screams.
"Shut up and help me, dead last."
I'm still thinking about the girl. I mean, what the hell was she doing, being all cryptic about things? It can't be because she's a ghost. Ghosts don't talk. Okay, ghosts in Supernatural talk. But that's a fucking TV show. And ghosts are not real. Until I have real proof that they do, I'm not gonna believe in them.
So unless she reappears out of nowhere, like she's come back to finish me off or some shit, I won't believe she's a ghost. And she won't. Come back, I mean. Because she's not a ghost. Ghosts don't exist.
Naruto goes to his car trunk and pulls out chains. We hook them between his car and mine and he gets back into his. He tries a few times to back up and finally gets my precious out of the ditch. Compared to everything that's gone wrong tonight, this goes surprisingly well. Maybe my luck has turned.
See? No evil spirit. You're going home, motherfucker.
What is up with me tonight? I never swear. Or, well, very rarely. I'm also never unlucky, but anything could explain that, I mean, it could be that I've run out of luck, or that it's Halloween, or that I'm just bringing this upon myself by thinking how unlucky I'm being and by panicking about something that doesn't exist. There's a logical explanation for everything that's happened tonight. Ghosts don't exist, that girl is not coming back and I am not scared.
Uchiha men don't get scared.
And they don't curse. Or barely.
The point is, I'm going home.
"Oh, yeah, Bastard, I picked up this girl on the way." What? "She said she knew where you were and that you were driving her home." WHAT!
I turn slowly towards his car as the passenger door opens. As if in slow motion, nothing happens for a few seconds while every sound around me fades until all I can hear is my accelerating heartbeat and my shaky breathing. I can feel myself shrink on the spot while I wait for something to happen.
Idon'twannaknowIdon'twannaknowIdon'twannaknowIdon'twannaknow.
And then I see it.
A foot.
A bare foot.
Soon followed by the shredded hem of a white skirt.
And she gets out, with her pale skin, her dark circles, her pink hair and her general creepiness.
You know all that crap I said a minute ago about being an Uchiha and never being scared? Well, fuck that. I'm so fucking terrified, I'm not even sure if I'm pissing or shitting myself. I've never been as close to fainting in my entire life as I am right now.
She's back. She came back for me. And not in a good, chick flick way. In a horrifying, mortifying, pants-shitting horror movie way, and suddenly, the Supernatural ghosts seem like furry little bunnies and I can't choose between calling the main characters sissies or fucking heroes. I'm so scared, I want to cry, I want to run to my mom and hide under her skirt, I want to fucking die on the spot so I don't have to be so scared anymore.
Instead, I scream.
And I do mean scream.
"! GET AWAY FROM ME! ! DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU FUCKING PSYCHO GHOST! -"
She clamps her hand on my mouth, quite possibly to forever silence me. I freeze. Her hand is so cold, she can't be anything but a ghost. Her eyes are so vacant, she can't be anything but a ghost. Her entire appearance is so ghost-like, SHE CAN'T BE ANYTHING BUT A FUCKINGGHOST.
"Three, three, four, six, lorn, cliff, street."
What?
"... What?"
"You asked for it."
WHAT. NO I DIDN'T.
"Three, three, four, six, lorn, cliff, street," she repeats, still in her raspy voice.
What's she on about?
"My address. 3346, Lorncliff Street. You asked for it."
Oh.
"Oh."
"Dude, she lives on your street!" Naruto yells from his car.
It feels like I've just woken up from a nightmare. The worst nightmare I've ever experienced. My eyes flicker from the girl to my best friend while I just stand there, speechless. She stares at me calmly, as if I hadn't just been screamed my lungs out at her, and he's scrunching his nose like her does when he doesn't understand something, which makes his look even more stupid than usual.
Well. I feel dumb.
"I just... can't get in. I lost my keys and my parents are out for the week."
Well. I feel dumber.
"Right. Uh... Come on, then." I gesture to my car.
"Call me!" Naruto yells. I turn to him.
"I won't, dead last."
"I wasn't talking to you, douchebag. I was talking to her."
She turns around as well, sends him a confused look, glances at me and climbs into my car. I unhook the chains from my car and climb in as well. In no time, I'm speeding down the road. As we approach the exit out of Orchard Road, I can't help but ask what is probably the dumbest question I've ever asked and will ever in my entire life.
"So... You're not a ghost?"
. . .
A/N: Whoo! Done. Just to give you guys an idea, I finished this the same day I finished the first Puzzle chapter, but I'd been working on this one since Christmas.
Plz to review, kthnx? (God, I hate writing like that.)