As he stood in the line, he could already hear the whisper of rumors from the people around him.

"Apparently, it's so scary, people literally die of fright!"

"…A woman had a heart attack and was put in the hospital after coming…"

"Dude, people are going missing…"

"…Someone escaped after saying they spotted Slenderman!"

Emil already knew he would love every minute of it.

The "Hell Hotel" had opened a week ago, after some guy bought an abandoned apartment complex and converted it into an attraction that would "Scare you right out of your pants!" as Matthias had said. The place was almost always being talked about at school, with everyone giving their own stories of survival through the place.

Apparently there were ghosts, zombies, devils, and axe murderers with real axes who would chase you out the door… Emil was expecting a couple dark rooms with spooky sound effects, a few guys in bad costumes and way too much fake smoke, with a few fake cobwebs and skeletons added to taste.

"I bet you ten bucks one of them yells 'boo.'" Emil smiled at Leon's voice as he waited with his boyfriend in the line.

"Oh come on, that's a given."

The two chuckled as strong arms came from behind and held Emil close. He felt Leon's hot breath on his ear. "Remind me again how you convinced Lukas to let you come here?"

"I didn't," Emil explained, leaning on his boyfriend. "Matthias just makes a great distraction."

Leon kissed his cheek. "Are you excited?"

Emil shrugged as he turned around in the embrace and draped his arms around his shoulders. "I guess, I mean, I'm glad I'm with you."

A smile formed on Leon's face, and he leaned in to plant a quick kiss on Emil's lips. "Good to know."

The line inched closer and closer to the door until they finally got to the front, where an obnoxiously cheerful doorman greeted them. His white uniform was splattered with fake blood, and when he turned his head, Emil noticed the bloody scar going down his right cheek.

"Welcome to the Hell Hotel, boys!" He offered them both a sickeningly sweet grin. "Where once you check in, you never check out!" He cackled manically and looked straight into Emil's eyes. "Enjoy your stay."

Leon flashed the man a weary look and pulled Emil through the door.

"Pfft," Emil murmured under his breath. "Amateur."

"Totally," Leon agreed. "Is that the best they can do?"

But that was just the beginning.