Adventures in the Small Screen
by
Syc0ticEpis0de
A/N: Let's face it, Halloween is awesome.
Out of the Ordinary Activity
Wednesday had finally come, and Selphie couldn't be more excited. Halloween was nearly here, so she took it upon herself to educate Squall on the wonders of horror films. It took minutes of pestering, but he finally relented when she brought pie into the equation. By nightfall, she had already gone to great lengths to make her room spotless and tidy. She also put her special apple pie in the oven for her very special guest. With everything looking perfect for Squall's arrival, something was still a little off.
"Hmmm." She twisted her hair with a finger.
The knocking at her door made her jump, and that was when she realized it.
"Gah! I'm a mess!" The apron she wore was messy with flour, and some managed to get on her as well. Her hair didn't even meet her bouncy standards, but not that it ever lost its flip.
Another knock, louder this time.
She tossed aside her apron before skittering to the bathroom. She snatched the hair brush off the sink to frantically attack her tangled locks. "Just a sec!"
Wednesday had finally come, and Squall couldn't be more indifferent. He was standing outside her dorm, tapping his foot impatiently and holding a bag of movies that he picked up from town (at Selphie's behest). None of them sounded remotely interesting, but then again, he was never interested in movies to begin with.
"How can you not know your favorite scary movie?! You poor thing!"
"I don't have a favorite movie. I don't watch them, period."
"My place, 8 o'clock!"
"No."
"Great! See ya then!"
Squall fished out one of the movies to look it over. Its title read: Fright Day the 13th. The cover had a crazed looking Tonberry wearing a Tonberry mask. He decided to read the summary on the back, so he flipped it around.
Tom Barry is on the loose agai-
"Nope." He put the movie back and rummaged for another. He took it out, and the title read: Out of the Ordinary Activity.
Huh.
Intrigued, he read the summary of the back outloud. "Two average people move into what seems like a typical two-story house. They become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be out of the ordinary…" He sighed, but willed himself to continue. "Hm hm, buys a video camera, hm hm, girlfriend acts out of the ordinary."
"Hi! Hello!" Selphie chirped as she swung the door open.
Squall fumbled the movie in his hands. He heard her giggle once he managed to get a hold of it and himself "…Hey."
…
"So! This is it, my little slice of paradise." She gestured to her spacious dorm. Apparently, being an Elite SeeD had more than just a few perks. With her own private kitchen, bath, and a fancy looking television, it was just as she said.
Squall's nose picked up the smell of something delicious; something sweet. "Is that..?"
Selphie grinned wickedly. "Oh, that? No biggie."
"Granny smith apples, vanilla extract." His nose wiggled as he mentally dissected the scent. "And a hint of nutmeg?"
"Actually," she said in a low voice and sauntered over to his side. The little brunette raised herself on her tip toes to whisper in his ear the magic word, "…cinnamon."
Squall shivered.
"Oh, that reminds me!" She skipped over to the bed and pulled out her video camera. "I'm gonna capture all your reactions in real time! Are you excited?"
"You never said anything about recording."
She pouted as she held the camera to her petite chest. "But Squaaaall, this is your first time with me!"
"I wish you didn't say it like that, or loudly for that matter," he muttered.
"I…I just want it to be special."
He touched his forehead and sighed.
…
The camera was placed on top of her massive television before being set to record.
"Well, pop that sucker in!" She hopped in bed with a slice of warm apple pie.
"How do you work this thing?" He fiddled with her DVD player, the smell of pie making his hand movements impatient and frantic.
"Heeey, we're not watching VHS. Switch back to DVD!"
VHS? DVD? What is she talking about?
"Nya! Don't switch it to music! It takes forever to switch back! Mmf, this is good. Tee-hee."
"Come on, stupid thing." Squall punched a few more buttons until the entire television screen went blue.
"HEEEY!"
"What?!" He was shakily sticking the DVD into the disc tray.
"You're putting it in upside down!"
"How would you know?!"
…
Squall turned off the lights and settled down in bed next to her, looking pleased with his plate of delicious pie. The lighting of the room was being captured in a darkish blue and white, making their skin stand out next to all the shaded objects.
8:56 P.M.
"All I'm saying is that it makes no logical sense to have both sides of the disc clear. It's misleading."
"You can tell by the stickers, duh." She scooped a spoonful of pie into her mouth.
"Whatever, I don't even know what DVD or VHS stands for." He was almost trembling when his fingers touched the slice of pie to lift it up.
And pretty soon, I won't care.
"Sheesh, you sound like an old man." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "But you know, I'm really happy you're here. This is nice, right?"
"Uh-huh." He raised the heavenly, crumbly slice closer to his watering mouth.
The movie began, and the following words appeared across the screen: Timber Owlies would like to thank the families of Timber Resident & Timber Resident and the Timber Police Department.
The text caught Squall off guard, making him set his pie down. "Hold on, why would they put that at the beginning?"
"It's to-" A flash went off in her head; Squall was clueless. Her lips curled upward into the biggest grin. "Oh, you mean you didn't know?"
The movie began with shaky camera movement. It looked like an average homemade video of two people at home.
"Know what? Is this real life?"
"Oh, Squall! You really never heard about it?" She leaned in close and dropped her voice to a whisper. "They found this video next to the body of one the people that lived there. No one knows what happened to the other person, even after two days of searching."
Squall subconsciously leaned in, curious. "Then what happened?"
"Oh, it was horrible…but they captured everything on this video camera. It was on the news and everything."
"But I don't remember hearing abou-"
"It was ALL over the news, Squall! You must bear witness, you must!" She snickered in the back of her mind because he seemed to genuinely buy the story.
If something strange happened, then it might be worth investigating. I just wonder why we haven't been contacted or anything by the Timber authorities. Maybe they're too frightened. As Commander of SeeD...I must bear witness.
He put his pie down to slip into business mode, and prepared for an out of the ordinary experience.
9:24 P.M.
Night # 5 - 2:54 A.M. Low, rumbling sounds begin to intensify while the Timber Residents sleep. Timber Resident 1 stirs a bit. Squall watched, eyes like saucers as he leaned forward, his pie still untouched. Selphie bites down to keep from laughing.
2:55:18 A.M. "Ahhh!" Timber Resident 1 wakes up for no apparent reason.
Squall jumped and held onto Selphie.
"Eeek!" The little brunette squeaked when she felt her waist being squeezed against his hard body. "Oh, gosh!"
Squall cleared his throat and quickly let go. "...Sorry."
"Tee-hee, it's ok." She winked. Why didn't she do this with him sooner?
9:50 P.M.
Night # 15 - 1:35:54 A.M.Timber Residents sleep peacefully after 10 days of out of the ordinary activities. Low, rumbling noise draws out like a prolonged growl until suddenly, Timber Resident 1 wakes up again.
Squall tenses as he holds Selphie on his lap a little closer than before. She wiggles comfortably on him whilst feigning fear. "I can't stop shaking," she whispered.
Timber Resident 1 gets out of bed, lazily standing up. She shambles about for a moment before turning around to stare at Timber Resident 2 for two hours.
"Wh...what?" Squall was frozen.
3:30:00 A.M. Timber Resident 1 begins walking downstairs, her bare feet slapping dully on the wooden floor. The steps grow duller, fainter as she disappears from camera view. The door sways by itself for a few seconds.
"What the f…" Squall mutters into the smaller brunette's shoulder, sending a thrilling shiver down her spine.
"Mm, language."
10:54 P.M.
Night # 18 - 3:53:34 A.M.
Low, rumbling noise. Lights go on in the first floor. Frantic footsteps come up the stairs.
*Pitter Patter, Pitter Patter*
Timber Residents wake up when the door moves on its own and closes with a Slam!
"Ahhh!" "Ahhh!"
Squall got up a little fast. "I should go, it's late."
Selphie clung to him imploringly. "Squaaall! I'm scaaaared!" She only prayed her snickering sounded like sobbing. "Stay? Hm? Please?"
He took one look at her bright emerald gaze and knew he'd lost. "Do I really have to?"
"Tee hee!" Selphie yanked him back in bed, and tossed the covers over them. She got comfy and cuddled up to his side. "It's ok, the rest of the mov—ahem!—documentary isn't so bad. You'll see."
11:17 P.M.
Many out of the ordinary activities and very bad nights later…
Timber Resident 1 chucks Timber Resident 2 at the camera with a Crash!
"Ahhh!" Squall yelled, startling Selphie into screaming.
"Eeek!"
He didn't know why he even took her word for it. His pie had also gone cold and untouched, too.
…
Timber Resident's body was revived with a Phoenix Down two days later…but Timber Resident's whereabouts remain unknown.
The lights came back on and Selphie took out the disc, humming an idly pleasant tune. "Pretty neat, right? Hmm, what to watch next…hey, Squall?" she asked, turning her head to the side.
"…Yeah?"
"Why are you curled up in the fetal position?" She tapped her silky lips in confusion.
"Oh…this? Just…a change of pace, I suppose." He then stuck his thumb back in his mouth with a pop.
"Awwh."
Really, why HADN'T she thought of this sooner?
12:51 A.M.
The camera was still recording. Selphie was snoring peacefully against Squall's chest while they slept. He stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
They never found the other person…that means she could still be out there. I can order an investigation with the local Timber Police Department. They'll listen. That's what I'll do.
A low, rumbling noise quickly brought him out his thoughts.
What was that?
It grew louder and louder. His eyes shifted back and forth as though trying to figure out where it came from. That's when his biggest worry came to be...Selphie stirred in her slumber.
No...
An uneasy feeling gripped his heart as she began moving some more, the rumbling growing louder. She slid off his arm abruptly. Squall was paralyzed. Sweat dribbled down his temple. His body nearly shook. Selphie slowly got to her feet and stared down at him, her expression covered in darkness. She stood there facing him. Squall stared back.
You've got to be kidding...
She giggled quietly, the melodic sounds chilling him to the core. She walked away into the kitchen. Squall didn't dare follow her or look at her. He heard rustling. He heard a knife being pulled out. He heard cutting. The rumbling louder still. He heard something open. He heard something ticking. Until...
DING!
Squall nearly jumped, but he couldn't even move. The steps came back closer, and closer, and closer until at last…!
"Say 'ah.'"
"AAAAH!" Squall yelled, startling Selphie into screaming herself.
"EEEEK!" She dropped the spoonful of hot apple pie on his bare chest.
"AAAAH!"
"EEEEK!"
"AA—hey, that smells good." He scooped the piece of pie off his chest and into his mouth.
"Course it does. It's my secret recipe, don'tcha know?" She beamed. "No really, say 'ah' without screaming it, weirdo."
Squall turned on the lights, revealing a normal looking Selphie wearing his shirt. "Couldn't you at least turn on a light? Maybe this wouldn't happen."
"And spoil the surprise? No way!" She spoon fed him a generous helping of her home-baked sinful delight, much to his relief. "I heard your tummy growling really loud; I wanted to fix that."
"That's what that was?" he said, mouth full as he chewed.
"Gosh, you must've been really hungry." She then noticed the little red light next to the camera lens. Without Squall knowing, she winked and flashed a smile at the camera.
Boo-yaka.
End
A/N: Here is my plan for this drabble series: updates are only on Wednesdays. Why? No idea. I know this wasn't posted on a Wednesday, but I wanted to do this before Halloween. And I might put up a poll for the next movies, but for now I'm open to suggestion. So don't hesitate to drop a line! Always looking to please.