I know I'm late, sorry! D:
Here's a little Halloween oneshot for you guys. The idea came to me a few days ago, and I've been mentally revising it ever since. It's not as frightening as I intended it to be originally, but I'm hoping it offers a decent scare for you thrill-seekers.
For those of you who are easy to scare, I advice you to probably avoid this story.
Warnings: Cussing, horror-themes, light yaoi, and implied murder.
Disclaimer: Not mine. I'm poor. ): Lemme alone.
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Panic
Of all days for it to pour as it did, why Halloween?
Naruto glared at the water-stained glass of his window, exhaling deeply. His hand, a tight fist, held his chin up as his elbow rested on the window sill. Damn right he was annoyed. Halloween! The day of free candy and horror movie marathons.
It was the day everyone in the village would participate. Rather than just children, adults would join along in the fun and get some tasty treats for themselves. Though he was disliked through Konoha, Naruto was not one to pass up a chance at free food, even if it wasn't ramen.
Yet, it was raining.
RAINING.
"Damn it!" He growled lowly, slamming his free fist into the window sill, only to pull it back and hiss in pain. He wasn't sure if Halloween was "cancelled", so to speak, but he wasn't risking pneumonia if no one actually had the treats. That would just be a waste of time and health. He sighed shallowly, giving in and sitting back on his futon. There was nothing to do but stare straight at the opposite wall, which stared blankly back at him with invisible, unblinking eyes.
"I wonder what Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, and Sasuke-bastard are up to." Talking to oneself is completely normal. Yes. "Probably doing something more exciting than staring at a wall."
A creak sounded in the hallway.
Naruto started, immediately sitting upright and staring at his closed bedroom door. Nothing made a sound after that single noise.
His mind was playing tricks on him. Or perhaps the rain was.
Shrugging off the unwanted fright, Naruto got up, standing still and pondering what to do to entertain himself. Nothing sounded appealing, not even waltzing over to the Uchiha's house to boast about his superiority. That was shocking in itself, but Naruto wasn't quite feeling up to wondering outside. As if to mock him, thunder slammed into the sky, making the blonde jump. Gripping his hand over his heart, he could feel it beat a mile a minute, and he grit his teeth in frustration.
"Man, I'm on edge today." Shaking the feeling off, he left his room and went down to the kitchen to grab some ramen.
"Augh!"
As expected, the cabinet was empty.
No ramen, no noodles, no freeze-dried.. soup. Nothing. Of course, since that's all he ate, that's all he had, so now Naruto literally had no food in his house. With the rain pouring as hard as it was, he really wasn't about to go get more. A whine sounded from his throat as he let his head gently hit the now closed cabinet door.
"Why me?"
Hungry, cold, and tired, the blonde fox made his way to his living room couch, if you could call it that. It was more like an old, wannabe sofa, that didn't quite fit the criteria of a couch but couldn't be classified as anything else. No, Naruto had no idea how it got to be that way. Honest.
With a plop, he fell right onto the mangled sofa, letting one arm dangle over the armrest. His legs were lifted and placed on a dusty wooden coffee table, covered in hot chocolate stains and some food crumbs he forgot to clean up that morning from breakfast. Which was, shockingly enough, cereal. Closing his eyes, Naruto sighed softly, waiting patiently for the dark embrace of a light, careless slumber.
The doorbell rang.
His attempt at sleep was interrupted. This was not a good day.
He groaned, sorrowfully ripping himself away from the marred couch and sluggishly getting up. It was slow, but the doorbell did not ring impatiently afterwards. In fact, at how long it was taking him to get to the door, he was surprised whoever was on the other side didn't just break his doorbell so it never shut up.
Rather, there was a loud, consistent knock on the door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Naruto shouted grouchily, demonstrating an obvious lack of sleep. Hey, it wasn't his fault he spent nights working on his costume. But of course, it RAINS the day he finally needs it!
The knocking continued.
Pissed off now, Naruto growled, slamming the door open unceremoniously.
"What?!"
He stared, expecting to see a little, annoying, hungry kid hopeful that Halloween was still in action. Or maybe even Sakura, coming to keep him company. Or perhaps even Sasuke, just to piss the blonde off needlessly.
But there was no one at the door.
A chill moved up his spine, and the hairs on the nape of his neck stood on end. Naruto felt uncomfortable. Extremely uncomfortable.
"… Stupid thunder." He grumbled, shutting the door shakily. He didn't bother to offer an explanation for the doorbell. Instead, he turned his back towards the front door, jogging to his bedroom as if being chased by a nonexistent pursuer.
The doorbell rang again.
This time, Naruto refused to move. He stared at the door to his bedroom, and then looked back at his front door, which was being wracked by angry, pounding fists, and a loudly screeching bell. It was something he would only see in a horror movie, or hear in a horror story. What was happening? However hard he tried, he could not ignore the fact that his mind could not create such a fantastically real display of terror. Though he wanted to take comfort in that lie, he couldn't pull wool over the eyes of a sheep that was already being eaten by the wolf. There was no point in hiding it, and Naruto was scared.
Very scared.
Suddenly, everything stopped. The doorbell stopped ringing, the knocks stopped coming, the door stopped shaking. There was a moment of silence, and an immense feeling of suspense and yet relief in the churning gut of the frightened blonde, who was unknowingly gripping the knob to his bedroom door for dear life.
But a new noise reached his ears, and Naruto's gaze turned slowly to face the door that caused his heart to pound so loudly and so quickly.
The knob was frantically turning, as if someone was trying to get in.
He breathed in rapidly, eyes wide and a mind-numbing headache arising. The insane rhythm of his heart was barely masking the clinking of the turning metal.
"G-Go away." He whispered, searching for courage. Ninjas were stronger than this. What the hell was wrong with him? It was probably some kid playing a nasty little prank on Halloween. "GO AWAY." There it was. He found the spot in his mind that gave him bravery, though it was hard to maintain.
The knob didn't stop moving, however. The pace stayed the same.
Enriched by this newfound courageousness, Naruto inhaled deeply and strode forward. He faltered slightly in his step, but didn't turn tail. When he reached the door, he nearly lost composure, but regained it by forcing himself to open it.
Again, there was nothing but the rain.
Lightning slapped the sky, and thunder rolled throughout the clouds. Nature was laughing at him.
Now it wasn't a game. Now it was something more personal. The fear Naruto had been biting back rose to his throat in the form of bile, and he swallowed the bitter cud and stared, terrified, at an empty space. This time, he couldn't reassure himself that ninjas were stronger, and he turned around—door forgotten and open—and ran straight to his room.
With a slam, his bedroom door was shut. He fumbled, but eventually found and locked the boundary, feeling relief in the barrier between him and the abnormal events. His eyes were closed and he panted heavily, sweat trickling down his cheek. The thunder was loud outside his window.
Too loud.
Naruto opened his eyes, startled.
"Jesus CHRIST!"
Red eyes glared back at him.
"Damn it, Sasuke-BASTARD. Don't scare me like that!" He wailed, holding his head protectively for reasons he himself could not announce. Sasuke smirked.
"Scared, idiot? Over what? A little storm?" The blonde looked up with renewed vigor.
"HAH! As if! You just startled me, is all. Why would I be scared by some stupid rain?" He pouted angrily, crossing his arms and looking to the side with squinted eyes. He didn't notice, nor really care, that Sasuke was now sourly frowning.
"What are you doing in my apartment, anyway?" Naruto turned back towards the raven-haired boy, raising a brow suspiciously. Sasuke looked past him, at the door behind him.
"Did that thing always have cracks?"
"Don't avoid the question, bastard."
"It's going to break if you slam it again, you know."
"Damn it! Answer me!"
It was suddenly very obvious to the blonde that Uchiha Sasuke was close to him. Really, uncomfortably close to him. Then, wordlessly, he was forced into a brutal kiss, head slammed into his bedroom door and a hand gripping his golden hair. With wide eyes, he stared at the other boy, watching as the kneeling, dark-haired male molested his mouth with closed eyes. Naruto couldn't kiss back, out of shock and sudden fear.
Never having experienced a kiss—no, the accidental one did NOT count!—he wasn't sure how to react. On top of the confusion of kissing, there was the question of whether he returned these intense feelings of affection or not. It wasn't like he didn't like Sasuke, it was just that he—
A tongue slipped into his mouth. A foreign tongue, in HIS mouth. Was that natural? Was that allowed? Where was the kissing rulebook when he needed it?!
As Sasuke manipulated his tongue in the blonde's mouth, exploring every crevice—every milli-fucking-meter—of it, Naruto could only stare back bewildered. Whattodowhattodo—
Sasuke pulled back. Boy, did he looked pissed! It would've made Naruto smile approvingly at himself for being the cause, if he wasn't so stock still and… what was that look in the other boy's eyes?
There was an odd glint, and his eyes turned red. Sasuke bared his teeth, and clenched his fists tight.
"Why didn't you return the kiss?"
"What?"
"Why can't you love me back?"
"Lo—Wait, WHAT?"
"You taunt me, everyday. You flaunt yourself to me as if you want me, and now you're unsure?" The Uchiha was truly insane.
"What the HELL are you talking about, Sasuke?" Naruto wasn't sure if he should feel scared or angry. He settled with angry.
"You're a liar."
"Whoa now—"
"A slut."
"What the HELL—"
"A traitor." There was the unmistakable noise of a blade being unsheathed. Naruto stilled. "Why couldn't you just love me back, instead of forcing me to lose another loved one?" With the speed of a striking viper, Sasuke had the blade at Naruto's neck. "Haven't I endured enough?"
"Sasuke, what the fuck is wrong with you?" He growled out, unwilling to show fear. Sasuke smirked.
"You're scared, aren't you? Those odd issues with the door, the loud thunder in the background, my knife against your throat." He pressed down slightly, slitting open a layer of skin. It felt like a stinging paper cut on the neck. Naruto hissed. Angrily, he maneuvered his leg into a strong position, and kicked towards the Uchiha's stomach.
It went straight through.
With wide, fearful eyes, Naruto stuttered, staring at his leg as if he had seen a ghost. The phantom—right?—just grinned at him cruelly. Naruto felt the sudden press of vomit in his throat.
"Doesn't it terrify you, Naruto?" The blonde looked up shakily, confused gaze meeting the raven-haired boy's laughing ones.
"Wh—what?" His voice was meek, like a frog croaking as it was being swallowed by a snake. The Uchiha snorted at first, then burst out in a cynical, mocking cackle, throwing his head back as if he knew Naruto was too scared and weak to slit his throat. It took a while, but the laughter ceased, and Sasuke smirked insanely at the blonde.
"Doesn't it just make your skin crawl? Doesn't it make your eyes water? Your heart pound?" Baring his teeth in a harsh gesture of amusement, the black-haired boy leaned forward. "Doesn't it scare the fuck out of you that you can't fight back?"
Before he was aware, Naruto was on his stomach, the sharp end of a knife pressing against the back of his head. Sasuke pressed it gently down, and then ground the blade into his skin, making him cry out and attempt to wiggle free. He could feel blood trickling down the side of his neck, making its way from the bite-wound of angry steel. The Uchiha pulled the blade back slightly, watching the boy beneath him with the eyes of a madman.
"Jesus, Uchiha! You've gone nuts!" Naruto exclaimed, panicked. Sasuke laughed cynically, eyes wild.
"So have you, Uzumaki. So have you."
Without another word, he lifted up the blade. Naruto's eyes, focused on the sharp tool, widened.
"Sasuke, stop!" He struggled futilely, inhaling deeply in fear. His pupils narrowed.
The knife fell, right into the back of his skull.
---
"AUGH!"
Naruto jolted, sitting upright abruptly. He panted harshly, looking about his room with wide, fearful eyes.
The sun was shining; there was no rain.
The calendar said it was October 31st.
The clock said it was 5 PM.
Naruto sighed. Just a nightmare.
Completely ignoring the dream, the blonde slipped out of bed and inhaled deeply. Looking down at himself, he noticed he slept with his clothes on, but shrugged, uncaring. He would grab a bite to eat, then get changed for tonight.
Making his way to the kitchen, Naruto hummed to himself, partially to slow his heart down after that strange nightmare. When he got to the cupboard, the blonde reached up and opened the doors, then frowned.
Nothing to eat.
The doorbell rang, followed by an insistent knock.
Naruto felt a sense of déjà vu, but reassured himself that there was a difference between reality and dreams. He walked over to the front door, grinning to himself. Clutching the doorknob, he hesitated for a moment, before turning the metal and opening it.
"Sasuke?" Yes, serious déjà vu. The Uchiha rolled his eyes.
"Let's go, idiot. Kakashi said you had to be there by 4:30. It's already 5:00. You're late. As usual." He stated monotonously, and Naruto snorted, but didn't make his usual comeback. Rather, he told Sasuke to wait a moment, went to grab his costume, and ran back. He locked the apartment door and walked in front of Sasuke, humming joyfully as he began to make his way to their meeting spot.
The black-haired boy smirked.
There was a sheathed knife behind his back.