Just a very random probably one-shot I though of in the middle of the night. Inspired by the pale full moon out tonight. Hope you enjoy my little April Fool's Day Gift to you all! :"D
The brunette gulped as she looked up at the imposing mansion in front of her. It already looked creeptaciular during the day, but in the night it just looked freaktastic. Its tall pointed roof, broken windows, and the ancient oak tree and its branches swaying to the wind on the lawn outside made it all the more scary. A shiver ran down her spine.
"Stupid dare..." she grumbled to herself, though in truth she was shaking inside. She hugged her thick beige cotton jacket around her tighter, for even it had trouble keeping her warm in the bone-chilling late autumn night.
She pushed the rickety old iron gate open. It was clear that nobody has even dared to go even on the lawn of the old abandoned house for a long time. She walked quickly towards the mansion's door, taking a deep breath.
Her hand trembled as she placed it on the cold bronze knob. 'The things I do for Hotaru.' she sighed. 'Might as well get it over with.' She turned the old-fashioned knob open and nearly choked on the heavy dust-filled air.
Covering her mouth with her left hand and closing the great wooden door with her other one, Mikan started walking slowly into the ancient mansion, looking around what she presumed to what used to be the living room. Her mission was to get something from the old house to make sure that she actually did the dare of going inside the said-to-be-haunted relic of the past.
She saw nothing but an old yet elegant oriental rug, a few furniture covered with white blankets, a wooden cabinet with glass frames, and some old faded paintings on the wall. She wanted to groan out loud. There was absolutely nothing she could bring to Sumire and Hotaru for the dare.
But then she noticed a small object inside the cabinet. She walked slowly towards it, taking it carefully from the top shelf. It looked like an old faded-blue music box with intricate designs in what must have been silver paint. She turned around to and took a better look at it in the moonlight. It looked incredibly beautiful and mysterious then.
'Pretty.' was all she could think at that moment before she felt a hot breath tickling her neck. She turned around and her large chocolate-brown eyes widened in shock as she faced a pair of blood-red crimson eyes.
In front of her was a tall raven-haired young man around her age; probably a year older. He wore late nineteenth century clothes that Mikan only saw in history books. His crimson eyes stared into her own, seeming to be able to see into her soul. And he was devilishly handsome.
The mysterious man simply stared annoyedly at her stunned state. He leaned down on her shorter frame. "What are you doing here little girl?" he whispered almost menacingly in her ear. The brunette was unable to form coherent words and her mind went completely blank.
To her sudden surprise, the man sighed. "What is Hotaru up to, blackmailing me to dress up in this old-English costume and meeting some stupid idiot..." he muttered under his breath. Mikan snapped from her trance at the mention of her best friend's name. "Yo-you know Hotaru?!" she shrieked.
Then she realized something. "Hey! I'm not an idiot!" she said, crossing her arms across her chest and pouting slightly. The guy just smirked. "Really? Sure seems like it."
"Why you..." Mikan was now fuming. First she was dared to go into a creepy old mansion, alone. Then she was scared out of her wits by some jerkwad who called her an idiot. And her best friend had something to do with it! This was slowly turning into one of her worst nights ever.
"Hey, what's your name?" she turned her head towards the raiven-haired dude. "How rude!" she huffed, but nonetheless answered his question. "Mikan. Mikan Sakura. I'm Hotaru's best friend." She raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "And you are...?"
"Natsume Hyuuga." he answered cooly. "Hotaru's cousin. She blackmailed me into dressing up like some guy from the nineteenth century and to go inside this crappy place." He looked down at her, some amusement in his crimson eyes now. "And what are you in for?"
"A dare." she replied, deciding to go along with Natsume. She tapped her chin with a slender finger. Then she noticed him going towards the door. "He-hey! Where are you going?"
He rolled his eyes. "Going out of this place. I don't believe in ghosts, but I'm not sticking around for the creepy that's guaranteed to be in a house as old as this." But then he tugged the lock some more and took a sharp intake of breath. "Damnit, the door's locked!" he cursed.
Mikan looked at him worriedly. "Really? Let me try." The music box dropped to the floor as she and pulling at the door but to no avail. "Darn. Guess we're stuck here for the night." Natsume growled.
"But I wonder why she trapped us in here. We don't even know each other."
He snorted. "Probably another one of her set-up dates." Mikan looked pitifully at him. "You too?" He nodded. "A lot. I wish she could mind her own business though." She nodded in agreement. "Hotaru's an awesome friend and all, but she goes too far sometimes. Though she won't admit it, I know she loves me."
It was Natsume's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You really care for my cousin a lot, don't you?" She nodded happily. "Yup! She's the bestest friend ever!" But she didn't notice his crimson eyes soften the tiniest bit at her cheerfulness. He, himself, didn't know it either.
'Well this is going to be an interesting night, cuz.' he smirked to himself, continuing to stare at the brunette who happily chattered endlessly about her best friend and Howalons.
They were both oblivious to the all-but-forgotten music box that lay open on the floor, a note sticking out.
You two have been single for too long. Both of you are already twenty-three. So don't get pissed at me when I try to set you two up. Anyway,
I'm not letting you morons out 'till the morning, when I expect see you two to be making out.
Happy April Fools Day, idiots. Hope you enjoyed my little gift.
-Hotaru Imai
This chapter is the product of a nightmare that I turned into a cheesy fluff. Completely random. Hope you fell for the Horror genre prank and the beginning half of this story creeped you out a bit. Sorry for some bad grammar and/or repetition of words. I did it waaay past my bedtime. Edited in the morning. Happy April Fool's Day, foos! :"D Feel free to review.