Hey guys! This is a new story, which I'm writing for the horror challenge in the BTR Plot Adoption Forum. It was supposed to be a one-shot, but it'll probably be a few chapters – I'm thinking maybe three or four, depending on how long it gets. I had another idea for this challenge at first, which I was writing but have yet to finish. I'm thinking about maybe finishing it and posting it as a one-shot anyway, but I'm not sure yet... Should I? It might not be horror, but it'll be Halloween related.
Also, just wanted to say this was loosely inspired by The Ghost Next Door (hence the title) – a book by R.L. Stine from the Goosebumps series, which I used to love when I was younger. The story will be a lot different, though (I hardly remember what happens in the book).
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this first chapter. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. :)
"Mom, are we there yet?"
Kendall rolls his eyes at his little sister, Katie, who is impatiently leaning forward on her seat, tapping their mother's shoulder with her index finger.
He doesn't bother to pay attention to his mother's response, and instead turns to look out the window, a quiet sigh slipping past his lips. They're on their way to their new home – a new house in a new town, where he will be attending a new high school – and unlike his mother, who seems to be exited about the move, he and his sister are not too thrilled about it.
It's not long after Katie asks that question, that his mom stops the car in front of a white house, situated in the corner of a street. "Okay, we're here."
Kendall waits for his mom and sister to step out of the car and then, he sluggishly opens his door and steps foot outside. The cold Minnesota air hits him in the face immediately, which leaves him trembling, despite being used to the cold weather. The car had been a lot cozier and warm, with the heater being turned on.
He stares at the house, frowning at the cobwebs littering the windows and the accumulation of dead leaves that surround the yard. From the outside, it doesn't look much like a home. If anything, it looks more like a haunted house of some sort. The thought of that sends shivers to run down his spine.
He watches as his mother unlocks the front door and then steps foot inside, his sister following closely behind, while his feet remain glued to the pavement outside of the yard.
"Kendall, come inside, honey!" he hears his mom call from somewhere inside the house.
"Coming, mom!" he shouts back, his feet moving to step foot inside the yard. Something – or rather someone – in the neighbor's yard catches his attention, though. Sitting on the steps that lead to the neighbor's house sits a young boy, who appears to be around Kendall's age. He has brown hair, pale skin, and dark brown eyes that are staring directly at him. For a second, their eyes meet, until Katie comes running out of the house and pulls a stunned Kendall out of his trance-like state.
"Come on, Kendall, mom wants you to see the house," she says, pulling him along the yard and up the steps that lead up to the house's entrance.
"I've already seen it," he mutters, pulling his arm away from his sister's tight grip. "It's just a house."
"You haven't seen the inside of it." It was true – his mother had picked the house on her own, since she had wanted it to be a surprise for the two siblings. Because of it, Kendall doesn't know what to expect, but judging by the exterior, he isn't too sure he'll like the interior too much.
As they enter, the first room they step foot in is what Kendall assumes will be the living room. It isn't too big, but it also isn't too small. In fact, it would probably look a lot nicer once they got their couches inside and decorated it a bit.
Beside it is the dining room. It is a lot smaller than the living room, but Kendall figures it doesn't matter, since it is enough room to fit a table and chairs. And connected to the dining room is the kitchen. It is quite a bit smaller than their old one, with cupboards lining the walls and countertops below them. It isn't too bad, he thinks.
"Kendall, Katie, do you two want to pick your rooms?" At the mention of their rooms, the two siblings run to where their mom is standing in the hallway. There are four doors towards the back of the house – the room that will belong to their mother, Kendall's room, Katie's room, and the bathroom.
"Dibs on the larger room!" Katie exclaims, pushing past Kendall and taking a look inside the two remaining rooms in the house, which happen to be beside each other. His mom's room is in front of the two, and the bathroom is beside it.
Mrs. Knight laughs at her daughter's behavior and moves to stand beside her. "They're both the same size," she says. "Kendall, is there one room you'd prefer over the other?" she asks, turning towards him. Katie is standing with a hand pressed to her chin, as if deep in thought.
"I'll take the one at the very back," he says, walking past his sister and mother to look inside the room. "That okay with you, Katie?" he asks her, smiling as she nods her head. "Cool. Can we start unpacking now?" he questions his mom.
"Sure, honey. Can you help me bring the couches, beds and table into the house first, though?"
Kendall nods, and together, the three of them walk out of the house and towards their moving van. As they walk out of the yard, Kendall turns to look at the neighbor's house, expecting for the boy from before to still be sitting there, but he's nowhere in sight.
By the time they finish getting everything out of the moving van and into their respective rooms, it is well past seven in the evening.
While his mom is busy ordering a pizza, and Katie is busy unpacking in her own room, Kendall is sitting on the middle of his room's floor, staring at the cardboard boxes surrounding him. He knows he should probably start unpacking, but he has no intention of moving from where he's sitting. He's physically exhausted, and the thought of having to start attending a new school the next morning leaves him feeling nauseous and already fearing the next day.
He's not sure how much time he spends sitting there, but he suddenly hears a knock at his bedroom door, and not two seconds later, his mom pokes her head inside. "Pizza's here!" she says cheerfully – much too cheerfully for Kendall's liking, but he forces a smile to appear on his face and stands up from the floor.
"I'll be there in a minute, mom," he says, his eyes moving to his bed, which has yet to be made. "I think I'm just gonna make my bed first. I won't be too long."
"Alright."
Kendall sighs in relief as soon as his mom leaves the room, his smile immediately vanishing. He plops himself down on the soft mattress and pulls his knees up to his chest, moving to lean against the wall. His eyes shift towards the window beside his bed from where he can see the road that is beside his house. For some reason, though, his thoughts go back to the boy he saw at the neighbor's house earlier, and for a second, a small smile comes to his face. If the boy really is around his age, then he probably goes to his school. The thought of possibly becoming friends with the boy fills him with a brief feeling of happiness, but it's gone as soon as it appears.
Someone, be your friend? Ridiculous, he thinks to himself, his gaze moving away from the window to stare at the light cream-colored wall that is right across from him. He has never had an easy time making friends, so he doubts that the boy will want to be his friend. It'd take a miracle for that to happen.
"Kendall, the pizza's getting cold!"
Sighing, the blond forces himself to his feet and works on opening the box that contains his bedding and other stuff he had thrown in there the previous night. He makes his bed in a hurry and then runs to the dining room, where his mom and Katie are sitting, already eating.
"So, are you guys ready for school tomorrow?" his mom asks just as soon as Kendall has taken a seat and has grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza. His hand freezes where he'd raised it to take a bite, his eyes shifting to Katie, who only shrugs in response. "Are you not exited, Katie?" she asks, a frown on her face.
"I won't know anyone," Katie responds, not meeting her mother's eyes.
"You'll make some new friends before you know it. I'm sure of it," Mrs. Knight says, attempting to lift her youngest child's spirits.
Katie smiles, but Kendall can tell it's forced. He doesn't say that out loud, though.
"What about you, Kendall?"
"What about me?" he asks his mom, trying to avoid answering the question.
"Are you excited?"
"Sure, I guess," he lies, not wanting to upset his mother. He then turns to his sister and places a hand on her shoulder, smiling when she turns to look at him. "It'll be okay, baby sister," he says quietly, hoping it'll make her feel at least a little bit better.
"Thanks, big brother." Katie smiles at him before going back to eating.
The family of three had had to move because Mrs. Knight wanted a "fresh start," as she called it. The house they had previously lived in was far too big, and with Katie and Kendall's father passing away just about a year ago, their mother could barely afford to pay the rent. Luckily for them, she had found this new house at a rather low price per month, which was nice, since the house was not too small and they could all still have their own room.
"I think I'm gonna go and do some more unpacking and then head to bed," Kendall says after a few minutes pass, and he stands up, leaning in to kiss his mom on the cheek, and then planting a kiss on top of Katie's head. "Goodnight."
He goes back to his room and closes the door behind him, before tiredly dragging his feet towards a random box and starting to unpack.
By the time he decides to head to bed, he is practically done with most of the boxes, and his room looks remotely similar to the way it looked like back in his old house.
He collapses on his bed, and then rolls over onto his left side, his eyes staring tiredly at the wall. As tired as he is, he can't seem to stop his mind from racing or from worrying over the following day. The thunder roaring outside definitely doesn't help, but that only lasts for about half an hour to Kendall's relief. He can never fall asleep when it's thundering – it's one of those fears he has that he'd never admit to.
It's a good hour and a half later when he finally manages to fall asleep, the sound of the rain falling outside lulling him to sleep.
I feel like the ending's a bit rushed, but I'm not sure if it is or not. Also, nothing creepy has happened... yet. What are your thoughts? Any guesses as to what's gonna happen later on in the story? Let me know what you all thought. And thank you for reading. :)
~ BigTimeRush-BTR :)