Arthur rushed Vivi into the van and started it up, thanking his lucky stars when it did and drove away from the mansion. He felt himself tremble every time he looked into the mirror, even when the van had completely vanished from sight. Vivi looked out the window at the house, until it was just a memory to her. She reached out a hand towards where the mansion once was, and bit her lip gently. He knew me. She stared a little longer and carefully pulled herself back into the window before looking to Arthur.
"Why did you do that…?" She said slowly, trying to be patient. She was very frustrated with Arthur, but it wasn't a good idea to let him know it right now. If I pressure him too much, he'll just bottle everything up again. She leaned forward in the seat a little when he didn't answer. "Arthur, answer me." Arthur looked at her in the rear view mirror, his face pale.
"Do what Vivi?" He questioned, "Save your life? That thing was trying to kill us!" Vivi looked at him with her arms crossed. What is he getting so defensive about?! Especially with me?!
"He wasn't going to hurt me Arthur and you know it," She responded harshly. Arthur glanced at her again in the mirror, then focused on the road again. "Tell me the truth Arthur." Her voice came out almost like poison. Mystery whined softly and pawed at Arthur. They connected eyes for a moment, and unspoken conversation started between the two. Arthur slowly rubbed his left arm, and looked away. Mystery gave a soft growl, but Arthur remained silent. Defeated, Mystery walked onto the opposite side of the seat and laid down. Arthur looked back at Vivi in the mirror and finally mustered an answer.
"I panicked okay?" He said slowly, "I didn't know what that heart was going to do to you. What if he had possessed you by giving you that heart?" Arthur's voice was full of concern, but it somehow felt empty to Vivi. It's true that ghosts can possess you through objects, but I've never heard of a case where the ghost gives the object directly to you. Not when you knew for a fact the ghost was a ghost.
"You're not making any sense Arthur," Vivi said slowly, then turned to the window and looked back again. "I think we should go back. Maybe he could help him move on." As she said these words, she noticed her friend lose the remaining color in his face.
"NO!" He shouted loudly, and reacted by hitting the breaks hard. Vivi jerked forward a little, but was thankful for her seatbelt.
"WHAT THE HECK ARTHUR?!" She shouted loudly, grabbing Arthur's hair and pulling on it in frustration. "THAT REALLY HURT!"
"Ow! Ow! OOW! Vivi! Stop!" Arthur tried to pull away, when the blue haired only tightened her hold on his hair.
"How could you do that Arthur?!" She shouted into his ear. "Why can't you just tell me what's wrong?! Why can't you just talk to me?!" She ferociously pulled on his hair.
"You're gonna pull it out V! Come on! Stop!" Arthur squirmed unhappily and managed to grab some of her hair. "Maybe I don't want to tell you that I'm a big coward! Maybe I'm scared of you hating me! Maybe THAT'S why I don't talk to you about my feelings! I'm a man for heaven's sake! I was supposed to protect YOU!" Vivi's eyes widened and she slowly released his hair. I was only wanting to protect him, but I didn't think it'd bother him so much… Vivi sighed gently and leaned over his seat more, so she could now look him in the eyes.
"Alright Arthur," She said gently, the edge in her voice gone, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you…" Arthur looked over at her, a touch of sadness in his eyes. He looks like he wants to say something… "Is there something else?"
"No there isn't," Arthur said automatically. Just like that, Arthur shut himself up and looked back to the road. If he was going to say something, he isn't now. Way to go Vivian. She knew immediately by Arthur's voice that he wasn't going to talk to her anymore, not about that subject. Frustrated, Vivi sank back down into her seat as the van moved forward again. Vivi crossed her arms and took a few deep breaths, calming herself down. Why doesn't he talk to me anymore? He used to share all his feelings with me, and now he can't even give me a proper explanation.
"Do you hate me or something Arthur?" She asked suddenly, breaking the silence. She saw Arthur bite his lip, his eyes sadden once again.
"No V," He said softly, his voice cracking slightly, "No I don't hate you V… You've always been my best friend… I could never hate you… Never…" He slowed the car a little and looked at her again.
"Then why won't you talk to me Arthur?" Vivi asked gently, pressing the issue very tenderly.
"Because I don't want you to hate me…" He answered, his voice hallow.
"But Arthur, you're my best friend," Vivi said softly, "I could never hate you." Arthur looked her in the eyes, and she almost felt him say 'I doubt that', but the words never came from Arthur's lips. Vivi sighed gently at him and hugged herself. "Please have more confidence in me Arthur. I was still friends with you after you startled the new girl in high school and made her run away from me." Arthur rolled his eyes at this memory.
"First of all," He commented, "That was not my fault. I was simply decorating for the Halloween festival, and got some scary decorations stuck to me. Secondly, I could have sworn she stuck around until you dragged her through that haunted house attraction." Vivi's face turned pink and she shook her head slowly.
"She said she was cool!" She defended herself, earning a gentle laugh from Arthur. Vivi hugged herself a little more, and started to shiver. "Turn off the A.C. Arthur. My teeth are going to start chattering!" Arthur looked at the little dials and then back to her.
"It is off Vivi," He informed her, "Are you sure it's not the air from your window?" Vivi looked at the window and blushed gently.
"I didn't think it was that cold outside," She mumbled gently as she slowly cranked the window closed. She hugged herself and gently pulled her arms into her sweater, thankful it was a little oversized. "It's still cold in here." Arthur leaned forward a little and started adjusting the heat. She pulled her arms back into her sleeves just as he started to speak again.
"Sorry V," He said gently, "It seems the heater is acting up again. I'll have to take a look at it tomorrow." He sighed gently. Great, another problem with the van, as if there wasn't enough. I'll have to really look under the hood tomorrow and look for problems. I know we can't afford to take it to a shop. Arthur sighed gently and rubbed his temple with his flesh arm and let out a small groan. "We didn't technically solve this case, did we?" He looked back at Vivi and she responded by biting her lip.
"No we didn't," Vivi said slowly, "The mansion disappeared, but that was in the reports. It'll probably reappear again in a few hours or so, so we can't prove that we even went in there." She crossed her arms and sighed.
"We're not going back there," Arthur said sharply, "We were not told that it would be a dangerous ghost. They lied to us and said it was perfectly safe. We are NOT going back." Vivi could hear the harsh tone in his voice, and it made her pout.
"Since when do you have the right to command this team?" She said defiantly, "Last I checked, I was the fearless leader." Arthur could hear the disdain in her voice, but he wasn't going to back down. I can't have her going back and trying to solve this mystery. She would never forgive me if she knew… Arthur felt a chill run down his spine, and he used his flesh hand to zip up his vest as a result.
"You would've said the same thing," Arthur said insistently, "I just beat you to the punch. You always hated it when our clients lied about the situation, and you always dropped them for it, no matter how small it was. Now it's wrong when I do the same thing?" Vivi opened her mouth to argue, but closed it again. How am I supposed to argue with myself? She shook her head slowly.
"Who know…when you try, you can be pretty hard to argue with…" Vivi crossed her arms and pouted, and Arthur cracked a smile. The moment was broken when Arthur's teeth started to chatter.
"It is cold in here…" He gripped the steering wheel a little harder as he tried to concentrate on driving. Vivi looked out the window and watched the signs that went by, until one caught her eye.
"There's a motel in the next exit," She said plainly, and Arthur threw on the blinker immediately.
"We don't really have enough money for a motel though," Arthur began to protest, but Vivi was quick to interject.
"We'll share a room then." Arthur started to blush at the thought of being in the same room with her, but Mystery's loud bark from the other side of Vivi snapped him out of it. He was always right there as a reminder. Vivi's teeth started to chatter too, and she pulled her arms back into her sweater. "I just want out of this cold van. I swear I'm going to freeze from riding in here too long." Arthur pushed down on the gas petal a little more and finally neared on the motel. Vivi was the first to get out, letting Mystery out too, then quickly walked towards the motel lobby. "I'll go get a room. Can you see about fixing the van a little while I'm at it?" Before Arthur could respond, Vivi disappeared into the motel, with Mystery at her heels.
Arthur sighed loudly, then turned to the van. He raised the hood and used a flashlight to look over the engine. Everything looked perfectly fine. Arthur started to lean into the van, when a cold chill ran down his shoulders. He decided to close the hood and went rummaging in the trunk for his clothing. He rolled his sleeves down all the way, pulled on a separate orange jacket, and then found a nice pair of gloves to put on too. Feeling a little warmer, Arthur locked up the van and walked towards the hotel.
"Did you get us a room?" He asked as the blue haired girl came out of the lobby.
"Of course I did," She said softly, happily waving the keys in front of his face. She led the way to the room and let him inside. It didn't take long for both teens and their little dog to find places to lay down. Vivi got the bed, after much arguing with Arthur over who deserved it more, him winning in the end. Arthur laid down on the pull out couch and found some comfort under a nice wool blanket. He didn't even mind that Mystery had jumped in the bed with Vivi that night. For the moment, he was comfortable, and he didn't know how long that would last.
In their business, it was rare to have a peaceful night for sleeping.
