A/N- Yea, so I couldn't think of a title, so this will have to do.
Halloween Jearmin
"Enjoy," A man dressed as a zombie whispered, sounding a low groan as he extended his hand to offer the tickets.
Armin quickly snatched the tickets from the man, shouting an excited "Thank you" as he latched his free hand onto Jean's arm, pulling said boy into the entrance of the haunted mansion.
The blond couldn't help but love Halloween. He found all of the myths and legends surrounding the holiday fascinating, and he often spent hours on the internet researching them. He took pleasure in uncovering the many hidden secrets that the Halloween stories had to offer. However, it wasn't just the stories that the blond enjoyed; he also liked to see all of the trick-or-treaters dressed up. While he wasn't one to dress up, he still liked to see the various people taking on a different role for the night.
Jean, on the other hand, hated Halloween. He didn't fully understand why people thought getting scared was fun, but he loved Armin-which was the sole reason why he reluctantly agreed to go with his boyfriend to this haunted mansion that everyone was "raving about"- as the blond pointed out.
Armin rocked back and forth on his feet as he studied his surroundings. He and Jean were standing in the mansion's foyer with ten other people. They had to wait until the safety rules were read to them before they could start the "tour"- as the workers liked to call it. So, in the meantime, the blond was taking his time examining the paintings that covered the walls. While most paintings, he noticed, were portraits of what he presumed to be witches and vampires, some paintings were very different.
Armin's eyes zeroed in on one painting fairly close to him. The painting showed a young girl standing in the middle of a dirt path. The full moon behind the girl was shaded in soft colors to not, the blond believed, take the attention away from the girl. The girl was staring down at a black, pointed hat resting on the path in front of her, and Armin, upon squinting, could make out a small tear at the corner of the girl's left eye. The blond couldn't ignore the pang in his chest as stared at the picture but a tug on his sleeve had him slowly turning his attention towards Jean.
Jean pointed towards a man dressed in some old-fashioned outfit with an axe sticking out of his head.
Said man approached the group, pulling a scroll out from his inside coat pocket. He cleared his throat and unraveled the scroll, peering over the paper to look at all of the faces watching him. "Now," he began- eyes darting across the paper once again. "The rules are simple. You are to stick with the group and not harm any of the," he paused, pulling his lips up into a frightening smile, "haunted beings you may encounter."
"What if they try to hurt us?" Jean asked suddenly, ignoring all of the questioning looks he was being given. He didn't care if he was being judged for the sudden question; he just didn't want anyone laying hands on his boyfriend, and he had already decided that fists would be flying if he found out that someone tried to harm the blond in any way.
"Most of the spirits residing here are harmless," the man answered.
"Most?" Jean tilted his head and cocked his eyebrows while crossing his arms.
"Well," the man began, "some are a tad bit more malicious than others. But, fear not. No harm will come to you."
Jean shot the man a skeptical look before nodding. A small hand sliding into his had him looking down at the blond beside him. "What?" He asked upon noticing the blond's questioning expression.
"Don't punch anyone," Armin ordered. "None of the actors can hurt us unless they want to risk getting into serious trouble, so don't worry about it." He gave Jean's hand a reassuring squeeze before turning his attention back to the man at the front.
"Now, I'm sure some of you are aware of the secret chamber." The man spoke as he rolled the paper back up. "It's well hidden and very haunted, so be careful if you happen to stumble across it by sheer luck."
Armin's eyes widened. The sole reason he wanted to go to this haunted house was to find the secret room that he read about online, and he was determined to find it and uncover the many mysteries it held. If he had been excited before, then he was ready to burst with joy now.
Jean sighed quietly as he looked down at the blond. It was a rare sight to see his boyfriend shaking with excitement, and he couldn't help but pull his lips up into a smile at the sight. If there was one thing he really loved about Armin, it was seeing how passionate the boy was about certain things. So, he was more than willing to endure some dumb, as he thought, haunted house just for his boyfriend.
"I will only accompany you until we go through those double doors," the man said as he pointed towards a set of double doors on the other side of the foyer. "After that, you are free to roam, but remember, do not stray far from the group or you will be greeted with terrible consequences. Use the markings located along the walls as a guide." The man, finished with the rules, turned swiftly on his heel and began walking towards the double doors, lifting one hand up to gesture for the group to follow.
Armin's smile doubled in size as he and Jean began walking towards the doors. He reached with his shaking hand to grab onto Jean's hand as they stepped through the double doors.
The group had been walking through different rooms for twenty minutes now, screaming often at the many actors waiting to scare them around corners as well as hidden in the shadows.
Armin was too busy examining every inch of every room to be scared. He thought that the haunted mansion was well made and often found himself nodding at the precise attention to detail. He was just running his hand along a dusty wall when he felt his hand hit something soft and warm. A light gasp escaped his lips as he looked up to see a pale woman dressed head to toe in black holding a knife standing before him.
"Oh, I'm sor… Ah!" Armin yelled as he felt an arm slip around his waist, pulling him away from the woman. "Jean!" The blond screamed as he watched his boyfriend stepping in front of him.
"Did you touch Armin?" Jean hissed, eyeing the knife-wielding woman. He clenched his hand into a tight fist as the woman simply smiled deviously.
"She didn't!" Armin shouted as he tugged on Jean's arm. "I did by accident!" He carefully placed his hand atop Jean's fist before continuing. "Don't hit her," he said more calmly this time, sighing in relief when Jean relaxed his body and stepped away from the woman. "We should go," the blond added, noticing that the group had already moved on to the next room.
Jean nodded then allowed the blond to lead him into the next room, turning to give one last glare to the woman before he could no longer see her.
The first thing Armin noticed upon entering the next room was the increase in the number of people. "Must be another group," the blond muttered. He glanced up at Jean, who was still somewhat tense from before. The blond couldn't be mad at his boyfriend; he had known how protective Jean was when he agreed to date said boy so being mad wasn't an option. But, he mentally told himself to stay close to Jean's side to prevent something else from happening. He squeezed Jean's hand, smiling when he felt Jean's lips at his ear, whispering "Sorry".
The two maneuvered through the crowd, making their way towards a dusty shelf with multiple jars resting on it.
Armin leaned in close to examine the contents of the jars. He shuddered at how realistic the eyeballs looked. He then shifted until he could see the jars on the next shelf, gasping lightly at the realistic-looking ears floating in some green liquid. "Jean, come look at these," he called over his shoulder, keeping his eyes locked on the floating body parts.
"Interesting."
Armin screamed and jumped back, falling against the wall. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the person who was not Jean. After a few moments, he sighed nosily, placing his hand against his racing heart upon realizing the mystery person's identity. "You scared me, Ere… Jean, wait!" Armin watched in horror as Jean appeared in front of the other boy, grabbing him by the shirt and flipping him onto the ground.
"Eren!" Armin pushed himself off of the wall, stumbling towards the two boys.
"Eren?" Jean leaned closer to the other boy, recognizing the turquoise eyes looking up at him. "Oh shit! Sorry!" He hopped up off of the ground, extending his hand to help Eren up.
"Eren, are you okay?!" Armin looked up at his friend, who was now laughing while rubbing at his sore back.
"Yea," Eren mumbled through a chuckle. "I didn't think I was gonna get flipped over from scaring you, Armin…"
Armin gave Eren an apologetic look before casting a glare towards Jean. He was quite confused at his boyfriend's behavior- finally deciding after a few moments of thinking that Jean was still very tense from what had happened in the last room.
"Yea, my bad," Jean muttered under his breath. "I heard Armin scream and you know…"
"Yea, I know," Eren said softly, resting his hand on Jean's shoulder. "I'm glad you are watching out for him because I would kick your ass if you weren't."
"Like you could, Jaeger," Jean laughed, playfully knocking Eren's hand away from his shoulder.
"Eren."
The three boys turned to see a shorter boy walking towards them.
"You came with Levi?" Armin asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Uh, yea well… You see… What had happened was…" Eren smiled sheepishly at his friends while trying to find the right words to say.
"He has a massive crush on me and practically begged me to come," Levi responded for Eren, speaking with a calm tone.
"L-Levi!" Eren stuttered as his eyes widened. He looked from Armin then to Jean before stopping to rest his eyes on Levi, shooting him a look that screamed 'What the fuck?!'.
"Let's go, Eren." Levi ordered. "We still have four rooms to go through." That being said, the shorter boy turned on his heel, making his way towards the group that he and Eren were in.
"I'll explain later!" Eren shouted over his shoulder as he raced to catch up with Levi, groaning as said boy fussed with his now dirty shirt.
Armin and Jean exchanged skeptical glances before turning to rejoin their own group.
The next three rooms went by smoothly. Armin never let go of Jean's hand, and Jean allowed the blond to lead him around each room, helping the blond search for any clues on where the secret chamber is located.
While walking through the door that leads to the sixth room, the two boys were shocked to see a long, narrow corridor instead of another room.
"You have gotten quite far in your journey," a voice called out, causing the group to look around frantically for the voice's owner.
"Over here," the voice said again.
"That painting just moved," Armin whispered to Jean before pulling the boy up to said painting.
"You have a good eye." The man in the painting said.
"How in the hell does this work?" Jean asked, eyeing the painting. He could feel the rest of the group moving to surround the painting along with them.
"Is there something we should know?" Armin asked the man in the painting. He carefully watched the man's movements-his confusion growing when he could not seem to figure out how this trick worked.
"There are two rooms left on your journey through the mansion." The man answered. "Be careful. These two rooms are the darkest rooms in the entire mansion, and many malicious spirits reside in these rooms."
"Oh, perfect," Jean griped.
The man continued, ignoring Jean's complaint. "If you wish to survive, you must move quickly. Do not dawdle, or the spirits will become agitated. That is my only warning to you all. Now go. I can already sense the spirits." With that being said, the man stood from his chair in the painting then walked to the left until he was no longer visible in the painting.
"How?!" Jean shouted, raising his hands up to motion towards the picture. "He just freaking left his own painting!"
"Come on, Jean," Armin mumbled through a giggle as he grabbed the taller boy's hand. While leading Jean to the next room, Armin mentally reminded himself to ask one of the workers about that trick once they were finished with the tour.
The second to last room was pitch black, and Armin often found himself stumbling over his own feet, and if not for Jean, he would have already face-planted numerous times. He felt an arm wrap around his waist and was led to a wall.
"Let's wait here while our eyes adjust," Jean suggested, leaning back against the stone wall.
"Yea," Armin agreed. He strained his eyes, desperately wanting them to adjust so he could search. He was determined to find this secret chamber.
Jean raised one foot and pressed it against the wall behind him, gasping as he felt something being pushed by his foot. "What the hell," he cursed under his breath. He was about to push himself off the wall but the wall separating suddenly had him falling backwards. "What the hell?!" He shouted much louder this time. Just as quickly as his back hit the cold floor on the other side of the stone wall, Jean scrambled up onto his feet and raced to the wall that was now closing. "Wait!" He looked through the thin crack that was about to be closed by the two wall sections moving back together. "Armin!" He screamed, barely managing to see the blond before the wall closed, separating him from the rest of the group.
"Shit," Jean cursed under his breath after beating against the wall for a few moments.
When his attempts to beat the wall open appeared fruitless, Jean turned to look at the darkness behind him. He moved close to the wall on the left and then began walking forward, using the wall for support. Moments later, he felt his hand hit something, which he soon realized was a switch. "A freaking way out!" Jean shouted as he flipped the switch.
A low, rumbling sound had Jean grabbing onto the wall like his life depended on it. Instead of the back wall opening like he had hoped, the floor beneath him began moving forward, carrying him farther and farther away from the back wall-or more importantly, from Armin.
Armin stared in horror at the wall his boyfriend fell through. He ran his hands against the cold stones, feeling for any kind of switch. He even leaned against the wall exactly how Jean did, but nothing happened. Worry and confusion began to set in, and he was dead set on sitting by that wall until Jean came back, but other members of the group convinced him that Jean wouldn't be hurt and that he will probably be waiting at the exit.
The blond nodded and joined the group at they made their way into the final room.
"Why the fuck is it so cold in here?" Jean asked himself, wrapping his arms around his trembling shoulders. The moving floor had stopped after five minutes, and since then, Jean had been walking forward blindly.
After what felt like hours to him, Jean finally bumped into a door, greedily reaching for the doorknob in hopes that this was an exit. But, to his dismay, the door led to a dimly lit corridor with two doors on each side. "Fucking great," he cursed under his breath. He walked up to the first door on the left wall. "Let's get this shit over with," he mumbled as he pushed the door open.
Armin bit fiercely at his thumbnail while he kept his eyes locked on the mansion's entrance. Thirty minutes had passed but there was still no sign of his boyfriend, and no matter how many times he asked the workers about it, he was shot down with a "He'll be fine".
The blond was preparing to sneak back into the mansion when a very disheveled-looking Jean appeared at the entrance of the mansion.
Armin sighed loudly- relief washing over his small body. He locked eyes with the brunet and watched as said brunet ran over to him.
"Armin!" Jean scooped the blond up and planted a kiss firmly against his lips. "Are you okay?!" He questioned frantically as he examined the blond.
"Jean," Armin giggled. "Put me down." Once his feet were back onto the ground, Armin looked up, studying his boyfriend. He noted how Jean's clothes were covered in dirt and dust and how there were spider webs tangled in his hair, but other than that, he deemed his boyfriend to be fine. "So, what happened to you?" He asked the taller boy.
"Oh man, Armin," Jean began. "I found the secret chamber!" He watched as the blond's blue orbs widened at his words. "It was really big. Like, there were multiple rooms. I went into one room and there was like this coffin lying in the middle of the room, and then I went into another room and it was entirely empty except for one rocking chair in the corner. And the freaking chair was just like sitting there rocking all by itself!" He watched the blond eating up his every word. "And, you know what?"
"What?!" Armin questioned, waving his hands for Jean to continue.
"I know how to get to it now, so…" Jean fished his wallet out from his pocket and pulled out a twenty. "Let's go through it again so you can see it for yourself."
"Really?!" Armin stared in disbelief at his boyfriend.
"Yea, I know how badly you wanted to see it, so I'm gonna make sure you see it." Jean leaned down and pressed his lips against the blond's once more. "Let's go," he mumbled into Armin's soft lips before pulling away.
Armin reached for Jean's hand, and the two began walking towards the line that leads to the entrance of the mansion.
A/N- Woo, Halloween fic!
Sorry in advance for any grammar errors, and I hope everyone enjoys!