AN: Hello all. This is a fun little story I have had in mind for months. I meant to get it out earlier but, alas, college sucks. This will be short, probably three chapters or so. Just something fun to get you all in the Halloween spirit. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Still don't own.
Chapter one
The children of Wammy house all knew the story of Emelia Mason. The story itself was complete fact, reported about in newspapers back when it had happened and everything. No one had much sympathy for the mother, but the story was kind of tragic. Maybe that had been what led to all the stories.
The local children had believed the house was haunted for the past decade. The house was abandoned but could not be demolished, since the deceased owner's senile mother had received it, and she refused to go near the place or sell it. The rumor's had spread quickly because of that, and was a hot spot for dares.
Of course, the children of Wammy house did not believe in the ghost stories surrounding the place.
That didn't stop them from trying to frighten the other children about it though.
Liam and Brad, the oldest students, were something akin to bullies. They didn't beat up the smaller children like brutes, but some psychological torment was not off limits. So, as Halloween approached and rumors surrounding the Mason house thickened, they made their move.
"Hey, Mello!" Brad called several days before Halloween. Mello glared at them suspiciously, Matt not acknowledging them at all. The elder boys sauntered over, pleased grins dancing across their faces. "What are you doing for Halloween?"
Mello looked between them before speaking slowly. "Not much of anything…why?"
Liam leaned forward. "How about a little dare then?"
"What kind of dare?" he asked, pulling a bar of chocolate from his pocket.
"Oh nothing much," Brad said, brushing the black, shaggy curls from his eyes. "Just, spending the night in Mason house."
Matt's eyes flickered upwards, though he kept his head angled towards his Gameboy. Mello chuckled. "Wow, really? A haunted house? Isn't that kind of juvenile?"
Liam shrugged. "Not really, haven't you heard that the activity has gone up lately? Police tend to roam around there, watching for kids trying to break in. Plus, getting out of here on Halloween will be tough with Roger watching." It was true, Roger was paranoid about Halloween and upped security to try and prevent the students from sneaking out. He even made it hard to tamper with surveillance and just put it on a loop. When Mello said nothing, Liam's smirk widened. "I didn't know Mello was one to back down from a challenge."
His eyes glinted and he stood abruptly. "I'm not scared, asshole," the thirteen year old swore, playing right into the duo's hands. "Fine, I'll do it."
"Matt too."
"Huh?" Matt asked, finally looking up.
"Or is he afraid too?"
"Neither of us is afraid," Mello snapped. "We'll both do it. What do we get out of it?"
"Wait, I never-"
"Losers cover the winners chores for the next three weeks," Brad said, as if Matt hadn't spoken. "If Roger catches you sneaking out or missing, we win, but we can't tell him you're gone."
Mello stared them down. "Deal."
/…/…/…/
"Mello, do we really have to do this?" Matt whined as they walked down the street. Sneaking out had taken some creativity, but they'd managed it, despite Matt's protests. "You know they're going to find a way to make Roger check on us. The house has nothing to do with it. Can't we at least go do something if we're going to get stuck doing their kitchen duty and crap for three weeks?"
"No way am I backing down," Mello said as Matt rolled his eyes. "Besides you brought your Gameboy, you'll be entertained for a few hours."
"I can't believe you're so-"
"There it is," Mello shushed him as the old house came into view. They carefully scouted the place for cops before making a run for the front door, slipping inside easily and closing the door behind them. They just made it in as a patrol car turned onto the street.
Matt glanced around cautiously, posture rigid as he carefully took in the house around them. It was dark and hard to see, so they waited for their eyes to adjust. The house was covered in a thin layer of dust, several pieces of broken furniture scattered about. The boarded up windows made it even harder to see, and the few windows that they could see out of gave them very little light. Mello pulled out his flashlight and flicked it on, shining it around the room. He glanced at Matt, smirking. "Scared, Matty? You're looking awfully tense," he teased.
Matt crossed his arms defensively. "I'm just making sure it's safe. The floor is weak and there's holes in it, remember? I'm just looking out for your safety."
Mello chuckled. "Right, of course."
Matt growled under his breath and stalked forwards, moving deeper into the house. Through the doorway they found what must have been the living room. There wasn't much furniture. A filthy, hideously patterned sofa sat in the room. A cracked vase was sitting on an end table. There was an old bookcase, a couple other odd furniture pieces and knickknacks. A cross hung on the wall. Mello's eyes strayed to it for a moment before he shrugged and sat on the couch. "Want to explore now or later?" he asked. "I doubt beds will be here but you never know. If not I call the couch."
"Like Hell you do," Matt said.
Mello grinned and studied the couch. "Maybe I won't sleep at all then, this thing is disgusting." He picked at the fabric and stood. "Let's look around."
The wood creaked under their feet ominously as they walked. Mello moved towards the kitchen but Matt paused, seeing something move out of the corner of his eye. He turned, stopping mid stride to gaze across the room. He didn't see anything. He stayed still a moment longer until Mello's shriek filled the air.
"Holy fuck!"
"Mello?" Matt dashed towards the kitchen and nearly tripped over Mello, who was sprawled on the floor beside a significantly sized hole in the floor. Matt stopped abruptly and nearly fell over himself. "Wow."
"I didn't see it and almost fell right though!" Mello stared at the hole, crawling towards it to gaze down it. "It must lead to the basement. Want to have a look?"
Matt glanced into the darkness and shook his head. "Let's look upstairs first, we saw the staircase for that already."
Mello seemed amused. "Okay."
"Shut up."
"I didn't say anything."
They turned, moving towards the stairs when the sound of footsteps began. Both glanced at each other, eyes wide, and silently crept across the floor, taking cover behind the couch. They waited for the presumed officer's footsteps to fade, but they lingered by the window, though no light came through the window. They held their breaths, and finally the footsteps faded away.
"We're lucky they didn't come in," Matt said, leaning back against the couch. He shivered slightly and wrapped his arms around himself, cursing the October weather and the house's lack of heat. "It's freezing in here."
Mello nodded. "Yeah, should have brought a blanket."
A sudden bang from the kitchen caused both boys to jump. "What was that?" Matt asked, voice dropping to a whisper.
"Hope it wasn't a cop," Mello muttered, sneaking forwards and into the room. He kept to the wall, glancing in, but nothing seemed amiss. "Nothing here, something must have fallen," he said, going back to the couch. Matt looked dubious but rose, sitting on the couch beside the blond.
Mello turned off the flashlight since they weren't moving and Matt glanced around anxiously. He had a bad feeling that they were going to be caught. Running into the police would not go over well at all. He watched the windows, paranoid that an officer was going to suddenly burst in. He heard a tapping against a window and whipped around, but didn't see anything except the dead bush swaying in the wind.
Mello was watching, amused. "Why are you freaking out?" he asked.
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm not," Matt insisted. "I just don't want to be picked up by the police."
A soft creak came from across the room and Matt froze, eyes darting towards the corner. Mello laughed at that. "It's just the house settling you freak, old houses do that," he said. "You're not actually afraid that this place is haunted are you?"
"Of course not," Matt denied. "I mean, it's a little creepy but…"
"Oh m God, you really think it is! That's why you didn't want to come!"
"I-"
"I bet you thought that bang was a ghost or something."
Matt shifted on the couch. "Not a ghost just…well you didn't see what fell and…" he trailed off as Mello's laughter increased, sullenly remaining silent.
"I bet you couldn't even sit here fifteen minutes on your own," Mello taunted, a mocking grin flickering across his face. Matt could barely make it out since Mello had the flashlight off. "Face it; you're scared of this place." He chuckled, the sound echoing through the room. "I can't believe you really think there's a ghost here."
Embarrassed, Matt quickly defended himself. "It was just kind of weird, okay? But I could stay here no problem. You're probably afraid I'll tell you to go because you don't want to be alone."
Mello's mirth vanished at the challenge. "Fine," he said, standing. "Fifteen minutes. You sit here in the dark, and I'll go explore the house. I'm not afraid of some dumb story."
Matt bristled. "Why do I have to sit in the dark?"
"Because you're just sitting there and I'm actually exploring. If you're going to take the cowardly side of the dare you can't use your flashlight."
Matt huffed but sat back on the couch, not reaching for his flashlight. "Fine, go then."
"I will," Mello said, turning and stalking out of the room. Matt glared after him a moment before turning to face forward, forcing back the nervousness he felt sitting in the dark, reportedly haunted house, by himself. He consoled himself with listening to Mello's footsteps until they faded. At that point, he quickly began thinking of gaming strategies, and the final boss he'd been having trouble with.
Ten minutes passed in silence, and Matt was just starting to relax when Mello's voice shrieked from upstairs. "Matt!" The voice was faint but there was a definite note of panic in it. Matt jumped up, fumbling for his flashlight and jogging towards the stairs.
"Mello?" he called. He heard the blonds' voice again coming from up the stairs and charged up them, emerging into a long, creepy hallway with three doors, all closed. He heard Mello call again, though he couldn't tell where his voice was coming from, and ran towards the first door. The room was empty, besides the broken dresser sitting against the wall. "Mello?" Matt checked the second room but Mello wasn't in there either.
Matt sped to the third room, not fully expecting to see a terrified Mello, but suspecting he'd find the blond laughing at fooling Matt so easily, but the room was empty too. Matt froze, staring into the small, deserted room. "Mello?" he asked, quieter, as if the blond would appear, though the room had no closet or any real furniture to hide behind. He heard footsteps behind him and whipped around, but no one was there. "Mels?" he questioned quietly, shivers running down his spine. He crept forward into the hall and did a double take. All the doors he had opened were closed again.
Matt backed towards the staircase, staring wildly at the doors. Mello was just pulling a prank, trying to mess with him. "Very funny Mello," he said weakly. "You're hilarious. You can come out now." Silence.
"Matt?"
The call was clearer this time, and definitely coming from downstairs. Matt turned towards the staircase, shining his light down the stairs. He thought he saw Mello's flashlight too, so he had caught him that time. "Wow Mello, way to be a-"
Matt let out a yelp as something shoved him forwards, and he collided with the stairs, rolling down them. The flashlight fell from his grasp, head knocking against the wood, and everything spun until he finally came to a stop with a resounding smack at the bottom, the world darkening at the edges, a shrill ringing in his ears.
Everything went black for a moment, but he felt hands on him, shaking gently. He could hear Mello calling his name and forced his eyes open, straining to see the blond kneeling above him. "Matt?" Mello asked. "Are you okay?" Matt groaned, eyes fluttering shut again. "Matty?"
Matt forced his eyes open, wincing from the pounding in his skull. "Mels?" he croaked.
"Can you move?"
Matt squeezed his hands into fists and shifted his feet. He was sore everywhere and his head was pounding, but nothing serious as far as he could tell. "I'm fine," he muttered, slowly making to sit up.
Mello helped, keeping a steadying hand on Matt's shoulder while the other combed through his hair. "No double vision or anything?" he asked as he searched for blood. To his relief he found none, though Matt was sure to have a huge bump.
"No, I'm okay," he mumbled, glancing around. His eyes settled on his friend. "Were you upstairs just now?" he asked slowly. Mello shook his head no and Matt glanced up the stairs anxiously. "Where were you?"
"I went down in the basement," he said. "I only got about halfway down because a couple of the stairs had rotting wood and there were holes in them. This place is a mess. Anyway I climbed back up and heard you yelling. What happened?"
He seemed genuine and Matt knew even Mello wouldn't push him down the stairs for the sake of a joke. "Someone pushed me," Matt said, looking around.
Matt stared at him dubiously. "There's no one else here."
"Well something pushed me down the stairs!" Matt whispered.
"Something?"
"Someone, something, I don't know! But I heard you yell for me up there but when I got upstairs no one was there. I heard footsteps but then I heard you calling from down here and next thing I know I'm being shoved!" His voice rose frantically as he spoke, eyes drifting back and forth constantly. "Something's here. I want to go."
Mello glared. "No way. I'm not backing down on this dare just because-"
"I want to leave," Matt interrupted, standing quickly, swaying on the spot. Mello stood to steady him but Matt shoved him off, stalking towards the door, pausing halfway when Mello didn't follow. "I want to go. Mello…please, Mels."
Mello rolled his eyes, gesturing around them. "There is no one here. You're being ridiculous! You probably tripped or something, or just lost your balance. There's no such thing as ghosts. I'm not going to go crawling back to Wammy house because you were too much of a wimp to stick it out for another six hours."
"This place is freaking me out," Matt pleaded. "Fine, I'm a wimp, I don't care. Let's just go."
"Then go," Mello told him, crossing his arms. "I'm not leaving."
"I'm not leaving without you."
Mello mumbled under his breath, glaring at Matt who was standing rigidly in the middle of the room, eyes darting to every shadow from Mello's flashlight. He sighed in exasperation and strode forwards. "Fine, we'll go. You've probably got a concussion anyway. We'll blame the early departure on that. But you're doing both their chores for this."
"Fine." Matt followed the blond, relieved. "Thanks, sorry," he said sincerely.
"Whatever," Mello grumbled, grasping the door handle and tugging irritably. The door didn't budge. He tugged harder, but the door remained resolutely closed. Confusion morphed onto his face. He tried pushing the door, but that didn't work either. "It won't open."
"Stop messing around."
"I'm not kidding!" he snapped, pulling at the door with all his strength. Matt pushed him aside and tried himself, with no luck.
"What the fuck?" Mello took hold of the door handle and they both pulled at the same time. However, both froze at the sound of something clanging down the stairs. They turned, watching as Matt's flashlight crashed to the floor. It almost came to a stop then slowly rolled forwards and across the room, stopping mere feet from them.
Mello stared at it, backing away past the boarded up windows. Matt followed as Mello made a beeline for one of the few windows that weren't boarded up, but it remained stubbornly closed too, even after they unlocked it. "What the fuck is going on?" They tried the next window but it was stuck too. They heard a soft clattering and slowly turned, watching as the flashlight rolled a few inches closer before coming to a stop.
"Mello, I want to go," Matt whispered, voice frantic.
Mello tugged at the window but it still wouldn't budge. All the while he didn't take his eyes off the now immobile flashlight. "This has to be some sick joke. Someone's locked us in or something," he said. Another creak echoed through the house, both jumping this time. "It's fine," Mello said, looking slightly spooked. "They just snuck after us and locked everything or something. They're probably laughing their asses off outside right now."
It was a weak argument, but neither said anything more, not looking away from the flashlight sitting innocently on the floor.
