A/N: This is slightly longer, I think I'll try and keep them near this size from now on. Again, any mistakes or such, let me know and I'll fix 'em!
No disclaimer because I've already done that, dammit, and I'm not doing it again.
Matt, Mello, and Rena were slightly lost. But just slightly.
At least, that's what Matt had said. He hadn't told the truth, but he hadn't exactly lied, either. Yes, they had absolutely no idea where on God's green earth they were, but this was Charleston. A big, bustling, tourist attraction on-a-stick. Sooner or later, he knew, they'd run in to someone who actually had a sense of direction (or a GPS) and ask for directions. He really wasn't worried a bit.
Mello and Rena walked a little behind Matt as he swaggered confidently ahead, making every turn with an air of processed confidence. They passed house after house, not a restaurant or hotel to be found. Actually, for that matter, it didn't even look like anyone had lived in the surrounding structures since the civil war. The old buildings were falling apart, the roofs sagging and the majestic columns holding the elaborate balconies were covered in mold and dirt. The once-perfect paint on the houses was peeling, faded and abandoned. That was the perfect word for this part of the city: Abandoned. The homes reeked of neglect, lining the street in a row of memories. Weeds pushed up between courtyard cobblestones, turning into bushes and small trees behind the mourning eaves. Trees lined the streets, Spanish moss dangling from the overgrown branches.
I bet it's full of chiggers, Rena thought, glaring at the gray masses above her head. Just thinking about bugs made her skin crawl. Mello was walking beside her, absolutely silent save the constant crunch of chocolate and slight creak of leather. He was wearing the omnipresent leather vest along with those hideous laced pants. She grimaced again, maybe he'd let her be his stylist for a day? She doubted it. Rena took small comfort in the fact he'd left the feathery jacket behind.
Matt turned around. "Quiet today, aren't we? What's up?" Rena could have growled. Her feet hurt, she was hungry, and she was starting to get sweaty. Mello ignored the redhead as well, icy blue eyes staring straight ahead, never losing the solid click-click-click rhythm of his black boots. Matt sighed and turned back around, blowing a lock of hair out of his view as he did so. He took a left turn, crossing the street, turning on to what was apparently "Charliewood Blvd".
Charliewood Boulevard, it seemed, was an old strip mall slash amusement park slash tourist attraction, probably new in the sixties. Time hadn't played nice here, either - all the shops were in the same state as the houses they had passed earlier. The attractions on the narrow lane seemed to have the same themes; cartoon characters and old murals of princesses adorned the storefronts. The paint was chipped and the entire place was dirty and disheveled, but Mattcould still recognize the characters from old animated children's movies.
The one old attraction that caught Matt's eye was an awfully yellow 'manor' at the end of the long street. It wasn't in any better condition than the other rides, shops, or eateries, but it was... Open? Who would even attempt the upkeep of this old place, out in the middle of nowhere, part of a poorly disguised plot to reel in the tourists (and, of course, their money)? He cocked his head, stopped squarely in the middle of the cracked street, staring thoughtfully at the one remaining element of Charliewood. The white trim was no longer white, the mustard yellow paint barely remaining - but the lights were on, and the place was clean (well, the steps were swept, at least). It almost seemed to sparkle in Matt's eyes, the one spot of life in the dilapidated territory.
"Hey... Hey! Matt!" Matt snapped out of his thoughts, turning to face Mello, who was glaring at the boy stopped in the middle of the road.
"We're kind of walking here, what's got you so distracted? Staring at nothing, are we?"
"Look, Mels, down at the end of the road. I think... I think it's open."
"Open? Here?"
"There are lights on. It's at least a little cleaner than the rest, isn't it? I say we check it out."
"Why on God's blue earth would we ever even consider attempting to fathom maybe thinking about perhaps doing that?"
Matt sighed, rolling his eyes at the ever cynical, dramatic, sarcastic blonde.
"Hello, Mello, if it's open, there's going to be someone in there, smartass. We can, oh, I don't know, ask where the hell we are?"
Mello smirked. "We're a quarter of the way down Charliewood Boulevard, facing an abandoned old gimmick to make a quick buck off gullible tourists that you actually want to go in."
Rena, on the other hand, was excited. "Really, Matt? You think there's someone in there? Like, we can go back home? Totally seriously? God, that's great! Let's go!" She danced around the two boys, sandals clacking on the worn pavement.
"Hey, Mello, look's like that's two out of three. What are you afraid of anyway, Oh Great Mafia Boss?"
"There's no mafia in Charleston, dumbass."
"Suuuure there isn't," Matt teased, "I suppose that's why you're here?"
Rena pouted, wanting to hurry up and get somewhere she could sit down, tired of the boys' flirting. "Hellooo, I'm going in, so come or not, whatever." She stormed down the road in a huff, the effect somewhat ruined when her sandal flipped off of her manicured foot a few yards away.
"So, Mello, looks like majority rules. We're going in." Matt grinned.
"Not in the mafia, it doesn't," Mello muttered.
"Great, good thing there's no mafia in Charleston, then." Matt grabbed Mello's hand and started pulling him down the road after Rena, who was already nearly halfway there. Mello sighed dejectedly, still nibbling at his chocolate bar, but allowed the gamer to pull him down the street anyway.
Matt stopped at the foot of the four stairs leading up to the front of the manor. Mello didn't let Matt release his hand, trying to win back some form of the dominance he had before Matt dragged him unmercifully down the road. They stood together in front of the house, observing Rena, who dramatically lounged on the bottom steps, one forearm flung over her face, a steady stream of complaints audible beneath it. Matt noticed for the first time the cut outs of movie characters carefully set up behind cracked windows, rows of them all around the front of the house.
"Hey, Mels, check this out." Mello's eyes flicked upward, seeing only cracked paint and filthy glass.
"Seriously, Matt, that's so boring I'm going to go commit suicide."
"Look! See the old silhouettes?"
"….No."
"I don't see anything, Matt." Rena's self-pitying moaning from below the boys had failed to attract any attention, so she straightened up and decided to join the conversation.
"You guys are whack. There's no way you can miss those." Matt was starting to get aggravated. Couldn't they just cooperate for once?
"Matt... There's nothing there to miss." Mello was totally disinterested, but his eyes opened a bit wider when he saw Matt's face, staring straight as a window that had absolutely nothing in it.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Matt was looking straight at a dwarf (possibly one of seven) set up in a window almost straight in front of them. "What do you mean there's nothing to miss; it's right there!"
Mello was a bit worried; concern actually showed in his normally icy eyes.
"You're right, Matt, I see it now." Mello was just playing along, and Matt knew it, too, but he decided to ignore the blonde that was only humoring him.
"Good. That's great." Matt started up the steps. "We're going in now."
As the couple marched up the stairs, Rena stood all the way up and tripped lightly up the incline, balancing on one foot in front of the doors. Matt grabbed the overly ornate gold handle and pulled, coaxing the heavy door open. They slipped in, feet falling onto lush carpet.
Inside the door, Matt faced a long hallway with two doorways leading into a large, empty ballroom on the left. At the very end there was an elevator, currently on another floor, and there was one door on the right, bearing a sign that read EMPLOYEES ONLY in black letters. The ceiling was high, but the hall was narrow. The only light came from a fake chandelier dangling above their heads. The whole room was gold and white, the walls glinting faintly in the electric candlelight.
When Mello's black boots hit the carpet, faint puffs of dust rose and set him coughing. The walls were white and a nasty yellowish color, the paint cracked and peeling. There was an old chandelier dangling precariously above his head, full of candles with wax dripping down the metal rim. Spider webs in the corners – ugh. He violently bit off the corner of his chocolate bar, crunching noisily. Rena saw the same scene as Mello; the place was falling apart, just like every other house on every other street in this part of the city.
Matt started walking, Mello not far behind and Rena taking up the rear. Matt poked his head around the first door on the left. The ballroom was clean and empty, save for a row of poles leading down the width of the room and disappearing into another opening across from the boy. Matt walked the rest of the way in and noticed a sign on the wall.
WELCOME
TO THE HOUSE OF WONDERS
PICK A POLE
FLICK THE SWITCH
AND FOLLOW THE PATH
DO NOT WANDER
PLEASE KEEP YOUR SMALL CHILDREN IN ORDER
ENJOY YOUR RIDE
"See?" Matt said, "I told you it was open."
"What is it, anyway?" Rena whined.
"It's... Remember that time your dad took you to Dizzey?"
"Uh... Yeah?"
"And we went on that boat ride, about an Not-Large World or something."
"Oh, that. I hated it."
"Well, I think this is similar to that ride, except like a moving sidewalk kind of thing. Now, go pick a pole."
"Matt, we are not doing this." Mello's chocolate was almost gone.
"Why ever not? Rena's already got a spot." Matt jerked his hand back to the attraction behind him, where Rena was desperately trying to decide which handhold was the least filthy.
"Matt, are you insane?"
"Yes."
"We're not doing this!"
Matt decided to switch tactics. "You don't want to ride with me, Mello?" Matt brushed his gloved hand down Mello's scarred cheek.
"No."
Matt pressed Mello against the wall. "Are you sure about that?" His breath was moving Mello's feminine hair back and forth across the older boy's neck.
"The hell, Matt, your sister's right there."
"Do I care?" Matt started move his hands along Mello's neck. His gloves were cold, and Mello shivered, slightly angry at how Matt could control him like this; no matter how much he wanted it, this wouldn't do.
"Damn it all, Matt, I'll ride your effing pole. Get off me."
Mello pushed Matt away, still blushing, and grabbed the pole a few rows behind Rena.
"You're the one beside me," He said, refusing to look at the redhead.
Matt leaned off the track and kicked a lever near the sign. The strip of floor the poles occupied jolted and started to move toward the dark door on the other side of the room.
"That's the way it should be," Matt mumbled, as they disappeared into the House Of Wonders.
A/N: Okay. I think this is a bit too descriptive – I'm an adjective whore. Thoughts?
I also edited this chapter (7/8/10) so let me know how I did – I'm really getting serious about writing now and am trying to improve, so some constructive criticism would be great.
Mumble is such an awkward word.
Every time someone reads this and doesn't review, a small child gets stuck in an elevator's doors.