The Second Hour (Melody)
Standing alone in the middle of the living room, Melody listened intently for any whispers, remembering well the signs of the spirit. She wasn't really sure whether or not she believed in any of this stuff, spirits and ghosts and rituals, but she was open to the possibility. As she remained standing still she felt a sudden chill, her skin prickling in fear and goosebumps. She remembered that standing still was a sure way for the spirit to find you, so she took a deep breath and slowly blew it from her lips, trying to keep herself calm.
But then her candle went out.
Letting out a tiny whimper, she pulled her lighter out from her pocket, counting to ten in her head. She managed to relight her candle by the number seven (she'd fumbled with the lighter a little) and raised it in front of her, looking around for a figure. She saw nothing, heard nothing – and suddenly realized that she'd actually blown her own candle out. She let out a bit of a laugh and shook her head at her own stupidity. She'd have to be careful about keeping her candle away from the front of her face.
She moved toward the door, standing still before it, her hand reaching for the door knob. She remembered the rule – you can't leave the house, and wondered suddenly if you could open the door? She wasn't sure if she really wanted to. Would it ruin the game a little, looking outside? Then she heard a sound – a clicking, just twice, sort of similar to the sound a dog's nails would make on hard wood.
Her hand lingered on the door knob and she started feeling a little nervous. She waited, wondering if she'd heard the noise again. Had it come from outside? It hadn't been behind her, that much she knew. What if there was something on the front porch? Did the Midnight Man have a dog? Some big scary wolf hound? Maybe a Doberman? Is that why you weren't allowed to leave? Because something would be outside, guarding the door?
Now she knew she was letting her imagination get the better of her, concocting all of these ridiculous ideas about spirits. If it was anything, it was probably someone's pet, or maybe a raccoon. It was not a spirit demon dog!
Should she open the door to check? Just to be sure? She was tempted – but on the other hand, what if there really was something outside? Demon spirit or live animal, what if she opened the door and it came inside the house? They'd be running around in the dark with a wild raccoon! Not good.
Just then she heard a creaking sound behind her and realized she'd been standing in one place for a few minutes. Was he coming for her? She gripped her candle and was about to call out to see who was there when she heard the clicking sound again from outside. It was close – right outside the door! She let go of the door knob and took a step back before remembering the creaking sound she'd heard moments ago and was about to spin around when a hand grabbed her arm! She screamed shrilly and turned, expecting to see just a black figure – but she didn't.
It was just Ace.
He grinned and cocked one eyebrow at her, looking smug. "And what exactly were you doing with your hand on the door knob, Mel?" He asked, clearly amused at having scared her.
Now fully recovered she reached out and punched him in the arm – probably a little harder than she should have, but she thought he deserved it. "You asshole," she whispered at him, but secretly felt relieved he was there. She'd been letting her imagination run wild again.
Ace rubbed his arm with his free hand. "Fuck, Mel, you should take up boxing, you've got a solid right hand," he replied with a laugh. "Seriously though, what were you doing at the door?"
Melody grinned at his comment, not angry any more. At his question though she wondered if maybe he'd heard the noises too. "I could hear a clicking sound outside, sounded like a dog walking. Did you hear it?"
Ace shook his head – then again he hadn't been paying much attention to sounds from outside. He'd been too focused on trying to creep up behind Melody. "No, sorry. Think the Midnight Man may have a demon hound outside or something?" he asked with a grin.
Melody shrugged – it did sound quite dumb to say it out loud. "Probably just a raccoon." She stared at him for a moment, neither of them looking away, and she couldn't help but feel just a tiny flutter of nervous tension in her stomach. She knew he'd had a crush on her for years now, but it hadn't really been until recently that she'd started seeing him a different light. They weren't little kids any more, especially not Ace. She thought it was kind of funny that even though he was technically, by way of birthdays, the youngest guy in the class, he actually looked the oldest. She'd spent so long ignoring his advances that she hadn't even noticed that he was actually really hot – not until she'd seen him out on a date with Holly Matheson, a girl in the eight grade who tended to land all the starring roles in the drama club's productions. She'd been surprised to find out that seeing Ace with another girl had made her jealous.
And now here they were, alone in Patch's house, in the dark, only two candles giving them light, and she was tempted to lean forward and kiss him. But the moment was interrupted by footsteps in the hall.
"Enough flirting over there, you two," Patch practically yelled at them, making her way into the living room. "There are plenty of rooms if you require a little privacy," she said sarcastically.
Melody leaned back, blushing, before looking over at her best friend. "Shut up, Patch," she said, a little embarrassed even though they hadn't been doing anything. She glanced back at Ace, feeling a little annoyed when she saw that he was grinning at her. She glared at him before moving away, heading for the back hallway. "Enough standing around in one spot for me," she said quietly as she moved off, both annoyed and relieved that Patch had shown up. Did she really want to kiss Ace? Especially tonight? She needed to give that time to develop.
(Patch)
Patch watched Melody wander off down the hall before making her way over to Ace, who was busy grinning like the king of the world. "What are you all excited about?" she asked him, though she knew what he'd say. She'd seen the way Melody had been staring at him.
Ace just shrugged, doing his best to look nonchalant. "Nothing," he said, though he knew it was pointless to lie to Patch. She knew how he felt about Melody. After all – she had been the one to suggest that if he wanted to really get her attention, then he should go out on a date with someone super popular, like Holly Matheson. He'd thought it was a stupid idea at the time, but she'd convinced him to try it. He'd been forced to admit that Patch was right, because the very next day Melody had almost seemed like she was glued to him, giving him very flirtatious smiles and even making a point of touching his arm a few times during the day when they were talking.
And now he was certain that if Patch hadn't shown up, he and Melody would have kissed. He was kind of annoyed with Patch, but relieved at the same time. He did want to kiss Melody tonight – but not yet. He needed more time to move around on his own after all. They had another three hours.
Patch shook her head at his answer, before turning and heading for the door to the basement. "Just be good to her, Ace," Patch said in mock warning. "I don't want to have to beat you up." She turned to look back at him and grinned when she saw him laughing. She gave him a wave before descending into the darkness of the basement.
She walked down the stairs slowly, lifting her candle around to try and penetrate the darkness of the basement. Her parents had boxes stacked throughout the room, a half-assed attempt to go through old things and decide what to get rid of and what to keep. It had started out well enough, but then her mother had started second-guessing herself, and she'd restarted the whole process. Then her father had gotten involved, and they'd started arguing, and now the end result was stacks of boxes everywhere.
She paused at one, seeing an old picture album. She looked around in the darkness, listening for sounds, but hearing nothing. Should she take a chance and stand around for a bit, looking through old pictures? She brought out her lighter, holding it in her right hand just in case.
She set the candle down on the box and opened the album on top. Her eyes immediately took in a picture that made her smile. It must have been at least five or six years old, and showed her and Ace and Teddy and Bon Bon standing by a lake. She could imagine the sort of picture her mom had been trying to take, but unfortunately it hadn't turned out quite so good. There was a swan in the lower right corner of the picture, and all four of them in the photo had screwed up faces – from yelling. Patch remembered the moment – the swan had stolen Teddy's hot dog.
She'd have to take the picture out and show it to everyone later. She flipped a page, seeing more pictures from the day, snapshots that made her feel warm. After the lake day there were pictures from a soccer tournament – most of which consisted of her and Ace. As she continued to flip through the album she didn't notice her candle flickering, too engrossed in old memories. Suddenly it went out and the warm feeling she'd felt moments ago disappeared into icy cold fear. She made a grab for her candle but ended up knocking it off the box instead.
"Fuck!" She yelled as she brought her lighter to life, looking around the floor for the candle. She found it and grabbed it, bringing the lighter to the wick, waiting for it to catch. She finally got it lit and stood up immediately, looking around wildly. She left the album there and walked further into the room, holding the candle high and looking around, wondering if it was actually the spirit, or just a draft, that had snuffed her candle out. She wasn't sure if she actually wanted to know.
She didn't hear anything (at least nothing down here) and didn't see any shapes in the darkness. She felt nervous and jittery though, so for the time being she abandoned the photo album and made her way to the stairs, walking back up into the house and closing the door behind her. On second thought, maybe she ought to leave it open? She didn't know what she'd do if it opened on its own.
(Teddy)
Teddy prowled through the bottom of the house, holding his candle in one hand and an ice cream sandwich he'd liberated from the freezer in his other. If he had to play this stupid game, the least Patch could do was feed him. He'd already done a complete check of the upper floor, walking through Patch's parents bedroom, her mother's craft room, her father's work room, and the spare bedroom. Teddy thought it was kind of stupid that a family of three lived in a house with so many rooms (Patch's bedroom and a second guest room were downstairs). Sure, they were small rooms, but still separate rooms!
He lived in a crappy little semi-detached bungalow with his mom, his step-dad, and two step-sisters. The girls shared a room, and Teddy was crammed into a tiny room beside the bathroom, so he could always hear it whenever anyone was in there. He hated it.
So of course he'd jumped at the idea of spending a night away (especially in a house with no parents) and even though he had to play a stupid game, it was okay. Still better than sitting in his room listening to his family argue. He'd been excited too when Bon Bon had said she was coming, because he'd been hoping that maybe they'd get to be alone, and maybe he'd get to kiss her again.
He scowled when he thought about it, though. She was off in the house somewhere with Lancer. Why was she with Lancer and not him? Okay, maybe he should have asked her if she wanted to stick together at first when they'd started, instead of stomping off on his own. He should have known she'd be scared – she was a girl, after all. Girls always got scared in the dark.
And the way she'd grabbed Lancer's hand! It boiled Teddy, thinking about it. Maybe he should go and find them and tell Lancer to get lost, that he'd stay with Bon Bon. She was his girlfriend, after all. Not Lancer's! Lancer didn't even like her that way, at least Teddy didn't think he did. Lancer always seemed to be going after Brighteyes – which Teddy didn't understand. Brighteyes was a total nerd. Sure, Lancer was kind of a nerd too, which Teddy always teased him about, but he was still kind of cool. He was Teddy's best friend, after all. Well, after Ace, of course. Plus Lancer was rich – so he could date any girl he wanted!
He could even date Bon Bon, if he really wanted to... Teddy crammed the rest of the ice cream sandwich into his mouth, feeling rather angry at the moment. Fine. Let Bon Bon and Lancer go off on their own! Let them spend the next three hours wandering around in the dark together! See if he cared! He wasn't good enough for Bon Bon anyway, he'd always known it! He didn't even think her parents liked him!
Whatever. Lancer could have her.
Just then he heard a noise behind him and he whipped around, glaring down the hall, wondering who was there. No way did he think for a second that it was the stupid Midnight Man. That was so lame! He watched as two figures shuffled forward, holding candles in front of them. Go figure.
"Teddy!" Bon Bon cried out, relief in her voice. She let go of Lancer's arm and bounded forward, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend. Teddy, who'd been intending to say something rude to the pair when he noticed them, was temporarily stunned into silence.
"Uh, hey Bon Bon," Teddy replied, unsure what to make of this. Why was Bon Bon hugging him? In the whole three weeks that they'd been dating, she'd hugged him maybe three times? Four? She wasn't really into displaying her affection, which was perfectly fine with Teddy.
Seeming to notice her strange behaviour, Bon Bon pulled back then and smiled at him in an embarrassed sort of way. "Um, sorry, I've just been kinda freaked out... I'm just happy I found you," she practically whispered.
Teddy grinned, forgetting that he had been angry earlier. After all – she hadn't been hugging Lancer, had she? "Don't tell me you believe this stuff, Bon Bon? I'm telling you, it's totally made up."
Lancer came up to the pair then, looking nervous. "I don't know, Teddy. Summoning spirits when you use blood has had quite a bit of evidence of actually-"
"Wow, who invited Brighteyes?" Teddy replied sarcastically, not caring at the moment if he made Lancer look stupid. Bon Bon wasn't interested in him. That's all that mattered. He looked back at his girlfriend. "Hey, you want an ice cream sandwich? There's a whole box in the freezer, the expensive ones!"
"Did you ask Patch?" Bon Bon asked, looking at her boyfriend in shock.
"No, but if we have to play this stupid game, the least she can do is let us eat her food. Come on, I'll get you one." Teddy grabbed her hand, not really giving her a choice, pulling her along into the kitchen, pointedly not inviting Lancer. He was a guy, after all, he'd understand that Teddy wanted some time alone with his girlfriend.
(Lancer)
Lancer watched as Teddy and Bon Bon disappeared, feeling annoyed. Typical Teddy, trying to make fun of him when he was explaining something. But he didn't really blame him, because he understood why Teddy did it. Teddy wasn't really that smart, Lancer knew his friend barely got good enough grades to pass. He wasn't sure if Teddy had some kind of learning disorder, or if he just didn't try hard, but the bottom line was that anyone who was intelligent intimidated Teddy.
Maybe if Bon Bon hadn't been there, Teddy wouldn't have said anything. In that regard he was a typical teenage boy – he always wanted to look cool to his girlfriend, and would sacrifice anyone to make it happen. It wasn't personal, Lancer knew that. Maybe he'd stop doing it if Lancer ever asked him to, but he didn't. It didn't really bother him that much anyway, to be honest. He understood how his friendship with Teddy worked.
For now though he put those thoughts out of his head and moved down the hall, heading toward the living room. There was someone else in there – Patch, and she was standing by the door, listening.
"Hey Patch," Lancer said, moving closer to her. "Anything crazy happen to you so far?"
Patch turned to look at him, a smile on her face. "I totally had an encounter in the basement," she said, her face lit up.
Lancer's eyes were wide as he stood before her, wondering if she was telling the truth. "What happened?" He asked.
"I was looking through an old photo album, just standing there, waiting to see if he really would come out," Patch began explaining, sounding confident, "It got super cold all of a sudden, like shiver-worthy! Then two seconds later my candle went out!" Patch stepped closer to Lancer, holding her candle closer to her face. "It was the creepiest thing I've ever felt in my life, Lancer! I was scrambling to get my lighter out, and I swore I heard footsteps! Finally got it lit, and no word of a lie, I totally saw a dark figure walking backwards, away from me. Fuck, it still gives me chills," she said, grinning excitedly.
Lancer had a feeling she was embellishing, but wasn't about to call her out on it. "So then what happened?" he asked, wondering what had really happened.
"What happened? What do you think happened?" She asked, pausing for effect. "I turned around and ran upstairs! Slammed the door behind me. I am not about to go down into that basement for a while," she stated.
"Have you been here since?" Lancer asked, looking back down the hall. The basement door was wide open. He thought it had felt slightly chilly when he'd walked by it, though he'd assumed that was just because basements were naturally colder. Heat rises, after all.
Patch nodded. "Yeah. I heard the door creak open a minute after I came up, but I watched and I don't think anything came up, not that I can really see much over there, but at least if anything came this way I could dart upstairs, you know?"
Lancer nodded, looking back in the direction of the basement. "Well, I came from the kitchen, and nothing was there. So maybe it's still downstairs?"
"Probably," Patch replied. "Maybe we should get Teddy to go down and check it out," she said with a laugh.
"He's in the kitchen with Bon Bon," Lancer replied, unsure if it was his place to say anything, but unable to help himself. "He's eating your ice cream sandwiches," he said, happy it was dark so she couldn't see him blush. He didn't want to get Teddy in trouble, but it was really disrespectful to take someone's food without being offered.
"Oh is he?" Patch asked, crossing her arms. "Wish I could say I'm surprised. I should go check it out before he eats everything," she said as she moved toward the hallway. "See you, Lancer!"
He watched as she left, seeing her pause and look down the basement stairs. She continued on though, and Lancer was tempted to go and close the door. If there really was a spirit of some sort in the house, would it stay confined to one room? Did spirits respect the boundaries of doors and walls? Of course not, but he thought it would make him feel a little better anyway.
(Melody)
Melody was in the bedroom belonging to Patch's parents, staring into the mirror above the dresser. It was a pretty sight, watching the candle flicker, illuminating the room barely enough to give the outline of her body in the mirror. She walked closer, holding the candle higher so she could see her face. Maybe some people would find it ridiculously vain, but she liked looking at herself in the mirror, because she quite liked her face. She felt lucky that she'd gotten a nice face, because that was one thing about yourself that you just couldn't change – not without a lot of plastic surgery.
When it came to faces, she definitely stood out in the crowd. It wasn't something she was necessarily proud of (because she hadn't done anything to get it, she'd just had good DNA from her parents) and it also wasn't something she was arrogant about. Well, maybe some people thought she was, but that was okay. She needed a good face if she was going to be a famous rock star, if she was going to be in music videos and on the cover of magazines. She needed a face that people would find attractive. Image was very important in music.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the hall, and she turned to look at the door, wondering if she should call out and ask who was there. Instead she just moved towards the door, attracted to the glow of the oncoming candle. It turned out to be Ace in the hall, and her heart was doing flips again. She stood in the doorway and smiled as he came closer.
"Hey Mel," he greeted her, coming to stand beside her.
"Hey Ace," she replied, thinking in her head that when it came to guy's faces – Ace definitely had the best one. Everything about it was perfect – especially his eyes. He probably had the most expressive eyes of any guy she knew.
"Have any encounters up here?" He asked, an amused tone to his voice.
Melody shrugged. "Nope, nothing! I'm severely disappointed, I figured I'd be curled in a ball on the floor by now," she said with a grin, wondering if they were alone up here. She knew Patch was still downstairs, but where were the others?
"Well there's still time for that," Ace said, leaning forward suddenly and blowing out her candle.
"Ace!" Melody squealed in annoyance, fumbling for her lighter but dropping it on the floor. Before she could get down to search and call herself an idiot for freaking out, Ace's lighter was there, bringing flame back to her candle.
"Watch what you wish for," Ace said, taking a step back and leaning down to pick up her lighter.
"Very funny, jerk," Melody said with a glare, though she wasn't really upset. Or rather, she was a little upset that Ace had thought of pulling the joke on her before she'd thought of doing it to him! "Now give me my lighter back," she demanded, holding her hand out.
Ace just shook his head. "No, I think I like your lighter. Maybe I'll keep it."
Melody frowned, fixing him with a glare. "No, give it back, I need it!" She said, willingly playing the game with him. She knew he wouldn't really keep her lighter – not unless he had plans to stay with her for the rest of the night. The idea had her kind of excited.
"Maybe I'll let you have it," Ace said, leaning against the wall, "But you'll have to pay me with something."
"Excuse me?" Melody asked, trying to sound annoyed. She had a feeling that she knew what he'd demand as payment, and she hoped she was right. It kind of made the whole process a little more exciting.
"Payment," he said, holding the lighter in between two fingers. "I can't just give it back to you, you need to pay me for it."
"And what sort of payment are you thinking?" Melody asked, her tone light and amused and much less nervous than she felt. But it was a good sort of nervous, an excited nervous.
Ace moved away from the wall and reached a hand out (the hand holding the lighter) and placed two fingers against Melody's cheek, looking her directly in the eyes before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers, kissing her. Melody kissed him back and could barely contain a squeal of delight – she'd been right, he'd totally used the opportunity to kiss her! The kiss was perfect, it was everything she'd imagined it would be, and the fact that it was dark and they were lit only by two candles made it even better!
Then he pulled away and she felt him press the lighter into her hand.
She stared down at it before looking back up at him, wondering if she looked as ridiculous as she felt. "Thanks," she said, though she wasn't entirely sure what she was thanking him for. For giving her lighter back? Or for making the first bold move? He just grinned at her comment and before he had a chance to say anything she was talking again. "I would have kissed you anyway," she admitted, and knew she was probably blushing. But that was okay, because there was no way he could see that.
"I know," he replied smugly, though she was willing to bet that he hadn't known that – because wouldn't he have just kissed her earlier? They stared at each other for another few seconds before Ace moved away. "We should probably stop standing in one place," he said, backing towards the stairs.
"Yeah, don't want him to find us," Melody replied.
"Be careful," he said before turning around to the stairs.
Melody just stood there and watched him go, her fingers clutching the lighter tightly. She turned and went back into the bedroom, going back to the mirror. She felt beyond happy as she stared back at her smiling face, wondering if she should tell anyone about the kiss. She'd keep it to herself for now – it would be her own little ward against the shadows.