A/N: I had a number of people asking me to continue this, so here you go. I think this will just turn into a series of oneshots.
Disclaimer: I don't own the "Legend of Korra" or its characters.
"Come on, Jin! There's nothing to be scared of."
The 12-year-old girl stood her ground, not even budging when her friend tried to push her forwards. Digging the heels of her flats in the ground, Jinora was able to send Kai staggering back a few steps.
The boy groaned, rubbing a hand over his dark hair and planting it firmly at the back of his neck. He looked to the sky, asking the spirits to grant him patience when it came to his friend. That's what he got for being nice and inviting the new girl out.
Since Jinora was new in town and had never seen a haunted house in her life, Kai thought it would be nice to take her to see one since the kids their age really didn't go trick-or-treating on Halloween night. From what he knew of her, it didn't seem like she got out of her house much, so he hoped that maybe taking her somewhere would encourage her to branch out.
But with the annoyed pout on her face, he doubted they were going to get much of anywhere.
"Are you scared?" Jinora eyes narrowed at his question, her hip jutting out to the side as she placed a hand on top of it. Though she didn't speak, he could tell she was mentally asking 'What do you think?'
"Yeah," Kai nodded, crossing his arms over his chest as a chill ran through the night air. "That was probably a dumb question."
Jinora's brows rose, signaling that she thought so too.
"What if I promise to stay with you the entire time?" He asked, hoping that that would be enough to get her to walk through the house with him. The line was getting long and he knew that if they waited any longer they would be standing forever.
Jinora thought for a moment, a million unspoken emotions crossing her face in the span of a minute. Finally, after glancing at her friend's puppy dog eyes, there seemed to be resignation. Sighing, the girl crossed her arms tightly over her chest and started walking forward.
"Whoa!" Kai jumped in surprise, following quickly behind her, "I wasn't expecting you to give in so quickly!"
Noting that she didn't react to his words and mentally hitting himself over the fact that he thought that she would, the boy reached out a tanned hand, resting it on the fabric of her ruby sweater.
"Hey, if you really don't want to, I'm not going to force you to go in." Kai could see the look of fear that remained in her eyes even as she tried to put on a brave face. "I know it's probably scarier for you than it is for me."
Jinora sighed, getting sick of people treating her like a piece of glass just because of her condition. She could see the genuine concern in her friend's gaze though, so she let it slide.
Kai gulped at the look of determination that rested on her features after that.
Grabbing his wrist, Jinora pulled him along with her to the back of the line. Kai didn't question her actions, though the girl could see that he was nervous. He shifted his weight from side to side, pushing his hands deep within his coat pockets just to bring them out and rub them together and then repeat again.
She bumped her shoulder into his, hoping it would ease his tense stance but Kai remained jittery as ever. She was starting to chalk it up to excitement when he jumped as the ticket guy asked him how many tickets they needed.
"Uh two?" Kai spoke, making it sound more like a question than an answer. The ticket guy reached out for the money and presented him the ticket, ushering them in through the gate that led to the house.
Jinora tried to pass the boy the cash that her father had given her, but he ignored her offer.
"Maybe we shouldn't do this," Kai paused on the path, causing several people to walk around them as they entered the house. His companion's brows scrunched together her expression puzzled. "I mean you were scared and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."
Sure she had been nervous when they had been dropped off, but now more than anything she wanted to get it over with. She was smart enough to know what was real and what wasn't. She also wanted to show Kai that she could keep up with him regardless of her disability. The nerves were still there, but her determination was greater than any fear she had regarding the haunted house.
Kai, on the other hand, looked as though he was going to be sick.
"Maybe we should just come back next Halloween?" He suggested, pushing his hands into his coat pockets to keep them from shaking too much under her gaze.
Jinora shook her head though at his suggestion. He had brought her here and bought her tickets, they were going to walk through that haunted house if it was the last thing they do.
Grabbing for his wrist once again, the girl pulled him further up the path to the stone stairs that led to the porch of the house. Jinora pushed her way through until they were comfortably situated between a group of teenage boys and two small children and their father. Though she wasn't as scared as she was earlier, she still felt better standing between the two groups.
The door creaked as it was pushed open by the boys in front of her, a rush of cool air hitting her in the face as a musty smell entered her nostrils. As they walked through the doorway, Jinora could see Kai's eyes dart both ways as if already looking for some scary actor to jump out at them.
The hall they entered was dark, the lights dimmed to give it a more menacing look. A red liquid seeped from the tops of the wall, pooling on the floor and staining the carpet. Looking behind her, she noticed the frightened look on the children's faces but the trick had her laughing. Kai though, wasn't amused at all.
Shuffling awkwardly next to her, with his sweater sleeve still in her grasp, the boy jumped as a door down the hall suddenly opened, thousands of electronic bats flying over their heads. Some people screamed and some whooped in excitement. Kai did neither of those.
His face paled as his heart pounded harshly in an attempt to return to normal, his eyes avoiding Jinora's as she would probably make fun of him for his reaction. He was the one that had told her there was nothing to fear and here he was acting like a wuss. Clearing his throat a bit, Kai straightened his stance and pursed his lips. He was on the look out now.
They continued walking down the long hall, a few scarers jumping out at them as they passed. Kai tried his best to remain standing as a man dressed as a zombie bursted out from a door, metal bars separating him from the crowd, but his walking staggered a bit, his shoulder bumping into Jinora's who seemed completely unimpressed by it all.
Eventually they were presented with a spiral staircase that led up to the second floor. Kai could feel his heart drop the higher they went up, his eyes following the lines of the wall just in case there was a trick hiding there. Jinora continued to tug on his sleeve, her cold hand brushing against the warm skin of his. At least he wasn't having to walk through it alone.
When they reached the second floor, it looked a lot like the first one. A line of windows to what looked to be the outside world lined one wall and a set of bars ran along the other.
Kai decided watching the windows was probably his best bet after hearing the moaning and groaning coming from the other direction, but his heart nearly leaped out of his chest as a face appeared in the window and a pair of ghostly hands came up to bang against the glass.
"Wah!" A sound left his mouth that could only be described as anything less than manly. Jinora watched him jump from the corner of her eye, giggling a bit when she saw what had caused him to scare. Obviously he hadn't registered that the so called "windows" weren't actually leading to the outdoor world, but to another room that lay beyond the wall. At least he knew now.
Jinora continued walking on, ignoring the men that reached out for her from behind the bars. It really wasn't as scary as she had expected and for that she was glad.
As they reached the end of the hall where another staircase was settled, Jinora could feel Kai's hand slip into her grasp. Looking curiously down at their joined hands and then back up at him, she realized that he wasn't even aware of their hand holding. His gaze was trained on the hundreds of sleeping "bats" above, snoozing in the dim light.
Rolling her eyes, the girl pulled him forward into the darkness.
After a few more scares that even caused her to jump, the two middle schoolers made their way out into the cool, autumn air.
"Whoa," Kai said as he took in a deep breath, still trying to recover from the last zombie that had jumped out at them on their way out. "That was a little more scary than I thought it would be."
Jinora smiled and nodded slightly, still hyper aware of his hand in her own.
"Oh!" Kai jumped, finally looked down at their joined hands. Retracting his own quickly, the boy shoved it into his pocket as a blush colored his cheeks. "Sorry, Jin. I didn't mean to squeeze the life out of you."
The girl giggled, a light airy sound leaving her lips. Though the screams coming from the haunted house still rang in his ears, Kai couldn't help but chuckle along with her.
"Maybe we should of just gone trick-or-treating instead."
Jinora shrugged, secretly glad that they hadn't.