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Chapter 7
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The ride home for Matthew is a bit nerve-wrecking. It's that sort of calm-before-the-storm brand of anxiety coursing through his body, causing his palms to sweat and his mouth to run dry from the anticipation of enacting his plan of action in gathering information. Though appearing to be a trivial matter, as siblings often take from one another in secrecy many times throughout the course of their lives, it's been agreed on both twin's parts to stay away from Arthur's sanctioned space since that one day many years ago, when despite their reluctance to regard Arthur's hobbies with anything other than the rational even at such a young age, they had intruded upon it and Alfred had suffered such a fright that neither one of them truly spoke of why exactly even to this day, but came to the decision to let Arthur's things alone just the same.
And now, Matthew is going back into the basement, with the full knowledge of there being paranormal entities that have the power to do such damage as he has witnessed just hours earlier, and this time alone.
"You look like you're gonna be sick."
Matthew's attention snaps sharply from his hands folded in his lap to the left, looking right at Gilbert behind the wheel, staring straight ahead as he drives. Matthew does his best to appear indifferent, not wanting to let him on to any of the thoughts plaguing his mind.
"Haven't gone back to bed yet," he lies. "You'd look bad too if you did the same."
Gilbert scoffs. "Sorry, kid, there's just no way I could ever look bad."
Matthew remains quiet, eyes leveled at the other's head and refrains from looking away for even an instant. Gilbert notices, says nothing for some time but eventually the constant staring begins to grate on him.
"What?" he snaps.
"Nothing," Matthew responds. "Just wondering what Lovino was on when he decided to start sleeping with you."
This brings out a lopsided grin, a poke of white teeth and smug eyes. "The only thing he needed to be on were five meters made of pure awesome to see what he was missing."
Matthew's head thumps back on his seat and he squeezes his eyes shut. "Okay, gross, and yeah, still wondering."
The remainder of the drive progresses much the same as before, in relative silence only broken by a casual reminder in direction by Matthew when Gilbert appears a bit too uncertain in his navigation. In little to no time at all, Gilbert is pulling into the driveway of one of the older residences; a two-level home covered in yellow vinyl paneling and surrounded by self-planted flora. It's the place he's called home for as long as he's known it to be, and yet coming back to it after only being away for a day, and with the intentions he has, he feels as thought that's been a lifetime ago.
Matthew briefly takes a moment to wonder if Feliks' dramatics could be contagious. It's what it certainly seems.
"Wait for you here then?" Gilbert asks while shutting off the engine.
Matthew rolls his eyes and opens his door to exit the vehicle. While stepping out, he does his best to use a borderline sarcastic tone as he says, "No, Gil, don't be stupid. I want you to wait for me back at the house, I'm going to be here for hours."
"Damn, you're a snarky bitch when you don't get any sleep."
The blonde doesn't bother to respond with anything other than a flash of his finger before slamming the door shut.
The entire block is quiet, the suburban setting combined with the time of day, a period in which many of the inhabitants are currently working or otherwise occupied, keeping the streets empty and leaving Matthew's footsteps to echo just a bit against the brick walkway leading to the front entrance. He feels a bit paranoid, even bothers to look around after jogging up the front steps and begins to dig for his set of keys, and then almost immediately berates himself for being so idiotic. This is his home, he remembers, he shouldn't be made to feel as though he cannot be safe here.
The door swings open, revealing a decorated entryway, dimly lit by the lack of any nearby windows and unlit lamps. Matthew steps in, closes the door behind him and begins to walk forward, taking the familiar route to the kitchen. The floorboards creak under his steps, groaning in protest from the pressure, and it's something that causes Matthew's pulse to quicken. Never before has he heard the noises created by the house so loudly, so clear. It's a little disconcerting to be honest, and it has him listen out for anything stirring that is not himself.
As he enters the kitchen, he pauses at the doorway, taking in the surroundings; the mopped floor and scrubbed counters, dishes tucked away into the clean line of cupboards, the stainless stove and matching fridge looking almost new and barely touched, and all of this is lit by the sunlight streaming through the large window behind their small table. He takes it in, realizing how lonely this house can seem when empty of any of it's residences and ponders over whether it's always been like this or is just something recent that he now notices.
He hears a groan of wood somewhere behind him and doesn't bother to refrain from looking over his shoulder. Nothing is there, save for the few floating bits of dust barely visible. Matthew's tongue darts out from between his lips, wets them quickly and faces forward once more. He takes a step into the room and sharply turns to the right, now standing directly in front of the door leading down into the basement. Matthew grasps at the knob, the gold tarnish dull and chipped, turns it carefully and pushes it open.
The moment he stands on the landing of the staircase leading below the ground level, he's hit with a sudden memory of himself positioned the exact same way with Alfred by his side, ten years old and pumped full of adrenaline by the meer thought of trespassing into the room below before acting on it and ready to trample down the wooden stairway. Matthew swears he can see the grainy images of two blonde little boys descending into the dark flicker in his mind, hear their crashing feet against the wood, making too much noise and not worried in the slightest as their faded giggles are filled with the promise of adventure in forgoing the set boundary.
"You think we should? I mean, Arthur really doesn't want us to be down here," he had said. "He said we're not ready or something like that."
"He just said that to say it," Alfred responded. "He ain't ever gonna bring us down here, so we gotta do it ourselves. C'mon, maybe we'll find a dirty magazine or something to get back at him with."
He shakes his head, freeing himself for the bombardment of memories past and begins his own present descent into the basement, the wood nearly shaking under his weight this time around as his eyes adjust to the lack of light. Matthew walks down slowly, eyes scanning through the dark for the switch that does not appear until his feet hit the cement flooring. The light switches on with a snap and a buzz from the lightbulb hanging above signals out in audible waves as Matthew steps forward and gives the room a good look around.
Much is the same as he remembers from before, the red bricked walls contrast with the gray of the paved flooring, the pipes and wooden beams supporting the home above are still showing, uncovered completely as they run across the ceiling, leading to the small rectangle of a window on the opposite side, clouded with dirt and covered in grime. There are shelves of books, cases filled, some left open and some kept behind glass in a double paneled cabinet. There are rows of jars, bottles, and jugs filled with indescribable items he knows he has no business in snooping into and leaves them. There is something new however, something he cannot recall seeing before in his brief time exploring the area.
In the very middle of the room drawn in chalk, is an unrecognizable design. An even circle within an even larger one, drawn on more thick and overlapped, unknown squiggles and symbols litter the middle ring and there's only a few scratches of lines in the very center. Matthew edges around it as he progresses further, preferring to keep his distance while on his search.
He makes for the openly displayed books, scanning their titles and only picking at those that seem to be of any relevance. There appears to be only one that holds his interest, thick and leather bound, the main subject being on summoning. While it's not exactly what they should be doing, there could be a stow away of information on reversing the effects. He tucks it under his arm and continues on to the next series of books kept in the actual cases, scanning the same as before, muttering under his breath as he reads titles aloud and asks questions to nobody as to how they may be of some use.
Matthew finds little else, and if it weren't for how promising the remaining books kept behind glass appear, he would leave with what he already has and call it a day. Being that they are though, he opens the glass cabinet, spreading the door wide and instantly realizes that the majority of these either have no title present or it is too faint to even make out in the light.
With a bit of a sigh, Matthew looks for a space to place the book he already has in possession. He finds one at the bottom of the cabinet, a thinner shelf than the other, just the right size. With it safely kept away from being mixed with the others, Matthew reaches for the first book shelved and begins to skim.
The time goes by quickly, three times already he's had to answer a text message from Gilbert, asking for more time, he's almost ready to come back out, there's still a few more to sort through...
"He can come help me if he's getting so damn impatient," he mutters to no one and rubs his eyes with one hand, bumping against his glasses.
He goes back to work, shortening the skims to a light reading of a page from somewhere in the middle of whichever book he's picked up before putting it back down and moving on to the next. Which so happens to be a very thin book, black in color though spotted with patches of dark brown and covered in a tough sort of binding that is also wrinkled. It has an odd texture below Matthew's fingers, nearly unpleasant, but he opens up to the middle of the pages carefully (they seem to be even more brittle than the others) and runs his eyes over the lines. The further along he reads, the wider his eyes become and he breaks out into a grin.
"This is it," he whispers. "This is the closest one ever."
He shuts the book gently and hurries to collect the other stashed below, falls to his knees and reaches into the small space for retrieval. As he does, his knuckles brush against something rough, bringing it up just enough to make a noise when falling back against the shelf. Curious, Matthew pulls the book out and sets it aside with the other before reaching for the mystery item. What he pulls out is a rather dusty, thin board, made of light wood and despite the thickness, is sturdy on it's own. He flips it over for further inspection and instantly gasps.
It's Arthur's own Ouija board, and again, Matthew is hit with a memory of Alfred and himself finding it all those years ago. Although that time, Alfred was the one who had found it, stored in a different place at the time, and had been the one to snap it in half.
"You broke it!"
"I didn't mean to!"
"Alfred! Matthew!"
"He found us!"
"The window! We can get out from the window!"
"But the board! He's gonna know anyway!"
"Oh yeah... I'll stay and get yelled at, you go."
"What?"
"Mattie, just go!"
Matthew's gaze goes from the board to the window, thinking back to how he once fit through it to make an escape. Alfred had taken the blame for coming into the basement and even for breaking the board (though technically he did break it himself). Matthew returns to staring at the board, and thinks to himself of how that is right. Alfred broke the board, and yet here it is, in one piece without a single ridge to show of where it's been cracked in half.
He's thrown out of his musings however, startled entirely by a series of honks coming from outside that could only be Gilbert. Matthew, while ready to pack up and return to the house, decides to take his time in putting the items back in a passive-aggressive move to teach the other a bit of patience, at least until his phone vibrates.
Tempted to ignore it, Matthew picks it from his pocket and freezes after reading the screen. Gilbert informs him that his brother has pulled into the driveway, he's already home, and before even bothering to question why Arthur is home from work so early he rushes to shove everything back in the order he found it and closes the cabinet with a loud clatter. He picks both books up and runs for the stairs, skidding through the chalk outline without realizing and hits the lights while trotting up the stairs.
Back in the kitchen, Matthew races through and heads for the staircase leading upstairs. He takes two steps at a time going up, barely hearing the front door open as he hits the landing and crashes into his room, instantly going into panic, looking for an overnight bag to stuff the books in and clothes to pile on top of them. He's at his bed, stuffing the books at the bottom of a bag he's found in the closet and covering them with a few jeans and shirts, when there's a knock on his door frame, surprising him enough to cause him to jump and spin around sharply.
There stands Arthur, shorter than either twin though still standing tall, in a white collared shirt paired with a red tie and his pressed trousers, definitely just returned from his working day, arms crossed against his chest and an unvoiced question on his face.
"Hey," Matthew greets almost near shakily. He wills himself to keep his voice steady and to appear as normal as possible lest he give something away. "You're home pretty early, huh?"
"It's Saturday, Matthew," comes Arthur's reply. "I was only called in for a few hours, but more importantly, what is all this?"
He gestures to the bed, to the strewn clothes and the half-packed bag as calm as ever while Matthew's mind races. Is it really Saturday? He should have known that and yet it's completely slipped his mind, something as mundane and yet necessary as knowing which day of the week it is has slipped his mind. This entire situation may be of crucial importance, however, it should not render him incapable of recognizing the day. Or perhaps it's only natural for it to be so, he'll think it over later.
"Alfred's doing this huge construction thing," he says. "Painting and redoing the kitchen and putting up this thing that'll help block his bed from being seen by everyone. But anyway, it's a total mess and I just decided to help and stay over while it's going on to make sure everything's being taken care of, you know how it goes with him."
"Funny, I didn't think apartments were allowed to be renovated in such a way."
"Well Feliks pushed for it because it wasn't "totes chic" or whatever and you know how he gets to get his way even if it isn't his place to do it and they're both idiots so me and Gil thought we should help and you saw Gilbert outside right?"
Arthur does not respond right away, leaving Matthew to think that maybe he should have spoken slower. Being so rushed could only look suspicious after all, definitely a sign of lying...
"Er, yes," answers Arthur. "I spoke with him before coming in, charming as always."
"Yeah, he's an ass... Um..." He pulls out his phone, checks the times, and quickly shoves it back into his pocket, making sure to look anxious. "I actually forgot that I have a shift soon, so I better get going. I'll call you later though, yeah? Keep you updated?"
He throws a few more shirts into the bag and zips it up quick, slings it over his shoulder and breaks for the door, sliding past Arthur, who in turn tries to say something in return. It isn't until he's halfway down the staircase that Arthur follows him out from his bedroom, calling out from the landing.
"How long are you going to be gone?"
"Should only be a few days," he calls back and reaches the front door. "I'll call you later!"
He swings the front door open without so much as a glance back, he pushes it shut blindly and practically trots back to the car. He opens the passenger side door, slides in, and goes right for his seat belt.
"Didja get caught?" Gilbert asks and starts the engine.
Matthew shakes his head. "Almost. C'mon, let's just get back and figure out what to do next."
Not needing any further instruction, Gilbert backs out from the driveway, now occupied with Arthur's own car, and turns them back in the direction from whence they came. As they speed away, Matthew barely catches a glimpse of Arthur watching them from his bedroom window, mouth curled downward in a slight frown and brows furrowed in though, and clutches at the bag in his lap a little tighter. He forces himself to look straight ahead, trying to put the sight out of his head without feeling too guilty, and thinks only of their next step.
Meanwhile, back at the house, Feliks sits at the desk in Feliciano's bedroom while the man himself has his back up against the wall, knees brought up and balancing a sketchpad, charcoal pencil pressed against the paper with other numerous supplies placed next to him as Feliks scans the Internet. Alfred rests on the bed, eyes closed and breathing steady. He looks more at ease than he has in the hours before and it's a welcome sight to the two keeping guard.
Feliciano looks up from his book at one of the Alfred's more noisy snores, making certain that all is well before darting back down to the sketch of the blonde himself sleeping sound.
"Okay, that's it," Feliks says suddenly and pushes himself away from the computer screen. "Every troll on the Internet is a major ass-ball, hands down."
The sudden outburst has Feliciano put his book down all together and give him a curious look. "What's an ass-ball?"
"Feli, that's so not the point." Feliks chances a look back at the screen and instantly grimaces. "I so totally thought it'd be like, easier to just ask everyone what to do on just getting rid of this thing or something, and I don't know how many people I got telling me to sing 'There's Got to be a Morning After' backwards."
"Maybe you're asking it wrong?" he suggests and carefully sets aside his art supplies so that he may stand. "They could be thinking that you're talking about something else."
"Whatever, I'm just gonna call Toris like I said I was gonna and forget this on-line crap."
He vacates the seat in favor of searching for his phone, leaving Feliciano to hop right in for a better look himself. Feliks already has many tabs open, each one depicting a forum, a blog, or a personal site littered with pages of discussion and information.
"Wow, and still there wasn't anything to use?" he asks.
"I think there's some stuff," Feliks answers while digging through his bag. "But I'm just so not totally sure and I so don't wanna make myself look like a dweeb and say I found the magic cure or whatever when everyone gets back. Oh, glob, I wish they'd get back soon, I have to pee like no other and it's like, two blocks to the closest public place."
"Why not just go to the bathroom then? Why haven't you used ours?"
"Same reason why you haven't cleaned the shattered remains of your shower that Lizzie went total She-Hulk on."
"Oohh..." Feliciano throws him an apologetic smile, feeling a bit mournful over the fact that he is not able to overcome the fear that rolls around when thinking of the bathroom and all that transpired within and the inability to even step inside. He furrows his brow in thought, trying to think of a solution to the best of his abilities for both their shared predicament. "I know! We can go in together! I'll sweep up the glass and then stand in the bathtub with my back facing to you while you use the toilet!"
Feliks gives his an odd glance before returning to his phone. "Um, yeah, thanks for the offer, but don't forget we have to keep an eye on this one here."
"Oh, yeah... What if we kept the door open?"
At his words, the bedroom door rattles, calling their attention to the wood that shudders so slightly, as though a strong wind is pushing against it. A shadow passes beneath the threshold, causing them both to jump where they are and scoot closer to one another.
"You're gonna give it ideas, Feli," Feliks says hastily. "Shut up!"
"You mean, it's still in the house? I thought it went away after Eliza scared it!"
"It's wherever Alfred is, duh!" Feliks reminds him and hits the speed dial on his phone. "Why do you think they left us here to watch him? It's like, always around, or something and if that isn't freaky enough, it could be tricking us to make us think that's it not even really in here with us, but it really is!"
"Feliks, I'm starting to get scared again, stop it!"
"You don't think I've been freaked out this whole time? Seriously, Feli, my mind has not shut up since Gil and Mattie left."
Feliciano brings his hands together and starts to wring them together. "I hope they get back soon."
"Totes, all we need is for some spooky shizz to go down with no one around to help us out or something."
"Hello?"
The sudden intrusion of a new voice, disembodied at that, has both Feliks and Feliciano cry out in fright, shrieking loudly and rousing Alfred violently from his sleep, the blonde flailing about against the mattress and shouting out for an explanation of what is happening.
"Feliks! Feliks! What's going on? Are you alright?"
It takes several moments of hysteria before Feliks recognizes the voice and finally pays attention to the phone in his hand. He begins to hush the other two, lowering their panic into heavy breathing and small whimpers.
"It's Toris," he tells them. "Oh, my glob, I put it on speaker, totally accident guys, so sorry!"
"Fuckin-A, Feliks, you guys scared the crap outta me," Alfred says while Feliciano grimaces and keeps glancing at the door.
"I'm sorry, so totally sorry," Feliks goes on while fiddling with the mechanics of his phone. He put it to his ear, greeting Toris on the other line and reassuring him that despite the sounds, everyone is perfectly fine and proceeds to immerse himself in a conversation that excludes the others.
While he prattles on, Alfred flops back on the mattress and runs a hand over his face, sighing the whole time. Feeling a bit more calm himself, Feliciano lowers the hand he's had pressed against his chest at Alfred's movements and decides to move from behind the computer screen to the edge of the bed, sitting next to the blonde but not so much as to intrude in his own personal space.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
Alfred slowly removes his hands from his face and tilts his head against the pillow, wearing a small smile the whole time. He fixes his glasses, having jostled them in the frenzy and rubs at the ridge indented into his skin from where they pressed as he answers. "Yeah, I'm actually pretty good. How long was I out?"
"Since Mattie and Gilbert left. Well, before because we moved you into my room to be more comfortable, but you get it."
"Since they left," he repeats while sitting up. "How long have they been gone?"
"A pretty long time, but I'm pretty sure they'll be back soon."
It goes quiet between them, and very soon the only sounds in the room are coming from Feliks who seems to be defending himself against some point made against him by what he's saying on his end of the conversation. In the sake of breaking the silence, Alfred grasps for a talking point. His eyes land on the glowing computer screen and as cooly as possible, he asks Feliciano what it was they were doing before he had awoken.
"Oh, Feliks didn't want to be doing nothing while they left us here," Feliciano explains. "So he got back on the computer for some self-research or something like that."
"Tried that too, didn't really work out for me though."
"I think the same thing happened with Feliks," he tells Alfred with a smile. "I think he looked for everything Matthew told him about but..."
He trails off, and Alfred can see the impending question that is bound to happen. So, he waits, because with Feliciano, it will be asked.
"Matthew said that ghost-demon thing would do these weird things to you at night," he begins. "Like touching you in sex-"
"Yes!" Alfred cuts in sharply. "Yeah... it would."
Feliciano's brow furrow and his mouth takes a small turn downwards. "Is that what it was going to do last night in the bathroom?"
Alfred only shrugs. "Probably. Most likely."
He desperately wants to change the subject, it's annoying enough that his brother has already gone and aired his secrets out to the rest of their friends without even consulting him over the matter first, he doesn't feel up to it to have an awkward enough conversation with Feliciano.
"D'you know where my scarf is?" he asks and puts his hand against the base of his throat for emphasis. "It's kinda cold in here."
"Not really," Feliciano disagrees. "But yeah, Gilbert grabbed it when he checked the damage to the shower earlier and gave it to me to put with the blankets and stuff you guys used last night."
He stands from the bed and reaches under the frame, wiggling for a few good moments before dragging out the entire bundle he has stashed away earlier in the day. Folded neatly on top of the extra blankets and sheets is Alfred's pink scarf, spotted immediately by the blonde himself who sweeps down and picks it up in one swift motion. He casually drapes it over his neck, and for the sake of keeping with his excuse, wraps it loosely around himself.
Though upon doing so, he finds that he does feel warmer, but a good kind of warmer. Comfortable. He hums slightly, maybe it is a bit cold in the room and he just hadn't noticed it as much before.
There's a loud jostling sound outside of the bedroom, enough to call their attention save Feliks since he is still preoccupied. A door is slammed open, hitting the wall opposite of it and they both instantly tense and then breathe a sigh of relief at Gilbert's loud voice booming through the small home, letting them all know that him and Matthew have returned.
Feliciano and Alfred hurriedly make for the door, wanting to get out to meet the others and almost ignore Feliks' request to keep the door open, he really does not want to be left alone in any room right now. Not that it really matters, he soon follows after them while still going on about the discourtesy of being forgotten.
"You'll be fine," Gilbert says to him. "It's after Alfred's skank ass, not yours!"
"Wow, Gilbert, you always know just what to say to make everything better," Alfred says as he passes him by for Matthew. "What'd you get?"
Matthew lifts up the two books in hand, still proud of how he managed the feat even with complications in the way and it shows by the grin on his face.
Alfred bites out a laugh and reaches for one even though Matthew holds them both out of his reach. "You lucky dick, you actually did it."
"What? Didja think I'd chicken out or something?" he asks his twin.
"Actually, yeah."
"Thanks."
"Any time."
"Oh my glob!" Feliks suddenly shouts. "There is like, so no door there, Gilbert, what the hell is wrong with you?"
Both Matthew and Alfred snap their heads in the direction of the bathroom. They're greeted with a view of Feliks' looking very put out next to Feliciano who has his legs and arms spread wide in a blocking stance in front of the broken door and the noise of what could only be a zipper being forced down.
"I just need to take a piss!" Gilbert shouts back. "Keep your skirt on, it's fine!"
"Besides, I'm guarding the door!" Feliciano adds happily.
Through their antics, Matthew calls out softly to his brother with, "Hey, Al. These are our friends."
"You don't know how long I've waited for you to use that tone and not have it be about me," Alfred replies. "This is a moment for us."
Feliks visibly rolls his eyes and turns away from them to approach the twins.
"Okay," he begins. "So I'll just like, tell them when they stop being stupid, but I was talking to Toris about everything and besides telling me that we sooo didn't know what we were doing or whatever, he said that he knows a way we can find everything out straight forward like."
"That'd actually be pretty good," Matthew says and waves the small black book. "I've skimmed through most of this and it tells a lot on what the thing is, but not the why."
"What is then?" Alfred asks. "Was I right?"
"Technically, yes." Matthew tucks the other book under his arm and uses both hands to open the smaller one. "This one talks a lot about it being something that lives on being sexual with people."
Feliks mutters, "Awkward..." under his breath, causing Alfred to roll his eyes and motions for Matthew to continue.
"The thing is though," his twin goes on. "If I understand right, it's generally.. not, harmful."
Alfred doesn't bother to bold back his reaction. "Bullshit!"
"I know, I know! But y'know... maybe we should just read through it more, maybe Toris can help fill in some blanks-"
"Yeah, about that," Feliks cuts in. "We'll need to go over to my place aaaand... we need the board."
Their response is instantaneous. "What?"
"Like, I get it," he says with his hands up in defense. "Okay, the board is an evil figment of evil, but that's what he said soooo...?"
Alfred runs a hand through his hair while Matthew does nothing more than look a tad dejected over the fact. He glances at Alfred, who only returns with a shrug, non-verbally stating the question of what else could they do?
"Okay then," says Matthew. "Go ahead and call Eliza, she said she was closing early, and tell her to bring it from the back. I stashed it under the shelf with all the broken kitchen stuff."
"Wait, why do I gotta call her?" Feliks demands and places his hands on his hips. "Why can't one of you do it?"
"Why don't you just do it?" Alfred asks in return. "You're always on the phone anyway."
Feliks huffs at his words and holds a fist out in front of himself, the universal acknowledgement that a game of rock-paper-scissors is in order that the twins agree on simultaneously by copying the action, which leads to Eliza answering the phone and discovers (without even knowing that it had been a contest of sorts) that Feliks is the one resigned to make the call. Their conversation is not exactly brief, though technically not a full conversation as she hangs up only two or three minutes later.
"What now?" comes an annoyed call from Lovino behind the register, already closing it up for the day.
While they may be invested in the safety of their friend, the store they live by cannot go unattended, particularly if owner of said store were to ever find how neglected they leave it there could very well be serious consequence they would all like to avoid. As the most senior employee, Eliza has volunteered to work and because Lovino is now beginning to feel uncomfortable in his home, he too has volunteered for the day.
"Feliks called and said Toris wants to help," she quickly explains. "And... he wants us to bring the board."
The cash register slams shut with a ring, the coins rattling inside very noisily just by the sheer force.
"You're talking about the devil board from hell, aren't you?"
Eliza pockets her phone seamlessly while asking, "Is everything a devil with you?"
"Well whatever the fuck came into my house last night wasn't just an ordinary ghost, so what the fuck do you want me to call that shit?"
"Huh..." Eliza blinks and thinks it over. "Anyway, we have to take it back so are you ready to get goin'?"
"The register's counted out. We just need to lock the door on the way out."
"Already took care of it," she tells him and shuts off the lights. "Come on, the board's in the back, we'll go out through there."
Eliza exits the store front first with Lovino following close behind. The shelf with the broken kitchen appliances is right in front of them near the door, and as per instruction, Eliza looks below and spies the familiar box and feels a bit wary on going near the object since the entire series of events took a turn for the worse. She feels Lovino come to a stop beside her and she gives him a sideways glance.
"So the box is right there with the board in it," she points out. "You can go ahead and grab it, I don't mind."
"Why do I have to do it?"
"Because. I did my act of bravery last night."
"Yeah, thanks for ruining my entire fucking bathroom."
"Any time." She nudges him with her shoulder and asks, "So you gonna get it? Or are you just scared?"
Lovino gives her a hard glare and raises his chin stiffly and begins to stalk for the box. He stops right in front of it, the perfect distance to stoop down and scoop it up into his arms. Eliza says nothing as she bears witness to his shoulders tense and in doing so even shudder. It isn't until she hears him begin to mutter under his breath in Italian that she bothers to step closer.
"Are- Are you praying?" she asks.
"Shut up!" he cries. "I'm just getting ready to pick up the damn thing, lay off me already."
Eliza sighs and stoops down herself. "It's fine, look, I'll get it."
She picks the box up, jostling the contents and creating a clinking noise that feels as though it vibrates and echoes through the empty store.
"See?" she smiles. "Besides some creepiness, nothing scary."
Lovino opens his mouth to respond but is cut off by heavy sounding footsteps above them where they know to be Alfred's apartment. Both raise their heads and hold their breaths, not overly eager to keep hearing the sounds but just for the sake of clarification.
"Part of someone else's apartment must be overhead," Eliza rationalizes.
"Yeah, whatever the fuck, let's just get outta here."
Lovino reaches the door first and even holds it open for Eliza to go through to make a swifter exit. He hits the back lights as quick as ever and shuts the door behind them tightly. If it wasn't for Eliza's reminder to lock it as well, he would have gladly left it just to leave quicker.
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-Hyuu~ I'm losing followers. While it makes me :/ it also made me X3. Because the number went back down to 69 at one point. (Hey, we already established how mature I can be.)
-Anyway, what happens next chapter was supposed to be included in this one too, but then it'd be way too long, and it started taking too long and it was starting to leave me all blararararaaahahaaa... Yeah.
-Hokay, so a few thing before I go: 1. Soundtrack is now available and the link to that is on my profile, so check that out if you want. 2. Hyperkaoru drew me more fanart! -there is no emoticon to express my happiness- And I really think you guys should check that out and give some love because they are awesome and she is awesome and it's all so awesome and I'm not sorry for using the word awesome so much. But yeah, links to those are also on my profile. :3
-And finally, I wanna follow more Hetalia people on Tumblr, so hit me up with a url if you got one. ^-^
-Aight then, that's all for me tonight. Keep beautiful, gaize, stay shiny, and I'll see you lovelies later. -hearts-
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Nonny Love/Hate (and I'm gonna list all the Guests from most recent to back using numbers):
Hyperkaoru: I know I commented about how much I love the pictures but I just had to tell you that you are really amazing and thank you so much! ^-^ Also, to answer the fingering question, I forgot that I had taken it out in one of the earlier chapters because it wasn't coming out right. DX So in my head it still happened, but it didn't in the story. Or maybe we can say it did and it just wasn't written? :D
Boa: My cousin-sister-daughter-fairy-godmother! I miss you! Why you go back to Nevada? There's something missing without our resident Slytherin. :'( (Btw, we went Captain Balling. You missed out. ;D)
KittyWithCoffee: Thank you so much, I'm really glad you love it like that. ^0^
Liz: I think a lot of people had some Paranormal Activity flashbacks. XD Hopefully next chapter reaches the level of creepy I want. :)
Bai-Marionette: Lol, that's just some kind of luck there really. Good or bad, I guess it just depends on how you look at it. Dude, dude, Ivan, is like EVERYWHERE. At least that how it is to me. Oh lawdy lawd, I never would have thought of Ivan on the ceiling, but yes I think that is completely possible and freaky like all get out. DX (And to comment on the cast-iron skillet thingum, they don't? But I have three! ;A;) The soundtrack is linked on my profile. I don't think it's too scary, really more mellow if anything, but I gave it a whirl so. ^-^ Thanks so much for reviewing, and leaving a long one at that, I really felt the excitement. XD
Guest 1: Lookit, idek if you're still reading, but in case you are, I'm sorry if that's the way you took it, because that's not what I meant.
Guest 2: I know, poor Alfred! DX Filler chapter was pretty filler, but it's an Alfred-centric chappie next so hopefully that'll turn out better. And as you can see, everyone handles the situation pretty basically. X3 But anyway, thanks a ton for reviewing! :)
NightSongstress: The scarf! There is definitely something going on with the scarf, but not necassarily the whole traveling bit. ;D This chappie was kinda filler, but the plot definitely progresses with the next update and stuff. And more Arthur inclusion. Because it was an inevitability, I guess. XD
Guest 3: Not at all, I love there being different reactions. It'd be boring otherwise, ne? :D
Guest 4: Hohno! I didn't think that could happen. D: But at the same time I can't help but be a little proud that I did that. :3
RainbowJapan: Y'know I've never actually seen Paranormal Activity 2, but I've seen all the others how is that I don't even... DX
