Chapter 9
"WHAT?! Are you crazy?!" Tino and the two others cried out. Berwald just flinched.
"No I'm not crazy. Come on! We just saw a scary movie about ghosts. Don't you want to see a real ghost?"
"NO!"
"You guys are chickens." Feliks pouted. "Come on let's go. Follow me. And if you don't follow, then I'll go myself." Feliks said, walking away. The other four flinched.
"Are we really gonna let him go?" Tino asked nervously.
Toris rolled his eyes and shivered with worry. "Oh for the love of god Feliks! Come back!"
"No!"
Toris fumed with anger and released a small squeak of fear. "I worry about him too much to let him go alone. Feliks, wait!" Toris called, running up to him.
Feliks rose an eyebrow with a smirk. "Good you're coming. Anyone else?"
"Count me out." Eduard said. "I don't believe in ghosts. And also, it's a school night, if any of you noticed, so I have to get home. Later." He stated, walking off.
Tino gulped. "I don't know. It is a school night and all…"
"I'll go." Berwald said.
Tino flinched. "Berwald are you crazy?!"
"Mm?"
"Ghosts are dangerous!"
"Mm."
"Ugh you're hopeless sometimes." Tino put a hand to his forehead. "Fine, I'll come too."
"Wonderful!" Feliks called. "Follow me!"
….
They were now heading up a road that had nothing but fields and forests all around it. A forest in the dark was of course creepy, and every time Tino and Toris heard a noise they'd flinch.
Berwald put a hand on Tino's shoulder. "I'll protect you."
"Th-thanks I guess." Tino replied nervously. Berwald nodded.
"There it is, guys." Feliks said as they walked up to an old looking house. They gasped. It was rickety, abandoned, dirty, and all of the above.
"Good lord. Is it safe?" Toris asked.
"There could be asbestos." Berwald stated.
"What the hell is that?" Feliks asked with an eyebrow raised, turning to Berwald.
"Poisonous dust." He answered.
"I doubt it." Feliks shrugged.
The others looked at each other with worry. Feliks shrugged and walked up to the door. It was old and dirty. "Eww I'm not touching that." Feliks sneered. He swiftly kicked it open, and a cloud of dust flew out into him. He coughed and shooed the dust away. He turned to the others and wiggled his eyebrows. "Shall we?"
He stepped inside and looked around. It was gross.
The others walked in behind him and gasped. It looked like a tornado went through there. There was furniture everywhere, some of it broken. Paint was chipping off the wall, and some old wallpaper was falling off as well. It smelled bad too. Some parts of the wall were torn down, and the ceiling paint was chipping. It was also leaking.
Squeak! Squeak!
"Ah!" Feliks gasped as a rat ran across the floor.
Toris rose an eyebrow. "Ready to leave?"
"No way. I'm going in." Feliks said, walking in further. His footsteps cracked on the rickety old floor. Toris followed after him swiftly, and Tino and Berwald stepped lightly, looking around.
"How sad. It's like they just picked up and left years ago. And no one's touched it since." Tino said.
"Mm. But it's historical." Berwald pointed out.
He couldn't lie, the place was old. It looked like it was made in 1864 or something. Too bad such a great piece of history came crumbling to the ground.
Suddenly a small thump was heard in the other room, making Tino flinched, "W-what was that?"
"Probably just another rat." Feliks said, calming down a shivering Toris. Feliks looked around and his eyes widened when he saw stairs. He smirked and rose an eyebrow. "Let's go upstairs."
Toris and Tino's mouths when agape, and Berwald flinched.
"What?! Ok that's too far." Tino shouted.
"Hey, I've seen no ghost so far. Maybe their upstairs." Feliks pointed out. And before anyone could stop him, he ran to the steps and dashed upstairs.
"Feliks, wait!" Toris cried nervously, running up the stairs after him. The other two followed swiftly.
Tino and Berwald stopped upstairs in the hall and looked around with a gasp. Tino panted with worry. "Good god, Berwald. It's disgusting."
"Mm. I agree,"
It looked practically worse then downstairs. It had a long hallway that had gone down far, leading into a big room.
"It looks like a ballroom down there."
"Mm."
Tino suddenly remembered why they came up here. "Feliks, Toris! Where are you?" He called. No reply.
Tino instantly grew worried. "Come on, let's check the rooms." He grabbed Berwald's hand, pulling him through the hallway.
Berwald flinched and blushed. He's holding my hand…savor this moment…
"Guys!"
Tino snapped Berwald out of his thoughts. He looked up and his eyes widened. He realized he was staring at Toris and Feliks, who were just standing still in the middle of a room.
Tino lead Berwald in, and immediately they both got a heavy feeling in their chests. They felt…sad. The room looked like it once belonged to a small child. There was a dirty abandoned crib in the corner, and a few old toys in the other corner. Ashes blanketed the floor.
"This…this is so sad…" Feliks choked out words.
"W-what the hell happened here?" Toris said softly.
No one knew what to say to that. Tino just looked around the dirty room, and his eyes shook. He suddenly felt like…crying. But why?
"Tino, you ok?" Berwald asked. Toris and Feliks turned to the short blonde, who suddenly began to pant softly. Suddenly Tino began to sniffle, and a tear fell down his face.
"Tino, what's wrong?" Toris asked worriedly.
Tino wiped the tear away. "She…she barely got a chance to live…"
"…Who?"
"The little girl who was here. The house caught fire…she was still inside…she didn't make it…" Tino sniffed.
Toris and Feliks gave each other a look of worry. "Ho-how do you know all this…?"
Berwald noticed Tino began to cry harder. Berwald stood up straight and pulled Tino into a hug, and Tino gladly accepted it. He began to cry into Berwald's shirt, and he grasped Berwald strongly.
"The spirit is communicating through him. We're not talking to Tino; we're talking to her."
Toris and Feliks' eyes widened, and the two backed. "Alright…now I'm scared…" Feliks gulped.
"This place really is haunted!" Toris cried. "We gotta get outta here!"
Suddenly Tino stopped crying. He glanced up at Berwald, who stared at him, concern in his eyes. Tino pulled away from him softly and breathed. "Wh…what happened…?"
"The ghost told you it's story. You remember?" Berwald asked.
It took Tino a minute to comply, but his eyes widened and he nodded his head. "I do."
Suddenly a sound came from the next room, followed by thumping footsteps. The four turned pale, and Feliks shivered with worry. "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE. NOW."
The other three couldn't agree more. They swiftly left the room and stood into the hallway. Feliks paused and looked down the hall. He stared at the ballroom with wide eyes.
"Feliks! Come on!" Toris shouted.
"I…I feel like we should go down there…" Feliks said, pointing to the ballroom. And before anyone could say anything or stop him, Feliks speed-walked down the hall to the ballroom. The other three ran after him.
"Feliks, stop!" Toris called, running into the ballroom, "You're gonna-!"
He stopped mid-sentence. Feliks just stared into the corner and pointed. "L-LOOK."
The three looked up and saw a rocking chair moving back and forth. No wind was making it move. It didn't take long before they heard slight giggling, sounding like it came from a little girl.
They were all frozen in place, not knowing if they should move or not.
"RUN!" Berwald screamed, pulling Tino out of the room. Toris and Feliks jolted awake from their trance and dashed out behind them, running outside. The four panted and sweated nervously. They stood up straight and looked back at the house, shivering with fear.
Everyone looked at each other with wide eyes. "Ok," Feliks began, "We're going to pretend we never saw that."
"Agreed." They said.
"I blame you." Toris snarled. Feliks grunted and punched him in the arm, making him squeak with pain.
"B-Berwald," Tino began, glancing up at him, "You save us!"
Berwald turned away blushing. "I guess…"
"Yeah man, that was awesome!" Feliks shouted with a fist pump. Toris nodded his thanks. Berwald continued to blush. He suddenly began to shiver.
"What's wrong?" Tino asked.
"'M embarrassed." He said softly. This made Feliks laugh.
Berwald nearly yelped when Tino pulled him into a hug. "Well, you saved us. That's all that matters."
Berwald felt his face grow hotter and it glowed a pure red. Feliks pointed at him and snickered when he saw the blush.
Tino pulled away from him and sighed. "Well I gotta get home. Thanks for the terrifying experience Feliks." He glared to the Polish teen.
"No problem." Feliks answered with a wave of his hand, making Tino sigh in defeat. The group parted ways and made their way home to each of their houses. But as Tino took one last look at the top window of the house, he swore he saw a little girl in the window. He hoped he was just imagining things, but in the back of his mind he knew he wasn't.
He nearly screamed when he felt a hand place on his shoulder sharply. He turned around and saw Berwald looking at him. Tino panted and grew impatient. "Berwald, please don't do that anymore."
"Sorry." Berwald said. He shuffled his feet slightly. "Want me to walk you home?"
Tino thought for a moment. It was creepy outside, and from what he just experienced he didn't want to be alone. "Sure."
Berwald grinned.
….
The whole way to Tino's house, every noise from the forest would make Tino jump. Berwald would tell him things like "Just a frog," or, "Just a squirrel."
It would calm Tino down a little, but he knew he wasn't gonna sleep well tonight.
Finally they reached Tino's home, and Tino turned to Berwald and grinned. "Thanks, Berwald. See you tomorrow."
"Wait."
Tino stopped from walking up to his front door. He turned to the Swedish teen and noticed he was shuffling his feet nervously. "You ok?"
"Um…you wanna…see a movie sometime?"
Tino rose an eyebrow. "We just did."
"No, no. I mean, you and me."
Tino thought for a moment. It took him a minute to realize what Berwald was asking him. He flinched and blushed. Was he asking him out on a date?!
Tino didn't want to hurt the poor guys feelings by saying no. For the love of god he just got him friends. Alright, he had to say something.
"I'll think about it." Was the only thing he could think to say.
Berwald grinned slightly. "You can tell me tomorrow."
"Uh yeah, sure."
"Great. See you tomorrow." Berwald patted his shoulder and walked off, and Tino swore he thought he saw Berwald fist pump the air.
Instantly Tino dissolved into thought. Did…did Berwald just ask him on a date? Or was this a friend thing?
If it was a date, he'd have to ask him that tomorrow. If it was just as friends, he wouldn't mind. Tino just sighed with a shrug and made his way to his doorstep.
Author's note!
Ok fail ending I know. But if any of you believe in ghosts, bear with me.
If it actually did scare you, I apologize. And for you readers who don't believe in ghosts, well, just play along I guess.
See you in the next chapter! ;3
Tails
