Disclaimer: . Jeez, why do we have to put these things? I mean, if I owned YuGiOh, do you think I would be sitting in a room with Poke'mon posters and burned CDs writing fanfiction? I didn't think so. I'd be drawing the next chapter in my JAPANESE MANGA (I can't read Japanese, much less write it) or planning a license for A NEW ITEM TO SELL or TALKING TO SHOUNEN JUMP EDITORS. NOT watching old episodes of Slayers with English subtitles or playing a GameBoyAdvance or writing fanfiction OR worrying about a social studies project that's…due…in…one…week…*eye twitches* Uh-oh…

HH: Nice rant, Hera.

H: Oh crap, I need to do that project… Oh well, I feel like writing right now! U^_^

Wayne: Remember LAST time you procrastinated on a project?

H: ^^ I still got an A.

Eek: BUT you missed two nights of sleep.

*flashback*

H: Must…finish…project…*attempting to glue two pieces of paper together but her hands slip and her head falls onto desk, resulting in her cheek being glued to desk* Must…finish…project… *can't move and realizes it's three in the morning and the project is due in five hours* Oh poo…

*end flashback*

H: U^_^ Um, yeah…

***

CHAPTER 8: Things That Go "Boo" In the Night

Meg's POV:

"Hello Serenity," Ryou greeted the red-haired girl opening the door.

"Oh, hello Ryou. May I help you?" She glanced curiously at Yai and me. "Who are you? I don't believe we've met."

"My name's Yai," introduced my companion. "This is my friend Meg."

I bowed slightly. "Pleased to meet you, Serenity." My heart beat a little quicker as I spoke. "Uh, Ryou tells me you have a brother." Ryou looked at me oddly but held back his comment. "Er, is he here?" Yes, it is true; I am a Joey fangirl.

"No," chirped Serenity, and my spirits fell but surged up again as she added, "but he'll be visiting later tonight. Come on in." She stepped aside and we went inside, and I examined my surroundings. It was really nice; the carpet was white, the furniture was white, and… the walls were white. Big surprise. We turned right, into a spacious (white) living room, where we sat down. "So, what brings you three here?"

"We were wondering if we could spend the night," Ryou informed her. "We need to rest up before we leave on a…trip…tomorrow."

"You can't stay at your house, again?" Serenity looked sad.

"No." The white-haired boy shook his head, his expression identical to Serenity's. "I'm afraid not."

"Well, in that, case, I suppose you can stay here." She checked her watch. "Wow, it's already nine o'clock! C'mon, we'll go up and get you situated."

"Thank you," we chorused, bowing gratefully. We followed her up to the second floor, where she directed us to separate rooms.

"Yai, you can sleep in Mom's room, at the end of the hall, Ryou in mine, and Meg…" Her brow crinkled. "I guess you can have Joey's, so I'll have to stay up and tell him you're in there."

"It's okay, Serenity," I assured the younger girl. "He'll figure it out when he sees you sleeping in the living room." She looked indecisive for a moment, but she soon smiled.

"Alright," she replied. "I'll be sleeping on the couch if you need me." Then, to both Yai and my surprise, she gave Ryou a hug. "You're welcome anytime!" she giggled and ran down the stairs.

"Well, well, looks like there's some mutual attraction going on," Yai laughed, elbowing the other boy in the ribs. He merely blushed and shuffled to where he would be sleeping, muttering something about "annoying people from other dimensions".

We both laughed, and I turned to Yai. "You were right," I chuckled. "Summer vacation isn't so bad after all."

"I'm always right," Yai affirmed, and walked into his sleeping quarters.

I entered my own and began to explore. It was obviously just a guest bedroom where Joey slept when he visited, but I felt honored anyway. Changing into my green pajamas, I snuggled under the covers and fell fast asleep.

***

Later that night I was awakened by something. I stiffened and moved only my eyes to read the bedside clock: 12:53.

Now, you must understand that I have a terrible fear of the dark; whenever I hear a noise at night, even just a little creak, I feel like there's someone out there waiting for me to move so they can spring out with a butcher knife or whatever. Childish, I know, but I can't help it.

This time, however, emboldened by this fortuitous turn of events, I decided to prove to myself that there was nothing to be afraid of. I turned onto my back, only to be greeted by pure fear.

A figure was crouching over me, face lost in shadow but eyes glittering like a cat's. I let out a slight whimper and pressed my body into the mattress, willing myself to sink into it, but the person leaned down so their face was about two inches from mine and whispered one word:

"Boo."

***

H: Scaaaaaary…

HH: NOT.

H: *sticks tongue out then shifts attention back to audience* I hope I didn't insult anyone, but…I really didn't mean to make a Ryou/Serenity pairing, it just sorta…happened.

Wayne: *rolls eyes* Did you do any of the project?

H: As a matter of fact, I'm almost done. SO THERE!!!

Wayne: I'm back to the electric sign. *plugs in sign an reads it* "HA HA HA!" God, I think this thing can think.

Eek: Not for long! *slams sign on ground and jumps on it*

Wayne: Okay, that's enough. *grabs sign and plugs it in, then reads it* "Please Read&Review". Good, maybe it'll stay like that.

Eek: O_O You didn't say "much better". AAAAAAAHHHHH! The world is coming to an end! We must flee to outer space!

W,H,HH: Ø _Ø Riiiiggggggggghhhhhht…

HH: *mutters* That's where you belong…