Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt

Chapter 4: A Closet

I was watching the boy around a tree in the woods. Question after question circulated through my mind. Should I go tell him? That would be the best thing right? Will he reject me? Will he accept my feelings? I wish I knew.

Finally, I decided. I would tell him. This would be the day that I would let him know about my feelings.

I was just getting ready to reveal myself when a crackling caught my attention. It wasn't the crackling of paper or plastic, it was the crackling of a fire. Branches popped from heat and the light of a fire lit me.

Fire bore down on me. I screeched. David swung around and called my name. "Run!" I screamed, running in the opposite direction of the fire and of David.

It chased me, following me up the hill. It spread out around me in a large circle, cornering me. I had nowhere to run. I would die without ever telling him my feelings. He would never know how I truly felt for him.

Tears ran down my face, evaporating almost instantly in the suffocating heat. "David-," I moaned, collapsing to my knees, "David- I love you."

The fire closed in licking at my flesh and leaving black charred skin behind. I let out a blood curdling scream, the kind that warranted be burned alive. My clothes went up in flames, my hair following soon after.

My world disappeared in a world of pain, sorrow and fire.

…..

I jerked into a sitting position, a scream ripping from my throat. It echoed around the bathroom. My hands convulsed into rigid talons on the edge of the bathtub. My limbs spasmed, knocking into everything and guaranteeing me bruises.

"Mai!" Naru shouted, storming through the door. He ran over to me, holding my head and shoulders down so I wouldn't hurt myself.

"It hurts," I moaned, another scream breaking my lips.

Naru didn't say anything. My sobs were so loud that there was probably no point in trying to speak anyway. He brushed more tears off of my face even though more took their place. He ran his fingers softly through my hair, attempting to calm me even if a little.

When my sobs decreased to hiccups he spoke. "Why did it hurt?" he asked softly, still stroking my hair and staring down at me.

"She was caught in a fire. She burned to death," I hiccupped, keeping my eyes closed as the images flashed past my mind's eye at an impossible speed.

"Who is she?" he asked next.

"The woman from my dream. The woman Masako and I saw. I think her name is Stephanie," I murmured, cracking my eyes just enough to see Naru's eyes. They were blurry from my tears. My eyes filled with more tears as the next few sentences came out of my mouth. "I don't think she was any older than Masako and me. She died without tell him how she felt. Oh god." I sat up, burying my face in my hands as another wave of sorrow swept through me.

Naru's hands fell away. A towel fell over my shoulders. Naru lifted me from the bath, holding me close. I was really beginning to wonder what had gotten into Naru as of late. Multiple times today he'd held me close and lately he'd taken to a new kind of teasing, and he's been more compliant towards me.

One second my brain was whirring with question and the next it was short circuiting. Naru pushed out of the room, depositing me on the bed once more. Like an afterthought, he leaned kissed me on the top of the head.

My face was burning a bright florescent pink. I was sure of it.

He hurried over to the door. He glanced over his shoulder and muttered, "Get dressed and then we'll go down to the others. Miss Williams said dinner was going to be ready soon." The door shut softly and I was left in a silent room. It was eerie.

My suitcase stood against the wall. I grabbed it, heaving it up onto the bed. In a matter of minutes I was ready to go. The room was giving me the willies. It felt like someone was watching my every move.

I rushed from the bedroom, nearly crashing into Naru. "Sorry Naru, that room creeps me the hell out," I said, glaring back into the room. It was innocently bright.

Without a word, Naru turned on his heel and started down the hall. I had to almost run to keep up with his stride. It wasn't until halfway down the sixth hallway when I heard the giggling. It was the giggling of a teenage girl. Ahead of us I saw the flash of a familiar black jacket.

I didn't get the chance to contemplate this new development because I was unceremoniously shoved into an open closet along with Naru. He landed on top of me on his hands and knees. The door slammed behind us. Outside the door I could hear maniacal laughter.

The click of the lock was what captured my attention.

I gasped, breathing in a sharp breath. "That hurt," I groaned, rubbing the back of my head, "Naru, are you okay?" My voice fell away as I was staring up into his midnight-blue eyes. For second time today, my brain short-circuited.

"Are you okay?" Naru asked staring down at me unconcerned about the position we had ended up in. For all I know he was enjoying this compromising situation. Maybe Naru does have hormones after all.

Finally, Naru pushed himself off of me. He pulled me up next to him. We were almost chest to chest. The closet was a small. It barely had enough room to sit down. It must have been a broom closet at some point in time because a forgotten mop leaned in a dusty corner.

Naru tired the handle. It jiggled, but didn't open. "Won't open," he muttered as if he needed something to say.

"Are we stuck locked in?" I asked, looking over his shoulder at the door waiting for something, anything, to happen.

"Looks like it," Naru muttered, falling back to sit on the dirty floor, "The only thing is that this room doesn't have a lock on either the inside or out."

I stared at him with wide eyes. "The ghost?" I asked.

"I believe so," he responded coldly, leaning his head against the back wall.

I glanced between him and the door, considering what to do. Sit down or bang on the door to try and catch someone's attention while making a fool of myself? I chose to sit down. Naru's image of her was already low enough.

We sat in an ever growing silence, staring at the ceiling, the walls, our shoes, anything that we could see really. Except each other.

"What are you planning on doing on Christmas Eve?" Naru asked, destroying the blanket of silence with a serrated knife.

I chewed on my bottom lip. "If we get out of here soon enough then I'll probably just sit at home with hot chocolate curled up in a blanket watching a movie. Something like that. Mainly I'd be alone," I told him, resting my head on my arms.

"You're alone a lot aren't you?" Naru asked, looking sideways at me.

"Yeah, it gets kind of lonely, but I always have you guys to come back to the next day. I'm never alone, not really," I said, a sad smile spreading across my face.

Naru looked away, taking to staring at the wall again. "Do you ever wish for your parents?"

"Sometimes, but I know they're in a better place and they wouldn't want me to be sad," I told him truthfully, "And I have everyone at SPR now so I only talk to them now. I don't wish for them anymore."

Naru quieted down again. His eyes seemed to drift out of focus as he concentrated on something. I took the liberty to study him without him realizing it. I took in every aspect of him, the shape of his jar, the way his bangs fell into his face, the way he held himself even when he was sitting. His eyes flicked to me and I saw amusement flicker across his eyes.

I looked away quickly, my face burning. "W-when do you think they'll find us?" I stuttered, staring at the floor.

"Anytime now," he answered all traces of emotion gone.

Sorry for the cliff hanger! Next chapter will be up super-duper soon, promise. Anyway, please review :D