Yay! Chapter 3! And it didn't take me over a month to update! :D So now we find out where that conversation in the living room was going. ;)

I was going to finish this a week ago, but don't you hate when you think your schedule is clear and then by some horrible twist of fate, you're suddenly so busy you forget how to spell your own name? Yeah, I really couldn't... XP and then the plot bunnies wouldn't leave me alone, so I've got a whole list of things I've got to write too.

Anyway! This chapter is dedicated to purple-ripples for becoming my beta reader! And for keeping me on track with my updates. Don't know what I'd do without you threatening to attack me Russia-style with a pipe if I don't ;D Love you!

Enjoy!

CH3

"So, Matt…" mumbled Arthur.

"Yeah?" Matthew said, turning his head toward the sound of Arthur's voice. His eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, and he could make out the faint outline of Arthur seated next to him.

"How long do you think the power will be out?" Arthur asked.

"Well, about as long as it takes Jack to change the fuse." Matthew answered. If it was only Jack handling the electricity problem, then they would only have to sit in the dark for a few more minutes. However, Alfred and Katie went with him. With that being the case, who knows if they would ever have power again.

Matthew drew his legs up and hugged them to his chest. The dark was beginning to make him feel nervous. Katie and Jack's house wasn't exactly new, in fact it was probably one of the oldest houses in the area. This house had definitely seen its fair share of history. It also sat a decent ways back into the woods, by itself away from any of the other nearby homes. The isolation undeniably added to the creepy factor.

It's not like he was afraid of the dark. No, that wasn't the case at all. It's what could be lurking in its murky depths. His eyes were starting to play tricks on him, making him see ghosts in every slight shift of the shadows. Matthew's grip on his legs grew tighter. Arthur, as if sensing Matthew's uneasiness, reached out and placed a hand on Matt's shoulder.

"Hey, are you doing okay? You got really quiet all of a sudden." He said, his voice laced with concern.

"I-It's fine. Don't worry about me." Matthew tried to assure him, giving a nervous laugh at the end of his sentence. This whole situation was grating on his nerves. With Arthur being here, and that gory movie, and Arthur being here, and then the power going out, and Arthur being here… Matthew wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. He was trying his hardest to keep a level head around Arthur, but it was becoming increasingly difficult with each passing second.

Suddenly, the sound of a shout and a heavy THUD came from above. Matthew jumped at the noise, giving an involuntary shriek and covering his head with his hands. His imagination ran wild with the thought of what could be happening upstairs. Maybe the killer from the movie had somehow come to life and had attacked his brother and friends upstairs. Maybe the ghost of a former occupant of this house was running rampant and coming for him and Arthur next. Horror after horror raced through Matthew's mind, and his breathing became shallow and quick. His head was spinning, and he shrank back against the couch, almost as if he could disappear into the furniture.

"M-Matthew? Matt!" Arthur said, getting off the couch so he could get in front of Matthew. He took a hold of his shoulders and looked into Matt's face. "What's wrong? Matt?"

Matthew kept his hands clamped firmly on either side his head, and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to calm himself down. He was aware of Arthur in front of him, trying to figure out what was happening. The warm hands on his shoulders moved down to gently rub the sides of his arms. Arthur hushed him softly, whispering to him that everything was all right. Just what had gotten Matthew so spooked?

"It's okay. Everything's fine." Arthur said calmly, continuing to comfort Matthew. He glanced toward the staircase down the hallway. Where had those three ran off to? Even he knew it couldn't take this long to fix the power. Now that he was thinking about it, the others had been acting rather strangely. They had been somewhat on edge the entire time, getting tense at the oddest moments. Well, Katie and Alfred that is. Jack had had that same blank look on his face all day. Were they up to something? Maybe he should go look for them…

"Matt, I'm going to see if I can go find the others. See what's taking them so long." Arthur said, getting up from his kneeling position on the floor. Matthew's head snapped up, his eyes wide. His hand shot out and took a hold of Arthur's sleeve.

"Wait! Please don't leave me here." Matthew said, finding his voice again. He stood up, getting up to Arthur's level so he could look him in the eye. "I'm fine now. I-I just don't want to be left here alone. A-and thanks. For calming me down. I really needed that."

Arthur smiled tenderly, and gave a little nod. The two headed down the hallway and up the staircase. That smile was the only thing Matt could think of at the moment. It wasn't sarcastic or condescending, like the kind of smile he usually gave Francis. It was gentle and true, and he was elated that that smile had been for him.

"I'm booooored. Like really bored. Can we go down and see if anything's happened yet?" Alfred complained.

"Let's give it another ten minutes. Don't want to ruin the plan by interrupting them." Katie answered.

"'Interrupting them'? Do you really think anything actually happened in the twenty minutes we've been up here?" Jack said.

"Well I don't expect to find them in the middle of a full-on make out session. Jeez." Katie retorted. The three had been hiding behind the bed in the guest room upstairs, and were starting to get antsy after sitting in the dark for a while. They wanted to see what kind of results their plan had produced.

Suddenly, the sound of a couple pairs of feet coming up the staircase made all of them stop and stare at the closed door. Uh oh. Had they figured it out?

"Crap! They're looking for us!" Katie hissed. She glanced around the room and then to Jack and Alfred before whispering, "Quick! Under the bed!"

"Do you honestly think I can fit under there?" Alfred growled back.

"We'll find out, won't we?" Katie crawled under first, right at the foot of the bed. Jack went next, closest to the headboard. Alfred squeezed under last, right in between the siblings. Just in time too, because they heard the door open then. A dead silence filled the room, with only the sound of the two pairs of feet shuffling across the carpet floor.

"Okay, I could have sworn I heard voices in here." Arthur said.

"Maybe it was ghosts." Matthew laughed nervously.

"Ha, very funny." He said with a snort of amusement. He walked around to the other side of the bed, and then back next to Matthew. Katie shrank closer to Alfred, trying to keep from being seen. Come on, Arthur, go back downstairs. Don't look under the bed, don't look under the bed, don't look-

The sheet in front of them was suddenly lifted up, exposing their hiding place.

"Found you." Arthur said with a devious smirk. He knew it. There had been something going on here. Why would they hide if there hadn't been some kind of scheme?

"…Shit." Katie swore, smacking her head down on the floor.

"'Shit' is right. Come on out from under there." The three reluctantly crawled back out, stood up and straightened their clothes. Katie and Alfred kept their eyes fixed on the floor, avoiding the gaze of Matthew and Arthur. They were mentally bracing themselves for the onslaught to come.

"Well?" Arthur said curtly.

"We, uh, we're sorry." Alfred stuttered.

"For?" Matthew added.

"Meddling in things that weren't any of our business." Katie mumbled.

"And?"

"We won't do it again." Katie and Alfred said in unison.

"Yeah right." Jack snorted. Katie gave him a vicious glare.

"Like you didn't have anything to do with this! You were a part of it too!"

"Only because you dragged me into your little plot. I specifically remember you begging me at lunch to help. And then knocking over my drink because you were so happy." Katie went silent, looking back down at the floor.

"Of course you were the mastermind of the whole plan." Arthur laughed. "But I guess I can't be mad at you."

"Huh?" She said, meeting his emerald gaze.

"Your scheme gave me the boost I needed to tell Matthew something important." Everyone stared at him blankly, not catching on to what he was getting at. But then Katie's eyes went wide and she cracked a grin that could have split her face in half.

Arthur turned toward Matthew, staring into his violet eyes.

"Arthur?"

"Matthew, I've realized something today. That you really are what I've been looking for. I know that sounds incredibly corny, but it's true. I like you. Very much. Would you…go out with me?"

Cliffhanger! I know, I know, "Stupid Blue! Why won't you tell us what Mattie says?" Well you'll find out soon in the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed this one, and as always, please leave me a review! I love hearing from all of you!

So goodbye for now and have a good day! ^^