Author's note: Change of format! Anyways, I'll admit I'm a terrible author (authoress?) and I suck at this whole updating thing, and I fail at life. I got it. So let's put everything behind us, yes? Including the fact that it's been over a year since I've updated this. Anyways, gonna keep this short and sweet. Happy reading! (Long time since I've said that, eh?)

Chapter Fifteen

It was amazing how one week could pass in no time at all.

I imagined heaven to be like this. If, you know, there was a heaven at all. It was so peaceful, and I could fully let go of myself. For the first time in all my years of living (which might not be that long, I admit), I felt like I could get drunk off life.

But I was being stupid.

Of course I was being stupid; my life never goes as planned. There's always some sort of inconsistency. I'm pretty sure it weren't that way, I'd begin to doubt whether I was really who I was at all; but of course, all the same, it would be nice if I knew what fate had in store for me ahead of time.

However, I'd accepted the fact that some high, other-worldly being had a penchant for throwing rather disturbing obstacles in my direction. How else would I have made it this far, really, if I hadn't taken it in a long time ago? Maybe that was why I didn't even bother trying to protest as I was dragged out of bed at 1 in the morning.

I didn't even try asking where we were going, but judging by the looks on everyone's faces, I had some kind of terrible feeling at the pit of my stomach.

No one made a sound as we sneaked out of the hotel.

Was anyone dressed?

Well, we were in our pajamas…

Was it cold outside?

Hell yes.

Did anyone care?

Why would they?

I had managed to snatch my faded red sweater before leaving, but I could still feel the cold nipping at my skin, like some sort of snakes. Every cool breeze sent shivers down my back and I felt like just lying down on the ground, no matter how freezing it was.

Finally, when I had managed to pry my numb lips open, I asked in a rather fragile voice, "Where are we going?"

No one answered, but someone did shush me. They did it quite violently too, and as taken aback as I was, I dare not make a sound.

Even though Hakutai was a city, I could see no drunkards at this time of night; no wanderers, no nothing. Obviously it was a city with morals. I decided that if I was going to be a hobo anywhere it'd be here.

I tried not to talk again, and found it rather easy what with my lips being frozen and all; but I still found it rather unusual that a herd of a hundred or so high school seniors were sneaking around in their pajamas.

As we neared the woods (of course we'd go for the woods) I spotted a cozy looking house, and I guess I paused for a bit, because I felt Haruka grab my arm and pull me along.

After some painful experiences with a few (or more) shrubs and bushes, we made it to what everyone had been looking forward to since our time in Hakutai.

The haunted chateau was actually a bit impressive from where I was standing, though now that I think about it, the view couldn't have been less impressive standing from anywhere else, because, let's face it, it was just that impressive.

It had to have at least three stories and a couple hundred windows; and although the yellow paint was chipped and faded and the whole thing seemed to sway as though the foundation was rickety, I couldn't help but feel attracted to the place.

"Doesn't it just give you the creeps?" A girl in the back asked, and though it was a whisper, everyone seemed to hear it.

I could tell that I wasn't the only one entranced by the haunted place, but someone rather quickly snapped out of it and told us the rules.

"Right, it's just a little dare," He started, "everyone's going to be in pairs, and partners will be picked through drawing."

I had a nasty gut feeling that made me want to punch the lights out of this guy, but I decided it wouldn't be any better if I were in the front telling everyone to just get the hell back to the hotel.

Soon, everyone had similar looking popsicle sticks in their hands trying to find their partners. It seemed so normal to be doing this. Just like a day when we'd change seats and we're trying to find out who sat in it before, but it was so much more than that.

I ended up with Jun, and though I felt a little disappointed, as I looked around to see who everyone else got, I decided that I could've gotten worse.

Kasumi had ended up with that one chlorophyll haired dude and I could tell from a mile, that she was not at all comfortable with him.

Before I could spot Haruka, we were both pushed forward in a sea of overcrowded students, and after a while of struggling, we decided to just "go with the flow".

The same rule guy as earlier was talking, but his voice echoed in the seemingly never ending darkness and his words were lost. I probably wouldn't have been able to hear him even if I was right in front of his face anyways. Jun had a habit of talking right into your ear.

"Look," I started, cutting Jun mid-sentence vehemently, "I want this over and done with, and until the end comes, I'm not going to hear a word out of you- I mean it!" Jun closed his mouth once again, and just to prove his point, he zipped and locked his mouth. At least, I think he did.

Something hit the back of my head and I twisted around to smack whoever did it. All I did was manage to hit my nose against something hard.

"Ow! Geez, will you watch it!" I whispered loudly.

"It's a flashlight you stupid girl."

The voice was a familiar one, but I didn't have time to ponder it, as I took the flashlight from whoever's grasp (though I really should've recognized from the nickname).

I nearly dropped my flashlight as the crowd started pushing forward yet again. I wasn't sure how anyone was going to spread out like this, but as we got closer to the front, I could make out a grand staircase and hundreds of doors leading to god-knows- where.

Pairs went in one at a time in a five minute interval, and it wasn't very long before we were up.

From the snatches I'd heard, everyone would go the same way so that no one would get lost. (all the while, I was wondering if he even knew the way out.)

I noisily swallowed out of nervous habit, grabbed Jun's hand (or wrist, I'm not sure) and said in a broken whisper, "Let's do this." Before dragging him and heading for the first door on the right side of the right staircase- where the previous pair had gone through.

I felt Jun shifting in my grasp as I tried to turn on the flashlight with one hand (I couldn't trust Jun to be here without holding hands with somebody reasonable such as moi).

At first, I thought that he was doing it as a nervous habit and I asked him if he was alright. I soon found out that he was more excited than nervous, and it annoyed me to death that I was the more scared of this pair.

"It's going to be okay." I said, telling it to myself than him.

"This is so exciting!" Jun whispered energetically, "I have to write about this as soon as we get back; I'm sure it'll give the teachers one big shock- I mean, 200 seniors just about sneaked out right under their noses- Geez, I'm getting too much out of this."

I shoved him up against a wall (the right side, remember that) as soon as I heard him.

"You're going to what? Never mind I already know, what I mean is- you can't do that!" My nose was almost touching his and I was pointing the flashlight so it was shining right under his chin.

"Do you want to get us all killed or what! A-and what'd I say about you saying another word!" I kept poking him with the flashlight and when he tried opening his mouth, I cut him up with a violent, "Can't you be quiet for one second of your life?"

"I-I'm sorry," He stammered, holding his hands up near his face as a signal of surrender, "It's just… Well, we seem to have lost our way…"

I narrowed my eyes at him, and I saw his adam's apple bob as he gulped noiselessly.

Now, I must admit, that whole scene was actually pretty cool, I mean, how many girls get to push around a boy like that? But, I could feel all that awesomeness totally drain from me as I saw that we had come across a fork in the hallways. (seriously? A fork in the hallways? Whoever built this stupid chateau better have died a painful death.)

"W-well, I'm sure they left some kind of sign, I mean how else could the others know where to go?" I tried to retain some of the coolness, but even I could tell that I was terribly failing.

"Guess we should start observing, huh?" Jun asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I suppose. I guess I'll just loo- woah!"

I'd leaned against the left side of the wall (remember that I shoved Jun to the right side) and had suddenly fallen in. I wasn't even sure how it happened, actually. Now that I think about it, I suppose it was a hidden door or something. All that remember, though, is the panic that I felt.

Now that I was really in the dark, with nothing but a dim flashlight that hardly seemed to make things better, I could see why they called this a haunted chateau.

It wasn't only the old wives' tales that seemed to pass from mouth to mouth in this city, but it was also the feeling. I couldn't help but feel that something or someone was… watching… me.

It wasn't a very pleasant feeling.

I don't know what happened afterward, but I suppose my inner animal inside forced me to start running. I don't know how long; all I could feel was the pounding of my heart and my breath came in short gasps.

In a way, it drove everything else out of my head; how I was all alone, how the chateau was cold, creepy, so even when my lungs screamed for air, and it felt as though something was clawing at my legs, I didn't- couldn't- stop.

I was near sobbing when I hit something.

Like, really, really hard.

I nearly screamed if I didn't feel the warm hand cover my mouth; and although, I still really should've screamed, just the fact that someone else besides me was alive in this place was enough for me to just close my eyes and let out a breath of relief.

I'd let my guard down for a little bit before I immediately stiffened up and asked who it was, except, of course, everything came out as nothing more as a mumble.

Before I could get the chance to get his or her hand off me, he or she whispered into my ear.

"Who is this?"

I nearly let out a cried or relief.

I struggled to talk and gasped out, "Shinji!"

He let me go a little too quickly with an "Oh, it's you." And the cold was swarming all over me again.

I shook slightly; partly out of cold, partly because I was glad that I hadn't died of fright so far. I made sure my zipper was all the way up and hugged myself as hard as I could.

"What happened to you?" He asked me quite rudely.

I could feel the heat rushing to my head and told him as nicely as possible that I'd gotten separated from my partner, thank you very much.

"Blabbermouth ditched you, huh?" He scoffed, "Can't blame him."

"Well, what happened to your partner?" I asked as mean as I possibly could without my teeth chattering, "I suppose they ran off as soon as they found out you were going to be his partner?"

"She." He said coldly.

"Excuse me?" I asked, taken aback by his tone of voice.

"My partner was a girl." He said, and if I didn't know any better, I could've sworn that I heard a little bit of embarrassment in his voice.

"Oh, well, can't blame her then." I said so quietly I wasn't even sure he caught it; and despite myself, I could feel the jealousy start to bubble up at the pit of my stomach, and I heard my heartbeat a tad more loudly than I usually did. I closed my eyes and tried to escape the feeling, but I should've known it wouldn't work.

"A-anyways," I stammered, (without meaning to, of course) "You're lost, and so am I. How in the world are we going to get out?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" He growled, before letting out something that sounded suspiciously like a small huff, "I suppose we're stuck with each other for now."

"Yeah, stuck…" I mumbled, though 'stuck' was the last thing on my mind.

We continued on down different hallways, and I tried not to stay too close to Shinji, but I didn't try to stray too far from him either. The damn flashlights could only shine so far, and after about an hour of wandering, mine flickered out.

Now it was only one light ahead of us, and the hallways didn't seem to go anywhere except other hallways or doors.

I was shaking a bit more violently and I couldn't help but feel sorry for myself as I squeezed my eyes shut and imagined some kind of Caribbean cruise I'd go on once we got back from this stupid trip.

Just as I got to the part where I was getting a sun-tan from the blistering hot sun up above, I felt something fall on me, and I let out a small squeak. Then I realized that it was unusually warm and cozy.

I opened my eyes and looked at Shinji.

I nearly smiled.

Nearly.

But I didn't.

I tossed his coat back at him when I saw him shiver very, very slightly and grumbled, "I don't need it." I almost thought he was going to argue for a second before he suddenly grabbed my hand (not my wrist let me clarify) and pulled me closer to him.

"Stupid girl," he mumbled, "can't you stay closer; it's a pain in the ass to keep on looking back to see if you're not dead yet."

And when I heard this, though it hurt to smile, I did it anyways.

I gave his hand a small squeeze and hoped he knew what I meant by it; and though he didn't squeeze back (and I didn't expect him to), by the way his shoulders seemed to relax just a tiny bit, I could tell that he'd gotten it, my message.

Through the next 30 minutes, he didn't let go of my hand; and I didn't remind him either. It was nice and warm.

As we got to another dead end, he suddenly let go of my hand and told me to be quiet.

I didn't really concentrate after that. All I could think of was how cold it was again. I shivered one last time before making myself man up and told myself to concentrate on following Shinji. I straightened out my back and tried to walk with confidence; though I stopped when Shinji asked me what I was doing.

"I think I remember this place." He said in a low voice.

I scoffed, "How in the world can you remember anything? Everywhere, it's just doors and hallways." He ignored me and kept going, though I could sense a little bit of doubt; and immediately, I wished I hadn't said it.

After around 5 more minutes of walking, we spotted light ahead, and it took me all I had to not make myself start sprinting towards the brightness. Unconsciously, we started walking faster and faster which was fine with me.

I could almost taste sweet freedom, and it seemed almost like a movie the way the doors were opening so slowly.

The warmth engulfed me, and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to take in the air; clear, unlike the musty fog that covered the inside of the chateau.

However, I felt my heart drop to my feet as we found, not the late night air, but another room; a dining room, to be specific.

I could only glance at the room briefly before I felt Shinji snatch my hand and start running.

We ran down hallways, some familiar, others, not so much. We really couldn't care less. All Shinji did was run, and I just followed him blindly.

We hit door after door, aimlessly trying to find some way, any way out.

Finally…

Finally, we found it.

It led us out the back.

The cool air hit me like a truck and as soon as I opened my eyes and saw the hundreds of stars splattered in the black sky (not the lonely, cold black in the chateau, but a familiar, nostalgic one) I fell to my knees and just let it all out.

I feel a bit bad now that I look back.

I mean, if I were Shinji, I wouldn't really know what to do with a half hyperventilating half sobbing girl either.

I could tell he was trying his best though.

I mean, he let me cling to his front and let me get his shirt all wet, if that counts. There were a few awkward pats added to it too, kind of like a bonus.

When I started calming down, although this was the part where I realized exactly what'd I'd done and start crying some more just because of the sheer embarrassment of it all, I sniffled a little.

Shinji, poor guy, let me hold onto him a little longer, though he stopped petting me.

I raised my head a little bit and saw my masterpiece on his shirt; I backed away and stammered an apology. He grunted in response, so I guess all was forgiven. Really, any unintelligible sound from him could be taken as anything, and he wouldn't care.

We sat down on the grass and just listened to the crickets serenading us while the fireflies put on a little show of their own. I'd never been so relaxed in my life, and for the first time, I could appreciate what I had. I guess these kinds of experiences did that to you.

I was starting to get into the role of being a little kid and though I was a bit hesitant, I asked Shinji, "Can I hold your hand?"

He didn't say anything to that, but I held it anyways; and by the way he didn't seem to move away, I took it as a good sign and squeezed him again.

And this time, he squeezed back.

Without looking at him, I smiled.

Later, we'd both walk, hand in hand, around the chateau to the front where everyone was waiting for us (by that time, we let go out of embarrassment from both parties).

Everyone fussed over us, telling us they had looked all over the place.

I saw a rather pretty girl who rushed over to Shinji and kept shouting apologies in this really whiny voice I really couldn't stand.

Don't worry, none of us got caught, though all the teachers were rather suspicious when none of us could lift an eye when we were told to wake up. In the end, they gave up and let us sleep a few hours more. We got home much later than planned, and even though I'd slept through the whole bus ride (everyone had), I couldn't to reach my bed back at home.

Although I really loved Hakutai city, I realized I wouldn't be able to stay away from home very long anyways.

And though I loved every moment of our trip, my favorite part had to be when we got off the bus and for once, Shinji and I walked home together.