Another Chase/Maya story! Slight Wizard/Molly, even though I always preach about how I prefer rival couples...but technically the Wizard and Witch aren't a rival couple so meh.
Lighthouse
It was about ten 'o'clock at night, maybe even later, in the land of Castanet. Sparkling stars dappled the beautiful black sky as a sticky warm air blanketed the rich land. Occasionally you could hear the soft mews from the stray cats scavenging for possible scraps of food and the symphony of chirping from the crickets. Everyone was turning off their lights and getting ready for bed and it seemed that the streets were completely empty, but they weren't. In fact, walking along the beach, was everyone's favorite caustic chef with his food loving girlfriend in tow.
"This isn't fair, Chase! CHASE! Let me goooo!" Maya whined, swatting at Chase's inescapable grip. The sound of the waves softly hitting the beach contrasted with the girls
"How is this not fair? I bet you that you couldn't last a whole day with out eating, and you caved in. You lost, so now you have to stay the whole night." The young chef rolled his eyes and scoffed. "You were the one who made the stupid wager anyway."
"It's not FAIR because YOU kept on making really yummy food, just to tempt me! And I only made that wager because I thought I could do it! Chase please! I didn't really think that you would actually make me sleep in the lighthouse!" Maya's quest for freedom ended as soon as they reached the door to the light house. Chase pushed the door open and quickly pulled Maya inside leaving the door slightly ajar.
The inside of the lighthouse was just as eerie as it was outside. Torn patches and old stains blemished the off white wallpaper lining the walls all the way up to the high ceiling. An ancient spiral staircase was located in the corner, leading to what looked like a dark abyss. To the right of the staircase was an open archway leading into another room. Maya's eyes widened in shock. "No wonder no one ever comes in here! It's so scary!" She traced her small hands along the aged surface of the wall. The frightened waitress set the bag that she had packed down beside an old crate and turned to Chase to use the best pouty face that she could muster up in an attempt to get out of this mess.
Chase shrugged and began to snicker mischievously as a cruel idea popped into his head. "Actually Maya, the reason why people don't usually come in here is because..." Chase's backed up so he could be closer to the door, " A long time ago, when this town was first settled, a keeper and his wife moved into the lighthouse. They were known as the town's most sweetest couple, in fact it was said that the never got into an argument. But as time went on, it seemed as though they... changed. They argued constantly and the man even occasionally became violent. One night, during an argument that the two were having on the gallery deck, the um... the keeper's wife tried to push him off but he grabbed her down with him. The two crashed down onto the jagged rocks in the ocean and died." Chase paused for a moment to take a breath. Even though he wanted to laugh at the spooked out face that was plastered onto his girlfriend's face, he held himself together and twisted into a grave demeanor. "It's been said that the ghost's of the keeper and his wife drag intruders up those stairs and straight over the balcony so that they can die a horrible gruesome death." With a wicked smirk, Chase finished his impromptu ghost story. He did feel a little bad though, but she would get over it, after all it was just a joke.
Maya was almost in tears. Even though she was frozen in place, her body shook rapidly. Chase was just about to add the finishing touches to his little "prank", which was for him to leave and then let his cowardly girlfriend out seconds later, when Maya started charging towards him with her arms wide open.
"CHASE! PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME STAY HERE ALONE! I WON'T EVER MAKE YOU EAT ANYMORE OF MY FOOD AGAIN! AND I WON'T BOTHER YOU WHILE YOU ARE COOKING AND-" Maya smashed into Chase, knocking him straight against the door, causing it to slam shut. Chase slid down the cold metal door and on to the ground, bringing his panicking girlfriend with him. Maya quickly hid her face against his chest, trying to find comfort in the scent of food in his apron.
Chase winced as her rubbed the back of his head. He looked down at Maya, who was currently whimpering as she clung tightly onto him, and sighed. "Alright Maya, now I feel bad. It was a joke, okay. None of that happened, I was just messing with you." Filled with contrite, Chase began his attempt to soothe Maya by gently rubbing her back. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes when suddenly Maya stiffened in his arms and mumbled something into his chest, but he couldn't make out what she had said. Chase cocked his head to the side curiously. "What did you say?"
Maya pulled her head away from Chase's body and tearfully looked him dead in the eyes. "I-I said that I just head a noise." She sniffled. "It sounded like...kind of like something metal hitting the ground." Chase stared back at her. Was there really a noise or was she just trying to get back at him for scaring her? He didn't hear it? But maybe he was just to busy trying to comfort Maya. Chase started to feel a little nervous. He knew that all of the things he told Maya about the lighthouse were false, but in the back of his head he wondered. He decided that they should get out of there, you know...because it was getting late.
"Well, what ever. Let's get out of here, it's pretty late. Come on, I'll walk you home." Chase pulled his girlfriend up from the ground and helped her dust off. "It was probably just a piece of the ceiling falling to the ground, that kind of stuff happens in old buildings, you know?"
Maya nodded her head and gave Chase a hopeful smile. "You mean you aren't going to make me stay the whole night?" She quickly wiped her tears away and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's waist.
Chase rolled his eyes and tried to turn the door knob . "You honestly thought that I was going to make you stay here by your self? I'm not that mean. I was just messing with you...but I didn't think that you would cry as mu- alright why isn't the door opening?"
"Did you try turning it the other way?"
Chase chuckled and tried turning the knob the other way. The door still wouldn't open. His body stiffened. The couple stood there in silence as they fully took in what was going on. "Alright, Chase...the joke is over...open the door already." The trembling waitress looked up at her boyfriend in annoyance.
"Ummm...it...it really won't open, Maya. I'm not joking."
"L-let me try! Move over."
Maya let go of Chase and attempted to open the door, but as with Chase, it wouldn't open. A look of pure panic crossed her face. Then her panic turned into anger. She turned to Chase, who was currently keeping his eyes from looking anywhere near her, and huffed.
"Chase! Do something!"
"Like what? We both tried, the door is locked shut."
"Yeah, but this is your fault! If you weren't so freaking mean and wouldn't have tried to torture me, then neither one of us would be in this mess!"
Even though Chase was now being engulfed by guilt, he didn't want to admit it. "Maya, calm dow-"
"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN CHASE! YOU GOT US LOCKED INTO A HAUNTED LIGHTHOUSE AND NOW THE KEEPER AND HIS WIFE ARE GOING TO KILL US AND I'M NEVER GOING TO SEE MY FAMILY AGAIN AND WE'RE NEVER GOING TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE CHILDREN LIKE WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT AN-"
Chase grabbed Maya by her arms in an attempt to get her to stop flailing about in horror. She was wailing and her words were hard to comprehend, but he was able to understand the last part and turned a deep red.
"Maya, cal-"
"BUT CHASE! THE KEEPER AND THE BALCONY AND THE HORRIBLE GRUESOME DEATH!"
"Maya, I was jus-"
"WE'RE TOO YOUNG TO DIE CHASE! I JUST WAN-"
"MAYA!"
Maya immediately shut her mouth, startled by the raise in Chase's voice. Chase took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Come here." Chase pulled her closer and held her in a tight embrace. "I told you, that all of that was just a joke, alright? We aren't going to die, and we'll see your family again...and you know...one day we'll get married and stuff. So stop crying and let's just make the best of us being stuck in here. We barely get privacy as it is, so let's just enjoy each other's company while we can." A blush crept onto the guilty chef's face when the topic of marriage was brought up again. He reached up to Maya's face and gently wiped her tear stained cheeks.
Maya sniffled once more and giggled. With Chase sounding so confident, she decided that maybe she was just being silly. Ghosts don't exist. She stood on her tippy toes, placing her hand on Chase's chest to keep her balance, and planted a soft kiss on his lips. A soft squeak emerged from Maya's throat when Chase pulled her even closer and slowly slid his hands down from her waist to her hips. Chase dipped his head down and amorously kissed her neck as she wrapped her arms around his. The two exchanged loving words and eager laughter as Chase began to fiddle with the ribbons on Maya's apron.
"Ummm..." A mysterious voice echoed through the young couple's ears causing them to jump apart from each other.
"OH MY GODDESS! IT'S THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER AND HIS WIFE OUT TO MURDER US!" Chase and Maya screamed in unison. They glanced over to the corner where they heard the voice and saw a short feminine shadowed figure. Without any thinking at all, Chase grabbed Maya by her wrist and darted up the spiral stair case. The two flew up the stair, knocking into everything in their path, including each other.
"NOOO! CHASE, WE CAN'T GO UPSTAIRS! THAT'S WHERE THEY WANT US TO GO! WE HAVE TO GO BACK DOWN STAIRS!"
"THERE IS NO WHERE ELSE TO RUN! WE CAN'T GO BACK DOWN, THE KEEPER'S WIFE IS DOWN THERE!"
"STILL! YOU SAID IT YOUR SELF! THEY DRAG INTRUDERS UP TO THE BALCONY DECK THINGY AND PUSH THEM OVER THE EDGE!"
The pair tumbled into the light room, weary and gasping for air. Chase impulsively slammed the door shut and locked it behind them. They stood there monitoring the door, in still silence, not moving single muscle.
Tears began to well up once again in Maya's round, sky blue eyes. She clung to Chase's arm, actually fearing for her life. She glanced out the window and realized that she could see her house. Thoughts of her never being able to see her family, and possibly never being able to have one of her own absolutely paralyzed her.
"H-hello..." A different mysterious voice said from behind the two shivering couple. In an instant, the two simultaneously leaped in the air and ran for the door, but upon remembering why they shut it in the first place, they stopped and hesitantly turned around. Relief sunk in when they realized that it was just the town fortune teller.
Chase and Maya both let out a sigh of relief, followed by a nervous fit of laughter. "Oh my goddess Gale, we thought you were a ghost!" Maya said in between her nervous giggles. Gale's spiritless gaze was fixed on the two. The pair watched in embarrassment as Gale pushed past them to open the door, reveling that the town's new rancher Molly was there.
"Oh...you were the voice down there." Chase wanted to face palm. Gale and Molly must think that Maya and himself are idiots. "Wait...why didn't y'all just say so when we first came in? How did y'all not hear us talking?"
Molly looked uneasy. "Well...I was downstairs an-"
"We didn't see you!" Maya quickly interrupted.
Molly sighed and continued her explanation. " I was down stairs in the kitchen, you know, the little room by the stairs? Anyway, I heard some screaming and crying but when I went to go see who it was, I saw you two...umm...doing stuff."
"I can assure you that we weren't doing anything!" Chase shouted, his face turning completely red with embarrassment once he realized what "stuff" Molly was talking about.
"You say that, but what else were y'all planning on doing together in an abandoned lighthouse this late at night. Plus you know, I did see it with my own two eyes." Molly began to snicker while Gale just continued to stand quietly by her side.
"W-well, why are y'all here, huh?" Chase questioned the young farmer.
Molly ran her fingers though her auburn hair and laughed condescendingly at the chef. "We came in here to watch the stars together. It's kind of like our couple's ritual."
Maya buried her face into her hands to hide her self from the awkwardness in the room. Chase opened his mouth to say something, but he knew that it didn't look good on their side of the argument. He grabbed his girlfriend, muttered his goodbye, and the two walked out of the lighthouse slightly flustered.
The two walked all the way back to Maya's house in an awkward silence. Maya hesitated to open the door, not really wanting to be out of Chase's company. "You know Chase, it's pretty late...maybe you should just stay here. I mean, your house is a long walk from here." Chase smiled modestly and shook his head.
"I don't know. Would it be alright?" Chase stretched his arms out and yawned.
"Of course. You have me all shaky from that ghost story anyway. I need someone to hold me while I sleep." Maya wrapped her thin arms around Chase's neck and relaxed her body against his. She closed her tired blue eyes and waited for his response.
Chase grinned and scratched the back of his neck. "I guess. You're lucky I'm exhausted though. Anyway, we should hurry up and get to sleep, we're going to be so tired tomorrow." Chase guided Maya though the door.
"Yeah, and who's fault is that." She whispered as they passed through the dining area. Chase rolled his eyes and continued their route to Maya's room. They immediately crawled into bed and snuggled up close.
"We should do this more often, you know? Snuggling...not getting locked in scary lighthouses." Maya whispered to Chase, only half awake.
Chase smirked and nodded his head. "We will, but get your feet off of me, they're freezing."
Maya groaned and jammed her feet harder against Chase's legs, resulting in a annoyed groan from him as well. "You're obnoxious." He muttered into her ear as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Yeah, but so are you. We are basically perfect for each other."
Maya could feel Chase smile against her cheek. They continued to whisper to each other until they were so tired, that their words weren't making any sense. They soon fell asleep, thankful that they both escaped the "haunted" lighthouse and thankful that they had each other.
I feel like this story started off pretty strong, but the ending just kind of dragged on. I honestly couldn't find a way to end it. That being said, anyone interested in an RP as these two? PM me if you are interested, and maybe send a writing sample? We can sort things out from then. :D