8

Yao sighed and gave himself one more once-over in the mirror,

"Are you sure I look like I've made enough effort?" He asked Ivan, who was sat behind him on Yao's bed, his legs crossed as he watched.

He nodded, "You look very cute! It's fine!"

Yao bit his lip and refrained from disagreeing. He had heard of the annual town get together from Olga. Apparently every year there was a meeting for all the villagers in the town hall- it was the only action that happened in that useless old hall on the other side of the village, he had heard that it used to used once a month for meetings about town matters but it seemed like it just wasn't needed any more. Yao got why, it was almost creepy the unity in this community. There were never any problems, it was like all the inhabitants were some kind of mind hive, all thinking exactly the same things.

Aside from validating the existence of the old hall, there was no reason to have a get together. Everyone almost saw everyone else daily. However, Yao knew he wouldn't be setting a great impression of himself by not turning up, so when Olga asked him if he was coming along, he enthusiastically told her yes... He was a little put off when he realised that it was fancy dress but he couldn't exactly back out then.

He had acquired a pair of cat ears to wear and found some clothes of matching colour. He had no idea what had inspired him to bring the cat ears all the way here from China, and even less of an idea as to why he bought them in the first place. But at least it made a subtle fancy dress outfit. Even if he did feel a little weird as a grown man dressed like a cat.

He sat next to Ivan, sighing and playing with his hands "I don't look sort of half assed?" Yao had no idea what the outfits of everyone else looked like and how serious they took the fancy dress thing. He wished he had asked Olga a little more for advice; Ivan was no help at all. How could he be? Ivan had never gone to one of these things... But Yao still reckoned that there was no time like the present to start, "I wish you'd come along..." He tried, hinting as he put his hand on Ivan's.

Ivan smiled softly, "Oh Yao, you know I'm not welcome there."

Yao sighed though he had expected this reaction, "Yes you are!" He insisted, "It's for everyone who lives here!" He put his hands up, "You live here!"

Ivan laughed quietly and Yao's attempts, "But I'm not like you. The only reason why they asked me not to come is because they know I'll never show."

Yao pursed his lips, "Have they ever told you to stay away?"

Ivan blinked a few times, "Well... No. But you don't understand. I've been estranged for a long time; I've learned what I'm supposed to do."

Yao rubbed the side of his head, "And you're just supposed to sit at home all day?!" He stopped when he realised the worry on Ivan's face at him raising his voice, "I'm sorry, I just really want you with me tonight."

Ivan gave a sympathetic smile but showed no indication of changing his mind, "I'm going to take a walk around the town while you're gone since no one will be around."

Yao sighed and stood up, he was obviously going alone. Fixing his hair he beckoned Ivan to follow as he left the room, it was time to go, whether he was with Ivan or not.

They made it out to Yao's hall in silence, licking his lips quickly Yao placed a kiss on the tall man's cheek as he grabbed his coat, pulling it on, "I'm seeing you again afterwards." He informed Ivan, not giving the man a choice, "And I'm gonna kill you for not coming with me." He added with a pout.

Ivan just laughed, "You should have fun, Yao. I want you to."

Yao only shrugged. Honestly he didn't know what to expect, "Yeah well... Whatever. See you later."

He left without giving Ivan a chance to wish him well again. He didn't mind leaving Ivan in his house alone. There was enough trust there that it didn't worry Yao.

He only wished that Ivan had the same trust in him to do as much as invite Yao over...

Yao shook off the thought, he just started to walk towards the town hall. The closer he got the more he became unreasonably nervous. He checked his phone and clicked his tongue. It was still two minutes until it even started and no one turned up on the dot of the invite time. He purposely slowed his walk. He didn't want to be first there.

But even with his slower pace it was still pretty early when he arrived at the hall. There were lights on. That was good. At least it showed he was welcome. But even if he hadn't expected the hall to be teeming with life... There was no one around. No one hanging by the entrance...

He was suddenly aware that he was at a standstill... Did he just go in and try to make conversation with whatever elderly lady set it all up? Or did he go and take a walk around for a while?

His inner monologue was stilted when suddenly there was a hand coming down hard on his shoulder, "Hi Yao!"

Yao was startled to the point of yelping loudly and spinning to see Olga who was laughing loudly at his extreme reaction.

"You scared me!" Yao exclaimed, as if it wasn't obvious.

Olga was stifling giggles against her wrist, "I'm sorry. You were just standing there! I've been creeping up on you since you left." She grinned.

Yao blinked. Olga had been following him since he left? That was a little weird...

Olga stopped laughing, noticing Yao's confusion, "Sorry, I didn't explain... We're neighbours you know. I live across from you. We left at the same time." She shrugged.

Yao's lips were starting to form an O in realisation but he quickly stopped himself, "Oh! Of course!" He nodded quickly, not wanting to offend Olga in his oblivion... He had no idea that she lived so close... Her house was right in front of his face. How didn't he notice this!?

She smiled, "It's okay. I know you didn't realise... I guess we just have different schedules."

"That must be it." Yao agreed. Neither of them believed that was really the case. Olga just didn't want Yao feel embarrassed at the notion that he hadn't even noticed that his friend actually lived right across the street from him.

But that didn't stop the guilt sinking in. Now that he thought about it, Yao didn't know any of his other neighbours aside from Ivan... He had never been over to introduce himself or even bothered to get to know anyone apart from those he had to interact with frequently. Olga knew everyone, everyone who knew Olga did too. Suddenly Yao felt as estranged as Ivan. He had done none of the 'closed community' things he had promised himself. All he had done was meet and fall in love with the one man everyone else went out of their way to avoid. He was too anxious about the prospect of talking to anyone but Ivan that he couldn't even go in the town hall until it was busy enough for him to slip in relatively unnoticed.

Olga smiled a little awkwardly, "I see you did the fancy dress thing..." She laughed lightly.

Yao frowned and touched the ears on his head, "You think its okay?"

Her eyes shone with the sudden worry that she might of made Yao feel self conscious, "Very okay! Very nice! Do you like mine?" She grinned and stepped back.

Yao looked her odd outfit up and down. She wore brown tights and shoes topped with a light pink tutu and a big puffy pink coat. On her head there was a big red ball sitting there. Honestly Yao had no idea, what she had come dressed as.

"It's very cute!" Yao attempted to avoid the subject of what she was with a compliment.

She laughed, not fooled, "I'm a cupcake. See?" She gave him a twirl, "Always good to do some shameless self promotion for the cafe! Shall we go in?"

Yao swallowed and nodded. He could go in with Olga, then entering wouldn't seem nearly as awkward.

The two made small talk as they took the final part of the walk side by side and made it in.

The moment they were into the stuffy hall Yao noticed how few people there were. Just an elegant looking foursome that were in no way dressed in fancy dress. There were no cat ears on them, they just looked graceful.

Yao's plans of sticking to Olga's side were immediately (though unsurprisingly) thwarted as one of the ladies, in a long green evening dress gasped and called her name. Olga perked right up and hurried over so that the two could give one another a friendly embrace. Yao watched from where he had been standing with Olga just a moment ago. It was like the two hadn't seen one another in month... Ai yah...They had probably just last talked that morning.

Yao stood, looking around as he waited for Olga to return. He quickly realised how silly he was to believe that she planned on rejoining him. With a sigh he watched Olga as she was inducted into the conversation that was taking place in the middle of the hall... They all stood in a very closed circle... It was almost intimidating, it certainly didn't look welcoming.

More people joined as guests arrived and Yao became more aware of how little he had done to get to know anyone here as they walked right on past him and to the growing group of chatters.

As he made his way over to the drinks table, simply to have something to do, he looked around at the other guests. There were tigers, and policemen, and mummies but... All of them were under the age of 16. It suddenly stuck Yao that the dress up part of the night was not included for the adults. It was to keep the children entertained. Olga got away with it because that was who she was. When she did it was cute and quirky. Yao felt like a frumpy girl in a model's clothes. When he participated in the dress up he was just being strange... No wonder everyone had the tendency to walk straight past him.

The selection of drinks had much to be desired. There were pre-poured glasses of wine, some beers and cans of soft drinks. No ice was to be seen and as Yao grazed the side of a beer bottle he found the drinks to be lukewarm.

Honestly, Yao wasn't feeling like a drink of something alcoholic and he eyed the orange fizz can as he considered taking some of the softer drinks…

Reluctantly, Yao took a glass of white wine. He felt by coming dressed like a freaking cat was bad enough, by taking a drink that was intended for the kids he would just look even more out of place. Sipping the wine he wrinkled his nose, it was warm and in no way something Yao wanted. He moved over to a small crowd. The group that had been amalgamating had spilt into two, the conversation taking different paths. Feeling bad standing alone on the side-lines, Yao moved over to one and stood as much as he could in the circle.

He couldn't help but feel excluded. He was shifting from foot to foot, trying to follow a story that was being told but when he started to find a greasy mark on his wine glass more interesting he sighed. This wasn't working very well. Not just the party, but the whole living here thing.

He wished Ivan had come. He would at least have someone to talk to. Better than that, someone who would give Yao his undivided attention.

Yao managed to drift off, zoning out to a fantasy of Ivan being here, the two of them talking so intently that everyone else would stare and get jealous.

But that was never going to happen. Ivan had made it quite clear that he didn't want to start making an appearance at public events that night and Yao… Well he just had to accept that didn't he?

And hour and a half. Yao decided that if he stayed that much longer he could leave politely and make it seem as if he had tried to mingle. Looking up to the big clock he felt his morale crumble as he realised he had been there for a whole twenty minutes.

He wasn't having a great time. Or even a good one. Yao, who was usually so determined and optimistic, decided this as he cleared his throat, trying to make his existence know in some way. No one was talking to him; they all had their own connections and Yao had never gotten around to worming his way into a social circle. His feet hurt; he had been standing too long already. It was noisy, the children who had arrived were getting rowdy and no one was dealing with them,

All in all he'd rather be home, or out walking with Ivan again.

He shortened his intended stay to an hour as compromise.

Just one hour he had to endure this.

That was up until Yao's eyes landed on a sight that got him to lose all shame related to walking out early.

He did a double take as his eyes travelled around the hall and the wine glass almost fell from his hand.

This was the last straw.

He slammed down his glass on the tale and suddenly with a new found fire of which his boredom had got him to think he would never conjure up so quickly started to burn.

There was a boy, standing in by the door, all his friends around him laughing at his little joke. He was around twelve, his expression smug as he let the other children admire him.

He had dressed up as 'the big man'. He wore a long coat and a pink scarf just like Ivan's. He had dressed up as Ivan as a novelty.

Yao felt violated, and couldn't imagine how the get up would have made Ivan feel. He stormed over to the kid. He didn't even know his name but he wasn't afraid to yell at him,

"What the hell do you think you're wearing?!"

The boy looked momentarily startled but recovered as quickly as he faltered, "What? We could dress up as who we wanted. It's a joke!"

Yao couldn't imagine how icy his expression turned because even the boy that had looked so confident a second ago paled. Yao was glad, he wanted to ruin the kid's face but knew he couldn't.

"Do you think he's a joke?!" He snapped, "You should be ashamed! I couldn't even convince Ivan to turn up here because you all treat him like he doesn't have feelings!" He turned around to where he was getting the attention of a few adults with his volume, "You should all be ashamed at how you treat that man!" He shouted at them. To hell with the whole party, he was done. Shoving past the offending kid who looked a little less cocky now he left, walking quickly out into the cold.

He was still angry. His breath ragged with frustration he kicked the side of the building. Half of him wanted to go back in there and continue his rant until the muscle that had seemed to tense inside him relaxed, but he had made his grand exit, and he reasoned that keeping away for the rest of the night might make him the better man in this… He decided that he'd just go and see if he was too late to join in on Ivan's walk around.

He ripped the stupid cat ears from his head. Thank goodness Ivan decided not to come. Yao felt his cheeks heat up as he thought of how Ivan might have felt after seeing that brat. He thought of how much he had tried to convince Ivan to come along and swallowed. Ivan had told Him that Yao didn't understand. Yao felt he understood a little more now. Certainly enough so that he could now see why Ivan refrained from coming with him.

He speed walked back, he just wanted to be back as far away as possible from that party.

Though it wasn't fast enough to miss the strange shadow over on the other side of the street. Yao came to a halt the second he noticed it. What was it?

He was slower as he made his way over; his blood ran cold as he realized the lump was a person. A large limp body, lying motionless.

"Oh… Oh my God…" Yao put both of his hands to his mouth. It was Ivan slumped before him. Yao's throat was dry and tight, his guts icy as he looked at the body with wide terrified eyes, "Ivan!" He tried, but there was no sign of response, "Ivan! Ivan!"

Still nothing. He wasn't waking up.

Scrambling to wrench his hands out of his jacket pockets and moving down to kneel next to him Yao put his hands on the body. It was warm, Ivan was still alive, and he was breathing lightly. Yao pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, Ivan must have slipped on the ice… Now what did he do? Ivan's neck and chest was warm not but upon feeing his hands, they were like ice blocks. He needed to get Ivan in the warmth, and now.

He sat there for a few seconds, trying to desperately get his thoughts in order to make his next move. Ivan was huge and heavy. Just how exactly was Yao supposed to carry him? He couldn't drag Ivan, not all the way home.

Just to try, Yao got up and tried with all his might to pick Ivan up, he strained until he was sure he had burst a blood vessel and he hadn't done a thing. Making a series of stressed pitiful whines he tried all the ways he could to lift Ivan up but nothing! Nothing! He wouldn't move!

Throwing down the ridiculous cat ears Yao stamped on them. He stamped on them again and again before hit his forehead. Why couldn't he do this!? Ivan needed to get home now! And here he was just...

Yao swallowed the lump in his throat and forced himself to think rationally.

He couldn't lift Ivan.

So what else could he do?

Before the idea had even formed fully in his head, Yao was running away from Ivan, a few meters down the street. He halted, almost slipping himself, in front of an outdoor supplies shop. Praying that he was right in thinking that nowhere got locked here because of the good sense of community and trust he tried the handle of the door. Pushing the wood it went forward and Yao was able to step inside.

He didn't even have time to mess around for the light switch. He needed something to transport the huge man who was rapidly getting cold home. He didn't even hesitated when he make out the silhouette of a wheelbarrow. Yao grabbed it with both hands and took it. He fished out some cash from his jacket and put it down on the counter, hoping it was enough. Most likely it was double the price of what he took, but this was no time to start counting pennies.

After that it seemed so much clearer for what Yao had to do. It wasn't easy to get Ivan into the wheelbarrow but thanks to his newfound quick thinking, Yao soon found himself running as fast as he dared with Ivan lying limp in the wheelbarrow in front of him, his arms and legs dangling from the sides.

By the time Yao was at Ivan's door, not even thinking about how he was finally entering Ivan's house, his arms felt like they were on fire. His hands felt blistered and his core felt impossibly tight.

He opened the door and stepped into a musty smelling hallway. Tipping the contraption he had transported Ivan in, he managed to manhandle his body to get it through the awfully narrow hall until he found the living room. With one final heave, Ivan was lying on the couch and Yao was throbbing from the muscle strain. He was almost panting as he rushed to strip Ivan on his clothes, which had been soaked in the freezing water from his time alone on the ground. Yao figured he didn't need to take Ivan's underwear off. It was dry enough. He just grabbed a blanket from where it hung over an armchair and topped it with a thinner blanket from yet another chair. He lit the fire then, relieved that had had the experience of lighting a fire quickly after doing it so much in his own home.

It wasn't until he was certain the fire had caught did Yao stand up abruptly but then immediately realised he had nothing more to do. He stood there in the middle of Ivan's living room staring at his warming form before slowly moving to sit in a chair. It felt so foreign under his body. He blinked as he looked around... He was in Ivan's house. This was Ivan's home.

He looked around... Sure the place was a little big for him, but that was the same with Yao... Yao furrowed his brow. Why had Ivan never asked him around here? It was fine.

Yao looked to the couch and then to the other arm chair. Come to think of it, Ivan sure had a lot of chairs. It was like more than one person lived here when Yao knew for certain that Ivan was here alone. He never even had anyone over.

Yao brushed it off, but there was almost no time at all until his attention was caught on something else. The wall behind the couch was covered in photographs... Yao had never imagined Ivan to have so many pictures.

Slowly he stood and shuffled behind the couch for a closer look. The first one his eyes landed on was right in the centre. Yao unhooked it from the wall and brought it closer to his face.

It was of a family of five, all stood smiling in front of what Yao recognised to be the very house he was inside of. In the front, the middle there was a boy. He only looked around ten, but Yao recognised the innocent face within a second. That was Ivan... A young child Ivan with what could have only have been his family.

With one hand on his shoulder, to his left there was a adolescent girl. Her hair was poker straight and she wasn't smiling, just staring at the camera menacingly. On the other side of Ivan there was another girl, a teenager with fluffy short hair whose beaming happy smile made up for the other girls lack of one.

Behind these three children, the parents looked almost plain. Like they were part of the scenery.

Yao gripped the frame tightly. Ivan had always said he had no siblings! Why did he lie about his sisters!? Yao felt a little cheated all of a sudden. He had always been so open and here was an obviously close family, with a picture that Ivan had thought important enough to put on his wall which he had never even mentioned!

Why? Yao thought they were close enough for family talk.

Yao kept his eyes on the picture and tried not to feel too hurt but he didn't have long to dwell. Out of nowhere came this blood curdling scream that had Yao gasp loudly and almost drop the frame.

He grabbed the side of the couch, still recoiling in fright when it came again, Yao's legs gave out with their shaking and he collapsed to his knees, his head instinctively going down to brace himself.

Seconds passed and it was silent again. With quivering hands, Yao hung up the picture again, getting it out of harm's way just in time for the next one that had him shutting his eyes and putting his hands over his face.

Yao's body felt lucid, not in a good way, like he was about to fall over. Now there was a loud series of thumps, bearable while Yao recollected himself.

W-What the hell was that!?

He scrubbed at his cheek, in his fright Yao hadn't even noticed that he had started to cry. He dried his face with the heel of his hands.

Another scream and his hands quickly went to plug his ears, not bearing to hear at again as the end of this sound dissolved into sobbing.

That was when Yao recognised it.

It was the animal-like yelling that he had been bothered with sometimes. Only now it was so much closer.

Yao bit on his inner cheek when it hit him that whatever made that noise was in the house... and he was certain now that it wasn't a pet. That was human screaming.

The realisaton made his stomach twist as he stepped out to the vacant hallway. Whatever the sound was, it was beneath him. As he padded down to a door that hung out ajar to the sound of womanly sobbing he leaned on the wall, flinching whenever the noise got louder. His clammy hands fiddled with one another as he pulled the door, it was slightly smaller than the others out towards him and peered inside.

He was met with a set of dark stairs that seemed to lead into blackness.

Yao could feel his heart try to escape him and his face pale. Whatever was making that noise was down there. He swallowed dryly

Yao stepped over the threshold, onto the stone and was relieved to find a light switch.

Pressing the switch and watching the strip lighting blink a few times before bursting into bright fluorescent light that was almost blinding and did nothing to help Yao's intimidated trembling. But at least he could see the steps he was taking. There was no banister, so Yao just pressed his hand to the wall to keep him up as he carefully stepped down.

By the time Yao was at the bottom his whole body was bent over as the noise overwhelmed him. But he was still there, standing in front of a door, locked but with key still in the hole, a door was all that separated him and whatever that was in there, whatever it was that Ivan had kept locked up under his house this whole time and had even made sure Yao had never found before.

His shaking hand missed the key the first few times but finally he gripped it between forefinger thumb and turned it.

Was he a fool for ever thinking he knew Ivan at all?

The lock clicked.

The door was open.

The smell was what assaulted him first, Yao gagged at the stench as he let it out past the door. Urine, vomit, sour smells mixed with the metallic scent of blood- their smells mingled in a vile concoction that hit him like a ton of bricks.

It was an immediate ambush, before Yao could even take in what horrified him so much as he felt his head hit stone wall.

With wide darting eyes, Yao found himself in a plain stone room, the walls, floor, and some of the ceiling was smeared in blood of various freshness. Other bodily fluids were spattered everywhere like revolting artwork. Yao felt his eyes sting at the decomposing waste and drying blood, its presence lingering in the air around the room and attacking all of Yao's senses.

His focus was snapped onto his attacker. It was a woman, the one who had been screaming not held him by the throat but she wasn't the only one in the room. Another, barely a shell of a woman lay curled up on a spot on the floor, watching them with wide empty eyes.

"You!" The woman who had him snarled, "You're Yao... What have you done with Ivan!? Where is he!?"

Yao couldn't speak but even if he wanted to was given no time to do so before his body was thrown down, his side hitting the hard floor before he had time to catch himself. If he wasn't so dreadfully afraid, he might have moved, done something. But fear rendered him helpless and all Yao got out of himself was a strangled cry, nothing that did justice to the turmoil that was taking place within him as the girl pressed her fingernails, caked with blood, to Yao's throat.

"He's ours... You should have never stolen Ivan from us... He's ours! He loves us!" Her voice became louder and louder as she became insistent, "Don't you dare steal him! Don't you dare!"

He was aware that the other one was now crying, "Don't take him away... Never take him away..." She was pleading.

In a sudden, unexpected moment of clarity, it dawned on Yao was to who these two were. The photograph he had looked at flashed into his head. These were Ivan's sisters.

The realisation sent his heart plummeting.

But the girl, with her nails sinking into the flesh of Yao's throat was hissing, "Did you fuck him?" Her voice wobbled, telling of her madness, "Did you fuck? We were better. We were his first time and he loved it. Don't think you can take him that way. He loved it when his big sisters and he fucked."

Yao's face burned with a shameful kind of humiliation. Was he to die like this? On the stone floor, Ivan's older sister telling how Ivan loved having sex with them? His own sisters? The thought repulsed Yao in every single way. He was squirming now, desperate to get out.

"Yao!"

A familiar voice and suddenly Yao was free, the body that trapped his knocked to the side and off of him. Yao scrambled to his feet.

Ivan was standing there. Still in his underwear, looking dishevelled and totally panicked.

Ivan had clearly noticed the scared look in Yao's eyes. Ivan had messed up big time.

"Yao..." He said hoarsely, his voice gentle as he pleaded for Yao to stop shaking his head as he backed away, "Wait!" He cried, but Yao was gone.

He didn't stop running until he was out of that house, inside his own. It was far too close to the room he had just discovered but it was the safest place to be. His heart didn't stop its spasms until he was under his covers and certain Ivan was not following him.