The Only Exception
Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places.- Lovecraft
It was barely hanging on her tongue. She was going to say it and she knew it. It's all about the story, she kept telling herself. This would make for an excellent story some day. I've already got the prequel, after all...
Or maybe it was a curiosity thing. Perhaps once upon a time, she'd lived as a cat and simply never learned her lesson.
Either way, the name Betelgeuse was already on it's way out of her mouth and as soon as it was, her eyes scrunched shut and she waited. There were no big light shows, no rolling thunder, no overt display of power. He was just standing there, in all of his undead glory. Same unruly hair, same dark eyes, and those same godawful stripes. A lit cigarette was hanging out of his mouth, which was fixed into a knowing smirk. His feet were furnished with a nice pair of old army combat boots.
For her part, she did not scream. She did not gasp and she did not run for her life. Autumn merely stood there, looking at him while he looked at her. He watched her taking in his appearance the way a tailor would assess his newest customer. Sizing him up. He flicked his cigarette away, where it dissolved into thin air, and took a step closer to her.
She didn't back up, but her eyes said it all. Come no closer.
"You know...," he drawled. "You know my name now, but I don't think I heard yours." Betelgeuse leaned forward expectantly.
"Autumn..." it came out breathy, like a heroine in some cheesy romance novel and she could have kicked herself. "Autumn Deetz."
"Well, well, well!" he grinned. "If it isn't the newest little Miss Deetz. Autumn, hmmm? After the season?"
She nodded. "Mom was a fashion photographer. It was her favorite season to shoot in, so she named me after it." Did he need to know that? Seriously, did she need to say that?
"Fascinating story," he nodded. His eyes strayed to the cartons of food going cold over on the counter. He sauntered over to them and snickered when Autumn skipped around him to stay as far back as possible. Picking up a carton of food, chicken, he grabbed her chopsticks and shoveled some into his mouth.
"That's mine," she said pointedly. He merely raised his eyebrows at her, chewing obnoxiously. "Never mind, you can have the rest of it. I've suddenly lost my appetite."
He finished off the remainder of her food while she sat down in one of the table's many chairs, watching him. The arranged pieces of rice were still sitting on the table and she absentmindedly plucked at them.
"So.." she began. "How come you wanted out so bad anyways?"
"No fun over there, babes," was the reply.
She scowled. "What makes you think it's any better over on this side?"
He tossed a lecherous look her direction. "I'm looking at it."
And that, was just gross. To Autumn he looked like he'd died of some horrible infectious disease, been buried, crawled back up, hit by a dump truck, and then left to rot in a sewer before falling into a microwave. In simpler words, not pretty.
But his eyes were a rather brilliant shade of green. His features might have once been described as elfin. A good shower and a proper comb might be able to sort out a good chunk of what was going on there...
Stop! She mentally scolded herself. You are not checking out a dead guy. You're not that desperate. What would Craig think?
Craig, her boyfriend of one year who kept pressuring her to get married and move in with him. Craig, who was so adamant that she get out of her funk and start writing again. Craig, the reason she was really out here in the first place.
Autumn shook her slightly. "So, you're here for the girls then? No single ladies on the other side?"
Betelgeuse scoffed. "They just don't appreciate my charms over there. Besides, I'm too good for all that creepy dead stuff, you know?"
"Right..." she breathed. He tossed the empty food carton back onto the counter and started rummaging around the kitchen. He opened up the pantry doors and snorted at it's near empty state. Then he moved onto the fridge and actually groaned aloud.
"Don't you got any beer in this joint?" he grumbled.
"Oh, my apologies," Autumn jeered. "But I'm not exactly well suited to entertain guests right now. I DID figure on being up here alone."
"Boy did you figure wrong, huh?"
"You're a pig," she declared.
He fired right back, "Twit."
"Louse."
"Nutter."
"Me?" She scoffed. He grinned back at her.
"Well, you're the one talking to a dead guy aren't you?"
"Not for long," she mused. "Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse."
A long snarl emitted before the undead creature faded into nothing.
That was low.
"Get over it," she muttered before grabbing her laptop off the table and leaving the kitchen. He remained there, gazing through the window's reflection at an empty room and vowing some form of revenge on that red-headed twerp.
Autumn was very surprised the next morning when she came downstairs to find that all the furniture was attached to the ceiling. "Very funny," she remarked. Her amusement died the moment she found the coffee pot smashed to pieces in the sink.
Grumbling under her breath, she stomped her way back upstairs and into her bedroom. This was not going to be a lie-around-in-pj's kind of day, oh no. He'd surely ruined that. Autumn shucked her bat print pj pants in favor of a slim fitting pair of black trousers, a chunky purple sweater and a pair of platform boots. Her hair was twisted up into a loose swirl and clipped in place with a black glittery spider brooch.
A swipe of mascara and some lip balm finished off her look. She grabbed her keys and purse before heading down the stairs. The cold chill and disembodied voice made her pause.
Leaving so soon? The game's just started, babe. Don't tell me you're running out on me!
"Well you ruined my coffee maker so unless you want me to exorcise your decrepit ass..." here she paused for effect. "you'd better fix everything before I get back."
Suppressing a grin, she sashayed her way out the door and into her car.
I'm gonna get her, I swear it.
Instead, Betelgeuse set to righting the mess he made before sulking off to some dark corner of his lair to come up with new ways to piss her off.
The diner was slowly picking up in traffic as the morning wore on. Susan was busy rushing from one table to the next. Autumn had her laptop out, coffee in hand, and continued to work on her character profile. The napkin she'd hastily scribbled on last time had disappeared somewhere and she wasn't about to go back to the house just to find it.
Instead, she closed her eyes and thought back to last night. Striking green eyes. A voice as gritty as sand, though not entirely unpleasant. A shock of wild hair, mad scientist style. These were already the makings of a really interesting character for Autumn. Granted, she was not casting Betelgeuse as a poltergeist in her new novel – he was definitely being tamed down. And renamed, she thought absently.
If he knew she was basing a character around him, he'd be one smug little git. Best to make sure he never saw any of her writings...
"Here's your order, dear," Susan stopped by the table with a round black tray. Removed from it was a plate of scrambled eggs and two buttermilk pancakes.
"Thanks a lot," Autumn praised. "I'm starving."
Susan gave her a beaming smile before moving on. Autumn continued to watch her for a while, amidst absentmindedly pouring syrup onto her pancakes and forking eggs into her mouth. Susan seemed like a lonely woman who had long given up on waiting for her ship to come in. She maintained a cheerful disposition at work and was probably a really good person all the way around, but still...there was a sadness there. Loneliness.
Some might say that Autumn was over-analyzing the situation. And maybe she was, but as a writer that's where the best stories and characters emerged. One just had to dig a little deeper...
She set aside her plate and quickly pulled her laptop back in front of her. The keys clacked loudly as another character was sketched out – a young waitress looking for freedom and adventure. A woman thinking her options had passed her by.
If only some mysterious stranger would be swept into her life...
Autumn cackled madly. Take that, writer's block!
When she finally did come back, well into the afternoon and carrying a bag of groceries, he remained quiet and watched her. Bags of vegetables came out and were tossed into the fridge. Health nut. Oh look, more tea. Different flavors this time around though. And then...no way.
Autumn pulled out a six pack of beer and reverently placed it on the top shelf in the fridge. Suddenly he was feeling a bit nervous about all the surprises he'd left for her upstairs. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about it now.
Still, with great trepidation he watched as she ascended the staircase and opened her bedroom door.
"The fuck is this...!"
Author's Note: This one is a bit shorter than the rest and not nearly as good. I apologize, I've got the flu right now so working on this is tedious at best. If any of you have some awesome ideas for Betelgeuse to use as nasty pranks for Autumn, I'd love to hear them. As it stands...I really have no clue what she's gonna find in her bedroom in the next chapter!