A/N: Hello again :) I'm back...WITH A LONGER CHAPTER!
Yeah, this chapter is pretty long compared to the other two...and it begins to set up the story! I'm actually really pumped about this story - and even though not many people are reviewing, I'm gonna keep writing, because I wanna see how it turns out too xD
Anyways, I won't ramble anymore! Enjoy the chapter!
~ A-Far-Off-Memory
~ chapter ii ~
"You know, this place isn't all that scary-looking," Sora commented, glancing around the giant house in front of them. "A little run-down, but not scary." Most—if not all—of the windows were broken, the shutters hung forlornly, the front porch looked a little rotten and the paint was all chipped, easily letting anyone know that it had been abandoned for a very long time.
"Are you serious?!" Demyx shrieked incredulously, green eyes wide. "This place meets all the criteria for like, every horror movie in existence!"
Vanitas snorted. "Man up, Demyx. You gotta stop being such a pussy."
"Van, leave him alone," Sora chided, sighing. "He's allowed to be scared."
"Not if I have to listen to him whine all night," the golden-eyed teen grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
Rolling his eyes, Axel cautiously made his way up to the door, opening it carefully. "Come on, let's just get inside," he said, gesturing for everyone to go through the door. "No more fighting tonight—got it memorized?"
"That's such a stupid catchphrase, Ax," Riku chuckled, pulling Sora up the rickety stairs and heading inside.
Naminé giggled. "Oh no, you just committed the cardinal sin of insulting the sacred catchphrase," she commented, wiggling her fingers as she moved in behind them.
"Now he's just gonna whine about it for the next hour or so," Roxas grinned, carefully stepping onto the stairs and following them. He paused in the doorway to stand on his tiptoes and kiss Axel on the cheek before continuing on his way.
"Good thing I brought my iPod," Zexion muttered, taking Demyx's hand and heading up the stairs. He must've found a weak spot in the wood, however, because the second he stepped onto the third step, it buckled under him and sent him tumbling with a startled shout.
"Zexy!" Demyx exclaimed, eyes widening. "Oh God, are you okay?" He threw his bags on the ground and bent down to help the shorter teen up.
"I knew this was a bad fucking idea!" he growled, cussing uncharacteristically and leaning heavily on the blond's shoulder.
Ven rushed over and gently pulled Zexion's foot free, wincing at the pained noises that escaped him. He then took the slate-haired teen's bag, while Vanitas and Kairi picked up Demyx's. The green-eyed teen lifted Zexion easily into his arms and carried him inside, followed by the others.
"Here, put him on the couch," Naminé directed, pointing to a raggedy, torn-up couch.
"The dust in here is absolutely unreal," the indigo-eyed teen complained, sneezing to punctuate his sentence. Demyx immediately pushed his glasses back up, after the force of the sneeze sent them flying down Zexion's nose.
"Suck it up, buttercup," Axel told him, examining old pieces of woods that he found on the floor, shrugging and sticking them into the fireplace. He stuck some crumpled napkins in it and quickly lit it, grinning when it immediately blazed to life.
"Where's the first-aid kit?" Kairi asked, looking around. "And can someone grab an ice pack and wrap it in something?" She then knelt before Zexion, rolling up his skinny jeans as much as possible. As gently as she could, she pulled his sneaker off, setting it off to the side.
"Ouch," he hissed, squeezing Demyx's hand. The blond immediately started stroking his hair in an effort to soothe him, leaning in to kiss his cheek.
"Sorry, Zex, but you're gonna have to deal with it," she apologized, examining his ankle. It was swelling pretty fast, and there were cuts filled with splinters all over the place.
Sora handed her the first-aid kit from his bag, while Riku got an ice pack from the smaller cooler they'd brought, wrapping it in an undershirt that his boyfriend tossed to him. Kairi opened the kit and got to work getting all of the splinters out with a pair of tweezers. Zexion winced each time, but Demyx quickly worked on distracting him.
That's when they heard the bang.
Slowly, Roxas peered out into the hall. "Um, Ax…?" he questioned, a strange tone in his voice. "Did you close the door behind you when we all came in?"
"I didn't," the redhead replied. "Did anyone else?"
Everyone shook their heads 'no'.
A nervous chuckle escaped Roxas. "It was probably just the wind, then."
Kairi slowly looked up from Zexion's ankle, violet eyes wide. "'Probably'?" she squeaked.
Vanitas scoffed. "It was obviously the wind, Kai. There's no one else here."
Demyx gulped audibly, glancing around. "You sure, Vanitas?"
The black-haired teen rolled his eyes. "Alright, if there's anyone or anything here, show yourself!" he said loudly, laughing and spreading his arms wide. When nothing happened, he smirked. "See? Nothing here."
"You aren't supposed to call spirits out like that," Naminé said quietly, looking down at her legs and picking at the light grey material of her jeans. "It makes them angry."
"Ooh, I'm so scared," he cackled, wiggling his fingers. He rolled his eyes. "I don't believe in that shit, Nam."
The petite blonde sighed, combing her fingers through her hair. "You're asking for it, Vanitas. Just…be careful what you say."
He smirked widely. "Pfft. I'll say what I want because ghosts don't exist and even if they did, they wouldn't scare me."
Silence fell over the room then. Kairi meticulously continued her work on Zexion's ankle, Axel worked on the fire, and the others looked around the room to try and get a feel for the house.
"Riku, I wanna look around. Can we?" Sora asked after a few moments, big blue eyes pleading in a way that he knew Riku couldn't resist.
The aqua-eyed teen shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
"We'll be back!" the brunet sang, taking Riku by the hand and pulling him through the doorway on the other side of the room.
It was silent for a moment before Axel started snickering.
"What?" Ven questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"They so just left to find a place to bang," the redhead snorted, leaning against the fireplace.
"Ugh," Vanitas groaned, banging his head against the wall. "My little brother is getting more than me…"
Demyx smirked. "Felling a little frustrated, Vanitas?"
Golden eyes narrowed. "Whatever." He crossed his arms and headed to the doorway by the front door. "I'm gonna check out the second floor. Anyone brave enough to come and join me?"
For a moment, it seemed like no one was going to speak up. But then Ven stood, making his way over to the black-haired teen. "I'll go, it's boring down here," he replied with a shrug.
Vanitas grinned. "My, Ven, I'm impressed! It's nice to see that someone here isn't a chicken shit."
Axel snorted. "I'd go, and you know I would, but I have to watch the fire…and I want snacks."
"Excuses," Vanitas teased, grabbing Ven by the arm. "Later, losers."
They disappeared then, leaving the other six,
Kairi finished bandaging Zexion's foot, offering a smile as she set the ice pack on it. "Better?" she questioned, standing up and brushing the dirt from her bare knees.
He nodded. "Much." A small smile appeared on his face. "Thank you, Kairi."
She grinned, violet eyes sparkling. "Anytime, Zex. It's good practice for med school, after all."
They all chatted idly, opening bags of chips and cans of pop. Their laughter—mostly Axel's—filled the room, yet Naminé simply sat in front of the fire and stared into its depths.
"Nami, why're you so quiet?" asked Roxas as he sat beside her, holding out an unopened can of pop. She shook her head at the offering, sighing deeply.
"I…I have a really bad feeling," she whispered, swallowing hard. "I don't think that the others should have left this room." Her arms wrapped around her slim, jean-clad legs, and she rested her chin on her knees. "This place…it just doesn't feel right."
Axel, having overheard, immediately knelt before her. Acid green eyes locked with bright blue, and he reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. "Naminé…do you think we should go?" They all knew Naminé well enough to know that when something wasn't sitting right with her, then it probably wasn't anything good. And even though Axel wanted to stay, he'd leave if she wanted to.
She smiled, though it was easy to tell that it was forced. "No, I'm probably just overreacting. I guess I'm just a little on edge from hearing the story, and I'm probably just imagining things. Plus, you know Vanitas won't leave, and we can't just leave him here."
"You sure, Nam? We can just drag him out…" Demyx offered, looking over with worried green eyes.
She nodded, still smiling. "I'm positive."
What a lie.
Oh Nams...why don't you listen to yourself?
Haha so people are starting to split up...any predictions as to what will happen? Also...three people in this story are going to die - who do you think they are? First person to correctly guess all three (or whoever guesses the most) gets a present of some sort :D
Anyways, I'll see you all at the next update! Review if you'd like :)
~ AFOM