Blueeyeddevil06, thank you for being my beta. I owe you so much for being willing to edit and give comments on everything I write!
Zoisite typed away on his phone and read in a faux eerie voice, "So, it says this house is haunted and reveals your deepest desires. Ooooh, spooky."
Kunzite grabbed the phone from him and looked, "When I planned this, I read that we get to see ghostly sex stuff. None of this seeing your deepest desire shit." He looked at the website that was pulled up in disappointment. "Crap, it says that shit you said."
Jadeite rolled his eyes and smacked Kunzite in the arm, "Don't worry. All you think about is sex. I'm sure that's your deepest desire. Maybe in there, you'll actually get the guts to talk to the sexy image of Mina. I'm coming in with you."
"Like hell you are! If I get to see her all naked and looking like sex, you sure aren't going to be in there! Go find your private room so you can see Raye. Maybe she'll push you into the Great Fire."
"That would be one of your fantasies, Kunzite," Nephrite said. "Maybe instead of a naked Mina, you'll see Jadeite being pushed in, talk about hot."
"Hardly a fantasy, this pervert is going to slip one day and say something creepy to her. Chances are high that he'll die young at her hands."
"Do we even have to ask what Nephrite's deepest desire is? Surely it's Lita covered in chocolate sauce that she made," Jadeite said, changing the subject.
Darien stayed quiet. He was terrified of his deepest desire. He had so many deep wishes that he didn't know which would pop up. His parents, a family to love him, a family of his own one day…. Each one would hurt. Two he never had, and a third he didn't believe could ever happen for him. His hand trembled at the idea of seeing Serena naked. That was definitely a desire too.
Nephrite looked at his phone and said, "It really depends on what website you look at for this abandoned house. Some say deepest heart desire, some say sex stuff, ranging from having sex with a ghost to seeing the person you most want naked, some say you don't see anything here, you just leave and find your true desire. Oh! Look at this one!" He held up his phone. "This is a first-hand account of getting a blowjob from a naked ghost."
Jadeite snatched the phone and read the story. "That's hot!"
Zoisite rolled his eyes, "You guys know this is stupid, right? The only reason I'm going along is to laugh when this doesn't turn out. Most likely, the only thing we'll get is tetanus from stepping on a loose nail."
"Aren't you cheerful," Kunzite grumbled.
"I am. I'm up to date on my vaccinations."
"Come on. It's Halloween. We have to do something. Why not this?!" Jadeite asked.
"Hey! I'm here with you. You don't have to convince me."
Nephrite then pulled out his phone. "On this website, the guy claims he had sex with two women. I call bullshit on that one." He then clicked on the next site. "Oh, this is promising. It says this guy found a hot girl, and she had sex with him."
"See, I told you!" Kunzite said, smiling.
"Yup," Nephrite continued. "She only charged him a hundred dollars."
Zoisite looked thoughtful. "That's kinda smart. Hide in the house and have horny guys show up and charge them money for sex. An Interesting business model. They come right to you."
"Once a year," Kunzite said. "This house is only supposed to have the sex stuff on Halloween night."
Jadeite shoved Kunzite, "You didn't warn me to bring money!"
"You're not hiring a prostitute."
"I know. I was just kidding. It was an excuse to shove you, really."
Zoisite mumbled, "Lucky Andrew, he had to work."
Darien chuckled; he completely agreed. "So why don't we bail on this idea?"
"What else are we going to do on Halloween? Would you rather go to a party?"
"No… Let's go to the house."
Jadeite patted his back. "Don't worry; I'm sure whatever you see will involve you becoming a doctor."
"What if the house shows sex stuff?" Nephrite asked.
"Psst. I guess I just assumed he was asexual," was the reply. Darien looked at him funny and shrugged. "Wait, you're not?! Is there a girl you actually like?! Do tell!"
"Cut the shit, Jadeite. You know he's private about stuff like that," Kunzite admonished.
"But he just implied he likes someone, and since two-thirds of the girls at school have asked him out, I'm curious as to who she is!"
Zoisite shook his head. "Leave him alone."
"But -"
"If he likes someone, he'll ask her out," Zoisite replied. "Leave it be."
Nephrite said, "Or he'll just say yes when she asks him."
Kunzite shook his head, "I'm with Zoisite. I doubt she'd ask him out. By now, the word around school is that he refuses to date - anyone. She'd be scared off by now."
"If she's from our school," Jadeite pressed. "She could be from… the library or somewhere equally lame like that."
Darien wanted to turn and walk away, but he kept trudging through the woods with them towards the house. The moon was full overhead, and the trees were far enough apart to let enough light in for them to see. The wind blew gently, and fog had started to drift in. He had to admit it did feel creepy out there.
"Look! There's Raye, and she's naked!" Kunzite said, pointing off to the distance.
"Where?!" Jadeite asked, looking around frantically. He scowled at Kunzite when he realized everyone was laughing at him. "Ha. Ha. Very funny. You're an ass, Kunz."
"So, Jadeite wants to see Raye, anyone else going to admit who they want to see?" Zoisite asked.
Kunzite smiled, "Mina, definitely Mina."
"You should just ask her out," Nephrite said. "You two flirt constantly."
"Think she'd say yes?!"
"It's not like you to lack confidence."
"Yeah, but it's Mina. She's incredible."
Suddenly Jadeite stopped and said, "Hey guys." They looked at him. He then pointed, "There's the house."
Darien's stomach clenched. He really didn't want to go in. The best-case scenario was that it was all a hoax and nothing happened. They all remained quiet as they approached the house and climbed the rickety stairs. The wood groaned underneath their feet. It was then he realized that Zoisite was probably right, and they were likely to step on a rusty nail.
As Darien walked through the front door, they all scattered and went off to explore the house separately. He thought it sounded like a horrible idea straight out of a horror movie.
A faint breeze picked up, and it smelled of roses. The scent felt familiar, but he couldn't place it in his memory. He followed his nose and gingerly walked up the stairs. When he came to the hall, his feet turned automatically to the right, and he walked to the end of the corridor and opened the last door on the left.
He stepped into the darkened room, and the door slammed behind him. Before he could turn to open it, the clouds outside moved, and moonlight filtered in through the windows, illuminating the room. Soft cords of music floated up and played a melody that he couldn't quite pick out. He strained his ears, and still, it was too faint.
"It's good to see you again."
He spun to the right, shocked to hear a voice, and standing before him was Serena, except it wasn't quite her. She was dressed in a long beautiful white dress with a crescent moon on her forehead, and her hair was silver instead of gold.
"Serena?"
She smiled at him and shook her head, smiling. "Close, but so far off. I'm Serenity. I'm her first incarnation."
He didn't even know where to start. He was so confused. "Does this have to do with my deepest desire?"
"This house isn't haunted like you people claim it to be, but yes." She cocked her head and gave him a cute smile, "I'll always be your deepest desire."
"But Serena...?"
"We're one and the same, she's my reincarnation, and she's not the only one reincarnated, Endymion."
"Endymion?"
"In your first life, you were Endymion, and we fell deeply in love. It was epic and crossed prejudices and political divisions. Tragically, we both died for our love." A tear slipped down her cheek. "But now, the two of you have a second chance. Don't waste it."
"I love her, but…" he sighed. "She's perfect, and I'm so damaged from my past. I don't want to taint her."
"Do you really believe someone so pure could be tainted by anything? Did you ever consider that you might be cleansed?"
He looked at her in shock, "I don't want to take advantage of her kind nature."
"We've gotten away from the point. You were born for each other, destined from millennia past. It's beyond fate. You're formed in your very beings for one another. Go to her. Love her."
"Is this a trick? It's Halloween and-"
"It's the full moon that enables me to talk to you. That and your openness tonight to the unusual. Why do you keep fighting this?"
"Would she really say yes to me?" He asked instead of answering her question.
"She loves you. I'll ask you a rhetorical question. Do you want to leave her yearning for your love and never to have it?"
"No. I want her to have everything she ever wanted."
"That's you then. Go to her. Her heart is already yours. Let her know you return her love."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I told you, she's me. I loved Endymion fiercely. You haven't changed. He was jaded and stubborn too. I'll tell you what I told him."
"What was that?"
"Get over yourself." She smiled at him with humor in her eyes.
He smiled at that. "I can't risk her saying no. I love her too much. It would devastate me."
"Ugh! Shut up! She loves you. Stop whining. Kiss the girl, and tell her how you feel. You're safe with us. No matter your past, she is your future."
Darien heard a banging noise and turned in that direction. He then heard Jadeite cursing.
From behind him, he heard Serenity say, "Go and love her." When he turned back around, she was gone, and the smell of flowers floated in the air.
The door to the room swung open, and he joined the guys in the foyer. Jadeite was sitting on the floor glaring at Zoisite. "I stepped on a nail, you ass."
"I didn't make you do that."
"No, but it's your fault. You said it would happen."
"If that would work, then I'll say Raye will push you in the Fire. It doesn't work that way. You just didn't watch where you were going."
"You made it happen."
"I made an educated guess."
"Oh, just shut up, you two," Nephrite complained. "Anyone see anything? I only saw the most enormous rat in existence. I named him Palo."
"Do I even want to know why?" Jadeite asked.
"He looked like a Palo."
Kunzite rubbed his face with his hands. "I'd say that's the stupidest thing I ever heard, but I'm friends with Jadeite."
"What does that mean!?" Jadeite asked, standing up and scowling at him.
"That you say stupid things all the time."
"Bullshit! Tell me one example."
"Fine. You told our teacher that you thought his class was boring and too easy."
"It was true!"
"He gave us all a test! I wanted to beat you!"
"Okay, so that was dumb. That's one time, though."
Zoisite groaned, "I'm stopping this game here. Let's get out before someone else gets hurt. Please tell me you've had your shot, Jadeite."
"I don't know; I'm all for him having lockjaw," Nephrite joked. "We could use the peace and quiet."
"I've had a shot," Jadeite said, glaring at Nephrite.
Darien dared to ask, "So no one saw anything…odd?" All four of the guys confirmed he was the only one to see something.
He walked away from the house smiling. He now knew what future he was walking toward.
