Jaune Arc: Goosebumps Storyteller

by vanquish356

Jaune always did love telling stories, especially to his younger sisters. He even had a book filled with cheesy horror stories that his sisters loved. But after coming to Beacon, he thought he would never tell stories again. However, that wasn't the case when Ruby began asking him for stories, soon followed by Nora. Little did he know that this would cause a domino effect.

2. Chapter 2

Jaune Arc: Goosebumps Story Teller

Chap 2: The Girl Who Cried Monster

"Um..." I said, scared and trying my best not to lose consciousness. The reason why was because I was being held upside down. And as to why I was being held upside down was because of an angry Yang. As to why she was angry, well...

"Quiet." She growled out as she continued to hold me upside down by my leg. "So, Ruby. Why were you and Nora here with Jaune so late last night?"

You might be wondering what's happening. Well, it's simple. It was night time of the next day. Since it was Sunday and we had no classes for the rest of the week, thanks to Ozpin, the girls decided to have another sleepover. However, Yang was not too happy at the moment. The reason was that Ruby returned to the dorm way past midnight. And Yang being the overprotective sister, was upset at Ruby being up past her bedtime. Unfortunately, while trying to explain herself, Ruby accidentally said that she was with me in my dorm yesterday. Since Yang was already angry, she didn't listen to the entire explanation and immediately barged into my room while I was getting ready to sleep. And before I could say anything, she lifted me into the air by my leg.

"We were hearing listening to Jaune's stories." Ruby answered nervously.

"Don't lie to me, Ruby." Yang growled, clearly upset.

"She's not. We were listening to our fearless leader's stories. And before we knew it, it was nearing midnight." Nora chimed in, not affected by Yang's glare.

"Yeah. They were the best cheesy horror stories we had ever heard. And he keeps them in this spooky book." Ruby added, trying to calm Yang down.

"Really?" Yang asked, not believing them.

"Yes." Ruby and Nora answered. Even Zwei barked in agreement. However, had I not started to lose focus, I would have noticed that Zwei's eyes turned yellow for a brief second.

"Show me." Yang demanded. Nodding, Ruby and Nora went over to my bed, reached underneath, and pulled out the case that contained the book. Luckily, mainly because my vision was now extremely blurry, the case wasn't locked.

"SEE!" Ruby shouted after opening the case and showing Yang my book.

"Oh. I see. So, you three weren't... never mind." Yang sheepishly said with her eyes returning to their normal lilac color.

"What did you think we were doing?" Ruby asked, pouting.

"Um. Having too many sweets." Yang answered with a nervous chuckle. Although, it was easy to tell that it was a lie to cover what she was really thinking. And honestly, we couldn't blame her as not only was she protective of Ruby, but Ruby was also getting to be that age where her curiosity could get the better of her. Thankfully, Ruby was still naive and easily believed Yang's lie.

"Well, you don't need to worry about that, Yang. Jaune never lets me have more than a few pieces of candy." Ruby said with another adorable pout.

"Really?" Yang asked, surprised.

"Yup. I've even seen Jaune-Jaune take the candy Ruby was eating away when we saw an empty bag of strawberry bon bons." Nora added.

"Really?" Yang asked while directing a glance towards a nervous Ruby. She then made a gesture to Ruby that said they'll discuss that later before turning to me. "Thanks for looking out for Ruby, Jaune. And sorry about the-oh."

While they were busy discussing what we were doing here last night, I had finally lost consciousness. Lucky, Nora came to the rescue. Although, in a way, I did not prefer.

"I GOT IT!" She shouted before using her semblance to give me one hell of a shock.

"OW!" I shouted as I regained consciousness. While everything was a bit fuzzy and blurry at first, my vision quickly cleared up when Nora gave me another, much milder shock. "Ow."

"Better, Jaune?" She asked as she helped me up.

"Yeah. Thanks, Nora." I answered with a smile. While the shock did hurt, I never took offense to it as it was simply Nora's unique way of helping others. Plus, I have been subject to far worse by my sisters when they pranked me during our younger years.

"Sorry about the confusion, Jaune." Yang said, getting my attention.

"It's fine, Yang. I have four younger sisters. I would have done the same." I told her while sitting down on my bed.

"How many sisters you have, Jaune?" Ruby asked, curious.

"I have seven sisters. Four younger, one old as me, and two older." I answered, causing them to become shocked.

"YOU HAVE SEVEN SISTERS! YOUR MOM MUST BE A SUPER MOM!" Nora shouted, surprised.

"How did she keep everyone under control?" Yang asked, curious.

"She kept us under control with one simple trick. And that trick my sisters and I dubbed the stare of death. Basically, when we saw that, we all went on our best behavior." I explained.

"I can see that. Well, anyway, we better get back to our dorm and get ready to sleep. Night-night." Ruby said as she hastily tried to exit the room. However, before she could even reach the door, Yang grabbed her by the wrist.

"Hold on, sis." She said while pulling Ruby next to her. "You and Nora said that Jaune has the best cheesy horror stories ever. I want to see if that is true as it's been a while since I heard a good story."

"YES! ANOTHER STORY!" Nora cheered as she sat down in front of me. Ruby escaped Yang's grip before sitting down next to Nora. Yang, meanwhile, grabbed a chair and brought it over to them before sitting. Seeing that I would not be able to escape, I sighed before picking up the book and opening it. Yet, even if I could, I wouldn't as seeing Ruby and Nora's smiling faces filled me with a joy that I only got when telling stories. Plus, despite the circumstances surrounding it, I now have Yang as part of the audience, which is nice.

"Alright. What kind of story do you all want to hear this time?" I asked, unable to contain my smile any longer as I skimmed through the book.

"Do you have any stories that have siblings?" Yang asked.

"Yes. Plenty. You're going to need to be more specific." I answered.

"Oh, how about one with monsters?" Nora suggested.

"That reminds me of one story I read a long time ago. Do you of the story called The Boy Who Cried Wolf? Do you have something similar?" Yang asked.

"Yes, one that is very similar to that story. It's called The Girl Who Cried Monster. It's about a girl named Lucy who loves to tell monster stories. She's told so many that her friends and family are sick of it. Then one day, Lucy discovers a real, live monster: the librarian in charge of the summer reading program. Too bad Lucy's told so many monster tall tales. Too bad no one believes a word she says. Too bad the monster knows who she is and is coming after her next. How does that sound?" I asked.

"Sounds like we need snacks. Be right back." Yang said before getting up and exiting the dorm. Surprised, we stayed silent for a few moments. But before I could break the silence, Yang came back with a couple of bags of chips and some sodas. Although, three cans were diet soda with no caffeine added for Nora. Good thing as the last thing we need now is a sugar-crazed, hyper Nora. "Okay, shall we begin?"

"YES!" Nora and Ruby shouted. Chuckling, I flipped to the correct page.

"Okay. We begin with Lucy. She was an average teenage girl that's part of an average family. Or so she thought. Anyway, one thing Lucy loved to do was tell scary monster stories to her brother..."

Story

We see some beautiful summer trees slowly passing with the sun shining brightly above. However, the angle of the branches and the light fog gave an almost eerie feeling to them. Soon, a spider making a web is seen, unaware of anything happening around it.

'I love to scare my little brother Randy. I tell him scary stories about monsters until he just begs me to stop.'

Soon we see what seems to be an ordinary house with a giant front yard. There are leaves scattered about that indicate that summer is ending, with fall about to take its place. A bike is soon seen on its side near a garden arch.

'And I'm always teasing him by pretending to see the monsters everywhere.'

A ball is soon seen bouncing towards some trees with plants at the base as a young boy chasing after it. However, once he reached the tree, he stopped in his tracks. Looking over the plants, he removed his slippers and used his foot to touch the plants. The ball was completely forgotten at this point.

'I guess that's why no one believed me the day I saw a real monster... until it was too late.'

"RANDY!" A voice shouted behind the boy, startling him. He quickly turned around and saw his older sister walking towards him with a worried expression. However, if you were to look closely, you could tell she was trying her best not to break down in laughter. "Haven't you ever heard of the razor-tooth toe biter?"

"What do you mean, toe biter?" Randy asked, scared.

"It got Becky and Lilah next door." The girl said with a smug grin. Yet, anyone could tell that she was having fun scaring her brother, especially when he looked down at his toes. "While they were playing in their wading pool."

"Couldn't they see it coming?"

"Toe biter can camouflage itself as anything. Even water."

"YOU'RE LYING!" Randy shouted, scared.

"Ask Becky to take off her shoe. She'll show you. Ask her." The sister challenged. She then took off her shoes before going over to the plants and began touching them with her feet.

"DON'T USE YOUR FOOT!" Randy shouted, now worried for his sister's feet.

"Do it real quick." The sister said while continuing to touch the plants with her feet. And after making sure her brother was watching, she began to fake scream. "GET IT AWAY! MY TOE! MY TOE! MY TOE!"

"AAHHH!" Randy screamed before running back inside the house.

Real World

"Wow. Talk about a mean sister." Yang said, annoyed.

"Huh?" I asked, looking up while placing my finger on the line.

"Yeah. I'm glad Yang was never like that." Ruby added.

"Were any of your sisters like that, Jaune?" Nora asked, curious.

"None like that. My older sisters liked to tease me from time to time. And they would also occasionally prank me. But none of it was ever mean-spirited." I answered.

"That's good. While I do like teasing Ruby, I would never go so far as to scare her just to get a laugh." Yang said as she opened a bag of chips.

"Anyway, let's continue. After getting scared by the toe biter, Randy ran back to the house in hopes of getting help for his sister."

Story

"Mom, the toe biter got Lucy." Randy told his mother, who was in the middle of cleaning.

"Oh, Randy, calm down. You know there's no such thing as a toe biter." The mother said as she walked towards the microwave.

"Yes, there is! All her toes are gone." Randy said, trying to convince her mother that there was a toe biter. Hearing footsteps behind him, Randy turned around and saw his sister enter the house with a victorious grin on her face.

"Lucy, would you please stop scaring your little brother?" The mother chastised.

"Oh, mom. It was just a joke." Lucy said, still smiling at scaring her brother.

"How did all of your toes grow back?" Randy asked, shocked.

"Haven't I asked you not to tell him monster stories?" The mother asked in an exasperated tone as she took out some eggs from the fridge.

"Actually, the toe biter gave me back my toes, 'cause I promised to cut yours off and give them to him tonight." Lucy explained with a smile that grew wider each second as she leaned closer to him.

"NO!"

"Lucy." The mother warned.

"What's the point of having a little brother if you can't torture him?" Lucy asked while smiling a devious smile towards her brother.

"Lucy, don't you have reading rangers at the library?" The mother asked, trying to get her daughter out of the house and stop her from scaring her younger brother. "Why don't you go and bother Mr. Mortman for a while?"

Library

Lucy places a book called Black Beauty on the counter and slides it towards the librarian. The librarian continues signing the back of a book before looking towards Lucy.

"Well, what do you think?" He asks.

"Two thumbs down." Lucy answered while giving a two-thumbs-down gesture.

"But, Lucy, Black Beauty is a classic." The librarian said, shocked as he picked up the book and examined it.

"It would have been better if the horse had two heads." Lucy explained, causing the librarian to huff in annoyance. "And big, old, gnarly fangs."

"Why don't you go pick another book?" The librarian suggested, tired.

Lucy shrugged before heading to her favorite section of the library, the horror section. But as she left, the librarian shook his head before continuing to sign the return books. Back over to Lucy, we see her going through some books on a cart before stopping on one. And as she looked over the book, a young boy, roughly around Lucy's age, sees her and walks over to her with a book in his hand.

"Hey, Lucy, what are you getting?" He asked.

"Frankenstein."

"Cool." He said as they walked back to the librarian to check out their books. Getting there, the librarian looked up from his work and internally sighed as the duo approached him. Lucy then gave him the book she picked out.

"Are you sure, Lucy? Frankenstein is a classic as well." He asked, exasperated.

"But this one's got a monster." She explained with a smirk. Sighing, the librarian started the process of recording the book and who was taking it out.

"Wouldn't it be cool if there were real monsters?" The boy asked, smiling.

"I'm not so sure, Aaron. Most people like to be frightened in movies or stories." The librarian answered before startling the duo by stamping the book. He then closed the book before handing it to Lucy. "Not in real life."

However, Lucy hesitated in taking the book as both she and Aaron were almost frozen in uncertainty. The librarian's answer seemed ominous and almost like a threat or grave warning. Even the air around them seemed to grow tenser with each passing second. Even the sounds of footsteps and people whispering to each other went silent. Raising her eyebrows, Lucy grabbed the book before leaving the library, with Aaron following behind her.

Real World

"Wow, Lucy really likes monster stories." Yang commented.

"She was always a fan of monster stories. Although, even she doesn't know why she likes them." I explained after taking a sip of the soda Yang gave me.

"What was the librarian's name again, Jaune?" Nora asked.

"Mr. Mortman." I answered while opening a bag of chips.

"I don't trust him. Something seems off about him." Ruby said with Zwei barking in agreement.

"Okay. After taking the book, the duo made a hasty exit from the library and headed towards Lucy's home."

Story

"Aaron, you ever notice anything weird about Mr. Mortman?" Lucy asked as they continued making their way home. "Like his creepy, beady little eyes."

"And his sweaty little hands."

"When he gave me my book, it was so slimy I almost dropped it."

"Yeah? Echh!"

"Oh, my blades. I forgot them at the library." Lucy said, annoyed, turning to Aaron.

"Ah, man, I gotta get home."

"Oh, no big deal. I'll see you later." Lucy as Aaron continued the sidewalk before turning around and heading back to the library.

Five Minutes Later

Reaching the library, Lucy looked around for a bit before heading towards the entrance. The sun setting caused the library to have an eerie feel surrounding it. Almost making the building an imposing, towering figure over her. The plants and mossing growing on it made the building seem ancient and mysterious. Now able to see the door, Lucy was surprised when the lights went out. Swallowing hard, Lucy started to go up the steps. The creaking of each step seemed to be more intense than usual. And as she reached the halfway point, Lucy jumped in fright when a black cat suddenly touched her legs.

Breathing in and out, Lucy finished walking up the stairs and opened the door. Thankfully, despite the lights being turned off, there was enough remaining sunlight that she could see easily. However, as she began walking towards where she left her blades, Lucy started to hear someone humming. Yet, Lucy thought nothing of it as it was most likely Mr. Mortman humming while organizing some books. Soon, she found her blades and picked them up before heading back towards the exit.

"Probably a classic." Lucy said with a smile. However, she stopped dead in her tracks by what she heard Mr. Mortman say next.

"It's time, my plump, little beauties. My, my, my, little friends."

Letting her curiosity get the better of her, Lucy started following Mr. Mortman's voice to find out what he was doing.

"I do believe we put on a little weight."

Doing her best not to make a sound, Lucy moved to stand behind a book aisle where she could remain hidden yet still have a clear view of Mr. Mortman. Straining her eyes, Lucy saw Mr. Mortman sitting at one of the tables in the center of the reading area. And to her surprise, she noticed Mr. Mortman making baby talk to a couple of turtles that he has as pets.

"Coochie, coochie, coochie, coochie. Don't be shy." Lucy heard Mr. Mortman say as he grabbed a container and placed it in the turtles' tank before opening it and letting the flies out. "It's dinner time, my little friends."

Typically, this would be seen as a man caring deeply for his pets. However, something inside Lucy told her that something was deeply off. And that alone was enough to make her stay and continue to watch. But on the other hand, even if she didn't find anything strange, she would at least get to see if Mr. Mortman was weird or not.

"Oh, aren't you hungry? Munch, munch." Mr. Mortman said as he watched his turtles eat their dinner.

But what shocked Lucy to her core was what Mr. Mortman did next.

"Some crunchy flies, my little friends." He said while opening up another container and grabbing a fistful of flies.

And to Lucy's shock and horror, Mr. Mortman began messily eating the flies. And judging by the sounds he was making, Mr. Mortman clearly enjoyed the bugs he was eating. Lucy showed visible unease at what she was seeing while trying not to make any sounds of disgust that could get Mr. Mortan's attention. However, that became far more challenging when she witnessed Mr. Mortman changing into a grotesque monster. His head became swollen; his eyes bulged out of his head, with the pupils changing color to pitch black. His teeth changed from dull to razor-sharp. Once done transforming, Mr. Mortman chuckled in a petrifying way before opening another container to eat more flies.

Lucy, now completely scared, tried desperately to remain silent and not give away her position as she watched Mr. Mortman devour the flies. Seeing that one fly escaped and was now on the table, Mr. Mortman caught it with ease before bringing it to his mouth and eating it. Relishing in the taste, Mr. Mortman began to cackle. Not able to watch any more for fear of throwing up and getting caught, Lucy quickly got up and bolted for the door. Had she not been so scared, she would have noticed that it was now dark outside. Yet, despite running as fast as she could, she could not escape the sounds of the monster Mr. Mortman laughing. And even falling hard on the ground, Lucy did not waste a second in getting up and running the rest of the way home.

Real World

"So, Mr. Mortman is the monster?" Yang asked, getting my attention.

"Yup." I answered.

"Have to say; I didn't see that coming." Yang said as she took a sip of her soda. "Thought it was going to be her friend or parents."

"Yeah. I thought so, too." Ruby added, with Zwei nodding his head.

"How long has Mr. Mortman lived there?" Nora asked.

"Roughly ten years, I would say." I answered.

"Wow, how has anyone not noticed before?" Yang asked, surprised.

"There's a reason for that. Besides, Mr. Mortman took great care in making sure he wasn't discovered." I explained before resuming. "After discovering that Mr. Mortman was a monster, Lucy ran all the way home, never stopping for anything."

Story

"MOM! DAD! A MONSTER!" Lucy shouted as she rushed into the kitchen, where her parents were busy preparing dinner.

"HUH!? WHERE!?" Randy, who was sitting at the table, asked, frightened.

"AT THE LIBRARY!" Lucy answered, panting.

"Don't you say hi, anymore?" The father asked as he continued making meatballs. It was clear that he was both tired and used to Lucy's tales that he now just goes along with whatever she says.

"HI, DAD! THERE'S A MONSTER AT THE LIBRARY!"

"Lucy, please." The mother said, annoyed.

"What kind of monster?" Randy asked.

"Could you give us a hand here, please?" The father asked, getting Lucy's attention.

"A BIG, SLIMY, DISGUSTING ONE THAT EATS BUGS!" Lucy shouted, barely able to keep herself together at this point.

"Oh, I'd hope this monster thing was just a phase you were going through." The father said, sounding tired.

"Life is a phase I'm going through." Lucy rebutted, getting impatient.

"Well, could you go through it, please, after you washed your hands and set the table?" The father said, done with the monster stories.

"DAD! THIS IS NO JOKE!"

"Larry, you're making them too big." The mother said, cutting in.

"I happen to like big meatballs." He explained while grabbing a towel to clean his hands.

"DOESN'T ANYONE HERE BELIEVE ME!?" Lucy asked, shocked. Seeing that her parents didn't hear or were ignoring her, Lucy ran back to her room. But before she did so, she grabbed the family's house phone before entering her room and locking the door. Sitting down at her desk, she called the only other person she could trust. And after a few moments of waiting for him to pick up and exchanging greetings, Lucy began to explain what she saw at the library.

"His eyes popped out of his head! And he was eating bugs! And everyone here thinks I'm making it up." Lucy said to her friend Aaron.

"Hey, I wonder why."

"What? You don't believe me either?" Lucy asked, shocked.

"Calm down, Lucy. You're totally obsessed." Aaron explained with most of his attention on the game he was playing.

"Ooh, big word. Well, you'll believe me soon enough. I'll prove it to you." Lucy declared while picking up her camera.

Next Day

Library

"Don't you think the monster was the most sympathetic character in this story?" Mr. Mortman asked Lucy.

"Do you believe in monsters?" She asked, never taking her eyes off him. Sighing, Mr. Mortman took off his glasses before answering.

"Perhaps we all have a little monster in us, Lucy." He said with a tense silence following afterward. "Why don't you go pick another book while I tidy up?"

"Okay."

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, right. See ya."

With that said, Mr. Mortman began organizing the books while Lucy stood up from her seat. Grabbing her bag and swinging it over her shoulder, Lucy began to walk away. However, she did stop and stare at the book Mr. Mortman was organizing for a moment before finally leaving. Yet, she cast one final look at Mr. Mortman before heading to the door. But as Lucy reached the door, she made sure no one else saw her before opening and closing the door without actually leaving.

Knowing that Mr. Mortman was in the same place last time, Lucy moved to stand behind the same book aisle as yesterday. But as she made her way there, she tensed up when the lights suddenly went out. But a second later, she heard Mr. Mortman humming and knew she was running out of time to get her evidence and get out. Steeling herself, she finished making her way to the book aisle and peered around to see Mr. Mortman with his pet turtles.

"It's dinner time, my little friends. Don't forget to chew." He said as he poured some flies into the turtle tank.

As the turtles started to eat, Mr. Mortman started rapidly clicking his tongue. But he stopped when he noticed a fly land on his hand. Yet, the fly quickly met its demise when Mr. Mortman ate it. Lucy recoiled in disgust and nearly froze when Mr. Mortman began changing into his monster form. Seeing that now was her chance, Lucy kneeled and searched her bag for her camera. Finding it, she stood back up and turned it on.

"My favorite." He said as he held a few flies in his hand.

Seeing that he was distracted, Lucy began crawling on the floor to the tables to get a better shot. Although, she did have to resist the urge to gag and possibly throw up when she saw Mr. Mortman licking his lips. She even had to close her eyes when he slurped down the flies.

"MMM." He said while smacking his lips at the supposed good-tasting flies. Steeling herself, Lucy rose to a kneeling position behind a cart and snapped the photo of Mr. Mortman while he was licking his fingers.

Unfortunately, she forgot her camera had a flash and shutter sound.

"Who's there?" Mr. Mortman demanded when he saw the flash.

"Stupid." Lucy whispered while smacking her forehead. Hearing Mr. Mortman chuckling, Lucy knew she had to leave now or risk getting captured and possibly eaten.

"Lucy." She heard Mr. Mortman call out as she ran down the dark pathways of the library towards the exit. "Keep running, little one. I love fast food."

Not bothering to listen, Lucy ran as fast as possible to the exit. Unfortunately, because it was dark with only the sunsetting to show her what was directly in front of her, Lucy quickly became lost. And had she feared for her life, she would have realized that she had left her bag behind.

"Oh, my mouth is watering."

Trying to find the way out, Lucy took a turn that she thought would lead her to the exit. Unfortunately, she only came to a dead end.

"Lucy. I know you're in there. AH-AAH." Mr. Mortman called out before trying to grab her, only to miss and grab the book shelf instead. This caused Lucy to scream and drop her camera while backing up and falling to the ground. As she backed up, Mr. Mortman chuckled, and he walked around the corner to face her.

"You're just making me hungrier." He said in a low voice after shaking his head. "Dinner is served."

Real World

"Wow. Talk about being in a tight spot." Yang commented as she finished her drink and opened another one.

"What kind of monster is Mr. Mortman?" Ruby asked.

"That will be answered later in the story." I answered. "Panting hard, Lucy tried to keep her composure while trying to find a way to escape Mr. Mortman. That was when she noticed her camera nearby."

Story

Seeing that Mr. Mortman was messing with her and lost in the moment, Lucy dove for her camera and crawled through his legs.

"Come back. Come back. Oh, come back." Mr. Mortman begged as he tried to grab her but failed. But Lucy didn't listen as she found her second wind and ran as fast as possible towards where she thought the exit was. Yet, as she ran, Mt. Mortman's chuckles echoed around her.

"You can't get away from me, you little cricket."

Panting, Lucy finally saw the exited and willed her legs to go faster. Pushing the door open, Lucy ran down the stairs, not bothering to close the door. Yet, despite running, she could still hear Mr. Mortman's grunting closing in on her.

"LUCY! WHY DON'T YOU STOP? LUCY! COME BACK! COME BACK! COME BACK!"

Yet, she never stopped running, not even to catch her breath. After about ten minutes of nonstop running, she finally reached her home. Opening and closing the front door, Lucy finally allowed herself to catch her breath. Once she calmed down enough, Lucy grabbed the home phone, ran to her room, locked the door, and called Aaron, who was quick to answer.

"If Mortman's such a terrible monster, how'd you get away?"

"I think the flash blinded him. But I got the picture. I got my proof."

"You're forgetting something, Lucy. Your library card has your address on it. Mortman knows where you live."

"So, what?"

"He could be on his way to your house this minute."

"That's not funny, Aaron."

"If I were you, I'd get out of there right now."

Tired and slightly annoyed, Lucy hung up before placing the phone on her desk. Getting up from her desk, she went downstairs and was about to exit the house with the intent of heading to the shop to get the photos developed. However, as soon as she opened the door, Lucy gasped when she saw Mr. Mortman standing on the other side.

"Good evening, Lucy. May I come in for a minute?" He asked with a smile that she could tell was fake.

"No." She quickly answered before sliding the lock on the screen door. "My parents aren't home right now. I mean, they'll be home any minute. I mean, they are in the bathroom. MOM! Is dad still cleaning his rifle?"

"It's okay, Lucy. It's really you that I've come to see." Mr. Mortman explained while lifting his hand to reveal that he had her backpack. "You left your backpack at the library. I have it right here. This is yours, isn't it?"

"Could you maybe just leave it on the doorstep? Please?"

"Um, wouldn't it be easier if you opened the door and let me and it to you?" Mr. Mortman asked, with Lucy shaking her head. "I'll just set it down here."

"Thank you."

"Oh, it's no trouble. It's on my way."

Seeing that he wouldn't be able to get in, he smiled before adjusting his glasses and turned to leave. But Lucy, almost paralyzed in fear, waited in her spot until she could no longer see Mr. Mortman. However, as soon as he was about to step off the property, he turned around and addressed Lucy one last time.

"I look forward to our next little chat." With that said, Mr. Mortman turned and left, with Lucy closing the door right after.

Ten Minutes Later

Hearing the sounds of a car pulling up into the driveway, Lucy dashed out of the house to see her parents getting out of their car.

"DAD! MOM! MR. MORTMAN WAS HERE!" Lucy shouted as she ran up to them with her camera in hand. "We gotta get this film developed right away. I took a picture that proves he's a monster."

"Calm down, Lucy." Her mother told her.

"He followed me home today."

"He followed you home for no reason?" Her father asked, skeptical.

"Well, I forgot my knapsack at the library, and he brought it over, but-" Lucy began, but her mother cut in.

"Well, that was very nice of him. He lives all the way across town. It wasn't on his way at all."

"Come on. We're wasting time. The photo place is going to close."

"Now, Lucy." Her father said, annoyed.

"PLEASE!" Lucy begged. Huffing, the parents looked towards each other before relenting.

Two hours later

"LET ME SEE! LET ME SEE!" Randy whined as he followed his sister out of the shop.

"I knew it." Lucy said as she looked through the photos. Only to become annoyed when Randy took them out of her hand and threw them to the floor. "Nice work."

"Randy, get in the car, please." The father shouted.

"You heard your father." The mother added. Sighing, Lucy kneeled and began to collect the photos. However, she froze when a familiar hand came into view. Looking up, she saw Mr. Mortman gazing at her.

"You're quite the photographer." He said while continuing to gather the photos.

"Mr. Mortman, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked, scared.

"Have you been thinking about monsters again?"

"Mr. Mortman, thanks very much for bringing home Lucy's backpack today." Lucy's father shouted from the car.

"Oh, it was nothing. Uh, it was on my way." Mr. Mortman nervously said, trying to compose himself.

"Ah."

"Mr. Mortman, why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night?" Lucy's mother offered, shocked her daughter.

"Lucy's been talking a great deal about you. It'd be nice to get to know you better." Lucy's father added.

"Well, that would be lovely. Thank you." Mr. Mortman answered smiling before turning to Lucy. "It's been so long since I had a home-cooked meal."

Scared, Lucy quickly gathered the remaining photos before getting into the car and heading home.

The Next Day

Dinner Time

It was dinner time in the household. Everyone was making preparations for the evening to make their coming guest comfortable. The food was almost done; the lights were dimmed as soft classical music played in the background. However, the only one not relaxed was Lucy, as she was struggling to get her parents to believe her.

"Don't you see that he's a monster?" She asked, tired after placing the photograph on the counter. While it displayed the library when she took the photo, Mr. Mortman was strangely absent from the picture. "The fact that he's not in this picture proves it."

"I don't care if he's a drooling werewolf. He's coming for dinner." The mother told her. At that moment, before Lucy could continue, they heard the doorbell ring. Both Randy and Lucy gasped as they knew who it meant. The mother then gave Lucy a plate filled with food. "Remember. Your best behavior."

Sighing, Lucy looked towards her brother as her parents left the kitchen to answer the door. After a couple of minutes, they heard both their parents and Mr. Mortman heading to the living room. Turning around, they entered the living room and saw Mr. Mortman shaking hands with their mother.

"This is very kind of you." He said, smiling.

"Oh, it's nothing. Our pleasure, really." The mother said, smiling. Nervous, Lucy and her brother walked to stand behind the mother so they could keep Mr. Mortman in their sights.

"Good evening, Lucy. Nice to see you again, young Randy. Will you be joining us for reading rangers next year?" Mr. Mortman asked.

"Can I sleep on it?" Rangy asked while hiding behind Lucy. This caused all the adults to chuckle at his answer.

"Of course." Mr. Mortman answered before moving to the other side of the room. "My, what a- a lovely house."

"Lucy? Offer Mr. Mortman a meatball." The mother reminded. Scared, she looked towards her mother, asking if she could choose not to. But, knowing she had to, Lucy nervously walked up to Mr. Mortman and showed him the plate full of meatballs. And as soon as he grabbed one, she immediately stepped back to stand next to her brother.

"Mmm. Delicious." Mr. Mortman said after swallowing. He then grabbed a toothpick and cleaned his teeth. "What's for dinner?"

"Well, it was going to be a surprise, but-" The mother began before turning to her husband.

"Since you asked, you are." He finished, surprising everyone else and causing Mr. Mortman to nearly choke on the meatball.

"Excuse me. I thought you said-"

"That's right. You. You are." The mother said, showing that her mouth changed to reveal monster teeth and fangs.

Upon seeing this, both Mr. Mortman and the kids gasped and froze in fear. Turning to the father, they saw that he had also had teeth similar to the mother. They began hissing as they slowly approached Mr. Mortman, almost as if they were stalking prey. Mr. Mortman, scared for his life, tried to back away but fell to the ground. He raised his hands in an attempt to try and convince them to stop, but it proved fruitless. Lucy and her brother, meanwhile, sat on the nearby couch and continued to watch in pure shock and fear. The light offered by the single candle illuminated their faces and made the moment all the more horrifying.

"Now that was a close call." The father said as they returned to normal after they finished eating Mr. Mortman. The mother then used a napkin to clean her husband's mouth as there was some blood still left over. "Now listen, both of you. You can never, ever let anyone know that we are monsters."

"We know that." Lucy said, her shock now gone and replaced with excitement.

"And we can't have any other monsters in town either." The mother added with a hiss at the end.

"And do you know why?" The father asked.

"Because they might tell other people about us." Lucy answered as if it were obvious.

"And they'd be frightened, and they'd chase us away." Randy added.

"Or worse." The father added as he grabbed a breath freshener and sprayed it into his wife's mouth. "Mr. Mortman was the first monster to come around in twenty years."

"Besides us, of course." Lucy commented.

"That's why it took us so long to believe you, Lucy." The mother explained.

"And when you two get bigger, you're gonna get your training fangs." The father said as he sat down and grabbed the newspaper.

"That's right. And before long, you and Randy will be able to transform, just like your father and me." The mother added, smiling when she saw her kids becoming excited. However, the moment soon passed when they heard clattering right outside their window.

"Oh, no. Another one." Randy said, spotting a face outside the window.

"Not another mortman." The mother said, worried.

"What are we going to do?" Lucy asked, scared. The mother looked towards the father with a questioning glance.

"Better let him in." He answered with a slow nod. He then put away the newspaper before him, and his wife got their fangs ready. They let out a warning hiss, hoping to scare the monster away. But they both had to cover their mouths quickly and looked away when the monster pulled its head off to reveal that it was only Aaron wearing a mask.

"Hey. What's up?" He asked, unaware of what was happening.

"Just finished dinner." The father answered, smiling.

"Aw, man. Talk about timing. Well, what's for dessert?" He asked.

"Well, it was going to be a surprise, but..." The mother began, causing her kids to panic. "Since you asked."

"You... like cherry pie?" The father finished asking while holding up a freshly made cherry pie.

"Sure." Aaron answered, unaware of the breath of relief Lucy and Randy took. Although, he did become confused when everyone started laughing.

"Pardon me." The mother said after involuntarily letting out a burp.

Real World

"...And then, everyone laughed some more before letting Aaron so they could eat the pie together. The End." I said while closing the book.

"Looks like Ruby and Nora were right. You do have some good stories, vomit boy." Yang said as she and Nora started collecting the garbage.

"Thanks." I said, smiling as I put the book away in its case and placed it underneath my bed.

"How many stories do you have, Jaune?" Nora asked.

"Plenty of stories, Nora." I answered.

"Well, in that case, since we have off for the rest of the week, we'll definitely be back tomorrow for another." Yang said with a smirk.

"YES! MORE-" Ruby began, but Yang cut her off.

"Don't think I forgot about you, Rubes. We still need to talk about... and she's gone." Yang began but stopped when Ruby used her semblance to escape the room with Zwei. "Anyway, good night, Jaune."

"Night, fearless leader. Oh, I should come up with a new nickname." Nora began but stopped when Yang pulled her out the door before she could start listing different names. Chuckling, I got up and stretched before taking out my scroll to check the time.

"I should probably take a shower and head to sleep." I said before grabbing my pajamas and entering the bathroom. But before entering, I cast a quick look at the calendar and saw that fall break would be coming up soon. 'I should probably head back home soon. It would be nice to see Lucy and Randy again. I wonder how their training is coming along.'

Note:

The Next Chapter will be The House of No Return.

In the episode, Mr. Mortman is seen eating crickets and has spiders for pets. In the book, he has turtles for pets and eats flies. Since it wouldn't change much, I changed it to how the book has it.