OCT PROMPT: HAUNTED/CARAMEL APPLES/GIANT SPIDERS/INFECTION/A NEW HOME/CAMPFIRE
OPTIONAL GENRE/THEMES: CRACK/HORROR/MYSTERY
Synopsis; Leon makes an innocent mistake.
#Post-Resident Evil 2 #Crack #Ambiguous/Open Ending
Note: I borrowed the characterization from my other fics, Bunnies. This can be read as a standalone.
The trio in glow-in-the-dark skeleton pajamas walked across the school courtyard decorated with Halloween festivities. One got floppy long ears under the hood, another one braved with her stubby furball tail showing, and the last one had cute buck teeth with an adorable smile.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Sherry?", asked Claire to the young girl, walking hand-in-hand with her and Leon.
"Yeah, understandable if you wanna back out.", agreed Leon.
"No, I'm ready. I definitely want to know how scary a haunted house is." Sherry then added, "Hey I survived from a city full of zombies, so this should be fine."
"Okay. Just let us know if it gets too scary.", convinced Leon.
Upon reaching the entrance of the main building, a person fully dressed in a witch's costume stopped them and presented them with offerings.
"Have caramel apples for a snack?", asked the Witch, Claire thought her acting and the get-up were a bit too real considering it a kid-friendly event which it was supposed to be in the mild presentation.
Hunched posture with bulging eyes and a long protruding nose, her face was ghost pale and wrinkled as her white-haired head was covered by the hood of her black cape. Her appearance looked uncannily similar to the witch straight from the Disney movies. The trio froze with no response as Claire was fascinated by the witch, Sherry was eager about the haunted house, and Leon's focus was on the caramel apples. The twitching of Leon's floppy rabbit ear did not go unnoticed by Claire, an indication of his excitement about the snack.
The witch offered again hinting with firm encouragement, flashing a gummy smile on her face. "It's free. No need to pay. Double your fun with a bite of caramel apple."
"Sherry?", called Leon to inquire about her interest.
Pouting her lips, Sherry replied flatly, "I'm allergic to apples."
Leon turned to Claire next expecting her response. Amused by his zero subtlety, she said with a smile on her face, "You can have it. I don't like caramel apples. Too Sweet."
Claire's smile grew wider upon hearing Leo's acclamation. "Cool. Lucky for me I love caramel apples."
Without hesitation, Leon happily took the caramel apple from the witch's bony hand and started chomping the sugary treat. His long ears perked up and were dancing actively, leading Claire and Sherry to exchange looks as the trio entered the building and advanced towards the gym.
"Woah... this looked cool.", claimed Sherry.
Half of the gym area was modified into a makeshift haunted house, with the organizer erected a set wall with an image of an ominous old-looking mansion. The whole ambiance was amplified with the lively spooky sound effects with the combination of dimmed lighting effects. While munching the last bite of his caramel apples, Leon's scrunched face of discomfit was clearly visible. Claire was unsure how to interpret the expression of the man next to her whether was a dislike or a scare.
"This...look...", stammered Leon.
"It not bad.", chimed Sherry sounded chipper.
Leon's head whipped speedily, his voice came out in high pitch. "Not bad?! Are sure?"
"Yeah... I'm sure."
Sherry's face looked perplexed by Leon's slightly exaggerated reaction. So did Claire, because like Sherry she did not expect such a frightened reaction from Leon. This was the person who helped them to survive the zombie outbreak. He had never been conspicuous to both girls about his feelings regardless of how scared, especially to Sherry. Therefore, the whole situation felt odd. Right away, Claire felt something wrong with him. Her furball tail twitched indicating her bunny's conscious sensed Leon's distress.
Claire asked him with genuine concern. "What is Leon? Is everything okay?"
"I don't know Claire. I don't feel so good all of a sudden." He whispered to her ear, avoiding being heard by Sherry.
"You can stay out if you want. I can just go with Sherry alone."
"No. No. I want to do this. For Sherry."
"Hmm...kay. Let's go."
Sherry was leading the column by walking up front, while at the back Leon could not help to grasp Claire's hand for moral support. It was strange and out of character, regardless Claire was kind enough to let it pass. At first. As they went from one section to another, the margin of jumpscares and horrors increased. So did his reaction to them, each section started to build up whilst his tolerance of them shrank. It seemed that Leon became a totally different person than she and Sherry had known. It was somehow comical at the beginning, but not until it became a bother.
In evidence, Leon reached his limit when they arrived at the last section of the haunted house, where Miss Spider from 'James and the Peach' came into view in the dimmed-lit room. The moment he saw the human-sized black widow, Leon bolted and headed toward the exit in no time. Claire and Sherry ran after him in utter complete surprise.
"What the actual fu..frick, Leon?!" Claire was flabbergasted, while Leon's face showed absolute fear, and started rambling about how scary the was.
Leon suggested, "It must be the apples."
"What do you mean?"
"The...the apples must be poisoned. The caramels!"
Claire and Sherry exchanged confused looks. "What?"
"Yeah... That must be it. Like Snow White, you know. She was poisoned by the apple.", said Leon, wringing his hands to ease off his jitters. Leon did not stop panicking nonetheless, bouncing on his feet and turning his head left and right to foresee any danger. Claire sensed he going to make a mad dash home any second now.
"Leon, stop.", demanded Claire between gritted teeth. Leon's scare fit had drawn some attention, the crowds were staring at them curiously.
"No, no, no. It is. That woman... the one that gave out the apples- OH MY GOD!"
"No. You're not a frickin Snow... White.", convinced Claire, grasping his arm to prevent him from running off in panic.
"Are you going passed out, Leon?" asked Sherry innocently. She was hinting at what had happened to Snow White.
"No. He's not."
Right after Claire ended her sentence, Leon's body dramatically slumped to her as he lost consciousness. Because of his doubled weight, Claire struggled to keep her balance nearly kissing the floor. Hugging his body, she clumsily laid Leon's body on the floor.
A couple of their spectator advanced closer to them and asked, "Is everything okay, miss?"
Simultaneously, Sherry whispered in her ear. "You have to kiss him, Claire. To break the spell. Like Snow White."
"What?" Claire's face scrunched in bewilderment.
One of the crowds asked, "Do you need any help?"
Somehow, the inquiries by the crowd raised a sense of peer pressure in her. Claire called his name and gave him little slaps on his face.
"Claire.", urged Sherry next to her.
Snow White, you said... Oh, what the hell...
Claire grabbed the collar of his pajamas and proffered him an amorous deep kiss on his lips. Surprisingly she felt a little movement from him, eventually, he regained consciousness and reciprocated her kiss. Claire could hear the smiles of the people crowding them. Embarrassed, Claire broke off the kiss subsequently Leon's eyes fluttered open.
Leon's lips curved to a million-dollar smile and his long flappy ear stood up energetically. His voice was chirpy when he said, "You believe me. Thank you, Claire."
"I...wha..." Claire stuttered her words at first but later gained her composure. "You're welcome I guess."
Seeing everything turned to normal, the people hovering over them just now began to disperse. Leon climbed to his feet and helped Claire who intently staring at him looking for assurance.
Sherry hugged Leon by the leg and declared, "Glad you okay."
"Me too." He patted the young girl's back to provide her the additional relief. "So, what do you think about the haunted house, Sherry?", asked Leon.
Her face lit up with an adorable buck toothy smile. Despite the mishap, Sherry still maintained her enthusiasm and was overjoyed with happiness for bravely completing the haunted house's course.
"Although I've to admit it's not that scary, I had fun."
"Yeah, I think the same too.", agreed Leon, sneakily stealing a glance at Claire. Then, he added, "Let's go get your pumpkin ice cream that you wanted so bad." He linked his hand with the 12-year-old and walked toward the food stand, leaving Claire looking confused by the whole situation.
What?