josh, the house is haunted

welcome home

The house stood its ground in the afternoon air, staring strongly back at the 23-year-old. He had to admit, he was a little intimidated by the large size. The young couple really didn't need a five-bedroom Victorian-style home but it was the cheapest place they could find. They did a walkthrough before signing the papers and the house seemed like it was in good condition. Tyler was sure there was a catch, but, whatever got them away from their old apartment.

It was surreal to own a house. Well, they were still making payments but this was their first legit house together! At that moment Tyler was convinced he officially had become an adult. An adult with a house.

Tyler was standing with his chin tilted up. He was eyeing the third-story windows atop. A smile formed as he decided he loved the place. He wasn't much of a sucker for older houses, but the style and the amount of little details around the windows and the carvings in the woodwork of the porch made him feel like he was someone in an important movie.

The neighborhood was filled with other old and historical homes. You could walk down the block and be just mesmerized. Tyler and Josh's was back slightly further than the rest, giving the impression that it might have been one of the first to be built there. The front was surrounded by trees, but not too many that you couldn't see the house. There was a short stone fence that had moss growing on it around the property. The garage was detached but they were told the garage door didn't work right so they were parked outside.

A hand snaked around Tyler's waist and a pair of lips kissed his cheek. He could feel the stubble on Josh's face. The man needed to shave before it became a full beard. "I know it's a lot to take in but I can't do everything myself, Tyler."

The mentioned forced his eyes away. "Right," He nodded and fumbled with the keys. "Sorry, which one was it again?"

"Ones just a spare, Ty. You can take one off the chain for yourself." Josh took a step or two back towards the opened backseat and picked up his phone. He had set on it top of one of the boxes so he could give over the keys that were in his pocket. He quickly swiped open his phone and aimed the camera at his lover as he inspected the silverish-gold keys. "Ty, smile."

The mentioned looked up in confusion. Josh snapped a photo and laughed. "You're so adorable."

Tyler hurried over. "What? Josh, I wasn't even ready." He tipped the screen so he could see past the glare and eyed the picture. "God, I look terrible."

"You don't! How do you? You are literally just standing there."

"Delete it."

"That's not happening." Josh began pressing things on the screen. "I'm gonna put it as my lock screen."

"Josh!" He whined.

He clicked the power button off and then on again. He rotated his wrist to show Tyler. "It's too late."

"Oh my God."

"You know you love it."

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "Can we go in?"

"Yeah, whatever." He copied his boyfriend, receiving a kick in the shin.

Tyler took the worn-out path and Josh followed. They climbed up to the covered porch and Tyler suddenly couldn't wait to sit out there and watch the next rainstorm.

The key was stuck in and twisted it around. With a push, the door swung open with a squeal.

"Oof, remind me to buy some WD-40," Josh said behind him as he closed the door with his foot.

"Will do," Tyler responded but he definitely wouldn't remember to tell him later. He was caught up in the details of the place. With his head up, he spun in a half-circle as he eyed the staircase and how it rounded at the top.