Septiplier one shots

The House On Warner Hill

"We're not?" it was a question rather than a statement. "I hardly know him."

"Guess he has a crush on you, then," Wade commented. "It's no big deal. Anyway, we'll leave tomorrow at 8, then? McLoughlin lives about twenty minutes from here, the house on Warner Hill."

Mark stared. "You mean the house on Warner Hill? The huge one that hardly ever looks like it's occupied? That house? The one we've been freaked out about since we were fifteen?"

"Yeah," Wade said. "That's the one. Figured that out, by the way. All of Sean's siblings have moved out-he's got four of them, which is why the house is so big. And his parents are almost always away on business, so it's only ever him in the house, and he's usually at class, hence why it's so quiet. Nothing creepy like we thought it was."

"Shame," Mark replied. "I was looking forward to ghost hunting there."

Wade rolled his eyes, and the two share a pretty good laugh.

~~

"I'm uncomfortable," Mark said. "Take me home."

Wade turned off the engine. "Mark, we haven't even gotten inside the house yet. How can you be uncomfortable?"

"I hear loud music with the doors shut, I know the minute I step out of this car, I'm going to smell alcohol, which I hate, and probably cigarette smoke. Or weed. One of the two. Jesus. Why did I agree to this?"

"Stop being such a baby," his friend complained, opening the door to step out. He tossed him the keys. "But here. Come inside with me, and if you hate it, you can leave without having to ask me for the keys, okay?"

Mark groaned but caught the keys, stepping out of the car. He slammed the door and could hear the music playing even louder now that he was outside, and damn, couldn't they turn it down a little lower? Although, as he glanced around, there were no other houses in sight, the house the sole ruler of the hill.

Great.

Wade strolled up to the door and gave the doorbell a good ring, and before long the door opened, revealing someone Mark didn't know, but apparently Wade did. The two exchanged a high five, a "glad you could make it!" and as Wade was pulled inside, Mark ducked in after him.

As expected, the minute Mark walked through the door, he smelled alcohol, cheap perfume, and some sort of smoke that was quite flavorful, actually. A quick glance revealed those electronic cigarettes, reminding him of the little pipe that the caterpillar had in Alice in Wonderland. Despite the sweet smell, he had a feeling they still had nicotine in them, given the way everyone seemed to be inhaling nonstop.

Mark stood by the door awkwardly. What was he supposed to do here? His eyes surveyed the area, but he recognized literally no one. Well, perhaps some people looked familiar, just in the face. But nobody concrete enough to actually sit down and talk to.

He was wholly out of his element. This was not his scene. But he knew if he booked it now, Wade would never let him hear the end of it, and likely try to coerce him into coming again, or to someone else's party, because he didn't "fully experience it."

Maybe some water would cool his nerves. Yeah, that sounded good. Mark wove his way through the people, some seemingly hammered, some blinking slowly as if they were high. Great. That was great. That was fine.

He made a beeline for the kitchen, but ended up running face first into someone on the way. A loud swear emitted from the other, and Mark stumbled back.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry!" Mark yelled over the roar of the music. "Sorry!"

His words fell short when he met the other's eyes. They were a bright blue, staring intently, before recognition flashed across them. He broke out into a wide grin.