Crash landing on a planet couldn't have gone any better for you and the rest of the team. Its inhabitants were peaceful, friendly. They opened their home to you for as long as you needed, which would be until the Castleship was repaired, something that wouldn't take too long, but it was long enough for you and the Paladins to explore the small town you had crashed near.
It didn't take long of walking around and talking to the locals to find out about the haunted house. A local legend, no one has stepped foot on the property in a long, long time. Fear has taken a hold of the small town, fear of what would happen to those who would enter the old stone house. The Paladins were told that Death reigns free on that plot of land; nothing can grow there, the ground is covered in dead grass and flowers, an eerie effect to an already creepy house. The animals have learned not to cross over the land in fear of their own lives. They were all given clear warnings to stay away.
"Keith! Let's go to the haunted house!" you exclaimed, tugging on his jacket to grab his attention.
"What? Why would I want to do that?" he asked, turning his head to look at you.
"Weeeell," you started, "Hunk and Lance are way too superstitious to even look at the house. Plus, I have twenty bucks that says their shrill screams would be filling the air the entire time. Shiro insists on staying with the Castleship, just in case anything happens, and Pidge is more focused on her own stuff than to go with me. And I have a feeling she doesn't scare easy, so that's no fun."
"So I'm your last resort?"
"What!" you gasped, putting a hand to your chest. "N-no! Of course not. You were my first choice! I- uh- just couldn't find you." You offered a weak smile, one that Keith saw through with ease. Okay, maybe your deceptions skills needed some work. Or a lot of work.
"Sure, [y/n]. Whatever you say." Keith turned his head back in front of him and continued walking. Before you lost sight of his face, you could've sworn you saw a faint smile on his lips.
"So does this mean you'll come with me?" you asked, jogging after him to catch up.
"Where do you think I'm heading?" he replied. "You think I'll need this?" he asked, holding up his bayard.
"Let's hope not!" you replied with a cheery grin on you face. "Better safe than sorry, though!"
Keith lowered his bayard with a small snicker towards your enthusiasm over going to an infamous haunted house.
"Wait... Keith? Why are you carrying your bayard around anyway?"
"Um..."
***
"This house isn't even haunted," Keith said, taking creaky step after step up the stairwell that was directly in front of you when you opened the door to the supposed haunted house. A handful of the locals tried to plead with you not to go inside beforehand. They had watched you enter the house with anxiety from the safety of the other side of the street.
"Keith," you whined, "We've barely even explored the house. You can't say that just yet."
"Well according to what we were told, we should be dead by now." Stopping at the top of the stairs, Keith looked around. Everything was covered in a layer of dust. Yellowed wallpaper was peeling off of the walls. But besides that, nothing looked particularly scary. They were all normal things for a house that hadn't been maintained for who knows how long.
"Good thing, then, huh," you said with a grin, nudging him in the ribs. "Hey!" you shouted when your eye caught something, pushing past him, "Let's explore in here, first!"
Keith watched you with amazement as you threw the door open and marched inside the dark room, your flashlight being the only light source. Reluctantly, he followed, coughing from the dust you had stirred up.
"Be careful," he warned. "This house is old and we don't know how sturdy the floorboards are. They could all be rotted away."
"Oh," you said, suddenly very conscious of the dusty, dirty floor beneath your feet. Your next steps were taken with great care and caution.
"Hey," Keith mumbled from the other side of the room, "bring the light over here." You were by his side in a second, curious to investigate what he had found.
"Whoa," you whispered, shining the light into the corner of the room. The walls were all beat up, scratches and dents in the drywall. There were deep scratches on the floorboards (from a knife? Claws?). Blood painted the walls and floor. Little bones covered the ground, most of them broken. "This is kinda creepy," you said, grabbing onto Keith's arm.
"What?" he said, looking to you in amusement. "Are you scared?"
"Uh, no," you replied, straightening up a little. "Just, ya know, a little concerned. This does seem pretty haunt-y."
"Haunt-y?" he repeated, laughing. "It sounds like you're scared."
"Shut up," you mumbled, tugging on his arm. "Let's explore the next room."
"Lead the way," Keith replied, letting you drag him out of the room. By the time they had stepped into the hallway again, a loud, shriek-of-a-scream echoed throughout the house. You flew into the air, still gripping Keith's arm hard enough to cut off the circulation. Keith whipped his bayard out in a blink of the eye as it transformed into his sword.
Keith's and your heavy breathing filled the air, which had since fallen silent. The floorboards under your feet creaked with the smallest of movements. Keith had moved his free hand to hold you against his side, which you were latched onto at this point.
Another shriek filled the air.
"Come on, let's get out of here!" Keith yelled, taking your hand and dragging you down the steps and out the door, his bayard held out in front of him for protection. As the two of you jumped onto the lawn, the door rattled behind you; neither of you had dared to stop and close it. Spectators watched you carefully, worry clear in their eyes.
"Hey, Keith," you huffed, stopping and placing your hands on your knees once you were far enough away from the house. You took a moment to catch your breath; Keith did the same. "'This house isn't even haunted,'" you mocked, horribly imitating Keith's voice. "Not haunted my ass," you groaned, falling to the ground in exhaustion.
"Sh-shut up!" Keith gasped, running his hand through his hair. "Okay... maybe it is haunted."
So much for a relaxing walk around town.
