murder house / h.s

fifteen.

"Are you going to help me or not?" he chuckled with a faint smile. My cheeks flushed and my hand floated to his face, shocked by how soft the surface was despite the mineral on it. I brushed it carefully, my eyes staring deep into his as I stroked his skin.

"Smoke can be a bother, can't it?"

"Yeah." I let out a shaky breath, shuddering at the touch of his soft skin. The black crud wiped off on my fingertips, which I wiped on the wall. My breathing was hitched and uneven, and the way his eyes burned into mine affected me in ways unimagined.

"Maybe I should just get a wipe and wash it off."

"Maybe..." I said lowly, my eyes flickering down to his lips every so often. The way he smirked, his plump lips curving-- I knew something was wrong with me. I think I was starting to think Harry was more than attractive.

"I think you're trying to tease me, Avery." his voice was lower than ever. I smiled to myself before pushing myself away and brushing my hands on my jeans. Maybe I was, even though I didn't know exactly what he meant by teasing.

"Let's go?"

He gave me a skeptical look, which only made me smile in response. We started walking at a slow pace, but I could feel his burning gaze on me with every passing second.

Finally we got to the outside of the dining room, where the photos were. My blood ran cold at the sight.

Only five photos were lit.

"Seven people died last night?" I asked, a certain pain to my voice. Even though they were my enemies, I had no other choice than to feel pity for them. I wondered how their families were dealing with the news.

Being stuck in a burning flame sounded like the worst way to die.

"Yeah." Harry said, examining the faces of those who were still alive. Then, he read the names of those alive and I was praying he wouldn't say a specific name.

"Jonah...."

Harrys eyes widened in fear. My first instinct was to rush over and check if he was okay, but he was fine. What I discovered made me take a few steps back as well.

Jonah Thompson.

Max Thompson.

It only made sense.

"This game is rigged." I blurted out, and regretted it right as I had said it. Harry just nodded and looked dead into my eyes.

"Harry, Jonah is probably related to max and this game is rigged." I persisted, my voice getting angrier and angrier with every syllable. I didn't care who could hear my raged words; I wanted everyone to know what was really going on.

"Calm down." Harry said, but the way he said it didn't seem rude at all. It sounded like an attempt to soothe me, and to add onto that he rubbed small circles in my back. It eased the tension a little, but not enough. I liked the contact but I was still upset with our situation.

"I can't calm down, Haz." I sighed out, using his quirky nickname as a sort of relief for me. I saw a smile flash across his features before it dissipated into a neutral stare.

"We are going to die in here because of Jonah and the game is rigged. We can't just let ourselves die in here without a vengeance, Harry!"

He looked into my expression, as if he were trying to read my thoughts by telling from the way my face looked. I quickly formed a scowling look and read the rest of the names, trying to calm myself down from my previous discovery.