The House on Mass. Avenue | Rensung

Untitled Part 12

The student's eyes flitted to meet Jisung's through the mirror as Jisung came closer, the boy giving Jisung a tired smile, toothbrush still resting in his mouth. "H-ey Ji," Chenle managed to gurgle out with all of the toothpaste in his mouth as Jisung slid into the bathroom behind the boy.

The bathroom was quite small and seemed to fit everything together as tightly as possible. The toilet was right across from the sink and the entire wall across from the door was the shower. Jisung's shoulder brushed against Chenle's, the older of the duo bending over to spit out his toothpaste into the steady stream of water, or usually steady. Sometimes the stream of water spit and gurgled, occasional hiccups in the pressure due to the old nature of the house.

"Hey Chenle, got a bunch of homework?" Jisung asked in reference to the tired demeanor of the boy and Chenle straightened up, grimacing at Jisung through the mirror before actually turning to face him. He pulled a face and Jisung laughed.

"That obvious?" Chenle asked jokingly and Jisung shrugged, a coy smile slipping onto his face. Chenle just rolled his eyes and wiped the remaining toothpaste off of his mouth. "Have a good day?"

"Yeah, although it was a bit strange," Jisung started with a frown, Chenle moving to stand in the door way while Jisung took his previous spot in from of the off-white vanity.

"How so?"

"Well, didn't the house seem a bit...I don't know, quiet?" Jisung prompted and Chenle furrowed his brow. "I mean, everyone seemed to be gone you know? I didn't see anyone wandering around today and the house seemed...it sounds a bit strange but the house seemed a bit more hostile if that makes sense?"

Chenle let out a small laugh. "I didn't notice anything, and I mean I'm sure everyone's spirits were down because of the weather," the student stepped closer to Jisung, situating himself right behind him, a bit off of Jisung's right shoulder.

The duo regarded each other as they stood next to each other in the mirror. Jisung realized, with a bit of pride, that he was just a bit taller than the other, despite being younger in age. The light seemed to blind and yet illuminate Chenle's features and Jisung had a hard time drawing his gaze away from Chenle's face.

The older leaned forward a bit, his back brushing against Jisung's right side as he placed a hand on the counter and the other arm around Jisung's shoulder. Chenle reached up and ruffled his own hair with the hand that wasn't resting around Jisung. "I was thinking of dying my hair, what do you think?"

"You mean what color?" Jisung tried to reply as smoothly as possibly, desperate not to show his awkward and uncomfortable feelings of the older being so close to him in the small bathroom. Chenle had a cocky smile on his face as he nodded.

"Yeah, I was thinking of going for black. I think it would give me a more college student, professional look. No?" He raised his eyebrows and Jisung cocked his head to the side in consideration.

"I think black would look good," he decided finally and Chenle smiled as if that was the answer he had been trying to coach Jisung towards. He clapped both his hands on Jisung's shoulder and leaned in, his lips resting right next to Jisung's ear.

"I'll keep it in mind," he whispered and Jisung felt his ears begin to warm, and not from Chenle's breath, "Goodnight Jisung, hopefully you won't experience too many disturbances."

Before Jisung could respond, Chenle had whisked himself out of the confined space, almost as if he had never been there at all. Jisung's fingers closed over his ear and he licked his lips nervously, his eyes staring out of the open door. He turned back to the mirror and could see the residual image of Chenle in his mind's eyes.

"Goodnight Chenle," Jisung whispered back. He went back to getting ready for bed, taking his toothbrush out with a bit of a tremor in his hand.

It was 2:22 when Jisung heard knocking at his bedroom door.

The sound was so faint that when Jisung was roused from his light sleep, he almost didn't hear it. But he did, and the knocking persisted.

Jisung groaned, delirious from sleep. He was still unnerved by the quietness of the house during the day, and now that it was night someone wanted to talk to him?

So with much dissatisfaction, Jisung sat up and threw the covers off, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. It was as if by the simple action that everything in Jisung's body seized up at once. The air grew thick and Jisung's eyes widened in a terrifying horror.

What was this feeling?

Jisung felt his throat close and his body began to tremble as another soft knock came at the door. It was light; welcoming. And yet Jisung's eyes wavered as he led his gaze over to rest on the door which was firmly closed. No shadow. No shadow beneath the door. Jisung's mind was quick to spit out at him and he felt his mouth run dry.

Rule #9: If you hear knocking at your door between 2am and 3am, do not answer.

Jisung's feet stayed firmly planted on the floor, but he still felt exposed. As if he had still done something wrong. Had started the process of something he couldn't undo. Another knock, but this one different. More impatient. Jisung's long and boney fingers curled around the bed sheets and he glanced between the clock and the door again.

What was on the other side? His mind whispered greedily to him and Jisung closed his eyes tightly before opening them again. Truly what exactly was behind that door? Who, or what, was knocking on his door between the time of hour. It couldn't be another resident...they knew the rules and that no one would answer their door.

That was when he heard it. A low, guttural, groaning sort of sound. It sent chills down his spine and Jisung heard a series of small crackles begin behind him, turning his gaze to look at his window. The glass was ghosted over in a frosty chill, and there were trails and cracks running through the murky white cold that hadn't been there moments before. Besides, it wasn't cold enough for that frost to be natural.

Jisung let out a breath, his eyes crossing and uncrossing as they followed the puff of carbon dioxide that left his lips. He shivered at the cold descending upon the room and turned his gaze back to the door.

It seemed to have grown in size, and Jisung trembled more violently under it's large and looming presence. The sound grew in volume and it seemed to turn into a clearer chant of sorts. The thing behind the door began to knock, at a faster and incessant rate, joining the fast-paced chant. The knocks began to shake the door in it's frame and the noises filled Jisung's ear with a brutal relentlessness.

Fear overwhelming him from the loud noises, Jisung promptly slumped over. Passed out.

The knocking and chanting stopped almost immediately after the boy fell unconscious and the room slowly melted back to it's normal temperature. Moments of silence passed, the clock now reading 2:41. Something hung in the air.

Then the door knob jiggled.

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