𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 23
3𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐯
— JASPER," A voice whispered, so soft he couldn't discern if it was real or a whisper of the wind, yet it called again, "Jasper."
His feet practically floated down the hallway, there was no lights, the long, dark and creaky hallway lit only by the moonlight from the open window at the end of the hall, illuminating the walls in shades of blue.
"Jasper." The voice called again, demanding and enchanting at the same time, Jasper felt like he was drowning in the sound of it. The voice became more demanding, subsequently pushing him forward.
"Jasper." It called again, a whisper in the wind though it became more obvious that this was not merely the wind or a figment of imagination.
Jasper swallowed thickly, his head felt like it was underwater, but finally he managed to speak, "Who are you?" He asked the darkness.
The hallway seemed endless and the wind and shadows offered no answer, so he could only push forward. "Jasper." It called once more, louder and clearer than before as he finally neared the end of the hallway, the window illuminated in blue from the night sky.
His eyes drifted to the wall where a creepy painting of the original Briar family was hung, the family of four were painted in formal clothes, with the mother sat on a chair, her husband behind her, a child on her lap and another stood by her side. He blinked and their eyes began to bleed.
"Jasper!" The voice nearly screamed now, he whipped his head forward to the window and met only his reflection — no, wait, that isn't him. It's different. The hair shorter, the eyes colder, and the clothes older.
Julian Jett.
The name drifted through his mind, he could only stare at the reflection or phantom of someone other. For a moment they only watched each other and then, the figure in the window lifted his chin, narrowed his eyes and spoke firmly, "Run."
Wide eyed and heart racing, Jasper turned and ran but it was too late. No longer distracted by the voice calling out to him, he could hear the menacing, bone chilling laughter from all around, followed by a strange scraping sound like metal chains dragging on wood, both sounds grew louder and no matter how fast he ran, he knew he couldn't escape this.
These monsters, they weren't hiding in the darkness anymore, the darkness had already taken him, and now they would destroy him.
✧˖*°࿐
COLBY shot up in bed, his heart racing as his mind registered the blood curdling scream. He threw the sheets off his bed and rushed out of his room without so much as a thought. Flinging his door open, he watched Sam's bedroom door swing open too, the blonde's hair messy from sleep and his eyes wide.
Colby felt his blood freeze, "Jasper." He called in a grim knowing tone, frozen for only a second before he rushed forward, not bothering to knock as he swung his door open.
His mind raced almost as fast as his heart, a million scenarios went through his mind before he saw what was on the other side, he imagined the worst before he saw the reality. Somehow, the fact Jasper was unharmed didn't make him feel better, because the panicked look in his eyes as he planted himself against the back of the bed and the wall, his knees pressed to his chest and his body tense, ready for a fight he would lose.
Jasper's eyes swept the room before finding his, he shook his head, "No, no," he rushed out, the grip on his own body slipping as he subconsciously moved forward to Colby, "You have to go, they'll get you too!"
Behind Colby stood Sam who watched helplessly, he didn't know what to do and frankly neither did Colby, still he forced himself to move closer to the bed as his eyes swept the room. Nobody was there, he realized, though he felt eyes on him from the shadows, nobody was there, he told himself like a prayer.
He met Jasper's gaze again before he could lose himself to the shadows, he ignored the way his hands shook right along with his voice as he spoke, "I'm not leaving you." He promised sternly, and taking another step forward, he continued, "You're okay, n-nobody's here. It's just us, we're safe."
Somehow, his words sounded drastically different perhaps because he couldn't promise that they were safe like he could promise that he'd never leave, one was a simple truth and one felt like a lie with eyes staring back at him he desperately tried to ignore.
Moving forward, he sat at the end of the bed with Jasper still at the head of the bed, he didn't get any closer, not yet. Instead, his gaze swept to his best friend at the door, who still seemed admittedly helpless, though he stuck around in a protective stance anyway, "You can head back to bed, Sam, I've got him." Colby told his friend in a tone far calmer than he actually felt, "I've got him, we'll talk in the morning?"
Sam nodded, and then a moment later spoke, "Yeah, yeah, just, come get me if anything happens okay?" Colby nodded and watched Sam slip out of the doorway, a moment later a door clicked close leaving Colby and Jasper officially alone.
He sighed and his eyes immediately drifted back to Jasper who met his gaze head on, unashamed. "I'm not crazy." Jasper told him, quiet and stern.
Colby nodded without a second of hesitation, "I know." He replied, his hand inching forward despite himself. He craved to be closer to Jasper, to wrap him up and hide him from any dangers, from the darkness lurking in every corner of this house, but he couldn't tell if Jasper wanted that closeness or if he desperately needed space, so for now, Colby stayed away.
"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked after a moment.
Jasper frowned, and for a second Colby didn't think he would answer, but then he shook his head and replied, "It was just some stupid nightmare." His eyes cast down to his lap as he continued, "Don't even remember it now."
Colby frowned, immediately catching the lie in the frown lines of Jasper's face, the slight scrunch of his nose, the hesitance in his voice because he'd always hated lying. Still, he didn't push. Instead, he nodded and asked, "Do you want me to stay with you for the night?" Jasper nodded, "In here or my room?"
Jasper paused, his eyes scanning the room, finding the shadows. He frowned, because he realized now the spirits watching him from the darkness had slipped away at some point and he hadn't even realized. Colby always had scared off anyone who tried messing with him.
He smiled slightly thinking back to Wesley, an old bully from high school who used to target Sam and Colby both and then eventually Jasper too, when rumors came of him being gay. He'd never seen Colby so angry until the day he'd caught Wesley cornering Jasper in the hallway between class. He'd scared off Wesley then, and now it seemed he was scaring off the spirits that craved revenge against the Jett's.
"Stay." Jasper spoke, his eyes flicking back to Colby and meeting his gaze, "Just... stay." At some point, Jasper must've moved forward, closer to Colby on the bed, because now their hands were sat side by side on the bedsheets, just barely touching.
Colby nodded, and managed a gentle promise of "Always," before he moved forward, closer and closer, till his arm was over Jasper's shoulder, and Jasper's head was leaning on his, "Always." He promised again as Jasper's eyes closed, peaceful and safe.
✧˖*°࿐
IN the morning, Sam walked by the door, and pretended to ignore the sight of his best friend curled up with the blond, holding him like he'd disappear.
He would let them tell him, when they were ready. For now, he gently closed the bedroom door before he went downstairs and prepared for another day in The Briar House.
✧˖*°࿐
𝟏,𝟑𝟔𝟔 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬