PARANORMAL,
CHAPTER TWO
SETTING UP WENT a lot faster than any of them expected it to. It still took a few hours though. They didn't have much to do, really, they just goofed off a lot. Seriously, it was damn near impossible to get those kids to be serious. Setting up typically consisted of bringing in extra lighting as well as mics and cameras that would be stable. ( They were always on in case they caught something cool. ) The live was back up and running. The group took turns with the main camera. That was about ninety percent of the problem in itself.
Unfortunately, it ended up in the hands of Scott. Luckily, he had good intentions this time. Mostly. He was introducing the other two boys who had finally arrived. "Our getaway drivers just arrived", he smirked.
"Ouch, is that all you see me as?" Hal faked hurt, placing a hand dramatically over his chest. Hal and Scott had been friends for... well, almost as long as Scott could remember. They'd even gone through their emo phase together. (Big yikes.) He'd even been around to help Scott edit his videos back in the day. Their friendship was different than his and Penny's. It was a constant that Scott craved. Not because his life was that messy, but because he found comfort in the other boy.
Plus, Hal kept Scott calm. He wasn't bouncing around the walls when Hal was there, which kept things running more smoothly.
Scott often called Hal an eboy. Was he actually an eboy? Who knows? But fuck your gender stereotypes and strict pronouns. Hal was Hal, period. If he wanted to wear eyeshadow one day, that would be his choice. If he decided to paint his nails one day? His prerogative. Let him have his chains and rings. Let him wear whatever he wanted. The brunette was confident enough in himself that he could take his pale ass out in a dress and have no regrets. It's not that he was actually doing those things at that exact moment, but it was the knowledge that he could that made him feel good. That being nonconformative would never make him any different. Labels, after all, were for clothes. The green eyed boy wanted to encourage others. But mostly, Hal just wanted to be free. Free to be whatever and love whoever. It was liberating to not care, but words hurt all the same. That was when his friends were there, cheering him on.
"Well, you do bring your car", Scott pointed out.
"Because I have the most seats", Hal scoffed.
"These two, I swear", Minhyuk groaned. Ahh Minhyuk, a ray of sunshine despite all he'd been through in life. "They're like an old married couple", he said flatly to the camera. "And calling us getaway drivers makes it sound like we're doing something highly illegal."
"Who says we're not doing something illegal?", Hal snorted.
Scott took this opportunity to turn to Hal and wiggle his brows. "What do you say, Hallie, wanna go get hitched?"
Usually Hal would have scolded his friend for that atrocious nickname, but this time he only snorted and rolled his eyes. It did earn Scott an elbow to the ribs, but it was more a brush than an actual jab. "Yeah, I want the biggest rock you can find." Joking or not, who could say no to Scott Reynolds? Look at his stupid face! (Hal was convinced from an early age that Scott must have had what they now called Glimmer. It was the ability to just be insanely beautiful and charming, something you just had to be born with. But, then again, his entire friend group was crazy attractive. It was weird. They had once run into a group of nymphs with the ability, and boy was that trouble. No one remembered what happened, just that they were a week behind schedule before they even knew it. It was like having the world's biggest hangover amplified.
"I'll only come to this wedding if there's cake", Mason announced from wherever he had run off to. He was clearly brushing off his responsibilities.
"Aaanyway, I'm Minhyuk, but you can call me Hale if you can't pronounce that, and I'm twenty-six." He spoke a little bit louder, so he could be heard through the house. "Which I believe effectively makes me the oldest, so the rest of you can suck it!" You didn't think they'd watched that live stream? Of course they had. They had to see what the rest of the idiots were up to while they were gone. He was by no means petty, but if being the oldest was a competition he certainly won. "I'm the Harbringer. Unfortunately that means that I see major events of death, destruction, and sadness." Not everyone could handle an ability like Hale's. It could be taxing to one's own mental health.
"Despite all that, he's the life of the party", Mason chirped. For some reason, near him, Scott looked nervous. Maybe no one else noticed, but Hal had zoomed in on it like a hawk. Scott always chewed on his bottom lip when he got nervous. He did it before every game. Hal knew this, because he knew Scott like the back of his hand.
"I'm Hal Elliott, I'm twenty-one and I locate supernatural creatures with my blood", he explained. "Excuse me, I need to talk to Scott", he frowned, pulling the boy to the side. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing", Scott shrugged. "Why would something be wrong?"
"You're a shit liar", Hal said flatly. "What is it? The house?" If Scott thought he could just lie to his face like that, he had another thing coming. Hal would kick his ass if need be.
Scott shook his head. "I'm tired, that's all." He caught sight of something behind Hal that seemingly gave him an easy out. "Penny, that doesn't go right there!" Hal could only roll his eyes. That boy.
MEANWHILE, during girl talk...
"I don't see why you won't just tell Scott you like him", Estelle mumbled. She loved all her friends, but she was getting a little tired of this conversation. She leaned back against the loveseat's arm, her dark hair falling behind her. She'd been tucked neatly in the chair, though not properly.
Danika opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by Thalia. The girl was like a little sister to her, and she always trusted her to be honest. "I keep telling her to let it go", Thalia sighed as she sat down. "Dani, I love you. You know I do, but he treats you like he treats everyone else and I have no idea what he's thinking. You can do so much better. He's like... a brick wall." Now this wasn't to say that Scott didn't like her, but she also couldn't say that he did. Scott was difficult to read. It's not like he told Thalia everything. ( Well, he did. But he hadn't said anything feelings wise. He was either talking about Alex and frat stuff, playing video games with Hal, studying with Daphne, or doing something mischievous with Penny. And when it wasn't those things? It was football. Football all the time. )
That was a tiny lie. Scott was always talking about Alex. How Alex laughed. What Alex said in class. How Alex cheered him up. The problem? Marcus was always talking about Alex too, in that same way. And Thalia was stressed about it. On the one hand, Marcus was her friend. On the other, Scott was her brother. And blood was thicker than water. But she still didn't have the heart to talk to either of them about it. They were both so infatuated that they didn't even notice. So, Thalia chose to say nothing. As far as she was concerned, that would be Alex's problem when the time came.
Danika groaned. "That's so much easier said than done." One couldn't simply turn off their emotions. Unless you were Stefan Salvatore. Danika most certainly was not a blood sucking creature of the night. However, she did know one thing. Her feelings for Scott were changing. They weren't as strong, and she didn't quite understand what was happening. It must have only ever been a school girl crush. If it was ever even that. Truthfully, Scott was just always nice to Danika. Her heart, her fragile heart, had taken that and gotten all confused. It happened. Sometimes, we mistook our feelings of adoration for love. "Besides, things are different."
"He hasn't dated anyone since Tiffany", Lilly pointed out. Scott tended to baby Lilly, though she didn't know why. It helped to know what was going on with him though. They were extremely close. "I don't think he wants to date anyone! And I think it'd do us all good to drop it." Ah, Tiffany. The girl who was so rich that her parents named her after diamonds and pearls, and draped her in them too. Scott had dated her for a while, but that ended when she left and took his heart with her.
"Well, I think we should all stop gossiping about Scott and his love life when he's not in the room", Daphne said from behind her magazine. Daphne wasn't one to be snippy, but this was a different situation. "God forbid he caught us mentioning Tiff." That girl's name was practically outlawed amongst the group now. It always sent Scott spiraling into a depressed mood, and then Hal and Penny spent half the day goading him out of his dorm. "Besides, Scott is too confident to not say something about how he's feeling." Now that time, she was lying. She knew Scott well enough to know damn well that after that blonde she devil stomped on his heart in her red bottom heels, he would never admit to loving someone again. It was no longer his style.
"Thank you, Daphne", Penny mumbled in response. All talk of Scott ceased. The only reason they'd gotten on the subject was because Danika had wanted to talk to him and when she asked him what he'd thought of her, he'd said "What do you mean? We're all friends, Dani. I love you." Clueless boys. How many hints did you need? Apparently many. Scott wasn't dumb, but feelings of any kind seemed to go straight over his head. Penny was sure, at this point, that he did it on purpose. Either way, it was the push Danika needed to understand that these feelings were not the real deal.
Silence ensued for a moment before Zoey looked up with a teasing smirk. "Are there any other crushes in this friend group?", she asked cheekily. She wasn't nosey, per say, just curious. Besides, it payed to know how your friends were feeling. It made it easier to help them if need be. What? You didn't think she saw how Marcus looked at Alex? How Thalia laughed more with Estelle? She saw it all.
"You fools are boy crazy", Thalia snorted. As if she weren't. Truthfully though, there was only one person her mind...
"I'm a self respecting lesbian woman", Daphne joked. This caused Penny to laugh, and soon it became infectious. "No crushes for me as of yet. You're all too weird." Sure, she was weird herself. Daphne liked weird. It's the one thing that kept their little group happy and unified.
"I take offense to that", Estelle answered playfully. "As if I would tell any of y'all about any crushes I have."
"You don't trust us?", Lilly asked with a playful pout. "How could you? My heart is broken."
"Not with information like that", Estelle snorted. "None of you can keep your mouths shut." She wasn't lying. The girls were always trying to set each other up. It became comical, really. It was one of the the little insignificant things that kept their friendship alive.
"Who knows, maybe it's someone in this room", Penny chimed in. Estelle wiggled her brows in response. She was just joking around. Penny hadn't been hit with Cupid's arrow yet. It was almost disappointing. She wanted so desperately to get there one day. Penny dreamed of passion. A whirlwind love. She wanted a romance that swept her off her feet.
"Marcus is hot — too bad he's gay", Thalia chirped playfully. "But on the other hand, if God hates the gays then why do we keep winning? Suck on that, judgmental America", she added bitterly. Think about it. So many hot people were at least bisexual. If God wanted her to be straight, he'd have to chill. Yeah, as if that would happen.
"You can't put people like Danielle Campbell on this earth and expect me not to be a little gay", Daphne added. This line of conversation prompted some statements that were not exactly... tame. What? They were all adults there. They could talk like this if they wanted.
"You know if the guys hear us they'll expect us all to just les out in here", Danika joked. The term stemmed from a conversation long ago. The context was forgotten, but the joke remained. Weirdly enough though, she wouldn't mind kissing any of her friends. That's what happened when all your friends were hot. It caused problems.
"I wonder what they talk about when we're not around", Lilly hummed.
"We play Apex and cuss at each other", Alex mused as he entered the room.
He was followed by Scott. The two had been off alone somewhere, taking about everything under the sun. Scott picked Danika up from her seat and took it before replacing her in his lap. Actions like that were just far too natural for him. That's probably what caused her confusion. "Can you ever just let me sit down in peace?" She wasn't really complaining. Scott was warm. He always was. It's what made him such a good cuddler.
"No", Scott grinned. "I'm sure you wouldn't like if I sat on you, now would you?"
"You are so annoying", Danika grumbled. The boy rested his chin on her shoulder. Annoying little rat.
"You're all annoying", Alex teased. "Anyway, Ms. Gilinsky is ready. Meaning get off your asses and let's roll."
"Get off your asses and let's roll", Penny mimicked playfully. She hung back to wait for Scott as they walked, the two of them sharing a laugh. They fell into easy conversation, as per usual.
"I quit", Alex huffed.
"No, you don't. I pay you too well", Scott snickered, gently nudging him. Facts. That YouTube check was nice, but adding it with the check they got from clients? Wheeew. If they weren't sitting fat by the time they were fifty, something was wrong.
The group eventually caught up with the rest, standing at the basement steps. "How long has this been going on?", Jem was asking. For someone so small, he looked so serious. There was no longer any time for jokes or merriment. Even from there, the basement was cold and dark. Uninviting. It whispered to them that they didn't belong.
"Oh, only a few months", the elderly lady answered. "At first I thought nothing of it, I just wanted to be sure." Mrs. Gilinsky was small and slender with long, silvery hair. She had a kind face, and truthfully didn't look her age.
"Do you have anything it owned?", Beverly asked, raising a thin brow. The action caused a few wrinkles to appear on his forehead. He couldn't bring himself to say her. He was almost positive that this thing was not a lost spirit.
"It left me this", she grinned, going to retrieve a glass flute. It was white, porcelain, with golden designs. Cold to the touch. "That's how I knew it must have been my Suzy", she added.
Beverly just took the antique and focused on it. Seconds passed. He scowled. "I can't get a read on this thing. It must be ancient." He looked around at the group before handing it off to Daphne. "It's not from around here though. Not even close." It was rare that he said that. Rare that he said it with such warning. A chill washed over the room. The air around them grew cold and bitter.
The flute was barely in Daphne's hands for a few seconds before her eyes flashed an eerie white. That had never happened before, not that they could remember. Not like that. The instrument fell to the ground, shattering. Several of them jumped back to avoid the glass shards. "Daph?"
"No", was all that escaped her lips. She looked... afraid.
"Daphne?" Estelle stepped in front of her, shaking the girl's thin shoulders. "Daph, come on." Eventually Daphne's eyes returned to normal. Still, she looked almost sad. Unfocused. "Hey, calm down. You're okay. Breathe with me." It took a moment, but Estelle finally got Daphne's eyes to focus on her own. The two of them focused on breathing together until Daphne was calm.
"What happened?", Jem asked hesitantly.
Daphne shook her head, running a hand through her red tendrils of hair. "It was dark... and I was so... cold." She seemed to shiver just thinking about it. Her pale fingers came to massage her temples. Her head had begun throbbing. "It's angry. Really, really angry. And I don't think we should mess with it. There's something very wrong with this house." With that, the red head fled the room. Whatever was in there was not a friend. It certainly didn't want them there.
Scott went to follow her, but Estelle held out a hand. "I've got her", she reassured, following after her friend.
"Guess we need to regroup", Scott mumbled. "Turn the camera off, Mason." The dark haired boy did as told. Scott glanced down the basement stairs. This was definitely no ghost.
While I'm here I wanted to remind y'all that you don't have to read my author's notes. I don't even read them back. I just like talking to you guys.
EDITED JANUARY 13, 2020
MINOR DETAILS ADDED.
y'all when i was editing this chapter, someone
with Snarry, as in Snape x Harry ( and i'm not
saying what else was in their @ for me to know
this so y'all won't go look lol ) started voting on
one of my fics, and imma be honest my dumb ass
stopped and stared for a few seconds.
DECEMBER 31, 2019
i had the worst day, someone hug me. ): but my night
was okay. usher reminded me why i wanted this man
to be my sugar daddy since i was young. my dumb ass
cut a step to all three songs. hope you guys had a great
new year's!
me last chapter: *whining about not enough good
ship options*
me this chapter: too many good ship options, i want
them all let's start a harem.
speaking of shipping, i brought some of that up in this chapter. some subtle, some not. the reason i'm pointing it out is because y'all have until chapter 5 to solidify all options, and then to chapter 10 to pick the ship you like most. ( maybe I'll do a poll, who knows? ) and in
that time i'm gonna play around with all possibilities
and dynamics. i'm doing that in place of awkward
first encounters and such, since they already know
each other it's kind of hard to work on development
that should already be there, you know? like once I've
established it there's not much else i can do, so i'm
gonna put my focus on group dynamic and taking
ships to the next level as well as working on each
character's personal development. it's gonna take me a while to address every possible ship option, so here with me!