#kevin×radford | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

spooky-things-au · 1 month ago

Text

Chapter 3 of the fic! So we're officially halfway through the first episode! Wooo!

And at this point, I counted something in my update schedule and... due some things that I was not satisfied with, I decided to change days, I update this story! New updates will now follow every Monday and Thursday/Friday (on my side)!

Also, my first time EVER trying to write something... aheam... more "mature" than I used to, so... let me know how you like it or what I should change about it!

(The chapter is also undercut)

Spooky Things

Season 1. Beginning

Episode 1. The vanishing of Ross Lynn

Chapter 3. Something's off.

School bus stopped infront of Frightville's elementary-middle school, as the driver was opened the door to let passengers out.

"Alright, final stop. Everyone's out." Kevin said, watching the kids leave the bus, last of which was Robert. "Have good day, kids." He added with smile, but that was ignored, as Robert, supposedly, spotted his friend outside.

Or he just ignored because they didn't have good relationship. Well, Kevin still needed to get his trust, he supposed... the poor kid had hard life, from Radford's words, and sudden appearance of new partner in his life was definitely not something he would accept that quickly.

Yes, he wanted to bond with the boy... but Kevin realized that Robert needed some time to get used to new person in his life.

"Hey." There was a knock on side of the bus, that made Kevin turn around, but that then turned to a smile.

"Hey, Ethan..."

The other man smiled, climbing inside the bus, standing next to Kevin.

"So, what happened last night?" Ethan asked, leaning against the metal. "You never replied to me back."

Kevin's eyes then widened, quickly pulling out his phone to check his messages... when he found nearly 10 missed ones from Ethan last night...

"Ah, sorry, man..." Kevin scratched back of his head. "I was just..."

"Radford happened, didn't he?" Despite how teasing it sounded... Kevin could also pick up notes of tension in his friend's voice. "Kevin, I warn you. He's bad news! He just wants sex, you know?"

"Well, if it all he wanted, why hasn't he left me yet?" Kevin smirked. "We've been together for nearly six months at this point and not even once we went past maki-..."

"Never went past making out, huh?" Ethan forced out a laugh. "Man, Kevin... for times like ours, you sure able to speak freely of this..." He crossed his arms.

"Hey..." Kevin sighed out. "I know... how it might sound to you... and believe me, I've had enough troubles with people... talking about us behind our backs... or making comments about me wanting to date a guy..." But he then smiled, leaning against the seat, as his thoughts left to the man, he loved with his entire heart.

Radford was definitely one of a kind. Caring and gentle, loving and supportive... loyal to his family and goal... not to mention being goofy and gorgeous... the blonde was everything, Kevin wished for his partner.

And yet, what attracted Kevin the most... was probably his determination and ability to get back on his feet when things get hard, being able to be there for people when they needed it... when his parents went away and he became the sole support system for his younger siblings... and still, he stood strong for them, ready to provide the best childhood for his two youngest siblings he could.

No matter how you looked at this... Radford was amazing... and Kevin felt so lucky to be able to call him his... lover. (Boy, that still sent shiver down his spine-).

"But I know what I want... and I don't care what some snobby stuck-ups might think of me..." Kevin finished. "I love what and who I love. And it should be my decision..."

"Hm..." Ethan looked to Kevin, now his face showed genuine happiness for his friend. "Well, whatever makes you happy, man... just don't you dare stopping be friends with me, you hear?!"

The two men looked at each other for another second, before both of them broke into laughter.

"You dork!" Kevin spat out in the end.

The public toilet was... definitely not the best place for this, but Kevin didn't seem to care much about it at the moment... he leaned closer towards his partner... his boyfriend as their lips sealed together for a kiss.

Radford called him to come over at his lunch break, just so they could chat and talk about plans for the night. To have a "mini-date" as the blond called it. But now, it turned into a making out session in the theater's restroom.

"Oh God-" Kevin breathed out. "Rad, please-... I need to go..."

"Oh, really now?" The blonde let out a chuckle. "Alright then... but only if you can give me a kiss... and that we can meet tonight..."

"Rad..." Kevin chuckled.

"Whaaat?" Radford came closer. "I'm not saying anything... dirty... I'm just saying, you and I... in my car... driving somewhere pretty to unwind after a long, hard day..."

"Rad, I can't..." Kevin sighed, but still didn't let go. "You know, my mom is over for now... and she still doesn't know-"

"You're dating a guy?" Radford said again. "No problem... your house has ladder, right? I can climb into your room..." He then touched their foreheads, that made Kevin chuckle, blushing lightly. "Ninja style~"

Kevin let out a light laugh.

"Well, deal it is, then..." He smiled, before pecking one last kiss. "I'll see you tonight~"

Radford was satisfied with this answer. A quick cuddle later, the two finally separated. Kevin splashed himself cool water to calm down from all the... excitement that just went down. After fixing his clothing into presentable look, he left exited the restroom.

Radford watched him go. When Kevin stepped out, the blonde sighed out again, tagging the collar of his shirt... ooooh boy! This was November, it wasn't supposed to be so hot in here-!

He heard the door open and saw Rick standing in the doorway. The two shared a look, before Radford cracked a light, nervous smile.

"You're..." He started, playing with his shirt. "...not going to tell the boss, are you..?"

Rick stayed quiet for a second again.

"...I don't get paid enough to care..."

And it meant no.

"You're the best" The blonde smiled.

A car stopped in front of police station as a man stepped out. Tired eyes looked over the building, before he sighed out, stepping inside.

"Morning, Patty..." John said to woman in front desk, before turning to the people further into the building. "Morning, everybody!"

"Hey, John!" Jack smiled, waving to him.

"Damn! You look like hell, Sherif..." Sophie commented with a chuckle.

"Oh, yeah?" John raised eyebrow. "Well, I looked better than your wife when I left her this morning!"

John waved to the others, starting to head to his office. While Connor and Sophie continued to laugh, Jack decided to follow John to catch him up with the news of the morning.

"Alright, John..." Jack started, taking out the list with what calls they got over last few hours. "We've got a few cases this morning... first, Ignacio Smith called. Said some kids are stealing the gnomes out of his garden again."

"Oh, those garden gnomes again..." John groaned, covering his eyes with his hand. "Well, Jack, I'll assure you, I'm gonna get on that in a few..."

Jack nodded, smiling to sheriff, before looking back on the list, as his smile faded. "On more serious matter... We've got a call from Aaron and Jaune Lynn."

John looked up, surprised to hear that.

"Jaune called?"

He knew her since they both were kids, plus she was his old schoolmate... one of first people to welcome him back when he returned back in town... but why were she and her husband calling them? They lived relatively quiet life.

"Yes. They called about... two hours ago..." Jack confirmed, his face still gloomy. "They said they can't find their son..."

Right. They also had a kid... if he remembered correctly, just entered his teens... so it would give... a couple of ideas, where the boy could be. John sighed out. Yet another overworried mother, freaking out over small things... but, well... he supposed he couldn't blame them either way, given what they have to go through to bring the whole new person into the world.

"Alright the... I'm gonna get on that..." John sighed out, making himself a cup of coffee. "Just give me a minute..."

"But John!" Jack interrupted once more. "Jaune is very upset-"

"Now, Jack, we've discussed this." John looked onto the younger man. "Mornings are for coffee and contemplation."

Then, Jack turned to go to his office. Jack followed him still.

"John, she's already in your-"

"Coffee and contemplation, Ja-!"

And then Jack opened the door to his office... to see it occupied by a worried out of her mind Jaune with equally worried Lila, who did her best to comfort her friend. The two women turned to face John, as Lila finally sighed out.

"There you are..." Lila breathed out, relieved.

The best way to describe next few minutes would be... a mess. Jaune was all over the place, yelling and screaming on top of her lungs, that made few other officers come in to check on them. Eventually, when Jaune accepted some water to calm herself down... she was finally able to have a normal conversation with John.

"We've have been waiting here over an hour, John!" Jaune said, still walking around the room in worry.

John covered his face with his hand, letting out a deep, long sigh. "And I apologize again..."

"I'm going out of my mind!" Jaune put her hands on the table, before Lila pulled her back again, quietly apologizing for it, getting just a nod from John.

"Look, Jaune... your son is... twelve right?" John started, as Jaune nodded in confirmation. "A kid... this age... he's probably just playing hookie, okay?"

Jaune's eyes widened. "What?!" She asked, shaking her head. "No, not my Ross! He's not like that! He wouldn't do that!"

"Well, you never know... I mean, look at my sister..." John showed onto a picture of a late teen girl in what seemed to be a white dress. "I was ten, our mom thought she was on the debate team... but then, next thing we know, she's getting married at sixteen, five months pregnant with her oldest."

Jaune looked at John in disbelief. She couldn't believe it. No. It couldn't be that. Ross wouldn't do that! Her and Aaron taught him better than that... he wasn't ever even interested in girls or boys. A part of her wanted to snap out again. To yell at John to even think of such thing! And yet, she held back. She sighed out.

"Look, he's not like your sister, Sheriff. He's not like you, Lila or me. He's not like... most." Jaune rumbled off. "He's a good boy, has a couple of friends, but... you know how kids are..." She crossed her arms. "Peer pressure and stuff, one of his friends hangs out with those other kids and... they're mean. They make fun of others. They call them names... I tried to step in once, but I think I only made it worse... they kept laughing at Ross... at his clothes, hair-"

"His hair?" John asked, rasing eyebrow. "What's wrong with his hair?"

"Nothing! He does dye it..." She looked away, wiping away the tear, covering her face.

She hated seeing her little boy suffering like this... something so small! She suggested changing schools, suggesting to fight them (yes, she wasn't above hitting a kid if needed) or going to self defense classes himself... but her little boy... Ross kept saying he was fine. He could deal with it.

"Does that matter?"

Jaune looked at John, a bit confused, but just shrugged, feeling defeated. "Maybe. I don't know..." She sighed out once more. "Maybe it's just not like it used to be and a boy dying his hair is enough to target a kid now..." Jaune then took a deep breath, looking into John's eyes. "Look, he's... He's a bit of a weird kid, sure, but... he's a good boy..." She then looked at her hand once more.

"I used to argue with my father back in the day about this... he would say that my child will be uncontrollable... he hated Ross had Aaron for a father... said he'd need a 'real man' for this role in his life, unless I wanted him to grow up a 'fag', as he put it." Jaune winced as she pushed out the insult. She hated going to that memory... and this time it was harder, as she had to say it out loud.

"Well... Is he?" John asked, cracking a light smile. Not to sound homophobic (that'd be hypocritical of him, honestly), but making fun of somebody being worried about this.

"He's MISSING!" Jaune cried out once more, tears falling down her face once more. "That what he is!"

John looked away, as Lila once more started to try calm Jaune down. Okay, it was a bad joke... The man sighed out, standing up.

"Alright, Jaune... when was the last time you heard from your dad?"

Jaune raised her head back up, surprised. But then sighed out, trying to think about the question. "Uh... last I heard... he was in Indianapolis..." She thought, before nodding. "Yes, there. He moved there ever since him and mom split up... But he has nothing to do with this."

"Why don't you give me his number then?"

"John, please." Jaune said again. "You're just wasting your time! He has nothing to do with this... He... he doesn't even know how Ross looks like!"

"Jaune." John said again, putting his hand on Jaune's. "Believe me, I've been on such cases before. Ninety-nine out of hundred times, kid goes missing, the kid is with a parent or relative."

"I know it, but..."

"What about the other time?" Lila finally raised her voice.

"Huh?/What?" Both, Jaune and John, turned their heads to the purple-haired woman.

"What you said, John..." Lila said. "Ninety-nine out of hundred. What about the other time? The one?" She repeated once more.

"Lila... not you too..." John covered his face.

"The one!" Lila raised her finger. "John, you haven't been in this town in over a decade, until four years ago! A lot happened in that time! The old hospital being shut down f-"

"And you wanna know the worst thing that's happened here in the four years since I came back?" John cut the woman off, as she stayed quiet once he did. "An owl attacking Narciso Evermore's head because it thought that his hair was a nest."

The two women shared a look, before turning back to John. All three of them stared at one another for a minute. Just as John thought it'd be another "two-on-one" situation, Jaune sighed out in defeat, rasing her hands.

"Okay, fine! Give me a note!" She said, getting the items.

"I'll call him right now, and if Ross isn't there, we'll look for him in the forest." John explained, walking to his old friend.

Jaune hmmed. "He'd talk to me first, before he talks to-"

"What? A pig?" Lila raised eyebrow, smirking lightly.

"A cop!" Jaune said back, while John gasped offendedly. But then (after a second long pause) the trio finally broke into light laughter, even if Jaune's was weak. Well, Lila could take that too. Whatever small, she'd considered it a win.

Usually, it would be Jaune trying to lighten up the mood in such situation... but now, Jaune had enough on her plate, so Lila had to be the one to do that instead.

And still, this happiness was only brief, as when Jaune finished writing down the last number on the sticky note, she handed it back to John... it made her remember the reason why they came here in first place.

"Do what you must do, Sherif..." Jaune nearly begged. "Just... find my son, John..." Tears once more started gathering in her eyes. "Find him!"

Lila stood by them, as her hands traveled up her figure to her stomach. Something so familiar, she did it completely absent-mindedly... a reflex, she still hasn't gotten rid of even after eight years passed.

She always did that when she was worried... worried about somebody close to her... whenever she watched missing people reports on TV... whenever she saw a missing kid poster outside her house.

Ever since that fateful night, on March 1st, of 2004.

Ever since that painful day, on December 10th, of 1998.

'I hope God is merciful to you... wherever you are...' She thought to herself, her mind going back to two names, that forever were drilled in her memory and her heart. 'Beverly... Sunny...'

@crossover-enthusiast @catsockpuppet @spookuzm @ferfbish @sunny6677 @momentokori @nottapossum @nostalgic-soda

7 notes · View notes

spooky-things-au · 23 days ago

Text

Chapter 3 out of 6! Woo hoo! :D

Also, something sweet for this chapter, because El finally gets his official Skid nickname!

(Chapter is undercut)

Spooky Things

Season 1. Beginning

Episode 2. The Weirdo on Maple Street

Chapter 3. All you need

"Thank you for joining, Gary" John said, shaking hands with the man.

He just arrived to the searching team once more after visiting Jaune. First, to check if there something happened after he left... and other, to warn others he'd be leaving to check Jaune's father.

He was surprised that he ran into Gary, given how busy him and his wife were to provide for their family. But, he supposed, two more sets of eyes to help them.

"Hey, it's the least, I can do. Jaune and I are friends too." The man spoke up, frowning. "...not to mention how happy her son makes my Susie..."

"Right..." John said.

Neither of them spoke further. When they reached for other policemen, Gary walked ahead, officially joining the search party. John stood by his co-workers, who stood on top of the hill.

There were few trees, but they were in a clearing... it was some differece from the the forest picture, they gotten used to overnight. The party seemed to be bigger too, now that more people were out with them during the day. Some people even brought out their dogs today too. But the endless shouting of Ross' name still rang from all sides of him.

"Hey, you're back, Sherif" Sophie said, looking at him with a smile, her trusty shotgun in hand.

"Anything?" Connor ased with raised his glasses to face John.

"No." John sighed out. "Nothing, but a dead phone."

"And Jaune?" Sophie asked once more.

"On edge of losing it..." John said.

"Well, she's always been a bit out of it, hm?" Connor said, smirking to the other man.

"Her kid's missing, Connor. Show a little respect." Jack lit up yet another cigarette, before taking a deep breath and looked between other three officers. "I leave Jack in charge, I need to check one place. Will be back in a few."

With a short farewell, John disappeared into his car. The rest of cops watched him drive off, as Jack watched them, before clapping his hands.

"Alright." He started. "Come on, let's go! We got a lot of ground to cover!"

Jack left to join the party. Sophie and Connor stayed on top of the hill for a bit more. Just before Sophie was able to go back to searching, Connor cleared his throat

"Shotgun, what do you think... Sheriff and her..." Connor started. "...they've screwed before, huh?"

Sophie looked back at Connor with unimpressed face. The 'Are you serious right now?' fron her seemed to be so loud, that anyone could hear it, even if she said nothing. They stared at one another for another second, before Sophie turned to the forest, screaming out a loud "Ross!" into the distance.

Connor stood there astonished for a second, throwing his heads, not understanding what he said wrong.

"Alright. On scale from 'Exorcist' to 'Leprechaun', how would you describe your fear intake..?"

Kevin and Ethan were at the local school, where Kevin dropped the kids off. He wasn't going to be needed for another few hours, so it could be a chance to fool around, maybe get to store to get a second flashlight, so him and his mother could both join the search party tonight. But in meanwhile, it could also be a chance to do some dumb internet tests with a friend.

"Nightmare on Elm Street"

The other man typed in the answer, before a small 'ding!' was heard from his device. When a new question loaded, Ethan laughed.

"Oooh, that's a good one!" He chuckled, getting attention from Kevin, who looked in with a curious smirk.

But before Eathan could read the question out, they heard a voice. "Hey, do you think I could go next?" They both heard a voice from behind, making them both jump.

Kevin turned around, frowning, but then slightly relaxed upon seeing the familiar blonde man behind them.

"Radford..." Kevin breathed out, catching onto his chest, as Ethan growled.

"Don't creep onto people like that, man!" The other man yelled.

Radford then looked between the two, before his smile faded.

"Oh... I scared you? Sorry, guys..." He sighed out, before smile returned to his face. "Now, why I came looking for you..." He pulled out a brochure. "My boss called me to get something in nearby the next town, should take until tomorrow to get back..." He said. "Rick was supposed to join me, but he dropped out. So..." He then looked at Kevin. "So are you in?"

The other two shared a look.

"In for what?" Kevin asked. "A road trip or something?"

"Well, not my idea..." Radford chuckled, as two other people came out.

"Leon?" Ethan's eyes widened when he saw the two. "Liv?"

"There two dorks talked me into this..." Radford laughed lightly. "It'll be like a low key party." He said, before putting hand around Kevin's shoulders. "So, what do you say? A small trip to unwind from recent events. We'll stay in a good place, with a pool, there's free ice and then, before going back home, we'll get breakfast at best diner in the world!"

Kevin laughed softly at how Radford painted it. He knew it wouldn't be so amazing, and yet... this trip could be fun! He looked back at Ethan, who was still scowling at the sight, but turned away when he saw Kevin watching.

Kevin's uplifted mood seemed to fade upon seeing his friend like this.

"Um-" He started, but Liv stopped him first.

"Oh, look..." She whispered, showing across the street.

They all looked at two incoming people, a man of their age and a brunette man, probably ten years older than themselves. They both were holding a pack of papers each. They all knew the younger man, but Kevin and Radford recognized the older one quicker than the rest. Aaron Lynn, father of the missing Ross kid.

The younger man, walked inside the school, before leaving few minutes later. Aaron, meanwhile, was sticking the paper sheet to a lamp post outside. They knew what those were. The missing posters.

"God, that's depressing..." Liv whispered, watching the two. "This is why I don't want kids. Little shits just ruin everything."

"How much you want to bet he killed him and now just pretends to save a face?" Leon asked, smirking, but got a hit from Radford.

"Shut up!" The blonde frowned. "That's my brother's friend you're talking about."

Meanwhile, Kevin went to approach the two, waving slightly.

"Hey..." He said softly. "Mr. Lynn... I just... I wanted to say..." Kevin sighed out. "I'm sorry about everything. Everyone's thinking about your family..."

Aaron looked up, not saying a word, nodding, muttering something that sounded like a quiet "Thank you". He then looked away, leaving without saying a word. Kevin was left with the younger man. Their eyes met again. They met before.

The man's name was Streber, he remembered. Ethan and him worked on the Haunted House attraction this year. They met a few times in past and he seemed to be like a nice guy. Streber always seemed to be optimistic and passionate about things... but now, he was silent, looking at the poster in his hand.

Kevin sighed, before offeting him a smile.

"Yeah, I know him..." He said softly, before looking up. "I'm sure he's fine... He's a smart kid."

Streber looked between the photo on paper and Kevin, before smiling lightly.

"I hope so..." He said. "Well, I think I'll go now... these aren't going to hang themselves!" He chuckled lightly.

Kevin nodded. "Yeah... Good luck."

"Thanks..."

And so, the two separated.

Chatter rang through the halls of school, as Susie looked over all over the space and all the kids around them. Not to find her next class, she was sharing this one with Robert... but she was trying to spot her brother. But still, Will was nowhere to be seen.

"This is weird..." She said, sitting on her desk, next to Robert. "He's never away from me on breaks..."

"You sure he came in this morning?" Thr blonde asked.

"Yes!" Susie looked at him. "He was sitting in the car with me! I saw him walking in!" She then looked away, frowning. "At least, I think I saw him walking in..." She then thought of something. "God, what if Dad found out about the kid!?"

"Wait, your plan didn't work!?" Robert asked, his eyes widened.

"He... he said he wanted it to be done when we weren't there..." Susie looked at Robert, her eyes widening. "You think our parents figured it out he slept in that fort in Will's room?"

"I don't know..." Robert whispered. "God, if your parents learn what we did..."

"No." Susie shook her head. "Will might be a lot of things, but he's not one to rat others out, if anything, I'd say he took it upon himself..." She sighed. "But either way... after school, the freak will be back in the looney bin... and we can focus on what really matters..."

She looked up, sharing the look of determination with Robert.

"Finding Ross." He whispered.

El was still sitting in the fort, fidgeting with pair of cookies Will left him. One was shaped like a weird head, he had seen in some books back at The House... and other was the same as the toy, Will let him borrow.

When he heard noise from outside... and then a sound of something falling on the ground. El felt fear raising in him when it turned to footsteps... to the fort, he was sitting in...

But then the protecting cloth was pulled over to reveal Will on the other side.

"Hey, I'm back!" Will smiled. "Sorry, it took longer than expected... needed to make sure Mom wouldn't see me..." he then sat next to El. "You still haven't finished the cookies?"

El looked away, before pointing to the toy and the orange cookie.

"Ooo!" Will smiled. "You liked Jack?" He asked, making El raise an eyebrow. "Jack-o-lantern? The pumpkin?"

El tilted his head once more, looking at the toy. Will frowned lightly.

"You... know about Halloween?" He asked.

El looked at him, before frowning. "'Halloween'?" He asked softly, as if trying to repeat the word.

Will's eyes widened. "You... don't know?"

El shook his head. "What is... 'Halloween?" He asked quietly.

Will laughed lightly, sitting next to El. "Oh, where do I even begin..? It's the best day of the entire year! It's when you dress up in all the spooky stuff, do scary things, like watching scary movies, play trick-or-treat, get candy and... all other stuff!" Will jumped, throwing his hands up. "We love Halloween in this town! Actually, the whole month of October is time we celebrate Halloween! Or rather, as we call it, the Spooky Month! We even have the special dance for it! Wait! Let me show you!"

Will then got out of the fort, standing infront of El, as he took a breath, letting out a small giggle. Next second, he shouted a loud "It is the Spooky Month!". El's eyes widened at the scream, but next moment, Will started to slightly crouching and standing up over and over, as if he was jumping, while also making swinging his hands left and right every time. While doing that, he was smiling widely, that couldn't make El not to smile.

The other boy let out a giggle, climbing out of the fort, to join Will into the silly dancing. As simple as it was... it looked like fun! And, to be fair... it was! The two kids then fell down onto the floor in fit of giggles over the action.

"Come on!" Will eventually said, sitting up putting hand out for El to grab on. "I have so much stuff, I can show you!"

This time, El didn't hesitate. This 'Halloween' thing seemed to be fun! So far, everything, Will showed him, was fun and good!

The two kids grabbed hands, before Will dragged El out of his room, showing him onto the walls of his house. El did see them last night, but he didn't get a good look at them. On them, there were a man and woman, as well as Susie and, he guessed, Will! They were all dressed in different outfits on each of them.

Will then handed him one of them.

"It's our most recent ones!" He said.

Will was dressed in black with the orange thing on his head (Jack-o-lantern, Will called them?). Susie was dressed in red, even her face was that color! On her head where some weird pointy things (also red!). The man was also dressed in black, he had something like a mask on his face resembling a cat face, cat ears were also on his head. And the woman had her skin painted green and dressed in purple and black, a long pointy had on her head, she also had a stick in her hand.

El examined it, before looking over the woman, tilting his head. "Pretty..." He traced her with his finger.

"Yeah!" Will nodded. "That's my mom!" He smiled, pointing to the woman, before going to the man. "And that's my dad." He explained. "We had a themed outfits this year. Dad was a cat, Mom was a witch, Susie was a demon and I was a pumpkin!"

El's eyebrow raised.

"Pumpkin?" He asked. He called those differently previously...

"Yeah." Will nodded. "Pumpkins are one of symbols of Halloween, with fall being their time and how people carve them into all kinds of stuff! Most popular of them are Jack-o-lanterns, like one you're holding!"

'Oh' El thought 'That explained this...'

"And you know, it's more of a... coin-ci-dence..." He said slowly, trying to remember how the word spelt. "But you wear a skeleton onesie. It's second symbol of Halloween, along side pumpkins."

El looked at Will, before over himself, smiling lightly. It was funny.

"Honestly... with your shaved hair... you do kinda look like a skeleton..." Will thought of it, when an idea came into his head. "Maybe we can get your nickname from it? I mean... unless you do like El..."

The boy looked over at Will, before thinking over it. He was never called anything, but Eleven... so that could je weird... He did like that skeleton onesie... and Will... he was so... nice to him. Way nicer than anyone ever were to him... (well, expect for Vivana and Tom). He thought of it and nodded. He could go go for that "nickname" thing. Will smiled.

"Well... 'Skeleton'... I mean, Skel could be an idea... but it's kinda weird..." He thought. "Skeleton boy? A bit mouthful..." Will say down, starting to think it over. "Skeleton... kid?"

El sat next to Will, listening to his rumblings, trying to combine the words after Will spoke them. Skeleton, boy, kid. It was kind of tricky with how word was... El was mumbling to himself, separating words onto letters and syllables.

"S... boy... Sk... oy... " El continued to mumble to himself, Will stopped to listen to him, smiling, before something caught his ear.

"Wait, repeat that one again?" Will reached his hand over to El, who looked at him in small confusion... but then replied back.

"Sk... kid..." He said once more, confused.

"Yes! If you take 'S' or 'Sk' from skeleton, and then put it to 'kid'!" He said, his eyes wide just like his smile. "Skid."

El's eyes widened as well, before he looked down. Skid. This was short. Way shorter than Eleven... but something in it... felt nice. It felt better to say rather than Eleven. With a small smile, he decided he liked it.

"Skid..." The boy whispered softly, getting a smile from Will.

"Well, I think it'll be that for now!" Will said, putting a hand in similar way to what Tom did to him yesterday. "Nice to meet you, Skid."

Eleven... no. Skid smiled to the other boy reaching out to shake hands with him.

Aaron was sitting in his car, music blasting through the small space as he drove. He had lone since passed the "You're leaving Frightville" sign. Yes, he was driving out of town. To visit Oscar.

God, how long it's been since he last thought of that man? Honestly... too long. He hasn't thought of him since he knew him and Jaune were expecting. God, it's been quite awhile, huh..? He still could remember that day...

He was getting to know Lila. He thought Jaune mentioned that her and Lila were friends since the two of were little kids... so he should get to know her better, if he was going to be with Jaune.

She was sitting next to him, listening to some music he had. No, there were no other intentions of other than getting to know her. He loved Jaune. He wasn't going to break her heart in going after her best friend.

Lila was a pretty young woman, sure, but she was more closed and Aaron respected it. He wasn't going to push her boundaries... and, who knows? Maybe they could be friends as well!

"You like it?" He asked, smiling to the girl, who looked up, nodding to him with a smile.

"Yeah, it's cool!" She smiled. "My father would constantly listen to these, when I was little... so that takes me back."

Aaron smiled at it. "I can give you a copy of these, if you want!"

"Really?" Lila looked at him, her eyes widened.

The man chuckled. "All the best stuff is here." He said, handing her a disk. "Aa you know... music can change one's life."

Lila smiled to him, but before she was able to take an offered disk, there was a knock on the door. The two looked at one another, before Aaron went to open... and next thing that Lila heard was him saying her best friend's name. The young woman stood up, deciding to go and check on them... only to find Jaune crying in Aaron's arms as he was asking her what happened.

"Jaune!?" Lila asked, walking to her, taking her hand. "Jaune, what's wrong? God, you're-"

"I'm sorry..." Thw blonde whispered. "I never meant this! I didn't mean it!" She said once more.

The two brought the hysterical woman in, sitting her on couch, while Lila kept hugging her. The music was turned off not to unsettle her further, while Aaron went to get some water for his girlfriend. The two then sat by each other's side, as Jaune started to calm down, but still didn't sat anything.

"Jaune, is it about your father?" Lila asked, noticing a bag on her back. "You need somewhere to stay? Is he going to hurt you? Because if he is, I am going to kick his ass! I'm sick of his ex-!"

"No, Lila... don't..." She whispered, her hands squeezing the bottle, Aaron gave her. "This is my fault this time... I messed up big time..."

"Jaune, don't talk like this..." Aaron spoke softly, still hands on her back. "Whatever that is you did, I'm sure it's nothing we can't-"

"Aaron, I'm pregnant."

Then, the room fell quiet, Lila and Aaron's eyes widened when they heard that. What?

"J... Jaune?" Lila covered her mouth.

"And it's Aaron's. I want to keep it..."

Aaron looked at her, but breathed out. And yet, his eyes unintentionally went down to his girlfriend's stomach. God, there was a baby in there. A little life right inside Jaune...

"Alright..." Aaron breathed out. "And... Oscar found out?" He asked, his hands starting to wrap into fists. Jaune just nodded. "Does he have a problem with it?"

Jaune shook her head. "No. His problem isn't the fact I'm having a baby... but the fact Aaron is the father..."

Aaron and Lila shared a look, as Aaron thought over it. Sure, he wasn't sure about how he felt about the news, but... Jaune did say her mother's side of family had troubles with getting pregnant... that she thought could also pass onto her. So he could see why she wanted to keep the child. She was in a project, that payed well, so money didn't seem to be an issue.

Of course it would be her father's distaste of him that would make him against Jaune and her baby... but Aaron wasn't going to stand it.

"He's not coming, is he?" Lila asked softly to him, to which Jaune just shook her head.

No. This just wouldn't do. Learning of a pregnancy was meant to be a happy news for parents... not depressing.

"Jaune, look at me, sunflower..." Aaron said softly, putting his hand on her shoulders. "Come on. Has he ever done anything with you that you actually like?"

Jaune looked at him, frowning, before shrugging. "I... don't know..?"

"No..." Aaron spoke again. "From what I've heard of him, he hasn't. Now, just look at it, he kicked you out for something you couldn't help with. For something you want to have, right?" He asked softly, to which Jaune looked away, but then nodded.

Yes. She wanted to have that child... that little boy or girl that was growing inside her... she didn't want to lose them. Not when she could help it.

"That's right..." He smiled softly. "Now, don't ever let anyone tell you what you should do or not... Okay? Especially not people like him..."

Jaune looked at him, now smiling softly, nodding once more. She chuckled lightly, wiping away her tears.

"Now... you want to have this baby? You want to stay with me?" He said once more, getting a bright smile from his girlfriend, before she threw her arms around him.

"Yes... Definitely."

He hugged her back with a smile.

And nine seven months later, Ross was born.

He was so small when he just entered their lives that Aaron was scared to even touch him at first. And still, the day he first saw his son was the day Aaron a promise... that nothing would ever happen to Jaune or their child...

But not even know, with his son missing... he wasn't going back on this yet.

People were talking, walking around the store, when the door opened and another costumer walked in. A blonde woman walked through the aisles, looking around.

"Jaune?" Somebody called her from the back, as she turned around seeing one of employees looking at her. "Didn't expect to see you here today."

Jaune waved to the man, before looking around. "Yeah, I didn't expect going out to town either, but, well..." She looked around, sighing. "The storm last night, you see?" She covered her face, breathing into it. "I need a new phone..."

Through the reason why she didn't say... it wasn't just because they needed a home phone. Jaune had another plan. She was able to hear Ross' breathing through the phone, right? She guessed that, if it happened once, it could be done again. Just... not with a broken one... so she needed to get it.

A quick purchase later, Jaume stood outside of the store, calling her boss at work. She was in a quiet room, not many people passing by her at this point.

"Hello?" She said, when it was picked up. "Yes, good day, it's me, Jaune... yes, I know, Olivia stepped in for me today, but... it's not about the work, it's..." She took a deep breath, before continuing. "I need an advance..."

After a short pause, a smile came onto her face.

"Oh, really? Thank you..." She breathed out. "Yeah... um..." She mumbled lightly, holding onto her hand. "I was thinking... two weeks?"

There was another pause, before she frowned, holding onto her hand. "Terence. I've been there ten years, right? Have I ever called in sick or missed a shift once? I've worked on both, Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving. Multiple times."

Jaune felt tears coming onto her face once more.

"Please, I need to be here when my child comes home..." She breathed out. "He's gone. I don't know if I'm..." She could feel her voice breaking at this. "If I'm gonna ever see him again, if he's hurt..."

Jaune took another deep breath.

"Please, I just need two weeks in advance."

And it seemed to be enough, as she finally had a positive answer.

A man knocked on the door. But nobody replied. Then he knocked once more... and still nothing came. After quickly looking in the window, he nodded.

"We're all clear." He said, before few men in red robes came out.

One of them, was a tall man that was the only one, who didn't wear a hood and held his hand up, on which was a ring with big teal gem. It started to glow brighter upon going into the house.

After quick manipulations to open the door, Father and other cultists walked inside starting to look sound. Everyond held their medallions up.

Two cultists walked down into the basement, when the glow seemed to increase... and the closer they walked, the more it would glow. Whatever it was, it was down there...

Upon reading the bottom of the stairs, they started to search over the small space... which didn't take long before they came across a dim teal glow from the far wall... when the two came closer to the wall, they found something... as within the close proximity of medallions, the real reason of glow came out...

A tiny tendril came from a hole, trying to wriggle out it's prison.

"Extraordinary..." One of them breathed out.

@crossover-enthusiast @catsockpuppet @spookuzm @ferf-bish @sunny6677 @momentokori @nottapossum @nostalgic-soda

4 notes · View notes