A Fetish for the Finite (10/14)
Title: A Fetish for the Finite
Author: thefabrosevest
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Brendon/Ryan
POV: 1st, Brendon’s
Summary: Brendon’s aunt dies and he gets her old house, uninvited visitors included.
Disclaimer: Fake!
Author’s Notes: The idea came while watching ‘The Woman In Black’. It's very gloomy and stuff.
Here are a few pictures of the places.
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
I don’t know how long we are in the music room, but I guess it’s something like three hours or something like that. Well, sometime Taylor comes in to sit with us because Patrick left.
“So guys, what are your plans when this is over?” she asks and sits next to Ryan on the floor.
Ryan is looking at the floor as if it is the most interesting thing he ever saw and Taylor watches him for a while before she looks up at me. I turn around on the piano bench so that I’m looking at her and shrug.
“I think we’ll leave Grey Valley and just go back to Vegas.” I say
“Vegas? You never told me you’re from Vegas.” She says.
“Uhm yeah … it’s not that big of a deal.”
“What is Vegas like?” Ryan asks out of sudden and we both look at him.
“It’s big … and colourful and bright … but I’m not living in the centre, don’t worry.” I tell him.
Ryan nods and continues to stare at the floor. It’s amazing how that kid can change between being excited and happy to depressed and shy in seconds. It can’t be healthy … okay that is a stupid thing to think.
“Alright … what were you playing earlier?” Taylor asks, slightly smiling.
“Uhm … just a few songs. Ryan likes Mad World, so I played it a few times.” I answer and let my gaze linger on Ryan, who is still not looking at any of us.
“Okay … what do you want to do?”
I shrug and Ryan doesn’t respond.
“Hm … are there things you would like to take with you when you leave, Ryan?” she asks, leaning over to the other boy and Ryan flinches when she says his name.
“Uhm … I guess.” He says without looking up.
“I could just take your stuff with me already, so that you won’t have to worry about that.” She tries, looking at me quizzically.
“Sure, why not.” I say.
We get up and Ryan shows us where his stuff is. It’s in one of the unused rooms, where there are boxes everywhere. He tells us which of the boxes contain his stuff and then he sits in a corner and stays silent. Taylor and I go through his stuff and ask Ryan about some of the things from time to time. We mostly pack stuff like clothes books.
“Did you pack my notebooks?” Ryan asks when we’re about to bring the two boxes to the car.
“Uhm … which ones do you mean?” I ask and put the box down again.
Ryan gets up and walks over to the stuff that will stay in here. After searching for a bit, he is holding two old-looking notebooks. I nod and take them from him to pack them in the box as well.
“Alright, we’ll be right back.” I say and force myself to smile at him quickly before Taylor and I walk out of the room and down the stairs.
“I don’t think that he likes me very much.” Taylor whispers.
“It’s not that … he’s acting the same towards me today. Maybe he’s nervous. Who knows?” I say a bit louder.
“Usually, I’m pretty good at reading people I don’t know, and I would say that you have a depressed ghost here.”
“You’re overreacting. He’s weird, yes … but not depressed.”
“I’m just saying.”
I put the box down for a moment to open the door before I grab it again and we start walking down the path to the car.
“You’re making a cute couple though.” Taylor giggles when we’re almost at the car.
“Thank you?” I ask, a bit freaked out.
“I mean it. And I think you two will be good for each other. I mean, I don’t know much about you, but I do know that you don’t have contact to your family and you have no friends.”
“Thanks for reminding me.”
“And Ryan is definitely alone too, so … perfect!”
“Could you stop talking?” I ask, smiling though.
“You would like that, huh?”
I grin and then we reach the car.
*
We stay outside for a while and talk while walking around the island.
“It’s kind of sad that this place is cursed, because it’s beautiful and I’d love to live here.” Taylor says while balancing over a few stones.
I just nod and stare ahead of me.
“Maybe we should head back.” I murmur.
Taylor jumps next to me again and gets her phone out to check the time.
“It’s almost time for me to go.” She says and then looks up. “You should go back to Ryan and I’ll wait for the tide.”
I look back at the house and then I turn towards her again.
“Okay” I say.
She watches me with a sad smile and then lungs forward and hugs me.
“Good luck” she whispers.
I just nod and we stay like that for a while before she retreats again.
“Okay, I’ll just …” she starts and points behind herself.
“Yep”
“Don’t die or something … and get Ryan out of here in one piece, okay?”
I nod and she smiles one last time before she turns around to head towards her car. I stand there for a few minutes longer before I start walking towards the house again. When I reach it, it’s raining slightly and I unlock the door and walk in quickly.
“Why were you gone for so long?” a voice asks and when I look up, I see Ryan sitting on the railing.
His legs aren’t dangling this time and he doesn’t look happy at all.
“I’m sorry, we lost track of the time.” I say and start walking upstairs, never breaking eye contact. “What’s up with you today?”
He looks away immediately and then he’s suddenly standing next to me.
“How- ” I start but he simply steps forward and wraps his arms around my neck.
I don’t move for a moment before I slowly loop my arms around his hips.
“I’m scared.” He breathes out.
“I know … I am too.”
“I just want all of this to be over.”
“Me too”
We stay like this for what feels like hours before we break apart.
“We have to occupy ourselves with something.” I say and Ryan just nods. “Want me to play you a few songs?”
When he shakes his head I look away and we stand there awkwardly.
“We could … go through the other stuff in the boxes.” I say. “It would be something to do and maybe it will be fun.”
Ryan doesn’t respond straight away, but then he nods and I smile and tug him along.
*
We manage to occupy ourselves for two hours with going through that stuff. After that, Ryan asks me to play a few songs and that saves us from boredom for another two hours. After that we decide to go out for a while.
Ryan is walking a bit ahead of me and he seems to know exactly where to step. Either that or he doesn’t have to be careful about tripping because he’s a ghost or something. Anyway, I manage it to fall down at least three times. It makes Ryan laugh, so I may or may not trip on purpose another two times.
It doesn’t feel as if we spend hours out there.
We are walking along the small beach on the side of the island I didn’t see before. Ryan does this creepy thing where he lets his hand stay on the invisible wall while walking. I can’t stop staring. It looks as if there’s a wall of glass and he’s stroking his fingers along the surface.
“Mind to stop that?” I ask after a while and he flinches slightly and withdraws his hand immediately as if it hurts him.
“Sorry”
“It’s okay, it’s just … kind of creepy.”
“We should head back anyway.” He says, letting his gaze linger on the water.
“Why?”
“We have an hour left.”
“Oh”
“Yes … oh”
Chapter 11