𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗
3𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐯

now loading... act three !

       — YOU KNOW THAT FEELING of being watched? The hairs on your arms raise, maybe you can feel the eyes on you. Something in the back of your mind screams--

DANGER

Jasper twisted his body around in search of the source of the sound, a blood curdling scream. His eyes landed on the window, where a shadowy figure stood, watching him.

"Hey!" He called out moving forward, a flicker of light and the face is revealed its — him? He frowned, confused. He took another step forward. "Who are you?" He asked urgent and curious, because his own eyes stared back at him but something in them was different.

Another sound and he turns to find it, but there's nothing to be found. He turned back to the window — the figure is gone.

A wicked laughter rings in his ears the sort that sends chills down your spine when you're not already freaked out — when you are freaked out, well, you know those cartoon cats who jump like they've been electrocuted? That's about Jasper's reaction.

His body twists in a circle but still there is nothing tangible to be found, and he doesn't want to admit he knows what this is. Doesn't want to acknowledge the call from the spirits — from the darkness that has always followed him.

His grandmother warned him about this, but she didn't need to. He knew the dangers of the darkness and yet still he answered its call every time.

"You can't hurt me!" He called into the darkness, unafraid of sounding insane to the people in the other hotel rooms.

"Can't I?" A voice challenged it was wispy and light with an air of danger — this was a game to the person, his mind numbing fear was nothing but a game and something about that made Jasper dizzy.

Suddenly the floor seemed to disappear below him, melting, twisting turning into something different. He was no longer in his quaint but utterly normal hotel room, but rather on the porch of an old seemingly abandoned house that had perhaps once been a home but now held dark secrets and shadows around every corner.

He stumbled forward as the front door blew open and found a figure waiting for him in the doorway, "It's time." The air seemed to whisper or perhaps it was the figure, cloaked in an unnatural sort of darkness.

Jasper stared at the figure, breathless. Every bone in his body was on edge, he wanted to run, scream do something to get away from here but his feet were glued to the spot. He was stuck — trapped just like—

Oh.

He looked at the figure in a new light, because he knew, this was the spirit, the darkness that made his grams terrified of losing him too. This was beyond a dark spirit messing with a medium, this was a spirit who wants revenge.

"You're the one she warned me about."

The figure tilted its head and a sense of dread filled Jasper.

The figure only took a single step forward before Jasper lurched awake in his hotel room bed, the cheap mattress springs squeaking against the sudden movement as he breathed heavily, his body curling inwards until he cradled his head in his arms.

Calming his breath, he lifted his head, threw off the covers and decided he needed out.

He swung open the hotel room door without a plan and without even realizing made his way to Colby's room across the hall without even a thought. His hand shook as he raised it to the door and knocked; once, twice.

The door opened not even a minute later but it wasn't Colby's ocean blue eyes contrasted by dark hair that met him. "Jasper!" Sam called with a kind smile and surprised eyes.

"Sorry," Jasper began to apologize immediately, stepping back, "I didn't know— I don't want to interrupt."

Sam's brows furrowed as Colby came up behind him, his shoulders tense at the sound of Jasper's voice trembling.

"Jasper." Colby called gently, "What are you doing awake?"

And Jasper froze. Because what is he meant to say? I think a spirit is coming after me. I know because it taunted me in my dreams. Sam and Colby may be paranormal investigators but even they had their limits. He shook his head, "Just — needed air."

Colby's brows creased and he moved forward, past Sam until he was right in front of Jasper. "Are you okay?" He asked softly.

"Yeah." Jasper forced out and then repeated like some sort of affirmation because he wasn't okay but he had to be, "Yeah. I'm — I'll just go back to my room."

"No." Colby called immediately, instinctively moving further, closer, like he wanted to grab Jasper and pull him in. Usually this would comfort Jasper but he could feel the shadows creeping up, they tried to grab him too, pull him down. Was this another nightmare? Would Colby twist and turn into some sort of shadow?

Colby's eyes flickered to Sam and then back to Jasper, shaking his head, "No." he repeated more calmly, "Stay, please."

"I shouldn't—"

"He's not gonna give up. Why don't you stay?" Sam chimed in, his eyes scanning the pair, "We're doing research for tomorrow." He told him, offering a smile before he admitted, "Couldn't sleep either."

Jasper nodded and allowed Colby to reach out, grabbing hold of his hand and pulling him into the room when Jasper found he couldn't make himself move. Sam was already moving towards the bed, completely oblivious — or perhaps he simply didn't care — to the way Colby held Jasper's hand, and Jasper squeezed, holding it tighter, as though scared Colby may disappear.

"Are you okay?" Colby asked again as ocean eyes met his, he couldn't lie.

"Not really." Jasper admitted quietly, shifting on the balls of his feet at the admission, "I just... don't want to be alone right now."

Colby nodded because he had no clue what that meant but he could work with it. Pulling him in closer, he hesitated with their lips mere inches apart and instead brought the blonde in for a hug. "You're not alone." He whispered, a promise, "You're safe."

Finally, Jasper relaxed.

A moment later, Colby pulled away and guided him over to where he and Sam had set out their laptops and phones. Jasper's eyes focused on the headline on Colby's screen, THE BRIAR HOUSE MURDER.

Of course. How could he forget? They were going to the Briar House tomorrow, the same one his grams warned him about and — his eyes narrowed in on the picture, the words blurring because why did that porch seem so familiar?

"This place has a lot of dark history." Sam told them, glancing up from his laptop as Jasper sat down beside Colby on the queen sized bed. "I can't believe we never heard about it."

"It's further from home." Jasper reminded, ignoring the way the hairs on his arms raised and guilt trickled in at the lie. He had heard about it all his life. Only recently had he discovered its name, but this house had haunted him his entire life.

Sam hummed, and nodded, "Still." He clicked on the screen, and continued, "It's really interesting, but so morbid."

"We can't find any specific number of deaths here." Colby told him, "It ranges from zero to fifty, or more. Nobody can agree on how many people died here because sometimes they just go into the house and disappear."

"No body, no crime." Jasper grinned despite the bitter taste to his words. "My grams is from this town, grew up right down the street from this place and she doesn't even know how many people died there."

"Your grams grew up here?" Colby asked curiously, Jasper nodded and his brows furrowed though really it made sense. Gramma Jett had always been a bit... eccentric, strange. He guessed growing up near one of the most haunted houses would do that.

"Her and her siblings." Jasper nodded, "My mom was born here too, but they moved right after." He swallowed and didn't add that his grams didn't want another Jett to live and die in this town, another nameless person.

And that was that. They nodded and moved on, Colby offered Jasper his laptop so he could look up some of the history too, but Jasper only stared at the page, taking in none of the words because he still felt eyes on him, his hairs still raised and—

"Jasper."

He blinked, it was just him and Colby. He frowned, "Where did Sam go?"

"Bed." Colby responded, grabbing his laptop off Jasper's lap gently, closing it before pushing it aside, "It's late." He told him, his brows furrowed in worry, "You seem really out of it."

"Just tired." Jasper lied, "I should go."

"Stay?" Colby called before he could stop himself. "I mean. If you want to you could just... stay here. It's late and you said—"

"My rooms right across the hall." Jasper reminded with a gentle laugh.

"But you said you didn't want to be alone and maybe," Colby's eyes fell on Jasper's lips, "Maybe I don't want to be either."

Oh.

Jasper stared, speechless. What was he meant to say or do? Such a simple statement and yet it made him feel more wanted than ever before.

"We don't have to— I just mean to sleep." Colby smiled sheepishly when Jasper didn't respond, "Kinda missed waking up to you, my baby blue."

How?

How was a man meant to say no to that?

"Okay." Jasper agreed, "Yeah. I want to stay." I don't want to be alone, "Please."

"You can stay—" forever, Colby didn't say, "as long as you want."

Jasper swallowed thickly, "What— what is this?" He asked quietly, "What are we, Colby?"

"What do you want to be?"

Jasper scowled, "I don't want to be a secret or some — experiment. I mean... Do you even really like guys?"

Colby shrugged and said, "I like who I like." Like it was simple. Maybe it was. He moved forward, "And I really like you, Jasper Jett."

"You can't." Jasper shook his head defiantly.

"Why?" Colby questioned, "I was ready to be with you when we were kids, I was ready to shout it out for the whole town to hear. Why can't I now?"

Jasper shook his head, even as he felt his defenses fall, "We aren't kids anymore."

"We aren't." He agreed, "You don't have to leave this time. I won't let you leave like that." He titled his head then, "What are you so scared of?"

Everything, Jasper nearly responded and instead stayed quiet, because he could no longer feel the eyes on him but he knew whatever it was, it was still watching. Like it always had.

"Why are you scared of me loving you?" Colby pushed further, jolting Jasper who stared at him in shock.

"Love?" He questioned quietly, his eyes wide.

Colby shook his head, "Let's just go to bed, Jasper."

Again Jasper was jolted — this time back into reality. He nodded, beginning to stumble off the bed, "Yeah right, okay, I'll leave."

"Stay." Colby replied simply. And Jasper didn't have it in him to argue anymore, so he just nodded and agreed, letting Colby lead him into a more comfortable position. He kept space between the two, even as their bodies drifted together instinctively.

"We have to talk about this." Jasper pointed out in the defeaning silence of the hotel room.

Colby hummed, nodding in agreement before he shook his head, "Not now."

Jasper's hand drifted to Colby's and they intertwined on top of the bed sheets, he agreed, "Not now."

—'✧˖*°࿐
𝟏,𝟗𝟓𝟓 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬