Nightmare Vacation

My family and I have moved to the countryside to do something new. After arrival, nobody was home, no family members to greet us. We walked around the house and it felt strangely unfamiliar.

One night while I was lying in bed, the door started slamming open and shut, haunted. The next day when we tried to call for my sister*, all the incoming calls were persistently cut off (unable to send/receive data service).

We end up meeting with a nosy neighbor who told my dad that we're demons because of how upset I get when I can't contact my sister. Neighbor calls the cops and we run away in the darkness before they catch us. * sometimes spelled "sister" A nosy neighbor who told my dad that we're demons because of how upset I get when I can't contact my sister. Neighbor calls the cops and we run away in the darkness before they catch us. .""Why didn't you leave the country?" he asks."If we left, my dad would be upset and I don't want that," I reply. "He's not mad at me, he's just mad because other people are saying bad things about us." I suppose that's true. My dad wouldn't be mad about me, but he would be upset because we've been ruining his reputation."What happens if we stay here?" I ask."My mom is going to get a new job," Seth says. "She can find something else.""That sounds good," I say. "I think you should probably tell your dad that too.""Yeah," Seth replies reluctantly. "We're going to have to cut some out of our allowance though.""How much ?""Two hundred bucks a month," he says. "I think that's okay.""I agree!" I say excitedly. "That sounds like a great idea.""Yeah, but after the first two months, we'll have to work for it again."Seth chews on his lower lip thoughtfully. His eyes are wide and bright with excitement. The look on his face makes me feel warm inside."You know what?" he asks suddenly."What?" I ask back."We could really do it. We could have a real Christmas celebration at the beach this year.""We're doing it," I tell him with a smile, and he grins for the first time since his dad's call.Seth chews on his lower lip thoughtfully. His eyes are wide and bright with excitement. The look on his face makes me feel warm inside. You know what?" he asks suddenly."What?" I ask back."We could really do it. We could really do this." He says, a gleam in his eye.I don't know what he means. "What's that?" I ask him."We could make it work for a little while," he continues, "Maybe until we graduate, or at least until you finish your degree.""Graduate?" I repeat dumbly.My heart flutters with joy and excitement as he nods vigorously at me."Yes! Graduate then move to France together!"He jumps up excitedly and wraps his arms around me, laughing happily. "It's a date!""It's not a date!" I hiss for the third time this morning."In that case, it is. I have to meet your parents tonight at dinner, so it'll be fine! But I'm going to go shower and then we can go over everything.""No wait-"I hold up my hands in defense as he walks away. If my mother finds out about this she will have a heart attack, or at least that's what I fear. My father will be the only one who is any help, but my confidence in that regard is practically non-existent."I'm going to go take a shower," Will says quietly from the other side of the door.Like usual, he's not done with his usual teasing and when he steps out into the living room, I give him a big smile as soon as I catch sight of him."So what time are you coming home tonight?""I don't know... yet," I tell him with a shrug. "I'll text you when I do.""Alright," he says, getting a sly smile on his face. "You know, you could come home sooner if you wanted to and I wouldn't get mad.""Sure thing, Lucius Malfoy," I say sarcastically as we walk through the halls of Hogwarts."So what time are... Muggles closing?" I ask him on the way back up to Gryffindor Tower."Around five o' clock," he says, glancing at the wall clock."We should just make it for the feast then," I say with a smile. "After all, I'm sure Hermione doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun!"We finally make it back to our dorm and shut the door behind us. I take off my boots and go sit on my bed. Still in his muggle clothes, Malfoy sets himself down next to me."I have something for you," he says, reaching into his pocket to pull out a silver locket.It is the most elaborate locket that I have ever seen, with a huge golden crown engraved in the center and intricate engravings running around it."What's this?" I ask, flipping it over to see what is engraved on the back. It says 'Believe.' "It looks like you're trying to say something," I tell him."Oh, just some nonsense," Malfoy shrugs. "Just a reminder that dreams can come true , you know?"There's a pause while Malfoy continues to stare at me. "I'm not sure if I agree with that," he finally says."Why not?"I glance at the others, and they're all looking at me expectantly too. "I don't think it always works like that," I say carefully."Care to tell us what you think might happen if your dream does come true?"Pansy asks, leaning forward eagerly.Wait - this is their dream? Suddenly my stomach is doing flips. "The best part of the story isn't even over yet," I say."I can't wait to read it. It sounds exciting!""And so romantic," Pansy adds, her eyes sparkling."That's what it's about.""Oh, don't get me wrong, I think that's all very nice and sweet, but we're not actually in this story. We're just reading the book."Pansy looks crestfallen for a moment before her expression returns to deviousness. "I guess Mr. Prongs has told you about the time he made me scream, then?""Actually, it was the other way around."Draco shrugs and smiles at her. "He winced when I mentioned it.""Is that all you're going to say?""What do you want me to say? I'm not telling Pansy Granger secrets." He smirks at her and sips his drink again.Pansy glares at him, and realizes he's teasing her. "You better not," she says. "I've heard some things about your mother.""What things?" he asks."Oh, nothing much," Pansy says quickly before downing her drink and getting to the bar."Come on," Draco says, grabbing her wrist. "You'll get another one if you tell me.""No!""Fine," Draco sighs. "But I still think it might be good for you to talk a little ."Draco glances at the clouds and then back down at Harry’s lap. "I don't think we'll catch many fish today," he says quietly."Yeah, I suppose not," Harry agrees, still staring out over the water."You don't want to talk?""No-""But you said you were going to."Harry sighs and looks over at Draco. He's sitting on his heels with his legs dangling in the water, looking elegant as ever despite not having a shirt on and looking like he's about to kiss the ground with his mouth."Good morning." Mitsuki greets."Good morning, Kiryuu-kun." I reply, nodding my head respectfully. I'm just not going to bother asking why he's not wearing a shirt this time around.Mitsuki waits for me to sit down before crossing his legs over each other and turning so that he can look across the water at me while still sitting on his side of the river. "She's one of the most talented students I've seen in recent years," he says, tapping a finger on his leg. "I imagine she'll be a great teacher."His eyes flick back to me once more before turning away again and he adds, "Don't worry about anything, Yuu. Just go with it."There's something in his tone that tells me not to worry about anything and I don't really know what that means but I nod anyway and let him lead me away from the school.The sun is slowly setting and it's starting to get dark. I didn't think about what time it was and I'm almost positive Yuu's keeping track of time, so he just had to grab my hand."Where are we going?""It's a surprise."I can only hear his voice in my head, but before I can even ask anymore questions he starts talking again. "You already said you wanted to try new things, so let's try Unsafe." I frown and squeeze his hand. "I don't want to do anything that's not safe."He squeezes my hand back. "It'll be fun, I promise."I groan at the name of 'Unsafe.'Lolita sticks her head out from her room as soon as we get in and starts talking a mile a minute about what she likes to do when she goes here with us. I tune out most of what she's saying, but every once in a while something catches my attention.Trying to keep up with her, I find myself nervously twirling a strand of hair around my finger as we enter the parking lot."Ah, here's our ride."Lolita points to a beat up old yellow car. I walk over to it and reach out my hand for the handle, but nothing happens. "Um...is it broken?""Nah, just checking if you're ready or not," Lolita says with a smirk as she hops into the passenger seat."Ready for what?" I ask curiously."To go, silly! Get in!"I ease into the driver's seat and turn the key in the ignition. As soon as it turns over, the car roars to life and I take off towards Lolita's house.