Pairing: Calum Hood/Ashton Irwin (platonic-ish)
Requested: yes by @mermaidcashton
Once the camera is set up on the tripod, Ashton hits the record button before joining his co-host on the plastic fold out chairs that they’ve placed near one of the bare brick walls in the vast draughty tunnel they were in. He pulls his leather jacket tighter around himself as he shuffles his chair a little closer to calum, just for warmth of course. Filming the ‘spooky’ episodes of their web series was his least favourite part of the job. He hated being up all night, walking around derelict buildings in freezing conditions. It wasn’t like they ever captured anything significant, they never would in Ashton’s opinion, because ghosts aren’t fucking real.
“You good?” Calum asks, his handsome face already displaying the tell-tale-signs that he was getting nervous. Although Ashton knew that the supernatural side of their work is where Calum’s heart lay, there was no denying that the guy was a fucking wuss.
Ashton smiles fondly at his friend as he nods. “You wanna do the intro, bro?” He asks.
“I guess...” Calum replies with a hesitant smile. “What’s this place called again?” He shivers slightly and Ashton’s not entirely convinced that it’s just because his friend is cold.
Placing a hand on Calum’s shoulder, in what he hopes is a comforting gesture, Ashton replies “The Shanghai Tunnels, Cal.” He squeezes his friend’s shoulder gently. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem even more creeped out than usual.”
Calum waves his hand in a dismissive gesture as he smiles and attempts to adopt a calm expression before turning to the camera. “Hi, guys.” He says with (in Ashton’s opinion) very false bravado. “Tonight we’re investigating the Shanghai tunnels in Portland, Oregon.”
A dull thud further down the tunnel, sounds, drawing Calum’s attention away from the camera. Ashton picks up the slack easily, staring into the camera with his trademark smirk. “That’s right, we might have outdone ourselves on the creepy location this time!”
Calum lets out a laugh as he returns his attention to the camera. “Yeah, these dark tunnels are the perfect place to continue our quest to answer the question. Are ghosts real?”
Silently, Ashton presses his lips together and shakes his head in a sort of long suffering ‘of course there fucking isn’t’ gesture.
As always, Calum rolls his eyes before lurching into a short summery of the history of the tunnels. Ashton listens with interest, learning about the the dark past of the places they visit is always his favourite part of these trips. He interjects occasionally, trying to add a little light humour to break up all of the talk about the not so cheery topic of human trafficking.
“So it’s safe to assume that any spirits hiding down here are probably either gonna be more scared of us than we are of them, or they’re gonna be pretty fucking nasty pieces of work.” Ashton asks with a slight chuckle. “Anyone that sold men to work in horrific conditions on ships, are not gonna be the nicest of souls.”
Calum agrees with a slight nod. “I don’t think anyone’s gonna disagree with you on that, Ash.” He replies. “I just hope they stay the hell away from me, to be honest.”
Despite the apparent fear in Calum’s face, Ashton can’t help but laugh at his friend. “Then what the fuck are we doing here, dude?” He snorts. “We’re never gonna catch a ghost on tape if they stay away from us! I thought we were supposed to invite them towards us!”
Calum visibly shudders. Ashton’s used to his friend being scared at places like this but Calum’s particularly rattled tonight for some reason. Forgetting about the camera for a moment Ashton places a hand on Calum’s shoulder. “Are you sure you’re alright, buddy?” He asks cautiously. “Do you need to take a break before we film the next part?”
Shaking his head, Calum straightens himself in his chair. “I’m good, this place just gives me the creeps.”
It’s impossible for Ashton to stop a smirk from spreading across his face. “You say that about every damn place we visit!” His slightly raised voice echoes around the cavernous room as he chuckles.
Calum glares at his friend. “Well this place just has...” He shivers again. “I dunno, it feels oppressive even though it’s such an open space.”
Despite his skepticism about all things supernatural, Ashton has to agree with his co-host. Even the biggest cynic in the world couldn’t deny that these tunnels were creepy as fuck. He nods, offering Calum a small smile “you sure you don’t wanna take a break?” He asks, kindly.
Shaking his head Calum returns the smile. “I’m all good.” He sighs, as though steadying himself. “Let’s go hunt some ghosts.”
There’s no reason for him to do it, and deep down he knows he really shouldn’t, but Ashton’s mouth has a mind of it’s own and before he can stop himself he’s almost yelling intto the black depths of the tunnel that surrounds them. “Hear that, fuckers? We’re coming for you!” When he turns back to his friend, Calum is wearing his typical ‘why are you like this?’ expression on his face. “What?” Ashton asks with a giggle, we’re much more likely to catch a ghost on camera if they’re pissed at me!” He argues.
Calum shakes his head, looking mildly more cheerfully as he gets up from his chair and walks over to the camera. “You know that ‘humour’ is just a defence mechanism ‘cos you’re scared, don’t you?” He asks over his shoulder before flicking off the camera.
It’s understandable why Calum would think that, Ashton knows that it’s a common belief. The truth is though (even though he’d never say it out loud) was that he antagonises the ‘spirits’ and ‘demons’ during their investigations, not because he fears them, but because he wants to make Calum laugh. If being aggressive towards the supposed restless souls of the Shanghai tunnels had the side effect of making Calum a little clingy, well Ashton is more than okay with that.
Send us spooky!sos requests
romaincrisis
tangentwithtanner
germansingergirl
titsay
gracieabrams
areudirty
2087
