#mountoaaron

A momentary flicker of fear and remembrance in his eyes, and Audrey felt a surge of triumph. It was always a contest with Aaron; always an adrenaline rush. There was no surrendering in this relationship. But, just as their fingers were entwined, so too were their fears — Audrey abhorred ghosts almost as much as Aaron did. Apparitions  couldn’t be bested in a fisticuffs; they couldn’t bleed, couldn’t hurt, couldn’t be triumphed over. In a battle between corporeal and incorporeal, the latter would always win.

But Aaron was Aaron, and as always his ego got the better of him. “You’re just scared,” he teased her, his tone cutting her to her very core. If she didn’t accept his challenge, he would win by forfeit — and she couldn’t have that. Their relationship relied on a struggle for power and dominance over the other, and Audrey was in no mood to let him win tonight.

Her heart beat slightly faster than usual, but she gripped his hand tightly, locking his gaze with her own. “I accept your dare,” she told him, keeping her tone as steady as possible. It was nearing Halloween and this cemetery wasn’t the nicest even in mid-April, let alone in the haunted month of October.

Persistent rumors spoke of vengeful spirits and the walking undead; of how many an adrenaline-filled teen had wandered through the graveyard on a dare only to suffer a fatal heartache as their gaze lit on the terrifying things that drifted amongst the tombstones. But she had to do this; she couldn’t back down. Not in front of Aaron — he would never let her live it down.

Audrey let out her breath, unaware she’d been holding it, and then, her hand still firmly clasping her boyfriend’s, stepped forward towards the graveyard, tugging Aaron forward as she did so. His hesitation was near-impercetible — after all, he'd suggested this dare; he couldn’t back down — but she felt it all the same.

The air was cold and their breath billowed out in foggy clouds and spirals as the two picked their way through the overgrown grass and unkempt pathway, an uncharacteristic silence falling between them. Both regretted this, but neither would admit defeat to the other. They were too stubborn, too hot-headed and reckless to do such a thing. 

The two were halfway through, the moon hanging low on the light-pricked velvet curtain that was the ink-black sky above, their main source of illumination. The streetlights from the street flickered in and out intermittently, some dimming without warning. Audrey’s pulse beat loud in her eardrums as she scanned the graveyard for movement, hands clutching Aaron’s arm for support.

Crack.

In a fit of fear-induced panic the redhead let go of her boyfriend’s arm, whirling around to find the source of the noise. There was nothing save the heavy fog that sat, thick and damp, over the little graveyard. 

"Aaron?" Her voice was unusually high and breathy, a catch in her throat. "Aaron I don’t like this. I give in; you win. Please can we just go home?" She reached a hand out for his, but when she didn’t feel it, she turned around.

He was gone.

Her imagination always the type prone to slipping into hyperdrive at even the slightest provocation, Audrey started to shake with the thought of what could have happened. Ghosts could have taken him; vampires; witches; zombies. Murderous thieves could have kidnapped him and slit his throat. He could have been taken to be used in a satanic ritual. She’d seen the movies.

"Aaron? Aaron!" Her breath coming now in a near-constant billowing cloud, her heart racing, Audrey began to pick up the pace, nearly tripping over a fallen headstone as she did so. This was just like in one of those horror movies, and Audrey didn’t like it one bit.

"Aaron, please? Where are you?" Tears started to well in her eyes as a cloud covered the moon and she was plunged into a moment of near-darkness. Her hands were clammy, her breath sharp and raggedy and so much faster than it should have been. 

She screamed louder than she’d ever thought possible when a hand landed on her shoulder.

“Fuck! Audrey, it’s me! I’m here!”

She turned around, eyes wide and face devoid of all colour, to see her boyfriend with his hands clamped over his ears and a grimace of pain on his face. “Fuck. I knew you were loud but gods, that takes the fucking cake. Kinda makes me wanna see if I can make you scream that loud.”

She glared at him, two spots of colour burning high on her cheeks. “You did make me scream that loud. Where the fuck were you?!”

He just shot her an arrogant smirk and held out his hand. “C’mon, I wanna show you something.”

She hesitated at his change in attitude, her mouth opening to ask him whether he’d been possessed, but fortunately her brain caught up before she said anything, and she closed her mouth with a snap, taking his hand and following him. 

His pace and posture had changed quite abruptly — he walked with purpose and ease, sidestepping bits of rubble and ( - was that bone?! - ) forgotten belongings, until they stood at the entrance to the mausoleum in the heart of the graveyard.

Audrey looked from Aaron to the mausoleum and back again, the cogs in her imagination working over-time. “Oh my gods, you’re gonna kill me.” It slipped out before she was even able to catch it, and Aaron gave her a look of amused disbelief. 

"… No, Audrey. I’m not going to kill you. Gods.”

"No, you are. You aren’t Aaron. Aaron’s scared of ghosts. And he doesn’t like graveyards. And he doesn’t know his way around graveyards. And —”

"Audrey, shut the fuck up and take my fucking hand before I leave you here."

She bit her lip, shakily taking her boyfriend’s ( - no no it’s a ghost possessing his body oh god im gonna die im gonna die im too pretty to die - ) hand as he pushed open the door of the mausoleum.

To her numb surprise it opened with ease. Gingerly and trembling, she stepped inside, expecting to be met with the three witches from Macbeth, or the demons from Insidious.

Instead, she was met with an altogether different sight.

Long, red candles lit up the inside of the mausoleum and a small table set for two sat in the middle of the near-cavernous stone building, two sparkling glasses of champagne being poured by a waiter in a very smart suit.

Audrey’s mouth dropped open and she looked at Aaron who was having trouble keeping the self-satisfied smirk off of his face.

"… What?"

Aaron gestured for Audrey to sit and he did the same, the waiter bowing deeply and opening a large hamper filled to the brim with foodstuffs.

"You said last time we went out that you wanted something creative next time, so —” Aaron spread his arms in an all-encompassing gesture.

"So you thought a mausoleum was a good idea?!”

"It’s mine. And I’m not dead yet, babe.”

Audrey stared at him for a long moment before her attention was caught by a glimpse of pomegranate arils in the salad the waiter had just been served.  

"We’re having dinner in a graveyard. A graveyard that you were scared to go in.”

A casual shrug met her words. “It’s ruining my reputation that a guy like me is scared of something as fucking insubstantial as ghosts.” There was a slight anger to his tone ( - wasnt there always? its aaron - ) that made Audrey think his earlier reactions of fear had been legitimate, much to his  chagrin.

"But it’s the haunted graveyard.”

"All the more reason for it to be the one to destroy the rumor that I’m not a fan of ghosts."

"But you aren’t.”

“Audrey.”

She heeded his tone, falling quiet for a moment. Then, picking up her fork, “So … people know we’re here? In the one graveyard that ninety-five percent of the school’s population refuse to enter? You planned this?”

He nodded. “But as far as they know, we’ll come out, victorious, having spent the last two hours wandering around in a graveyard they won’t enter, probably fucking against a headstone.”

She shot him a warning look, and he snickered. “They’re notto know we had dinner, nor that this is the mausoleum my dad bought for me for whatever the fuck reason he bought it. Probably to fucking show off or something.”

Audrey nodded lightly, picking at her salad. It was good, but she still felt a little uneasy at where they were eating, and she was still annoyed about what had happened earlier.

"Aaron?"

"Mhm?"

"Next time, can we just stay in and watch a movie?"

"S’long as it’s not the fucking Notebook.”