Dusky
Succubus
It had been a good party. Jonah hadn't wanted to leave his room, but Ria, ever the social butterfly, talked him into it. Privately, he was glad she did, which she knew of course. The fireworks had been wonderful, perfectly synchronized against the starry sky. The Keyes property was rather large, and could easily hold the family reunion happening in the front lawn while accommodating the berth that lit fireworks demanded.
And of course it wasn't just family. The twins had been given the opportunity to invite friends, which Ria had taken to mean, "Have the whole school over!" Debedo High wouldn't turn down the chance to see the Keyes property, no matter how annoying and antisocial Ria and Jonah came off as, respectively. This was because the "property" was, in fact, more like a villa, or more accurately a manor. The winding driveway alone was a mile or so long.
This large area was filled with people, and Ria wound her way through the crowd, talking to anyone who'd listen while dragging Jonah by the hand. She would bring up the most meaningless topics. Like the weather. "Isn't this the perfect day for fireworks, I mean it's so clear, not a cloud in the sky, and the stars almost look like fireworks themselves, right Jonah, and then for July the temperature's really nice, I don't think I'm sweating at all, how about you, oh I know, right?" And on and on the girl would go, until her victim managed to wriggle its way out of her claws.
Jonah, however, preferred this to the alternative. If all of Debedo High was here, than so was Svetta, the student from a Ukrainian family, who was always throwing herself at him.
As if fate had a sense of humor, as it probably does, Svetta appeared to them after the fireworks show, making her way through the crowd to get at Jonah.
"Jooooneeessyyyyyy!" she squealed, making Ria shudder. Jonah looked decidedly uncomfortable as Svetta latched onto his arm. It was sickening, really, to watch her so blatantly lay herself on him, squeezing his arm between her breast and bending her knee between his legs ever so slightly. Svetta was not an unattractive girl by any means; she had long legs and was working the miniskirt she wore now. Jonah, however, had little patience for other human beings, and even less respect for Svetta. Of course, he was too quiet to say so.
"Hey," Svetta giggled, "I was thinking, there's sure a lot of room on this property to be alo-"
Ria came to the rescue, grabbing Jonah's other arm and saying, "Welp, wesurearetiredNIGHT!" She took off, successfully wrenching Jonah from the evil's grip. In response to the string of profanity directed at her, she just flashed a peace sign over her shoulder, which only added fuel to the fire.
Ria energetically bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time until Jonah begged her to slow down. He couldn't keep up with her liveliness, it was like Grandpa trying to chase a 3-year-old. Jonah sighed in relief when she complied. "Thanks for saving me," he told her, some of the first words he'd said all evening.
She let go of his hand and swung open the door to their room, smiling back at him. "Hey, any time, bro."
Jonah fell into bed, exhausted by the escape. He dimly was aware of Ria yawning and saying, "All of a sudden I'm pretty tired after all..." The last bit was lost to him, as he was already asleep. Ria followed soon after.
Ria came floating back into consciousness and was dimly aware of how hard her bed had become. Not yet wanting to wake up, she tried to snuggle deeper into her pillow and pull the covers tighter around her. However, she smelled only dirt and dust rather than the lingering scent of her shampoo on her pillow, and the weight of her blanket over her shoulders was missing. That was when the hook set; her mind came reeling back from the depths of her murky sleep and snapped into the comparatively cold, crisp air. She sat up abruptly, making skidding noises on what she now identified as not a mattress but rather a wooden floor. It was pitch black, but she felt well-rested despite her late retirement the night before. What time could it possibly be?
She wondered if she was dreaming, than winced. She always woke up as soon as she realized she was dreaming, and it appeared that nothing would change her surroundings despite the question echoing in her head. No, this certainly wasn't a dream. She started to grow worried and reached over the space between her bed and her twin's, trying to take his hand, til she realized once again that they weren't in their beds. In fact, she couldn't see him anywhere.
"Jonah!" she shouted, scrambling to her feet as anxiety truly set in. She looked around her; as the eyes adjusted to the darkness she could see at least a dozen other sleeping forms. One of them had to be Jonah, there was no way she could be in such a strange place without him...
"Jonah!" she called again, and saw one of the sleeping forms move to get up.
"Jonah?!" She felt like a parrot, not able to say anything but his name. She ran towards him, accidentally kicking several people in the process, but their complaints were lost to her. She barreled into the risen figure, knocking him down again; it was indeed Jonah.
"Ssshhh, ssshhh, I'm here," he said, holding her close and rubbing her back lightly. "It's me, it's Jonah, there's no need to make a big fuss - are you crying?"
"Noooooo," Ria lied, sniffling.
Around them, the other people had started to move; as they began realizing where they were, or rather where they weren't, some exclamations of shock went up in the cold air. The building had a high domed roof, and at one end, an enormous set of heavy-looking double-doors. On the other end there was a platform. A stage. What show was about to take place?
And of course it wasn't just family. The twins had been given the opportunity to invite friends, which Ria had taken to mean, "Have the whole school over!" Debedo High wouldn't turn down the chance to see the Keyes property, no matter how annoying and antisocial Ria and Jonah came off as, respectively. This was because the "property" was, in fact, more like a villa, or more accurately a manor. The winding driveway alone was a mile or so long.
This large area was filled with people, and Ria wound her way through the crowd, talking to anyone who'd listen while dragging Jonah by the hand. She would bring up the most meaningless topics. Like the weather. "Isn't this the perfect day for fireworks, I mean it's so clear, not a cloud in the sky, and the stars almost look like fireworks themselves, right Jonah, and then for July the temperature's really nice, I don't think I'm sweating at all, how about you, oh I know, right?" And on and on the girl would go, until her victim managed to wriggle its way out of her claws.
Jonah, however, preferred this to the alternative. If all of Debedo High was here, than so was Svetta, the student from a Ukrainian family, who was always throwing herself at him.
As if fate had a sense of humor, as it probably does, Svetta appeared to them after the fireworks show, making her way through the crowd to get at Jonah.
"Jooooneeessyyyyyy!" she squealed, making Ria shudder. Jonah looked decidedly uncomfortable as Svetta latched onto his arm. It was sickening, really, to watch her so blatantly lay herself on him, squeezing his arm between her breast and bending her knee between his legs ever so slightly. Svetta was not an unattractive girl by any means; she had long legs and was working the miniskirt she wore now. Jonah, however, had little patience for other human beings, and even less respect for Svetta. Of course, he was too quiet to say so.
"Hey," Svetta giggled, "I was thinking, there's sure a lot of room on this property to be alo-"
Ria came to the rescue, grabbing Jonah's other arm and saying, "Welp, wesurearetiredNIGHT!" She took off, successfully wrenching Jonah from the evil's grip. In response to the string of profanity directed at her, she just flashed a peace sign over her shoulder, which only added fuel to the fire.
Ria energetically bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time until Jonah begged her to slow down. He couldn't keep up with her liveliness, it was like Grandpa trying to chase a 3-year-old. Jonah sighed in relief when she complied. "Thanks for saving me," he told her, some of the first words he'd said all evening.
She let go of his hand and swung open the door to their room, smiling back at him. "Hey, any time, bro."
Jonah fell into bed, exhausted by the escape. He dimly was aware of Ria yawning and saying, "All of a sudden I'm pretty tired after all..." The last bit was lost to him, as he was already asleep. Ria followed soon after.
Ria came floating back into consciousness and was dimly aware of how hard her bed had become. Not yet wanting to wake up, she tried to snuggle deeper into her pillow and pull the covers tighter around her. However, she smelled only dirt and dust rather than the lingering scent of her shampoo on her pillow, and the weight of her blanket over her shoulders was missing. That was when the hook set; her mind came reeling back from the depths of her murky sleep and snapped into the comparatively cold, crisp air. She sat up abruptly, making skidding noises on what she now identified as not a mattress but rather a wooden floor. It was pitch black, but she felt well-rested despite her late retirement the night before. What time could it possibly be?
She wondered if she was dreaming, than winced. She always woke up as soon as she realized she was dreaming, and it appeared that nothing would change her surroundings despite the question echoing in her head. No, this certainly wasn't a dream. She started to grow worried and reached over the space between her bed and her twin's, trying to take his hand, til she realized once again that they weren't in their beds. In fact, she couldn't see him anywhere.
"Jonah!" she shouted, scrambling to her feet as anxiety truly set in. She looked around her; as the eyes adjusted to the darkness she could see at least a dozen other sleeping forms. One of them had to be Jonah, there was no way she could be in such a strange place without him...
"Jonah!" she called again, and saw one of the sleeping forms move to get up.
"Jonah?!" She felt like a parrot, not able to say anything but his name. She ran towards him, accidentally kicking several people in the process, but their complaints were lost to her. She barreled into the risen figure, knocking him down again; it was indeed Jonah.
"Ssshhh, ssshhh, I'm here," he said, holding her close and rubbing her back lightly. "It's me, it's Jonah, there's no need to make a big fuss - are you crying?"
"Noooooo," Ria lied, sniffling.
Around them, the other people had started to move; as they began realizing where they were, or rather where they weren't, some exclamations of shock went up in the cold air. The building had a high domed roof, and at one end, an enormous set of heavy-looking double-doors. On the other end there was a platform. A stage. What show was about to take place?
