Page 29 of Haunted Mediation
James’ breath hitched. Really, it seemed like they might both suck at breathing.
“Poor Yarmen,” James said.
Leon pulled back and shook his head as he grabbed James’ hand. “Don’t ‘poor Yarmen’ me. He’s gotten more love and attention since meeting you than any cat needs.”
“He deserves it,” James said as he easily allowed Leon to guide them through the remainder of the room.
“I deserve it,” Leon grumbled.
Another bat went soaring by their head, shrieking as it went, but Leon could have sworn he heard James whisper, “You do.”
They made it into the sea monster room, and James let out another adorable giggle. The room was…ridiculous. It was painted in dark swirling blues and purples and full of campy Loch Ness Monster memorabilia. There wasn’t anything remotely scary about it.
“What the fuck?—”
“Let’s go!” James cried, suddenly filled with confidence and nothing but smiles.
He dragged Leon forward by his hand, and they ran through the remainder of the room, the pop-ups and flying sea monsters making them laugh and shove at each other until finally they burst out into the dark night.
Leon hadn’t given any thought to the end of the haunted house, but he had no idea there would be more waiting for them outside. There were stations set up all around another courtyard and a big sign that said “Reward yourself with some treats—no tricks!”
He looked around, trying to find Hailey, until James pointed to the other side of the courtyard where Hailey was standing with her friends. If Leon squinted, he could make out her hand intertwined with Catwoman’s.
“Oh my fucking god,” Leon said, preparing to charge down the stairs towards her, but James squeezed his hand.
“I know you’re protective of her, and I know we did sort of explicitly warn her against this, but…I don’t think we really have a leg to stand on here, baby,” James said.
Fuck that word on James’ kissed pink lips didn’t make Leon’s body tingle. It made him feel like he’d been struck by lightning.
“Uh…yeah,” Leon said as James pulled him down the stairs.
Orange lights were strung across the courtyard, and unlike out front, where it had added a creepy feeling to the haunted house’s facade, here, they were warm and inviting. There were around ten stalls, all featuring Halloween treats, ranging from cauldrons of candy to hot apple cider and ghost-shaped rice cereal treats.
James led them to the first stand on the right, which held the cider. He grabbed a styrofoam cup and handed it to Leon before grabbing his own.
Leon raised an eyebrow, and James shrugged. “Don’t try to pretend like you don’t love fall drinks.”
Leon took a sip, the spices and tart apple exploding on his taste buds. This was the real deal, not the powdered stuff a lot of events tried to get away with serving. It also may or may not have tasted better becausehis Jamesgot it for him.
They kept walking around the circle, and Leon gripped the cup between his teeth so he could snatch up a bag of chocolate covered pretzels and a bag of candy. He quickly pocketed them as James pursed his lips.
“Don’t try to pretend like you don’t love chocolate. These are for later.”
James ducked his head, and Leon pulled him along. They avoided Hailey’s group, letting her spend time with her friends while they enjoyed the impromptu trick-or-treating. After they finished their drinks, James grabbed them orange cranberry muffins—which, for some reason, made him blush—and Leon shamelessly picked up some pumpkin spice cookies.
“I think they might be finishing up,” James said.
Leon looked over to see Hailey hugging Zach, Batman, and the M&Ms before she turned and looked around the courtyard.
For some reason, James tried to let go of Leon’s hand, but Leon wasn’t having it. He lifted their joined hands and waved to get her attention.
He pretended like she was too far away for him to see thewaytoo pleased looking grin on her face.
They met in the middle of the courtyard, and Hailey introduced them both to Catwoman, a.k.a. Trina.
“Do you have a ride home, Trina?” Leon asked, anticipating Hailey’s eyeroll and pointedly not looking at her.
Trina was around 5 feet tall, the cat ears giving her an additional two inches, with long obsidian hair on one side and a stark undercut on the other. She smiled indulgently at Leon as she shook her head no. “I only live around a ten minute walk from here. I was actually going to walk Hailey home and then walk back.”
