Willow Road

“Dare.” Mo said, a smile planted on her lips.

Niall pursed his together as he thought of the perfect dare. “I dare you and Harry to spend the night in the abandoned house at the end of Willow Road.” Harry’s eyebrows rose in interest as his name was brought up.

“That’s an extensive dare, Niall. You couldn’t just have me make out with a hot dog?” Everyone laughed as Monica rolled her eyes.

“If I did that, there would be one less for me to eat.” He stuck his tongue out at the blonde. “Well, you going to do it or are you going to chicken out and earn the title of Ultimate Pussy?”

“That’s an offensive name. I don’t know why I play with you guys.” Her green eyes moved toward her two best friends, Mel and Tabitha. “Is this seriously what I have to do?” She turned her attention back to Niall.

Niall smiled, “Yup. You and Harry for the night in the house.”

Mo sighed, “Fine. Louis are you okay with this?” She asked her boyfriend.

“Yeah, I trust you. Let’s see how well you last with Hazza’s ‘humor’ for an entire night.”

“Remember, an entire night. We will be back at 7 to get you guys. That’s 9 hours.” Niall smiled at the two. Monica pulled at the sleeves of her large mint colored sweater, feeling uncomfortable with the house. It looked just like any other house. Like a family could be living there, but they knew for a fact that no one did. Some family would move in and move out maybe a week later. The last family didn’t last the week. They were in and out in a few days.

With the track record the house held, it scared her. Monica looked at Louis and sighed. “I hate this already.” Louis laughed and kissed her quickly. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She turned back to Harry and linked her arm with his. “I swear I will kill you if you try to scare me too much.”

The two turned to their friends one last time and said their goodnights. They quietly snuck up to one of the windows and slide it opened. “Ladies first.” Harry smiled and presented the window to Monica.

“Stupidity before intelligence, my friend.” Monica raised an eyebrow and smiled back at the curly haired boy.

“Ouch, I’ll take it though.” He grabbed the window pane and hopped into the darkness. He turned quickly and held out his hand. Monica grabbed it quickly and climbed in as well. “Careful, there is something to your right.” He moved back and let Mo stand up. She blindly felt around, running her fingers over a wooden surface.

“Have the torches?” She asked facing the direction Harry was in. He flipped on his torch and handed her one. “Thanks. Now, please don’t be a jerk tonight.” She commanded.

She moved the light around the room. They had crawled in the dining room, a table with 8 chairs around it sat in the middle of the room. A china cabinet was placed to her right. She gracefully walked past Harry and into the room across the hall from the dining room. She found herself in the kitchen. A small table sat in the center of the kitchen. The whole place was nearly furnished, including a knife and cutting board placed near the sink.

She turned, nearly running into Harry. “Damn it, do you have to stand so close?” Harry let out a laugh and shrugged. Monica rolled her eyes and continued in the hallways, stopping to look at the staircase beside the kitchen. Next to that was the living room. A beat up leather couch sat in the corner, a broken coffee table in front of it. Beside that there was a bookshelf, empty, hanging on the wall, then an entertainment center with a broken TV on the floor. The only other things in the room were side tables and a chair.

Monica turned to the door across from the living room; she opened it and found a home office, the desk covered in papers, pens, folders and paperclips. There was no computer in sight, but a filing cabinet sat in one corner as a pair of black leather chairs sat across from that. On the floor was a nearly shredded carpet.

“Found the bathroom.” Harry called from the last room. Monica rolled eyes and walked toward the staircase, taking them to the second floor. She turned left and gazed into the first room. It was painted a dark red and everything matched. The bed had everything on it, but wasn’t made. She listened as Harry came up the stairs and walked in the opposite direction.

Monica ventured further into the room, curious what was hidden behind the closet doors. She slide the doors aside and looked at a line of men’s suits, she opened the other side and smiled as she came face to face with beautiful dresses. She pulled a few out, some still had their tags. She set the torch on the bed and pointed it toward herself as she pulled the dress to her body and admired herself in the mirror.

After putting the dress back, she moved to the room across the hall, finding it decorated in shades of purple, a pile of clothes in the corner and the closet door opened, showing clothes that belonged to someone at least 14 years old. Curiosity started getting the better of her, “Why did they leave nearly everything? Harry!” She called. She turned to the other side of the room and settled her light on the beanbag chairs.

“Harry, did you hear me?” She called again, turning toward the door. A sudden rush came over her. She gripped the dresser at the front of the room to keep her balance. “Harry?” She screamed out, a sudden panic filling her. Her eyes rolled slightly as the dizziness started taking over. She stumbled forward, feeling the unmade bed. As she was about to sit, her eyes rolled in the back of her head and she fell onto the bed, the world turning blacker.

Monica was unsure how long she was out when she came to. At first, she wasn’t even sure where she was. The room was unfamiliar and it didn’t feel like a place she had been before. It took time to realize that she was here on a dare, that Harry was somewhere nearby, probably plotting a joke as she sat on a dirty, unmade bed.

She stood and felt around for her torch. When she couldn’t find it, she used her phones light to see where it had gone. She found it by the beanbag chairs; it must have rolled when she fainted. She took a second to gaze at the time. “I was out for 3 hours?” She asked herself. “Why didn’t Harry wake me?” She grabbed the light and turned toward the door. “Harold!” To say she was upset with Harry right now was an understatement. She knew the moment she told Louis that Harry left her in a room for 3 hours, passed out, he would be furious. Was playing jokes on her really worth pissing off his best friend?

“Dude.” She started, bringing her hand to her head as she started to feel faint again. “If you seriously jump out from behind something, I will hit you with the damn torch.” She turned to the room next to the red one and opened the door. All that was inside was a bathroom. She shut the door and turned to the one directly across from it, next to the stairs. The room was just like the first two she visited on this floor, it had a bed, dresser and closet. She closed the door and slowly walked toward the last room on the floor.

The door was decorated with ducks with the word Nursery written under it in a light yellow paint. She opened it slowly, expecting Harry to jump at her. She slowly moved the light around the room. Changing table, crib…curls. She walked in the room and looked at the mess of curls her light had caught.

Harry stood facing the corner of the nursery, his eyes nearly burning a hole in the already cracking tan paint. His face held no expression; the only movement he made was the involuntary rising and falling of his chest. No sounds come from him, nothing. He was like a statue.

Monica walked towards him, her eyes locked on his head. “H-hey, you okay?” The boys head snapped to the left, causing it to rest on his shoulder. She jumped back slightly, freezing as he slowly turned his head towards her.

His green eyes found her quickly. The moment he saw her, his head snapped back to the front, his back arched as he laughed. The torch her hand began to flicker and the door slammed shut. She wanted to turn and run for it, but her legs didn’t want to budge. Fear began enveloping her more and more.

His laughter filled the room. It wasn’t the normal “full of life” one, no, this was low and dark as the room had suddenly become.

Mo turned to search for the doorknob. Her hands shook as she moved along the wall, feeling every crack, praying she was close to escaping the sudden hell she stumbled upon. Her hands fell upon the polished metal knob, just as she was about to turn it, a warm burst of air caressed the skin on her neck. “Harry, this isn’t funny.” She begged. “Please stop, you are really scaring me.”

His husky voice let out a single word, sending shivers down her spine, “Good.” She turned to face him, but there was no one behind her. Monica grasped the doorknob again and stumbled out of the room. Hitting the torch against her palm, she made her way down the narrow hallway. She moved slowly, without the light she couldn’t see a thing and she knew there was a flight of stairs up ahead.

Light found the torch, but only in short bursts. The house was completely silent and there was no sign of Harry. It worried Mo a lot. He was acting strange. This wasn’t Harry. He goofed around a lot, but never would he risk her life…right?

The hallway lit up as she reached the top of the stairs. Carefully she descended to the first floor, pulling out her phone as she stood into the hallway. She dialed Louis’, after a few rings, Lou answered. “Giving up already? It’s only been 3 hours.” Louis laughed, but Monica wasn’t calling to joke.

“Harry’s going crazy Louis. Not the fun crazy either, he’s really—“

“He’s messing with you.” Louis interrupted.

Monica scoffed, “Nearly breaking his neck to look at me, disappearing and such is not ‘messing’ with me.”

“Mo, you’re acting crazy yourself.”

“I know, but I’m being honest. Something’s wrong with him!” She pleaded with her boyfriend.

“You’ve only got 6 more hours. He’ll give up the act soon.” Louis voice softened as he tried to calm his girlfriend down.

“I don’t care about the fucking dare, Tommo. I’ll take the damn title of Ultimate Pussy if it gets you and the other boys down here to check on Harry.” The stairs behind her creaked. “Please?” She begged, turning to the stairs to look at Harry. He stood on the 9th step, head cocked to the left, his lips curled into a frightening smile.

When he caught her eye, he moved down a step. “Stay there Harry. Don’t come near me.” She warned, but he laughed.

“Okay, fine.” Louis sighed, grabbing her attention. “I’ll come and bring the boys. See you in 20 minutes.”

Harry charged down the stairs, rushing Mo, causing her to scream loudly. He knocked the phone from her hand. “Harry, stop!” She cried, reaching for her phone, but his large foot was already crashing down on the rectangular device.

“Harry is not here right now, can I take a message?”

Mo backed away slightly, “You’re not funny, Styles.”

“I’m not Harry either.” He opened his mouth and moved his jaw awkwardly making a loud cracking sound.

“Then who the hell are you? Louis’ coming and he is going to be pissed.”

Harry’s eye twitched, “You think some little whipped talentless twat really scares me? Me?!” He moved toward her again.

Monica panicked and rushed into the office. “He’s your best friend, how could you say something like that?” She pressed her body against the door, locking it so he couldn’t get in.

Harry kicked the bottom of the door, “You left the bleach on your head too long. You don’t get it. I’m not your friend. I’m not Harry.”

“Then who the fuck are you?”

His large hands pounded on the door behind her head. “Your worst nightmare. You don’t need my name. You do need to let me in. Come on Mo-Mo, let widdle old me in there.” He kicked the door again, causing her to cringe.

“No. Stop. Go away.” Tears slowly spilled from her eyes. “Please, stop. I quit. I don’t want to do this dare anymore. Niall wins, he wins, you win, and everyone wins. I lose.” She covered her face with her hands and slid down the door.

“Poor, poor Monica. Thinks she’s playing a game. Confused little baby. Sorry, sweetie, but I don’t play games.” Harry threw a punch at the door. “Open the door you little bitch!”

“I’ll scream and wake up all the neighbors. Do you really want to spend the night in jail, Haz?”

Harry growled and hit the door again, “You really are stupid. I’m not your friend; never will I be your friend.” His fist hit the door one last time and a sudden silence filled the house.

Monica sat against the door and listened to the silence for a good 10 minutes. When nothing seemed to be moving, when she felt safe, she stood. Her heart pounded against her chest as she slowly opened the door. She turned off her torch and looked around the empty hallway.

Taking a deep breath she collected her thoughts. Quickly she slipped out of the office room and sprinted to the front door. She fumbled with the lock for a minute but had controlled the shaking in her hands long enough to turn it.

A pressure came around her body, she turned, pressing her back to the door, and saw nothing. But just as a man lifting a baby, Monica was lifted off the ground. She screamed loudly as she tried to process this. How could she be floating, no one was holding her. She struggled the invisible force, screaming and crying as she pushed at the nonexistent hands around her waist. “Tag, you’re it.” She looked up to see Harry smiling as he leaned against the office door. Before she could break eye contact her body was being thrown down the hall.

She landed just before the opening to the kitchen. “Hm, must have underestimated the distance. Really, only halfway?” Harry scoffed and shook his head. He pushed himself from the door and started toward her.

“Who—stay where you are!” She groaned as she struggled to stand. She pointed at him and gripped the door casing. “Don’t come near me.”

Harry laughed. “So you finally realize we’re not playing games anymore?”

“I don’t know who you are, but you need to let my friend go.” By now, her eyes had adjusted to the dark.

Harry sucked in some air through his teeth and ran his fingers over his chin as he ‘thought’ about her demand. “No. I’m having fun. You know, without a physical body, I can’t leave this house. And lately, I can’t seem to find any good hosts. I like this body, it’s cozy.” He smiled at her and hummed slightly, “Problem is, you know it’s not Harry. See, you caught me while I was trying to get used to being fleshy.” He laughed as if it was some kind of joke. “I can’t have you sharing it with your friends. An exorcism is a pain in the ass. Makes me weak and then I can’t do anything and I get bored. Mo-Mo, I don’t like being bored.”

“Stop calling me that!” Monica turned into the kitchen, “Leave me alone.”

“I’ll leave you alone when you’re dead. When I hide your pretty little body and convince your boyfriend that you ran away.” Harry stepped closer. “I can act pretty well, I think. I could go on saying something like: She got scared, Boobear. I tried to get her to stop, tell her I was joking and she just ran out the front door. I decided to wait for you, because I knew you were coming.” She watched the opening of the kitchen, waiting to see him. “So getting rid of you will be easy. Once I’m out, Harry can have his body back and I’ll find someone better. But, I can’t let you rat me out.” He came into her view. “It’ll hurt less if you don’t fight back.”

Monica backed up as far as she could and bump into the counter. She searched the area around her, looking for anything to defend herself with.

“I’ll make it easy, break your neck. You won’t feel a thing.” He moved closer to her. “I promise.”

Her hand found something as he drew closer. “You know, doctors say that all the time. And every time, it’s hurts.” She gripped the object tightly and swung her arm forward, dragging the blade of the cutting knife across his cheek.

He put his hand up to his face and cursed loudly. “You stupid bitch. You think that really hurts me? You’re just causing pain to your ‘dear friend’ Harry.” His dark laughed filled the kitchen.

Monica pulled her arm back and tried again, but Harry’s large hands reached for her wrists. Her knee came up and connected with his crotch, causing him to move back slightly, lose focus and loosen his grip. She took the few seconds to free herself and dig the knife deep into his chest. “Without a living body, you’re screwed.” She pulled the knife out of his chest and froze. She started feeling dizzy again.

“Monica, run!” Harry screamed, grabbing his chest as blood poured from it. “Get out of the house! Go!” His green eyes found hers as she swayed slightly in place. He went to reach for her, but she just screamed and dug the blade into his chest again. He fell back and she went with his, straddling him as she repeatedly thrust the knife into the left side of his chest, ’15, 16, 17.’ She counted.

When her arms started hurting, she pulled the knife from his lifeless body. She stood, not caring that her mint sweater was drenched in blood, or that her hair had fallen from the bun she had put it in, that it hung in her face. She stood over the man she had just mutilated moments ago. Not a single emotion expressed on her face.

“Monica, Harry!” Monica looked toward the window at the front of the kitchen, a few shadows moved passed it. “Guys, open up.” The front door opened up. “Oh, well that was easy.” A chorus of laughter followed. Monica watched as the hallway lit up and listened to the steps move slowly down the hall. Her head cocked to the left, then the right.

The first thing she saw was Louis, his head turned into the kitchen before the light managed to make it. He looked happy at first, a smile planted on his young face. But then he noticed the blood and quickly found the knife and his best friend.

Monica acted quickly, dropping the knife and forcing tears. “Louis, he tried to kill me! He went crazy, saying he’d break my neck. He broke my phone and nearly broke down the door. I-I had to!” Louis dropped his torch and ran towards her, taking her in his arms.

Niall came in next, rushing to the boy on the floor. “Shh, calm down.” Louis whispered to his girlfriend. Her eyes shifted to the boy on the ground looking for a pulse.

“He’s dead.” Niall looked up at Zayn and Liam. All three boys looked at Monica. “What are we going to do?”

Monica was ready to speak up, tell them to dispose of the body and report him missing, but Louis was already talking. “We bury him. When people come asking, we know nothing.”

“This is all my fault. Fuck.” Niall ran his blood covered hands through his blond and brown hair. “I’ll bury him.”

“We’ll help.” Liam chimed in motioning to Zayn. “Lou, you get Monica out of here, clean her up, burn the clothes.”

Louis led her out of the house. “Thank you. I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me.” She wiped her nose and sat down in the passenger seat of the car.

“You called me to help you; I wasn’t there in time to save you both. Harry is…was my best mate, but if he tried killing you, you had the right to defend yourself. No one would believe you, but I do. The boys do. We all heard your screams for help.” Louis shut the door and circled around the car, hopping into the driver’s seat and started the car.

“I can’t wait to finally get away from this place.” She looked at the house and smiled. “It’s been too long.”