My neck clicked slightly as I woke up. I'd spent the night asleep in a car. It was a pretty weird way to wake up. Hayley was next to me, eyes still closed. Rain lashed against the windows and I sighed.

"Sleep well?" Keith said.

He was sitting, knees on the car seat, leaning forward. He looked happy. I didn't know whether demons required sleep. I was guessing they did. We had been invited to use the school's facilities.

This meant having breakfast. I opted for eating in the base room. Being around the students made me nervous, but then being in this school made me nervous. I kept seeing things out of the corner of my eye. I thought I saw a gnarled, smirking face staring at me whilst in the canteen line.

I only felt safe in the base room. Breakfast was porridge. The students here were lucky in some ways. They could come in, have breakfast and start their classes. Saturday lessons lasted till one and then the interviews would begin. Keith and Hayley were going to interview all the students affiliated with Daniel.

Michael and I were to speak to the students that had had paranormal experiences. The activity seemed to affect only those that had played with the Ouija boards.

Time seemed to drag and I filled the hours, finishing my essay on my lap top, whilst the others explored the school. When it got to one, the bells rang and the madness started. Michael arrived back and sat with me. I noticed he was very quiet and wondered if that was shyness. Maybe we had stuff in common.

The first student walked in. She was a young girl, about sixteen. She glanced at me and smiled, seating herself opposite us. Her story was about discovering the fire in the empty classroom. She stated, with a totally straight face, that the fire had resembled a face. She still had nightmares.

We interviewed more students. One after the other including some that were friends of Daniel, whilst Keith and Hayley took a break.

The final student was a boy. He looked almost feral. He sat down and stared me down. He was creepy.

"N-name?" I asked.

"Chad Smith." He replied.

"And to what degree have the events at this school affected you?" I continued. He was staring at me like a snake.

"Daniel and I created the game." He grinned then.

"Bit of a stupid thing to do." Michael cut in, all shyness gone.

I doubted there was shyness. His dark eyes were narrowed in a glare. Gulping, I looked back to Chad.

"Not really. Daniel and I wanted to curse this entire school. Burn it to the ground." Chad said, snapping his gaze back to me.

He was serious. Legitimately, serious. He and Daniel had actually thought that this was a good idea. My mouth opened and I stared at the boy in front of me. He seemed so calm about the whole thing. His gaze went to me again.

"And what do you think you can do?" Chad smirked, leaning forward.

His hand shot out to touch my face, but Michael was quicker and caught his knuckle in a vice-like grip. Chad seemed surprised by that, eyes widening slightly at the speed. I glanced at Michael.

"You should leave." He said. The pupils of his eyes had dilated so much that the brown was replaced by black. Chad whipped his hand back and stumbled away, turning and leaving.

Michael looked to me and his pupils slowly returned to normal and he managed a smile. My mouth must have been open. Well, that was unexpected.

"Well, that was fun." Michael chuckled.

Fun? Are you kidding me? I glowered at him and his brown eyes dulled slightly, like he was bored. Freaking sadist.

"Yeah, if scarring someone for life could be considered fun." I said.

"Oh good, you agree," He smirked. "Let's go get some food."

I watched him get up, belts clinking slightly as he moved. He paused at the door, turning to look at me, eyes still slightly dull.

"You gonna sit there all day?" He asked.

"N-no." I stammered, standing and walking over.

There were still a few students going to and from clubs. It all seemed so mundane. The canteen was quiet apart from a couple of students and Keith. I sat opposite him and he lifted his head, sighing.

"Any luck?" He asked.

"We met some kid who started the trend with Daniel." Michael replied.

"Why'd he start it?" Hayley had reappeared, holding a tray.

"Something about wanting to see the school burn. The usual edgy teen angst." Michael said, shrugging.

Keith frowned and dug around in his pocket. He pulled out a sheet of paper and I realised it was one of the make-shift Ouija boards. The markings on it were so strange though. He pushed it towards me. I glanced down and realised that it was Hiragana. How'd these students learn about Japanese stuff?

"It's Hiragana. I can understand spoken Japanese, but not written." Keith said.

I looked at the paper and squinted. It seemed like the typical sort of ouija board. My parents had both grown up in a small town outside Tokyo, but I'd grown up in America. I did remember my cousins telling me ghost stories though. One of them about Kokkuri-san.

"It's a Kokkuri-san." I replied.

Hayley stared at me, eyes wide. I guessed I was going to have to explain the rules of the game to them. My cousin's had tried to rope me into playing with them, but I was always too scared.

"It is like a ouija board, but Kokkuri-san is a trickster and will lie." I repeated what my cousins had said.

"Most demons lie. We're not known for being truthful." Michael stated.

"Well, the legend says that if you play this you must say goodbye to Kokkuri-san, spend the money used and dispose of the pen used to write the hiragana." I said, pausing a moment.

"And say someone doesn't do all of that?" Hayley asked.

"My cousin told me that it can unleash a death curse on the recipients." I said, shuddering a little.

Keith's eyes had widened and he seemed to be putting the puzzle together. The fires and all the paranormal events seemed to make sense now. The curse was rebounding onto the students. Chad and Daniel had clearly intended for this to happen.

The sound of screaming interrupted our discussion and I glanced round. I got up when the others did and followed them to the source of the screams. It was a classroom. Keith pushed the door open. The classroom was like a studio, like a drama room.

In the centre of the room was a massive fire. It's flames licked the ceiling. A group of girls were across the way, huddled in the corner, frozen in fear. I looked at the flames and nearly screamed too when I saw the same gnarled features staring at me. Hayley rushed past the flames and started guiding the girls out to safety, pulling me along too.

By this point, the fire alarms had started and we made it outside. There were students gathered on the grass. I looked back at the school. Keith and Michael were still in there. Helen appeared, looking flustered.

"Are you all right?" She asked.

"Yes, miss," One of the girls replied, shivering. "We were rehearsing and the fire started out of nowhere."

It seemed like hours, but was in fact, minutes. Keith and Michael reappeared, unharmed. Relief coursed through me. I don't know why I was so worried. They were immortal. Nothing would harm them.

"Don't look so freaked out. You'll catch flies with your mouth open like that." Michael sighed.

The blare of fire alarms made us all look round. The fire department stormed the building, but by the time they got to the room, the flames had gone. All that remained was a burnt ceiling and floor. Smoke had damaged most of the stuff in the studio. The fire chief seemed at a loss for words.

"This is becoming dangerous." Keith said.

The students were huddled together. Helen was trying to reassure them, but seemed at a loss. I noticed Chad across the way. He looked calm and was smiling. A shiver coursed through my bones. What kind of person had Daniel been?

It started raining again and Helen seemed to compose herself in time to send the students home. She would need to talk to the teachers so she sent us away too. We sat in the car and I glanced at Hayley.

"How do we end the curse?" She asked.

Couldn't demons control the curse? Was there really nothing they could do?

"Can't you attack the spirit?" I asked.

"It's not that simple. We could engage the trickster in combat, but it would come back. It wants equivalent exchange. It answered their questions, but they did not hold their end of the bargain." Michael stated, dragging a hand through his hair.

"What do we give it though?" I whispered. The car felt like it was closing in.

Hayley shook her head. Keith sighed and glanced towards the school through the streaked glass.

"Let's go to a hotel near here and I can contact the boss." He said.

*******************

The hotel was Hayley's choice. It was a beautiful building. She'd contacted Chris whilst we drove there. I was on edge the whole time. He hadn't really spoken to me in front of people before. I knew I was an employee, but it still stung a little.

We had to run from the car to the hotel due the sheer volume of rain. When we got into the foyer, we were soaked. The weather made me feel glum. I glanced across the way to see a couple holding hands and laughing. My eyes burned temporarily and I followed Hayley when she touched my arm.

"Hey, are you all right?" She asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'm fine." I said, faking a smile.

She didn't look convinced though and took my hand. Chris was here and so was Eric. My god, could this day get any worse. Evangeline was here, standing next to Eric. She was wearing a dress and her silver hair was tied back, but my eyes kept flicking to her collar.

"Well, don't you all look pathetic." Eric chuckled.

His gaze landed on me, clearly wondering how Chris and I would interact. He looked smug when Chris didn't speak to me. I tried to keep my features neutral though, like I didn't care.

"It's a death curse. Junko figured it out." Michael snapped, glaring at Eric.

I was alarmed by his sudden defending of me. Michael glanced at me and smiled slightly. I side-ways looked at Chris and he looked away when I did. I lowered my face.

"The students didn't perform the rituals properly. This thing is out for murder." Keith said.

"We can't fight it in the traditional sense." Hayley chimed in, squeezing my hand in hers.

"Figured it all out, did you, human?" Eric sneered.

I shrugged and my gaze went to Evangeline. She was beaming at me, like she thought I was an inspiration. So much of an inspiration that my boyfriend doesn't want to look at me. I didn't bother saying anything.

"Trouble in-" Eric was about to say.

"Tired. I'm just tired, is all." I murmured.

Keith was looking at me now and concern traced over his features. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'll get us checked in." Hayley smiled, hugging me.

"K." I said, simply.

I let her drag me away and when we were far enough away, she glanced at me then back to the guys, making sure we were a good distance.

"So spill it. What's wrong?" She asked.

"I can't say." I mumbled.

Her eye brow went up and she seemed to be sussing out that Eric was about to say something. The more she thought about it, realisation dawned on her face. Her gaze softened then and her hand touched my arm.

"You poor, little darling." She murmured.

For some reason, her words snagged something within me and I broke down. She hugged me. We walked hand in hand to the check-in desk. She booked two rooms.

"You go to your room. I have something to do." She reassured me.

I took the key and left, grabbing my suitcase. The elevators in this place were beautiful too. I caught sight of myself in the mirror and saw my own puffy face. I looked young. Far too young to be in a relationship. Maybe that was it. Maybe I was too immature. I was entering a world that was more for adults, but I wasn't fully an adult yet.

Having never been in a relationship, I'd never transitioned the way other girls my age had. The elevator pinged and I walked down the hallway. I slid the card key through the slot and opened the door. Wow.

The bed was kingsize and looked so soft. Next to it were two plush-looking chairs. A flat screen tv was on the wall opposite the bed. What drew my gaze was the window though. The curtains were open and I could see the view of the city. Lights flickered as the rain gave way to a clear evening.

I abandonned my suitcase and sat in one of the chairs, pulling it closer so I could see the view better. All this room for me. It suddenly felt cavernous. I was still in wet clothes so I tore myself from the view and dug around in my case. I'd packed a pair of my favourite PJs, then regretted it when I looked at them.

They were my cat ones. A pair of shorts and a top. The top had a hood. I got undressed and put the PJs on, pulling the hood up and looking at myself in the wall mirror. Wow, cat ears. Very mature. So grown-up. Someone tapped at the door and I glanced round. Hayley?

I didn't bother to lower the hood. She's probably humour me and say the PJs were cute. I unlocked the door and flung it open, shrieking when I saw Chris. He didn't seem to notice what I was wearing till I let him in.

"You would be wearing that." He sighed, sitting on the bed.

My face heated up. It felt like it was hotter than the sun. Why was he here? I didn't realise we were sharing a room. I lifted my hand to lower the hood. My eyes went to him and I noticed his eyes moving down my small frame, pupils dilating.

"I-i didn't think you'd be sharing with me." I murmured.

"Hayley sent you up here. She stormed over to me not long ago and started yelling at me." He said, flicking his eyes to meet mine.

I kept my face down, clutching my top in a bid to pull it down over my skinny legs. I didn't expect her to start having a go at her boss.

"Y-yeah. She sent me up here and I thought, I guess.." I mumbled, shrugging.

"Thought I wasn't going to spend time with you." Chris said, and I nodded my assent.

"N-no, well, you ignored me. I know I'm just an employee, I get it." I said, blinking rapidly.

"Perhaps, I should stop treating you like one." He murmured.

I ignored him when he beckoned me over. He rolled his eyes and flicked his finger. My body lifted off the ground. Holy crap. I found myself next to him in seconds. The spell, or whatever eased up and I landed on the bed.

"No fair, what was that?" I pouted, growing annoyed.

"Seemed fair to me." He replied, smirking.

Our knees were touching. I shivered at the small contact and toyed with my top's hemline. Chris' fingers grazed my chin and lifteed my face so he could look at me. I sniffled and met his gaze.

"I made you cry." He said, swiping his thumb over my cheek.

"N-no," I protested.

"I did. Hayley told me I did, well she shouted, actually," He replied, thumb still caressing my face. "I'm sorry, Junko."

He was apologising to me. I managed to look at him when his eyes lowered a little. He seemed really upset, almost vulnerable. It was amazing that such a simple thing could elicit such a response.

"It's no big deal." I whispered.

It was early days and whilst I trusted him, I was scared that tomorrow morning, we'd wake up and go downsatirs and he'd be back to ignoring me again. Chris seemed to sense my reluctance. His hand ghosted down and toyed with the hem of my top.

"I like these." He murmured.

I think I moved like road runner in that instance, sliding backwards. The hood was still up. Sheesh. I forgot my legs were on display. Sure, I was wearing clothes, but it felt like I was pratically naked.

Those dark eyes pierced my own, sliding, appraisingly down my body. No one had looked at me like that. I wasn't sure whether to freak out or enjoy it. I'd pretty much already freaked out though.

"C-can I have a hug?" I smiled, nervously.

"How can I hug you when you're all the way over there, Junko?" Chris replied, eyes still dark.

Yep, he was definitely going to devour me. I shifted closer and regretted it instantly. His lips claimed mine. I gasped and my eyes slid closed. His lips moved against my own, teasingly. This time when his tongue brushed my lower lip, I parted my lips. The kiss deepened and I sighed. My hands fisted his jacket, clinging on. One of us clearly had more self-control though.
Chris pulled back first. I looked at him. My lips felt slightly swollen and I felt the redness creep up my cheeks.

"We should stop." He said.

I remembered we were meant to be taking things slowly. Would tomorrow be any different? I guessed I'd have to wait and see.

Notes