Into The Depths Of The Hotel

Halloween

<< One week later>>

The highly anticipated holiday began as any other; a cold, distant sun rose into the icy sky, granting a fogginess to the land. A nippy breeze was in the air, and (Y/n) couldn't find the excitement in themself.

Preparing for the holiday, (Y/n) strung up some cheap fairy lights, adorned with bats, in the front window. They set down a sweet bowl in the kitchen, deterred from the festive spirit once again by the memories of the entities. How they hoped to see them again.

(Y/n) wasted the day on their phone, scrolling through apps in search of entertainment, but nothing could satiate the hollow feeling in their chest, the feeling of abandonment. They weren't sure what they'd done but they felt so useless, a specific helplessness.

(Y/n) mumbled swear words before propping themself upright on their bed, glaring down the hallway in the kitchen at the sweet bowl.

The day dragged on, dangling happiness above their head like a dog treat to a dog. What happened, (Y/n) hadn't anticipated.

As the day faded into the horizon, and dusk hit the land, trick-or-treaters wandered the streets. (Y/n) chose to help give the sweets out, seeing as there was nothing exciting to do. They put on a fake happy voice and complimented the younger children's costumes, bringing them joy and a feeling of fulfillment.

It wasn't until eight pm that (Y/n) got lucky with their trick-or-treaters. As the sun had sunk away behind the skylines, the older kids emerged from their houses to scavenge for candy. Many groups had approached (Y/n)'s house and been rewarded confectionery.

They all looked the same, dressed in matching clothes to further emphasise the closeness of their friendships.

'How cute' (Y/n) remembered sarcastically thinking to themself.

A knock sounded at the door, heavier than the previous teenagers. Reluctantly, (Y/n) swung their legs off of the end of their bed and answered, swinging by the kitchen to retrieve the bowl.

An ominous figure stood at their door, dressed in a dark hoodie, a tiny hole ripped in the upper chest. They wore blue jeans, paired with black and white sneakers. Their hands were in the front pocket on the hoodie and their head was tilted downwards, to show no skin at all.

"Uh, can I help you?" (Y/n) quizzically asked, noticing they didn't have a bucket or bag for the candy.

Taking the stranger's hand, they realised it was black and slimy, but still somewhat firm. Seek lifted its head, and (Y/n) could see its eye tearing up,"(Y/n), it's me."

Wrapping their arms around it's neck, they sobbed tears of joy,"You came back for me.."

"We missed you so much, (Y/n), all of us." Seek's voice cracked as it spoke, alarming (Y/n) slightly.

(Y/n)'s intentions, before they discovered the identity of the stranger, was still the same. Holding Seek's hand in their own, they placed a sweet in its palm, closing its hand and securing its grip on the sweet.

Seek didn't understand what was meant by it, but stored the sweet in the hoodie pocket for later.

"How's Screech? It hasn't been taken away, has it?" Seek asked, genuinely concerned for the creature.

(Y/n) pointed out their bedroom with their thumb,"It's asleep on my pillow. My mum's fine having it in the house, but worries it'll get taken away if we try to take it anywhere. I've fed it every day, and I let it sleep whenever it wants to."

"Well." Seek took (Y/n)'s hand and dragged them through their doorway,"The night is young and fear is in the air; how about we celebrate Halloween properly?"

(Y/n) grew joyful at the thought of them both trick-or-treating together. There was no way anyone would believe Seek was an actual entity.

Taking Seek's lead, (Y/n) grabbed a bucket and followed it from house to house.

The first house was nextdoor, occupied by an elderly old lady and her several dozen cats. Her face dropped when she saw Seek lift its head, and her dentures almost dropped clean out her mouth; truly, she was gob smacked.

Their second house was nextdoor but two, occupied by a family of four and their pet dog. The rascal barked when they set foot on the porch, to retreat back to its bed when a woman opened the door. She claimed Seek's 'costume' was 'adorable', giving it extra candy for it.

"Should I be offended that she thought I wasn't real, or honoured that she thinks I'm cute enough to give extra candy to?" Seek jested, getting (Y/n) to crack up.

A couple more houses later and they'd had their filll of trick-or-treating. Heading back to their house, (Y/n) walked besides Seek, wondering what would happen next,"I don't just want to see you on holidays, like you're some kind of distant relative I never speak to. I want to sort this out now, but I don't know how to."

"I can stay with you for the night, if you'd like me to." Seek offered, casting (Y/n) back into pensiveness.

"You'd have to sleep in my bed, or under it if you'd prefer. Only problem is what would my mother think of me having someone over? Especially if we're sleeping in the same bed together." (Y/n) mused.

Seek didn't think of it in such a way,"(Y/n), it's nothing sexual or anything of the sort. Consider it a sleepover. And don't forget, I don't have a physical gender, so there's not much I can do in terms of that anyway."

(Y/n)'s face glowed red and they punched it in the shoulder playfully,"I wasn't asking that, you dork. Oh my God, why would you tell me that?"

"Because it's less awkward if you know than if you don't." Seek reasoned, helping (Y/n) up the steps into their house.

Their mother saw the second person enter the house, and assumed they had a friend over - a human friend.

"Oh (Y/n), you could've asked for one of your school friends to come over if you wanted them to. You don't have to be afraid to ask." (M/n) assured.

"Thanks mum, love you!" (Y/n) shouted back through, cringing a bit at the voice they'd projected in.

Seek took a seat on their bed,"This is where you live?"

"Pretty much. I don't have half the stuff the hotel has, but it's simple and homely." (Y/n) murmured, kicking their shoes off,"I'm going in the shower. Have fun looking around the room for ten minutes."

Seek waited for (Y/n) and when they emerged from the bathroom, they noticed a change in Seek's demeanor. It acted a bit coy, as if there were something being held back from them, which they didn't like the thought of.

(Y/n) didn't want to force anything out of Seek, as there was the chance it could ruin their evening together, so they laid down in their bed and cuddled together.