Cinnamon // Sally Face

E l e v e n

Larry and Violet decided to play a game of chess, which quickly turned into a therapy session for the both of them. They chatted for nearly an hour while mindlessly moving pieces on the board. It started out with stories from school and gradually moved to their personal lives. Larry confessed that his dad had mysteriously gone missing and Violet explained the situation with her mother (excluding the part about her supposed crush on Sal).

"You might hate me for saying it, dude, but I think your mom could be really helpful with the whole ghost situation in the apartments," Larry said.

"I know," Violet mumbled, moving one of her pawns forward. "I just wish things were different sometimes."

"I think it's pretty cool, to be honest. I wish my mom could summon demons and read ancient texts."

"That demon was terrifying, Larry. I was sure it was going to kill me."

"Anything could kill you, though."

"I'd rather it not be an evil entity summoned by my own mother."

"Fair."

She sighed. "I just wanna tell her how sorry I am."

"Once she's feeling better, invite someone over. Prove it to her that you aren't embarrassed," the long-haired boy suggested, pushing his rook several spaces forward. 

The idea wasn't horrible, really. All she had to do was find someone that she knew wouldn't think differently of her after meeting her mother. So far, Larry seemed to be her best option.

"Would you do it, Larry?" She inquired, looking up at him. 

"Sure, dude." He grabbed her phone off the floor and typed something into it. "Text me whenever."

Violet smiled. "Thank you."

"No problemo."

With numb noses and fingertips from the cold, the pair decided to go inside. They roamed the halls for a bit, going back and forth about random things. Larry brought up Sanity's Fall more times than Violet could count. He mentioned painting a few times as well and told her about how horrible Sal was at it. Despite this, he always kept Sal's paintings. He liked holding memories close to him, even if they were in the form of a sloppy piece of artwork. 

"He talks about you a lot, dude," he said, referring to the blue-haired boy. "All good things."

Her heart skipped a beat. "What does he say?"

"He likes to be around you. Plus, you're not any better or worse than him at videogames and he digs that."

"So my videogame skills are just to his liking? Good to know."

At some point during their conversation, it had started to rain. Small droplets pounded harshly against the windows as lightning struck the sky. At first, the storm went unnoticed by the two. But when a booming clap of thunder cut off the power, they froze. Shadows encased them in complete greyness, bringing chills to prick at their skin. 

"Shit," Larry muttered, digging around in his pockets for his phone. 

Violet squinted through the darkness in search of someone else, though she was sure they were alone. Suddenly, her eyes were met with a familiar pair of blazing red ones. With a trembling hand, she reached over and grabbed onto Larry's hoodie. "Larry..."

"Wha—no fucking way."

The demon had returned. It did nothing but glower at them for what felt like forever. Neither of them could take their eyes off of it out of fear that it'd attack them. Violet could feel herself begin to sweat as her heart pounded alarmingly fast in her chest. Her grip on Larry tightened until her hand cramped. 

Without taking his eyes off of the shadowy figure, Larry pushed Violet behind him until she was completely out of sight. Her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for something to happen. In her previous encounter with the demon, she was left terrified, but unharmed. Now that she was accompanied by someone, the circumstances could easily change. 

The buzzing sound filled her ears once again. It quickly escalated from a low tone to an unbearable screech, causing both teens to press their hands to their ears. Tears welled up in Violet's eyes as an overwhelming sense of fear washed over her. Without being able to see or hear what was going on around her, she was completely vulnerable. Her only protection was Larry.

A scream bubbled in Violet's throat. The screeching was growing louder by the second, disabling her ability to think straight. She didn't know what to do.

Meanwhile, Larry was breaking down. He struggled to maintain eye contact with the entity before him, his eyes twitching and watering. Although his ears were covered, he was developing a migraine from all the noise. On top of that, Violet began to scream. He knew she was afraid and in terrible pain, but hadn't a clue as to how to help her. His senses were overwhelmed by nausea. 

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" He shouted, now only able to squint at the demon. "HAVEN'T YOU DONE ENOUGH?"

No response.

Just as they thought the screeching couldn't get any louder, they were proven wrong. At this point, neither teenager expected to make it out of this without the ability to hear—that is, if they made it out at all.

Amongst all the chaos, Larry could barely hear a thump! from behind him. Violet had fallen unconscious.