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Felix loves the Fall. He loves the cool weather that comes along with the changing season, mostly because it makes outdoor activities like hiking and running more bearable. Most of all, Felix loves Halloween. It’s odd because he hates sweets, so it’s not the candy that excites him. He dislikes (most) children, so that’s not it.
What he does like, however, is the general aesthetic of Halloween and how unpredictable things can be. There’s something about seeing Darth Vader standing in the middle of a crowded subway that makes him giddy. Horror movies and haunted houses? Felix lives for them.
Felix thinks his love for the holiday may be related to the memories he shared with his brother, Glenn. Growing up, they would always plan elaborate costumes and decorate their house extravagantly, much to their mother’s dismay. Since Glenn passed away, Felix made it a goal to always honor his brother by making the best of the holiday.
This year? He’s going to finally take his boyfriend, Dimitri, to a haunted house.
Dimitri, despite his tough and rugged exterior, gets nervous with jump-scares. Even though he’ll watch horror movies, his reaction to any sort of surprise typically involves jumping out of his seat, gasping, or even screaming. Felix cannot take how adorable this is and can’t help but tease his boyfriend. The thing about Dimitri is, he’s a people pleaser, and he knows how much Felix wants to go to the haunted house with him. So, of course, he said yes.
They'll be going with their group of friends, so at least Dimitri won't be alone in being terrified. Ashe and Annie are likely to end up in the fetal position by the end of the night. Why they agreed to come is beyond Felix. Dedue, their 7 foot tall, teddybear of a friend will likely stick by their sides to make sure they don’t flee in terror.
…
“Hey, Felix! Dimitri! Glad you made it!” Sylvain shouted as he spotted the two making their way towards their friends, already in line to enter the haunted house. “I honestly wasn’t sure if you’d come, Dimitri.” Sylvain smirked at Felix.
“Yes, well, I took a Xanax, so hopefully I’ll make it.” Dimitri said jokingly.
The “Vestra House of Horrors'', was being put on by their college, Fhirdiad University. It was quite impressive , Felix thought, as he looked at the student union building that had been converted into a multi-level haunted house experience.
“Wow, they really went all out this year.” Felix said while taking it all in.
“Yeah!” Mercie said excitedly. “And all the proceeds of ticket sales are going to a local LGBTQI organization! I can’t remember what it’s called.”
“So…” A small voice came up behind Felix, revealing his red-headed friend, Annette, who was lingering towards the outer part of their friend circle. “How scary do you think this will actually be?”
Annette was biting her nails, looking side to side as if something might jump out at her even though they haven’t entered the attraction yet.
To be fair, some haunted houses do like to have actors scare people as they wait in line.
Hopefully not this one.
Dedue pulled Annette into a side hug to reassure her. “Don’t worry, Annie. You can stick by me and if you need to leave I’ll help you find an exit.” He then turned to Ashe. “That goes for you, too, Ashe.”
“Th… thanks, Dedue.” Ashe said, laughing nervously. “I appreciate that.”
“I wonder if we’ll see anyone we know in there.” Ingrid pondered. “I heard that it’s mostly university students that run it.”
“Next year you and I should do it, Ingy!” Sylvain said, hugging Ingrid from behind, kissing her cheek. “You’d make an adorable zombie.”
Laughing, Ingrid swatted playfully at Sylvain in response.
Felix glanced over at Dimitri to see how he was doing. His blond-haired boyfriend was grinning, watching his friends, and taking it all in. Despite that, Felix saw that he was nervously rubbing his hands together, clearly trying to hide his inner turmoil.
This simply won’t do. Felix reached out to grab Dimitri’s right hand and began to rub circles with his thumb. The two met eyes and Felix gave a reassuring smile.
“You sure you want to do this, Dima?” Felix asked quietly so the others couldn’t hear.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Dimitri said as he leaned in closer. “You did do that sleigh ride with me last Christmas, after all. I figure that was a similar feeling of torture for you as this will be for me.”
Felix gave a hearty laugh at that, and couldn’t help but grin at the memory. He’d never admit to Dimitri that the sleigh ride was actually not that bad. Seeing his boyfriend’s face light up with happiness was enough to make it worth it. Goddess, I’m turning into such a sap.
The line to get into the haunted house was at least 100 people long, and they were about half way through at this point. The energy around them was buzzing with excitement. Felix could tell that there were mostly college students here, which is a good thing, because from what he gathered, this was not a family friendly event.
The closer they got to the entrance, the louder the music and sounds from within the haunted house became. There was faint screaming, loud bangs, evil laughing, and creepy sound effects of a swamp or forest environment.
Dimitri hadn’t let go of Felix’s hand, and to be honest, it was turning into a vice grip, causing Felix’s fingers to go slightly numb.
Over the crowd, a security officer yelled out the rules of entry, which added the suspense they were all feeling.
“NO REFUNDS UPON ENTRY.”
“DO NOT TOUCH THE ACTORS OR YOU WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE PREMISES.”
“NO PHOTOS OR VIDEOTAPING.”
“IF YOU NEED TO LEAVE FOR ANY REASON, YOU WILL FIND EMERGENCY EXITS ALONG THE WAY.”
“ENTER THE HAUNT AT YOUR OWN RISK.”
Felix thought that last part was unnecessary, but it is a scary attraction.
It was their turn to enter the haunted house. Sylvain showed the worker at the door their tickets, indicating who was in his group. Each got a stamp on their wrist (a skull and crossbones) as they walked through the threshold of the door, Dimitri immediately reaching for Felix’s hand he had let go of in the process.
“Alright, guys,” Sylvain shouted back, he and Ingrid leading the way. “This is it!”
Mercie, Dimitri, and Felix took up the rear of the group, while Dedue, Annie, and Ashe stayed in the middle.
The first area was pitch black. The sounds they heard when they were in line were now louder than ever. Creaking doors, shrieking animals, rustling of leaves… possibly wood being chopped? Oh, lovely , thought Felix, a chainsaw .
Sadistic laughing filled the room, while strobe lights lit up around them. “SO... YOU DECIDED TO ENTER THE TERRITORY OF THE FAMOUS VESTRA FAMILY, KNOWN SERIAL KILLERS AND CANNIBALS? YOU’RE EITHER BRAVE OR INCREDIBLY STUPID.”
“Uh, Felix?” Dimitri said in a terrified voice. “I thought haunted houses had like… werewolves and witches and stuff?”
“THE LEGEND SAYS THAT THE VETRAS MURDERED HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN THE VERY SWAMPLAND THAT YOU WANDERED INTO.”
Felix reached out to rub Dimitri’s back consolingly. “Usually they have some sort of theme. It sounds like this one is a murdery, cannibal, hillbilly situatio--”.
The floor, still being illuminated sporadically by the strobe lights, began to fill with fog. Their group began moving forward as the formless voice wailed behind them. “GOOD LUCK MAKING IT OUT ALIVE. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Felix heard Sylvain shout: “Challenge accepted, my man!”
Annie then shrieked, “Why did I agree to this?!? Ashe, why didn’t you stop me?”
“I was asking myself the same thing.” Ashe choked out.
As they walked further into the haunted house, the space around them became narrower and narrower, forcing the group to walk single file. Felix let Dimitri walk in front of him before he realized that being in the back of a group in a haunted house is sometimes safer, because actors will target the middle. Damn, we really did not think this through.
“You’ll be okay, Dima, I’m right here.” Felix’s hand still resting on the blond’s back.
Felix thought he heard a nervous chuckle, but he wasn’t quite sure.
The group came to a halt after a minute of continuing down the narrowing passageway.
“There’s a door, and it…” Ingrid shouted, sounding strained, “won’t… open.”
“Here, Ingy, let me try.”
“OUCH! Sylvain!”
“Sorry! I’m just trying to squeeze by you!”
“M… maybe we should just turn back?”
“Ashe, we’re the smallest! They’ll come after us first!”
“Did you guys hear that?”
Felix didn’t exactly know what was going on up there, or who was saying what, but he definitely heard something. It was a rumbling, getting louder.
Dimitri jumped and grasped his head, ducking slightly.
Then Felix felt it. Something fell on his head. Then another. And another.
“What the fuck?” Felix shouted.
Dimitri was flailing his hands, as whatever fell on them kept falling. “These are… ball pit balls?”
“Why aren’t they stopping!?” Annette wailed.
“Is the door still not opening, Sylvain?” Dedue inquired, his normally composed face faltering.
“Nope, won’t budge.”
The onslaught of multi-colored balls continued to fill the space around them, now up to Felix’s knees.
To be honest, this is more intense than Felix expected, and this was just the beginning. There’s no way they’re going to fill up this entire hall, right?
By the time the balls had reached Felix’s waist, he heard a click as the door at the end of the hall finally opened, letting in a dim light that spread across the floor beneath them.
“Alright, everyone! Follow me!” Ingrid bellowed.
Felix stumbled forward, following close behind Dimitri, trying to avoid tripping on the balls that spread across the floor and spilled into the next room as they walked through the door.
Being so focused on not falling on his face, Felix had walked a good ten feet into the next room before he looked around to take in his new surroundings.
The fog had settled close to the ground, obscuring the floor they walked on. The room was dimly lit, with green accent lights along the walls, which illuminated the outlines of black trees, bushes, and vines.
Oh right, the swamp.
The screams and laughs they heard before were gone, with only crickets, dripping, and rustling filled the space. It was loud and quiet at the same time.
The set design was impressive. It was a large room with a high ceiling and the intricate details made the experience truly immersive.
“Let me guess,” Dimitri mumbled, “this is where the cannibals live?”
Felix looked over to his boyfriend. “Fuck. Probably. At least we’re not in a small space anymore.”
Annette screamed. Someone swore. Someone laughed maniacally.
“I can’t see”. Mercie gasped. “Keep going, Ingrid!”
Felix saw someone stumble. Ashe, maybe? “What can you see ahead? Me and Dima can’t see anything.”
At this point it was getting too loud to hear the rest of the group, so Felix just held on tighter to Dimitri’s arm. He could feel how tense the blond was.
They slowly made their way through the swamp set, looking around cautiously, waiting for something to happen.
Some of the details seen as they trudged on included a stump with a bloody ax lodged to the base, a bucket of what looked to be limbs and other dismembered body parts, and various scratch marks along the ground and tree trunks as if someone was dragged along the path.
Suddenly it went pitch black and the sound of a chainsaw roared next to them, and the shadow of a figure became apparent as their eyes adjusted.
The figure revving the chainsaw began to laugh and scream, running up to Dimitri and Felix.
That’s when Dimitri did it. He punched the unknown actor. In the face. Just. Square in the face.
“AGHH! OUCH! FUCK!” The figure collapsed.
“Oh goddess!”
Felix rushed over to the blond instinctively. “Shit. Dimitri, are you okay?”
“Dimitri?” The figure asked in shock as they looked up, holding their face.
Felix knew that voice. “Caspar?”
“Felix?” Caspar stood up, still holding his nose, which was apparently bleeding. Felix couldn’t tell what was makeup and what was real.
“Uh, what are you doing? Are you okay? Dima, did he…”
“Oh, I’m fine! I’ve been hit a few times!” Caspar said cheerfully. “I’m an actor! So is Lin. He’s around here somewhere. Playing a dead person. Really it’s just an excuse to sleep all day.”
Dimitri went up closer to Caspar. “I am so so sorry! I don’t know what happened! I just… did it without even thinking!”
“Heh. No hard feelings, man! Just tell people I took it like a champ, okay?”
Felix rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Well if you’re okay, we’re going to catch up with the others.”
“Yeah! Have fun you guys! I gotta go scare some more people. This is so fun!”
As soon as he came, Caspar was gone.
“Oh, Felix, what have I done?” He stared down at his hands like he’d just murdered someone.
“Baby, it’s okay. Caspar is fine! Let’s go now. We can find an exit if you’d like.”
Dimitri nodded sadly and they continued on.
Eventually they caught up with the group and Dimitri decided that he’d keep going. Felix explained why Dimitri was so shaken and was met with howling laughter from the rest of their friends.
“Damn, I wish I could have seen that!” Sylvain said as he held up his hand for a high five Dimitri never returned.
Wandering through the rest of the haunted house was equally terrifying, and while Felix was enjoying it, he was worried about his boyfriend. They did actually spot Lin as they passed a particularly bloody scene filled with dead bodies. He was laying peacefully on the ground, playing dead.
What a perfect role for him , Felix thought.
Eventually, they saw the blessed exit sign. It was over.
The group poured out of the doors into the cool night air. Ashe bolted ahead and collapsed to the concrete dramatically.
“Ashe, you okay?” Mercie asked as she walked over to check on him.
“I… I think so. Just glad to be out of there.”
“Woohoo! We did it!” Sylvain yelled obnoxiously. “That was easy!”
“Sylvain,” Ingrid pointed at the redhead’s chest accusingly, “You jumped in my arms like a baby multiple times. Don’t you even!”
Hands in the air defensively, “Okay, okay, Ingy. You were my knight in shining armor. I’m not ashamed of that.”
Felix pulled Dimitri into a tight embrace. “You were so brave, baby.”
Laughing and shaking his head, Dimitri looked down at Felix and kissed him. “I don’t know about that, but I am proud we made it through with minimal casualties.”
“Oh, Caspar will be fine. He’s probably proud of his bloody nose.” Felix reached to fix a strand of Dimitri’s hair that had been out of place. “And Annette made it out alive even though Dedue carried her most of the way. I call that a success.”
“Thanks for protecting me, Dedue.” Annette said as she gave him a big hug.
“It was no problem at all, Annie.” He chuckled, looking over towards Dimitri. “I’d rather carry you than Dimitri, although I have before. Such as your 21st birthday.”
The group burst out laughing.
“Oh right! That was hilarious!”
Dimitri put his hand over his face, trying to hide his blush. “Yes, yes. I learned my lesson.”
“Well, speaking of alcohol, I need a drink.” Mercie said merrily. “Anyone up for coming over and watching a horror movie?
“HA. HA.” Ashe said dryly.
Felix couldn’t help but laugh with the others. “Drink, yes. Movie, no.” He peered over at his boyfriend lovingly. “I think I’ve put Dima through enough tonight.”
Dimitri and Felix followed the others hand-in-hand as they walked to their cars.
Glenn would have really liked that , Felix thought. Although he’d probably be the one ruthlessly teasing us instead of Sylvain. That’s what big brothers are for, I guess.
Felix gave a smirk and playfully elbowed the blond. “Well, at least we know if someone were actually trying to kill us with a chainsaw, they’d have no chance against you.”
“You’ll never let that one down, will you?”
“Nope.”