The Haunted Mansion

A Love Will Bloom

Did I like him as a friend? Yes. Did I like him as a boyfriend? Maybe, I don't know. Did I have a crush on him? I hope not. These were the questions piling up in my mind when Nick asked me if I liked him in a 'romantic' manner.

Honestly, I didn't even know if I liked him as a boyfriend, he was really sweet but I didn't even know if he liked me back, am I even good enough for him? Oh god, from where did all these pathetic insecure thoughts come from? Maybe, I actually liked him. Oh no, oh god no, I cannot like him, please god...

"Elina?" he said

"yeah, sorry."

"so" he said "do you like me in a romantic manner?"

"nope" I replied and got ready to run, but he caught my hand, in a gentle manner

"you don't?"

"nopey-nope" I said, deep down inside knowing I felt something else...

"oh..." he said letting go of my hand.

I felt really bad that I put him in such an uncomfortable state but if I didn't leave I might say more unnecessary thing which will make life harder for me to survive. So as soon as he left my hand I ran as fast as I could to the nearest restroom and stayed there for the next twenty minutes you know, since boys can't enter the girls restroom.

When it was 10:00 I got out of the restroom and headed to find Ari, cause I needed to talk to someone so I'm not forced to have breakfast with Nick.

"searching for me?" I heard a familiar voice from behind, as I headed out the washroom

It was Ariana.

"oh god, you have no idea what I just did." I said and then I continued to tell her everything that happened in PE.

"so you did like him?" Ari said when I finished speaking.

"no, I don't like him and I never did."

"you do! You said it yourself." she said with that stupid 'romantic' smirk on her face.

"when?"

"well, when you said and I quote 'cause Ari keeps making fun of me having a crush on you.' I joked about him liking you, I never said you actually liked him."

"you do."

"na girl, refresh your memory."

When I recollected the past I remembered that she would say that he has a crush on me not me having a crush on him.

Uh-oh.

"so does this mean what I think it does?"

"yup, you like him" she said "and this time, you did it yourself I didn't play matchmaker."

"thankfully" I joked, remembering that the last time she was the matchmaker the guy turned out to be interested in my neighbor and not me (embarrassing, right?)

"hey, that guy shouldn't have even shown up on the date, not my responsibility."

"yeah sure, now let's get breakfast."

As I entered the cafeteria, I kept an eye on Nick, I didn't want him to see me cause things were way too awkward and me speaking to him isn't the solution.

"so, you playing hide and seek?" Ari asked me, as she sat on the chair.

"no, I just don't want to speak to him now."

"okay, but you have to talk to him eventually." she said

"and I hope god helps me"

"don't you think he likes you back?"

"why would he like me in the first place?" I asked her. From past experiences I've realized that I'm not the 'perfect' person people are looking for.

"only he can answer that question, which means you have to talk to him." Ari said, smiling like a little kid when they see candy.

"wipe that smile off your face." I said

"it's involuntary and happens when it senses love." she said

I sighed, there's nothing I can do to distract her from such matter but I always try, maybe something works.

"can we change the topic?" I said

"nope" she said and paused for a second "actually yes, I need to tell you that today I would be staying after school for music class. So I'll reach home at 5. you'll be okay right?"

I nodded, but I wasn't sure if I would be fine. You see, I thought that the necklace protected me from Rosa but it didn't do anything so I guess I wasn't fine, however Ari didn't need to know this since I was a grown sixteen year old who could handle an old deadly ghost.

The rest of the day was normal, random students who I didn't even know walked at a four feet distance from me and the two benches in front of me and back of me were empty. And by the end the day I became a zombie and people had made theories about my existence too. I literally prayed that natural selection should wipe them out of existence, so that life becomes easier for the future generation.

In lunch, I sat an the corner table of the cafeteria with Ari who kept on teasing me with Nick while I kept slapping my forehead. What do I do of her?

As the bell rang, I rushed out of the classroom not wanting to meet anyone( you know who I mean by that). Of course people cleared the way for me, since I was a zombie now so, yeah.

On my way home, I wasn't sure if I should have been scared or not, cause recently nothing scary or fatal happened to me which somehow scared me even more. So I remained extremely alert, at least I tried to.

The road was empty, not a single person on the street which was extremely weird. I tried to calm myself thinking that there was a half-off sale on everything in the mall, but that didn't convince me.

On nearing the 'dimension-changing' street, I began picking up the pace thinking that if I walked faster I would reach home faster implying I would be safe, or not.

Suddenly, I heard a sound which sounded like the rustling of the leaves, I turned behind thinking that someone was there, but I couldn't see anyone. So I began walking even faster than before in hopes to reach home quicker.

Unfortunately, the house didn't act as a calming element for me instead it increased the tension because Rosa could be anywhere ready to eat me for dinner, speaking of which could ghost even eat? Who knows, but I hope not.

Wondering about calming things I got a wonderful idea, watching television with a bowl full of ice cream since ice cream is like the bandage of a mental wound, especially chocolate ice cream.

In the kitchen it was hard to find the ice cream since it was hidden deep inside the freezer by either Ari or James. A few seconds after I managed to remove the ice cream I heard a clash, which turned out to be a glass bowl. As I went to clean the mess I realized that this bowl was kept on the center of table, from where dropping of it due to an accident was impossible. Which only indicated one thing.

Rosa. 

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chapter cover credit: recyclecoach.com (PINTEREST)

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