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› 14 › love in the dark

"is it just me or is all of this like... off-the-rails insane?"

"is it just me or is all of this overkill?" nini laughs lightly as she raises her left hand which is linked to my right by a silver handcuff.

"you know what, i'm second thinking this whole thing. we should've just gone to in-n-out," i say as a lump goes through my throat. the both of us are standing in front of an open doorway that's completely pitch black. the staff behind us are setting things up and the waiting is killing me.

i know this is all supposed to be fun but why am i kinda scared right now?

"okay mr. ricky and ms. caswell, everything is ready to go," the receptionist from earlier smiles at us, fiddling with two black cloths in her hands. "all you have to do before going in is put on these blindfolds."

"blindfolds?" i ask in disbelief. "this is supposed to be a love museum, not a horror room!"

the lady in uniform lets out a chuckle. "there's nothing to be scared of in there, don't worry! you may hear alarming sounds and go through very dark situations, but it's a very enjoyable experience, i assure you."

"why am i excited??" nini says aloud to no one in particular as she reaches over to take one of the blindfolds. is this the same girl who was scared of opening a box full of wigs in north high?

after we both wear the black cloths over our eyes, someone straps something onto my wrist - a watch?

"the two of you may step inside."

despite the instruction, my feet stay planted where they are until i can feel myself being tugged forward by nini. 

"this was your idea," her words echo eerily throughout the room as we cautiously move around. not a moment later, i hear the door slam shut.

"i was expecting to walk through a bunch of paintings, not this," for some reason my words come out in a rushed whisper. 

okay ricky,  just remember: none of this is real! you're not actually in any danger in this unfamiliar dark space that should belong in a horror movie... 

you're pretending to be nini's boyfriend in a dark creepy escape room because this is how you'll bond! like miss jenn always said, trust the process, right? 

it's not like anything in here is actually threatening—

"stop where you are."

a low, gruff voice booms out of nowhere and i hear myself curse without thinking.

nini starts to giggle.  "i'm sorry, is it wrong if this is all funny to me?" 

"your definition of funny is—"

"raise your blindfolds to identify the role given to you through your watch. be warned: you cannot tell each other what you see."

"oh of course this is a murder mystery," i groan, using my free hand to lift my blindfold. on my left hand is a black band with a small screen on it that reads, innocent. i look around and realize the room we're in isn't lit up at all besides the space in front of us where a single lightbulb sways back and forth. 

i turn to nini and see her inspecting her watch.

attempting to lean over and take a peek, i ask, "what did you get?"

she hides her hand away instantly. "we're not supposed to tell each other, were you even listening??"

"i hate it here, okay!"

"plunge yourselves back into the darkness. may the killer now choose their victim."

"what?!" i blurt out - i know this is all a game but the hairs on the back of my neck are literally standing up. instinctively i grab ahold of nini's hand, the one linked with mine through the handcuff.

almost immediately she tries to shake it off. "ricky, no offense but your hand is sweating like crazy."

"what else would the natural response to possibly getting murdered be?!"

"you don't actually think you're gonna die, right?"

"well yeah - but between you and me and the menacing music and the not at all terrifying voice, it's all—"

"put the blindfold down already!"

i reluctantly do as she says. at that moment, i hear something that resembles a machine being put to work rumble to life. after awhile, everything goes silent.

"what—"

a scream pierces through my ears and let's just say... things didn't go very well from there.

° ° °

"I CAN'T," nini exclaims in between breaths, laughing her head off. "you...you...!"

"oh my god, somebody kill me," i groan as i adjust the icepack comforting my head.

the two of us are sitting across from one another in a room full of bright paintings - this is supposed to be the "finish line" of the exhibit, a place we can relax in after the terrors we were supposed to experience. 

but like every plan i come up with lately, things didn't really go how it should have been.

"how did you manage to break the sound system before we even began the game?!" nini holds her face with both hands, trying hard to hold in her glee but clearly failing. "and the way you screamed!"

"it's not my fault some old lady screeches out of nowhere and i tripped!"

"and then you knocked over the soundboard—"

"it's not my fault it was hidden behind me, blended in with the pitch black room!"

"you dragged me down with you!"

"you deserved it, you were laughing at me the entire time, you still are!"

nini and i lock eyes for a second before we both burst into laughter.

"okay, that was fun," i manage to admit with a wide grin.

"even though we barely got to do the activity," nini chuckles as she wipes away the tears that formed in her eyes because of all the laughing. "but yeah... i haven't felt like this in awhile..."

really?

i mean what just happened was hilarious - and embarrassing for me but whatever - but i don't know... she's a mega hit superstar. i thought she felt like this all the time. after all, there are so much better people out there who can take her to much better places than me. 

and then there's her music. her super successful music to be specific. songs have always made her the happiest.

so why is she taking a break from it?

maybe this is the right time to ask.

"hey, nini—"

"woah, what a coincidence!"

my attention turns immediately to the familiar voice.

jack waves his hand in feigned innocence.

"didn't expect to bump into you two here."

. . .

a/n: lmao so the crimes of passion activity is actually a real exhibit for the love museum but i made up what was going on bc i didn't look into what the activity actually had just so you know (which is why i cut the scene short bc i didn't know what i was writing at all lol)