Pandemonium [original]

Chapter Eleven: "She's a Witch!"

"Mo-vie Night! Mo-vie Night!" Rhys and Mal chanted.

"You guys don't even know what that is!"

"But I know it's awesome~" Rhys cheered. Caspian sighs, and pulls out the movies he had bought a few nights before. Everything had been hectic, but everyone had settled into an awkward, crowded sort of rhythm.

Everyone had a place, somehow. Rhys slept in Caspian's room, Demitri and Zaria shared an air mattress in the living room, and the couch was left for Sephiram and Mal. Everyone seemed to be getting along quite well, with only minor disagreements between the Light and the Flame realm members.

After the first night in the apartment, Sephiram had multiple bruises from Malachi's restless sleeping. "He takes up all the room. And he cuddles aggressively." The blonde man complained with a shudder. Now Sephiram sulked in the kitchen, grumpy and sleep-deprived.

Caspian read the titles, "We have... Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Children of the Corn, and Blair Witch Project."

"OH. Let's do the 'witch' one. That's what humans call us, right?" Rhys exclaimed proudly, showing off his knowledge.

"Any objections?" Cas asked.

"Is there blood?" Demitri sounded excited. She knew about horror movies.

"Not really." Sephiram answered.

The princess immediately lost interest. "Sounds boring."

Caspian felt doubt tugging at the back of his mind, like he was forgetting something. But he popped the disc into a the CD player and turned on the TV.

Rhys watched in fascination. He couldn't seem to get over all the technology. Just as Caspian had started to cook the popcorn, there was a knock at the door. Everyone froze.

After a few tense seconds, the knocking continued. Mal crept over to the door and checked the peephole. "It's that human kid." He announced.

"Don't let him-"

As Mal moved to peek through the peephole, Huey burst into the room. "Hey! It's been a while!"

"Who left the door unlocked?" Caspian scowled. "Get out." Huey ignored him. "I smell popcorn. Is this a movie night?" He asked with a grin.

"It is, but you're not invited." Caspian

Huey glanced over at Zaria, who was wrestling with the gears on a device she was building. "You look nice with 21P gear." She was wearing a black tank top with a band name scrawled across the chest.

Zaria, Mal and Rhys had changed into clothes better fit for the era, but Demitri refused to wear anything so "cheap and gross".

"Thanks." He smiled, and stepped further inside. Caspian rolled his eyes, it was hard to be genuinely angry or harsh with the kid.

"Fine. You can stay, but only until nine."

About ten minutes later, the group was well-stocked with popcorn and sprawled out over the living room. Zaria sat on the floor, fiddling with various metal parts and plastic Lego pieces. So far, a miniature car rumbled around the room and a mechanical puppy barked occasionally. Huey sat close to her, playing with her inventions and suggesting new ones.

Malachi sat on the end of the couch, right next to Rhys. The two were watching the opening credits in fascination. Caspian was in the middle, and Sephiram sat close to him with his arm over the back of the couch. Demitri lazed on the far end, quite bored with the whole ordeal.

As the movie started, Caspian remembered why he didn't like horror movies. They scared the shit out of him.

He jumped at a sudden scene change, and Sephiram noticed. He smirked and whispered, "Y'know. No one's been murdered yet." Caspian shuddered. "Shut up."

They continued watching. The movie was tense and suspenseful. "This sounds so stupid." Zaria commented at one point.

"It's not supposed to be good, just scare you." Huey had tried to explain. Zaria still seemed confused about why people would want to be scared.

During several parts of the movie Caspian jumped, and grabbed onto the nearest body for protection. In this case: Sephiram.

Cas accidentally grabbed Seph's leg, who wore a smug look. Sephiram could get used to this. But it had been a couple days since he had last slept, and he was getting tired.

Seph found himself nodding off in the dark room, despite the frequent yelling, cursing and screaming from the movie. His head dropped onto Caspian's shoulder, and he was out. Cas froze, unsure what to do. A blush stained his cheeks.

They stayed like that for the rest of the movie.

At one part, there was a glimpse of human teeth, hair and blood wrapped inside a small bundle. Demitri had laughed. "That's so fake. That's not actually what it looks like."

"I'm so happy you know this." Rhys had choked out. He and Malachi had been glued to each other from the start, neither having much of a stomach for jumpscares.

***

When the credits rolled at the end, Mal was shaking. "T-the witch..." Rhys shook his head. "I don't even want to think about it."

Demitri scoffed, "that was a shitty documentary, but at least they died before they could find that out."

Rhys looked horrified. "You don't know that they died!" She smirked. "Whatever it takes for you to sleep at night." She stood, and walked past Zaria and Huey out of the room.

"She scares me." Mal said. And Rhys agreed.

Caspian attempted to extract himself from Sephiram, but it didn't work too well. One of the man's arms was looped around his shoulders, and the other wrapped around his waist. He poked at the man. "Oooooi. Please let me go..."

Sephiram shifted, mumbled something under his breath, then reluctantly let go. That was the best he'd slept in days.

Huey decided to leave before he was kicked out, and bid Zaria goodnight. He smiled at her, "If you ever wanna get out of here... I live down the hall!"

Seph stood, and stepped on a complex machine that Zaria had constructed. Using Legos®. "Fuck!"

He cursed. "I am going to smash these damn things!" It wasn't the first time he had tripped over one of Zaria's creations.

Seph moved to smash the stupid thing. "Noooooo! Those are Star Wars themed!"

Sephiram glared at Caspian. "You're lucky you're cute," he mutterd and stalked off to nurse his hurt foot.

"Did you just call me cute?"

A distant shout came from the kitchen area, "I said you make me want to puke!"