-BOOK ONE- Gone Home (Smosh FanFic)

[Chapter 3] Agree Never To Mention This To Anthony

-Anthony's POV-

"Anthony, I'm exhausted, can we please, please go?" Heather begged.

"We need to find more clues!" I exclaimed.

She sighed, "Look, Anthony, I want to find out what happened to them just as much as you do, but I need to take a break. Can I please go to your house?"

I rolled my eyes and handed her my keys, "Here. You know which one is for the car and that one right there is for the house."

She smiled slightly before making her way to the door. Before she left, I jumped into the hallway and ran into the front room, "Hey, if you see Kalel there, or not, could you call me?"

"Of course," She replied before stepping out into the stormy night and closing the door behind her. I stood there for a while before getting on my hands and knees. I started rummaging through the piles of trash on the floors, looking for things that could help me find out what happened.

I found another note, again from Kalel to Ian. I tried my best to remove the wrinkles of the paper on my thigh and began to read it: "Hey Ian, I had a great time at coffee. It made me feel a lot better. I hope we can do this more often. And maybe next time we can stay longer. Oh, and...let's agree never to mention what happened between us to Anthony. It would break his heart. Respond soon! Kalel." And this time her name was signed followed by a heart, something I thought she only did for me on my birthday or holiday cards. And what happened between them that they would want to keep from me?

I leaned back on the couch when my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that on the screen was a picture I took of me and Heather from a party we went to two years back. She was twenty-two and I was twenty-eight at the time. I smiled before pressing the answer button and holding the phone up to my ear, "Hey, Heather."

"She's not here, Anthony," She replied, "I looked everywhere - there's no one here. And the place is just as much of a wreck as Ian's. The lights were off, and the ones I turned on...some of them are flickering. I'm so scared something's going to... AHH!" She screamed.

"Heather!?!"

She started laughing, "Oh...it was just a cat." I sighed in relief, "No, but everything is just so creepy, Anthony. I don't want to be here alone."

"Well, just look around for clues, okay? And once I'm done here, I'll call you and you can come and pick me up. Does that sound like a plan?"

"I...I don't know, Anthony. How long do you think you'll be?"

"I don't know..." I got up and turned on the lamp in the corner, illuminating the room with a brilliant yellow glow, and unfortunately revealing much more mess than I thought, "I'll call you, alright? Bye!" And I hung up, slipping the phone back into my pocket.

Before going into the hallway, I saw something shining in the corner of the front room under the couch. I was tempted to go see what it was, but I decided not to. It probably wasn't important, probably some coin or unplugged cord.

I started turning lights on everywhere, but when I got to Ian's bedroom, the doorknob wouldn't budge. I yanked and yanked at it, but it wouldn't turn. I leaned on the door in defeat. I didn't even think that the bedroom doors could be locked, even when I lived here.

I peeled myself from the door and looked in the bathroom, where the faucet had been dripping. I turned the faucet to the right as tightly as I could've before turning around and jumping when I saw myself in the mirror. I clutched my chest as I caught my breath and really looked at myself. I looked...different than I remembered. My hair was longer and messed up, there were bags under my eyes, and my lips were curled down in a frown.

I turned out of the room and tried once more with Ian's door, no success. I punched the door in frustration before returning to the front room to find the phone receiver blinking. I walked up to is and saw that it was full.

I pressed the play button and the automated voice stated, "Call received September 15, 2013..."

"September 15, 2013?" I repeated, confused.

"...at eight thirty P.M. from Anthony's House..." That's when the message started, with Kalel saying, "Hey, Ian. Uh...it's been a few days since we went out for coffee and you haven't written me or called me back. I was wondering if everything's okay over there. Call me back when you get this! Bye!" And the message ended. Before another message could start, I smacked the receiver and started pacing back and forth. Why the hell was Kalel calling Ian, asking if everything's okay?

A boom of thunder sounded, and was followed by the whirring of the computer in the office as it started up. As I made my way over there, I heard Ian whisper, "Well, I...I don't know how to put this, Anthony, or even if I should tell you...but, you're my best friend and I think you deserve to know." I turned the corner and continued to listen, "You know that me and Kalel went out for coffee, but...what you didn't know is that afterwards, when we drove back to your place, something happened. Something I don't know how I feel about..." I walked into the threshold of the office, but no further, "Now, I'm probably going to be sitting next to you when you see this and blushing insanely, but...I want you to know that...before Kalel got out of the car...she...I...we...kissed." My eyes widened, "It didn't last very long, but...I...I feel so...I've never felt how I feel right now before. I don't know if I feel bad or good about it and...I just hope you know it meant nothing. I don't think it did... But, it was a thing of the moment. I..."

I shut the computer off, not wanting to hear more. I plopped down in the office chair, holding back the scream that wanted to escape my lips and the tears that wanted to fall from my eyes. How could they do that?