Haunt You

20. Keep Us Awake

     (One day later...)

     Just like their experience in the haunted house, now seemingly burned to the ground by an unexplained cause, Dan, Kyle, and Will's major burns and wounds healed up, with only minor burns left in the form of flesh scars. It was still a bit painful to deal with whenever water collided with them, but the band could handle it. They were alive, minus Kyle and Dan, and well, sitting in a crowded room inside a venue before a curious audience of Bastille fans. The interviewers went through the normal, routine questions about Dan's pessimism, the third album and whether or not it was completed writing wise, Kyle's recent break up with Janna, and most importantly to the teenage crowd: what happened inside that house. The four men were nervous to answer some of the questions, but with Charlie there to fill in the unknown details, they did eventually calm down.

"How did you four get out?!" A curious fan asked the guys as they looked to Charlie, casually sitting on the stage with him.

"Well, I called the police, and they managed to break in and find these three on the floor," he shrugged a small smile and laughed.

     "What's it like having one eye? Do you still have to wear your glasses?" A young lad stood at the front asked.

     "Erm, if I really have to, then I guess... yes," Dan nodded, wincing at the burns in his fleshy right side.

     "Can you control the colour of your eyes?" A girl asked Kyle. "Or is it based off of emotion?"

     "Well, if I concentrate hard enough, then I can control them myself, but if I get a bit too ahead of myself-"

     "So basically all the damn time," Will butted in with a smirk.

     "And shut your face," the vampire casually said and continued, making the small audience of fans laugh. "If I get too ahead of myself, then I usually end up with red eyes."

     "Will, can you do origami without instructions?" A Japanese-British teenager questioned.

     "I haven't tried, but I'll definitely try it tonight," he chuckled softly.

     "Can Woody kick a ball and make it land perfectly on the edge of that seat?" An Argyle jersey boy pointed to an empty chair at the back of the crowded room.

     "Probably," the drummer shrugged as one of the official interviewers set down a plain old football, white with black, shiny pentagons.

     "Kick that ball!" Kyle shouted with a sassy tone.

     "Shut the hell up and let me focus!"

     THUMP!

     All eyes were drawn to the ball as it flew swiftly across the room to the back, sticking a soft yet precise landing, right where the boy had requested. The fans cried with laughter and joy as Woody joked around and stood up to bow, hiding a smug expression in his hazel eyes as he sat down again. The interviewers then stood up and began to thank the five musicians for coming along to the little meet and greet session, with the fan screaming phrases such as placing "Grip" and "Hangin" on the third studio album, or revealing a name for the up coming song they were making for a movie. Bastille waved and were escorted out of the room into a private room meant for their peace, a classic            B▵STILLE with the triangle replacing the A. Three two-seater couches sat in the centre, facing a large flat-screen television. All five slumped down in exhaustion, eyeing each other before Dan, Kyle, Will, and Woody looked down in surprise at their phones.

     "Did you guys..."Kyle gave a strange expression.

     "Yep," the others nodded and gazed back down at their phone.

     "Did anyone here open a group chat?" Woody brought up the bizarre question.

"No..." Dan muttered with concern.

FS: We meet again.

Dan 💀: who the fuck is this? Why the fuck does my name have a goddamn skull?!

Kyle 🌞: I have a fucking smiling sun. It's staring at my goddamn face.

Will 🔎: ...a magnifying glass.

Woody ⚽️: why do I have a regular football? I don't only kick those...

FS: SILENCE! I AM A PHOENIX WHO HAS RISEN FROM ITS ASHES!

Dan 💀: NO. FUCKING. WAY. 😱

Woody ⚽️: he's back?!

FS: Stronger AND better than ever...but I am trapped in the house.

Kyle 🌞: I THOUGHT THE DAMN HOUSE BURNED TO THE GROUND!!!

Will 🔎: AND WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!

FS: You can think many things. But I will be waiting here for Halloween victims next year.

FS: Unless you don't want your curses to be lifted.

CHAT WAS DELETED.

     "The fuck is wrong with that demon?!" Woody yelled in the soundproof room.

     "What do we do?" Kyle and Will shot glances at their lead singer.

     "We'll wait for 2018. October 31st."