Sickest Addictions: Sympathy For The Devil

Chapter Six

Dust tickled the inside of Hades' nose. He wrinkled it, holding back a sniffle as the particles swarmed around his head. Swatting them, he let out a couch and ducked down out of the allergenic cloud. Currently the young man was up in the attic of the 'horror house' he went to almost everyday after his shift. Below him, was the owner of the house, looking bored and uninterested with the task he was given.

Jack stood on the ground, holding the latter that led up to the storage space. It was Hades that insisted that they clean up around the old house. Dust and cobwebs covered every corner and surface there was. That was easy enough to clean around the hallways and living spaces. But for Hades, a simple dusting wasn't good enough. The young man thought it'd be better to straight-up the entire building, including getting rid of some old memories and making the place an overall better home for his patient.

For Jack, though being a proper looking gentleman, did not enjoy cleaning so much. To him it was a waste of time considering no one besides Hades was going to be coming in and out of his house. Plus the dirt and fuzz of the dust made him sneeze like no other. He wiggled his nose, holding back one of those blasted sneezes.

"Geez, when's the last time you been up here?" Hades said, as he coughed.

"Well given the issue of being held in mental custody for six years, Hades, I didn't know hiring a maid service was an option," Jack spoke with an icy tone of sarcasm.

The fallen dust was starting to make his eyes water now. It tickled his nose, causing him to constantly have to sniff back the watery mess that threatened to leak. It was clear that the man was in no mood for chit-chat or having a teenager lecture him about his messy attic. Hades smirked as he looked down to the other.

"Allergies?" He teased.

Jack glared back at the boy, grumbling under his breath. If only there was a way out of the house. Boredom was inevitable in the wooden prison he unfortunately called home. What felt like years, was really only days Jack had been stuck in the empty, two story house. Cooped up inside with no way out and nothing to do. Of course there was Hades who visited regularly. The young man was nice company when he wasn't trying to flirt, or asking a million to one questions. Then again, Jack couldn't do anything or say anything more than simple actions and answers. In no way could he do such things that would lead to any sort of friendship between the two. Their 'relationship' as strictly caretaker and patient was already on thin ice after what had happened beforehand. Jack had to keep that semi-solid ground from shattering completely. He did not wish to hurt the boy.

With a sigh, the green eyes man leaned against the latter. His cheek rested in his palm while he examined his nails on his other hand, picking at the dead skin around his cuticles. 

  

"Hey check this out!" Hades blurted from above. The excitement in his voice was transparent as he shouted out, "What's this?!"

Jack looked up with the roll of his eyes, unprepared for the large wooden chest that came sliding down the latter. He caught it with a grunt as the air left from his lung and he stumbled backwards.

Dust flew about causing his eyes to water further. Hades jumped down, clapping his dirty hands together to brush off the muck. He smiled as he took the heavy trunk from the other, who was still struggling regain his breath.

"Mind helping me bring this down stairs to the kitchen?" The teenager asked, disregarding the other's injuries.

Again, Jack grumbled under his breath something in German and limped over to help the other carry the chest downstairs.

The large trunk made a loud ruckus as it was dropped onto the dining room table. Hades looked to Jack, mouthing the word "oops" and bit down guiltily on his lip. The older man rolled his eyes and dusted off his hands. The filth of the dirty old chest had gotten everywhere, covering the table in a blanket of grey specks and destroyed cobwebs. Some in which Jack had brushed off of himself while glaring at the boy who forced him to handle the box.

Hades stared at the box while rubbing his chin and wondering what could be in it. A lock held the thing shut, which caused him to frown as he held the rusty old thing in his hand. Jack let out a sigh, about to walk away from the situation, when Hades held his hand out for him to stop.

"Wait," he said, still staring hard at the box. As stubborn as he was, it would be difficult to break a lock as large as the one guarding the thing, but it was not entirely impossible. The thick coat of orange and red rust was already flaking off with just a gentle rub of his thumb. Just a good couple of hits to it would surely snap off it's hold on the chest.