For you, i will

chapter IV

the weekend had held a certain magic to it that monday took away. as his alarm rang, ryan got out of bed and made his way towards the shower. ever since what had happened a few days prior—he didn't like to actually say what it was—shane had been staying at his house, there to keep him from being alone with his thoughts. he was still shaken from what he'd experienced, but felt safe knowing that shane was there to protect him from anything.

he came out of the shower to face a fully dressed shane, sitting in the living room with breakfast and two cups of coffee. ryan's heart skipped a beat at the sight.
"good morning shane.. you didn't need to do all of this, wow the omelet looks so good."
shane chuckled a little, "good morning ry, how'd you sleep?" he lifted a cup of coffee, indicating it was ryan's, "i decided to get a head start for breakfast since you like to sleep in." the words resonated with both of them, i certain deeper meaning held within them.
ryan came and took a seat next to shane, taking the cup of coffee from his hands. ryan's fingers brushed against shane's for a moment, and his face turned a few shades redder than it had initially been; he hoped shane wouldn't notice. he definitely had.
•••
the buzzfeed office was quieter than usual this early in the morning, and no one was there except shane, ryan, and mark the brave and loyal cameraman.
the trio, upon meeting up, set out on their adventure of the day, yet another haunted house, located in santa clarita this time. shane was on edge, knowing that the weekend had caused ryan to be more fearful than usual about these trips, and he made a mental note to not let ryan out of his sight.
upon arriving to the building, the duo found a spot inside the house for mark set up his camera.
"this week on buzzfeed unsolved, we search what appears to be a normal house belonging to a local of santa clarita. the current residents here claim the house is haunted by a demon, or another powerful entity, and have reported doors closing and opening on their own, as well as a vase that mysteriously dropped from the middle of the table—"
here, shane chimed in with his usual remarks.
"aren't demons supposed to, i don't know, rip your heart out and feed it to goatman or something? did this one just really not like the roses or something? perhaps they're allergic?"
ryan began to laugh, feeling a weight lift off his chest as he realized things between him and shane were still the same, despite shane being the exact thing he constantly made fun of, that being a demon.

after ryan finished up the introduction to the episode, the two began to investigate the house further, while mark stayed behind to set up some equipment. the house was old and its floors creaked louder with every step, sending chills through ryan's body. shane noticed this, and inconspicuously took a hold of ryan's hand. the two stop walking and glared at each other's faces.
"don't worry ryan, i'm right here to protect you." you don't have to be scared." shane reassured the shorter man, tensing the grip on his hand before letting go and moving forward again. ryan stood frozen in his spot, his heart beating so fast he could feel the rushing in his ears. it wasn't until shane stopped to ask him if he's still coming that ryan fell right back into reality.
"right, sorry, i am."
the moments that's followed changed everything.

as ryan took his first step towards shane, a figure began to form in front of him, it appeared to be doing the opposite of dissolving. in a matter of moments it had taken its form, and this time it wasn't a ghastly apparition. it was definitely a demon.  it's shadowy figure melting from its torso down, its horns curved out of its head, sharper than a cut diamond, its fangs dripping with a liquid red and thick, and it's eyes...
pitch black and hollow, yet capable of holding every fear imaginable if you stared long enough.
ryan found himself paralyzed with the sight, is feet unwilling to listen to his brain's one command: run.
"close your eyes" shane commanded, and ryan listened like a timid child.
immediately shane threw himself at the figure, which put up quite a fight, but was not at the level of power shane was as a demon. the sounds it made were somewhere on a line between screams and shrieks, closer to the latter, and ryan felt every bone in his body shake with the resonance of the sounds. almost as quickly as it had begun, the sounds ended, and ryan felt it safe to open his eyes. what he saw broke his heart. the demon had pinned down shane by the neck and was getting its claws ready to do...
"no please take me!"
shane had been struggled under the weight of the other demon, but upon hearing ryan's words, he felt the weight lift. the figure made its way towards ryan, leaving a weak shane in its shadow.
a morbid laugh erupted from deep in its throat.
"i'll...take...both."
it moved along the floor towards ryan, who—finding no place to run—was backing up against the wall. the floor's creaking became an echo in his head, the room spinning in and out of focus as he began to dissociate, unable to accept his death.

then, a clatter, a gruesome sound, a scream, and it was over.

the demon's body lay on the floor, disappearing halfway between melting and vaporizing. and above it stood shane, holding a metal rod in his hand.
"ryan.. you're okay" he said, before collapsing on the floor next to the remnants of the demon he had just saved ryan from.