Hidden In The Attic: An AJR Fanfiction

Chapter Eleven

↤↤↤↤↤ Adam ↦↦↦↦↦

After I have to dispose of the bug for Julie and Jay, the rest of the day goes by lazily. We eat a small dinner and for the evening we decide to play Monopoly, for some crazy fucking reason. I'm not sure if everyone will make it out alive.
A small playing piece clicks across the board as Hanna rolls the dice.
"One, two, three, four, five!" she says triumphantly before realizing that she landed on someone's property.
"Ha!" Ryan yells, reaching a hand across the table. Hanna slaps a few fake bills in his hands begrudgingly, to which he smiles slyly and puts them on his already huge pile of money.
"How are you so good at this?" I ask with a chuckle.
Jack reaches across the board for the dice. "He's the only one who actually knows how to play," he says, shaking them in his hand and tossing them back to where he picked them up from. He rolls an eight, and moves his piece accordingly. Nothing happens.
"Alright, I'm gonna go change into my pyjamas," I say, standing up from my chair at the table. "Kib, make sure Jack doesn't steal my money."
I leave the table and pause for a bit in the hallway to hear conversation continue once I'm out of sight.
"I'm totally gonna steal his money," Jack says. I hear movement and a slap.
"No the fuck you will not," Kib says. The table laughs and I assume Kib's protecting my money. I laugh quietly to myself and go up to my bedroom.
Once I get there, I quickly change into more comfortable clothes. I look to the door, which I accidentally left slightly ajar. I'm about to leave the room when the door suddenly slams shut in front of me and I hear the lock jiggle.
"Jack?" I ask, knowing that he's the type of idiot to try to trick me and lock me in my room. "This isn't funny. What are you doing?"
By now I'd probably hear snickers outside, right? Or see shadows through the crack in the bottom? I don't hear or see anything, though. The door just shut and locked. It locks from the inside, of course, so I try to unlock it, but it won't budge. What the hell?
I hit the door with the palm of my hand. "Jack, are you there?" I step away from the door. "God," I breathe, annoyed. I turn away from the door to see some odd shadow. It's not mine, so I don't know where it's coming from. It makes me nervous, for some reason. I glance around the room to find its source, but I can't.
I stare into the shadow. It's shaped like a person. But there's no one else in here, so what is it?
"Hello?" I ask timidly. "Jack or Ryan or Kib? Someone? Are you in here?"
The shadow starts moving closer.
"H-hey. Stop. Don't get any closer..."
I'm backed up against the door now. What the fuck is Jack pulling here? I jiggle the doorknob repeatedly as that...thing gets closer and closer.
"Hey! Get away! Fuc-"
My back hits the door and I sink to the ground. I hear whispers and ringing all around me. I put my head in my hands and grunt, preparing myself to throw my head against the door. I open my eyes and let out a gasp.
I can't see anything.
The ringing becomes too much and every sound begins to melt away.

Eyes open, he looks at his hands, his arms, and down his body. His strong, human body. Pleasantly satisfied, he gets up and walks out the bedroom door.
"Hey, Adam," a lanky white boy with scraggly hair— Jack— says from his seat next to the only empty one at the table, which Adam sits in. "I didn't steal any of your money."
Adam laughs lightheartedly.
"He tried, but I stopped him," another person says from a few seats to the right of Jack.
"Yeah. Kib hit me."
"You deserve it, rat boy."
"Can you stop it?!"
"Alright! Alright." Adam puts his hands out in front of him, calming the clamor. "Whose turn is it?"
His other brother, Ryan, points to the dice sitting right in front of him. "Yours," he says as if it were the most well-known fact in the world.
Adam nods. "Oh. Okay." He rolls a six, then puts his hands back in his lap.
"Adam. Move your piece." Jack points to the metal top hat near Adam.
"Right."
"Are you okay?" A girl with a South American accent asks.
"What? I'm fine. Nothing's wrong." Adam forces a slight smile and begins moving his piece.
The game continues for half an hour with occasional shouts and laughs from the players. Adam hands the last of his money to the only other girl at the table after moving his playing piece onto her square.
"Dude, how'd you lose? You usually beat us when we play at home." Ryan speaks up.
"I-I just wanted to be nice and let the others have a chance at winning." He forces another smile. Everyone stares at him, some sharing a concerned look with each other. "Well, since I'm out, I'm heading to bed early. Good night, everyone." Adam gives a small wave to the group.
Scattered "bye"s are said as he walks up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms.