The Ugly House

"I'll be back in a few hours, honey!" Sam called as she left the house that morning.
"Where are you going?" Jay asked from the downstairs kitchen.
"We're helping Tosh and Owen move into their new house." Sam replied. She paused in the doorway. "Did you know they're moving into a house on the same street you grew up on?"
"That's... weird," Jay commented, walking out into the hall so she could see him as he dried his hands with a dishcloth, "I'm gonna get all nostalgic whenever we visit them - oh, don't forget to warn them about the Ugly House! They should know what kind of neighbors they might have."
"Jay, I'm sure there's no one living there." Sam assured him.
"Just tell them. They'd wanna know."
"Yes dear."
Sam left the house, casually swinging the front door shut. Jay spent the afternoon baking but was rather rudely interrupted a few hours later when Sam burst in through the front door and shouted "JAY, YOU'RE NOT GONNA FUCKING BELIEVE THIS!"

"Why did you call it 'the Ugly House'?" Tosh asked, unsure how to feel about her friend's feelings towards her and Owen's new home. It was the day after they'd began moving in and Sam was still talking like the house was bad in some way as she, Tosh, Ianto, and Gwen had lunch together.
"Well, it started when we were about eight," Sam explained, "one day we were walking down Jay's street and I happened to notice that the people living across from him had just painted their house that green color it is now. So I pointed it out to Jay, and he said 'I know, I hate that color, it's so ugly', so after that we just referred to it as 'the Ugly House'. But then... something strange happened."
"What?" Gwen asked, leaning forward eagerly.
"The people living in that house left," Sam said, "and I don't just mean moved out, we noticed one of them never came outside anymore, and then they just weren't around at all, the house never even went up for sale, there was just no one living in it."
"Creepy." Ianto commented, frowning slightly.
"That's not even the weirdest part," Sam said, shaking her head, "two years later on Halloween night, when Jay and I were about to go trick-or-treating on his block, he pointed to the attic window of the Ugly House and said 'what's that?'. I looked up, and I swear to you, the missing woman who had been living in that house with the people who disappeared was staring down at us. But then I blinked and she was gone! To this day, I believe Jay and I saw her ghost, trapped in the house, and those three other people she was living with murdered her in cold blood!"
Ianto and Gwen looked at each other, then burst out laughing.
"What?" Sam demanded.
"We get it, Sam," Ianto chuckled, "it's Halloween, so you're trying to scare us. Nice try."
"Wha-? No! I wasn't-!" Sam began.
"You should've seen the look on your face!" Gwen chimed in, giggling, "the ghost of that poor woman! Trapped in the house! Murdered by her friends!" She leaned on Ianto's shoulder as they both kept laughing.
"That's such a cliche, Sam," Ianto murmured, wiping his eyes, "I thought you were a more creative storyteller than that."
"It wasn't a story, it really happened!" Sam protested, "you believe me, Tosh, don't you?"
Tosh shrugged apologetically.
"Not really, Sam, sorry," she said, "I don't believe in ghosts. At least not the 'woo woo, Ebenezer Scrooge' type of ghost. Besides, if that woman had really been murdered, don't you think she would've been reported missing?"
Sam huffed in annoyance, folding her arms over her chest.
"Fine," she said, "don't listen when I warn you about that place. Just don't come cryin' to me when you get cursed or voodooed or some shit!"

"Wanna break out the ouija board?" Gwen teased later that evening when everyone was helping Owen and Tosh move the last of their stuff into the new house. Ianto snickered.
"Sam, do you want a crucifix?" He asked. Sam rolled her eyes.
"Are you all forgetting about the time two years ago when we were staying at my cottage and my story about the axe murders turned out to be true?" She demanded.
"Because of alien tech." Owen supplied unhelpfully.
"Yeah!" Gwen laughed, then a serious look came over her face and she walked over to the wall. She mock-gasped. "Sam! Something's written on this wall! In... blood! It says 'Sam Ryder, my friends did it! Only you can save me now!'"
"Yeah yeah, shut up." Sam muttered as Ianto barked a laugh.
"C'mon, Mom, you can't really expect us to believe you and Dada saw a ghost here?" Jack asked, putting an arm around her shoulders.
"My God, now I know how the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf felt!" Sam exclaimed in exasperation.
"Funny you should pick a story about lying." Ianto put in, causing Gwen to lapse into giggles. Sam scowled at them.
"Ianto, if you weren't my son-in-law and if Gwen weren't so pretty I'd knock both your lights out." She growled, pointing an angry finger at them.
"Oooh, I'm scared!" Ianto exclaimed sarcastically.
"She just doesn't wanna get into it with Rhys." Gwen whispered to him.
Sam strode furiously across the room, trying to hide her facial tic and running her hand through her long golden and red hair.
"So, did you make that story up?" Owen asked her, coming to stand beside her.
"No puedo creerlo," Sam hissed.
"No, I'm serious," Owen protested, "unless that's what you just said, I need you to stop speaking Spanish in the middle of conversations." Sam sighed angrily.
"I didn't make the story up, it's entirely true," she said, "now I'm going home so I can get Jay to back me up the next time we're on the subject. Goodnight." She stormed over to the door, then turned back and jabbed a finger in Gwen's direction. "Tell Rhys I said anytime and anyplace." She added before marching over to her car.
"I'd better get home too," Gwen added, "Rhys will be worried. And now I have to tell him Sam challenged him to a fistfight."
Ianto chuckled.
"See you tomorrow, Gwen!" Jack called, "please don't make my mom mad again," he added under his breath, "that goes for you too." He turned to Ianto.
"Oh, we were just teasing her," Ianto said, "she knows that! Plus, we can't just believe all her stories. She should save them for when Gabby and Anwen are older, yeah?"
"I guess so." Jack said with a shrug.
"C'mon Tosh, we'd better get back to the hub to finish up that project we were working on." Ianto said, changing the subject.
"Oh! Right," Tosh exclaimed, "I almost forgot! I'll be home in a bit, Owen." She gave Owen a peck on the cheek.
"You're leaving?" Owen asked.
"Not for long," Tosh promised, "I would walk, but there's so many kids on the streets. We can decorate and put out a bowl of candy when we get back, okay?" She left before Owen could answer.
"It's Halloween night," Jack commented in a teasing voice, "the night my parents saw the ghost in this house!"
"Shut up." Owen muttered.
"You're not scared, are you?" Jack asked.
"Of course not." Owen grumbled. He paused. "Could you stay for a while?"
Jack blinked.
"You don't wanna be alone with the new place?"
"Well. No. Not really. Kinda dark and lonely."
Jack nodded.
"I understand dark and lonely." He said. The two of them slowly sat down on the couch that had come with the house. It was light brown and smelled of dust.
"Do you really think Sam just made up that story?" Owen inquired after a long moment of silence.
"Honestly?" Jack replied, "no. Not entirely. She wouldn't be so upset over Gwen and Ianto not believing her if she did."
"So you think there's a ghost in this house?" Owen pressed.
"There are ghosts in every house, you know that. Maybe that's not what my parents saw, maybe it was. But I'd say there is something going on here."
"Thanks."
Owen got off the couch and walked into the kitchen, opening the small fridge and taking out a piton beer - one of Saint Lucia's classic and most popular brews that Sam had gotten him hooked on after the move.
"Will Gabby be alright if you stay late?" Owen asked.
"Oh, yeah," Jack said, "she's at my parents' house for the night."
"What's it like having a daughter?"
"... Interesting. There's the late night feedings and smelly diapers and the occasional upset tummy but honestly... I wouldn't change a single thing. I love Gabby and I love Ianto and I just love my life now in general. It was worth dying over a thousand times to finally get this."
Owen stared at Jack for a second, then nodded.
"Right." He said.
"Are you alright?" Jack asked.
"What?"
"Well you're asking me to stay here for the night and then wanting me to talk about babies and-"
"I didn't ask you to stay the night, I asked you to stay for a while. There's a difference."
"Well this is still the first time you've heard me talk about how much I love having a family and not made some snide comment about me going soft."
Owen took a swig of beer from the bottle. He sighed deeply.
"Then I'm sorry."
"What?" Jack asked.
"I'm sorry... for making those comments."
"Okay, now you're scaring me."
"I'm just trying to be nice."
"Why?"
"Because," Owen walked back over to the couch and sat down heavily next to Jack, "I dunno... we're mates. And I'm happy you have a family that makes you happy."
Jack grinned, blue eyes shining.
"Well... thanks, Owen." He said.
They sat in silence for a minute before there was a knock at the door.
"No candy!" Owen yelled, "sod off!" Jack laughed.
"The kids in this neighborhood are gonna love you." He murmured sarcastically.
Owen was about to respond when there were three loud splats on the front door.
"What the...?" Jack began. Owen got up to peer out on the front step.
"Oh, for the love of-" he growled, "those bloody kids egged my front door!"
The sound of laughter and screaming echoed down the street.
"Run! The ghost is gonna get us!" Some kid yelled. Owen glanced at Jack.
"I'm sure it's a coincidence." Jack said, trying to sound reassuring. Owen shut the door with an inaudible grumble of annoyance and sat next to Jack again.
"I thought kids were taught to leave a house alone if the lights were off." He said. Jack shrugged.
"Maybe they discontinued that lesson in schools." He suggested. Owen rolled his eyes. "Are you really worried about the ghost?" Jack asked after a slight pause.
"No." Owen scoffed.
"You sure?" Jack pressed, looking at him seriously. Owen sighed.
"Maybe," he said, "listen; if you tell any of the others I told you this I'll kill you but... ever since that incident with the ghost machine in Cardiff all those years ago I've... developed slight phasmophobia."
"Sorry?"
"I'm scared of ghosts, Jack. Like a dumb little kid hugging his teddy bear in the dark. It's embarrassing but I'm starting to think moving here wasn't the best idea."
"You don't think it's just because this is a big change in your life?"
Owen shot him an exasperated look.
"I'm serious," Jack went on, "you think I didn't feel a little anxious when Ianto and I moved? Or decided to adopt a baby? Or when I lost my immortality? Because I did. Any change, even a good change, can cause stress. That's just the way it is."
Owen smiled after a moment's hesitation.
"Thanks, Jack." He murmured. Jack beamed and put his arm around Owen's shoulders.
They sat there in silence for a long time, just listening to the sounds of the house and the kids outside on the street.
"I haven't seen the whole house yet," Jack commented, "why don't you show me around?" Owen shrugged.
"Alright," he said, getting up, "hopefully we don't find any ghosts - kidding!" He added when Jack gave him a look.
The house had four bedrooms and two bathrooms, had been fully furnished, and had two floors, plus a small attic. Jack and Owen spent the rest of the evening checking out all the rooms and closets. There was, in fact, no ghost.
"How much was this place?" Jack asked from one of the three spare rooms as Owen set a picture of himself and Tosh on his bedside table next to his phone and a greenish yellow lamp, "seems like it'd be expensive."
"It wasn't, actually." Owen replied.
"Oh." Jack said. He paused. "I'm sure that's got nothing to do with... y'know."
Owen clenched his jaw against an angry response. He knew Jack was only trying to help.
"Wanna check out the attic?" Jack suggested.
"Not particularly."
"C'mon, I'm sure there's nothing up there but some cobwebs and old boxes."
Jack was already pulling down the ladder leading up into the small attic.
"C'mon." He repeated, climbing up. Owen sighed and reluctantly walked out of his and Tosh's bedroom to follow him.
There was even more dust in the air up here, and it was nearly pitch dark.
"Where's the light?" Jack asked.
"Give me a second." Owen muttered, waving his hands around in the air to try and catch a dangling cord that might turn on a lightbulb (and hoping he wouldn't touch anything else). To be honest, he hadn't come up here when he and Tosh had taken the tour of the house, so he had no idea what they would find. His fingers finally brushed against a string and he pulled it, there was a click and the room was illuminated with dim, yellow-orange light. Jack let out a startled yelp.
"What?" Owen demanded, whipping his head around frantically and trying to find what his friend had seen. Then he saw it. A human skeleton propped up on some boxes by the window, looking out through the glass at the street below. Owen screamed, actually leaping into Jack's arms in fear. "WHAT IS THAT?" He yelled.
"I don't think it's real!" Jack exclaimed quickly.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T THINK IT'S REAL?!" Owen yelled, "IT'S A BLOODY HUMAN SKELETON!"
"But look!" Jack insisted, "there's a still a tag attached to it's hand!"
Owen squinted across the room and realized Jack was right.
"Well put me down then!" He hissed, struggling to get out of Jack's grip.
Jack set him down on the floor and they both walked over to examine the skeleton. He was right, it was made of plastic. Owen's face burned.
"Don't you dare tell the others I got scared like that." He growled.
"I won't," Jack said, "I promise." Then he laughed.
"What's so funny?" Owen asked, still irritated.
"Nothing," Jack replied, "it's just, I think we just found my parents' 'ghost'." Owen looked at him, then back at the skeleton.
"So you're telling me that this house was so cheap not because it's haunted," he said, "but because whatever sick fuckos lived here before us obviously had a morbid sense of humour and wanted to scare people on the streets?"
"Yeah." Jack said, still laughing.
"Well then," Owen murmured, "... I'm home!"
~THE END