Chapter 42: Chapter 40: Always About You

Kenny's heart was beating a mile a minute. The house was very big, and it was covered in pure darkness. It reminded him of his first nightmare. Ever since then, he would always sleep with the door ajar, the hallway's light providing him with a bit of reprieve from the monsters under his bed. The problem was that, this particular monster, was created by him. It was fine, though. Jered was there. He knew that everything would turn out fine. 

Jered wasn't scared of anything. He was a solid rock, unmoving, still, and always calm. Kenny tailed behind him, looking left and right to make sure no one was tailing him. They scoured through the entirety of the ground floor. Nothing off-putting happened, thankfully, "Let's go upstairs," Jered said, circulating his mana through his hands. He didn't want to be caught unprepared. 

"A-Are you sure we have to do this?" Kenny gulped, obediently following him, "M-Maybe it's really my imagination..."

"It's not."

"H-How do you know... why do you believe me? I know it sounds ridiculous... so why?"

Jered's eyes glowed with that eerie light again. It wouldn't have been noticeable during the day, but when every light was off, when they were so close to each other, Kenny could see a swirling mist inside those emerald pools, "Personal experience," he whispered, "I'm here because I don't want to this unfinished business to potentially bite me back in the ass at a later date. Besides, it could be a bad influence on you. I can't afford that."

"Oh..." Kenny bit his bottom lip, "Well, thank you... I really appreciate it."

"Hah, you're my partner in crime. Of course I would help you."

It was when they walked up to the first floor that the air seemed slightly colder. Kenny translated that as a bad sign, and refused to approach the source any further. However, the thought of being left behind, alone, in the darkness, was scarier than facing whatever demon was lurking in his room along with Jered. So he soldiered on, "Looks like he's really here," Jered said. They were back in Kenny's room, where it all begun, "Carter, come on buddy. I know you're hiding here. It's me, Jered. Come out."

"..." Kenny grabbed a random item to protect himself with.

"Caaarteeer..." Jered called out mockingly, "You rotten piece of shit. You're wasting my time, you motherfucker. Come out already!"

The closet doors creaked open, though not open enough for a person to walk out of. It was an invitation. An invitation for Jered, daring him to get closer to it, and open the doors himself.

"Alright, alright."

"Jered, no!" Kenny held his friend's wrist, stopping him. Jered shook him off and leisurely approached the closet. The temperature there was obviously the lowest, but it didn't bother him. He took the last few steps forward, and violently swept the closet doors open. 

Nothing. Only clothes. Feminine clothes. The perfume inside was a jarring mismatch with the stink of rotten flesh. Carter was not there. Then, where was he?

Another creaking was heard, but it didn't come from the closet. Jered turned around, just in time for the bedroom door to slam shut. Kenny jumped in fright, ready to unconsciously turn back, "Don't," Jered warned, "Don't turn around."

He was there, after all. 

"J-J-Jered?"

Kenny balled his hands into fists, his knees trembling. He could see it from his friend's eyes. They were staring at something, someone behind him.

"Don't move."

Carter's figure was partially blended in the shadow, and partially sticking out of whatever faint light was filtering through the window. His clothes were torn apart, his arm dangling with a bone poking out of his gray skin. His head was sunk in, where black blood and rotten flesh were dripping off.

'You killed me...'

"Is that all you can say?" Jered tilted his head. 

'You killed me...'

"Whatever. I have no time for this shit."

His mana flared up, the spell 'Soul Eater' manifesting. 

The floor quaked slightly. A sphere of mana spread out, and then a misty, white smoke oozed out of Jered's facial orifices. Kenny nearly dropped to the floor from sheer fright. Carter wasn't unaffected either. He must have sensed the threatening power within the spell. Jered's smile looked terrifying beneath his demonic black eyes. Even his voice was altered, flowing out with a sinister twist, like an off-kilter computer, "What's wrong? You don't recognize me?"

Kenny scurried back so fast he inadvertently hit the wall. 

"Oh, wow, my voice. Isn't my voice cool, Kenny? This is some demonic shit, haha!"

A damp patch grew on his friend's shorts, though for some reason, it grew towards the end of his butt. 

"Really?"

"..."

Carter's mangled face had a hint of concern, which was crazy since it was... well, mangled. He stepped back, cautiously, as if afraid that a hasty movement would trigger Jered's wrath. His 'You killed me...' stopped as soon as the dangerous mist was all around them. He wanted to phase through the wall and get the fuck out of there, but the smoky dome rebounded him. 

"This is my first time too."

Jered's warped voice came from right behind him. Carter whipped around, only to come face-to-face with a hand. His head slammed against the wall as he was lifted up in the air. He was being held by his neck, and even though he was already dead, he found himself choking. The white mist seeped into his nose, ears, and mouth. Carter wheezed out, desperately struggling to wrestle his way out. Jered tightened his grasp on Carter. His 'Soul Eater'-powered mana feasted on the ghost's ectoplasm. 

Carter's body distorted, as if it were being sucked away. And it actually was. He thrashed, gurgled threatening words, and even seemed to have begged at some point. It was useless, for his body thinned out and elongated into a wispy cone that was absorbed into Jered. 

"Wow... this feels good..."

His heart thumped, making him feel bloated with mana.

[The system has converted ectoplasmic energy into mana.]
[Your mana pool attribute has risen by 17 points.]
[Your third vein has been slightly stirred.]

A smile tugged at his lips. Wasn't that the perfect outcome? The mist dispersed, along with Carter. Jered's eyes reverted back to normal, and so did his voice. Then the backlash hit him, almost forcing him down the floor. You'd think he'd feel better than ever after becoming stronger, but the spell really did a number on his reserves, "Fuck..." he crawled next to Kenny, though maintaining a safe distance due to the sharp smell of urine, "Tough night, right?"

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"..."

"I honestly thought it would have taken me a couple of hours. Hah, Carter, that stereotype dumbass. He's easy to manipulate even as a ghost."

"..."

"Yes, yes... I know what's going on in your head. 'What the fuck just happened?' or 'What the hell was that? How did he do it? Am I dreaming?' you're probably thinking that. Hmhm. Well, the truth is that I don't fucking care if you saw me do that stuff," Jered leaned back against the wall, "It's not like the police would believe you, right? Why would I care? I don't need to hide. You can know about the stuff I'm capable of, you can even babble it around... tell your father, mother, the government. Tell it to who the fuck you want. I need to manage the fucks I give, and my secret ninja turtle powers being made public is not fuckworthy enough."

"..."

"Tough night indeed. I'm tired... and you're still not answering me. That's rude."

"I... w-w-what am I supposed to say...?" Kenny clenched his jaw, "You... who are you?"

"No, no, no, Kenny! Cliché! What is this, a movie? You're expecting me to tell you that I'm some sort of secret agent, vampire, werewolf, or whatever teenager angsty girls dream about nowadays? I didn't come to your school to wreck your life in some love drama. I just happened to gain magical powers, that's all. Don't think about it," Jered ran a hand through his hair, "I'm sorry... I'm not taking it out on you, really. I'm just not in a good mood right now. I feel like I have thousands of things I want to do, and not enough time to do any of them."

Kenny curled his legs up, "Magic?" he breathed out, "That's..."

"Crazy. I know."

"H-H-How did it happen?"

"Hm... I don't know. It just sorts of happened."

Kenny bit his lip, "Hard to believe. I d-don't know what to think... if I hadn't seen it with my eyes..."

"You wouldn't have believed it. Yes, fair."

"..."

Jered sighed, "Are you scared of me?"

"W-W-Why would you think that?"

"You're pale. Aaaand... you peed yourself."

Kenny's slumped his shoulders, "Well... you were scary before, when you... transformed. Now not so much."

"Haha, yes. I would be sad if you were scared of me," Jered smiled.

"Oh, your eyes were cool, but your voice was fucked up," Kenny smiled back.

"That's the effect I was hoping for. Did you see Carter? He almost shat himself, hahaha!"

They both cracked up.

"It feels wrong to laugh about the dead..."

Jered booed, "Oh, come on. He was haunting you! He deserved it! No one haunts my best friend and survives."

"Woah. Chill out, dark night. Are you going to kill anyone that bullies me?"

"Hmhm. If you pay me..."

"Pfft..."

Surprisingly, Kenny felt better. Much better. His back-and-forth with Jered told him that things were still normal. Magic or not. His friend was not a demon, and they were still friends. Actually, he felt safer. That short display of power was clear evidence that no human or ghost could outmatch him. Jered scooted closer and wiped a stray tear off Kenny's eyes, "Huh?"

"I'm sorry I made you cry..."

"No... I... I didn't even realize I was crying. What the heck."

Jered watched as Kenny rubbed the heel of his hands on his eyes. His mascara was coming off in black stripes.

"Too much make-up, Kenny. You don't need it."

"I feel more feminine that way... you don't like it?"

"It shouldn't be about me, though."

"But... it's always about you. It has to be about you..."

"..."

Jered didn't know how to handle such situations.

"What's the point of me dressing like this if it's not for your eyes?" Kenny's hands trembled. The short burst of adrenaline was making him say things he would have never said, "How should I dress for you to like me? Should I be conservative? Should I be slutty? Should I have bigger breasts? Should I be more forward? I don't know what to do..." he sniffed, a new wave of tears welling up in his eyes, "Gosh, this sounds so stupid! B-But, you know... I-I'm confused about many things, but not about you. When it comes to you, I'm sure of what I want.”

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