In a candle-lit room, three bodies sat close to each other, a tense atmosphere whirling in the air.
"We can't go on like this."
Mike and Lukas grimaced at those words.
"We have to consider something important. My gender."
The boys nodded in acknowledgement. They were males, she was female. So?
"I think it's time we get our own separate rooms."
Lukas's lollipop was crushed with no mercy while Mike hissed with a strained look on his face.
For the last few weeks, they had avoided cleaning up the rest of the house by using the excuse that sleeping in one room was safer. Now that Tingting felt uncomfortable having two men stare at her sleeping face, they had to do the inevitable.
"So it's come to this." Lukas was already standing, his gaze never leaving Mike.
"Yeah. Sorry bro, I'm not gonna hold back." Mike stretched his tense muscles in preparation for what was to come.
They circled each other, trying to find a gap in the other's defense. This was a crucial moment. Both of them had realised one thing. Finding a clean room would ease their burdens. But just how many clean rooms were there? There was no knowing for certain.
"Fine, how about this?" Lukas could tell that they would be doing this all night if they didn't find an alternative. "We'll count to three and go out of the door at the same time."
"Sounds good."
"Ok then."
"1"
"2"
"3!"
They were out of the door as soon as the number left their mouths.
"You could do this in the morning you know..." Tingting's voice was unheard by the boys in their hurry to grab the cleanest room for themselves.
...
"Woohoo!"
Mike's voice could be heard a few rooms down from where Lukas was standing.
'That little-'
His eyes narrowed as he recalled how fast Mike had bolted down the corridor, kicked open every door, examine the room and rush out all in one go. Was he even human?
Lukas was left with the choice of a room filled with unspeakable things, a room ruled by spiders and a room without furniture except from a rug which had been eaten by rats and moths.
He had chosen the third room. Though it was empty, it was still sanitary and having a few furry friends wouldn't be too bad... right?
"F*ck"
Just, f*ck. Like hell it was ok.
Oh how lonely he was. How sad he was. His life played out in black and grey until 'they' came into his life. Yes. Now, he truly understood warmth. Happiness. Love. Yes. Cuddling them to sleep brought him pure joy. Yes. Those furry house pests. Yes.
Rats.
Ha...hahaha...
Unbelievable.
"I'm here~"
The door opened with a *slam*, layers of dust blanketed the ground bellow.
Mike came by to check up on Lukas, not forgetting to brag about his luck.
"I hit the jackpot man! It's decked out with a bed, a chair, a wardrobe... Just a bit of dusting and I'm all ready to go."
No words could describe how much Lukas wanted to tear Mike apart at that moment. It must have shown on his face for Mike took a few cautious steps back.
"Woah, scary. I'll be in my room if you need me."
Lukas scowled and went back to cleaning.
After a couple of hours, he was done. A bucket of soapy water and a few cloths really did the trick.
He collapsed on the floor and lay there, staring up at the ceiling listlessly.
'It's dark.'
Not even the pasty moon was able to light up the room. Not to mention the weak flickering light of the candlesticks placed in the corners.
A sudden gust of wind blew the candles fiercely, plunging the dreary room into complete darkness.
...Perhaps it was better this way.
Ever since the tragedy of that day, the bright, white light in the night sky would make him feel restless. But at the same time, he felt somewhat comforted by it. Comforted by the thing that watched his mother disappear. His mind was divided by his conflicting emotions. Why was he like this? If only he'd screamed sooner, if only he hadn't asked her to sleep with him that day... The regrets and guilt kept resurfacing, tearing at his scabs, peeling them off, bit by bit by bit by bit by bit by bit by-
"Hey! You done yet...?!"
Illuminated by his own candle stick, Mike swung open the door to Lukas's room jovially, only to discover Lukas's profile laying still on the ground, his gaze focused on an unseen place.
Alarmed by his disconcerting behaviour, Mike rushed to pull Lukas up and shook him a few times until he came back to reality.
"Lukas, are you ok?" A once in a blue moon serious expression fixed itself onto Mike's face.
"...Huh?" Lukas was still misty-eyed. His mind was still stuck on the happenings of the past.
"I said, are you ok? What were you doing just laying in the dark?!"
"Oh, Mike..." Lukas blinked rapidly. Coming back to his senses, he was faced with the close-up view of Mike's candle-lit face. He didn't consider it to be a very pretty sight.
"Creepy."
"...Excuse me?" Mike's shoulders slackened and Lukas used this opportunity to slip out of his grasp.
"Nothing. Did you need something?" Lukas tactfully diverted Mike's attention from his previous comment.
"Oh yeah... I just finished airing out my room a moment ago. I even had a little nap so I just wanted to check up on you..."
"I see."
"Well, it looks like you've finished. Shall we report back to Tingting?"
"Sure"
...
Tingting sat cross-legged on her bed whilst the boys sat drowsily on the floor. Though upset at being rudely awoken from her precious sleeping hours, the desperate looks on the boys' faces sobered her up as she rolled about with laughter.
Both noses wrinkled in unison. Neither of them thought that their situation was particularly humorous. Just whose fault did she think it was?
Just looking at her neat appearance made them feel worse. Her hair was somehow as neat as ever. A blinding contrast to the sweaty, unpresentable states the boys were currently in.
"You boys worked hard..."
"Didn't we?"
"Can we sleep now?"
Their pleas were akin to the sound of whining puppies. Cute. Something one would want to hear more of.
"But you can work harder."
"...?"
"?!"
"Let's make a new rule. We aren't allowed to go into each other's rooms from now on. Unless, of course, there is an emergency."
"You're joking right?" Lukas hoped that this wasn't going the way he thought it was.
"Not even for relaxing?" Mike had caught onto an important point... Déjà vu?
"No! It's absurd for you to hang about in a girl's room anyway! We need to have a different place to hang out. Hmm... maybe-"
"No!"
"Sis, please. We were up all night long suffering. You wouldn't do this to us right?"
Try as they might, their words no longer registered in Tingting's mind.
"How about the library?" Tingting's face lit up expectantly
"Ahahaha... haha...ha..."
"The world, it's a beautiful place isn't it?" Lukas tilted his chin up and cried dry tears.
"Yeah... It sure is..." Mike stared ahead with a vacant expression.
"Well then, it's decided isn't it? We'll hang out in the library from now on." She clapped her hands together in delight and escorted them to the library.
With that, the executioner's blade dangled above the skins of their necks.
There was no escape.