Chapter Text
"There's a circus in town." Quirin said as he prepared breakfast.
"I know." Varian replied, checking his brand new phone. Moving to the suburbs was a big, but necessary change. He wasn't used to having houses right next to him, and his yard was so small. But at least he didn't have to wear a uniform anymore.
"Y’know, your mother used to work at a circus." Quirin started to set the table.
"I know." Varian replied blandly. He had been going to this school for a week, and was texting his friends to see if they wanted to do anything after school.
"Maybe you and your friends would like to go. Who was it that was in the excel program? Young?" Quirin smiled. He was really trying, but Varian wasn't.
"Yong." Varian corrected. "And it doesn't mean much. Just means he's in high-school and not middle school." Varian looked at his father.
"When I was a kid there wasn't anyone who wasn't in their own grade." He sat down.
"And when you were a kid you didn't have phones." Varian retorted.
"We did." Quirin replied. "They were attached to the wall next to a pinboard of my friends’ telephone numbers." He laughed, smiling at his son.
Varian ate his food and got on the bus with a sigh. He didn't want to go to this school, it was overwhelming and crowded. He missed his old school, with Vex and his other teachers and his uniform. But there were two reasons he went to school.
"Nuru! Yong! Hey guys!" He smiled at them as he entered.
"Hey Var!" Yong smiled. "Did you hear about the circus?"
Varian rolled his eyes. "Yeah. But I was thinking we could grab ice cream later?"
"Yeah... Yong was thinking something else." Nuru groaned.
"You don't wanna go to the circus, do you?" Varian hesitated.
"Not while it's open." Yong replied mischievously.
"Yong thinks it's haunted. He wants to sneak in after it's closed and find a ghost." Nuru huffed.
"That's illegal." Varian stated.
"AND FUN!!" Yong defended. "Plus I can't get ice cream with you guys, I might have set one of the toilets on fire and have detention until 6."
"Of course." Varian sighed.
"Well... Breaking and entering doesn't sound too boring. It might be fun to explore somewhere new." Varian shrugged. "Back on the farm, there was always a part of the woods I hadn't seen and it didn't look the same as all the other parts of the woods."
"Are you complaining about houses again?" Nuru laughed.
"WHY DOES EVERYTHING LOOK THE SAME DOWN HERE?!" Varian complained.
Nuru and Yong laughed. "Welp, we gotta get to class." Yong smiled. "See you guys at the circus." He grinned.
"Are you going?" Varian asked Nuru.
"I have to make sure you guys don't get hurt." Nuru sighed. "See ya later." She chuckled, walking away.
After school, Varian texted his dad that Nuru's father would be picking him up so they could go out. After getting ice cream, they walked back to school to pick Yong up. "Did you bring me ice cream?" Yong smiled.
"Aren’t you lactose intolerant?" Nuru scoffed.
"Are you... Uh... B-Buying-your-best-friend-in-the-whole-world-ice-cream-intolerant?" Yong replied with a smug look.
"What time does the circus close?" Varian asked.
"Seven, so... We have time to get me dairy free ice cream!" Yong smiled.
"Okay. Fine." Nuru laughed. "I'll pay."
"Thank you Nuru, you're the best!" Yong gave a big wide smile.
"I'm also the only one of us that gets an allowance." She responded.
"I do odd jobs." Varian defended.
They got Yong his ice cream, then headed to the circus, telling their parents they were going roller skating.
"Are you sure about this?" Varian asked as they entered the dark parking light.
"Do you have the camera?" Yong turned around.
Nuru sighed. "We're just thinking, maybe-"
"Do you have the camera?" Yong interjected.
"Yeah." Varian sighed, pulling out a camera with a see in the dark setting.
"I'm gonna be so cool!" He smiled.
"Is this about-" Nuru watched as Yong ran off to the gate.
As they arrived, Yong was standing by the fence. "Alright! Since Varian is the tallest, he can climb the fence and open the gate for us."
Varian sighed, giving Yong the camera. "Are you SURE there is a ghost in there?"
"117%!!!" Yong exclaimed, pushing Varian to the fence.
"I'm going! I'm going. Geeze." Varian climbed the fence, and opened the gate for Nuru and Yong.
"Alright!" Yong smiled. "Ex performers have reported things moving on their own backstage of the main tent, so that's where we're headed!" He marched forward, Nuru and Varian, knowing there was no stopping the force that is Yong, followed.
They arrived at the tent, Yong making a beeline for the stage. "Alright! Varian keeps a lookout, I'll check the dressing, Nuru checks the main prepping area backstage."
"Aye aye captain." Nuru sighed.
"Yeah. Sure." Varian agreed anxiously, even if they weren't caught... What if this place was haunted?
Varian sat down. All the stories were from backstage, not in the ring. He'll be fine. "Varian." Whispered a voice from backstage.
"Yeah, Nuru?" He looked to the curtain behind him to see no one.
"Varian." The voice hissed again, now sounding like someone in the seats.
Varian stood up. "This isn’t funny." He snapped.
"Varian." Came the voice from the teetering tower above him, the place where trapeze and tightrope walkers would perform.
He looked up to see red hair draped over the edge, whoever it was, was leaning down just enough so he couldn't see their face. "Wh-Who's there?" He asked shakily.
"Varian." His eyes snapped to the seats again, eyes poking out, the same red hair covering them partly.
The figure ran toward him and he stepped back into a rope. He was pulled off his feet, bumping into performance supplies, probably breaking something, whether it was part of him or the circus he didn't know. The figure was gone. What just happened???