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Sal had been dating Pax for nearly six months, and while it wasn't exactly the time of year for spooky dates, he knew that that'd be what Pax would want to do to celebrate their 'anniversary'. Apparently real ghosts here he came, he supposed. It was for Pax, and he could have a little more belief for his boyfriend.
He'd been searching online for something that his spooky-loving boyfriend would enjoy. Then he'd come across Button House. It wasn't the best haunted house in the world, he had to admit that. But the photo of the grey lady hadn't been edited, according to other online snoops, that was good enough for Pax probably. Besides, it seemed more reasonable than most supposedly haunted houses.
They functioned as a bnb, with a private cottage on the grounds. Sal wasn't about to book them a holiday without talking to either of their parents, but it did give him contact information so he could see if his idea was actually at all feasible.
Sal took a deep breath, and typed the number into his phone.
The phone started to ring and he awkwardly held his phone to his ear.
"Hello, this is Button House," a woman answered.
"Hi, I've got a slightly um unusual question?" he said. The woman hummed. "So I know you had a whole haunted house scandal, but my um partner really likes ghosts, I don't want you to set anything up or anything, I was just wondering if we could come and sort of look around for ghosts? I fully understand if we can't, that is your home." He was painfully aware that he was rambling.
"Hang on, let me talk to my husband," she said. "Mike!" echoed through the line, but she hadn't shouted it with the phone right there and he was thankful for it. There was a quiet conversation on the other line and Sal sat there awkwardly.
"Ok, we're willing to do that. I'd be your guide though, would that be alright?" the woman asked.
"Yeah, yeah that works. I was thinking next Thursday, it's our six months anniversary," Sal said. There was rustling on the other side.
"Next Thursday works. We function on donations for this sort of thing," she said.
"Oh yeah, no don't worry I wasn't hoping to get in for free. Fifteen quid alright?" he asked. There was a hushed conversation on the other line.
"That works," the woman agreed. "What time can we expect you?"
"Sometime around one pm?" he asked. The woman hummed and relayed the information to whoever she was talking too.
"We'll see you then," the woman said.
"Yup, see you then," he said. Ending phone calls was always the most awkward part of a phone. The woman hung up and Sal sighed. Now he just needed to figure out bus routes, or maybe he could ask his mum for money for a taxi. But those were expensive as fuck.
Sorting out bus routes had actually been a lot easier than he'd expected, and Pax had agreed to a mystery date to celebrate six months together. He had first heard about Button House, just vaguely, from Pax so he knew that he'd recognise the house when they approached it.
When the day came, he met Pax at the bus stop. It would take them almost two hours to get there, but Sal thought it was worth it for him. There was a bit of a walk from the bus stop to the house, but he was happy to walk hand in hand with him through the country side.
As they approached the first gates, Sal started to get excited. He was practically jumping up and down as he walked. Pax grinned at him.
"You took us to Button House?" Pax asked. Sal shrugged but nodded.
"Yeah, thought you'd like it," he said. Pax stopped him in front of the sign on the side of the fence and grinned. He pulled his phone out and dragged Sal into a selfie with it. He kissed his cheek and took a second selfie. Sal turned his head to kiss him, and Pax hummed.
Pax wrapped one around Sal's neck and took another photo of them like that. Sal didn't mind, in-fact he sort of liked knowing Pax wanted photos of them together.
Once they pulled apart, both nearly breathless, they turned to head down the drive. Pax paused to take a few photos of the house, and the beautiful grounds, before he grabbed Sal's hand again and dragged him over to the door. Sal was the one to knock.
It took a moment but eventually a young woman opened the door to them.
"Sal correct?" she asked. Sal nodded.
"Yup," he said, slightly awkward. She nodded and beckoned them both inside to the kitchen.
"This was very kind of you Salem," Pax whispered to him. Sal smiled at him.
"Right, well. I haven't really done this before," she started.
"Except for the scandal, but I do believe that the photo of the grey lady leaning out of the window was real," Pax cut in. Sal snorted slightly but nodded. The woman flushed slightly but nodded as well.
"Yes, we were tight on cash and jumped onto it. I had hoped that the ghosts would play along, but they didn't want to be extorted," she said.
"I wouldn't want to be used for crowd work in my death for profit if it didn't affect me positively," Pax said. She nodded again.
"Right, well. I'm Alison, the other human around here somewhere is my husband Mike," she said.
"I'm Pax," he introduced himself. She nodded.
"I'll give you a brief rundown of the ghosts in the house, and then we'll take a walk around and see if you can find any," Alison said after a moment.
"Sounds fun," Pax said as Sal nodded. She gestured for them to sit down. Sal pulled out two chairs and settled in one of them, Pax sat next to him in the other. Alison sat opposite them and smiled slightly.
"We have several ghosts, the oldest being a caveman, and the newest being a," she paused and leant to look out the door. "A disgraced MP."
"I know the one," Pax said. Sal hadn't really done his research so he glanced to Pax, but he didn't explain.
"Would you believe that the MP and the caveman like to play chess together?" Alison asked. Sal snorted but Pax hummed.
"I suppose there's not much else to do while dead," he said. Alison nodded.
"Except for pester the living," she said after a moment. They both laughed slightly then. Alison hadn't actually told them much about the ghosts, but she stood to start the tour.
Sal and Pax followed her from the kitchen and into the living room. Sal wasn't really sure what he was looking for to determine if there were ghosts around or not. Pax though noticed every little thing.
Like keys being pressed on the laptop. He'd been very excited to point it out to Sal. Alison had shook her head, and then they'd moved on. The lights semi regularly flickered, and while Sal wasn't convinced it was the work of a ghost, Pax was excited by it.
The big kicker came when Pax dragged Sal over to a mirror so they could take a selfie. He didn't mind that, it was something Pax enjoyed so Sal went with it.
"Salem!" Pax said excitedly, suddenly jumping in place slightly. He pointed to a fade shadow in the mirror. Despite that, he still took the selfie. "Do you see him?"
"The shadow?" Sal asked. Pax rolled his eyes.
"He's very clearly an army man," he said. "And I think he's talking about us right now."
"That's the captain, he's confused about how you can see him," Alison said. Pax hummed and pulled up the photo he'd taken. Sal looked over his shoulder. The shadow in the mirror that Sal could see clearer than him was gone, but there was a different shadow.
"Alison could you look at this?" Pax called to her. She nodded and walked over. Pax pointed to selfie, specifically the grey, shadowy, lady in the mirror.
"That's my ancestor, Fanny Button," Alison said. They both nodded. Sal shrugged, but Pax grinned.
"This is the proof ghosts are real," Pax said. "I still think you've got a ghost or two at yours Salem," he added. Sal shrugged, he didn't really mind as long as the ghost wasn't trying to be evil or anything.
Alison lead them around for a while longer, and other vague ghostly things happened. All of which got Pax excited. Sal was happy to see him excited so he didn't mind being dragged around and forced to watch inanimate objects as they shuffled just slightly.