Work Text:
Ivan propped up his phone on the counter of an old concessions stand, removing his hands to make sure it wouldn’t fall before pressing record. He looked back, noticing that Till was zoning out. Taking in a breath, he turned around to face the other.
“Till, we don’t have to record-”
“No, it was my idea,” Till argues. “If we see some paranormal shit, I wanna get it on camera!” He flashed a smile to Ivan. “I was just zoned out because I got an idea for a piece while looking around..”
Ivan smiled back at him. Of course. I don’t know what I was worried for, that’s so like him,
He hit record on the camera and stepped back. “Hello?”
“Hi, We’re Till and Ivan,” Till introduced to the camera. “We’re gonna explore this theme park and find a fuckin’ ghost!”
They’re not real, Ivan thought, but he wasn’t going to burst Till’s bubble, especially when it’s the first time he’s been so enthusiastic about something in months.
Till picked up the phone, panning over the theme park. “The park was abandoned around 10 years ago due to frequent ride failures. People suspect that it’s the work of an angry spirit, who died in this very park…. Which is why we’re here!” He turned the camera back to face the two of them.
“Till, we should walk around,” Ivan spoke.
Till nodded, grabbing Ivan’s hand and pulling him towards an old roller coaster. The latter blushed at the contact, but didn't acknowledge it.
He pointed at it, stating “That was the park’s most famous coaster,” He faced the camera towards it. “It also had the most breakdowns and malfunctions”
“You’d have to pay me to get on that,” Ivan commented.
Till continued walking towards it, pulling Ivan along with him.
“Look! the carts are still there,” He exclaimed. “You think we’re gonna have a paranormal encounter if we mess with them?”
Ivan shook his head. “maybe, but I wouldn’t count on it,”
Till elbowed him playfully. “Okay, prove it then,” he joked. “Go sit in the cart.”
“Kiss me first,” Ivan teased.
Till blushed, becoming extremely flustered. “I- wh- Ivan- What the hell?!” He exclaimed.
Ivan laughed, beginning to say “Till, I was joking-“
But before he could get the words out, Till had held up their joined hands and pressed a chaste kiss to the back of Ivan’s hand.
Ivan was left speechless, blushing furiously.
Till scoffed. “.. ‘re you gonna get in the cart or what?”
Ivan, keeping his word, did go sit in the cart. It felt kind of stupid, but he didn’t mind. He enjoyed just being with Till.
(But, well, the physical contact with the boy he liked was an added bonus).
Till shook his head, holding up the camera again. “If you get attacked by an evil spirit I’m catching it on video!” He called.
Ivan rolled his eyes, grabbing onto the lap bar. “Why don’t you get in the cart too, Till?”
Till shrugged, walking over to the cart and leaning on the side of it. “I really need to paint something like this,” He muttered absentmindedly.
He zoned out again, taking in his surroundings for what was probably the 10th time since they’d arrived. He tried to absorb every detail, commit it all to memory.
Meanwhile, Ivan’s full attention was on Till. The details of his face were second nature to him now, but he couldn’t help but look at the other boy.
Till shook his head, turning to look at Ivan again. “Let’s walk around some more, there’s gotta be a ghost around here somewhere!” He quickly pushed himself away from the cart.
Ivan stepped out of the cart, moving to stand next to Till. “So? Where to?”
“You wanna explore the old haunted house?”
“Here?” Ivan asked.
Till smiled. “Hell yeah! I mean, it wasn’t known for being scary or anything, but we can still go check it out!” His hand found Ivan’s again, and they headed towards the building.
They pushed open the door together, exchanging glances before going inside.
Till looked so excited to just walk around the place, looking at all the broken decorations and rambling about the paranormal. Ivan smiled contently, holding Till’s hand tighter as they made their way up the rickety stairs.
As they walked through the long upstairs hallway, they heard something crash. Till froze, instinctively squeezing Ivan’s hand tighter.
Ivan blushed at the contact, before remembering the situation. Right. The noise.
“.. You think that’s our ghost?” Till muttered.
“Maybe..” Ivan whispered, trying to listen for any other signs of noise. He cautiously took a step forward, lightly tugging at Till’s hand to get him to follow.
The sound of shattering glass caused Till to startle, whipping his head toward Ivan suddenly.
Ivan was just now realising how close they were, close enough to..
Stop.
Till brushed his foot against the carpet, realising he had just stepped on something glass, and letting out a sigh of relief.
The two continued forward, despite not being able to see what was ahead due to the darkness. Every so often, the sound of glass crunching beneath their feet would echo through the walls. Just how much glass was on the floor? The hallway felt as if it went on forever.
Ivan’s foot slid on a particularly large piece, causing him to fall onto Till, pushing the both of them into a wall.
He blinked, trying to get adjusted to his vision in the dark. Till was dead silent, flustered.
Ivan moved his hand, finding Till’s shoulder. “Till? I can’t see anything,” He spoke softly.
“Yeah,” Till answered. “I-“ he cut himself off.
Ivan stepped back, still holding onto till in case he fell again. Till brought his fingertips up to brush against Ivan’s wrist in front of his shoulder.
The phone slipped out of his hand, clattering onto the floor.
“Ivan,” He whispered.
“.. Let’s go home, Till,” Ivan said, moving further away from the silver haired boy.
Their hands didn’t meet again.