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They weren’t supposed to be there. Josuke sucked in his breath as he stepped out of the elevator, Okuyasu only a step behind him. They weren’t supposed to be there.
He flipped the switch for the lights on. A moment of darkness passed before the room was illuminated to reveal what they just found.
Another step.
“We aren’t supposed to be here.” Okuyasu whispered.
The obvious answer to that would be ‘then let’s leave’ but Josuke found himself unable to speak it. His heart drummed steadily in his chest as he took yet another step forward and felt Okuyasu grip his hand. They were going in together, after all. The Invincible Josuyasu Duo wouldn’t be scared from some light trespassing, though Josuke wasn’t sure anyone has been in here awhile. Silence filled the room with only the hum of the fluorescent lights breaking through like light through a deep fog. Bright, yellow lights colored the walls and stained the floor a yellow-green color that gave Josuke an indescribable feeling in his stomach. Mold grew at the edges though the rooms smelled oddly sterile. Oddly… empty.
They weren’t supposed to be there, but nothing was telling them to leave. Josuke wished he had some exciting story to explain why they clicked the button to the basement. Why they even entered the empty building in the first place. It was summer. They were bored. No one was here. Three ingredients that could spell disaster for teenage boys.
“Well shit.” Okuyasu spoke louder as they walked further into the room, “I wonder when the last person was in here.”
“Too long ago. Kinda spooky, isn’t it?”
“Mega spooky. How far does it go?” Okuyasu took the lead, giving Josuke time to think about how warm his hand felt. How comfortable Okuyasu felt in taking his hand. He was lucky Okuyasu wasn’t facing him and his rosy cheeks.
Josuke was tempted to say something like ‘just two bros in some creepy rooms’, but he was held back. Something told him he couldn’t speak any words and Okuyasu had fallen silent as well as they walked through the doorways. There was something different about where they were now as if they entered another dimension. A shiver traveled up Josuke spines. His hair stood on end. The two of them assumed they were alone, but Josuke’s gut told him otherwise.
No one was ever truly alone, were they?
Realization of that made Josuke stop in his tracks, glancing around nervously through the empty halls. With every look gave him the chance to see something he never wanted to see. He wished he wouldn’t though a deeper part of him wished he did. If he could see it, he could use his stand. He could defend himself and Okuyasu from whatever hidden dangers were lurking in the abandoned rooms. Seeing it would validate his feelings of being watched. Without that, how would he trust his instincts? How could he trust anything in a room like this? It’s only been a few minutes, but Josuke felt the rooms getting to him. Okuyasu felt it as well.
Okuyasu turned to him, “Oi… Josuke. You alright?”
“I think we should go.”
“Didn’t you want to explore earlier?”
Josuke focused on the detail of the stained beige carpet, “What if we’re not alone? I mean, it feels like we stepped into a horror movie.”
“Alright, but if anything jumps-scares us, I’m going to The Hand it’s ass into… wherever everything I erase goes. Hah, maybe it goes here?” Okuyasu laughed nervously. He was trying to keep a brave face, obviously, but Josuke knew his friend better than that. ‘It’s alright to be afraid’ stayed on his lips, not daring to expose how badly his brave facade was working.
Maybe if Josuke pretended to not notice, he would feel brave too.
Instead, he shrugged, “I don’t think it’s like that. I get more of a weird feeling from this place. Like…”
“Like you’ve been here before?”
“Yeah! Exactly! I mean, clearly I haven’t, but I can’t… Okuyasu, do you think people used to come here often? Like, people who used to work at whatever the business above it was.”
Okuyasu was silent for a moment, thoughts churning through his head, “Probably. Why?”
“Do you think people used to walk down here every day and never realized that sometime in the future, it’d be scaring the shit out of two teenagers? Maybe it had more shit in it or maybe it scared them then.” Josuke was able to look up, directing his gaze at Okuyasu.
Okuyasu held eye contact before he looked off, “Shit. Yeah. Maybe it terrified them or maybe they paid no attention to it ‘cause they grew so used to it. That’s weird to think about.”
Joske followed his gaze into the empty rooms in front of them, “This was their normal and it’s gone. Now, it’s empty rooms and empty hallways. No proof that it was ever used…”
“Besides the lights working.”
For the first time since they entered, Josuke looked up. It reminded him of the ceiling at school- White lights that nearly blinded him and off-white ceiling panels. Lights that were installed by real electricians. Ceiling panels that were installed by real construction workers. People who thought nothing of who would be under them or how long it would last. Josuke’s heart twisted in an odd feeling of sadness.
“This is going to be us someday.” He said with a soft voice.
“What?”
Josuke looked at Okuyasu once more, “Memories hiding in the walls of an empty building. The feeling of being watched. Even if we become famous, we’re just going to be the humans who walked through halls that were once full.”
“....Shit. That’s deep.” Okuyasu replied, “And creepy. I think you’ve been spending too much time with Rohan.”
“Fuck. I’ll have to say something stupid to make up for it.”
“No! I like it… when you get all deep. I mean, I’m not very smart myself so I can’t really…” Okuyasu rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes darted from side to side.
“Hey, I want to hear what you think too.” Josuke smiled at him.
He smiled in return, “Out of all the people in Morioh, we were the ones to find this place. It’s just the two of us and-”
The color drained from Josuke’s face as he realized what he just heard. A knock. Five knocks to be specific. Whatever Okuyasu was going to say didn’t matter as he saw his friend had become deathly pale as well. That was their clear sign it was time to leave. Whatever roamed the halls let them stay this long, but they were outstaying their welcome. What would happen, Josuke briefly wondered, if they went further in. What if they called out for whatever was there? What would they find?
They wouldn’t find out. Instead, they ran, nearly tripping over their feet as the room seemed to get brighter. The humming grew louder with each footstep and Josuke’s heartbeat thumped faster. It took them too long to reach the elevator and Josuke wanted to get on, but Okuyasu thought differently.
He stopped, “Josuke. Wait.”
“Bro, let's get out of here already.” Josuke grabbed his hand but found himself unable to pull him with him.
“No, I want to finish what I was saying. We’re here together and… it doesn’t feel quite real, does it? Like a dream, but I don’t want this to be a dream because I want to be here with you and… I can’t find the words to describe everything I’m feeling. It’s terrifying and I’m not going to sleep here, but I’m here with you and-” Okuyasu cuts himself off now and the two are left with silence.
Josuke wants to say something, but his friend acts faster. Okuyasu pulls him towards him, wrapping his arm around his waist and suddenly Josuke understands what he’s saying. He doesn’t want this to be a dream either, even if it scares the shit out of him.
“What if… what if we kissed? Right now?” Okuyasu asked and it felt like the most romantic thing Josuke ever heard in his life.
After all this time, all this waiting, Josuke found himself- This time there were three knocks and when Josuke looked behind Okuyasu, there was another knock. He looked closely at the hallways before he found himself screaming. Okuyasu screamed in return, losing whatever confidence he had in himself to ask.
All thoughts of kissing left both of them as they pressed the button to the elevator desperately. It couldn’t come fast enough. Why was it taking so long?
What if it didn’t come at all?
They shoved themselves in as soon as the doors opened, screaming as they pressed the button to go up. Their screams continued until they could leave the building.
Josuke wished he was thinking of those rooms as he found himself unable to sleep that night. Instead, he thought of the kiss that both of them wanted, but couldn’t get.