all that i know is gone

Ashton grinned mischievously at Calum. “I completely would dare,” he told him easily, “In fact, I would gladly take that as a challenge. Do you not know who you're talking to?”

Michael grinned at Arista, taking her in, always amazed by her. His thumb ran over the back of her hand and, for a moment, he found himself just truly admiring her - the way she spoke, the way she walked, her voice, her eyes, her lips, everything about her capturing his attention. “I wouldn't be so sure,” he teased lightly, though his attention went to the house of horrors for a moment. He wasn't quite sure how this would go, but he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Arista, so he grinned. “Ready?” he asked, looking at her, “I'll protect you with everything in me.”

Atlantis smiled with amusement upon hearing Luke's words and she shook her head slightly. “I think your friends are just fine,” she assured him quietly, though she felt her heart swelling with feeling Luke's affection, feeling safe and content with him, hopeful even. Her expression softened with his assurances and she smiled as she watched him, wishing she could just fully succumb to all the happiness Luke gave her. “Okay. I'll trust you,” she teased lightly.

Calum groaned. “Ashton, I wanna live to see my twenty third birthday.” The younger boy complained. “C’mon man!”

Arista smiled as she felt Michael’s thumb brush over the back of her hand, and she offered his hand a gentle squeeze. Watching Michael from the corner of her eye, Arista grinned as she saw Michael’s look of uncertainty. “I’ll protect you, too.” She grinned.

Luke smiled as he kept Atlantis close. “They’re weird, don’t hesitate to tell them.” He teased Atlantis. Hearing that Atlantis trusted him, Luke’s smile broadened, and he was happy to hear it. “I’ll always protect you, Atlantis.” He promised, leading the way in confidently.

Ashton hummed in thought. “Maybe you should have thought about that before you got all brave and challenging,” he chimed.

Michael blinked to her words but smiled with amusement, trying to push away his uncertainty, and offered a small grin. “Is that so?” he asked teasingly, leaning to kiss her cheek gently as he examined her. “I’m gonna hold you to that. But, hopefully, it won’t come to that.” He chuckled a bit, despite his nervousness.

Atlantis grinned to Luke’s words and rolled her eyes. “They’re your friends, I’m sure they’re fine,” she murmured quietly, though her smile softened to his words and she followed him in quietly. “Awfully confident, aren’t you?” She arched a brow, amused, though she was looking forward to this.

Calum groaned once more, following Ashton. "You're a bully, Ash."

Arista bit her lip happily as Michael kissed her cheek. "I'm sure it won't come to that." She promised quietly, still, she grinned to herself, unable to stop it, because she knew this particular haunted house was terrifying, but she knew every scare, every shock, hell, she even knew a lot of the actors. Still, sensing Michael's nervousness, Arista studied Michael and squeezed his hand. "You'll be fine." She promised with a giggle.

Luke laughed with Atlantis' words. "No, no, they're definitely weird." He murmured back, completely amused as he pressed a kiss to Atlantis' temple, the whole gesture bringing him comfort, peace. Smiling, Luke looked back to Atlantis, using his false confidence to hide his genuine fear. "Uh, yeah, totally." He grinned. It had been a long time since Luke had even been inside an attraction like this, and even then, the last one he walked through had been terrifying. "I'm excited."

Ashton grinned with the mention of it. “You’ll be fine,” he chimed easily in response.

Michael smiled with the mention of it, watching her, and nodded slightly. “I guess we’ll find out,” he decided, though he was looking forward to just spending time with her, regardless of where they were. Still, he hoped he didn’t end up being the frightened one, screaming like a girl instead of Calum. “Oh? Will I?” He grinned. “I hope so, if I’m meant to protect you.” He winked teasingly.

Atlantis smiled slightly with the mention of it. “Weird isn’t so bad. It can be a good thing,” she pointed out quietly, though she felt her heart swell with the kiss Luke placed against her temple. She watched him for a long moment, unable to help it, and she smiled to herself, but she nodded. “You don’t have to hide the fact that you’re scared or worried if you are,” she mentioned softly, “It’s okay.”

Calum sighed, leading the group inside, despite his fear. “Dammit.”

Arista smiled as Michael spoke, leaning on her tip toes to press a kiss to his cheek, although she smiled even broader with his words. “You’ll be fine.” She promised, following Calum’s lead. Holding Michael’s hand, Arista giggled as Michael winked, shaking her head in complete amusement. “Cutie.”

Luke smiled with Atlantis’ words, loving how encouraging she was. “Weird can be a wonderful thing.” He confirmed. “After all; what is normal?” He teased, wrapping an arm around Atlantis’ shoulders and following Calum’s lead. “Thank you,” He told her. “I think I will get a little scared.”

Ashton couldn’t help but to laugh, grinning as he followed Calum.

Michael blinked when he felt Arista kiss his cheek and he stared at her with the broadest grin possible, unable to help it. “Well, in that case, I’ll trust you,” he decided quietly, squeezing her hand gently as he chewed on his lip, feeling unbelievably lucky that he had Arista’s attention. He just hoped that the horror house wouldn’t terrify him so much that Arista lost interest.

Atlantis grinned slightly to Luke’s words. “Exactly. Plus, normal is boring,” she murmured, though she felt her heart swell with feeling his arm around her and she leaned into his hold, her arm sliding around him carefully, her fingers curling into his shirt, because she wanted to stay like this with him. “Being scared can be a good thing.”

"I hate you, Ash." Calum spoke as he wondered further into the attraction, suspicious because usually there was a scare within the first moments, and he just knew something was about to pop out at him.

Arista smiled, keeping hold of Michael's hand, clasping his hand between both of hers, wanting to feel him, his skin against hers, all the time. Following Calum's lead, Arista knew the first scare was coming up, pretending to act nervous and hesitant so Michael would focus on her instead of the clown with a chainsaw that was about to jump around the corner.

Luke smiled as Atlantis cuddled into him. "Normal is boring." He confirmed, though he tightened his hold around her protectively, kissing the top of her head as he lead her to follow the others with him. "Have you ever been scared?" He asked her, curious. "Like, really, really scared?" He was wondering what the answer would be, because he already saw Atlantis as this beautiful, wonderful woman, and she seemed almost too good to be true. "I get scared at spiders." He shrugged.

Ashton grinned slightly in response. “I don’t believe that even for a moment,” he shot back.

Michael grinned as he examined Arista, though he shifted, releasing his hold on her hand to wrap his arm around her, tugging her closer to himself gently. “You okay?” he asked her with concern when he noticed she seemed nervous. He looked up, though, when he heard a chainsaw, and, on instinct, he quickly pulled Arista behind him gently, wanting to protect her. “Whoa, okay, I really hope the chain isn’t on that thing.”

Atlantis relaxed in Luke’s embrace, breathing out happily with feeling him kiss the top of her head, but she chewed on her lip with his question. “Yeah, I have,” she murmured quietly, nodding. She was scared every day, even, all because of the curator, but she couldn’t say that, so she didn’t elaborate. “Spiders, huh?” She grinned up at him, trying to get rid of her thoughts. “You probably shouldn’t have told me that.”

When the clown with the chainsaw popped out of no where, Calum jumped, instinctively jumping behind Ashton, willing to sacrifice his friend first. "I'm not gonna survive," Calum spoke, his hand over his heart.

Arista giggled when Michael pulled her to stand behind him, and she wrapped her arms around his middle almost instinctively in return. Squeezing around him, Arista admired how brave Michael was in that moment, knowing that the haunted house could be terrifying to those who didn't know the ins and outs the way she and Atlantis did. "Thank you for protecting me," she murmured, reaching on her tip toes to speak into Michael's ear.

"I probably shouldn't of, but it's okay." Luke promised with a grin, his hold on Atlantis tightening. But when the clown with the chainsaw jumped out from, what appeared to be, nowhere, Luke jumped back, tugging Atlantis with him in order to protect her, holding her tightly against his chest, arms firmly around the beauty. When the clown merely cackled out a somewhat evil laugh, Luke exhaled, looking down to Atlantis almost bashfully. "Oops."

Ashton couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him when he saw how Calum reacted and he grinned broadly. “Wimp,” he teased lightly.

Michael blinked with surprise when he heard Arista’s words, but he smiled as he held her close to himself, rubbing her back gently. “You don’t have to thank me,” he assured her quietly as he watched her for a few long moments, even with the chaos in the attraction, “Really. I’ll always do everything I can to protect you, I promise.”

Atlantis offered an amused look up at Luke, watching him for a few moments, but she waved to the clown. “Good job,” she chimed before grinning up at Luke, “Afraid of clowns or chainsaws?” She arched a brow as she watched him, amused.

"I am not a wimp!" Calum debated loudly, his voice an octave higher than usual due to his fear. "If you're so brave, why don't you go first for the next round?" Calum asked, stuffing his hands into his leather pockets to seem relaxed.

Cuddling close to Michael, Arista looked up to him with doe eyes, besotted with the human boy that had no idea what she truly was. "I want to thank you." Arista murmured, although she wondered if he would still stick to that promise if he held the knowledge that she and Atlantis did. As the next scare came up, Arista hesitated, seeing the water on the floor. "Oh." She murmured, her chest tightening as if the fool that held her soul was taunting her. "Uh... maybe this isn't a good idea."

Luke blinked in surprise as Atlantis bravely waved to the clown, his cheeks turning to a light shade of pink in embarrassment. "They're both a little scary, but you're way braver than I am." Luke teased, his arms around Atlantis' waist as he held her close, taking comfort in her presence and hoping that she took comfort within him, too. "So you know this place in and out?" Luke teased. "Am I gonna run away screaming at the next jump?" Luke asked, tickling Atlantis' side. "Hm? Wanna tell me?"

Ashton laughed. “You’re definitely a wimp,” he said easily, grinning at his friend, and he shrugged nonchalantly, moving to head further along the path. “No problem for me.”

Michael smiled slightly when he heard Arista and he shook his head but didn’t say anything further about it, figuring that he couldn’t talk her out of thanking him in this instance. Still, he leaned to kiss the side of her head. “Alright, fine, I’ll accept it,” he told her quietly, gently, smiling as he watched her, but he blinked when he saw the sudden hesitation on her expression, his brows furrowed slightly. “Huh? Why? What’s wrong?” he asked with concern, following her gaze, but he couldn’t figure out what had her so spooked all of a sudden, and it made him worry. “Did I say or do something wrong?”

Atlantis grinned up at Luke, tilting her head as she heard his words. “You think so?” she asked a little playfully, though she wasn’t sure it was true. She faced real horrors and she was terrified of them, but she couldn’t tell Luke that. When he started tickling her, she laughed, trying to pull away. “Luke!” she complained lightly, laughing, “Yeah, probably.” She nodded but paused when she saw the water. Swallowing, she was relieved it wasn’t much and she quickly moved past Luke to hop over it - it was just a little trail, thin, plenty of room to get over it without touching it.