The killing tango

Two boys found themselves in front of the house door at the end of Mary's Street. The same house was consumed by flames years ago, the house still mysteriously intact, but now tinted in a burned black. The grass in the garden never grew back the same way again.

- Scared? -

Hugo asked sassily as usual, messing with Koren's black hair, and Koren pushed him away.

- Me? Never. Maybe you, Blondie -

They had been arguing for what felt like hours under the old house's porch; neither of them was brave enough to go there alone nor admit to being scared. The rest of their friend group was used to their banter. Everyone told them that if they couldn't stand each other, why keep hanging out together? But both of them, very stubbornly, kept meeting each other regularly and argued non-stop, so much so that the rest of the friends proposed to them this very challenge, visiting the house just to have a break from their bickering.

They looked at each other with challenging eyes.

-Fine.We'll stay until Midnight. First one to chickens out loses.-

-and prize?-

Koren ask, uncertainty in his voice.

-Whatever the winner want-

Hugo smirk.

-Very specific.-

The blond tease, the other boy in response nudged him with his shoulder, but the taller boy just looked at him with a smirk, as usual- but still clearly hiding a shade of fear.

-Ready to lose?-

 Koren rolled his eyes but moved a bit closer to the other boy as he felt the tension growing in his gut. He slowly held the knob, but as he turned it, the door was already half open, creaking loudly—a scream in the silent house.

-L-Let's go-

Korean stammered.

The room was dark, lit only by Koren's phone light. Their steps sounded heavy on the old wooden floor, and the wind whistling through the cracks made the house feel like it was breathing.

Koren was more scared than he anticipated, feeling his stomach tense. His hand, holding the phone tightly, was trembling, casting an uncertain light, just like him, and Hugo noticed it, grinning.

-Nervous much?- he teased.

-Shut it- Koren whispered back.

The light from Koren's phone revealed more details of the house—old dark furniture full of dust, dry roses scattered around, and candles everywhere. Eventually, the light fell upon the dead fireplace, illuminating a portrait of a couple, husband and wife, hugging each other lovingly.

The two bodies were still joined together as they followed the music when Koren's body counterattacked by twisting Hugo's arm behind his back while holding him close. In response, Hugo's hands pulled Koren's hair, tilting his head back, but he continued to follow the music in his toxic ballad.

-They must be the “Ashcroft couple”; apparently, they killed each other in the '60s. The house has been empty since then-

Koren shot a confused look at the boy and then at the portrait, a sad tone in his voice. -They look so in love, though.-

-Not really if they ended up tearing each other part- Hugo said mindlessly as he checked around the living room, examining the various instruments hanging against the wall.

Two disembodied voices talked lovingly to each other; their voices didn't reach the ears of the two young men.

-Wich one do you want, my dearest?-

-mh..my love, you know I have a sweet tooth for blackheads-

Koren looked up for a moment before looking at Hugo.

-Did you hear that?-

-You're imagining things, keep moving-

The blond answered roughly as he was far more distressed than he let on, but as he noticed the boy was visibly agitated, he just pulled him closer and led him up the stairs and down the long corridor. They explored room after room, each of them more opulent than the previous one, as luxurious as it was forgotten; it smelled of old dreams and mold. Then they arrived at an old saloon that looked like a dance room, with fancy old wallpaper eaten away by time, a collection of old posters, and Bordeaux velvet curtains, heavy and avidly hiding the room from outside light. As Hugo was looking around, examining each poster of old dance pictures, lingering on the shelves full of records.

-Uh, maybe killers, but great taste in music-

-You are the only one who likes that crap- Koren smirks in the direction of his friend.

-How dare you! Those are classics and-

Hugo got distracted mid sentence, as his eyes got absorbed by the turntable at the corner of the room, it was in an intense shade of deep red, inside a record of the same color. He felt  attracted to it like a magnet, and closer slowly, pulling down the cue lever down on the disk, and as he did so, the record started running, the music beginning to play and breaking the silence of the house in an uncanny way.

Varian got scared by the sudden music, and shot Hugo a dirty look.

-Seriously? If cops show up, I'm blaming you -

Hugo shrugged, feigning nonchalant.

-Its “La cumparsita”, classic tango. But

... something's off. It's sounds... wrong-

Suddenly, all the lights flickered to life, not by the crystal chandeliers, but from all the candles that were arranged all around the room, casting ghostly shadows on the walls.

-What the hell?-

Koren shouted as he reached for the other boy, they stepped closer to each other at the center of the room, he wasn't sure if the lights being on made the situation more or less scary.

-Let's leave. Now-

Hugo whispered under his breath, but there was no answer from the other boy, so Hugo turned back slowly. Behind him, Varian wore a vague, contorted smile directed at him.

-Koren..?- Hugo asked, panic rising in his throat.

Koren didn't respond. His body moved like a Marinette, jerky and disjointed, as if controlled my invisible strings.His hand gripped a candlestick loosely, his eyes vacant and unseeing. Then, with terrifying speed, Koren lunged at Hugo, swinging the candlestick wildly. Hugo barely dodge, stumbling backwards.

-Koren, stop! You are scaring me!-

But Koren's body was no longer his own. His movement were erratic, unnatural -possessed. His mouth opened, but the voice that came out wasn't his.

-Honey, come take the other, please; I want to have a real fight!-

Hugo realize in terror that that wasn't Koren, something-someone too over him. He felt his own limbs betray him, his hand raising on his own, grabbing a bottle and smashing in half against the wall. He want to scream, but his voice wasn't coming out, some talk in his place.

-But dear, you know I love to terrorize them first.-

Hugo couldn't speak for himself; he could only widen his eyes in terror as he saw his own body moving toward Koren's, holding the broken wine bottle.

The boy were forced into a twisted dance, back and forth, until Hugo's body disarmed Koren's body and hit him full force in the face. Hugo, horrified, watched as his own body committed the act, blood dripping from the side of Koren's face, streaming through his mouth, as Koren’s face slowly turned back to look at him, opening into a wide blood-red smile as he tilted to the side.

-My dear, good one, you didn't lose your spark-

The blond guy felt his own mouth moving, trying to keep it shut in vain.

-Oh my love, you know how to flutter a lady-

Hugo felt his body launch another attack, which Koren's body promptly dodged, grasping Hugo's hand with the bloody weapon in his, making it fall to the floor alongside the rest of the glass shards, then pulling his waist closer, flesh against flesh, with the two boys now intertwined.

-My dear, would you mind a dance before?-

Waltzes filled the air, even as the old turntable jumped and crackled with the scars of time. The two moved with such broken and haunting grace that, despite the music's ruined essence, their movements felt perfectly intertwined, as broken as the music was.

Hugo was going crazy, staring at the boy in front of him, pleading that Koren was still there, wondering if felt the same way, as trapped in his own body as he did. But each time he reached for comfort in the other boy's eyes, he only found a vague tilted smile, asking himself if he looked like that as well from the outside.

He felt embarrassed by the contact with the other man, feeling stupid for worrying about such a thing while they were risking death. Their bodies continued their animated dance, extremely lively and passionate corpses. Koren made him do a casqué,  Hugo finded himself  being holded by the boy,  in his hands arcing like a broken doll. Quickly, his hand collects a fragment of glass from the floor and goes for Varian's throat.

-No!-

Hugo screamed, but nothing came out. Still, he managed to gain a bit of control over his own arm, enough to push a few centimeters away, threading the shard into Varian's shoulder instead.

-Dear, it's not like you to miss a chance to cut a throat!-

The spirit of tha husband mumbled with an evanescent voice.

-Is this brat... Stay still, damn it!-

As the female voice shouted that, he pulled the glass shard from the other boy and thrust it into his own thigh. Hugo felt a searing pain, enough to bring him to tears. At least he had control over this, he thought, then realized he feels more awake now, less foggy.

-Koren!-

Hugo cried out, but nothing came out.

-My dear, this kid won't shut up here; let's finish this quickly.-

-Mine as well, love; let's end this, dear.-

Hugo widened his eyes, feeling relieved that the other boy was okay too. He didn't want to admit it, but he was a bit more than just fond of Koren.

-Oh my love, I miss this-

The woman's voice within him declared lovingly as he felt his body getting closer to Varian's, feeling their lips touch softly.

Hugo's guts curled, his face heating up as he stared at the other boy, counting his expressions. They wanted to scream, to talk, to cry, to know what was in the other boy's head, but both of them were stuck as close together as possible.

-Oh? I see, this is interesting-

The voice murmured sadistically, and then he held the glass in his hand tighter as he attacked Koren's chest, Koren’s body stopped it with his hand, resulting in a pierced hand side to side. Koren screamed in pain this time.

-Hugo?- He cried out, voice muffled in pain, as the rest of his body reassembled in place. His pierced hand, now holding Hugo tight, pulled him back closer by the waist.

A new song started as Koren made him rotate and tugged him back. Hugo's body lashed out with a knee to the stomach of the boy, who responded by bending in pain while holding onto Hugo. Then he rose, his head back at him, contorted in a smile, but this time when Hugo reached for his eyes, they met with the same aware terror.

-Hugo-

He pushed the syllable through the smile.

-Koren!-

He cried back, finally managing to get a bit of his voice back.

The two bodies are still joined together as they follow the music when Varian's body counterattacks by twisting Hugo's arm behind his back while holding him close. In response, Hugo's hand pulls Varian's hair, tilting his head back, but he continues to follow the music in his toxic ballad.

"I think they're losing power over us with time!- Hugo manages to spit out through the pain, and Varian just nods weakly, still holding the empty smile.

-Oh, so adorable, dear. You'll be far gone by then- The voice of the woman speaks through him. 

Koren started gently playing with the blond hair at the nape of the other boy's neck, their faces inches apart, he felt the other boy's breath tickling his face. Hugo's mind is melting at the closeness, terrified but shamefully tempted to close the gap between them; something hasn’t gone unnoticed by her spirit.

-Aren't they cute, dear? I think they are in love.-

She murmured viciously, Hugo widened, feeling trapped, humiliated and exposed, inches away from Koren, eyes unreadable, then Koren chuckled quietly, his smirk went from teasing to borderline sinister as he tugged on a strand of the other boy's blond hair.

-Remind me of when we were young and alive, my love-

Now the female voice talked to him directly.

-How terrible it is to love something death can touch, isn't it, little one?-

Hugo didn't have the time to elaborate her word that the boy grabs his hair and tugs his head back, the angle now exposing the tan skin of his neck. He is too tired and out of it to try to hide the shiver that runs through him and the gasp that escapes his mouth. He looks at the boy, eyes wide and breathing coming fast, struggling to form any kind of response.

-Oh my death, should I break his neck now, or is there something you’d like to try?-

-Let's have one last dance first; I don't want the fun to be over yet-

She purred back at her lover as they made the two boys dance again to the rhythm of the turntable. Then Hugo widened in realization. The turntable! Everything started when he turned it on!

-My love, I'd like to break your spine-

Koren holded Hugo's waist as he made him bend while they danced in circular motions.

-Of course, and I'd love to break your finger one by one, my darling-

Hugo kissed Varian's hand as they danced, his breath rugged and tense, kicking himself to focus on the plan, trying to communicate his plans through his eye to the other boy, prying he'd get it. Hugo felt his movements more within his contract, but he let the spirit lead as they got closer to the turntable. Koren was approaching, sharing a knowing look, and he allowed himself to swing after the attack that brought him closer to the other boy. Hugo stood as still as possible in front of the red turntable before Koren attacked him with the broken chandelier; Hugo nudged him as the other boy infiltrated the turntable, big crushed and red splinters shattered in every direction.

The music stopped abruptly, and the candles turned off as well, leaving them alone in the dark. Feeling liberated from that oppression, Hugo immediately called out for his friend in the pitch-black room.

-Koren! Koren? Are you okay? Where are you?!-

He shouted louder than he anticipated, then he froze in place, wide-eyed, waiting for an answer, a noise, anything.

-Ugh... Hugo? I think I'm fine..- 

The voice was coming from the floor, where Hugo immediately dove down, pocketing the space between glass and velvet in search of the boy. When he touched one of his legs, his hands hesitated, just like his newfound voice. 

-Ehi.-He said softly. -All good Shortstack? Can you walk? - 

The other boy hummed as he reached for Hugo, tentatively holding onto the blond boy, making him feel a bit more secure. 

-Y-yeah... let's get out of here before something else comes after us.- 

Slowly, limping and holding onto each other, they walked down the stairs, past the hall, and out the door, over the gates of the bloody house, without looking back, and kept walking for until they couldn't walk anymore because of the pain. Under a well-lit little bench, currently waiting for the ambulance to come get them. They sat there, still holding onto each other, scared to let go, as they held closer, making both feel in control of their own bodies, as if it were their own decision to be there, to hold each other's hands tightly.

The silent was boiling of untold words:

Koren wanted to know if he felt as terrified as he did, or if he had just had the most vivid nightmare of his life. Hugo wanted to ask if he remembered everything, if he'd recall…the kiss. Hugo looked away. That's not the moment at all he thought, embarrassed with himself…they’ll were never going to- 

-Ehi, I think I won, by the way. You owe me- The black headed boy interrupted his train of thought. 

-What! Are you still thinking about it? We almost died! and- 

Koren interrupted him with a soft kiss while they heard the sound of the ambulance coming for them.