｡˚⛓˚｡⋆. HADES

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"Fuck," I whispered when I felt a painful pang on my head when I woke up.

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Fuck it. I shouldn't have challenged Dior when we stopped by the road! Because of our high alcohol tolerance, we were not patient enough to wait until we get to Crowbones to drink.

I wanted to compete with her — the one who drinks the most wins then the loser will have to pay for all of their drinks.

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Damn, did I just lose?

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My hangover was so intense that I just wanted to sleep. I was really irritated, mostly because that fucking Apollo drank my water. I have too many problems. But my biggest problem was I did not remember anything before I passed out.

I did not know if I slept because of being drunk or some other fucking things. Fuck, I don't know now!

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I was about to hold my head when I realized that my hands were tied behind my back.

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What the fuck? Where the fuck was I?

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My eyes darted to my friends who were restrained to chairs too. Our chairs were encircled as I saw my friends who did not look like they were about to wake up any moment.

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How did we end up here?

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The room was pitch black but it has an old money design and is archaic. It also boasts a beautiful combination of black, red, and gold in its decorations and furniture. Our clothes did not change a bit — but still, where were we?

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I don't remember anything from last night except that we passed by a dark road on our way to Crowbones and back to the store. Dior, Apollo, Zeus, and I even drank while resting. I didn't remember if I got drunk or what.... Fuck! Did I say anything about Chanel?! They'll probably think that I'm still in love with her.

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I mean, yes, I still do but, they don't have to know!

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My eyes were fixated on the crow on the corner. It was dark but there was something different.

Its head was decapitated.

It sent shivers down my spine when I felt that there was something extremely wrong with this place. Then after, I tried breaking free from my restraints but it was too tight so my wrists got wounded.

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ㅤIn these times, I think it would be better if I just hung out with them in P. Noval street to drink. When I'm stressed, I drink. When I'm feeling giddy, I drink. When I'm tied up, damn, does drinking help?

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Of course.

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I looked at Chanel who was currently sleeping. This was the only time I could take a look at her. When she's awake, I was not allowed anymore. We can't be together anymore. It was like I was going back to the past that I deeply regret.

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"Wake up!" I shouted to get help. "Ares! Tiffany! C-chanel! Hermés! Prada! Zeus! Dior! Apollo! Gucci!"

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"Baby..." I heard a moan from my friend. I think that bastard's still in dreamland. That's Apollo.

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We both love to fool around but he was worse because his life revolved around flirting and fucking. But these days, I think it died down. He is kind to everyone, that's why many people like him... they give his actions meaning.

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"Fucker! Apollo, wake up!" I shouted. "Bro!"

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"Fuck you, Hades, can you at least pay respect to my woman?!" He shouted with his eyes still closed. "Can I push in, baby?"

Fuck, so dirty!

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ㅤIf we were just in my house, I would have already thrown water at Apollo just for him to wake up. I wanted to massage my temples out of frustration but I decided to wait for Apollo so that I could have someone to talk to.

"Oh, my dick!" He yelped as he looked like he had fallen into his dream. "My head hurts..."

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"I think you were knocked out last night." I laughed at him. "How many did you drink?"

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ㅤ"I tried keeping up with you and Dior but both of you are strong!" Apollo answered as he tried waking his consciousness up.

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ㅤWhen he fully woke up, he went silent as he realized our situation. He tried moving his hands but his mouth fell agape when he found out that he was restrained.

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ㅤ"Bro..." I started. "I don't know where we are. I woke up... I think... an hour ago."

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"Fuck..." He muttered as he darted his eyes at our location. I also saw how his eyes stayed for a while at our friend's. "You got kidnapped?"

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"Yes bro, you are too?" He asked back.

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"I am losing my mind with your conversation." I almost jumped from my seat when I heard a woman's voice. It seemed like Gucci was already awake..

She's the youngest among us, well, currently the youngest. This young woman has anger issues and she loves to curse, although she is kind too. Gucci is close with Apollo because the boy has only sisters, so he decided to kind of adopt Gucci so she could have a feel for what it's like to have an older brother. ㅤ

"Are you okay?" Apollo worriedly asked which followed the silent nod of Gucci.

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"Since when were you awake?" I then asked since she must have heard the stupid things Apollo said earlier. She's still our youngest, okay?!

"I woke up when Apollo moaned." Apollo's face flushed red as he hung his head low.

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"Sorry about him, okay?" I apologized on behalf of my friend.

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"Where are we?" Gucci curiously asked. There were no traces of fear in her voice but I could see her slightly shivering from here.
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"I have no idea too," I answered. "Do your breathing exercises in the meantime while we try to find an inhaler."

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Gucci is asthmatic so we were very attentive to her. If we needed to climb something somewhere, we would just carry her. Chanel would also bring her inhaler in case Gucci forgets it.

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"Do you remember anything from last night?" I asked. Since earlier, I was trying to remember what the fuck happened last night before we ended up here.

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"Zeus and I just talked. Next thing I knew, we were asleep beside Tiffany," Gucci answered.ㅤ

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"I just remembered keeping up with you and Dior then we were trash-talking the guy who harassed Prada," Apollo said which made my brow arch.

These two best friends, really — Dior and Apollo were always the first when it comes to trash-talking. But most importantly...

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"Who the fuck harassed Parada?" My hands balled into a fist as I asked him. I could feel my blood rising over my head out of anger.

"I heard my name!" I followed the voice — Prada.

Prada is my best friend. To be honest, I met and got close to her first before the whole group. She was like a sister to me and I swear I will kill anyone who dared to hurt her.

"Who harassed you?" I asked her. I could see her wondering how the heck did we ended up in this situation. Now, she was trying to break free from the restraints.

"Ynigo." Prada rolled her eyes. "That asshole!"

"Good thing you punched him, Apollo!" I exclaimed. "I could probably beat him to death. That fucker even had the guys to ask Gucci for Prada's number."

"Hey! That's wrong!" Prada scolded me but I just rolled my eyes at her.

"He took advantage of you then you expect me to not kill him?" I fired back. Damn, this girl would always choose to be kind. That was the reason why she often gets hurt.

If Prada could only hear my thoughts, her kindness would probably fade since she would choose to kick me! She kicks very hard!

"Where the hell are we?" Prada asked. "I'm scared."

"I just woke up to see that we're tied up. This room is creepy too," Apollo answered.

"Your face is creepier," I smirked at him.

"Sounds like someone who just got out of a breakup would say," Apollo taunted, which got me turning silent. Fuck him!

"At least I know how to commit!" I proudly said, making him smirk. What the heck? Was he in a committed relationship already?

"Committed to someone who's not yours anymore." And that was when our bickering started. We only stopped when Prada suddenly talked.

"Gucci..." Prada called, causing Apollo and me to look at our youngest friend. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Prada." Gucci forced out a smile. "I can manage."

"We're going to get out of here as fast as we can, okay?" Prada looked like a mother who was comforting her daughter. But now was when I realized that Gucci might faint due to nervousness and fear.

"We will find you an inhaler, Gucci." I assured her. "I will find a way."

"Just remember the breathing exercises your doctor said.." Apollo butted in. He looked like he was in panic too as he tried cutting his ropes using the side of his chair.

"W-where am I?!" If only I was not restrained, I would have jumped in my place out of shock. I darted my eyes to Tiffany.

Tiffany was among the smartest out of all of us. Her intelligence is innate. When we were in shambles, she would try to keep us in check. We would also often come to her for advice.

"Tiff, breathe." I guided her, even though I was panicking on the inside too. My eyes glanced at her boyfriend who was still asleep! "Calm down."

She took a deep breath and silently scanned our sleeping friends and also the room we were in.

"When did you wake up? Are you all fine? Did they hurt you?" Tiffany consecutively asked. She was almost like our older sister.

"I was the first one who woke up. I think that was an hour ago. I have no wounds other than my wrists since I tried to take out my ropes," I answered.

"For now, I'm fine," Apollo replied. "But I'm scared."

"I'm more worried, to be honest." Prada huffed. "Us being tied up is not good."

"Prada, we'll get out of here, okay?" Tiffany flashed a smile. "We'll just wait for the others."

"You, are you okay?" Apollo asked, making Tiffany slightly nod.

"Familiar..." In a snap, our eyes who were wandering around the place immediately went to Tiffany's. "But it's strange, we didn't pass by any house last night."

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"Shit, where are we?" Apollo nervously asked her. "We should have just went to BGC!"

Fuck, I want to go home!

"I read about this before." She said, "But I can't remember."

"Did we study this in the university?" Prada asked, making Tiffany instantly look at her. They belonged to the same course, that's why.

"Wait..." Apollo said. "It's familiar to me too. I studied this with you in the library."

"Just tell us what you know!" Gucci exclaimed, probably bursting out of her patience bubble out of fear and nervousness.

"I'm not sure!" Tiffany answered. "I'll tell you when I'm sure."

She was always like that — very calculated: Tiffany is closest to Dior among us. While Dior is impulsive, Tiffany prefers to be rational.

"Fuck..." My eyes darted to the one who talked — Hermés.

He was one of the smartest among us... and the most quiet too. Oftentimes, you would see him either reading a novel or studying. His parents have high expectations of him which is why he was that dedicated to studying.

"Are you okay, Hermés?" Tiffany asked as the latter nodded.

"Just a little headache." Hermés answered. He was a man of few words which made me adore his friendship with Apollo more. Apollo was really talkative.

"Bro, are you hurt?" Apollo asked as Hermés shook his head. "That's good. We'll search for things here that could get us out."

"How did we fall asleep last night?" Prada got us back to our senses. That was the question none of us knew the answer to. "It all happened too fast."

However, we could only remember one thing before fainting.

Crow.

"Hermés, is this place familiar to you?" It was Tiffany's turn to ask, making Hermés fell silent out of curiosity. "It's too specific. A room with black, red, and gold design. This has to be it."

"I think we studied about this before." He said and darted his eyes to our female friends. I smirked when I saw how he looked at Dior.

"She'll melt," I teased him. Truth be told, I don't even know if they are dating. The only thing I know is that Hermés is in love with Dior for years now.

After a few minutes, Dior, Ares, Zeus, and Chanel also woke up. We became even louder when Chanel had a panic attack.

"Chanel, breathe!" Dior exclaimed, followed by our other friends.

Chanel is my ex-girlfriend and the mother figure of the group. We were together for three whole years, that was why I could not bring myself to look at her. I know that countless apologies were not enough to bring our relationship back. We loved many things about each other — including her weaknesses.

"Chanel, close your eyes," I said as the whole room fell silent. The reason? This was the only time I talked to her again. Chanel was looking at me so I had no choice but to look back at her.

It was only now I spoke to her again. Chanel was staring at me so I had to look at her back. Fuck, Hades. Ex is ex! Don't fall for her again! But, yeah, I'm still down bad for her

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"Remember what happened on September 13, 2020," I added and I saw how she slowly managed to put up a smile whilst calming down. With the years we spent together, I know so well how to take care of her.

"Thank you." She smiled at me then looked away after. She also started talking with Ares who just woke up.

Ares is the father figure of the group and the boyfriend of Tiffany. If not the most, he was one of the kindest and humblest people I have ever met, even though their wealth is so high. Other than Prada and him, I was close to Ares. He would always choose to put others before himself.

"Are you okay?" Hermés asked Dior. She nodded, busy trying to remove her ropes. ㅤ

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Dior belonged to Apollo's kind, which is the reason why they are close to each other. The word 'commitment' does not exist in their dictionary but nevertheless, Hermés was head-over-heels for Dior. She was an impulsive person but she was street-smart so I liked being her groupmate in school.

And lastly was Zeus who was currently tending to Gucci. Since she died, the both of them felt that they had an obligation to take care of each other, especially since the three of them were the closest before.

Among us, Zeus was the one who liked to fight. He would always come to school with tons of bruises dressing his body. If not that, then his face would sport a band-aid. But all of those started to fade away when he met his ex-girlfriend.

"Tiffany, Hermes..." Ares softly called our friends but instead of only them, all of us looked at them. That was his effect on us. If there is chaos, then he makes peace.

"What do you know about this place?" Before the both of them could answer, a voice was heard through the speaker.

"You're all awake now." That was the only thing he said but that was enough to make my blood boil. "I would like to introduce myself, I'm Mr. Crow."

Fuck crow! Release us!

"What the fuck do you want from us?" Dior angrily asked but this Crow just laughed it off instead of giving us a fucking answer.

"Crow..." I heard Hermés whisper from beside me. I looked at him with furrowed brows.

My lips fell agape when I slowly connected the dots. Crow... Crowbones... Shit. I really did not hope that Hérmes and I were thinking of the same thing.

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"Fuck..." Hermés loudly spoke. "It's Crowbones."

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"Haunted house?" Zeus asked.

As if a lightbulb appeared above and Tiffany and Ares' eye widened with what they heard. I did not know what that meant but all I know was fear hugged my body. I only knew that we were in a haunted house.

But I have a feeling that this is not just a haunted house.

"It's that Crowbones we studied," Prada stated. Tiffany got more confused but I had no idea what she was thinking of. What was really Crowbones?

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"Smart kid!" This fucking Crow even had the audacity to laugh. "Welcome to my humble abode!"

"We didn't kill anyone so get us out of here!" I was shocked at what Tiffany shouted. Fuck? What killing? Who was killed?

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Crow answered.

"What? Who is killed?" Prada, in panic, asked.

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"Zeus, I'm scared." I heard Gucci mumble to the man beside her, who in turn could kill the speaker with his glare. When I saw the anger in his eyes, I immediately knew what that meant.

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"I don't understand anything!" Apollo shouted.

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"You were twelve before." We all froze. "I guess the two were eliminated. What were their names? Ah! Yves Moreau and Achilles Moreau."

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I saw how the faces of Zeus and Prada darkened with that. Their faces cannot be painted as they shoot glares at the speaker. The fuck... How did that fucking Crow know about our past?!

"Fuck you all," Dior cursed as she glared at us. "Who the fuck snitched?! How did that Crow find out?!"

"Dior, you know we'd never do that," Ares tried to calm her down. "We're not enemies here. No one wanted this."

"I thought this was just a haunted house?!" Zeus followed. "If this is a prank, fucking stop this. It's not funny."

It was upsetting... This memory haunted us so much that none of us would dare spread it. None of us have the strength to pull off this kind of prank. This was not meant to entertain anyone.

"I don't like what you all are pulling." It was the first time I saw Apollo not being chill... As if he was running away from something. "End this fucking prank now."

"I don't think this is a prank, though," Prada pointed out.

Of course. Why would we bring up a memory we wanted to bury to the ground?

"Welcome to Crowbones!" This fucker happily greeted. "Mind explaining what are we doing here, Ms. Tiffany Lamanie?"

Tiffany took a deep breath as her next words were enough to take our breaths away.

"There's a killer among us here. If we want to get out of this place, the killer needs to confess. The killer who murdered our friends."

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"Let the crows kiss your death,  little ones."