Chapter Text
“What’s up guys, it’s Sam and Colby,” Colby’s eyebrow quirked in a way that Ari couldn’t help but stare at as they did the intro. At least she was standing out of the camera’s view with the other guests of this video.
“Eye fuck him a little harder and you’ll need some Plan B,” Juicy from The Boys teased her, earning a scoff. He was right though, Ari needed to get it together and pack this shamelessness up.
“And today we are here with, The Boys!” Colby introduced them, still leaving Ari to stand with Sam off camera for a few minutes while the more exciting introduction was made.
The Boys are the more exciting part of this collab. There’s five of them, they’ve never been in a Sam and Colby video before, and they have more clout. Ari on the other hand, she’s been in a previous Sam and Colby video and had incredible chemistry with them. Ari and Colby talk all the time at home, but they’ve never spent time together without a camera in their faces. Even the last video they filmed, they didn’t get the chance to hang out after filming before Sam and Colby had to run off to catch a flight.
God, did Arianna want the chance to spend time with him though.
“We also have an extra special guest, you’ve seen here on our channel once before and everyone has been asking to bring her around again, Arianna Storm! Last time we-”
“Oh yeah Colby, was it just the fans talking about bringing her back?” Sam teased as he interrupted Colby’s sentence, “any particular reason you picked the trip where we had our longest travel time in the last year instead of something local?”
“No comment,” Colby laughed which only made Ari blush. His arm was around her shoulders from his introduction of her and now she knew everyone in the room was definitely staring at her. And not because she had just been intoed, “as I was saying, the last time we filmed, Ari was fearless. Completely down for anything. Where were we last time?”
“I was not fearless,” Ari laughed, “we were in Savannah, Georgia at the Moon River Brewing Company and I spent thirty minutes alone in the basement with the rem pod that wouldn’t stop going off and the ovilus spammed ‘darkness’ the whole time. I was convinced it was demons coming down to get me from the basement instead of you.”
“And you came back to film another video anyway?” Eddie scoffed incredulously, completely flabbergasted by her true recollection of events.
“I guess so. I will always try to justify anything that happens, not matter how impossible that seems, but I’m always down for an adventure. So even if we’re getting possessed, we’ll have a little fun doing it.”
“I told you, fearless and down for anything,” Colby smiled as his hand dropped to her lower back, the touch sizzling into her flesh, “but would you consider yourself a believer?”
“So I would say that I believe like 2.5/10. I think that when we die, there’s no way we just cease to exist. Even like from science, the basic laws of matter and physics would say that our atoms and energy has to go somewhere when we die. But as far as the paranormal, I don’t know. It’s hard to say that I believe.”
“I feel like you just made me realize how stupid I am with that explanation,” Josh joked, “you sounded so much smarter than I probably ever have.”
Moving past the intro of the video, they messed around for a while and played hide and seek. They were all getting comfortable as a group and in the building to prepare for what was ahead of them tonight.
Arianna walked down the steel staircase, finding Colby’s eyes already on her before she leaves the last step. He gravitates to her side before they move, going nowhere in particular, just wandering together. Ari’s skin burns in a light blush from nothing. No words. No real touch. Just proximity.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” Ari bumped her shoulder into Colby’s side gently as they walked.
“You’re thanking me for bringing you to a haunted prison? Imagine if I actually invited you somewhere nice,” Colby teased.
“You know what I mean,” Ari laughed, “you brought me to the other side of the world. So thank you for the adventure, I’ve always wanted to see Australia.”
“You’re welcome, just wait until you can actually see more of it than our hotel and this prison.”
Colby placed his hand on the small of her back once again to guide her om the direction of where they needed to be. Without him, Ari could easily get lost in here. Everything looks simultaneously identical and like nothing she’s seen before.
They rejoined the group and stayed to the back of the heard, gently bumping each other with almost every step they take. They were all still casually exploring in the area surrounding solitary confinement while they wait for the guides who would be leading their tour.
The guides were fun, they brought a good energy to environment.
“This cell gets a lot of activity. Women get dragged in, men get pushed out,” Rob, the guide explained, “anyone wanna give it a go?”
“I will,” Ari shrugged, “I’m the only woman here, so if Mr. Menard or whichever other ghost is present is looking for a woman, they’re only finding me.”
But with the addition of something so positive, Ari started to feel off as entered cell 45. Something heavy weighed on her chest as she looked around the empty cell. Nothing pulled her in, no overwhelming sensations as she inspected the interior of the cell.
A light sting, kind of like a paper cut but a little more intense, swiped down the back of her neck. But she stayed silent. Something compelling Ari not to mention it. Not to bring it up.
“Ari, you good?” Colby asked, pulling her out of her head.
“Yeah, I’m fine, just thought I heard something. A jingling noise, kind of like keys maybe,” Ari shrugged as she caught the sound she was describing coming from the hall.
“Funny you should say that,” Rob smiled with mirth, “one of the most common ghost sighting during the day is a prison officer, and he’s so clear. He wears a blue uniform with silver buttons. People try to talk to him while he’s on patrol, but he just ignores you. He’s likely the same prison officer we’ll see in one of the guard’s towers.”
A cascading series of the screech of metal doors echoed from the floor below pulling everyone’s attention. Consider it a call, the crew followed, taking the tour through other cells that had closed doors.
Ari felt a hand on her shoulder, heavy, but there was no one around. She stood in the back of the group and was once again compelled to say nothing. The weight of a hand remained as they all made their way to the kitchen.
It’s dark. It feels dark here.
“Ari?”
“Yeah?” she whispered; eyes trained low without the ability to make eye contact with him.
“Are you okay? Be honest with me,” Colby pleaded softly, grabbing both of her hands in his.
Ari swallowed a gasp as she slowly rose her gaze to meet his, concern all over his face as he watched her carefully. She took micro steps forward, where their shoes were already bumped up against each other’s, holding Colby’s hands with just a little more intent.
“I am now,” she felt like she could breathe again. The pressing weight was gone, and she was in control of herself once more.
“What happened?”
“I don’t– I don’t know? But I felt like I wasn’t fully in control of myself for a little bit,” Ari tried to explain, “thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me?”
“It just– it all stopped when you grabbed my hands.”
“Then you’re welcome. If you feel it again, just grab my hand if you can, I guess,” Colby smiled.
Ari smiled as they entered the kitchen together. It’s dark down here, there’s something dark here. Colby withdraws his hands, to Ari’s personal disappointment. They stayed close together while learning about the kitchen and morgue, shoulders often brushing together.