Pat.
Olive's eyes widened. In that moment, he felt a chill run down his very bones and marrow.
Without thinking much, Olive jerked away from the thing that had patted him, or whatever one would call it, with a very embarrassing low scream.
After taking a few steps, he abruptly turned his body and looked behind, ready to throw a punch or expecting some vile thing ready to strike him.
And there he was, looking at the so-called thing.
'D–damn you!'
Standing a few steps away, Eddie looked at Olive with a very surprised face. No... no... it was more of a perplexed face.
'Wait... is there even a difference?'
Brushing off the unnecessary thought, Olive looked at Eddie — his hand still frozen in the air in front of him, at the same level as his shoulder — with his frown deepened.
"Now! This time I know that's on purpose!"
Looking at Olive perplexingly yet again, Eddie scratched his hair, though Olive doubted that it was from an itch, while looking at Olive dubiously.
"What do you mean this time?"
Olive let out a shaky breath as he heard those words.
''What do you mean' he says?! Trying to act like he didn't know what's wrong!'
Olive pointed his finger, in an accusing kind of style, at Eddie.
"Y–You! It's you! You scared me the first time I got here! But I persuade myself, thinking that it was just a coincidence! But now it happened the second time! With tricks too! More than that, you..."
Olive blabbered at Eddie about his frustration. How he had peeked out at the corner, making Olive walk over where he was, and how he somehow got to the other side and sneaked off behind him.
The first time, Olive convinced himself that Eddie had scared him unintentionally. The second time, however, not so unintentionally, he thought.
Why?
Because he was peeking around the corner, and strode out the moment Olive saw him, knowing he was going to investigate it. If that was not intentional, then he didn't know what was.
Sure, it may seem childish, complaining about such things, but Olive was parched, he was tired, the boxes, the dust, and the store. He wants to get out of the place. And scaring him half to death was not a way to do it someone up.
Especially in a creepy storage room...
Of course, Olive knew that Eddie was as tired as he was, maybe more. However, he didn't go around the corner and scare him off, at least.
What a bastard move!
He yelled at Eddie for a long time. Letting out a shaky breath, Olive finally calmed down from yelling at Eddie.
Eddie, though, stared at Olive, he opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. Hesitating for a few moments, he said:
"Um... can I talk now?"
Olive didn't say anything but just glared at him as soon as he asked that.
Eddie flinched, then hesitated again. Eventually, though, he finally said.
"First of all, you managed the boxes well, good job, I guess... anyway!"
Olive looked at Eddie strangely.
'What do you mean good job? This is a job well done! '
But Eddie hadn't stopped talking.
"I didn't come here to scare you — for your information. Why would I? Such a waste of time. Wait... where was I again? I often get distracted these past days. Ah! Yes! I'll need you to tidy up these racks! Not all of them, just one or two."
Olive blinked, leaning slightly to the side, he looked at the tall racks. These racks were no ordinary racks, when referred to as tall, it was not the kind of tall that a normal rack would be in a house.
Rather, the racks that he was looking at were the kind of racks that people would put in a warehouse.
Olive shivered.
Pulling his body to stand straight, Olive closed his eyes.
'Looks like I won't be getting out of here for a long time.'
Funnily enough, the bad news didn't stop there, because at that moment, Eddie chose to drop the bomb.
"Oh... and I'll be out for a while."
With no warning or sign, Olive's eyes opened wide in horror. Turning his head to his brother, he uttered, his tone sounding gravely pale:
"What...?"
Eddie just shrugged.
"I said I'll be out for a moment. We've been cleaning for a long time — I especially — so I ordered some food. You know, to fill our energy, or motivation... And now it's sitting in the lobby."
Eddie paused for a moment, then he contemplated while muttering.
"I don't exactly know where in the lobby that guy put it, but I'm willing to assume that he put it on the counter. If not...
well, I guess I won't be here for a long time then."
As those last words rang through Olive's ears, he took a gulp, a big one.
'Ah, how great! How wonderful! This damn storage is cursed! Why else would my luck go this horrible if not for this damn storage?!'
Somehow, Olive was beginning to think the storage was trying to separate him from Eddie! Leaving himself in the creepy dim, flickering light.
He wants Eddie to stay, but sadly for him, his mouth — with a crooked smile — said otherwise.
"S–Sure... and while you're at it, fasten the phase will you?"
Without thinking twice, Eddie turned around and walked towards the stairs.
"Don't worry, I won't be long. By the time you look back, I'm already be behind you."
Now, why had he not asked Eddie to stay? Simple, because that would be a terrible mistake. Maybe less worse than being stuck in the storage, but still worse.
Eddie would talk about it for days!
If it were any other person, he would have asked them to stay. Except Esther — she was also no better than Eddie, considering that she inherited parts of Eddie's attitude.
So staying alone in the storage was not half bad — if it shut Eddie's mouth that is.
'Wait... behind me?'
He looked toward Eddie, who had already taken a dozen steps up and shouted.
"How do you get behind me so fast anyway?!"
Eddie turned his head toward Olive and smiled.
"How? Easy! I rolled down under one of the racks and snaked behind you–"
"Ah hah! I knew it!"
Realizing what he had said, Eddie hurriedly headed toward the exit door, which panicked Olive a little...