[3 hours later]

It has been a long, three hours for the Gang. To make matters worse, Peter and Harry squabbled the whole time. The fight started over who got the lighter, and progressed from there. Felica, had taken enough and snatched the lighter away from both men.

She whistled loudly at Harry. "Hey, pyro! Go...sit over there!" She pointed to a random spot in the dark.

Harry scowled at her, grumbling as he tripped over Flash.

"Watch it, worm!"

"Sorry!"

"Hey! That's my butt, Harry!" MJ snapped. "Keep your hands off!"

"Ooops, sorry!"

"OW!!" Peter yelled.

Harry sighed. "Sorry, man. I can't see a thing...."

[an hour later]

The Gang was getting restless. With nothing to do, they were beginning to wear on everyone else's nerves.

Felica managed to light some candles, without setting the apartment on fire. Harry sat in the corner, brooding. MJ and Flash were playing cards by candlelight....

As if the power outage wasn't enough, Peter started to sing. "1,000,000 bottles of beer on the wall...."

He dodged a piece of glass thrown at his head. "1,000,000 bottles of beer ..." He ducked as a coffee mug whizzed over his head. "Take one down, pass it ar - ACK!"

Finally, MJ and Harry pounced on him.

"Seriously, Parker, if you sing any more songs, I'm gonna castrate you!" Harry growled.

MJ smirked evilly. "With dental floss."

Peter squeaked. "Okay! Okay! I'll be good!"

[2 hours later]

Yup... the power was STILL out.
And it looked as though the group of friends were about to turn on each other... *snickers*

"We've been stuck in this goddamm apartment for almost six hours!" Flash bellowed. He paced back and forth in the hallway like a caged tiger.

"Guys! Just take it easy!" Harry tried unsuccessfully calming everyone down. It only made everyone angrier...

"If he tells me to take it easy one more time, I'm gonna kill him!" MJ snarled.

Harry held up a candle and shrugged. "I'm just saying that it's probably not going to be much longer. They're probably fixing it now."

"And if you want to come out of this alive, I sincerely recommend that you don't blow your nose..." Peter said with deadly calm.

Harry blinked. "Do you mind if I ask why?"

"Well, let's forego the noise and the revolting burbling sound, and go straight to the really gross part, when you always, and I mean always, having blown your nose have to open up your Kleenex and look inside. I mean, why? What do you expect to see in there? A Turner seascape, perhaps? The president's face? The international space station?"

Harry stared at his roommate for a moment. "You know, you've changed..."

Peter growled. "Yeah?"

"Agh, quit bitching! Somebody tell a ghost story. Hopefully a good one," Flash was grumbling.

Felica beamed. "Yeah! That's a great idea. We have the perfect mood for some scary tales!"

MJ groaned. "Uh oh...as if the movie weren't enough."

Harry grinned sinisterly. "I got one that oughta scare the crap outta Parker."

Flash snorted. "Ooh, like that's a challenge."

"Yeah, Flash. Looking at your face gives me the creeps," MJ smirked.

Everyone but Flash laughed. Harry quieted everyone down and lit another candle.

"Seriously, you guys," his tone turned a bit darker. "Ok. There was this guy, see...."

Flash let out a snort of laughter. "Nice intro, there."

"Shut up, Flash! Anyway, every night he goes for a walk. One night he discovers that he's completely lost. He decides to follow a hedge that he sees, hoping to find someone to get directions from. As he walks he hears this weird noise. Ch-clink! Ch-clink! No matter how hard he looks, he can't figure out where it's coming from. He keeps walking, and the noise goes with him. It's like the noise is following him."

Harry tried not to laugh at Peter, who was making a whimpering noise. He continued. "He sees the end of the hedge. He decides to confront it. He runs, and the sound keeps pace! Ch-clink! Ch-clink! Finally, he bursts around the corner and sees..." his voice raised slightly to create the dramatic tension.

Peter was on the edge of his seat in anticipation. "What? What?!"

The others looked slightly bored but amused by Peter's fear.

"It's... A DOG ON A CHAIN!!!" Harry screamed right in Peter's face. The sheer shock made Peter scream and fall off the chair he was sitting on.

MJ rolled her eyes. "A dog on a chain? That's weak, Harry."

Harry shrugged and gave a crafty grin. "Scared Peter, didn't it?"

Peter hugged his blankie and whimpered. MJ just patted Peter on the arm reassuringly.

The gang exchanged glances in the dim candlelight. It was quiet all of a sudden... except for the occasional boom of thunder.

"I'll be right back," Harry got up and started for the door.

Flash snickered. "Famous last words..."

Harry ignored Flash and left the apartment. Shortly after he left, the Gang heard a strange noise outside the door.

"Haha! Very funny, Osborn!" Peter smiled sarcastically.

Harry came back with some more candles and frowned at Peter. "What's funny?"

"I don't think Parker likes being picked on," Flash said.

"What are you talking about?" Harry honestly didn't know what was going on.

Peter suddenly bit his lip and looked at Harry. "But if that wasn't you..."

Harry scowled. "How do I know it wasn't one of you guys?"

Just then the noise was heard again. Sounded an awful lot like... a cackle.

Harry jumped and candles scattered everywhere. The four friends exchanged glances, then ran screaming into the hallway.

"I think we lost it," Harry panted.

MJ held on to Peter. "What do you think that was?"

Peter shook his head. "I don't know. I don't want to know. Let's just get out of here."

The sound was heard again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" They take off running through the hallway....again.

After several minutes of running, the Gang paused again. Even Flash seemed shaken by the encounter.

"Is it gone?" Flash asked with strained breath.

Felica hissed. "Shhh... I hear something."

Peter moaned. "Oh, no. Not again."

She shook her head. "No, this is different. Sounds like....voices."

That was enough for Peter. "Dude, let's get outta here."

They turned a corner and immediately ran into....Norman Osborn, holding a flashlight up to his face.

The girls and Peter let out shrieks of terror, Flash groaned and Harry gasped in surprise.....

Norman just jumped slightly at their reaction. "What's going on? And stop screaming!! Trying to make me go deaf?!"

MJ coughed. "Sorry about that..."

"Dad, the power's out. We've been stuck in our room with nothing to do for the past six hours!"

Peter shivered, still holding his blankie. "Yeah... and then there were the voices...."

Norman frowned in puzzlement. "What voices? I didn't see anyone."

Harry and MJ looked at each other... then at Norman... and at each other again. They didn't say anything.... but they finally knew WHO was behind their little night of terror.

Osborn kept up a good front, and looked genuinely confused. "What's this about the power? It's not out now...."

Everyone gaped at Osborn. "WHAT?"

"It's been on for the past forty minutes," he explained. Norman flipped the light switch in the hall, and everyone was assaulted by the brightness of the lights.

Peter sank to the ground and sighed. "Thank god!"

MJ smacked Harry on the arm. "Idiot! Why didn't you try the lights earlier?"

Harry grinned sheepishly. "'Cause it didn't ....occur to me to turn them on?"

Everyone groaned. Norman just snickered.

Flash and Felica made their way back upstairs. "C'mon you guys. We have to finish our horror marathon..."

Harry grinned and caught up with the pair as MJ grumbled all the way up.

Peter whimpered... he didn't want to go, but he lived there..after all. He trudged up the stairs with Norman following close behind.

And Norman had the most wicked smirk on his face as he closed the apartment door behind him.

...heh... I love this time of year....