Amelia turned to see Casey arrive, and immediately felt a pang of guilt.
"Jeez, what's the matter with me? That crush with James vanished ages ago..." She thought to herself chidingly.
Heading to the front of the group, Amy grinned and flung her arms around Casey, planting a kiss on his lips.
"What took you so damn long? I was starting to think a bear or something had got you." She said with a grin, pulling back slightly to look at him.
Casey smiled at her.
"No, but I did watch a pretty good bear fight on the way here. So how come we're not in front of a roasting hot fire by now? I'm surprised a toe hasn't turned into an icicle yet."
Rolling her eyes, Amy let go of Casey and looked back at the house.
"James, our resident Einstein, has lost the key. So I offered to break and enter through a window." She said with an innocent grin. "Or...y'know, just find an unlocked window and climb through. I'm sure his parents would be pissed if we actually broke something." She added as an afterthought. Most of the ground windows would most likely be locked, but perhaps some of the ones round back would open.
"Let's check round back. Case, I might need some help getting in. I may look like a master burglar, but in reality, I have short legs." She said with a sigh, shivering and pulling her jacket around her tighter.
"Got it." Casey followed her round back. "Hey, are you sure you wanna let them in straight away? 'Cos, like, it'd be cool to explore the house on our own..." He playfully 'walked' his fingers along her shoulder with a cheeky grin.
Amy narrowed her eyes as she looked at Casey, a mischievous grin forming on her face.
"What, you want us to walk around a large, cold, dusty, dark house by ourselves, with no flashlights, no weapons, and stumble around rooms that have been empty for months, and therefore could have anything hiding inside of them?" She asked in an incredulous tone. After a pause, a chuckle burst forth from her lips.
"I couldn't possibly think of a better thing to do. Gotta be quick though - I don't want to be bitched at by the others for making them wait too long." She said, then paused outside of a high up window beside a back door. It was one of those old-fashioned ones that were bolted from the inside.
"Alright - gimme a leg up to this window, then I'll open the door for you. And no copping a feel either." She added, giving Casey one of those playful/stern looks, that in actuality, showed that she wasn't totally against what any teenage boy would be doing in this situation.
He grinned back. "Mhm, got it. Though it might be a l-i-t-t-l-e tempting." He held out his hands to serve as a step. "Go ahead. But be warned - there might be something inside..." He teased in a joking tone.
"Hopefully it's Crowley. I always wanted to be Queen of Hell." Amy teased back, planting her snow covered boot into Casey's hold and lifting herself up to the window ledge. It was one of those high-up, narrow ones; and was thankfully unlocked. Wobbling slightly as she got it open, she used her phone light to peer inside. Just your regular, creepy dark-ass back room.
With an extra push from Casey, she eased herself through, and somehow managed to twist herself enough so that her feet landed on the floor, and not her face. A broken nose was the last thing she needed.
"Alrighty then. I fought off the Werewolves and shit, so your sissie ass should feel safe in here now." Amy yelled through the window before walking over to the door, snickering to herself.
Damn, this shit is rustier than my Mom's lawnmower." Amy thought to herself as she wrestled with the door-bar. As expected, it was one of those barred-from-the-inside doors, but it looked like it hadn't been used in ages. Putting her entire weight behind it, it slid back unexpectedly, and Amy fell to the floor, hand catching on something sharp as she looked for a handhold.
"Ouch! Dammit." Amy exclaimed, looking at her hand - which had a nice new cut through the palm. What, were there razor blades stuck in the wall? Oh... just a rusted nail.
"If I get tetanus from this, I'm gonna kick James' butt." She muttered to herself as she stood up, and pushed the door open for Casey, a glower on her face as she looked at her hand, blood pooling in it already.
"Hey beautifu- oh god, what happened to your hand?" Casey's welcoming gaze turned into one of worry as he stared at her bleeding palm. "After our little adventure through the house, I will so kick resident Einstein's ass for you. Now, if we shall?" He held out his hand, gesturing for Amy to give him her own hand, though hopefully not the one currently bleeding everywhere.
"Eh, it's fine. I was just summoning a demon, and you know how picky they are about their virgin blood." She said with a wry grin, glancing around to see if there was anything to wrap around her hand. Nothing clean, anyways. Sighing heavily, Amy just pulled her scarf from her neck and tied it around her palm, then taking Casey's hand with her good one.
"I can handle any ass-kicking myself thankyou." She said in a jokingly prim manner as they passed through the house. With moonlight filtering through the windows, she couldn't tell if it made the dark interior more or less creepy. "Anyways, we have a good excuse for taking our time opening the door - there's got to be a first aid kit or medicine cabinet somewhere in this place." Amy added with a smile.
"Well, my lady, your wish is my command." He bowed, still holding her hand. Then, he got back up. "So where do you wanna check first? The bathroom might be a good place to start, right?" He looked around, trying to ignore the creepy and clearly disturbing atmosphere of the place. Casey's eyes flicked between doors. "Now, to remember where it was..." He looked at her with a grin on his face. "Race ya?"
Amy laughed and shoved Casey lightfully.
"A race? What are we, seven? She said through her laughter, then her eyes darted towards the stairs. She remembered where the bathroom was, because she'd dibs-ed it the last time they were there - the bath in there was huge. Easily big enough for two people.
"Isn't that a first aid kit over there?" She asked innocently, pointing at some random corner of the dark room to lure Casey's attention away from her, and then she began running towards the stairs. A race?
Of course she was going to goddamn race him.
"Last one there is an assbutt! She managed to yell through her mad giggles.
Luckily, Casey knew Amy well enough to know that she wasn't gonna distract him. "See you there!" He set of at a mad dash, running up the stairs and turning... ugh, which way was it again? Oh, yeah. He turned left, dodging out of the way of Amy and scooting to the right, sliding down the hallway in a burst of laughter. "You better get ready to be beaten, missy!"
Somehow Casey managed to forget the creepiness of the lodge, or what had happened the previous year. He pushed away the guilt as he turned down hall after hall, before getting to the bathroom and swinging the door open, waiting for what might be inside.
"Ugh... of course he didn't fall for that. Amy thought to herself as she groaned - but that groan quickly gave way to a grin as she realized Casey had just gone the long way round. Turning left where he had gone right, she ducked into the bathroom, closing the door shut behind her and perching on the edge of the large tub. God - she was looking forward to a bath in that later.
When Casey eventually burst through the door, she was giving him one hell of a smug grin, sat with one leg crossed over the other on the bath.
"Looks like you're the assbutt. She snickered triumphantly.
"Ah," He held up his hands in defeat, "You got me. I now crown you - Amelia, Queen of Racing. What is my punishment, oh-royal-one?" He bowed with a grin.
"Hm..." Amy pondered for a moment, and then stood up. "Well, first things first, you can help me look for this first aid kit. I'll decide on proper punishment later." She said with a grin. She loved it when Casey was playful like this. She was a total kid at heart, so games were a sure way to get her in a good mood.
Bending over, she began pawing through the cabinet beneath the sink.
"Could you check that one over there? She asked, pointing towards the cupboards beside the bath.
"I see." He said with a childish grin on his face. He loved it when he and Amy joked around like this. It always reminded him of when they were best friends in school. They always used to be the troublemakers to rest of the gang, but everyone still remained friends.
Casey brought his thoughts back to the present, and walked over to the cupboard door, crouching down. He pulled it open, spotting the first-aid kit. Aha. He reached out, grabbing it and- "AGH!" He leapt back, throwing the kit on the floor. A raccoon rushed out of the cupboard, scampering off somewhere. "Crap, that scared me." He picked up the kit and stood up, waving it in the air. "I have retrieved your item, your highness."
Amy jumped at Casey's outburst, but doubled-over laughing as she saw the spooked animal flee the room.
"I didn't realize that raccoons scared you so much." She chuckled, then walked over to him taking the first aid kit. "Ah. Excellent work, my Liege. Now we'd best open up the door for everyone else. They'll think we got busy doing something else in the bathroom." She added with a waggle of her eyebrows, still grinning at her boyfriend.
"Well, I'm not exactly Dean Winchester." He grinned back. "And you can never be too sure when it comes to us. Let's go and let the guys in before they freeze their butts off." He opened the bathroom door wider. "After you, my lady."
Amy laughed at the comment about Dean Winchester - another great thing about Casey was that he was a total SPN geek like her. Well... perhaps not as much as her, but he always joined in on Supernatural-athons.
"Well, I'm glad you're not Dean Winchester. The boy has some serious Daddy issues. Besides, you know I have a thing for the Angels." She said with a chuckle before stepping outside, retaking his hand as they walked downstairs. On a hook by the door hung a spare key - looks like whoever was here last was prepared in advance for James' clumsiness. Letting Casey unlock and open the door, Amy smiled brightly at their shivering friends outside.
"Risking life and limb, we have solved our locked door issue. Also, James, you really need to oil that back door. Dun fucked my hand up." She said chidingly to their host, waggling her bleeding palm at him, before stepping aside and allowing everyone to file inside.