Zet couldn't help it. The smile just slipped out. These idiots, always managing to lift his spirits. Zet passed his gaze over his beloved friends. There was Maybeck, his partner in crime since the diaper days, black curly mane of hair sticking out in every direction, his yellow contacts lenses giving him a feral appearance with his shadowy stubbled beard against his dark tanned skin. His sharp facial features gave him an almost native-american appearance. 

Zet's smile slowly turned into a full-on grin as he watched Maybeck wrestle their mutual friend Sven into a headlock. Maybeck would continue, lean muscles flexing under his signature leather jacket as he held Sven's struggling form in place, shaggy blond hair looking more like a mop as Maybeck used his height over Sven to his advantage, lifting him slightly off his feet while he proceeded to ruffle his hair with his free hand.

Sven muffled voice could be heard half yelling through Maybeck's arm. “Come on 'Beck! The girls will be here any sec! Lemme up! I can't let Katie see me like this man!”

Zet, still grinning widely, finally stood up from his leather worn couch. “Aight 'Beck! Let the man breathe. Katie will kick your butt if you let her catch ya rough-housing with Sven.” Zet moved across the small distance separating the three in the living room, placing a hand on one of Maybeck's broad shoulders. 

Maybeck turned his yellowed eyes on Zet. Seeing the grin on his face, he grinned in return, seemingly satisfied by the lift in his old friend's mood. “I was just teasing him a bit. Never thought he would get his streaming business off the ground! Hiking 'n climbing mountains for money. Never saw it coming.” Maybeck relented, easing up on his headlock hold on Sven, but leaving his arm playfully hung around the back of Sven's neck.

“Beck, I didn't see it coming, and I started the whole thing. Aw, God man! Did you have to mess up my hair so much?” Sven would mutter incoherent words to himself as he began fixing his hair back into place, using Zet's flat screen tv as a mirror.

Maybeck shrugged “I think it looks better messed up. Girls love that shit. Right, Zet?”

Zet, distracted by the sudden ring of the doorbell, was half turned away when he heard this question. “Uh, what? OH! Oh, you right 'Beck. They love that stuff. Probably, anyway.” Zet would mutter the last two words slightly under his breath, his mood slightly soured again as he recalled past events. His mother would have given Maybeck a warning that she would hit him with her shoe if he swore again in her house.

Zet shook himself. No, now wasn't the time for such thoughts. Door first, mourn later. Zet headed down the double staircase, heading for the front door. This house had always felt huge even when his parents were living in it. Now, it was all his, empty memories and all.

Zet grabbed the front door handle, pausing briefly to look through the peephole. A short, blue-eyed, black hair girl with a lace choker, black dress with dark purple flowers embroidered around the hem, and matching stockings could be seen on tiptoes, staring as if trying to see through the peephole.

Zet would unlock the door's deadbolt, then open it widely. “Hey, Katie. Nice dress, love the color. 'Beck and Sven are upstairs in the living room if you wanna head up.” 

Katie settled back on the heels of her shoes, rocking back and forward slightly. She smiled up at Zet, who stands a foot and a half taller than her “Hi Zet! I will, but uhm... I need to use the little girl's room first. I picked up Ruby and Tally too! They're unloading the car now. Tally brought loads of food and Ruby wanted to show off some secret something.” Katie said as she skirted around Zet, heading towards the bathroom on the first floor.

Zet, having watched Katie's retreating form, turned back towards the doorway. He was just in time to catch Tally, a tall asian woman from Korea with a very fit figure, carrying far too many groceries bags, and a rice cooker tucked under her left arm. “Zet! Love, could you take the rice cooker for me please? I can feel it slipping a bit.”

Zet, moving quickly, would free the rice cooker from under Tally's arm, deftly grabbing the groceries out of her left hand with his free hand. “Tal, you gotta learn to take more than one trip.”

Tally, currently in the process of taking over Zet's kitchen, waved a hand at him over her shoulder “No fun if you have to do it in two trips Zet. Plus, Ruby's had her hands full with all her files. I couldn't ask her.”

Zet would let out a sigh, but a small smile would creep its way back onto his face. He loved Tally's cooking. Nothing could beat her home-cooked meals. “What's on the menu for tonight--”

His voice would get cut off by the slamming of the front, followed by a high-pitched feminine voice “Outta my way nerds! Move it or get bowled over!

Zet turned his head in the direction of the sudden commotion, eyes widening as he spotted the source. The struggling form of Ruby could be seen behind trying to peer around a massive stack of files, a single large book wobbling dangerously on top.

Zet hurried over to his friend, quickly taking half of the stack out of her arms. A pale, slightly flushed, freckled face of Ruby would stare up at Zet with her emerald green eyes and autumn-colored hair. “Gee, thanks dad. I had it, by the way.” Ruby let out an exaggerated huff at Zet as she moved around him to place her files on the island table in the kitchen. 

Zet, following suit beside her, eyed the oddly covered book on the top of the files. It had a thick leather cover, an iron latch with a keyhole that could be seen very out of place on the leather-bound book. No title was written on the book, only an engraving of an open gate with an eye could be seen on the face of the book.

“Ruby, what's this book? And what's with all the files? This was a get-together, not a class.” Zet would pick up the book, turning it around in his hands, running his fingers over the engraving on its face.

Ruby quickly snatched the book out of Zet's hands. “I bought it from an antique collector online. It's supposed to date way back, and all of you are going to listen to my research on it. Even if I have to get you nitwits drunk first! Do you know how many weeks I spent looking for this?”

Zet, too polite to interrupt his friend, let her regale him with the story of said book. According to Ruby, it belonged to some sort of cult during the death of Jesus.

Zet, holding no interest in historic events, tuned out the rest, nodding his head and 'hming' at all the right places. He loved his friends and would support them in any way he could, but this sort of talk was always mind-numbing to him. But if it was in support of his friend, he could weather the storm. Until Maybeck saved him at least.

Zet could hear the footsteps of Sven and Maybeck heading downstairs. Shortly after, Zet felt Maybeck's arm around the back of his neck as he inserted himself into the conversation. “You ever actually open it though?”

“No. I was waiting for everyone to get here before I did.” Zet would watch Ruby avert her eyes from Maybeck's, catching sight of her left ear, a slight reddening on its tip. Zet's grinned wildly at the sight. She never did tell Maybeck she had a thing for him.

“Hey 'Beck, why don't you and Ruby open it together to have a look first? Then the rest of us can have a go.” Zet continued to watch Ruby closely as he said this, watching her ear turn a darker shade. Matchmaker Zet to the rescue. 

“Hah?” Maybeck would say, confusion doubling as he looked at Zet's grinning face. “You up to something Zet? Haven't seen ya smile like that since before--” Maybeck would cut himself off sharply, blinking, as if recalling something he shouldn't mention. 

“Fuck it. Ruby, pop the latch, and let's have a look.” Maybeck stepped away from Zet, picking up the book and handing it to Ruby. Ruby, seemingly mute and shy, nodded in compliance. She produced an iron key from her pocket. The key itself looked simple and plain, having only two teeth at its head.

Zet watched Ruby with an amused expression as she popped the latch off with a light clicking sound. Tally, having finished her food preparations, came closer to the group, peering around Zet. Sven and Katie would join the group then, all silent as Maybeck leaned down towards Ruby's height to get a better look.

As Ruby opened the book, a cracking sound could be heard, filling the silence. Suddenly, a black vortex resembling a black hole with purple outer edges would expand from the book, pulling violently on the group. Zet opened his mouth to call out. His eyes would widen, his lungs finding no air to breathe in to produce words. 

What is this? What's happening? I can't see the others, It's pulling me in! No, I need to close the book somehow I need to stop it! I have to-- Zet's thoughts came to an abrupt end. His consciousness ending as he came into contact with the black vortex. The book would remain behind, the key still in the lock. It would hover briefly, suspended by unknown means, pages rapidly turning. It shut itself, latch folding back into place, key turning. Shortly after, it would clatter lifelessly to the ground.

The group of friends gone, a meal, still cooking, left untouched and uneaten. A pile of files scattered haphazardly around the room. The silence was all that followed.