Yes

"Okay," Ally agreed, following Ruri through the door to her bedroom. She realized that Ruri hadn't taken up residence in the guest hallway -- she had chosen one of the upper-floor bedrooms, just down the hall from the master bedroom. One of these bedrooms, Ally realized, must have been her parents' when they lived here with Grandpa.

That didn't stop Ruri from already decorating the room to her liking. She'd taped a sheet up over the window, letting no natural light in from the outside, even though it was deep into the night by now anyway. Like a college student, Ruri taped a photo of her family on the wall; Ally noted without saying anything that Ruri seemed to have two mothers, and a family of sisters as well. Ally couldn't tell if Ruri was the oldest of them, or even which one was Ruri at all...

"That's me," Ruri said, seeing Ally's confusion. She tapped the girl in the middle of the photo, and once Ruri pointed it out Ally didn't know how she missed it. No one else in the family had the same grey eyes as Ruri.

The rest of Ruri's room was pretty commonplace: A nice suitcase, shut and resting in the corner; a towel folded and laid out near the entrance to the bathroom; a couple books on her bedside table, some dogeared to hold her place. Ruri seemed... almost completely normal. Her Grandpa warned her about the Syndicate, but Ruri didn't seem like all that much of a threat. She was kind -- wasn't she? She heard Ally crying and wanted to help. Unless, like everything else in this stupid house, she had an ulterior motive.

"In truth, why were you crying?" Ruri pressed, smoothing out her bedsheets and offering Ally a seat. Her accent was smooth and comforting; her voice a gentle alto. She laid a hand on Ally's shoulder, staring at her with those light, grey eyes. "Or you needn't talk about it, if you so choose. I suppose we are still strangers. Maybe we should start smaller."

"What brings you to the house?" Ally asked, changing the subject. Maybe, she thought, if she found out something about the other contestants, she would have an excuse to go back to Kate. Kate couldn't stay mad forever, right? Especially if Ally proved she was useful? If Ally proved she wanted to work with her sister?

"Grunt work," Ruri said with a pretty shrug that rolled her tan nightgown back over her shoulder. "The Syndicate set out a call for all those who could make it to the house. The high council believes the more of us who show up, the more likely it is one of us wins the house. But..." Ruri continued, suddenly looking away. "I believe they have an ulterior motive. See: They say that even surviving for more than a single night in the house is a feat. I believe the Syndicate sent us here hoping to think the ranks. Hoping that everyone they sent here would die."

"That's awful!" Ally said. She placed a hand over Ruri's, hoping it was a comfort. She didn't know what else to do. She was still so awkward, she thought. Someone like Jenny would have known exactly how to help. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I suppose you wouldn't be willing to help me win the house, would you?" She asked, a sardonic undertone coloring her voice. "Or, if it is you Scream girls who plan on killing everyone, could you skip me?" Ruri laughed at her own joke, her warm breath rising across Ally's cheek; Ally found herself inhaling it in, like she could someone ingest a piece of the Egyptian girl from the hint of her breath alone. "You aren't, right?" Ruri asked. "Planning on killing us?"

"No," Ally assured her, laughing alongside the other girl. "But if I do happen to win the house... I wouldn't kick you out, or anything. I mean. You seem nice. It's a big house. We could figure something out."

"I'm not homeless," Ruri said, giggling again. "It's not like I need a place to stay, Ally. The owner of the house gains its magic, didn't you know? The secrets to longevity -- perhaps even immortality -- control of the demons that live beneath the floorboards; the collected wisdoms of the ghosts who haunt the town of Dyer. Magic and science, the likes of which mortals have never seen and should never have had access to. The Syndicate doesn't want residence, it wants ownership."

"Well... I don't care about the Syndicate. What do you want?" Ally asked. Ruri tilted her head towards Ally, like Ally said something suddenly surprising.

"At the moment?" Ruri asked. "I wouldn't mind a kiss."

"A kiss?"

"A small, warm comfort in a difficult time," Ruri explained. "I'd like us to be friends. Allies. Perhaps... perhaps more? I am uncertain. Ever since entering this house... I have felt a strong desire for physical touch." She removed the golden band from her hair and wiped some sweat from her forehead before placing the golden band back across her head. The gold of her necklace jingled as she moved, forcing Ally's eyes down to the thin, tan sheet barely covering the dark outline of her nipples. Ally became painfully aware of her own, exposed cock as it hardened again, rising between her legs. "I am trying not to overindulge. But I am scared I might lose control. The Syndicate warned us not to trust our instincts in this house. I imagine many have died from trusting the wrong person. Are you the wrong person, Allyson Scream?"

"I... I don't think so," Ally said.

"Good," Ruri said, leaning so close that all Ally could smell was the hot, spiced scent of the Egyptian girl's breath. Ally had ****. She leaned forward. Their lips locked in a gentle, almost shy kiss, at first, the wet softness of their lips brushing gently against each other, their tongues barely touching at the gap. Ruri pulled away for a breath, a small string of saliva connecting them, before she pushed back, ferociously, trying to swallow down every inch of Ally's tongue. Their bodies were grinding together, their nipples rubbing, sending shocks of pleasure across Ally's body, while the length of her cock pressed against the waist of Ruri's nightgown. The Egyptian girl moaned into her mouth as her tits bounced over Ally's chest; Ally's hands fell beneath Ruri's gown, and her fingers pressed against the girl's wet, sopping pussy -- but only for a moment.

Ruri suddenly lifted herself from Ally's body, her chin dripping with Ally's spit, all of her gold ringing as she stepped away from the bed.

"I'm sorry," Ruri said, catching her breath. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Ally asked, rising to put a hand on Ruri's shoulder, but Ruri maintained her distance.

"They asked me to befriend you," Ruri said. "The Syndicate... they wanted me to..." The girl heaved a deep sigh, and then, from the waist of her gown, produced a sharp, thin knife. "I said people in his house died from trusting the wrong person, didn't I?"

"You were going to kill me?" Ally asked, panic rising in her chest. "That's why you invited me in?"

"Ally..." Ruri said, lowly. "Everyone in this house will be trying to kill you. The Scream girls are the largest threat to the Syndicate and to the Church, don't you know that? You need to keep a better head on your shoulders. You can't just go accepting every invitation."

"So... you aren't going to kill me, then?" Ally asked. She felt a sort of calm replace her panic as Ruri nodded.

"But if the other Syndicate members find out I let you live, it'll be Hell for me. So you have to pretend we've never met, if ever we are in the company of others."

"Okay," Ally agreed. She would have agreed to anything, considering the knife in the other girl's hand. Ruri set down the knife before approaching Ally again, leading her back to the door.

"You should head back to your room, wherever it is, and stay there until dawn. Danger lurks the house at night. Or it will, with the Syndicate members up and about. Keep close to your own, Miss Allyson Scream."

"What if I consider you to be part of my own, now?" Ally asked, not yet ready to leave.

"You are a terrible flirt," Ruri said. But before Ally could respond, Ruri pulled her into another kiss, allowing a trickle of her spit to drip down Ally's throat before pulling away. "You're still sort of cute, though. Try to live until tomorrow. If we find ourselves alone, again, perhaps we will continue our fun."

"The sex fun, not the killing me fun, right?"

"Depends," Ruri said with that same, sly smile. "Now go."

The door shut quickly and quietly behind her.

Well, now what? Ally thought again of Kate -- didn't she have to warn her sister about the evils lurking in the house? But Kate said she didn't want to see her... Where could Ally go, though? Should she try to find Jenny and Danny? Or just find an unoccupied bedroom? Things were getting so complicated...