#*me looking at my boyfriend for any signs of being paranormal*

[chodzacaparodia]

Sometimes a grown woman needs to read a paranormal romance to remind herself that her inner teenager still dreams of a paranormal boyfriend.

[of-a-chaotic-mind]

Shaken Not Stirred

Summary: Reader attends an investigation with her boyfriend Sam and best friend Colby. Unfortuantely for her, it doesn't quite go as smoothly as she'd hoped it would.

TW/CW: Reader gets scratched by a ghost and scared a few times. Sam Golbach x Reader

Requested?: No

A/N: Writing a spoopy imagine while watching spoopy Sam & Colby videos all with the lights off aside from red lights to up the spoopiness is fantastic. Surprisingly, I'm less spooped than I would be just watching Sam & Colby vids with the lights on and not multitasking lmao.

Y/N's POV

As we stepped into the abandoned, slightly decrepit haunted prison. We had spoken briefly with a friend of our guide outside before starting this tour and she had warned me, “Girl you are braver than I am.” Upon tilting my head at her, she continued, “I won’t ever step foot in that place after hearing so many stories from other ladies. Stick close to your boys.” Apparently, the entities in this place enjoy messing with and scaring ladies the most.

Colby’s voice brings me out of my thoughts, “Dude, look at this place!” I scan my eyes around the immense entry hall. The cement walls impose a sense of dread. The stuffy sour smell of the place makes my stomach roil.

I instinctively inch closer to Sam who’s at my side. I can already tell the warning wasn’t falsely founded. Just being in here makes me feel extremely uneasy and very unwelcome. Dating a paranormal investigator means I’ve visited plenty of haunted locations but this one was much worse than any other.

As our guide began the tour, I practically glued myself to Sam’s side making him look down at me. “You alright?” He questions, concern written plainly across his face.

I think for a moment before nodding, “Yeah just already feeling unwelcome.”

The guide breaks in, “Ladies typically do feel set apart from the gentlemen. As this was a male only prison, they don’t typically take kindly to female visitors.”

Sam looks even more worried now, “You can always sit this one out.”

I shake my head, “I’m alright for now but I’ll let you know if I need to step out.” Sam nods as our guide takes that as his cue to continue on. The first bit of our tour goes pretty quietly. Just as I am starting to loosen up and shake the uneasiness, I hear someone or something whisper yell very closely to my ear. Having stepped away from Sam, I race back to him and nearly leap into his arms.

“What?!” He questions, voice full of worry, “What happened?”

I look up at him and then around at our group, fear etched across my face, “Did you guys not hear that?” Everyone shakes their heads spurring me to explain, “I just heard something whisper super loud in my ear. Like, I don’t know how you guys didn’t hear it.”

Sam wraps his arms tighter around me, “Do you need a minute?”

I bury my face into his chest to take a few deep breaths before shaking my head, “No, I’m alright. Let’s keep going.” Carrying on with the tour, I keep my head on a swivel and my hand tightly clasped around Sam’s.

By the time we begin our investigations, I’ve loosened up again. Sam sets out the two flashlights after explaining for the video what they do. Colby also sets out a REM pod and shows the camera what it does. As everyone steps away from the devices, the REM pod starts going nuts. “Alright, I guess that’s a good sign that we should get started,” Sam states to the camera. The boys begin bouncing around questions and receiving responses but the REM pod just keeps screaming at us.

Finally, having had enough of the high pitch shrill, I gave up my courage and speak up, “I’m sorry to interrupt boys but whoever is beside our little red light over there could you please step away? It’s starting to hurt my ears.” The device goes silent immediately upon finishing my sentence. Sam, Colby, and I look at each other in shock before they continue on with questioning the flashlights. After only a couple questions and answers, I jump close to Sam. Something had just whispered again. I bury my face in Sam’s chest once more as he rubs my back.

“I heard that one,” Sam says more to Colby than me, “There was a whisper.”

Colby shakes his head, “I didn’t hear it but she sure did,” he says motioning to me. I back away from my shelter and motion for the boys to continue.

After a while and a couple of investigations, Sam and Colby decide it’s time to bring out the Estes Method. As Colby goes under, Sam leans over to whisper to me, “Do you want to sit this one out?” I shake my head but take his hand in mine. Sam begins asking questions and immediately receives answers. As the questions get more intense, I hold Sam’s hand even tighter trying not to show how terrified I am. I know that if Sam knows how scared I am he’ll cut it and we’ll leave.

“Is there anything specific you’d like us to know before we leave?” Sam asks. We receive, “Yeah,” from Colby just as something grabs the back of my neck. I leap from my seat and scream so loud that Colby yanks the headset and blindfold off looking around slightly panicked. Sam jumps up to collect me in his arms, checking me over as I try to calm my shaking and my eyes dart around trying to pinpoint the source of my fear.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Colby asks, standing from his chair.

Sam, whose inspection has brought him around behind me, waves Colby over out of the corner of my eye. Colby steps behind me as I feel Sam lower the back of my shirt slightly and lift my ponytail. “Holy shit,” Colby mumbles as I see a flash and hear a camera shutter.

I hide my face in my hands as Sam gently spins me around to face them. He places his hands on either side of my face, “I’m here. I’ve got you. You are safe,” he pauses taking a deep breath, “Do you want to see it?”

I nod shakily, knowing he’s referring to the picture of whatever is on my back. Colby shows me the screen of Sam’s phone. There is four long scratches from my hairline to between my shoulder blades, thankfully not drawing blood. Saying nothing I simply bury my face in Sam’s chest once again and his arms immediately wrap around me. “She’s shaking,” Colby notes.

“Yeah, we need to leave,” Sam states already moving toward the exit. Colby collects the gear before quickly catching up to us. About halfway to the car, Sam stops and lifts me into his arms. Once we reach the car, Sam opens the passenger door and gently sits me down in the seat. I clutch onto his shirt, not wanting him to pull away but he takes my hands in his, kissing them before placing them in my lap and squatting down in front of me.

Sam brushes my hair away from my face and that’s when I finally notice the same fear from my face copy and pasted onto his. His hands shake slightly as he kisses my forehead. Looking into my eyes once again, “I love you but the next time I see you so shaken just walking into a location, you’re sitting out or we’re leaving. I can’t stand the thought of something happening to you.” I nod my head and finally seeming content that I’ve calmed down he stands, “Pull your legs in, Darling.” I do as instructed before Sam closes the door and makes his way over to the driver side door as Colby slides into the backseat.

Colby leans forward and pats my head as Sam cranks the car and begins exiting the property. “You’re gonna be okay, Kid,” Colby affirms before he leans back to get comfortable for the ride home. Colby’s always been like a brother to me and no matter how well he hides it, I know he’s just as scared as Sam and I. Sam takes my hand in his as we make our way back to the hotel.

Masterlist

More Sam Golbach Imagines

[silassinclair]

Introduction!!

Yandere Ghost x Reader

CW// Suicidal Thoughts, Paranormal Activity, Murder Mention

My other yand OC Maddox was a hit with ya’ll so here’s a short introduction of a new oc!! Hope you like him as much as I do. This is gonna be very boring because it’s an introduction but I’ll make a oneshot right after this one!!

Masterlist!!

“This key unlocks every door in the manor. Except the door to the attic for some reason, but there’s nothing of importance up there. Apparently it’s just some old junk the first owner left.” The agent said with a tight lipped smile. Her matte red lipstick was as bright as a stop sign.

Taking the key from her hand you’re surprised to feel how heavy it is. “Thank you.” You mutter.

“All the legalities are settled so she’s all yours. I recommend blasting that ivy off the side wall of the house though. The roots can mess up the brick.” The agent adds.

“Alright, I appreciate the tip.” You say and shut the door in her face, leaving you alone in your new home.

Maria was a total pain in the ass, like all people who work with selling things. Oh and for the record, you like the ivy that grows on the side of your new home. Makes it look pretty and natural. Anyways, her being gone was like a breath of fresh air. All was good now that you finally had a place to call home.

Your Grandfather died and in the will he left you his summer home in Italy. It was a grand manor that was located on a hilltop surrounded by forrest. It was perfect for your hermit self. Never in your life would you imagine leaving the states to come live in Italy but here you were. After all the manor was handed to you on a silver platter, the offer would be foolish to refuse.

There was nothing for you in the states. Your life was miserable, draining, and filled with nothing but painful repetition. Being worked like a machine and stepped on like a doormat. Having a horrid and overly possessive ex boyfriend who was a serial cheater didn’t help either. You were so close to ending your miserable existence until a woman named Maria gave you a call.

And now you were here, standing in the foyer of your new home. Some work would need to be done. Floors needed polishing, corners dusting, windows wiping. Maybe you should make a checklist?

"This is gonna be a long day.." You think to yourself.

"There she is again. She must be the new owner." I think to myself as I watch the young woman clean the floor.

The past owner, Lorenzo, must have passed away and put the ownership of the manor into this girl's hands. It has been a while since I’ve seen the old man. But did he have to put my home in the hands of some uncultured American? I find this terribly irresponsible of him, I mean look at her!

She's using a bleach based product on the hardwood! Lorenzo was a good owner of the Verona manor. He hired staff to keep it well maintained and he rarely ever visited. But this girl... she's an utter buffoon. Before she can torture the hardwood any longer I swiftly hover behind her and move the bottle a few feet away from her while she isn't looking.

"Huh?" When she reaches for the bottle she finds it has moved away. I snicker at her confused reaction.

"It was just right here..."

She reaches over and grabs it again but before she does I kick it, sending it flying across the foyer and hitting the front door.

“Any minute now she’ll run away screaming, she won’t even look back.” I think to myself with a devious grin.

But when I hover in front of her I only see an annoyed expression on her face.

“Uhm… Did I do something wrong?” She says.

I freeze, is she not afraid? Why was she talking as if she were talking to someone? Can she see me?

“I asked if I did something to upset you.”

And then her eyes move up and look right into mine. For the first time in centuries I feel as if I have ignited, that I am alive and that my heart once again beats like all other human beings.

“You… Can you see me?” I ask hesitantly, afraid that if I may speak too loudly she’ll scamper away like a mouse.

Her soft lips part slightly as she nods.

He told me his name was Dante Verona. He was the original owner of the Verona manor and he comes from an Italian royal family. But he was assassinated centuries ago in this very manor during a masquerade party. So I assume that his spirit is trapped here. He was wearing an intricate black, red, and white Venetian mask that hid his face. He wore matching black and red noble attire and his hair was a curly dark chocolate brown that went down to his neck.

Overall he was a total mystery. His entire existence was perplexing to me. Yes I do believe in the paranormal but never would I think I’d meet a real life ghost.

“I assume your grand father is Lorenzo? Has he passed on?” Dante asks, cutting through the thick silence.

I blink a few times, maybe if I blink hard enough he’ll disappear and that’ll confirm that this was all just my imagination. So I blink, but Dante’s translucent self is still hovering in front of me. The blank expression of his mask makes me slightly uneasy. I couldn’t get a read on the guy at all.

Coughing, I finally answer, “Uhm yeah… He was my grand father. He left me this manor in his will. And he didn’t mention any ghosts or anything like that.” I add.

“Lorenzo couldn’t see me. You’re the first to see me actually.” Dante says. His voice sounded smooth but the mask muffled it slightly. But he also sounded like he was in pain. I wonder how long he’s been here, trapped in this manor.

“So this whole time you were all alone?”

“Yes.” He softly replies. “Just me. Only my spirit is here.”

“That must be hard.” I say, but not in a pitying sounding way. The last thing he wants is pity probably.

Dante hovers away and I follow him into the living room. Looking up I see him hover up to the chandelier. He looks down at me, I can see his dark green irises through the black holes of the mask.

“Every day is hard. God has cursed me, rejected my entry into the heavens.” His voice cracks. "My death occurred in the very room we are in."

I look around the oriental room we are in. It has been modernized over the years, but I can imagine how it looked in his century. The masked party people, music, drinks, lies and deception. All of it in the room we are in but centuries before.

"My killer has not been found but I know they are long dead. Knowing that they burn in hell brings me peace. And I have learned to accept that I am to remain here.”

Then he rambles on about his life story. The tragedies he lived through, the friends he made and lost, wars and battles faced, and lovers went and gone. But I don't mind that this conversation is one sided. He has had no one to talk to for centuries so he deserves a listener.

"I apologize my lady. I have droned on for far too long. It's impolite..." Dante says in a dejected tone. But I reassure him.

"Y-You're okay! I understand. You haven't had someone to talk to in a long time I imagine. Besides, I found your life story very interesting."

Dante hovers down to where I'm sat on the couch. He also sits beside me. Leaning in close he tilts his masked face to the side as he comes closer to mine. I move away slightly; his body emits an eerie chill.

"Tell me about you. What is your name?" He asks, his eyes twinkle with an emotion unknown to me.

"I'm Y/n L/n. I originally lived in the United States, but I moved here as you know." I mutter. I've never been one to talk a lot anyways.

Dante looks me up and down. His fingers reach out causing me to flinch back, but he goes to touch the fabric of my black dress rather than my skin. To my surprise his fingers can touch the fabric, they don’t phase through it.

"Why do you wear black? Are you a widow? Has your husband passed on?" He asks softly.

I feel myself giggle slightly and he looks up at me with probably a confused expression.

"I've never been married silly, I'm only 23 years old.”

Dante’s emerald eyes widen. “23 and unmarried? Has the societal norm changed? Because my sister was married off to her husband when she was 16.”

I cringe physically. “Oooh yeah, lots of things have changed. But also I’m wearing black because it’s just my style. It’s called goth, it’s a music based style. I can tell you about it sometime.”

Dante looks at me like I’ve grown three heads. I can see it in his eyes.

“Ahem- Anyways. Why do you wear that mask?” I ask.

Dante breaks the eye contact and looks down at the side. “It does not come off. No matter how hard I try to remove it, it only stays. I cannot remove the clothing either.”

I nod. “Is it because it was the last thing you wore before you died?”

He nods in return.

“I assume so.”

He moves closer to me ever so slightly. His gloved hands caress my h/c locks of hair and then he brushes his fingers across my cheeks and jawline.

“What are you doing?” I ask breathlessly.

Dante’s hooded eyes shine with an emotion I cannot read. But I feel like my life from this day forward will never be the same. Can the living and the dead co exist?

Dante Verona. Will we be able to share the same roof?

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Top 3 Are HEATING UP

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Dec 2023 Wk 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Honestly, 3 are neck & necking for top position! They are all so good in different ways. But The Sign had me hooting with laughter this week, so it scooped #1.

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 4 of 10 - This show is literally everything (except straight) all at once. It's BL, queer, band of brothers, romcom, erotica, paranormal, fated mates, mystery, suspense, slasher, and horror. It’s the king of genre mash-up chaos. I have no idea what I’m watching but I’m ON this ride. Is it a roller coaster? Is it a haunted house? Is it a twirl & hurl? Is there candy floss? Am I even tall enough? Who tf cares. All through the second scene, I was laughing. It was legit funny. Billy has great comedic timing. Guess he’s not just a pretty face.

Everyone should be watching this. Sure, it's madness but there is genius in it.

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 6 of 12 -  Yech. August may be one of GMMTV’s least likable characters ever (and that is saying something). Meanwhile, MOAR language play! They spoiling me!

Mhok letting Day go then walking away at the party hurt so bad.

Argh this show is great!

Ep 6 so that kiss was right on schedule. I’m looking forward to the boyfriend eps before doom & pain in the new year. Carry on GMMTV. 

Speaking of...

Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 2 of 12 - Oh they’re great. It’s great. It’s paced oddly, moving quickly through most of the key scenes of the original JBL in these first 2 eps. I think it’s intending to encompass more of the manga series than that one did. Which is good, cause that will get us all the way to The Library Kiss (TM). It's the best kiss in the manga. I also like the sides in this show (better than the JBL version). 

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 8fin - What a lovely slightly unhinged little show. Tew, can we talk? Un-ironic suspenders, that takes courage. Also, the revolver was a crazy gun choice. 

Final thoughts:

This show is just as ridiculous as its title. About a gaymer who falls in love with one of his in-game teammates, who just happens to be a IRL gangster. A real gangster, the kind that actually kills people regularly. The lead pair is doing their best with a ridiculous story and shoddy script, but I enjoyed it. Although I was grateful it wasn’t very long, what we got was oddly satisfying if, frankly, a little bit silly. Recommended. 8/10 

That said, what's important about this BL is not the show, but the production and style. Let me explain... no, too much, let me sum up.

This is a chimera BL. Regarding characters: it has Japan's style otaku + Korea's style gangster + Thailand's style friendship group. It used Thai talent + Korean money (Kakao) & IP (adapted from a manwha) but aired on a Chinese channel globally (iQIYI). I'm delighted by the eclectic insanity of this production and truly doubt that any other genre but BL could ever produce like this. It's like diplomat's BL and it's the great wonder of our age that it happened at all. This BL deserves its place in the history books on production alone, even if that place is only in the footnotes. A remarkable little monster.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 3 of 10 - The sides are… messy. Using the same actor for the old bf is… odd. But in the end, this show leaves me smiling. Which means, I like it despite myself. 

Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 4 of 6 - It's decent. It’s basically what I wanted Antique Bakery to be when I first watched that way back when (not to mention Bite Me). But there’s been so much BL since then that, for some reason, this is falling flat. I think it’s moving too fast for a Thai series. Although, say what you like, Ohm has to be one of the best soft kissers in the industry. He's just good at mouth tenderness.

Ugh, that doesn't sound right. But you know what I mean.

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 7 of 10 - I love how First is so upset when Sprite starts chatting and being nice to Koh. Sprite is just a sweet easy-going likable boy. I enjoy Sprite as a main character, he’s a bubbly little communicator. And they had a cute kiss.  

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 5 of 14 - Because there was more Alan and Jeff and they were more key to the plot I was more into this ep. I do compare it to green smoothie down the pants in the Trash Watch.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 3 of 12 - Look OffGun are truly great. But I’m just not sure we need them in BL anymore. That said, it’s nice to see Off as "the one with the crush" for a change. Also, this show is only good when OffGun are on screen together, otherwise it kinda, well, sucks.

Night Dream (Sat YT) ep 1 of 6 - Cafe setting featuring a cook and a writer. *Seems awfully familiar.* Except these two are exes and this is a reunion romance. It’s stiff and very pulp but not bad (no crap sound effects) and I am a sucker for a reunion romance. That said, Rookie Thailand is not to be trusted, proceed with caution.

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 12fin - I'm grateful this is over. It was tense but for the wrong reasons - sadness and confusion. This final episode was fine, but that’s because it was mostly them being together + flashbacks. Plus all the familiar actor faces of the grown-up friends (hi, Karn my lovely, still stunning I see). But 2 of 12 episodes is not enough for the 10 of suffering and confusion that came before.

In conclusion:

A man is killed on his 10th anniversary resulting in a time paradox, for which the only solution is him never meeting his childhood sweetheart until later in life. Both lovers cycle back to the past at different ages, so that they each become their own 1st & 2nd great loves, but every time it ends in pain, until each also endures 10 years of separation. Finally it gets fixed, but leaves them with multiple memories of time's failures like temporal PTSD, and everyone around them has chronic deja vu. Me? I got both. This is one of those BLs that is high-quality with great acting but poor story. If you like your BL dwelling, maudlin, and tense due to angst and suffering, then you might enjoy this. But I just regret it, 6/10. Recommended only if you like confusing time travel emo pain.

In which case, just watch Tokyo in April is... instead. Give over Thailand, Japan does it better.

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 6 of 8 - While our main couple isn’t working for me... the side couple isn’t working for me either. I really wanted to give LeoTai a chance, this is the 3rd show I’ve seen them in, and still nope. I like Jade a lot more when he’s sad. He’s a much more pleasant screen experience depressed. I would like him to stay hurt for a couple of eps, just so I can enjoy this show a tiny bit more. But then he just goes unhinged again. Argh. I just don’t like it. 

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Pisces of Me ep 17 of 24 - Codependent boyfriends in middle school planning for high school dealing with stuff. Including other boys being into them. 

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 5 of 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. DNF 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - It’s cute but I don’t think BL in this short format is Taiwan’s strength these days. And this is quite slow and dull. Perhaps they should have whacked it down to 6 eps, not 10.

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 3 of 8 - This is one of those JBLs that I should like on paper but is failing me. The drag bit was ridiculous but handled gently. The kiss was… well… something wasn’t it? It’s all very odd. I like the photographer cutie character. 

It's Airing But...

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if it's safe.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed with ep 1. Been told I shouldn't bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until after it completes its run next week.

Dear Kitakyushu (Thai/Japan movie) in theaters in country only, I know nothing about distribution.

Behind the Shadows (Korea movie) this is a historical I was interested in, but I've been told they kill the gay so I'm OUT.

Next Week Looks Like This

Still coming:

12/23 Dead Friend Forever (Thai horror) iQIYI

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED). With the end of the year upon us I'll do an "announced for 2023 but never happened list" soon.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

He so pretty.

I forgot how likable TayNew are, and frankly I think New is a better version of this role for me, personally. I like him a lot. He's a conscientious sweetheart. And a good egg. (Cherry Magic)

Ah the rooftop my old friend. (Last Twilight)

I would like to point out that it's no accident the naga's sex dream happened in the shower, he's a water creature after all. (The Sign)

(Last week)

[jrob64]

Ghosted

Chapter 2 - All-Nighter

Thank you for the great response to this story! I'm very happy to be able to post chapter 2 somewhat quickly. Chapter 3 is more than halfway written, so you shouldn't have to wait long for it either. I still don't know if it will be the final chapter, or if there will be one more after that.

A big thank you and long-distance hugs to my wonderful beta @hookedmom; the people responsible for the fantastic pic set @kmomof4 & @motherkatereloyshipper; and my fellow mods of the CSSNS24 @ultraluckycatnd, @stahlop, @winterbaby89 & @kmomof4. You're all very special to me!

DISCLAIMER: All I know about ghost hunting is what I've watched on Ghost Adventures and a bit of research I did. I also know next to nothing about how YouTube works, so please excuse all errors. Keep in mind that this is fanfic and isn't meant to be completely accurate!

SUMMARY: When Emma Swan’s ex-boyfriend dies, she’s haunted by his ghost. Her neighbor, Killian Jones, a ghost hunter who has a YouTube channel, realizes what’s happening and offers to help. However, there’s more at stake than simply helping the apparition move on. There’s also the matter of Killian telling Emma he’s in love with her.

Rating: T (subject to change)

Words (chapter 2): 7238

Also posted to ffn and Ao3

*********

Killian didn’t see Emma for the next two days, and since she hadn’t called him, he assumed she didn’t have any more encounters with Neal Cassidy’s ghost. When he finally ran into her in the hallway, he was immediately concerned.

She looked pale and had dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t been getting enough sleep. It was understandable, of course. Anyone who witnessed a paranormal apparition firsthand was almost guaranteed to have trouble sleeping.

He called out a greeting to her and she nearly jumped out of her skin. “Swan, are you okay?” he asked.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I…I’m just tired, I guess,” she answered listlessly.

“Have you…has he been…”

“No sign of Neal,” she quickly interrupted. “And I haven’t had that feeling of being followed. But every time I try to sleep, I have nightmares that seem to go on and on. I can’t wake up, no matter how hard I try.”

He stepped closer. “What sort of nightmares? Are you able to remember them when you finally do wake up?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I just hear…whispers I guess, for lack of a better word. It’s like I’m weighed down by something and these voices are mumbling all around me. I can’t see any faces or bodies. I want to move or open my mouth to scream, but it’s like I’m…a hostage or something. I feel like I’m tied up and gagged, completely helpless.”

Killian pressed his lips into a thin line and eyed her warily. He knew what was probably going on, but he was a bit unsure of her reaction. “Emma, would you be willing to let me use my equipment to monitor your apartment at night?”

“Why? I told you I haven’t had any sense of Neal being around.”

“Spirits haunt people in a variety of ways. You experienced Cassidy actually appearing to you, then I could sense he was surrounding you with his aura,” he explained carefully. “I suspect he’s coming to you in your dreams, now. If you’ll allow me to set up my equipment in your apartment, I’d be able to determine if he’s doing that.”

She cocked her head to the side. “You mean you want to sit and watch me sleep all night? That’s a little creepy.”

“And being haunted by a ghost isn’t?” he teased, trying to lighten the mood.

She scoffed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“We wouldn’t need to be in the same room with you. We can set up the equipment and monitor it from somewhere else in your apartment, which is a better way to do it anyhow. If he is coming to you in your sleep, having us in the same room might be a deterrent.”

“Wait a minute,” she said. “What do you mean by ‘we’ and ‘us’? I thought your channel was called ‘Killian Jones: Ghost Hunter’. No one else is mentioned.”

“Ah, so you have heard of my channel,” he smirked.

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve heard of it, I just don’t watch it.”

“Point taken. Anyway, to answer your question, my assistant, Will Scarlett, will be there, too. We do all-nighters together. That way, the equipment can be monitored more closely…and we can keep each other awake.”

“Oh, okay,” Emma sighed. “But I wanna meet this Scarlett guy first. I’m not exactly comfortable having a complete stranger in my home, while I’m sleeping.”

“I understand. You don’t have to worry about Will, though. He’s madly in love with Belle, my technical director, although he hasn’t worked up the courage to tell her yet.” He felt slightly guilty ratting out his friend like that, when he himself couldn’t admit his feelings to the woman of his dreams, either.

“Will she be involved in this…what did you call it?”

“An all-nighter. Belle won’t be there that night. Her job is to edit and post the videos.”

“I might have to meet her, too. If you record me with severe bedhead and drool dripping all over my pillow, I’d like to have an ally who would edit it out.”

He chuckled. “No worries, Swan. We do our best not to show the people who are experiencing the hauntings, unless they give us written permission.”

“That’s a relief. When do you want to do this ‘all-nighter’?”

“I just have to make a phone call. It could be as soon as tonight, if that’s convenient for you.”

“My apartment is a bit of a mess,” she admitted. “Maybe we should do it after I’ve had a chance to clean it up.”

“Actually, in our experience, spirits are more likely to visit when the place they hang around is in its natural state. We’re not sure why, but I suspect that altering it in any way makes them uncomfortable and suspicious.”

“In that case, maybe if I keep it spotless, Neal will never come back.” She paused and thought about it for a few seconds, then rolled her eyes. “Oh, who am I kidding? There’s no way I’d be able to do that. You’ve seen my place. I’m a slob.”

“I wouldn’t say you’re a slob, Love. Your apartment simply looks…lived in,” he cheeked, a smirk on his face.

He was happy he was able to make her laugh. “Okay, Killian. If your assistant is available, let’s do it tonight.”

For a moment, he imagined her saying those exact words under very different circumstances…and without mentioning his assistant. Shaking his head slightly to dislodge those thoughts, he replied, “Sounds good. I’ll call Will and see if he’s available. When will you be home?’

“I’m just going out to buy a new coffee maker, so I should be back in about an hour. I work until ten tonight. Will that be too late?”

“Not at all. Text me when you get back, then Will and I will bring over the equipment, so we can get everything set up. Will that work?”

“Sure.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “I…I don’t know if it’s Neal causing my nightmares, but I can tell you I’m ready for them to stop. What will you do if you discover it’s because of paranormal activity?”

“We’ll try to pick up on clues to figure out why he’s still hanging around - and, if possible, his motivation and intentions. Then all of us, including you, can work together to come up with a plan for getting him to move on.”

“I would really appreciate that. It gives me the heebie-jeebies thinking he’s in my home and hovering around me while I sleep.” She shivered involuntarily at the thought.

He reached out and took hold of both of her shoulders. “It’s going to be alright, Love. We have a pretty good track record. It’s not going to happen overnight, but with a little time, I have confidence we’ll rid you of his spirit once and for all.”

She gave him a tired smile. “Thanks, Killian.” With a wave, she turned and walked toward the stairwell.

Killian watched her until she disappeared, then went into his apartment, where he pulled out his phone to call his assistant.

“What’s up, boss?” Will answered.

“I hope you don’t have any plans tonight, because we’ve got an all-nighter lined up.”

“That’s a bit last minute, don’t ya think, Mate? I could have meself a hot date.”

“No, you couldn’t.”

“What makes you so sure?” Will huffed.

“Because you would never ask anyone out besides Belle, and when it comes to her, you’re a fucking coward.”

“Says the bloke who won’t ask blondie out. Speakin’ of which, might this all-nighter be for her?”

Killian closed his eyes with a groan. He shouldn’t have goaded his friend about Belle, because now he would have to worry about Will embarrassing him in front of Emma. If he did, chances of the all-nighter happening might go down the drain, along with any chance of Emma going out with him.

“Aye, it is,” Killian admitted. “But listen Will, please don’t mention anything to her about…”

“How yer madly in love with her?”

“Will…”

“Don’t worry, boss. My lips are sealed.”

“If only that were true,” Killian muttered.

“What time should I be there tonight?”

“Actually, I need you to come over as soon as you can. Emma stepped out for about an hour, but she wants to meet you when she gets back.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re a stranger who is going to be staying in her apartment all night, so she wants to at least make your acquaintance beforehand.”

“Makes sense. Be warned though, she might take one look at me and swoon at my feet.”

“I’m willing to take my chances,” Killian deadpanned. “Just be over here as soon as you can.”

“Fine,” Will sighed theatrically. “Give me time to pack my jammies and toothbrush.”

“Don’t forget your teddy bear,” Killian chuckled. Will was a goofball, but he was a great assistant and a very good friend, and he couldn’t imagine ghost hunting without him.

*********

A little over an hour later, Killian’s phone buzzed with a text from Emma telling him she was home. He stood and nudged Will’s feet off of the coffee table. “Grab the camera and computer bags. I’ll get the rest of the equipment.”

“Blondie’s home, I take it?” Will said, pushing himself up from the couch.

Killian turned to give him a disgruntled look. “Please be respectful. She’s not really sold on this all-nighter idea and I don’t want her to change her mind.”

“I’ll be a perfect gentleman,” Will assured him, adjusting the straps of the bags on his shoulder. “I’m looking forward to meeting this lass, after everything you’ve told me about her.”

Killian led the way out of the apartment to Emma’s place next door. Will stood slightly behind him as he knocked.

“Hey,” Emma greeted, her eyes bouncing between her neighbor and his friend.

“Emma, this is my assistant, Will Scarlett. Will, Emma Swan,” Killian introduced.

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Swan,” Will said, reaching around Killian to offer her his hand.

“You, too,” she replied, firmly shaking it. “Come on in.”

After she turned around, Will bumped his shoulder into Killian. When he turned around, Will cast his eyes toward Emma, then gave him an exaggerated wink. Killian shot him a quick warning look before following Emma into her apartment.

“Have a seat,” she said, gesturing toward her sofa, as she settled herself in the recliner. “So, Will, how long have you known Killian?”

“Oh, we’ve been mates since secondary school in Brighton. Ain’t that right, Kil?”

“Aye,” Killian agreed. “We’ve known each other for a dozen years or so.”

“Lost touch for a coupla years when he moved across the pond, but then he called me in desperation when he started his ghost hunting career.”

“I wasn’t desperate,” Killian corrected. “I just needed an assistant and, since you weren’t doing anything else…”

“I wasn’t doin’ nothin’,” Will protested. “I was a lorry driver.”

“Lorry?” Emma questioned.

“It’s a large truck,” Killian explained. “And Will was never a great driver.”

“Oi! I resent that remark!”

“Is that what you wanted to do for the rest of your life?” Killian challenged.

“No,” Will admitted, “but I wasn’t a bad driver, I’ll have you know.” Turning his attention back to Emma, who was listening to the exchange with an amused look on her face, he said, “Anyway, he explained his idea for a paranormal investigation channel, and since that’s somethin’ that’s always interested me, I was onboard.”

“Killian tells me you also have a technical director as part of the team.”

“Aye, that would be the lovely Belle French,” Will said, his eyes lighting up and a wide, goofy grin stretching across his face. “Killian met her at the library where he was always doing research. She doesn’t travel with us, just does the editing and posting.”

Emma exchanged a knowing look with Killian, clearly able to see and hear Will’s admiration of Belle. Glancing at the bag at Killian’s feet, she asked, “What kind of equipment will you be using tonight?”

“Will has a video camera, digital camera and two laptops,” Killian said, pointing to the bags Will had sitting beside him. “And in here, I have a digital voice recorder, infrared thermometer, spirit box, geophone, which is a vibration sensor, and the EMF detector you saw the other day.”

“All that stuff will detect ghosts?”

“And hopefully record any visual or audio anomalies,” Killian explained.

“You forgot to mention the flux response device,” Will threw in. “That allows us to ask spirits yes or no questions. If they answer yes, the green light comes on; if it’s no, it’ll be the red light. Provided they answer at all, that is.”

“Wow, the whole process seems pretty complicated,” Emma commented.

“All you have to do is fall asleep, Swan,” Killian said. “We’ll handle the rest.”

“So, uh, where do you need to set things up, then?”

Killian rubbed his finger behind his ear. “Some of the equipment will need to go in your bedroom.”

“Okay. Mi casa es su casa,” she said, standing up to lead the way to her bedroom.

As the guys figured out where to set everything up, Emma straightened her bedding and picked up a stray sock to toss it into a hamper. “So, how does this work exactly? Will you wake me up if I start having a nightmare?”

“That would defeat the purpose,” Killian replied. “If Cassidy is coming to you while you’re asleep, we want to capture that activity and hopefully be able to communicate with him. Once the sun peaks over the horizon, we’ll pack everything up and leave your apartment. It will take us a while to watch and listen to our devices and decipher all the data, but once we do, we’ll contact you to go over the results.”

“How long will that take?” Emma asked.

Killian pursed his lips in thought. “Anywhere from a few hours to a day or two, depending on how much we’re able to collect.”

“Belle helps us with all of that decipherin’ and analyzin’ stuff, too,” Will said.

“Do you, um, would I be allowed to see and hear everything?”

“Absolutely,” Killian assured her. “If you are being haunted, you have every right to know what’s going on.”

“I hate to admit it, but I’m pretty interested in what you’re doing, now that you’ve explained it.”

“Does that mean you’ll start watching my channel?” Killian cheeked.

“Depends on whether you’re successful in getting Neal to move on…if it’s actually him.”

“Ah, so no pressure then.”

Emma shrugged, a coy smile on her lips. “You said you guys were good at what you do.”

“We are, but we can’t guarantee results. Every case we’ve worked has been different,” Killian explained. “We have been able to make contact with spirits in the majority of them, but in a few others, we didn’t find any proof of paranormal activity. If we are able to establish a connection, the person being haunted has to help encourage the spirit to move on. Do you think you would be able to do that, if and when the time comes?”

She shrugged again, the smile from earlier gone. “I’d like to say I will, but I guess I won’t really know until then.”

“Fair point. Let’s just hope we get some results.”

“What happens if he doesn’t show up tonight?” she asked.

“If there’s no paranormal activity tonight, we’ll leave the equipment set up to try again another night. It may take several all-nighters to capture activity, or it may happen right away - you just never know. Plus, that way we’ll be ready if you get the feeling he’s here. In any case, we’ll keep trying until we collect something, or until you feel like he’s moved on.”

“Would you mind laying down?” Will asked. “I want to focus this in the general vicinity.” He had the video camera mounted on a tripod aimed at her bed.

Emma hesitated a moment before moving to the bed to sit down. “I still say it’s gonna be really weird trying to sleep with you guys watching me.”

“We’ll be in the living room, using the laptops to monitor what the equipment is recording. If nothing is going on, we’ll stay in there,” Killian assured her. “If we detect something, we’ll bring the flux response device in here and try to communicate with him.”

She lay down on the right side of the bed, closest to the door. “This is where I start out, but I can’t promise that’s where I’ll stay. I’ve always been a bit of a restless sleeper.”

Will fiddled with the camera while Killian set the voice recorder on the nightstand beside Emma’s bed. “We’ll turn these on when you go to bed. They have enough battery and storage to run all night.”

“Although,” Will stated, “sometimes the spirits have been known to drain batteries very quickly.”

“We’ll be able to see if that’s happening, too. The laptops have readouts from all of the equipment.”

They finished setting everything up as Emma sat on the edge of the bed watching them. Every now and then, Killian made eye contact with her, noticing her trepidation. Each time, he gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

When things were arranged to their satisfaction, Will grabbed the empty bags off the floor and they all left the bedroom.

“So, uh, I guess I’ll text you when I get home from work?” Emma asked.

“Aye. As soon as you let us know, we’ll come over,” Killian said.

“In that case, I’ll make sure I’m ready for bed before I send the text. What will you guys do until I get back?”

“We generally sleep the day away when we’ve got an all-nighter, ain’t that right, Kil?” Will said.

Killian nodded. “It doesn’t pay to be tired while we’re working, and the following day, we’re usually very excited to go through everything we collected.”

“That makes sense,” Emma said. “I’ll plan on seeing you tonight around ten-thirty, then.”

They bid her goodbye and returned to Killian’s apartment. As soon as the door was closed, Will clapped his friend on the back. “I can see why yer in love with her, Mate. She’s lovely.”

“I never said I was in love with her,” Killian corrected, moving into the living room to plop down on the couch. “I just…fancy her.”

Will scoffed. “Semantics. I saw how you was lookin’ at her.”

“Was it similar to the way you look at Belle?” Killian smirked.

“Do ya always have to bring that up?” Will grumbled.

Killian sighed. “Let’s face it. We’re both besotted fools who are too spineless to do anything about it.”

“Let’s make a pact. When this is all over with Emma’s ghost problem, we’ll both work up the courage to ask our fair ladies out.”

Killian got up and went into the kitchen, returning with two bottles of water. Handing one to Will, he said, “I need to wait and see how things turn out for Emma. If this is too traumatizing for her, I’m not going to complicate things further by asking her out. That doesn’t mean you can’t date Belle, though. I think you two would be great together.”

Will unscrewed the cap and took a quick drink. “I’ll think about it. Now, let’s order some pizza so we can eat and then get some sleep.”

*********

Killian could tell Emma was nervous when she answered the door that evening, clad in a tank top and shorts, her hair up in a loose bun.

“Sorry it took me so long to text you,” she apologized. “It was really busy at work tonight, so I wanted to take a quick shower.”

“No problem, Swan. We’re not in a hurry and we want you to be relaxed.”

“I’m not sure that’s possible, knowing that I might have a starring role in the next ‘Poltergeist’ movie.”

Killian moved closer to squeeze her hand. “What do you usually do to unwind when you get home from work?”

“Watch an episode or two of a show. Sometimes I have a cup of hot chocolate.”

“Doesn’t that have caffeine in it?” Will asked.

“Yeah, but I find that it relaxes me before I go to bed.”

“Just go about your routine and try to forget about us being here,” Killian advised.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like I would be able to do that.” She rubbed the back of her neck with both hands, rolling her head from side to side.

“Would a massage help?” Killian asked.

“That would actually be really nice,” she affirmed.

Killian stepped behind her and began to massage her shoulders. Dropping her head forward, she groaned, “God, that feels good. Can you keep doing that for about an hour?”

Inhaling her fresh scent and feeling her skin under his hands was making him struggle internally. Her skin was so soft, he just wanted to lean down and kiss her lovely neck. Instead, he cleared his throat and chuckled. “I’d be happy to, Love.” He glanced up and frowned at Will, who was giving him a shit-eating grin.

After a few more minutes of kneading Emma’s back and shoulders, he felt her begin to relax. “Do you want Will to make the hot chocolate for you?” he asked.

“No, thanks. I don’t make it from those packets. I do it the old-fashioned way with milk, cocoa and sugar, topped with whipped cream and cinnamon.”

“What makes you think I don’t know how to make it like that?” Will asked, sounding offended.

“Do you?” Emma asked.

“No,” he admitted, “but that don’t mean I can’t try.”

“I’ve seen his attempts at cooking,” Killian said. “I’d keep him away from your kitchen if I were you.”

“It’s always ‘pick on Will day’, innit?” he groused.

Emma laughed. “Do you guys want a cup, too?”

“Yes, please,” Killian said. “How about you, Scarlett?”

“No, thanks. I brought a coupla bottles of Mountain Dew with me.”

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in the living room, sipping their beverages and watching a show of Emma’s choosing. Halfway through the second episode, Killian looked over to see her dozing off in the recliner.

“Swan,” he said quietly.

“Hmm?”

“I think it’s time you went to bed.” He stood up and took the empty cocoa mug from her lax hand.

She looked up at him, blinking slowly. “Yeah,” she yawned. “I guess it is.”

“G’night, Emma,” Will called as she began stumbling toward her bedroom.

“Night, Will. Good luck with your ghost hunting,” she said, pulling the band from her hair to let it fall loosely down her back.

Killian handed Will the mug, asking him to put it in the kitchen sink, then followed Emma into her bedroom. She settled under the covers as he switched on all of the equipment. When he was finished, he couldn’t resist pulling the sheet up over her bare shoulder. “Sweet dreams, Emma.”

“I thought the purpose of this was for me to have a nightmare,” she murmured, her eyes already closed.

He gently brushed some strands of hair away from her face. “I would be much happier if you never had another one.”

Her lips turned up in a small smile. “Thanks, Killian. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Love.”

Will had the laptops set up by the time Killian got back out to the living room. He picked one up and took it with him to the recliner Emma had vacated, while Will hunched over the other one on the coffee table.

Two hours of silence passed before they saw the temperature begin to drop on the thermometer readout. They both sat up straighter, eyes scanning the data from the other equipment. The grainy image from the video recorder showed Emma making small, jerky movements. As they watched and listened, their instruments indicated paranormal activity going on in her bedroom.

After another ten minutes, they met each other’s eyes across the dimly lit room. “This is a fucking goldmine,” Will commented.

Killian nodded grimly. He hadn’t taken into consideration how much it would affect him to see Emma in the throes of a nightmare. As he sat in this room, watching her thrash about and listening to her whimpers through the video camera, all he wanted to do was go to her, take her in his arms and comfort her.

Grabbing the flux response device, he told Will, “I’m going to go see if I can get him to answer any questions.”

Will continued to watch his laptop screen intently, his mind nearly blown at everything he saw and heard. This was definitely one of the most successful all-nighters they had ever conducted.

*********

By the time Emma awoke the next morning, she felt like she had been in a boxing match all night, and noticed the guys and all of their equipment were gone. She assumed it meant they had documented paranormal activity, which was confirmed when she found a note on her coffee table from Killian telling her that they were able to gather some good information, and that he would be in touch with her later that day.

As she sat at her kitchen table drinking a large mug of coffee, she was a bit surprised when her phone lit up with a call from Ruby. Her friend usually didn’t contact her until her workday was over at the police station, and it was almost always via text.

“Hey, Ruby. What’s up?” Emma asked, her voice sounding exhausted, even to her own ears.

“I’ve got news I thought you’d be interested in hearing.”

“Has another ex of mine been arrested?”

Ruby ignored the question. “They began an investigation into Neal’s death because during the autopsy, they discovered marks around his throat that weren’t made by the bedsheet.”

Emma sat up straighter in her chair. “What kind of marks?”

“Handprints.”

Emma gasped. “They think someone killed him?”

“It’s been ruled a homicide. They suspect the crime lords he was selling drugs for may be involved somehow. Probably wanted to shut him up before he started blabbing about them in jail.”

“Oh, wow. I tried to tell him he was an idiot for being in cahoots with those people. He was convinced he would work his way up the ladder in the organization to be one of the top guys. I knew nothing good would come of it.”

“You were smart to break it off with him. Otherwise, they might have come after you.”

A chill ran down Emma’s spine. “You don’t think they will, do you?”

“Nah, it had been over a year since you guys were together when he was arrested. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

Nothing to worry about, except that the ghost of my dead ex is haunting me, Emma thought. “Thanks for the info, Ruby. If you find out anything else, please let me know.”

“Will do. I better get back to work. My break is almost over. Talk to you later.”

They ended the call and Emma sat looking at her phone. Was Neal’s unfinished business proving that he was killed? If so, why was he hanging around her instead of somebody who could actually do something about it?

She yawned widely, wondering again what Killian and Will were able to capture.

*********

As soon as they got back to Killian’s apartment, he and Will went into his office and began going through the audio and video recordings, along with other data they collected. Will uploaded the photos taken at regular increments in Emma’s bedroom so they could study them more closely on the larger computer screen.

Belle arrived mid-morning to help. They listened to the white noise collected by the spirit box, trying to decipher voices or words that may have been recorded.

“There’s so much information here,” she commented. “This apparition is clearly trying to communicate with…what’s her name again?”

“Emma Swan,” Killian answered quickly.

“How long have you been neighbors?”

“Five years or so.” He could feel the redness creeping up his neck and into his face, as Belle scrutinized him.

“And this is the woman you’ve um, how did Will put it? Been crushing on for years?”

“She’s just a friend,” Killian said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Pfft,” Will scoffed. Killian glared at him.

“Sounds like you hope to be much more than friends, Killian,” Belle commented.

He rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to meet her eyes. “Can we just get back to business, please? I would like to share our findings with Emma today, if possible.”

Belle studied him for a few moments, a smug smile on her face, but she let the matter drop.

They continued analyzing the data, replaying the recordings over and over as they discussed what they heard and saw.

“Did you get any useful information from the flux?” Belle asked.

Killian shook his head. “I only got one response, and that was to my first question - are you Neal Cassidy? The answer was ‘yes’.”

“Well, at least you got confirmation of that,” Belle commented. “It’s better than nothing.”

His phone buzzed on the table and he picked it up to see a text notification from Emma.

E: I know I’m supposed to wait for your call, but I’m a bit anxious. Are you awake? I’m really curious about what went on last night.

Killian glanced up from his screen to see Will and Belle looking at him. “She wants to know what we found.”

“We can share what we’ve deciphered so far,” Will said. “I don’t think I can stay awake to do much more. I’m knackered.”

“Agreed,” Killian said, tapping on his phone to respond to Emma.

Within five minutes, there was a knock on his door and he left the room to answer it. Emma stood on the other side, her lower lip pulled between her teeth, clearly on edge.

Without stopping to think, Killian reached out to take her hand, pulling her to him. To his surprise and relief, she went into his arms willingly, where she fit against him perfectly.

“Are you alright, Love?” he murmured into her hair.

“Did you find any reason for me not to be?”

He hesitated a moment, unsure quite how to tell her. “He…Neal…it seems he is coming to you at night, invading your dreams.”

She pulled back and looked at him. Seeing the utter helplessness and shock on her face, his heart sank. “How am I ever gonna be rid of him?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Tucking her back against his chest, he said, “We’ll figure it out. I won’t give up until we do.”

“Hey, boss. Me and Belle just found…oh, sorry!” Will’s voice came from behind them, causing them to pull away from each other.

Before turning to look at his friend, he studied Emma for a few more seconds. The look on her face was one of weariness and fright, and he knew he would do whatever it took to make that look disappear for good.

Not caring that he would probably get a good ribbing about it later from Will, Killian leaned in and pressed a lingering kiss to Emma’s forehead. “Are you sure you’re up to seeing and hearing what we collected last night?” he whispered.

“Is it going to traumatize me?” she asked, trepidation clear in her tone.

He brushed a wisp of hair behind her ear. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it, Love - it’s not going to be easy. But if we can figure out Neal’s unfinished business, we have a good chance of getting him to move on. Since you knew him well and we didn’t, your input could be invaluable in making that happen.”

“I know,” she sighed. Then, lifting her chin, a determined look came over her face and she set her jaw. “I can do it.”

“That’s my tough lass,” Killian said, hoping she took it as a compliment and didn’t question the sentiment behind it.

He stepped out of the doorway, allowing her to pass by him into the apartment. With his hand on the small of her back, he guided her to the office, Will following behind.

When they entered the room, Belle swiveled in her seat and stood with a smile on her face. “You must be Emma,” she said, her hand outstretched in greeting. “I’m Belle, the technical director.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Belle,” Emma replied, shaking her offered hand. “Killian and Will have told me a lot about you.”

“All good, I hope.”

“O’ course,” Will said. “There’s nothin’ bad to say about ya.”

Emma and Killian shared an amused look, as Belle resumed her seat.

Will sat in the chair beside Belle, while Killian rolled the last one over for Emma, then stood behind her. “Bring up the photos first, please.”

Belle hit some keys on the computer keyboard and they all focused on the oversized monitor. A gallery of pictures popped up and with a click of the mouse, Belle selected one which filled the screen.

“You remember how we covered the mirror on the back of your door and everything else that would reflect light?” Killian asked. Emma nodded, and he continued, “We wanted to be able to debunk any light anomalies that could have been caused by reflections. The door was closed and your bedroom was completely dark, yet you can see these orbs of light in several photos.”

He leaned over Emma’s shoulder to point out the bright spots on the screen, as Belle brought up one picture after another. “We can also rule out dust specks because these aren’t consistent with the characteristics of dust…”

“And there isn’t any dust in my super clean apartment,” Emma remarked, tongue-in-cheek.

“Right. That, too,” Killian grinned.

“So, what do these…anemones mean?”

“Anomalies, Swan,” Killian corrected automatically. “They usually signify paranormal activity. We went through the pictures carefully and have counted at least five different light anomalies, which is the most we’ve seen in one space during a single night of investigation.”

“Wow. Does that mean I’ll get into the paranormal record books?”

The three investigators laughed. Belle minimized the gallery of photos and hit a few more keys. “This is from the video camera,” she explained, hovering the cursor over the little dot on the left side of the screen. “I’m going to fast forward quite a ways because nothing happened for the first two hours of the session.”

She slowly dragged the cursor several inches to the right, stopping when the time read an hour and fifty-seven minutes. Emma strained to see anything in the grainy image and was finally able to discern the outline of her sleeping form in the bed.

As she continued to watch, one corner of the screen began to lighten slightly. Will pointed to the spot. “See that there? Keep watchin’.”

The mist drifted down toward where Emma lay and seemed to settle beside her.

Emma leaned in closer, then sat back with a gasp. “Is that…?”

“It appears we captured an apparition,” Killian confirmed.

  It was a strange sensation to watch herself beginning to react on screen, and Killian’s reassuring hand on her shoulder was very welcome as she felt herself filling with tension.

“This is where it seems your nightmare begins,” Belle remarked softly.

“Do you remember anything about it?” Killian asked.

Emma slowly shook her head. “Not really. Just that feeling of being held down and unable to move or speak.”

“Did you hear the voices again?”

“I heard those whispers, but I couldn’t tell what they were saying.”

They watched for several minutes, uncomfortably observing Emma’s jerky movements in the video. Then they saw the bedroom door open and Killian enter the room. He dropped to his knees beside the bed and placed the flux response device on the nightstand. After he turned it on, they heard him ask, “Are you Neal Cassidy?” and saw the green light illuminate.

Emma whipped around to look at Killian. “He gave you confirmation?”

“Aye, but he didn’t answer any of my other questions.”

Belle let the video run for a few more minutes, allowing them to hear more of Killian’s questions such as, “Do you know you’re dead?” and “Do you know how you died?”

“We haven’t had a chance to watch the entire video,” Belle explained, “but the guys noted the times when there was more activity.” After checking the paper in front of her, she moved the video forward to the 3:25 mark. Killian was no longer in the bedroom, but Emma still appeared to be having a restless sleep. The translucent figure beside her began to drift until it was a few feet away from the camera, where it appeared to stretch a limb toward it.

“We were wonderin’ if he was tryin’ to turn off the camera,” Will said. “Like he didn’t want us recordin’ him or somethin’.”

“Why can’t we see him clearly like I could when he was outside the coffee shop?” Emma asked, as she continued to watch the video.

“That’s a good question,” Killian responded. “We really don’t know why spirits are recognizable at times, and other times, they have no form at all.”

“You can see the apparition settle back down beside you…now,” Belle said, stopping the video at that spot. “It doesn’t move until…” consulting the paper again, she moved ahead to just past the five hour mark, “right here. Now, watch it disappear.” She clicked on the play arrow to show the spirit move up toward the ceiling. Then it was gone.

“Maybe he went through to the fourth floor and he’s their problem now,” Emma said bitterly.

“I wish it was that easy,” Killian replied.

Belle switched off the monitor in front of her. “We got some audio recordings on the spirit box and voice recorder. We can listen to those next.”

Will placed the voice recorder in front of Emma. “So far, we only listened to a section of this corresponding to the appearance of the apparition.” He turned it on and sat back in his chair. At first, all they could hear was complete silence. It was broken by a whooshing sound, followed by the soft, unnerving sounds of Emma letting out little whimpers.

“What was that noise?” she asked.

“We assume that was his ghost coming into the room,” Killian said.

“That’s the sound ghosts make?”

“We’ve heard lotsa different noises through the voice recorder,” Will said. “Bangs, crashes, whooshes, clinks, clanks, moans, groans…”

“I think she has the idea,” Killian cut in.

“The data gathered from the EMF detector, geophone and infrared thermometer verified the fact that paranormal activity was present in your bedroom,” Belle said.

“Oh, yay,” Emma said sarcastically, spinning her index finger in the air in a mock celebration.

Killian chuckled as he scooted the spirit box closer and plugged it into the computer. “After using the flux and getting just that one response, I turned off the voice recorder and replaced it with this. The nice thing about this new device is, it records the sounds. The old one we had didn’t, so we had to rely on the video recording to hear it. We’ve spent quite a bit of time listening to several sections of this, trying to decipher them. Perhaps you can help us, Swan.”

“I can try,” she said, leaning forward in her chair. “What am I listening for?”

“When I switch it on, you’re going to hear ‘white noise’ and the readout on the computer will look something like a Richter Scale graph. When there’s an unexplained sound and a spike on the graph, it’s possible the apparition is trying to speak. That happens several times in the section we’re about to listen to, but we have differing ideas of what’s being said. We’re hoping you can figure it out.”

“Okay. Ready when you are.”

He switched on the box and instantly, loud static filled the room. Emma flinched at the sudden noise and once again felt Killian’s steadying hand on her shoulder. With his other hand, he pointed to the readout on the laptop screen. “Watch for the spike. We’ll run it back as many times as you need.”

She watched and listened intently. About a minute in, there was a change in the graph as they heard a guttural sound. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “Can you run it back?”

Belle rewound it a few seconds. When the sound came through again, Emma whispered, “Ems.”

Killian reached forward and hit pause himself. “What did you say, Love?”

“Ems,” she murmured again. “Neal always called me Ems. At first, I thought it was a cute nickname, but it annoyed me after a while because he overused it.”

“Play it back again, please,” Killian told Belle.

She did as he asked, all of them leaning forward involuntarily. After they heard the word again, she stopped it. “I think she’s right.”

“What did you guys think it said?” Emma asked.

“It’s so quick, I didn’t even have a guess,” Killian said.

“I thought it sounded like he was clearing his throat or something,” Belle added.

“I thought he belched,” Will grinned.

“Because ghosts obviously build up gas and have to let it out somehow,” Killian said, rolling his eyes. Then he turned his attention to Emma, who had paled considerably. “Swan, are you okay?”

“I, uh…could I get a drink of water, please?” she asked, her voice tremulous.

Will jumped to his feet. “I’ll get it.”

Killian swiveled her chair and knelt down in front of her. “Is this too much for you, Emma? We can stop, if it is.”

“It’s just…hearing his voice and knowing he’s…dead is pretty freaky. Seeing him was a horrible experience, but hearing him…”

Will came back with a bottle of water and handed it to her. She thanked him and took a long drink.

“That’s enough for today,” Killian said, standing up.

“No,” she protested. “I’ll be fine. It’s just a shock, you know?”

“Of course it is,” he agreed, “but if you’re sure, we’ll keep going.”

She nodded and turned her chair to face the desk again.

“Ready?” Belle asked.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Belle hit play and the room filled with the pulsating white noise again. This time when there was a vocalization, she had to rewind it four times before Emma said, “I think he’s saying ‘mine’.”

“That was our guess,” Killian said.

“That gives me chills,” Belle said, with a little shiver. Will stepped behind her to put his hands on her shoulders and she looked up at him appreciatively.

“There were a few other places where we heard his voice,” Killian explained, giving Belle a nod to start the recording again.

It took them nearly fifteen minutes to decipher the last phrase. They finally came to a consensus that the first two words were ‘taking’ and ‘you’, but the final utterance stymied them, until Emma suddenly slumped in her chair. “I think I know what it is. He…he’s saying ‘taking you…with me’.”

Belle put her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, while a grim-faced Killian rubbed his hands up and down Emma’s biceps in an attempt to soothe her. Will said bluntly what they were all thinking. “The bloody bastard thinks you’re his and wants to drag you to hell with him?”

*********

Thank you all very much for reading!

Tagging:

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[cecexwrites]

Writeblr Intro

My name is Cecily, but you can call me Cece. I'm in my 30's and I primarily write fanfiction. I do have a large original project in the works though.

My Pinterest Fic Masterlist Character Masterlist

My Current Focus(es)

Small Town Paranormal

An Original Universe

Witches and Werewolves, Vampires and Demons- all hidden in plain sight. From a supernatural sanctuary created by a vampire to a college for witches. Small Town Paranormal is a series of stories all connected by their shared universe

Prince of Wrath

A Blaise Zabini Fanfiction

Torn apart four years ago by the impending war, the Zabini's and Fawleys reunite for an old family holiday tradition- an entire summer on a Grecian Island. Pushed together for the first time in year, Blaise and Reid Fawley have to learn to navigate their new circumstances. Not to mention her boyfriend, his memories from the Battle of Hogwarts and a past mistake coming back to haunt them

OC(s): Reid Fawley (Jessica Alexander) Tate Fawley (Luke Eisner)

Story Masterpost

Nevermore

A Rabastan Lestrange Fanfiction

Merit Vander Wende hates me.

A fact she's never kept secret, but when her darling fiancé crossed me he all but signed her death warrant.

Merit might hate me, but she will be mine.

OC(s): Rhiannon Lestrange (Sydney Sweeney) Merit Vander Wende (Rachel Zegler)

Coven Wars

A Teen Wolf Fanfiction

TBA

Wasting Time with Rabbits

A Disney Descendants Fanfiction

Once upon a time, King Adam declared an end to the darkness. He sent the Villains to the isle and magic became obsolete. Twenty years later, his son is ready to make things right by bringing over the children of the Villains he banished. Including the daughter of his father's greatest enemy, Gaston. Galston is just looking for a good time. She definitely didn't mean to be the catalyst for a war decades in the making

OC(s): Galston Legume (Kaia Gerber) Cedrick Facilier (Luka Sabbat) Quinn Queen (Rachel Zegler) Aleksander Westergaard (Danny Griffin) Winter White (Matt Cornett)

Red Riding Hood

A Disney Descendants Fanfiction

All her life Scarlett's been stalked by The Wolf. Always looking over her shoulder, terrified of the dark. After the death of her only protector, Auradon is her only hope. Fate has no hold on her.

OC(s): Scarlett Edon (Maia Mitchell)

Beyond the Star and By The Angel

A Shadowhunters Fanfiction

It all started with the Academy. When the Academy finally opened it's doors to warlocks, Max Lightwood-Bane was the first to jump in, alongside his older brother, of course. Neither of them had any idea that when meeting Romy Thornhill they would be meeting the woman who would change all their lives forever. (part of the Angels and Demons Series)

OC(s): Rowena 'Romy' Thornhill (Meg Donnelly)

Swing for the Fences

A Sandlot/Stranger Things Crossover Fanfiction

The summer of 1962: Scott Smalls and Benny Rodriguez along with their baseball crew did the impossible, they rescued their ball from The Beast. Cementing their friendship for until the end of time.

November 1983: Scott Smalls is getting a divorce, living in Hawkins Indiana with his two kids. The day his best friend Benny, and Benny's daughter, move to Hawkins to help him with the transition to single parenthood, Will Byers- Scott's daughter's best friend- goes missing and the mystery of Hawkins beings to unravel.

OC(s): Lou Rodriguez (Jenna Ortega), Emma Smalls (Mckenna Grace), Phillip Smalls (Walker Scobell), Charlie Baker (Felix Mallard)

Read it on: AO3

My Finished Stories

Prince of Ruin

A Theodore Nott Fanfiction

Once upon a time, long long ago, The Nott family and The Selwyns were the closest of friends. Two families who loved each other with their entire souls. Did I mention that was a long long time ago? Now, Theodore Nott can't stand the Selwyn Twins, especially the loud and rude Cordelia Selwyn. However after a incident of revenge gone wrong, Theodore finds himself stuck with the woman, until death do they part (Part one of The Serpents Club)

OC(s): Cordelia Selwyn (Model fc is Vika Bronova, actress fc is Odeya Rush), Bastian Selwyn (Model Fc is Alessandro Dellisola, Actor fc is tentatively Tanner Buchanan) Story Masterpost

[thatoneitaliangirl]

The Hat Man

(Just as an FYI, I change from past tense to present tense a couple of times. This isn’t a serious written work or anything, just a recollection of a dream so I don’t really care if it’s written that well, but I figured I’d give you a warning anyway cause I know stuff like that bothers me when reading lol.)

Long time no see! Sorry to my all of 2 followers that actually interact lol. But for serious, I am sorry for being gone for so long and not finishing things and leaving requests hanging. Its a bad habit of mine- I also got a boyfriend. We’ve been together for over a year now, and when we got together I kinda gave up fanfiction all together. I didn’t want to per say, it’s almost like I didn’t need it anymore. My Love took away my loneliness!~ But I still miss fanfiction lol. It just doesn’t feel the same anymore. 

I’ve recently started on Anti-depressants and ADHD medication and I’m starting to get back into the things that I used to love. I’ve been wanting to write again for some time, but just wasn’t sure what to and if I’m even capable of coming up with a unique thought right now lol. So, instead of coming up with something unique, I figured I’d tell you guys about the weird ass dream I had a while back. I’ve been thinking about it constantly and just had to tell the internet because spooks. 

I’m not exactly sure when I had the dream. It was a hot minute ago, like maybe 2 months or so? Before I go full into it, I would just like to state that, at the time, I had never heard of the Hat Man before. Which, now that I know, I’m surprised I hadn’t cause its right up my ally lol. But I hadn’t which makes this so much worse. 

My dream starts with me as a kid, maybe around 5 or 6. I’m wearing a long sleeve dress and I’m playing with other kids outside in the woods. It was Fall, the leaves where brown and falling off the trees and there was a nice breeze. I grew up in Florida in an area where there were no large forest like areas. The only thing I could think of this coming from would be an area by the neighborhood gazebo that had a bunch of trees we used to climb, but no matter where you were in it, you could see houses, it wasn’t very large. Anyway, I was playing with other kids my age and somehow I got separated from them, but I wasn’t scared or lost, I was just alone. I come across this large tree that looks a bit different than the others in that it looks older and maybe darker. At the base of the tree is a small wooden box, about the size of a jewelry or music box. It was made of a light colored wood and had very minimal carvings on the side. I remember opening it and then time rushing forward in the dream of stuff happening around the house and me blaming the Hat Man and nobody believing me. They would think I was lying to get out of trouble but eventually it got so bad that they sent me to a mental hospital. The Hat Man in my dream looked very similar to the descriptions of him on the internet. He was very tall and was wearing like a ‘50′s style suite and hat with a long coat and he had a red tie and no face. 

Time skips again but to the present. I’m my current age, 21, and I’m sitting in my room at the mental hospital talking to my therapist. She’s not anyone I recognize in real life, but she was really pretty I remember. She had long brown hair and was maybe in her early 30′s and spoke in a very kind and happy voice. She was discussing with me about how well I had been doing the past year and that the papers for my release had been signed, I just had to wait till morning. She was saying how she was so proud of me and how she was gonna miss me but she knew it was for the better. 

I’m not sure how any of you feel about the paranormal or spiritual stuff, but my family and I believe in it. I have this one family member who is very in tune with that kind of stuff and for some reason, she was in my dream. This is probably one of the reasons this dream freaked me out so much, because I literally never dream about her. I honestly can’t even remember ever dreaming about her, and so I felt like there was a reason she was there. What’s weird though is that I never actually saw her in any form, I just knew that it was her. In the dream, she was in the same hospital as me, just down the hall in another room. 

Later that night, I head to her room to tell her the good news, but I find her dead and run back to my room. I know that it was the Hat Man, and I begin freaking out that he was coming for me next. It was like he didn’t know where I was, but now that he did, he wanted to give me a warning. 

In the morning, the therapist comes in to get me but sees me sitting on my bed, rocking back and forth. I didn’t sleep the whole night and I just kept mumbling to myself that the Hat Man was coming for me. She was confused because I had been perfectly fine the night before and hadn’t had an episode like this in a year. Suddenly, there was commotion out in the hall, and she runs to the door and sees a bunch of nurses and doctors running into my family members room. She grabs the first nurse she sees and asks them what’s going on, and she just shakes her head. The doctors begin to pull my family member out of her room on a stretcher, but we can’t see her cause she wrapped in a pink blanket and only her arm is sticking out. An older nurse sees me standing nervously and shaking behind my therapist in my bedroom entryway and glares at me. She suspects me because I knew who was killed and later on they see me on the security cameras walk down the hall to her room, enter, and immediately run back to my room. Because of this, I’m put under lockdown. I’m not allowed to leave the room and they have someone watching me constantly. The therapist is in complete disbelief and is conflicted. On one hand, she’s known me for years and knows I would never do that, but on the other hand, she saw I was having an episode and there was a lot of evidence suggesting I was the murderer. 

For some reason, I’m not sure why, she decides to look into the Hat Man. Why she didn’t do this any other time while she was treating me is beyond me, but dream logic. 

She goes to this really large and old library and spends hours looking through books and records and news articles that talk about the Hat Man. Late at night, she’s sitting in the library alone. Just a single lamp on the table and the moon shining through large windows behind her are the only light sources. She sees something in an article or a book that shocks her enough to believe that this entity could actually exist and she calls me to ask me what I know. I tell her that he can only come for you at night and if your alone in complete darkness. Just as I’m telling her this, you see him walk past the window behind her and she runs out of the library. She spends the rest of the night in bars, diners, and other 24 hour spaces until dawn breaks and she rushes back to the hospital to see me. 

Somehow we figure out that my family member may have known something and was trying to protect me from the Hat Man, so she “breaks” me out of my room and we head down the hall to the murder scene to look for clues. We find a teddy bear that had a button to record but it’s missing the batteries. We quickly find some, put them in, and a message from my family member starts to play. All it says is for me to tell my aunt about the Hat Man and then I woke up. 

As you can see, this dream freaked me the fuck out. Not only because of how insanely detailed it was, but because of the family member dying, the message, and just the over all fact that I always felt creeped out at our old house and so this just confirmed in my head for that time that spooky stuff was happening. In reality it was all in my head OR SO I THOUGHT  but back to that later. Now that I’m typing this out, I realize that I had this dream at our old house so definitely not 2 months ago lol. We moved like 4 or 5 months ago- my sense of time is so freaking bad-

Anyway, I told all my family about the dream and they all agreed it was really creepy but that was kind of the end of it until I told my boyfriends friend. We were having a little game night and I don’t remember how the topic came up, but I ended up telling her about my dream and she was like, “Ah yes, the Hat Man. He comes to get you for not taking your ADHD medication.” And I was like WHAT???? She was shook I didn’t know about the Hat Man, and I was shook BECAUSE HE WAS FUCKING REAL????? Or, not real, but that the concept was an actual thing and I didn’t just make it up in a weirdly vivid nightmare. 

She explained a bit about him to me and I looked him up on the internet. What’s funny is that, while I have ADHD and have been diagnosed with it since the 2nd grade, I’ve never taken medication for it before until literally 2 days ago. So I just kinda thought that was funny. I’m sure somewhere in the past I stumbled upon a meme or a joke about the Hat Man and my subconscious just kinda filled him in there but I still have no recollection of ever hearing about him before. And while I’ve thought about this dream on and off for the past few months, I only really started thinking about it again because my family recently told me that there was something in our old house, more that what I had originally knew. Like I said, I always got a weird feeling in that house, kinda like I wasn’t alone even if I was the only one in the house. My cousin had told me there was a spirit of a little boy but that he was harmless. Still, I felt off about it but I just kinda chalked it up to me being creeped out over everything, even if he was harmless- not sure if I ever mentioned it on here before, but one day I was in my room, home alone, and I got out of bed cause I had to use the bathroom and I was watching a tik tok and as I looked up from my phone to grab my door handle, the knob was turning on its own and I decided that, maybe, I didn’t actually have to use the bathroom and went back to bed. My aunt told me it could have been one of the cats, but I didn't really believe that. And now, the other day, I’m told that there was something bad in the house that the family member that died in my dream found and it freaked her out. And guess what fellas???? The reason they never told me about it was because IT WAS IN MY FUCKING BEDROOM so moral of the story is, trust your gut, dreams can’t hurt you, and the Hat Man is real. 

[thiswasinevitableid]

for the meet uglies, sternclay 60 sfw? OwO

Here you go!

60 Sterncly SFW. we’re both on a reality show (like the queer bachelor) where we’re told to be friends but the first time we met, you were incredibly rude and judgmental and I don’t know if I can do this for the damn cameras

“So, Barclay, now that we’re a few days in, what’s your impression of the other contestants?”

“They, uh, they all seem like great guys. We come from a lot of different backgrounds, so that’s kind of interesting to be around but, uh, I live in a place that’s like a big, chosen family, so being in a house with a bunch of types of personalities is kinda, uh, homey.”

“There’s no one you think you’ll struggle with?”

“Uh. Well. I, uh, I don’t like Joseph too much. He came in and he’s so, like, phony from all the years in the FBI. It’s like he’s trying to be polite and charming but really he thinks we’re all idiots for being here. Which, like, buddy, last I checked you signed up for this the same as the rest of us.”

------------------------------------------------------

“Joseph, any worries about the other contestants?”

“No. I mean, we’re competitors on a dating show, not enemies. I think we’re all trying to show Vincent the best versions of ourselves.”

“There’s no one you’ve had conflicts with?”

“........I, um, Barclay and I got into a small argument earlier about the house rules. But I’m sure if we both stick around long enough we’ll come to an understanding.”

----------------------------------------------------

“Gentlemen, this cannot continue.” Ned, the producer, sits on the couch across from them. Barclay glares at Joseph, but the other man keeps a cool demeanor. Great, he’s making Barclay look like the big, angry mountain even off camera.

“I thought reality shows needed conflict to thrive.” Joseph cocks an eyebrow.

“They do, but about big things, like love and rivalry. Not how to properly load a dishwasher.”

“I’m just trying to be efficient.”

“My way is perfectly fine.” Barclay snaps, “jesus, I worked in kitchens for years, I know how to get clean plates.”

“That doesn’t make it optimal.”

“Do you have to be right about everything?”

“Gentlemen, you recall we have a housekeeping staff, right?”

“It doesn’t matter” Barclay doesn’t take his eyes off Ned, “we’re supposed to all get along, not all try and prove we’re the smartest guy in the room.”

“See, this is your problem, you need everyone to like you, to see you like a big brother, but you’re missing the fact that at least three of them have decided your gentle giant persona is a threat and they’re trying to oust you.”

“It’s not a persona, it’s just how I am. We aren’t all government shams disguised as men.”

Joseph’s facade cracks for a moment, blue eyes trying to light Barclay on fire.

“Enough.” Ned shakes his head, “you may despise each other as much as you please behind the scenes. In front of the cameras, please try to act as if you’re not ten seconds away from coming to blows. Agreed?”

They trade a final, furious look.

“Agreed.”

------------------------------------------------------

They’re a little over three weeks in; Vincent is still doing lots and lots of short, individual dates between the group outings, so the contestants have ample time to hang around the house and get on each others nerves.

Case in point: Joseph was right when he warned Barclay that others saw him as a threat. Chad, Alex, Nico, and Rich have all decided to go after him. Just this morning he’s been told he’s not man enough for Vincent (he shooed a wolf spider out of the kitchen with a broom instead of squishing it), too girly (he offered to make cupcakes if people wanted), and too big (who'd want to fuck a six foot tall puppy).

His mood is not helped by Joseph chatting away on the couch about his former job with the FBI. Barclay swears it’s all the asshole knows how to talk about. Maybe it’s time for Barclay to play a game of his own.

“Hey, Joseph.”

The other man turns, black hair perfectly slicked back like he thinks he’s some kind of movie star.

“I bet you ten bucks you can’t make it until eight tonight without talking about your job.”

The other contestants in the room snicker, several even giving Barclay a thumbs up.

Joseph adjusts his shirt sleeves, “You’re on.”

Ten hours later, Barclay is forced to get his wallet. The other man never mentioned the FBI once. In fact, he did Barclay an even bigger favor; he didn’t talk at all.

He finds the agent sitting on the back steps leading into the garden. Stays standing as he holds out the cash, “you win fair and square.”

Joseph looks at the money, then looks away, “I did it to show I could, not for the bet.”

“I mean, you didn’t have to go, uh, quite so hard on the silence thing.”

“I didn’t mean to. But, um, every time I was going to open my mouth, I realized it was somehow related to work. So I kept quiet.” He sighs, stretches out his legs. He’s in slacks, because of course he is, “I must have been so tedious to listen to, no wonder I was driving you up the wall.”

“Joseph-”

“I really am married to my career. I guess it’s not surprising my last chance for love is on a T.V show.”

“Hey, I get it.” Barclay sits down next to him, “when I was first working in commercial kitchens my hours were crazy; I barely saw my apartment, my friends, my boyfriend who pretty quickly became my ex. But it was what I needed to do to build the career I wanted for myself. To do what I loved.”

Only the crickets and the distant waves reply. Then, “You said you were a private chef now, right? Along with writing cookbooks?”

“Yeah. Kinda surprised you remembered.”

“Listening is a major skill in my profession. Besides, it’s polite to pay attention to what people tell you.”

“What’s your job now? You only ever talk about the FBI stuff?”

“Paranormal investigation. I never bring it up because people assume I’m out chasing Bigfoot with a shaky-cam or trying to communicate with haunted dolls.”

“So...what is it instead?”

“Helping people figure out they’re homes aren’t haunted or the monster on their property is just some owls. I like the challenge of solving the mystery, and I like helping people feel safe in they’re homes.”

Loud voices form inside; the caterers must have refilled the bar. He doesn’t really want to go in. It’s too nice out here.

“You wanna hear about the restaurant my coworkers swore was haunted?”

Joseph perks up, turning to face him, “Yes, please.”

-----------------------------------------------------

He’d been really looking forward to beach day. Six guys are already gone, and Vincent has taken his fleet of suitors to the sunny San Diego shores. Barclay is dismayed to find all but three of the other guys have waxed their chests. Joseph hasn’t, but his happy trail is nothing compared to fucking black forest on Barclays torso. Nico’s gotten half the guys to call Barclay “bigfoot.”It makes him feel like he’s back in high school P.E freshman year, and his body image is rapidly sliding into that of a shy fourteen year old.

“Barclay!” Joseph comes jogging out of the surf towards the towels they lay down side by side when they arrived, “you should come in, it’s really the perfect weather for swimming.” He drops onto his towel, black hair a bit mussed. The swim-shorts that he thought were blue with green spots turn out to have not dots, but tiny UFOs on them.

“I, uh, I’m good. I, uh, I burn easily and I don’t think anyone wants to rub sunscreen on my hairy back.”

“Hey, Bigfoot, what’s wrong? Scared of what’ll happen if the cameras get a load of your gut?”

Barclay growls, stares at his toes. Joseph tracks Nico as he finishes jogging by. Then he calmly picks up a frisbee, aims a throw, and knocks his snapback off his head. He’s sitting down before the other man can work out who threw it. Barclay chuckles, but doesn’t get up.

“Bigfoot’s my favorite cryptid.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“And who gives a shit if you have a stomach.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re cut.”

Joseph grabs his sunglasses, “because I like that for my body. I happen to like yours just as much. Um I, I mean, it seems like Vincent likes it.” He tips his head towards the Bachelor, who gives them both a long once-over.

“...Will you do my back?”

“Of course, big guy.” The nickname sounds so right on his tongue it makes Barclay want to set his head in his lap and ask him to pet it.

It’s late afternoon when Ned herds them all onto a boat which promptly steers towards some cliffs. Joseph stays close to Barclay, pleasant expression noticeably tightening the closer they get to the rocks.

“I’ve been dreading this. Cliff diving is not something I’d pick to do on my own.”

“Heights?”

He shakes his head, “Deep water. I know it’s not rational, and I even checked to be sure there hadn’t been large shark sightings in the area, but I can never shake the feeling there’s something waiting just out of sight, ready to surge up and eat me.”

They all climb up together, Vincent staying on the boat to watch them jump (this is technically a friendly competition to show off how brave they are). As they’re turns get closer, Barclay sees Joseph doing deep breathing exercises.

They hit the edge. The agent freezes.

“Shit. I don’t think I can do this.”

“C’mon, where’s my daring special agent?”

Joseph still doesn’t move.

“You, uh, you wanna jump together? Maybe the megaladon or whatever will eat me instead.”

“Megalodons are extinct; we’d know if they weren’t, same as we know Whale Sharks aren’t.”

“They you are.” Barclay murmurs, smiling.

Joseph manages a smile back, “On three?”

“Yep. One, two” he grabs Joseph’s hand “three”

The water rises to swallow them with terrifying speed, but nothing is waiting for them except one very startled fish. They surface together, Joseph laughing triumphantly, hair plaster to his head and sun shining in his ocean eyes.

If Vincent doesn’t pick him, he’s out of his mind.

--------------------------------------------------------

“Ohmylord, we have to play this.” Joseph cannot believe his luck; he figured the barcade group date would mean a lot of solo time, but here’s his favorite game in the whole wide world.

“Monster Hunt?” Barclay laughs as he lets himself be lovingly shoved down into the seat of a cut-out Jeep, “very on brand.”

“They had this at the bowling alley near my house. I’d play when my parents had league night but couldn't get a sitter. I never could beat the Mothman level without a player two.”

He doesn’t have that problem tonight, even with Barclay distractingly delighted and handsome in the seat beside him. After that, they make it their mission to find every two-player game in the thrum of flashing colors and tinny music. He finds they both like the Bowser Bourbon Smash, and somewhere around their fourth, heated game of air hockey they each polish of one too many of them to stay upright without the support of a game, a helpful show staff member, or each other.

When they get back to the house (their fellow contestants all in a similar state to themselves) they manage to make it to Joseph’s room before collapsing into a giggling heap on the bed.

“That, hic, that was fun. Games are, hic, fun.” Barclay blinks at him, “what’re you laughing, hic, at.”

“You, you got the hiccups. S’funny because you’re so big, like, like watching a, a pitbull with a, um, a” he makes a squeezing motion that his sober self would recognize as “squeaky toy.”

“M’not big” Barclay pouts, “I, hic, maybe everyone else is, hic, just small. Ever think of th--hic--at.”

“S’not a bad thing.” Joseph shifts so they’re facing each other, “like how big you are. Makes you sexy.”

Barclay blushes, “you’re, hic, one to, to talk. You’re hot, so, hic, so fucking out. Got, got those eyes. That, hic, that face” He touches Joseph’s cheek, “love your face.”

“Love yours too.” Joseph says, stroking his beard. Then they’re moving in inelegant tandem, grabbing at each others shoulders and faces as their mouths find each other. Barclay is so warm, whimpering when Joseph rolls him on top, nipping his lips and pawing at him like a puppy hoping for a treat. Joseph is going to hold him close and let him have it.

A clatter from below, one of the other men knocking something over in the kitchen, breaks the spell.

“Wait, wait” Joseph reluctantly slides his hands of Barclays ass, “we, drunk, we’re drunk, too drunk.”

Barclay blinks down at him, pouting a little even as he groans “fuck, you’re, you’re right. Wanna, gotta remember this. Don’t wanna” he yawns, “regret it.” The instant he flops onto his back Joseph climbs into his arms and falls asleep to the slow rhythm of his breathing.

-----------------------------------------------

After that night, they agree to be more careful; they’re here for Vincent, to see if one of them is his true love. That’s what the contract they signed says.

“More careful” turns out to mean watching their alcohol intake around each other and only touching platonically (including falling asleep on the couch together. They wake up to cameras recording their nap. Barclay isn’t sure what Joseph threatens Ned with, but the footage never sees the light of day).

But unless they’re on a solo date with Vincent, they’re by each others side. Barclay teaches Joseph dominoes and how to make biscuits. Joseph introduces him to terrible old horror movies that they watch on his laptop and compliments his cooking every chance he gets.

They must be doing something right, because they move to the next round week after week, Vincent clearly enamored with both of them. Barclay certainly understands the feeling. Just not for the person who he’s supposed to.

“Joseph? If, uh, if neither of us win, what are you gonna do after this.”

“Go back to work. Maybe pitch my book about U.S cryptids.” Joseph’s smile goes shy for a moment before recovering, “but I wouldn’t worry, big guy; I think you’re the front runner for sure.”

Barclay knows for a fact that Joseph is a fan favorite and the suitor most people think will win. Which is why, when Vincent selects his final four, he’s not surprised Joseph gets the first rose. Then everyone but Barclay is holding one and Vincent is touching his shoulder.

“Barclay, please don’t take this as a sign I’m not deeply fond of you. This wasn’t an easy choice but I, well, I feel like your heart may not be in this anymore.”

He takes Vincent’s hand and squeezes it, “It’s okay. It was wonderful just to get to know you. All of you.” He looks at the final four, at Joseph’s calm, polite expression. He meets blue eyes as he says, “I hope you find someone who makes you happy.”

With that he turns, all too aware of the cameras tracking his exit, his face, how he’ll have to do a final interview and not reveal that he’ll hate Vincent forever but not blame him in the slightest if he marries Joseph.

“Wait!”

Every eye, lensed or no, turns back to the gazebo. Joseph is at the edge of the steps, poised to run. When he sees Barclay stop, he turns to Vincent.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept this.” He hands the bachelor the rose, “I hope you understand.”

There’s no soundtrack on set, but strings swell in his ears all the same as Joseph descends the stairs and leaps into his arms, kissing him so hard he still has stars in his eyes when he opens them.

“It’s not a marriage proposal” Joseph whispers, kissing his cheek, “but I do have a question for you.” He pulls back, all cameras on them but his attention for Barclay alone, “would you like to be my boyfriend, big guy?”

Barclay rests their foreheads together, “Yeah, babe, I really, really would.”

[vs-redemption]

May I please have BNHA scenarios of how any characters you think would fit would dealing with a haunting with their paranormal loving partner? Thank you

A/N: I had so much fun writing these! I decided to do three characters: Twice, Mirko, and Todoroki. They’re all under the cut since it’s three different stories. I hope you enjoy!

Dealing with a Haunting (Twice, Mirko, and Todoroki x Paranormal Loving!Reader)

Warning: Mentions of scary Halloween themes like death and murder related to the huantings.

Twice (Jin Bubaigawara)

“Hey Jin!” You skip up to your boyfriend with an innocent smile on your face. It was always the best way to get his guard down if you had to ask him for something. Not that it was hard to get him to go along with your ideas anyway. He could never resist doing things for the people he cared about. “I finally decided what I want for my birthday.”

“Really? What is it?” He perks up at your words, eager to find out what it was that would make you happy. “Took you long enough!”

You smile, knowing there was no reason to be offended by the second comment. He pulls you into a hug as you reach up to put a hand on each side of his face. Your touch reminds him that he has no reason to fear splitting apart. “I want to spend the night in a haunted hotel,” you tell him, causing him to go bug eyed for a moment.

“Uh uh! No Way!” he shakes his head before leaning in close, “anything for you, baby!” You smile victoriously. He would need no further convincing. He knew you loved anything paranormal, and there was no way he was going to let you go somewhere potentially dangerous by yourself.

--

An alarm on your phone alerts you once it is 3am on the night of your birthday. You hop off the hotel bed which was still perfectly made since you had no intention of sleeping. Your boyfriend, however, had drifted off in the room’s armchair in the middle of the movie you’d put on a few hours before.

“Jin, wake up!” You shake his shoulder and he wakes up with a startle. “It’s dead time! Let’s go!” You don’t wait for him to reply as you open up your suitcase to grab your flashlight and camera. You remember to hand Jin a mask to wear over his head so that he’d feel a little more confident.

“Are you sure about this?” He whispers as you both tiptoe out into the darkened hallway.

“Of course!” You assure him. “I’ve been wanting to come here for years! Thank you so much for doing this with me.” You lean toward him to give him a peck on the cheek before making your way down to the first floor of the hotel. Your footsteps echo around the stairwell and you feel Jin slip his hand into yours.

“Are you scared already?” you ask him in amusement.

“Oh course not!” He defends himself before puffing out his chest, “I’m your brave protector!” You laugh at his false bravado as you lead him toward the empty swimming pool.

“They say a pair of twins died in this pool,” you tell your boyfriend as you flick on your flashlight and let it illuminate the calm water in front of you. “Every year, on the same day as their death, people claim to hear the sound of children laughing and running around this area.” You turn around and give him your best creepy smile, “tonight is the 10 year anniversary.”

“Stop it,” Jin was definitely getting spooked now, “I don’t believe you.”

As soon as he muttered those words, you felt a small breeze brush past you both with the faint sound of a giggle floating through the air. You quickly reach for your camera, hoping to capture some evidence of what was happening, but Jin completely freaked out. He scoops you into his arms and runs as fast as he can from the pool area. Once you’re far enough away, he sets you down and takes your hand again. “Your story was real!” He gasps, “Let’s get out of here!” Jin takes you back to your room to get the rest of your stuff before checking out as fast as humanly possible.

 Mirko (Rumi Usagiyama)

You had been a fan of everything and anything paranormal since before you could remember. You had grown up watching all the different ghost hunting programs on TV and always found yourself watching live ghost cams in your free time. Over the years, you’d collected all sorts of gadgets like EMF readers, thermal cameras, and digital voice recorders. Recently, you had even started your own paranormal investigation website where you posted videos of your own ghost hunting adventures. It was the hobby you were most passionate about. When the Halloween season finally came around, you decided to a special vlog including your pro hero girlfriend, Mirko.

“Sorry, I know you’re into all the spooky stuff, but it’s not really my thing,” She flips her long silver hair over her shoulder before pointing a confident thumb to her chest. “I’ve literally made it my job not to be afraid of anything.” You let out a laugh at her predictable response.

“You don’t have to be scared,” you tell her. “I just thought it was something fun we could do to get into the Halloween spirit!” The rabbit hero puts a hand to her chin in thought before shrugging her shoulders.

“All right, I don’t see any harm in it,” she gives in quickly since, if nothing else, it was a chance to spend more time with you. She knew she’d made the right decision by the way your face had lit up with excitement. You both were thrill seekers, which is what had brought you two together in the first place.

What she hadn’t predicted at all, was that you would be dragging her to a graveyard on the night of Halloween. You’d set up some cameras around the area during the day, then went back with Mirko after the sun had set.

“What am I supposed to be looking for?” Mirko had the EMF reader in her hand as she followed you through the rows of headstones. It was a little chilly outside and she looked really cute bundled up in her fluffy coat and gloves.

“Supposedly, ghosts are able to effect magnetic frequencies,” you explain excitedly while scanning the area with your thermal camera. “The device you’re holding will let us know if there are any disturbances in the electromagnetic energy around here.”

“Right,” her intense red eyes glanced around the graveyard as if daring something to come set off the device.

“You know you can’t take down a spirit with brute force, right Rumi?” You ask her in amusement while continuing your walk among the headstones. A slight mist had started to form over the ground and the temperature of the air seemed to drop suddenly. The tiny machine in Mirko’s hand began emitting a high pitched whine that made the hero tense up and go on alert.

“What’s happening?” she asks urgently. She didn’t sound scared, just ready to go toe to toe with anything dangerous that might appear.

“Shhh,” you put a finger to your lips before grabbing your voice recorder. You hit the record button and start asking questions like “Is anyone there?” and “If there’s a spirit present, give us a sign.” The EMF reader goes silent again and you glance over at Mirko. Her eyes are wide and her fluffy rabbit ears are straight up in the air.

“Something just moved past me and touched my hair,” she whispers as a smirk grows on her face. Abruptly, she snatches the recorder out of your hand. “All right ghost!” She challenges, “You wanna play? You don’t know who you’re messing with!”

“Rumi!” You can’t help but laugh even though the things you were suddenly experiencing were really quite extraordinary.

“Point the camera over there,” Mirko suddenly points across the graveyard. “By that tree.”

“Oh!” You gasp when the thermal camera picks up on a patch of cold in the exact spot Mirko had indicated. How had she known? “There’s something over there!” Mirko looked victorious before bouncing off in that direction, going too fast for you to keep up thanks to her large bunny feet.

“This is going to be great for your website!” she calls out behind her but the cold spot on the camera disappeared before reached the tree. You shake your head in amusement, wondering if bringing your girlfriend had been a good idea after all. She was going to scare all the ghosts away.

“It’s gone now,” you call over to her. The disappointment in your voice brought Mirko back to your side in a flash.

“Don’t worry!” She promises while putting an arm around you, “We’re going to track down every single ghost in this graveyard, even if we have to stay out here all night!” For someone who’d said ghosts weren’t her thing, Mirko was sure getting into it.

Shoto Todoroki

Getting a pro hero to take a vacation was borderline impossible. You’d been begging your boyfriend, Shoto Todoroki, to take some time off for years, but he was always reluctant to leave his job for more than a day or two at a time. You understood his need to be on standby in case of a major villain attack or big natural disaster. He hated the thought of not being there to save an innocent life or have the back of one of his fellow heroes. He still made sure to spend time with you every day, and you were content with taking small weekend trips with him when you could.

The routine had become familiar and comfortable, so it came as a huge shock to you when Todoroki showed up after work one day with two plane tickets in his hand. Not only were you going on an extended vacation with your boyfriend for the first time, but he’d also chosen New Orleans as the destination. You’d been dreaming of going there since you were a child. It was a city with a history full of vampires, witches, ghosts, and plenty of other supernatural entities. You were happy that your boyfriend had remembered, and surprised that he’d be willing to go along for the journey.

“I booked us a private tour at a haunted house tonight,” Shoto says causally as you unpack your bags at the first hotel. You look over at him in surprise. He was intently reading a brochure about the best ghost tours in the city.

“Are you sure you want to do that, Shoto?” You ask and he turns to look at you. “It might be really scary.”

“The ghosts don’t really exist,” he comes over and sits next to you on the bed. “But I think it’s an interesting way to learn about the history here.” If he was so sure, you weren’t going to try to change his mind. You were just happy that he was doing all this for you.

Once the tour started, you found yourself thankful that your boyfriend had paid for the private walkthrough. Some of the effect would have been lost if there’d been a huge group of people trying to squeeze through the dimly lit rooms and hallways. The tour guide was fantastic at setting the mood as well, explaining the stories of each haunting with just enough suspenseful flair.

“The previous owners of this house have reported repeatedly seeing a woman in a white dress standing by that window,” he explains. “They say she matches the description of a woman who died here, murdered by her lover who’d gone crazy after coming home from the war.”

At the beginning of the tour, Todoroki had curiously wandered around each room, investigating different items and asking questions. Now that you were deeper into the house though, he seemed less willing to stray too far from your side. You noticed he kept looking over his shoulder.

“Sometimes,” The tour guide continues, “When I’m closing up at night, I hear footsteps following me down this hallway even though I’m the only one here.”

“Really?” You ask, fascinated. “Have you ever seen anything?” You feel Shoto come up right behind you and put a hand on your waist.

“Yes!” The tour guide says dramatically, “I’ve often caught glimpses of a man’s face looking at me through mirrors or around corners.” The grip on your waist gets a little tighter.

“Are you okay, Shoto?” You ask, not understanding why he was being so clingy. It wasn’t like him at all.

“I’m fine,” he says but doesn’t let go of you.

“Oh!” The tour guide’s eyes suddenly go wide and he puts up his hands to ask for quiet. “Do you hear that?” You strain your ears and cover your mouth when the faint sound of a piano could be heard from somewhere nearby. The tour guide beckons you to follow him until you reach the room that was the source of the sound. You peek in the doorway and gasp when you see the keys of a grand piano playing by themselves.

“Look over there,” The tour guide suddenly whispers and you and Todoroki glance over to the corner of the room where a dark figure stood, barely visible in the shadows.

“Wow!” you were amazed but the grip your boyfriend had on you was almost getting uncomfortable now. You look up at him to see poorly concealed terror all over his face. You felt bad that he was reacting so badly so you took his hand into your own. “Most of it is tricks set up to excite the tourists,” you tell him to try and ease his fears.

The guide continues the tour after a moment but the sound of heavy footsteps suddenly come stomping down the hallway and move right past your small group. Todoroki’s eyes follow the sound as it fades out behind him. He actually starts to push you forward after that. “Please walk faster,” he tells you firmly.

You both were relieved when the tour was over. You’d enjoyed all the spooky experiences, but your poor boyfriend had not enjoyed even a moment of it. It was safe to say you wouldn’t be doing any more private haunted tours with him for the rest of the trip.

[angelictaehyun]

𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓

“Hey, I think you just passed the exit for the restaurant,” you observed as Taehyun continued driving on the rocky, unpaved backroad. He smiled coyly, gripping his steering wheel, “We’re going to make a little stop, real quick. It’ll just be a second, pinky promise.”

You eyed him suspiciously and glanced around the familiar, harrowing scenery before it clicked.

“No! No! Turn this car around, right now. I don’t want to be dragged into another stupid, idiotic ghostbusting escapade! I still have dirt in my hair from last time. Not to mention, I’m starving!” He clicked his tongue in response, but made no effort to head back toward the main road. You calculated your chance of survival if you jumped out of the moving car, but it didn’t look promising. You sighed, “You know, Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing something over and over again, expecting a different result.”

“Yeah, screw Einstein, he doesn’t know me. Sure, I haven’t had the best luck in the past, but I’m going to catch a ghost this time, I know it!” he proclaimed, pulling into the creepy graveyard.

You snorted. That’s what he said every time.

The cemetery seemed eerie, sinister, making a shiver run down your spine. He, however, seemed eager as he pulled out his ghostbusting paraphernalia, forcing a groan out of you. He handed you a knife and a small, conspicuous jar of holy water. He slung an old, garlic necklace around his neck and placed a camera around his forehead. You raised an eyebrow, “Garlic? We’re hunting a ghost, not Dracula.”

He ignored you, choosing to hike toward an old, worn crypt stationed in the middle of the cemetery. You stuck closely behind, hating every second. Never in your life, did you think you’d fall for your stupid, ghostbuster best friend. However, there you were, following him into a creepy, dark mausoleum because, for some unknown reason, you were hopelessly in love. He dug a candelabra out of his bag and lit it, allowing a semblance of clarity in the dusty, moldy crypt. 

“Someone sent Kai intel on a sighting here and he asked us to check it out, you know, since he’s scared to do it himself,” he explained. It  made sense. Kai, a close friend and supernatural enthusiast, had Taehyun hooked on ghostbusting... he provided information and Taehyun investigated. He powered on his handy, equipped camera, excitedly surveying the crypt for any sign of a magical, extramundane being. You, on the other hand, shone a flashlight around the space, disgusted by the obvious lack of maintenance. It also reeked heavily of death.

“Pspsps, ghosty...” he whispered.

You didn’t necessarily believe in anything supernatural, in fact, you just played along on his expeditions. You snickered, “This is stupid. A ghost isn’t going to respond to your... ghostly mating call. Maybe you should ask it a question. They yearn to be understood, too.”

He clearly didn’t quite catch on to your obvious sarcasm as he hummed understandingly, “Hey, ghost. Do you believe in love? Please give us a sign if yes.”

You narrowed your eyes. “I— That’s... not what I meant... but you do you.”

Suddenly, your flashlight died. He shrieked. For a self-proclaimed ghostbuster, he definitely couldn’t handle a scare. However, you’d be lying if you said you weren’t slightly frightened. He mumbled incoherently, but you swore you heard him reciting a Latin incantation. He suddenly looked at you, serious gaze piercing you, "Since we’re going to die, I need to tell you something... I think I’m falling in love with you and I’m terrified.” He let out a deep sigh of relief, “Nice, that felt good to get off my chest. It’s been eating me up inside.”

Your heart filled with joy, and fear, as a candle blew out. You shook your head confusedly, “Wait, woah, backtrack. You said you’re scared of falling in love with me...”

He shook his head, “No, I said I’m in love with you, and I’m terrified. There’s a chance a ghost might follow us home. Or we’ll die here.”

You pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, making him blush. You didn’t plan on confessing to him in a graveyard, next to an encapsulated corpse, during a paranormal expedition... “Oh, Taehyun. I fell for you a long time ago, it’s about time you caught up. And we’re not going to die here, let’s just go.”

He smiled, every inkling of fear escaping his body. You circled an arm around his waist and placed a soft, loving kiss on his lips. Had it not been for your fear of imminent death, you would’ve stayed like that. Plus... his garlic necklace stunk. He pushed a strand of hair behind your ear, “I guess you’re my ghostbuster partner, for real.”

“That’s... definitely one way to say we’re dating.”

“Hm, dating... I like that,” he whispered. He slipped his hand into your own and sighed, “I don’t think I’ll catch a ghost today.”

“No, baby. I don’t think so, either.” You planted a kiss on his nose as comfort.

You certainly didn’t think you’d leave a graveyard with a boyfriend, but as you walked hand-in-hand, you couldn’t have been happier. As you climbed into his car, a chill gust of wind kissed your skin and the hair on the back of your neck stood tall. An uneasy feeling encompassed you, and you couldn’t help but feel as if someone, or something, was watching you.

[glassartpeasants]

Heartbreaker

Dabi x Reader

Warnings: Angst

A/N: Literally at this point my entire tumblr is just angst so far...

================================================

You sat at the LoV’s hideout waiting for your boyfriend Dabi to return. You sat on the couch with Toga and Magne talking about the latest trends while laughing.

After you started dating Dabi he didn’t want you in his work business even though you knew what he did. So once you told him that you knew, he just decided to show you around. And hence why you meet Toga, Magne, Spinner, Kurogiri and Shigaraki. You usually only talk to Toga though.

‘He said he would be back around 3pm its 6pm, where is he?’ You thought to yourself as you looked at the clock annoyed at your late boyfriend. It was the second time he missed out on a important event for you! 

Today wax your birthday and he didn’t even say happy birthday to you, hell you havent seen him all day! HE was suppose to meet you here at 3 so you guys can go hang out together.

That obviously didn’t go as planned, as you were still here and Dabi was nowhere to be found.

“Hey don’t seem so down (y/n)! Im sure he just got stuck in traffic that’s all!” Spinner said trying to calm your tense being. But the thing is,

Dabi doesn’t drive.

“Yeah i guess im just overreacting...” You said trying to hide your sadness.

“But he should have been here by now! He promised (y/n)!” Toga exclaimed from her seat on the couch.

“She has a point...” You hear Shigaraki’s gravely voice tell you from the bar top. You look at him for a sec before sighing and calling it a night.

“So earlier?” Magne question as you walked out the door.

“Yeah im just not feeling well...” Well everyone knew that was a lie, but didn’t push it any further knowing you were already pissed as it is.

================================================

You sat at your dining room table looking at your walmart bought cupcake which you had stuck a candle in. The flame moving around slowly as you stared at it. Your house was eerily quiet as you were the only one home. You took one good look at the candle and breathed deeply before making your wish,

“I wish my boyfriend wasn’t such an asshole.” You said as you blew the candle out. You grab the candle and pull it out from the cupcake so you could take a bite.

“At least i got the expensive ones...” You said as the taste of red velvet covered your mouth. You got up and went over to your room so you could sit on the bed and watch some movies on your laptop. 

You opened Netflix and scrolled through all they movies they had to offer. Which was mostly rom-cons and sad movies. But there were some horror which you took a better look at; they had all these sort of monster movies, paranormal, and just murder movies. You looked around and choose (favorite horror movie here).

You got ready by having some popcorn, blankets, the rest of the walmart cupcakes and your little string of Christmas lights you having hanging around your room.

“Okay show tim-” You were interrupted by a knock on the door. You sighed knowing who would be on the other end of it. You got up from your little homemade cocoon, and walked towards the door. you put up the little chain on the door in case it wasn’t Dabi. You open the door silently and it was indeed Dabi.

Well a drunk Dabi. 

“What are you doing here Dabi?” You said as you tried to hide the anger that was slowly bubbling up inside you.

“I-I came to ch-check up on y-you!” He hiccuped through the entire sentence. A small giggle in his voice.

“Im fine now go away!” You said trying to shut the door but he put his foot in it.

“Come o-on! I came to ha-hang here f-for your birthday!” He said pouting. You turn around to look at the time, 9pm.

“You said you would hang out with me at 3 Dabi! That was 6 hours ago.” You said with a layer of poison in your words.

“Sh-shit really?” He said picking up his phone and checking on the time, seeing you were right.

“O-oh my bad, haha, i was to b-busy drinking a-at the h-hideout!” Well that was a huge lie.

“Really now?” You said through gritted teeth.

“Y-yep!”

“Huh funny considering i was there all day.” You said as Dabi’s eyes widen like a deer in headlights.

“Yeah, so mind telling me where you really were?” You said as you could not contain your anger much longer.

“Well I-I...” You stop him before he can continue.

“I dont want to hear it Dabi, this isn’t the first time you lied to me and it isn’t the last am i correct?! Do you know how much it hurts me to see that my boyfriend doesn’t even care enough to come by and celebrate my birthday?!” You said as tears threatened to spill down your face.

“Im s-sorry (y/n).” You looked at him with a glare when you noticed a paticular red marks that were barely cover by his white shirt.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE?!” You yelled at the scarred male. He looked down and saw the hickeys that covered his chest then back up at you and immediately tried to explain what they were doing there.

“A-are you cheating on me Dabi?” You said as your tone cracked as your tears now spilling down your face.

“What! No! I-” He stopped himself right there before looking at the ground.

“Im sorry (y/n)..” He said looking down. You kicked his foot from the door and slammed the door in his face. Tears covering your eyes as you ran to your room and cried into your pillow completely forgetting about your little movie night setup.

================================================

About a week has past since your little fight with Dabi. He showed no sign of coming to talk about what happened that night. Good, you couldn’t bare to look at him knowing he had cheated on you. Anger filled ever vein in your body. 

“Stupid Dabi breaking my heart...” You grumbled under your breath as you walked on the sidewalk on your way to go grab some food. You were a mixture of hurt and anger. 

As you walked down the sidewalk a herd of people came running at you. You tried to move out of the way, only bumping into a few people. You turn to see what they were frightened about and didn’t see anything util a bright blue flame popped into sight.

“Shit Dabi.” You run through the crowd bumping into people on the way there. You got to where you found the flame arising. 

“Crap what do i do now?!” You run towards him as he spit fire from his palms in every direction. Before you could even say anything a bright blue hurled it’s self at you.

You let out a scream as the flame engulfed your body. Burning your skin to the max. You fall to the ground passing out from the unbearable pain that you had just faced. 

Your body was almost burnt to a crisp until the blue flame stopped and you hear manic footsteps running your way screaming your name. Your eyes letting out the only tears that they could produce as you felt your limp body get held up by two hands.

“Come on come on! What were you thinking?!” You heard the familiar panicked voice. You tried to talk but the only thing that came out were groans of pain. Your eyes closed as you could feel your body slowly shutting down.

“Hey! Hey! Open your eyes Damnit!” You could feel his panting breath against your burning skin, still sizzling from the heat. Your body to weak to open your eyes as breathing became almost to painful to do.

“Im sorry okay! Now stop! Don’t leave god damnit!” His voice was cracking as he looked at your limp body knowing he was the cause of all your pain.

“If i could take back what i did i would! Just please don’t leave me...” His voice quiet so only you could hear, a vulnerable state evident in his voice.

Your breathing was slowly but surely coming to a stop as you whole body went completely lifeless in his arms. You took one last final breathe before a coat of darkness surrounds you.

[sxnyarostova]

haunted; paranormal youtubers au

“Is this thing even working?” 

Orpheus gives the camera a good shake, putting his fingers in front of the lens. The red light on the side of the camera starts blinking incessantly; shouting triumphantly, he focuses on a wobbly stain on the wall of the house. 

“Hey, guys,” Orpheus says, to nothing in particular. “Eurydice and I are in this house on the edge of town today. We haven’t seen any reports about it being like, actually haunted, so this is something new. I found it, actually.”

“I get treated to falafel if he’s wrong about this place,” Eurydice pipes up, ducking in front of the camera and smiling playfully. “Hopefully it’s a dead end, as most of Orpheus’ location suggestions are.” She yelps and dodges the punch Orpheus sends her way, scurrying off to the kitchen.

“I’ve got a feeling that it isn’t this time,” Orpheus says firmly. “Trust me on this one, Eury.”

“Fine, fine,” calls Eurydice. “But-” She stops midsentence, her words hanging in the air. Orpheus suddenly feels the temperature in the house drop by about ten degrees; it’d been hot earlier, stuffy even, but now it just feels cold. It’s like he’s stepped into the frozen foods section at the grocery store. Temperature change, he thinks, hands gripping the camera steadily as he moves towards the kitchen. That’s a telltale sign of-

The old lightbulbs that Orpheus had previously presumed to be dead flicker on for a moment, casting the hallway in an eerie aura before plunging him into total darkness all over again. “Eurydice?” he yells, starting to run. He nearly trips over a loose floorboard on the ground but manages to regain his footing, crashing into the kitchen. 

Eurydice has her hand over her mouth, and Orpheus can see why. There’s a thing- wearing a delightful silver suit, mind you- floating in front of them. It’s not quite a shadow, see, but it’s not something tangible either. Gulping, Orpheus turns to look at Eurydice before letting out the loudest scream he’s ever produced in his entire lifetime.

“Woah, woah,” the thing says, and Orpheus screams even louder. 

“...Don’t think I’ll be getting my falafels,” Eurydice says faintly, reaching out to gently stabilise her boyfriend. “Stop screaming, Phe. You’ll scare away the… uh-”

“Ghost. You can say it; I don’t mind. I’m not touchy like the others.”

“Ghost, then,” Eurydice says awkwardly. Orpheus’ face is paler than a sheet. His hands are shaking violently, from both excitement and fear; sometimes, you don’t truly know how dangerous what you’re doing is until a seemingly impossible outcome happens. 

Rubbing his sweaty palms on his pants and setting his camera down on a table, Orpheus sticks out one of his hands to the ghost. “Nice to meet you?” Orpheus stammers. “Uh, I’m Orpheus. This is my girlfriend, Eurydice. Uh-”

“Hermes,” the ghost says. Pointing to Orpheus’ hand, he says, “I don’t know what you’re thinking of doing with that. We can’t feel anything.”

“Right,” says Orpheus, immediately retracting his hand and jamming it into the pocket of his pants. “I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I wasn’t exactly… expecting you.”

“You come to a haunted house and lack the sense to expect supernatural beings?” Hermes asks, incredulous. 

Reddening, Orpheus blushes as Eurydice barks a laugh. “No,” says Eurydice. “We’re YouTubers. We like to look for the paranormal, and-”

“Hey!” Orpheus says, snapping his fingers in an epiphany. “We can get Hermes to live with us! Y’know, that’s a lot of videos. And a lot of subscribers. I mean, if you don’t mind- and if you’re not a creepy ghost who’s got unfinished business with some mafia lord.”

“You can’t just ask a ghost you just met if he wants to come home with you!” Eurydice says. To Hermes, she says, “He’s always like this.”

“Enthusiastic,” Hermes says. “I like it.”

And that’s how Orpheus and Eurydice obtain a new housemate, some interesting footage, and a long-term solution to the YouTube channel they’ve started.

[letshaikyuu]

𝐊𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐡𝐚 𝐀𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐢 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭: could I request sfw and nsfw hc for konoha akinori pls? thx😊

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: gender-neutral reader and characters are 18+

𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐒𝐅𝐖

Such a baby that definitely deserves more love than we provide him. His friends tease him when he proudly announces his relationship with you because they don’t know how Konoha was able to find someone like you by ‘being himself’. Has the cutest blush on his face when you stand on his side and comment just how perfect Akinori is, and that you’re very happy that you’re dating him. You have funny nicknames for each other and inside jokes that even if explained, can’t be understood because you two are in your own little world most of the time lol

‘Omg F/N please stop talking-’

 ‘I want people to know how perfect you are, so no~’ 

‘-_-’

Binge watches Netflix with you because he’s a lazy bum that definitely wouldn’t mind sitting in his house the entire day and doing nothing. He gets scared after watching horror movies, but won’t admit to such accusations even though he’s eyeing the room to check for any paranormal activity. If you even appear beside him all of a sudden, he will scream because he’s scared shitless

Probably watches all the ‘popular’ and newly-released movies because he’s interested in what’s going on in the show business world. Also, follows celebrities on social media and spends his time scrolling through their feeds and stories. His favorite past-time is to comment everything he sees on his phone, so be prepared for an onslaught of comments from this guy. Trust me, he seems like he has a lot to say lol

Whines whenever he wants something or when he’s tired. At those times, he usually slumps against you or keeps repeatedly poking you so you pay attention to him. Looks chill, but is actually a big baby. And a lil shit because he loves to tease you and mess with you. If you’re shorter than him, definitely uses your head as an arm-rest. Someone who has the time of his life when it’s April Fools, so you better watch out ;)

After seeing that one picture with Konoha and a tongue piercing, a headcanon came to me. He definitely wants to have piercing and a matching couple’s piercing. The type to wear those aesthetic long earrings because in my heart and mind, Konoha is definitely an e-boy and he rocks that style. I maybe said this before in a matchup, but Konoha (to me) fits someone with either a soft concept or an e-girl/e-boy. Goes shopping with you and gives you comments on every outfit you wear, while picking out some outfits and accessories for himself

𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐰!

𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖

Gives off such dom energy to me, but at the same time, I can’t imagine him as just a dom for some reason. So, I’m going to put him in the ‘dom-leaning switch’ category heh. If he has a partner that’s purely a sub, he has no problems with dominating you. If his partner is more of a dom, then Konoha doesn’t want to admit just how he enjoys being stripped away of his ‘power’ because you dominating him is the sexiest thing ever. Him admitting such things are definitely not coming out of his mouth easily, but he’s pretty sensitive so it wouldn’t take you long to make him say such things

His teasing side evidently reflects on his attitude and behavior in bed.  Konoha wants to try out new things with you and he loves when he finds out new methods of pleasuring you. Even if he’s subbing, he wants to try and provoke you as much as possible to see how far you can go because Konoha has a lot of tricks up his sleeve ;3

‘Eeee F/N, you seem to be really enjoying this’ ‘ Why aren’t I surprised you’re liking this?’ ‘I love the way you’re reacting to my touch...’ etc.

Not really into extremely kinky stuff, but wants to try different kinds of foreplay and usage of toys because that’d be interesting to see and he just wants a valid reason to visit a sex shop tbh. Goes crazy in there because there’s a lot of things that caught his eye and he just has dollar signs hanging over his head

A cool and jokester boyfriend, but everyone is perfect boyfriend material in hq and these are the reasons I can’t stay loyal to one character for the life of me

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: just a little something to brighten up your day @baby-boy-taichi​ ;3

[the-bluerecluse]

A Supernatural Secret

Sanders Sides - LAMP/CALM

Summary: Virgil has a paranormal secret he keeps from his boyfriends... until one stormy night where he cant hide it anymore.

AKA Virgil is a closeted vampire lol

---

Virgil had no idea how he’s kept the secret for so long.

You’d think with three boyfriends someone would figure it out, right?

Maybe he just got good at hiding it. He was born with it, so he’d been dealing with it his whole life.

Or maybe it was because of the era he lived in. In 2020, it was so easy to dismiss evidence as photoshopped or video edited. Even real life encounters could be dismissed as someone being a weird cosplayer or some paranormal obsessed kid.

Virgil tossed aside his empty blood bag as he opened up another youtube video. His homework files sat unopened on his desktop, like he was going to do it right after this video, but of course, another video would look too appealing to wait until after some algebra equations.

Suddenly Skype rang. “Calling . . . Patton. Accept?” 

“Fuck!” Virgil grabbed a towel and wiped the blood off his mouth before hitting ‘accept’.

“Hey, Vee! Whatcha doing?” 

Virgil sighed. “Just watchin’ youtube.”

“Well, Roman just told me that after rehearsals, he’s heading over to the Baskin Robbins on the corner of the street, and he’s invited us all to join!”

Virgil smiled. “Sounds great. Lo will be there?”

“Of course! I said all of us, didn’t I?” Patton giggled. 

“Cool. I’ll be there.”

“Awesome! He said he’ll be there at around 7:20. See ya then, sweets!” Patton clicked a button and the call ended.

Virgil stretched and groaned. He glanced at the clock. 6:57. Sun’s still out.

Great. Now he got to wear his hood so he didn’t fucking burn. 

If he got one one more question as to why he wore a hoodie in the middle of a Florida Spring he was gonna bite them and welcome them to his world.

Virgil groaned and threw on his patchwork hoodie. 

He ran to the bathroom to check his mouth for any signs of blood, then put in his teeth aligners. A little foundation to hide the paleness... blend it in...

Poof! Human Virgil.

He glanced at the clock. About 10 minutes till he needed to be there. Five minute walk.

Virgil plugged in his headphones and turned on some heavy metal. He listened to a couple songs before leaving. 

The gray clouds overhead were a blessing keeping the sun from beaming down too hard. He was even able to keep his hood down! He felt himself smiling as he walked, not having to deal with trying to hide his face from the sun while he tried to be normal.

Virgil turned the corner and saw Patton and Logan in front of the store. 

“Hey, Vee!”

Virgil gave a small wave as he approached.

Patton practically tackle hugged him once he got on their side of the street. He placed a kiss on his nose with a smile. “You’re not wearing your hood!”

Virgil flinched. “Oh- I just... didn’t feel like it.”

Logan hummed and approached, kissing his cheek with a soft smile. “I’m glad you’ve joined us.”

“So where’s Roman?” Virgil asked.

Patton giggled and Logan shook his head as they pointed.

Roman was at the counter detailing the most perfect sundae for all of them to share.

“Red sprinkles, purple sprinkles, light blue sprinkles, and dark blue sprinkles. Extra whipped cream and four cherries.” He detailed, watching as the cashier rolled her eyes and made the dessert, after which he gave a 15 dollar tip. 

At least he knew he was annoying to deal with.

Virgil snickered. always so particular.

“Ah, Virgil, my love.” Roman dashed to Virgil and gave a quick peck on the lips. “Look, a four way desert for us all, to celebrate my play coming out tomorrow night!” Roman grinned and sat at one of the outside tables. He placed the desert and revealed four spoons.

“Aw, Ro, you’re such a romantic.” Patton giggled and took a seat before diving into the dessert.

“Though it’s not healthy, it is a nice treat.” Logan sat down and took a spoon.

Virgil groaned internally. “Sounds great, Princey.” He sat and took a small bite, hoping that would satisfy Roman.

Thankfully they turned to conversation, and the dessert seemed to be forgot about aside from Patton.

“I got you all front row seats for the performance. You are coming right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Virgil smiled.

“I will too be attending.” Logan added.

“Oh- me too.” Patton said with a mouth full of ice cream.

“Patton, dearest, you’re making a mess.” Logan commented before grabbing a napkin.

Virgil watched the adorable exchange when he felt a dripping.

Drip. Drip.

The dripping became rapid until-

“Ah, rain!” Patton exclaimed.

“Save the dessert!” Roman shouted as he grabbed the ice cream.

The four ran inside as it began pouring.

“How dare the rain ruin our romantic moment!” Roman stomped his foot in protest.

“I think it’s fine. We’ll just stay here until the storm’s over!” Patton said.

Virgil felt a pang of anxiety. Storm?

“Oh, wait, Virgil aren’t you scared of thunder?” Patton turned to Virgil who’d be sweating if he could.

“Oh dear, it’ll be okay.” Roman hugged Virgil tight.

He’s mentioned his fear of thunder, and sure the uncertainty of when it was striking and how loud it’d be kept him nervous.

But that’s not why he was terrified.

“I-uh, have to use the bathroom.” Virgil lied through his fangs and rocketed to the bathroom.

Cause any second...

A crack of thunder scared the crap out of Virgil and-

In a puff of smoke... Virgil had wings. And was 4 inches tall.

See, for some vampires, it was common that when they got severely startled, they’d revert to the smaller more nimble form of... the bat.

They’re gonna find out. Fuck oh fuck they’re gonna find out!

There was banging on the door. “Virgil? Virgil it’s okay, we’re here for you. We know it’s scary.” Patton’s voice called.

Oh god oh god, i need a plan, how the fuck-

...Wait.

He got it.

He’d just wait until another...

CRACK

Virgil jumped and squeaked.

Now!

Virgil forced himself out of his bat form and practically threw the door open.

“Whoa- Vee, hey, it’s okay.” Patton tried to hug him but Virgil evaded.

“Sorry guys gotta go see you later call me another time- BYE!” Virgil ran out the door into the pouring rain

As he ran, the thunder CRACKED. And immediately Virgil was flapping and flying his way home.

...

Virgil flew into his cracked window and forced himself to human form to slam the window shut.

Breathe. Breathe! They didn’t see you, you can just tell them it was the thunder that scared you.

CRACK.

Virgil shrieked and reverted to bat form. He immediately crawled into his side table where he had cotton and washclothes stored for just such an occasion. He huddled under the cloth and waited out the storm.

About 5 minutes in to his huddling he heard banging. But not the type of rain on the roof or a branch falling down. It was at the door.

Virgil crawled out of the sidetable and forced himself human to go downstairs and open the door.

Virgil froze.

“Virgil! Oh thank goodness you’re okay!”

Patton, Logan, and Roman were standing at the door, absolutely SOAKED.

The three hurried in and Virgil slammed the door shut.

“What- What are you guys doing here?!”

“We came to make sure you were okay. We were so worried when you ran off in the storm.” 

Another crack of thunder was on its way. Shit think think think

“Ah- you’re cold, and wet. G-Go to my laundry room and put on fresh clothes, I insist, I’ll be upstairs while you do that!” Virgil sputtered and ran to his room, slamming the door.

Just in time, another crack of thunder sounded and Virgil dropped to the floor as a bat.

He heard murmuring and hushed conversations before footsteps towards the laundry room.

He sighed.

Okay. Just keep them out there, and you in here, until the storm’s over. And you’re fine.

Easy.

Back to the panic drawer.

It was too soon when he heard them again. He should never think that about his boyfriends... but they may not be his boyfriends anymore if they knew. 

“Virge.” Patton knocked. “Can we come in?”

Virgil stumbled out of his panic drawer to go back to human form. “Uh- N-no... my... my room is messy! You can’t come in.”

He heard Logan sigh.

“Virgil.” He sighed again and paused. “Are you a vampire?”

Virgil went rigid.

“Vampire? What the Hell have you been smoking, Specs?”

“Language, Ro! But... he’s kind of right... Vampire? What?” Patton questioned. 

Logan opened the door and stepped in. Virgil was on his back, terrified. 

“Oh, kiddo.” Patton ran to his side to hug him, but Virgil’s eyes were horribly fixated on Logan.

“Your teeth aligners fell off in the bathroom. And I found bags with red liquid smelling of copper downstairs. Plus your aversion to the sun-”

Virgil felt his eyes prickle with tears.

“That’s ridiculous, Logan.” Patton scolded.

“Yeah, out of all people, I’d expect Mr. Science Nerd to know vampires aren’t real.”

The thunder cracked.

POOF.

. . .

Virgil looked up to see Patton with wide eyes, holding him in the palm of his hands.

“Dear Zeus-” Roman sputtered.

“K-Kiddo?” 

Virgil was shaking and breath seemed to escape him.

They hate it. They hate YOU. 

Virgil squeaked and jumped, flapping his wings to fly out of the room and through a hole in the ceiling to escape to the attic.

“Kiddo? Virgil? Virgil!” Patton called.

Virgil hid himself under a cardboard box. If bats could cry he would’ve been sobbing.

All he could really do was hide, overwhelmed by terror. 

Fear of the thunder, fear of the storm, fear of his boyfriends who don’t love him anymore.

The storm muffled all sounds coming from downstairs. Good. He didn’t need to hear their reactions. He knew what they’d be.

He’d tricked them into loving him as a human, he’d lied to them, and now they know he’s a lying blood sucking monster.

He deserved every scare, every crack of thunder making him wish he was born deaf, he deserved it. He lied to these wonderful humans, intruded in their love, and lured them out into a storm. 

Maybe if he was lucky, he could bury himself beneath enough cardboard he wouldn’t hear the thunder and could get some sleep?

But he didn’t deserve that either.

He’d drift off just barely, only for thunder to crack and slice his rest to oblivion. 

He shivered, the attic not being as insulating as the house. 

Just last the night. They’ll move on, knowing the monster you are. They’ll leave. You can go back to your shit high school life, watch as they avoid you in the halls.

Or worse... they’ll tell everyone.

They’ll tell EVERYONE your secret.

Thunder cracked again, giving him the mercy of breaking him from that horrible thought.

Hours passed... maybe? Probably 8 times he’d almost been asleep just to be ripped from its soft arms.

The storm was getting worse. He could hear the pounding of hail and the howling of harsh wind.

If he lived in Tornado Alley he would’ve been scared.

Who was he kidding? He was petrified.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

BOOM!

A piece of hail hammered through the roof and rocketed into the attic.

Virgil shrieked and squawked in panic as pieces of hail made their way into the attic, like bullets into the wooden frame. 

Virgil flew left and right, trying desperately to dodge the ice.

Until-

A piece of ice grazed his wings. He shrieked and fell to the attic floor. Seeing more ice coming, he clawed through the hole in the floor and fell through.

When he landed... it was softer than the wood floor he expected.

“Oof- Virgil!”

Virgil squeaked. He landed on Patton who seemed to be sleeping. Logan and Roman woke up from their spots on the floor next to him.

Virgil frantically tried to get himself back in the air, but his wing was bruised and he just flopped onto the floor.

“No- Virgil, please! We don’t think less of you, we still love you!” Patton pleaded.

Virgil panted, still terrified, but he stayed still, willing to listen.

The others seemed to notice.

“Virgil, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just thought that if you didn’t have to hide this... you’d feel better.” Logan explained.

“Virgil, I promise we still love you, we were just... surprised.” Roman commented.

Virgil slowly got his breathing back under control. 

“I know you’re really scared right now. But... how about we just calm down and watch something fun?” 

“Would you mind if we used the blankets from your room?” Logan smiled.

Virgil shook his head.

“I’m... assuming you can’t talk as a bat.” 

Virgil nodded.

Patton carefully cupped his hands around Virgil and lifted him up.

“It’d be safer if we go downstairs. I checked the weather and it is a severe storm, but no tornado.” Logan explained as he grabbed pillows and blankets along with Roman.

“See, Vee? It’s like a little sleepover.” 

Even with Patton 20 times his size, his smile was so comforting.

The three walked downstairs with Virgil cupped in Patton’s hands.

“Oh- I can connect my phone to your tv and we can watch a Disney movie.” Roman explained as he began connecting the devices.

“How about you choose, Virgil?” Patton asked.

Virgil, still scared as ever from the storm, could just let out a squeak.

“Oh- right.”

“I know you like Nightmare Before Christmas. Let’s watch that!” Roman began playing the movie and they all piled on the couch with all the blankets and pillows.

Virgil blinked and squeaked to get Patton’s attention before crawling up his shirt and into his pocket. It was warm, it was secure, and it was close to one of his loves.

Patton had the biggest smile. “Of course you can sit in my pocket, V. We’ll be with you until the storm is over.”

The movie went, though with every thunder crack Virgil squeaked and gripped Patton’s pocket. And everytime Patton would speak in a hushed tone, telling him everything would be fine.

As the movie ended, so did the storm.

“Hear that, Vee? The storm’s over!”

Logan looked at his phone. “Indeed. Weather reports show that the storm has passed us.”

“See? We still love you, and everything’s okay.” Patton gave the tiniest of kisses to Virgil’s little bat head.

Virgil took a breath and crawled out of Patton’s pocket and to a nearby pillow.

And-

Poof!

Virgil sat in his human form, looking embarrassed as ever.

“Uh-” He started.

“Virgil!” Patton tackle hugged him before he could say anything.

“There’s my dear Doom and Gloom!” Roman joined the tackle hug as Logan walked to his side and put a hand on Virgil’s head.

And Virgil.. felt himself smiling. Fangs and all.

[felicia-cat-hardy]

My 'Pretty Little Liars' Obsession Led Me To My Best Friend

“Got a secret, can you keep it?” Well, I’ve got one: Though Pretty Little Liars ended in 2017, the seven-season mystery thriller schemed its way into being an integral part of my life for the long haul, so much so that the opening credits live in my head rent-free. To this day, each time I hear the sinister theme song — “Secret” by The Pierces — I’m brought right back to my childhood comfort show (ahem, obsession). The visuals begin with a swipe of mascara, the smear of red lipstick, and a clasp of a heel onto a porcelain doll, which makes me feel like I’m watching someone get pampered for prom. Until, of course, it cuts to four girls standing in front of a casket. It's a chilling moment, one that, until Season 6B, ended with Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale) delivering her iconic “shh.” I got cast under the show’s spell the first time I saw it, and I wasn’t the only one: Pretty Little Liars led me to my best friend.

Ironically, plotlines about deceit and betrayal actually helped ignite a long-lasting friendship. In 2011, the only other person I knew to be watching PLL was my now-BFF, Taylor, who’s been by my side for over a decade. We were only about 11 and 12 when it premiered, so shout out to our parents for letting us watch a show that dealt with very adult themes like substance use disorder, assault, and grief. Unlike our classmates, who watched tween-appropriate hits like iCarly and Victorious, we became PLL stans.

As fans know, the show is loosely based on the Sara Shepard YA series of the same name, and the first book was my entry point into the PLL universe. I loved reading about blackmailers and murderers navigating high school, but I thought I was the only one who was into it. (Was this my ~I’m different~ complex showing, or were my peers just naturally more inclined to recap Dance Moms? I’ll never know.) So, Taylor first struck up a conversation with me at school because she spotted the first PLL book on my desk — you know, the one painted with porcelain wax dolls warning to “never trust a pretty girl with an ugly secret” in a Gothic script. She asked if I’d watched the TV adaptation yet and we immediately exchanged phone numbers to text about upcoming episodes. We then fell into the fandom. Fast.

I’d never talked to Taylor before this interaction — we had only been in a few classes together — but I always saw her as approachable and friendly. Universally, the beginning of middle school is a big and terrifying year when kids from different elementary schools unite. Eager to meet new people, I reached for friendship at any chance I could get. Taylor made it easy. Aside from being a genuinely kind person (a rare trait for a middle schooler!), she was fangirling over the same thing as me.

Fast forward over a decade later, and the show still feels timeless, especially in its accurate depictions of how dramatic high school can get. It’s no surprise there’s a PLL HBO Max reboot on the way along with the remakes of other buzzy shows from that era (hello, 2010s nostalgia). Ah. It was a simpler time. Back then, Freeform was still ABC Family and for me, Tuesdays meant one thing: PLL is on. What first started as a solo viewing experience soon became a designated hangout time, a time slot reserved for me and Taylor to gush over how much we loved Ashley Benson. (We still do!)

The series had a vibe similar to Gossip Girl or Bridgerton in that a mysterious, unidentifiable pot-stirrer keeps fans guessing each episode, but it was arguably so much better since “A,” the anonymous villain, is out for, you know, murder. Ultimately, it was the type of whodunit that made me and Taylor (and millions of viewers) go down a couple of Reddit rabbit holes — remember the “Aria is A” suspicion? — and this is where my and Taylor’s experience with fan theories began.

Oh, and let’s not forget the location. PLL takes place in the fictional suburb of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, and for two girls from Bucks Country — aka the Philadelphia ‘burbs — we ate it up. The beloved “Welcome to the Dollhouse” episode was exceptionally creepy not only because the Liars get locked into a life-size replica of their bedrooms, but also because our real neighborhood looks extremely similar to their hometown. It operates like Rosewood, too, in that small-town gossip travels at lightning speed.

The Pennsylvania-based plotline also made it easier for us to identify with the characters, who felt like extensions of ourselves. In many ways, we got to know each other through their personalities. Taylor is studious and high-achieving, obviously a Spencer. And I owned feather earrings because I saw Lucy Hale sport them in Season 1, so obviously an Aria. Asking “Are you more of a Hanna or an Emily?” held as much weight in 2012 as asking someone their rising sign in 2021. While it might not say much, it also tells you everything you need to know about a person.

PLL got its start right before live-tweeting shows became popularized, so when we weren’t together, I used to text Taylor on my slide-out keyboard phone (only Zillennials will remember) to compare notes without stumbling upon many spoilers. They read something like this: “Caleb and Hanna are soul mates, TBH.” Like every other fan, we theorized about why A had to be Ian… and Melissa… and Jenna… and Mona… and, you get the point. When our elaborate speculations ran cold, we’d pause DVR’d episodes to gather more clues, like glimpses of Red Coat’s face in her second season introduction, or inspections of those eerie-gloved hands assembling dolls and sharpening knives at the end of each episode.

This game of Clue made room for conversations about all the things. We were in high school during the show’s peak, so it felt like the Liars had laid the groundwork for how to operate our school’s halls. Rosewood High was not traditional — uh, multiple students came back from the dead (*cough* Mona and Alison) — but it did prepare us for the stressors of college applications and first romantic relationships. In fact, Benson’s Hanna Marin would be proud of my matchmaking skills because back then, I introduced Taylor to the boyfriend she’s still with today.

As we both grew up with the show, our friendship got even deeper. The Liars weren’t the only ones to share secrets, and I found it incredibly easy to confide in Taylor. She’s trustworthy, level-headed, compassionate, and an excellent listener. She’s someone I know will always pick up on the second ring and is the type of friend to be there with advice, reassurance, and a quick-witted one-liner. She once joked about never needing a diary because we’ve transcribed the past 10 years of our lives via text.

Our bond has remained strong, especially because the most outrageous PLL-esque plotlines of our lives are ones we’ve experienced together. I love Taylor because I don’t have to provide background for my stories. I’m even so familiar with the cast of characters in her life that when someone re-enters after a long period, I like to say they Alison DiLaurentis’ed her.

And on the off-chance she’s not there to witness something meaningful happen to me IRL, she’s always ready to decipher what went down over texts or dinner and drinks — just like we did when we were teens trying to figure out who A was (minus the wine, of course).

The way she can reconstruct my way of thinking and offer up a perspective I hadn’t seen before is almost paranormal. Whether these are Taylor’s naturally given talents or traits learned from peeling back all the layers of the series, I’m not sure. But she’s always there to decode situations with me — whether they relate to a TV show or during moments when I feel lost.

I couldn’t be more thankful that Taylor entered my life and that PLL played a role in our friendship. I feel so incredibly lucky to know someone like her. Plus, now I have someone who is obligated to watch the reboot with me. Ali was right: Friends do share secrets. And she’s ~quite literally~ the reason Taylor’s got all of mine. Spencer and Aria, you’ve got some competition.

Get Relationship Advice Here

[imjeralee]

Comfort in Despair: Chapter 17 - Leon with Flowers, Part 2

Leon x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Summary:

Galar is rich in folklore and tales of the supernatural.

As a Pokemon Researcher who specialises in ghost types, this is a great opportunity for you to investigate and learn more about the paranormal.

Along the way, you meet Leon (in the most awkward way possible) who becomes embroiled in your adventures.

^ Basically this story is about ghosts :/

Rating: General/Teen

@marydragneell​ - here is chapter 17

Leon with Flowers

(Part 2)

…

…

["I don't know how to describe the places I was in today, the searing pain and torment of thousands and thousands of beings, myself with them, tortured to their breaking point and then beyond. I did not want to believe that regions of such unspeakable horror existed. I moved through layer after layer of anguish, descending into more and more primitive levels until eventually I reached a level I can only liken to hell itself. Excruciating pain. The suffering tears you apart until you've died a thousand times and can't die any more. Then you find a way to die some more."

- A Perinatal Interpretation of Frightening Near-Death Experiences: A Dialogue with Kenneth Ring, by Christopher M. Bache, Ph.D.]

…

…

It’s time for dinner and you are starving but unfortunately for you, Graves cannot cook even if his life depended on it and so he takes you to Bob’s Your Uncle in Circhester for a swanky three dollar fifty burger meal.

You stand beside Graves with your Rotom who continues struggling to get a signal; he isn't doing so well for some reason and you're beginning to think maybe he could be ill and a trip to the Pokemon centre might be needed.

Beside you, a father and daughter duo are ordering food at the counter adjacent to yours. The dad bears a striking resemblance to Rose and is extraordinarily loud as he orders from the menu whilst his daughter cringes and glances around, hoping no-one is staring at them.

Graves is unaffected.

“Yeah, she’ll have the, uh, Bob’s cheeseburger meal with the Bob shake-shake fries and a Bob soda. I’ll have a Bob’s triple cheeseburger with extra Bob special sauce, Bob large fries, a portion of Bob nuggets and the Bob spicy wings,” he says as he leans on the counter and stares up at the menu board that hangs off the ceiling; the lightbulb is about to give way and it crackles and fizzes weakly.

Is there anything here that isn’t ‘Bob’? you wonder to yourself as the cashier reiterates the order.

Even the toilet signs are labelled ‘Bobs’ and ‘Bobettes’.

The cashier punches the order in and Graves pays, then he grabs two Bob straws and some Bob napkins and Bob-BQ sauce. He tells you to search for a seat whilst he waits for the food.

You haven’t eaten at Bob’s Your Uncle since Sonia took you a year ago or so, and the food is yummy but greasy and mostly geared towards families and kids; you find a quiet seat away from a large family of six where the exhausted-looking parents deal with their screaming children who are playing with plastic Centiskorch figurines.

And Graves arrives in a few minutes with a large tray of food.

“Here we are,” he says, placing the tray down and rubbing his hands together as you glance at the two wrapped burgers, the fries, the nuggets and wings; he begins stripping the paper covers of the Bob straws and hands one to you, “Help yourself.”

“Thanks.”

He holds up two Centiskorch figurines wrapped in plastic. “They gave me these for free. One for you and one for me.”

Although it's been a while, Graves still treats you like a baby.

You want to decline but Graves hands you one and pockets his own, then picks up his large Bob burger, inspects it briefly before taking a large bite.

“How's your arm?” he grunts out.

"I'm fine. How was your talk with Rose?"

"Oh. Right. Yeah, this is for you," Graves fumbles in his pockets before he pulls out an envelope for your taking, "I know you told me to look for the painting but we swept the entire area and found no painting made of human skin, hair and blood."

"Damn it. Rose hasn't contacted me for any follow-up nor has he mentioned anything regarding my payment."

"I covered it. You don't need to do a thing. I spoke to him about your contract and terms and conditions, also told him you're my goddaughter so we came to a mutual agreement. I managed to persuade Rose that he was being a bit too quick to penalise and you're still kids so you're bound to mess up and he agrees he's being harsh, so he says he understands your hard efforts and he says thank you for everything you've done, so he's forking out a bit more than what was on your contract. But I don't want you speaking to Rose anymore and he don't wanna talk to you either."

"I didn't mess up," you bark as you lift the flap and pull out a little piece of paper lodged inside. It's a cheque and the figure is huge. In fact, the sum is bigger than any case you've taken. Your eyes widen in their sockets at the extortionate amount and you gape at Graves.

"You did well," he says.

"This is hush money," you hiss, waving the cheque in the air.

"Just be glad you got some kind of compensation."

"What about Tanner and Cole?"

"They got paid too. The amount was less than yours, of course."

"Are you serious?! They got paid off too???" you exclaim. Graves merely blinks numbly and you growl in response, your fist curling tightly around the cheque, "I don't want it."

He narrows his eyes, puts down his burger and you know he's serious when the food is no longer his priority. Looking at you squarely in the eye, Graves jabs a finger at your direction and says, "Here's some advice: take the damn money."

"You don't understand-"

"No, I do understand. You're bitter and angry and you look like you're in the wrong. He used you and he's managed to shift it in his favour. He got away with it and I get how you're feeling, with the injustice of it all. But this is Chairman Rose of Macro Cosmos we're talking about and we have no proof of whatever shady business he was up to which you and I both know, and this is the best I could do. And I'm very sorry, but you need to accept it, okay?"

"But-"

"This is a life lesson. Learn from this."

".............Fine," you begrudgingly grunt under your breath after a prolonged and insufferable, tense bout of hesitation, and you angrily stuff the cheque into a random pocket of your bag and concentrate on devouring the rest of your meal.

The atmosphere has turned horrendous and as usual, it's because you and Graves are at odds some way or the other and an uneasy silence spawns between you and your godfather. Frustrated, you discover you may no longer have any appetite if you look at him any longer therefore you avert your gaze to the window where various passerbys with their Snoms and Bergmites brush past and Graves focuses ahead at the wall behind your head. Occasionally, he will clear his throat and grunt.

"I got a question," he suddenly says.

“What?”

“Are you dating Leon?”

You almost choke on a fry. “No.”

His expression scrunches with mild disbelief whilst you avert your glimpse to your lap and Graves raises a brow.

"I know that look. I know what that means," he says, but your lips remain sealed. "Alright, you don’t wanna tell me. That’s fine. It’s none of my business anyway. As long as you’re not doing drugs or smoking or whatever, I’m not going to pry.”

You suppose you can tell him, Graves being your godfather and all.

“Leon and I met in the Wild Area a while ago; this was before the Giant's Seat incident. He helped me with a case, and afterwards I warned him not to go near the Giant’s Seat due to the missing people. He somehow went there anyway and I saved him. He wanted to thank me so I had dinner at his house. I guess you can say it’s strictly business.”

“Business….?”

You nod. “Then I took Rose’s case and Leon came and-“

Graves waits for you to finish but you have frozen in your seat so he says, "And?”

“He came to save me,” you murmur, “That’s the first thing he did. He raced over to save me.”

He observes as a smile blooms on your face and you sigh. As you think about Leon, your smile widens.

"I know that look as well," Graves utters, brows raising a further time as he grabs a napkin and dabs at the corner of his mouth. "Well, it's about time you got yourself a boyfriend. And I'm damn relieved it's not that pal of yours, Jace. It's great that it's the Champion, I don't need to vet him."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a right to know and meet the boy you're dating. Your dad will be so worried-"

You and Graves blink at each other, before he sighs.

"You know, when you were unconscious, they said you called out for your parents a lot," he mutters, "I have a photo of them. I think you should have it.”

Placing his burger down, Graves wipes his greasy hands clean with a wet wipe before he pulls out his wallet from the pocket of his jacket and brings out a glossy print.

You take it off him after you settle your own burger down and wipe your hands. It’s a small photo of your mother and father sitting on a picnic mat with a baby bouncing on their laps. It’s you, and beside them are their pokemon: Ghastly and Sableye. You also spot a young Graves with a blonde-haired young woman to their left.

“Is that Ellen?” you ask, “your girlfriend?”

Graves raises a brow, surprised. “How’d you know?”

“I remember her.”

“I’m surprised you do.”

“I remember mum and dad mentioning her a few times. What happened to her?”

“She passed away."

“…I wasn’t aware. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“Do you mind if I ask what happened?”

“Car crash. It was a while ago, I've dealt with it.”

You wonder if this is Graves’ attempt to bond with you and your table grows quiet as Graves chews silently before he swallows down the rest of his burger.

“I don’t like to think about it,” he says when he’s finished, “…If she went to heaven or hell or not. I like to just think that she’s…well…that’s it. It’s over. You’re gone. There’s nothing. It’s…a simulation or something. I don’t like to think about what’s on the other side. I don’t want to think about returning to this earth. This is hell, I believe. This is punishment.”

Aware that you’re discussing with Graves about mortality and this is the most he’s spoken to you about the great beyond, you sit up properly in your seat for a change.

“There are accounts from those who experience NDE’s-“

“What’s that?”

“'Near Death Experience'.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, these accounts insinuate the existence of a heaven and hell. There are some who saw a light or experienced overwhelming peace, and then there are those who describe descending into an unending darkness and hearing the most inhumane noises known to man. And lastly, some saw nothing but darkness and a hoofed creature.”

“Good grief,” Graves chokes out, and he looks uncomfortable so you decide to stop.

“Try not to see it that way,” you add in an attempt to lighten the gloomy atmosphere, “life is too short. Make the most of it while you can.”

Graves wipes at his forehead with a clean napkin before he nods briefly. “Listen, kid, I’m sorry if you ever felt like I wasn’t there for you or if I didn’t do enough. I think about that night and I...I miss your father a lot. I miss your family. And I know you’re still mourning for them,” he says, “I know.”

"I-"

Rotom flies from your pocket and zooms into the air, grinning widely. "I'm baaaaaack! ZZzzzignal!!! Bzz bzz bzz! Zrttt! Oh my dayzzz, you've received five mezzagezzz and three mizzzzed callzzzz from Le-Le-Le-Leon!"

"Uh...Is your phone okay?"

"Yeah, he's just excited."

You grab Rotom and he allows you to check what Leon has sent you: he tells you he dropped by the hospital but you had left. He's been trying to reach you and he called Sonia but she doesn't know where you are either. You quickly type a reply, apologising for not being able to reply on time and that Graves had picked you up.

"Graves, can we go?" you ask, when you finish replying and Rotom moves to hover near your shoulder with a huge grin on his face.

Your godfather grunts under his breath. "Fine, let me finish the fries first..."

After dinner, it’s getting late and although you're desperate to go home, Graves asks if you want to stay over. Graves has a house in Wyndon and he does have a room for you should you ever decide to stay with him but you decline because you’re used to staying with Magnolia and Sonia. Regardless, he tells you the room is available for you should you ever need it.

He drives you to Wedgehurst, navigating his car over the bumpy road of Route 2 and he drops you off at the doorstep of the quaint house, parking the car beside the lawn; the front door subsequently opens upon your arrival and Magnolia comes hobbling out followed by Sonia, Poltea and Cutie.

You all share an embrace as Graves exits the car to open the boot to grab your possessions.

“Thank you, Inspector Graves,” Magnolia says as Graves waddles up with your bag slung over his shoulder.

��It’s nothing,” he says; he’s so tall he towers over your entire group.

“Would you like to stay for tea?”

“We already ate,” Graves says with a guffaw.

Everyone heads inside; Magnolia and Graves bring their conversation to the conservatory whilst Sonia helps you with your bag and you head upstairs together.

“You seem to be getting along better,” she comments as you climb the steps with the pokemon clinging to your shoulders.

“He’s trying his best,” you reply as Cutiefly nuzzles your cheek affectionately.

“Leon popped by earlier,” Sonia says, “He said he wasn't able to reach you and was dying to know if you were back home or not. When I said you weren’t, he left with Charizard. He looked really sad.”

"Yeah, I've had terrible signal problems all day," you reply, and Sonia raises a brow.

“I knew there was something going on between you,” she replies, before she flashes you a wide grin. “Don’t leave him hanging.”

“I already messaged him, Sonnie, don’t worry.”

Once you’re in your shared bedroom, Sonia plops down on her bed with a sigh and your shadow contorts in bizarre fashion; this can only mean one thing, and Gengar promptly emerges. He seems happier to be back home than in the hospital.

“Hey Gengar,” you say, whilst he swims around in the air, carefree. You rummage through your bag to find Mimikyu and Runerigus’ capsule and proceed to let them out.

Runerigus is the newest addition to your team and although you’re a little anxious to release him, Tanner has informed you he is a ‘chill guy’, which is a little odd to describe a pokemon but you take Tanner’s words to heart as the stone pokemon emerges before you.

You were under the impression that he would be quite a large and intimidating pokemon but he is in fact, shorter than Gengar who looms over it. From what you know about Runerigus, they're solitary pokemon who can live for many years and their bodies consist of the grey slabs pieced together by cursed shadow matter. Your team is growing bigger but nevertheless your pokemon gather round and Sonia leaps from the bed to stand behind you, peering over your shoulders.

“Oh, a Runerigus…Where’d you get him from?” she asks as Runerigus looks around his surroundings cautiously.

“From a painting made out of human skin, hair and blood,” you reply, and she shudders violently, “I heard he’s nice.”

“Okay….”

You focus on the pokemon and say, “Welcome,” as Runerigus exchanges glances between all of you, “I hope you like it here.”

Looking right and left with its single purple eye, it clasps its large hands together and nods. It appears to be trying to communicate as it continues shifting its gaze up and down until it spots Leon’s poster on your wall and appears stunned, glancing at his image. It shuffles over, its rocky body dragging against the floorboards and emitting sounds identical to a fork scraping on a plate; Sonia clamps her hands over her ears from the deafening noise.

It stops in front of Leon’s poster and turns to you, pointing at it eagerly.

“Ohh, I get it. You need something to haunt,” you say, and it nods fiercely. “Go ahead.”

It flaps its arms up and down energetically before it inspects Leon’s print from head to toe, then it proceeds to spring up and off the ground and dives for the poster; you and Sonia stare with widened eyes; instead of crashing into the wall, it dissolves inside and the poster ripples.

Leon’s eye, which was once a beautiful golden hue, converts to a brutal shade of violet.

“Are you sure about this?” Sonia asks, cocking her head and crossing her arms with her finger under her chin.

You nod as Runerigus looks around before his eye creases with content. “Yep. He looks right at home. I'm fine with that.”

“As long as he doesn’t peep on us whilst we’re changing, I’m fine too.” Sonia adds.

Runerigus rolls his single eye.

As the evening progresses, Runerigus returns to his capsule after hanging around in Leon's poster for a while, Graves bids farewell after he's chatted with the professor and returns home, Magnolia goes to sleep and Sonia asks if you want to go with her to attend some exclusive makeup event with Nessa that’s taking place in Hotel Ionia. You politely decline because you want to spend some time with your Pokemon.

Therefore, you are alone and left to your own devices and you haven't received any response from Leon yet and you don't know where he is or what he's up to. However, instead of waiting around like a lovesick Lillipup, you opt to be productive and since you’re no longer going to take on any cases for the time being, you make some edits to your homepage, outlining that you will go on a much needed hiatus.

You also begin packing away some of your tools, namely the Khira dagger and your talismans which you tuck away into a safety box that you keep under the bed.

With Graves’ photo, you place it inside the box where it joins a small stash of old, salvaged photographs.

One photograph depicts your parents on their wedding day and the other is the last photo you took together as a family: a trip to Dendemille Town with a rented RV. You rub your thumb gently over their smiling faces.

Another photograph contains yourself and Jace. Not only did you have a questionable hairstyle and fashion sense but you appear jaded with a timid smile whilst Jace is grinning and shaking your hand, marking the beginning of a long-lasting friendship. Considering how long you have been friends, it’s then you realise Jace isn’t exactly the best candidate to take over should anything happen to you and you will need to find someone else….but that’s a thought for another day, you suppose.

Next, you grab your old journal where you had detailed Ezra’s teachings and all the symbols and exorcism prayers he taught you. You flip through the notes you made on pronunciation, translations and all your trials and errors and your mistakes.

As you continue packing, you pull out your radio and dad's journal from your bag which you will continue to keep with you for now.

Although you're not going to take on any cases, you head to the Pokemon research lab with the pokemon to conduct some research on Mimikyu and her speech capabilities.

The walk doesn’t take long and recalling that people actively call you the Witch of Wedgehurst behind your back, it is uncomfortable to make eye contact with anyone along the way and you pull the hood over your head, stuffing your hands into the pockets of your garment and keep your head down.

Once you arrive, you unlock the door, head inside and meander to your work space.

As usual, your desk is rather dusty and your whiteboard is still in the same place where you had left it a while ago; the pictures of the missing gym challengers and the map of the Wild Area are still fastened over the surface.

Although you hesitate for a split second as you scrutinise their smiling faces, you quietly remove them and tidy the photos away in one of your drawers before you grab an eraser and scrub away your notes, bullet points and other various scribbles. Once the board is cleared, you use a black marker pen and on the newly cleaned space, write some letters of the alphabet on the whiteboard as large as you can and set up three chairs for the pokemon for your experiment.

Releasing them, Gengar and Mimikyu sit down whilst Runerigus hops up on the seat and his head almost hits one of the low-hanging lights which makes you grimace. Nevertheless, he clamps his hands together patiently and since he’s been under your care, he has been a rather docile pokemon despite living in a human skin slash hair portrait.

You glance at your pokemon one by one and smile. “Hi everyone, thanks for joining me today. We're not going to work on any cases for the time being so now that I have some downtime, I’d like to test your ability to speak. I’m aware Mimi can say a lot already, but I’d appreciate if everyone can join in.”

Everyone nods and you grab one of Magnolia’s wooden canes from the side, using it to tap the first letter which represents A.

“This is the letter ‘A’,” you pronounce it loud and clearly for them, “Mimi, I’d like you to go first. Repeat after me.”

“A,” says Mimi, with virtually no problem whatsoever.

“Good job,” you reply and Mimikyu giggles, wiggling two tendrils happily in the air.

Now it’s Gengar’s turn.

He struggles, clenching his teeth viciously before he grunts out, “Geng-ah.”

“Not bad. but try saying ‘ah’ first.”

”Ah-geng,” says Gengar, and Mimikyu lets out a snort of laughter.

“Runerigus?”

Everyone turns to the grudge pokemon next and Runerigus has been silent the entire time; however, you're amazed when he emits a rather high-pitched, grating shriek from somewhere.

“Screeeee……!!!”

You, Gengar and Mimikyu uncontrollably wince until he stops.

"Scree?"

“Interesting," you murmur under your breath, "And this is the letter ‘B’…Runerigus, do you want to have a go?"

“Screeeee……screeeee-eee-ee!!!” Runerigus shrieks wildly as he flaps his hands up and down. As though aware he is unable to properly pronounce, Runerigus blinks for a fraction for a second and tries again, “SCREEEEE!!!”

“Mi mi!!! Mi mi mi mimikyuu!” Mimikyu jumps up and down in her seat and rants heavily in response to Runerigus’ screeching, pointing her claws at him accusingly.

“Calm down, it’s not his fault,” you say, as tensions run high.

Poor thing, beads of sweat begin dotting the stone slab and so unfortunately, you agree he should stop.

It’s Gengar’s turn now, and he says, “Beng-ar.”

You take down notes in your journal, scribbling down how Runerigus has zero speech capabilities and Gengar can only say his species name with mild alterations despite possessing human teeth and a human tongue.

Mimikyu on the other hand, can pronounce the letters perfectly and proceeds to recite much of the alphabet with very little trouble. She tells you she learned some words when she watched TV whilst pretending to be some kid's toy. She smugly dances and happily twirls in her seat whilst Runerigus and Gengar are totally defeated and throws their limp gazes to the floor.

“Guys, it’s okay,” you try to cheer them up but they look at you sadly.

The pokemon are dejected despite your reassurance and a twang of guilt hits you in the gut until a gentle knock on the door captures your attention. Looking away from your unhappy pokemon, the door to the research lab squeaks open and a purple-haired young man enters the establishment with Charizard trailing after him.

You freeze on the spot and the atmosphere in the lab becomes intense in nanoseconds. Your heart jumps in your throat upon his arrival and he glances at his surroundings before his gaze lands on you as you stand limply by the whiteboard and once his golden eyes meets yours, you struggle with your breath as your cheeks grow warm, your gut clinching uncomfortably.

It's Leon.

He's here.

He's finally here.

You swallow down the growing lump in your throat as he carefully strides over with his hands behind his back.

He's in a new shirt. The muscles in his arms seem to bulge more than ever. His hair looks longer, more tame. Did he always smile at you like that? Did he always look at you like that? You are noticing these little things about him all of a sudden though you're unsure why.

“H-hi Leon,” you stutter out whilst you tuck a loose lock of hair behind your ear that falls in front of your eyes, “What are you doing here?”

It’s happening. It’s happening all over again. The blushing, the stammering, the racing heart, the butterfrees dancing in the stomach. It shouldn't be happening, but it is.

And then you remember the almost-kiss.

As you fret on the spot, Leon says, “I-I came by the house but no-one came to the door so I...I thought I’d find you here.”

He's stammering too, his voice laced with nervousness.

It's not just you.

Leon anxiously steps closer, his light footsteps echoing audibly over the lab's pristine floor; he stops a short distance from you and shoots a quick glance at your pokemon in their little chairs in front of the whiteboard with all letters of the alphabet and chuckles, “What’s this? Pokemon School?”

“Um…Sort of. Mimi can speak human language so I wanted to test the others too...”

“That sounds interesting, how’s it going so far?”

“…S’okay,” is your timid reply as you clutch the cane to your chest with both hands and shift your gaze to the side.

He smiles warmly at you and as you dare to look up, your eyes meet for a second and simultaneously, you both look away. Whilst you hastily cast your glance to one of the bookshelves on the second floor, Leon throws his glimpse to a random potted plant in the corner.

Clearing his throat loudly, he stands with his hands gingerly placed behind his back. In fact, he’s been holding his hands behind his back the entire time. He appears to be puffing his chest out a little.

“I went to the hospital; I wanted to visit you but you weren’t there."

You nod. Your gazes meet but this time, you do your best not to look away and neither does he. “Yeah…I got discharged and Rotom couldn't get any signal until just there. Sorry.”

His expression lights up when he realises you do not look away and you witness him falter slightly on the spot under your piercing stare and he lets out a nervous-sounding laugh. "Ah, it's okay, there's no need to apologise. I took too long and couldn't find the time to go and see you. I should be the one apologising."

You shake your head.

There is another quiet moment between you two albeit not an uncomfortable one as you stand near one another, staring; Leon’s voice seems to have gone into hiding as you smile at him and his smile widens too before he murmurs, “I, uh…I wanted to give these to you."

He reveals his hands, slowly lifting them out and presenting a large bouquet of beautiful, multi-coloured flowers from behind his back.

Your eyes widen thoroughly; you were not expecting this at all.

Gengar gawks whilst Mimikyu blinks. Charizard wheezes and chortles and Runerigus flings glances between you and the Champion.

“Um, I….I hope you like them," he stutters, coughing into his fist briefly.

Leon has brought you flowers.

Choosing to lurk behind the plethora of florets, he does not see you gently reaching for the bouquet, and your fingers brush together accidentally; he stiffens all over as you wrap your hands firmly around the light pink cellophane wrapper before you gently lift it out of Leon’s grasp. He watches as your eyes sparkle with delight, the corner of your lips curling into a fond smile as you carefully run a finger over the petal of a delicate looking lilac flower.

“They’re beautiful,” you murmur softly, “Thank you, Leon.”

His confidence fully restored by your words, Leon grins widely and he takes a small step forwards; however, he's also quick to change his mind, clearing his throat once more and returning to his previous spot. With freed hands, he removes his cap and cradles it gingerly in front of his chest, his messy hair sticking in all sorts of directions.

“I’m sorry, I would do this better if I knew how.”

"Do what?”

“Courting you."

You blink wide-eyed as your gazes lock together once again before you decide to bring the bouquet closer to you, covering as much of your face as you can behind the flowers.

“I didn’t know what you liked so I asked the florist for help,” he admits as he hides his lower face behind his cap, cheeks growing red.

You’re both hiding behind whatever you can get your hands on.

And he’s blushing again, which you think is cute but so are you; your face is also heating up uncontrollably.

“T-thank you, that’s very thoughtful,” you reply with a shaky but excited lilt embedded into your voice, “do you want to stay? I can make some tea….”

Leon’s expression dampens at once.

“………I can’t,” he almost groans aloud, “I have a busy night ahead.”

“Oh, well…maybe another time then.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

“S-sure.”

“No problem.”

"Perhaps...you'd like to go camping with me again?"

"I'd love to."

"Great!"

"Just let me know when you're free."

"O-of course."

Once again, a sea of silence blankets the two of you until Charizard taps Leon on the shoulder and snorts loudly, his snout emitting short puffs of air. He jerks his head towards the door, growling.

“Right, I’d best be off now…I’ll see you,” Leon mutters, and you nod.

“Bye, Leon.”

“Goodbye.”

Leon returns his cap over his head, adjusting it properly; he stares intently at you and an immense bloom of joy swells within your chest as you clutch the flowers to yourself. Swept up by the longing depth of his gaze, you hide your face behind the flowers once again. Your cheeks are so hot, even the petals feel warm. He’s only forced to stop looking at you when Charizard taps him on his shoulder once more, indicating that they need to return to their duties.

"Goodnight," he says, with a widening grin.

"Goodnight."

Reluctantly, Leon turns away. As he makes his way to the exit, he will occasionally turn round and smile at you and Charizard will wave and you wave back; the flame pokemon waddles after his trainer and you watch as they both leave the lab, but not before Leon subjects you to one last look over his shoulder.

You’re finally able to breathe normally when the door closes behind them and Gengar and Mimikyu titter loudly in their seats whilst Runerigus slams his rocky tail against the floor with glee.

“Class dismissed,” you utter, and the pokemon are free to do as they please as you glance down at the bouquet in your hands.

Smiling, you lean down and take a quick whiff.

They smell heavenly.

...