#so reassuring that there is at least one person online who will read my 10k chapter after my 2 year hiatus

[bodysharing]

MILK TIME!!!!! :DD

milk time :^)

[sunmontuewrites]

Fic snippets and summaries...

Because last night I found 79 fics... but here are the top five which I read and now want to finish after I have finished F&F (which finding these has lit a fire under me to get that fic done this weekend - I’d like to say today but real life things are happening too...) (I’ve included F&F below...)

Kurtofsky - 10k written so far - Dave is a famous actor who goes by the name of Dave Falcon, and Kurt is a super-outdoors fan (and paramedic). Due to a little stealth planning from Finn they meet...

         He’s not tanned at all, which sits at odds with his whole perception of Kurt being an outdoorsy person, but he supposes if anyone is as careful as Kurt in putting on sunscreen then they wouldn’t be tanned either. He’s sort of waiting for Kurt to ask him to do his back and he has to shake himself out of it, because he can see Kurt’s got it perfectly under control, obviously used to putting it on himself. It’s thicker, and there are some streaks, but he can tell Kurt got good coverage before he’s pulling the shirt back over his head. He wants to tell him not to bother but he can’t, years of practice of watching what he says keeping his mouth firmly closed.

         They keep walking, and he tries to pay attention to their surroundings rather than Kurt’s ass in front of him. Surely he can at least act suave and in control? It’s his profession after all. Except he doesn’t really want to act with Kurt. He wants to snap and be himself, grumpiness and everything. Fuck he’s a mess. Kurt stops again, bending over to place his tackle box on the ground and he swallows. In control. Right.

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Dave/Mike Chang - 6k written so far - Dave is a part-owner of a bar and the whole premise is alarmingly similar to Tale Feather except I had completely forgotten about this fic.

           They end up talking for nearly three hours, Neil bringing out a plate of food for them to nibble on and making semaphore signals at Dave with his eyebrows. He just rolls his eyes and makes a shooing gesture with his hand. Mike eventually starts making noises about having to leave and he notes the stab of disappointment in his gut, it quickly turns to anticipation with Mike’s next words.

           “I’ll be back later. You’ll be here right?”

           “Yeah, I live above the bar so there’s no getting away,” he jokes and there’s a spark of something in Mike’s eyes and he swallows, wondering if he’s reading him right. When Mike leans forward, definitely putting himself right in Dave’s personal space, lips not even an inch from his own and he knows he’s not reading it wrong. Fuck.

           “Do you want to get away?” He swallows and shakes his head, not trusting himself to say anything. “Good.”

           “I’ll see you later then,” he manages to croak out, not wanting to seem like a complete idiot and Mike grins.

           “I look forward to it.”

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Kurtofsky - 6k written so far - Sequel to Surf and Sand in which Kurt is a Hollywood A Lister and Dave is an oceanographer with a love of surfing.

           He doesn’t expect to see or hear from Kurt again while he’s in Hawaii, and the newspaper article the following day pretty much knocks the final nail in any hope that maybe he and Kurt would see more of each other. He gets an apologetic text, followed by another telling him he’ll see him state side, and he supposes that’s good news. However it leaves the rest of his short holiday as a chaotic shit storm.

           Despite Kurt’s sudden departure, the paparazzi don’t all leave, and both he and Neil are followed and asked questions… fortunately all his friends take it in their stride, finding the funnier side, which he’s eternally grateful for. And they all just continue to be themselves, which turns out to be incredibly boring all round and they soon stop being of interest after a couple of days. Trish informs them that pictures of them all do appear online, but that the accompanying articles and comments are all outlandish.

           “I’m just flattered they think Neil is hot enough to snag someone as stunning as Kurt Hummel.”

           “Hey! I’m a catch!” Neil protests and Dave and Trish both snort.

           “You keep telling yourself that honey.”

           “What! I am! Tell her Dave!”

           “Uh yeah, you’re a real catch,” Dave says placating, sharing a knowing look with Trish and they both grin. He has three more days of his break before he heads back to work, and he can totally handle the lame, repetitive questions aimed his way. His final night in Hawaii he gets a text, the first since Kurt left, and he figures he must have been really busy, although he hasn’t sent him any messages to respond to, unsure whether he should make the initial gesture despite not being back on the mainland.

           Sorry. Cleared up the mix up about Neil. Said I had just bumped into an old school friend. My apologies to Trish.

           Not your fault. They think it’s funny. Hilarious even.

           Depending on the sleuthing skills you might want to unlist your number. They have my senior year book. They won’t rest until they figure out who you are.

           I wasn’t at McKinley for senior year remember? Don’t worry about it.

           He’s not sure what more to say, because if he’s going to be friends with Kurt then the publicity and paparazzi are part of the package. It’s not Kurt’s fault, and there’s nothing he can do about it, except control some of what they know. He doesn’t mind if he tells them he’s a friend, because as much as they might stalk him, his life really isn’t that interesting.

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First & Foremost  - Sebkurtofsky - currently at 94k - just a snipped from the last chapter.

           He just nods, a little afraid to talk with how tight his throat is feeling. Sebastian pulls out a pair of sweat pants and shirt and he doesn’t bother worrying about modesty, the changing rooms and showers at NYADA have made him a lot less self-conscious. He undoes his belt, pulls off his jeans and laughs a little wetly when Sebastian help him pull the sweats up, tying them efficiently, because it should be undressing, not the opposite. He catches Sebastian’s eye and he seems to be amused by the same thought. Dave has been undoing the buttons on his shirt and he shrugs it off, sticking his arms into the arms of the red and black flannel that Sebastian is holding up.

           He feels a little floaty, and he wonders if he’s just that tired. Dave’s doing up the buttons and he’s pretty sure Dave and Sebastian are somehow having a silent conversation with their eyes, because he’s gently shuffled toward the bed and Sebastian is at his back, just a warm presence and he reaches out to grab his hand, squeezes it to try and give him some form of reassurance, because this isn’t exactly what he imagined when he was first going to be in bed together, but maybe it’s better.

           Sebastian moves to sit on the bed, his back against the headboard and cushions, motions for Kurt to sit between his spread legs. He crawls into the open space, presses his back against Sebastian’s chest, feels Sebastian wrap his arms around him and just hold him, chin hooking over his shoulder and he murmurs ‘you’re okay’ under his breath and Kurt lets himself relax back into it.

           “You’re a good cuddler too…”

           “I had a good teacher,” Sebastian says softly, giving him a light squeeze.

           Dave is sitting at his feet, a warm hand settling around an ankle and then his socks are being pulled off, and his feet will get cold, he’s about to complain when Dave’s thumb presses against the ball of his foot and oh… he lets out a little hum of pleasure.

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Kurtofsky - 4k - Kurt moves to London after 4 years in New York and gets his first proper job and there’s this guy on the same tube as him every morning... (spoiler, it’s Dave.)

           Of course his little holiday is over before he knows it and his first day of work he leaves ridiculously early. The tube ride takes over an hour, but there’s a paper he can read and it’s interesting looking at the people. Although none of them look back. When he eventually gets to work he ends up sitting on a cold bench, waiting for someone to come by and let him in, realizing about five minutes before someone shows up that he could have gone and got coffee while he waited. There seem to be enough of them. Regardless he lets himself listen to the instructions of his job, the information, break times and the exhibitions and products they have for sale. He’s told to explore the museum and become familiar with it and he can’t believe how lucky he is.

           The novelty wears off in the second week, and once he starts knowing the tube more reliably he starts leaving a bit later, more sure of the fact he won’t be late for work. If everything was running smoothly (which he soon found out wasn’t always the case) he could catch the 7.04am train. Of course it could arrive anytime between 7.02am and 7.20am. The first morning Kurt sits next to him he really doesn’t notice. He sits there, earphones in his ears, intent on the free METRO paper. Kurt has figured out that this carriage places him the closest to the escalator that would make it easier to change onto the District Line where he had to change at Embankment. He has a pattern.

           The guy wore the disinterested and detached gaze of many Londoners, particularly the ones who had a long commute. The gaze that said “Don’t bother me, don’t smile at me, do not start a conversation with me unless you already know me, and even then I might not reply…” That suited him and left him to daydream and plan out his day in advance.

           It wasn’t his fault the gentle jostling of the train made him fall asleep most mornings.

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[maia]

A Complete History of My Salary & Wages

A few months ago, I listened to a podcast interview of Ashley C Ford where she laid out the details on how much money she makes, and from which sources. I’ve thought about it a couple times since then and found it very grounding and reassuring whenever I did, even though I am not on the same career path as Ford, and I had never heard of her before the interview. (I have since started following her on twitter though and highly recommend it).

If you follow me on twitter, you know I am brutally honest on all kind of intimate topics. It’s because I believe in the strength behind transparency and the impact it can create. Transparency is particularly powerful with salaries and compensation, and that is why we had transparent salaries at Pinch. Well, that’s my motivational vibe.

So I am posting my complete salary history here in the hopes that it is interesting or helpful to other people.

2007: ~$25,000 in wages

Spock hired me as a summer marketing intern: $2,500/month salary (with potential for a $1,500 bonus at end of summer).

I was 18 when I started at Spock and had my 19th birthday there. I adored working for Spock — it taught me that being excited about the internet could be a career. And my boss Jay was the first person who really believed in me, and was willing to give me enough rope to hang myself. He told me not to tell people I was 18 because they would underestimate me, that I should tell them I was 27. I told most people I was 27 until I actually was. At the end of the summer I decided to take time off from college and continue working for Spock. They brought me on full-time, at a $75k salary.

I had spent the summer living in Redwood City (where Spock’s office is) and renting a room for $800. After the summer I moved to San Francisco and sublet at different places, paying between $600 for a room and $1000 for a studio apartment.

2008: $28,307 in wages

Most of my friends left Spock, so it seemed like the right thing to do. I emailed SeeqPod because I thought they had the coolest product in all of tech at the time — a web app that streamed music from the internet on the iPhone! (this was before there were 3rd party apps on the iPhone). I told them I was really excited about what they were building and would love to contribute however possible and would come on as an unpaid intern. They interviewed me and I did a take-home project: writing a Product Requirements Document for a Hi5 App (Hi5 was the third largest social network after Myspace and Facebook at the time). SeeqPod hired me as a product manager, I think with a $60k salary. My boss Mike was the second person (in an infinite stream) to believe in me and take a big chance on me.

I didn’t have an iPhone, just a flip phone, but I was so excited about the idea of posting photos on the internet from a mobile phone that I set up a tumblr called https://www.maiaeats.com/ that would post new entries every time I texted it a photo or text. I recorded everything I ate in this way.

I went back to college for my sophomore year in the fall. When I left, the CEO of SeeqPod said “Maia, you are the most diplomatic person I’ve ever had work for me. I watch you in meetings help people take their foot out of their mouths and start espousing your idea as if it was their own”. SeeqPod said they would keep my equity vesting over the school year, and we planned for me to transfer to Berkeley the next year as a college junior, to keep working for them. SeeqPod got sued out of existence though, so I stayed on at Olin.

2009: ~$10k in wages

In summer 2009, one of my former colleagues had been impressed with my work at Spock and wanted me to run marketing at his startup, Archivd. I did, but unfortunately his company went under about a month after I started when his cofounder couldn’t get a work visa.

For the rest of the summer, I picked up a half-time job running social media at a startup called NationalBLS in San Francisco. I got another half-time job doing front-end web development for Sprowtt, in Palo Alto (like Kickstarter + AngelList). I lived in a basement in Oakland and had a terrible commute.

That fall, I lived in Cambridge and got a part-time internship at HubSpot while in college. It was magical to live in Cambridge and work for HubSpot… the best time I had during college. I think they offered me $14/hour and I surprised them by negotiating to $15/hour.

2010: $1,800 in wages

I worked full-time for Hubspot ($15/hour) for the month of January before I went to study abroad in Copenhagen for Spring semester. I stayed in Europe that summer and did not work the rest of the year.

2011: $0 in wages

I graduated college in May 2011, sort of… having spent the spring busy trying to convalesce from a horrible car accident in January 2011, I was behind on my school work and so I walked on stage at the ceremony in May but technically hadn’t graduated yet. My generous professors let me make up the work in summer/fall, and I got my diploma at the end of the Fall 2011 semester.

I sold stock I had bought during college with my income from my year off to pay for my life this year.

2012: $61,988 in wages

Desperate for a job, my friend Richa helped me find a role at the consultancy she worked for in January 2012, where I wrote XSL-T (it’s like CSS, for XML documents). I made $60k salary (less than I had made when I was 19), but I was grateful for the opportunity (and for the health insurance!). They originally offered me $55k, and I negotiated up a smidge.

At the end of the summer, I met Meg who was starting a new company, Rocksbox. She hired me as her first employee, a UX designer. I think Meg asked me “What do people like you make?” and I said “Something like $75k,” and she said “Ok, that seems fine.” My salary was $72k.

2013: $22,416 in wages

Meg invited me to join on as cofounder & CTO of Rocksbox. As a cofounder, I took no salary for much of the year.

I lived in a two bedroom apartment with several other people — my friend Katie and I technically shared a bedroom together with one queen bed and both spent most nights at our respective boyfriend’s apartments. The household hosted people from Airbnb in our dining room and I made an additional $5k on top of my $22k salary to put towards my rent.

I remember being exhausted, flipping Airbnb rooms. My boyfriend asked “This seems really terrible, why do you do it?” I said “…. for the money, obviously.” He said “Oh but you don’t need the money,” and I sat there quietly, thinking, what does it mean for one to need the money?

2014: $66,323 in wages

Meg raised $1.5M for Rocksbox, and I was able to take a higher salary — I think back to $72k!

We still hosted Airbnbs in our dining room from which I made an extra $3,300.

My lawsuit against the guy who hit me with his truck settled for $100k. My lawyer took 1/3 and transferred me $66,000: the most humiliating, exhausting, painful, least worth it money I have ever “earned” in my entire life.

2015: $84,725 in wages

I was making more from Rocksbox — my salary increased from ~$72k at the beginning of 2015 to about ~$150k towards the end of the year.

My roommates and I moved to a big fancy house with a separate bedroom where we could host people on Airbnb. Technically my rent was $2,400/month but with the Airbnb it usually netted out to $1,400. I made $2,400 from Airbnb this year.

2016: $67,769 in wages

I left Rocksbox (and my $150k annual salary) to start Pinch, where we paid ourselves $50k. Rocksbox bought back my unvested equity for $780.

This year, with the separate bedroom on Airbnb, I made another $9,220. In September my roommate and I moved to a different apartment and stopped hosting on Airbnb. My rent was $1,500.

2017: $58,686 in wages

Towards the end of 2017, our $50k salary at Pinch was really starting to hurt. We raised a bit more and upped our salaries to $100k. The money from my car accident dwindled. I moved to my own apartment for the first time, and my rent was $2,000/month.

2018: $121,277 in wages

In summer 2018, we sold Pinch to Chime. My job offer at Chime was for $175k.

Some of our offers for Pinch came with a signing bonus. I wanted to evaluate offers based on the people and the culture, so I told myself I would act as though I had received a signing bonus even if I technically hadn’t. When we joined Chime (no signing bonus), I bought myself a scooter online. It never arrived, and I eventually did a chargeback on my credit card.

2019: $195,834 in wages

My salary at Chime was increased to $200k early in 2019 as a market adjustment, where it remains today. In October 2019 I moved out of my $2,000/month apartment to couch-surf with plans to eventually move to New York.

Conclusion

I was really excited about the idea of writing this post and bringing transparency. The process of writing it out and reliving it all though… it feels bad. I think of myself as a happy person, but when I read this now, I feel for my younger self. I worked and scrambled and stressed out about everything.

I’ve tweeted before that my biggest regret of my 20’s is that I didn’t spend more money. It wasn’t received well by the financial responsibility crowd on twitter, but my guess is that they’ve had a different (and more stable) career history than I have. I do regret that I saved any money in my 20's — I should have spent it all, spent freely on frivolous creature comforts, used money to make my life easier whenever possible and worried less about the future. But of course, hindsight is 20/20.

[mushroommouth]

The Good Mourning Part II

A/N: So…I would like to formally apologize for this chapter.

When I post it on Ao3 I’ll have a more detailed author’s note about a couple cut scenes, decisions about this chapter, why some characters are distinctly OOC and junk, but I wanted to get this to you guys hot off the presses.

It, uh, got out of hand. There will be one more chapter after this one, and  it will not be nearly as long. This chapter does not follow my happy ending guarantee because it’s the middle part. And, uh. You might want to get the bummers tag ready for this one, Em. 

Also, it ended up being, like, 10k words. Tumblr messed up the spacing, but it it was too long to fix and still let me sleep tonight. (This morning?) RIP. 

Donna still doesn’t have rights. Enjoy!

-Skye (👻)

—

“So…who is Aaron exactly?” 

After the diner, Dan had called it for the evening. Cody was dropped off at his home, and Dan and Milo had returned to a painfully silent house. Dan’s mom had gotten back to them, frantically asking if everything was okay because Jake was not there either. 

  Dan had to explain in hushed tones over the phone that everything would be alright, that Jake just… wasn’t home. 

Milo went straight to bed, thinking he was too emotionally and physically exhausted to have nightmares. Instead, he woke up gasping at the crack of dawn, with a scream dying in his throat. Milo tried to sneak down the stairs but instead found Dan still sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the television. 

  Milo suspected that Dan didn’t sleep at all. 

  The two wordlessly got into the car and began the second road trip in two days, this time to a town a few hours out. The only break in silence was Dan ordering breakfast at a fast-food joint for Milo and one large coffee for himself. 

  There was still the unanswered question, though, that Dan never really answered the night before. Now that it was spoken out loud, without any hesitance, there was clearly no way out of it. Dan sunk a little in his seat, not taking his eyes off the road. 

  “Aaron is… Jake’s brother,” Dan started carefully. 

  “Jake has a brother?” Milo whipped his head around to face Dan so quickly that the seat belt locked.

  Dan chuckled slightly watching Milo struggle to try and get it to loosen again, mentally making sure to choose his words very carefully. 

  “Technically, yes,” Dan said slowly. “He wasn’t- he isn’t a…good person, though, Milo.  He used to hurt Jake. A lot.” 

  “Oh.” 

  “…Yeah.” Dan took a long slurp of his coffee. “I’m not his biggest fan, and that’s putting it lightly. Luckily, Jake and I went to school fairly far and I thought we’d never see him again. I was hoping for that, at least.” 

  There was another moment of silence as Milo finally gave up and unbuckled himself to try and fix the seat belt. After a few attempts, it finally was gliding correctly, and Milo slumped back to get more comfortable. 

  “So why are we looking for him?” Milo asked. 

  “What?” 

“Why are we looking for him if he’s like… a bad guy?”

  Dan drummed the steering wheel for a moment, thinking. 

“He’s still the only person that knew Jake first. As awful as he was to Jake, he still might have some ideas worth looking into.” Dan carefully chose to leave out the whole ‘vengeance’ part. “Aaron might know things we don’t.” 

  “How do you know where we’re going, anyway?” Milo asked. 

  “Oh,” Dan snorted in response. “He, uh, came up in the paper awhile ago in a segment about, uh, fostering kittens.” 

  “Is that something you’re making up to make me feel better? Because that sounds fake.” 

  “Scout’s honor.” Dan turned to look at Milo out of the corner of his eye. “I thought it was fake, too.” 

  “I didn’t know you were a Boy Scout,” Milo yawned. 

  “Yep!” Dan smiled briefly at the memory. “How about you get some shut-eye? It says we’re supposed to hit some more traffic here in a minute.”  

  Milo nodded sleepily before leaning his head against the window. He watched trees blur past for awhile before ultimately dozing off.

  —

  Milo woke up to Dan gently nudging him. 

  “Hey, kiddo. We made it.” 

  “Wuh…” Milo sat up, rubbing his eyes until the bleariness went away. 

  In front of them was a somewhat-gaudy bakery. A sign in a cursive too curly to read glistened in the early morning sun. It hung above a striped pastel green balcony which fluttered in the breeze. The wooden door swung open. A customer walked out, holding a cake close to their chest, grinning ear-to-ear. They called something back to whoever was inside, presumably the baker. 

  It seemed… pleasant. 

  “Are we at the right place?” Milo asked. 

  “Yep.” Dan got out of the car and stretched before walking over to Milo’s side. He opened the car door and offered his hand. “Do you want to come in or stay in the car.” 

  “Come in,” Milo said without hesitation. He unbuckled and took Dan’s hand.

  They walked hand-in-hand to the door. Dan hesitated with his free hand over the knob for a moment, taking a deep breath. Milo squeezed his hand tighter, not looking up. Dan took that as a confirmation. With a deep breath, he swung it open. 

  A bell chimed from the door, getting the attention from the woman behind the counter. She glanced up for a second before logging the receipt. 

  “How can I help y’all today?” She asked, moving over to fill the gap in the display from the earlier customer. 

  “We’re looking for Aaron,” Dan said cooly. 

  The woman froze, before pulling back from the display to face the two fully. She fidgeted with her hands for a moment before speaking again. 

  “Uh, I know he is pretty popular for cake requests, but you really need to do any reservations online or over the phone. The cupcakes in the display are for sale, though!” She smiled sheepishly, showing off a mouthful of braces. “…My boss got me in trouble last time for doing that, and I need this job to help pay for school.”

  “We completely understand.” Dan smiled warmly. “We just need to talk to him about a family matter.” 

  With that, she perked up, smiling brighter. 

  “Oh! Okay then. He’s out back taking a smoke break. If you guys want to wait here, he shouldn’t be much longer, but-“ 

  “That’s okay. We don’t want to interrupt you.” Dan took a step back toward the door before pausing. “Actually, can I get a cupcake?”

  —-

  The two sat in the car for a moment, waiting for a moment for Dan to regain his bearings. 

  Milo ripped the wrapper off and eyed the pumpkin-flavored cupcake. It seemed harmless enough, but when he went to take a bite, Dan held up one hand to stop him. 

  “One second.” Dan said. 

  He handed Milo the stack of napkins he stored in the console (a result of being an older sibling; Dan always grabbed more than enough for three people “just in case.) Dan then dug in the change potion of his wallet before producing a small pill wrapper. 

  “It’s Lactaid.” Dan explained. “The cashier said they use cream cheese icing.” 

  “Oh! Thanks.” Milo grabbed pill and the water bottle from the cup holder. “I always find these in weird places.” 

  Dan snorted. 

  “Yeah,” he said. “Jake sticks them in random places he knows we’ll always have on us because you’ll eat…whatever it is anyway. He said it’s so we are ‘never caught without them.’”

  Dan watched Milo take the pill and begin eating for a moment. Then Dan rubbed his face and leaned against the car. Aaron hadn’t emerged from the back yet, meaning they still had time to go talk to him, but… 

  It always was a foreign feeling. Dan, all these years later, still felt the shrapnel of frustration and, despite his mother’s gentle reassurance and pleading, hatred for the Pierlys and how they hurt Jake. Dan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to swallow back down his anger. 

  The drive wasn’t as long as he’d hoped. The cupcake bought him a couple minutes. He couldn’t waste many more or the two might lose their chance. 

  Dan felt tired. 

  (Was this how Jake always felt?) 

  “Hey, Dad?” 

  That snapped Dan back to reality. “Hmm?”

  “Do you want to try it?” Milo had broken off a piece and held it out to Dan, though Dan wasn’t sure how long Milo had been offering it to him before he spoke up. Something in Milo’s expression made this seem like a test. 

“Sure?” Dan took the piece hesitantly. He only chewed it enough to swallow it; he was sure it was nerves, but it just tasted like ash. “Are you ready?”

  Dan seemed to pass the test. Milo relaxed ever-so-slightly before nodding. The two got out, and, though Milo didn’t take Dan’s hand this time, he followed Dan so closely the two were almost touching at any given moment. 

  Dan lead them to the back of the store, which seemed ultimately unremarkable when compared to the front. A dumpster was slightly overfilled with boxes from a recent shipment. A handful of wooden and plastic crates were littered across the ground. 

  A few were stacked as if to make them more comfortable to sit on. Perched on top of this throne of garbage was a man smoking a cheap cigarette. 

  He was lanky, almost spider-like in proportions when compared to Dan or Jake. His dark, somewhat greasy hair was slicked back into a messy bun, exposing the row of piercings on his ears. The dark work-shirt had cat hair sprinkled across it, though he didn’t seem to either know and/or care. The apron had been discarded, likely left inside. 

  He looked up briefly at Dan and Milo before glancing down at the cigarette. He ashed on the ground before clearing his throat and speaking. 

  “The store entrance is the other way,” he said. “If you want a reservation, you need to do it online or over the phone.” 

  Milo blinked in surprise before tugging on Dan’s sleeve, who had ceased all movement. 

  “Wait,” Milo asked. “That’s Aaron?” 

  That seemed to get the man’s attention. He stiffened a little in his seat. 

  “Can I help you?” 

  “We’re Jake’s family,” Dan said cooly. “We wanted to talk to you for a moment.” 

  That seemed to do the trick. All the color drained from Aaron’s face as he shot up, stumbling back over the crates. He dropped his cigarette and tried to regain his balance using the lip of the dumpster. He bust out laughing for a second, nervously slicking his hair back. 

  “What is this?” Aaron asked. He bent over and fixed the crates before sitting back down shakily. “Is this some kind of sick joke?”

  “You’re Jake’s brother right?” Milo grabbed Dan’s arm with one hand, leaning forward (but not wanting to step closer) to make his presence clearer. “We’re looking for him.” 

  “Oh, so this is some kind of a sick joke.” Aaron clenched his fists, before shaking his head as if to clear whatever he was thinking out of his head. “Get the fuck out of here before I call the cops.” 

  Milo winced a little, tightening his grip on Dan’s sleeve. Dan simply glared at Aaron, not taking moving his gaze. 

  “And tell them what, Aaron?” 

  Aaron winced and wrapped his arms around himself. 

  “I…” He let out a dry laugh. “If I tried to run, you could just snap me in half, huh?” 

  Dan didn’t respond one way or another, still boring his eyes into the younger man. Milo tugged at Dan’s sleeve to respond. When more silence followed, Milo let go of Dan’s sleeve and stepped in front, redirecting Aaron’s attention. 

  “Listen, it’s been a long couple days. I…just want to know what happened,” Milo said quietly. Tears were beginning to bead in his eyes.  “I’m just finding out about— well, all of this, and I want to know what happened to him.” 

  Aaron sat for a moment thinking, before slowly unwinding his arms from his torso. He finally sighed and grabbed one of the crates and kicked it to Milo. The plastic scraped against the ground, skidding to a stop by Milo’s feet. 

  “Fine. Go ahead and have a seat, kid” Aaron said. “And you guys owe me a cigarette.” 

  —

  “So, what do you want to know?” Aaron seemed to completely ignore Dan and instead diverted his attention to Milo. 

  Milo shrugged, fidgeting his hands. Dan had a hand on Milo’s shoulder as if getting ready to yank Milo away from Aaron at any moment. 

  “I don’t know…just-can you tell me about him? About you guys?”  Milo looked up at Dan, who just squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. 

  Aaron snorted. 

  “Well, kid, I’m afraid I can’t help you much there. We fought a lot. Then one day, he left. And then he-“  Aaron swallowed, digging in his pockets before pulling back out the carton of cigs. “If you’re really his family, you know what happens next.” 

  Aaron was not telling the whole story. That means…

  “Tell me.” Milo said, without any room for questioning. “The last couple of days have been some of the worst in my life and I want to know what happened to Jake.”

  “I’m sick of people not telling me what’s going on.” Milo stood up, shaking off Dan’s arm. His felt his face heating and tears beading up in frustration. 

“I want to know the truth!”

  Aaron blinked in surprise, his eyes widened in recognition. 

  “Oh god,” Aaron murmured. “You were that kid, weren’t you?” 

  “What kid?!” Milo cried. “What happened?” 

  “Milo…” Dan warned. He reached out, but Milo whipped around and knocked his hand away. 

  “Dad, I just- I just…I’m just so tired of this, and all these secrets, and…” 

  “I know,” Dan said quietly. He slowly and gently reached back out and tugged Milo into a hug. “You’ve been very brave so far.” 

  Milo froze before sinking into the hug. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, holding onto Dan like a lifeline. 

  “I’m not dumb.” 

  “I know, Milo.” 

  “If you guys had told me, I’d…” 

  “We know.” 

  The two stood like that until Milo’s breathing evened back out. When Dan glanced back up, he was surprised to see Aaron intensely watching the interaction. 

  He had paled, clutching the hem of his shirt with his free hand. Something flashed in his eyes—something like yearning or craving, even— before he blinked and it was gone. 

  “Your name is Milo, then?” Aaron asked quietly. 

  Milo turned slightly, peeking out of the corner of his eye at Aaron. 

  “It’s my fau…I killed Jake.” Aaron said. “That’s what happened.” 

  The immediate silence was deafening. Aaron swallowed before continuing, eager for anything but. 

  “I didn’t mean to, I swear. I just—I used to…hurt him, and I’d hurt him a lot. When he left, and it was just me and our mom, I just got angrier. If I’m not a good person, our mom was…” Aaron just shook his head. He pulled out another cigarette from the carton, looking it over. 

  “Anyway, he left. Things got worse.  And I found out where he lived. So, I packed a bag of things to get revenge, make him hurt as bad as I did—or something. I don’t really remember the details other than I was angry.” 

  Aaron lit the cigarette, taking a drag. 

  “So I showed up that afternoon. I was going to make him hurt. But soon after he answered the door, before I could do anything, he just…” Aaron cleared his throat. “You came running out, and I realized just how badly I screwed up.” 

  “I was there…?” Milo asked quietly. Dan said nothing but tightened the hug, seeming to be more for his sake than Milo’s at this point. 

  Aaron just nodded. 

  Milo began shaking slightly from within Dan’s grasp, but he had to ask. 

“How did he- how did he die then?”

  Aaron let out a dry laugh. “His heart gave out. Right there, pretty soon after I walked in. I didn’t even do anything yet, but it didn’t matter. I didn’t call for help, part because I was freaking out too bad and part because I didn’t want to get in trouble.” 

  “‘Cardiac arrest,’” Dan recited under his breath. “‘Caused by the combination of lack of treatment, physical stressors, and shock in seeing his allegedly estranged brother.’” 

  “Beefcake over there got to your house and called for help, but it was too late. That’s it.” Aaron took one last drag of the cigarette before putting it on the ground. He stood up and stomped on it, smothering the remaining embers. “That’s the end of the story. Sorry you came all this way to hear it, but I gotta get back to work.” 

  Aaron shrugged off any looks he was getting, bumping into Dan’s shoulder in the way back to the building. He made it to the door before 

  “Wait!” Milo said. Milo looked up at Dan, who instead took over. 

  “Jake’s…not gone.” Dan stated carefully. 

  Aaron stopped with his hand on the doorknob. 

  “What?” 

  “He’s not, but he might be soon.” Dan took a step forward, finally letting go of Milo. “If you feel bad at all about what happened, help us. Please.” 

—-

  Aaron set Dan and Milo up in the shop as he wrapped things up. He talked briefly to the cashier before calling his boss. After a few minutes, he returned to the two at the table. He began to re-do his bun before speaking. 

  “Okay,” Aaron began. “I’ve got to finish icing a few cakes, but the owner is coming in early to cover for me for the day. I’m going to use one of my sick days, so you better be serious.” 

  “Dead serious.” Dan said sternly, before all three cringed. “Okay, bad choice of words. But as soon as you finish up, we’re getting out of here.” 

  “Whatever.” Aaron rolled his eyes. “I just need to get back by tonight. I didn’t hire a cat-sitter.” 

  “You have cats?” Milo asked. 

  “I have one. I’m fostering some kittens though, too, for the time being.” 

  “What’s your cat’s name?” 

  “Her name is Tom. She’s sixteen now.” 

  “That’s kind of a dumb name.” 

  “Hey!” Aaron slammed one hand on the table, pointing with the other at Milo. “It’s a great name. Get it? Like a tomcat? Listen, she’s a delight. You, meanwhile, wouldn’t get it of course, because you’re just a little—“ 

  Dan cleared his throat before Aaron could finish his statement, causing Aaron to jolt in surprise. 

  Aaron took a breath to collect himself before slicking his hair back again. 

  “Ugh. Whatever. Yes, I have a cat. She’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, so watch your fucking mouth. Just tell me when it’s time to go.” 

  Milo and Dan watched Aaron storm back to the kitchen. After some clanging around and grumbling, Aaron seemed to be re-focused on the task at hand. 

  “He’s a bummer.” Milo grumbled. 

  Dan laughed quietly, covering his hand to stifle it. 

  “Oh, you have no idea.” Dan replied. “This is actually the best mood I’ve ever seen him. He…” 

  Dan’s voice trailed off. 

  “..He’s kind of a super jerk.” He finally finished. 

  Milo snorted. “Yeah, I can see that. Do you think…do you really think we can trust him?” 

  Dan watched Aaron intensely detail the cake he was working on for a minute. 

  “…I don’t think we really have a choice, Baby Shark.” 

  “Dad, please don’t call me that.”

  —-

  It took awhile for Aaron’s boss to show up. He didn’t look or address Dan or Milo at all. Rather, he went straight to the back to talk to Aaron. 

Dan wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t to see Aaron’s eyes light up at the sight of his employer. 

  The two bantered back and forth for a moment before the boss turned to look Dan and Milo over. He pulled Aaron aside and their conversation became hushed. 

  After a moment, though, Aaron emerged sans apron.

The boss stepped out slightly, leaning against the kitchen entrance. He pointed at Dan. 

  “You. Bring him back in one piece or you’ll personally cover the price of every cake he misses. And Aaron?” 

  “Yes sir?” 

  “Get a goddamn haircut before you come back to work.”  

  Aaron snorted, trying to stifle back a smile. “You wish, old man.” 

  He turned around to face Milo and Dan. The smile and light from his eyes faded like a deflating balloon. 

  “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s get this over with.” Aaron went to the door, opening it and gesturing the two out. 

  Milo took it gladly, ready to get out of there and continue the search for Jake. He began walking to the car, which Dan unlocked from the store entrance. 

  “Uh, Milo?” Dan called. 

  “Yeah?” Milo asked, already opening the passenger door. 

  “…Can you clear some space in the backseat? I need to talk to Aaron for a minute.” 

  Milo looked the two over and frowned. Aaron seemed just as confused, but Dan gently nodded Milo on. So, hesitantly, Milo agreed. He shut the passenger door and instead climbed into the back. 

While clearing out the junk from the early morning trip in the backseat, Milo snuck a glance up at the conversing adults. 

He met eye contact with Aaron, whose intense glare was unwavering for just a moment. Then Aaron sighed, broke it, and said something to Dan. 

  Milo jumped and hurried up, climbing into the front seat before the adults returned. He saw Dan and Aaron nod in agreement before heading toward the car. He sprawled across the passenger seat, trying to seem as unsuspicious as possible. 

  Dan scratched the back of his head as he began to climb in the front.

“Hey, kiddo.” 

  “Nothing.” 

  Dan chucked at Milo’s response as he buckled. He stuck the key in the ignition and stopped, looking up to watch Aaron climb in the back.

  Aaron grumbled under his breath, trying to adjust his legs so they weren’t pinned against the back of the front seats. The grumbling turned into mild swearing as he struggled more to get comfortable. Finally, he gave up and laid across the back seat, leaning against the window. Aaron caught Dan’s eyes in the mirror and scowled. 

  “You ready?” Dan asked. 

  “What does it look like?” Aaron snapped. Dan shrugged and started the car. 

  Dan pulled out of the parking spot and drove until he came across the first gas station. 

  “Okay, so we need to fill up before we hit the road. I’ll be just outside the car filling up. If you need anything, let me know. Last stop for bathrooms, too, until we’re on the road.”

  “Okay!” 

  Aaron didn’t respond. Dan tightened his grip on the steering wheel. 

  “Milo, if you need anything, I’m right outside the car-“

  “I know, Dad.”

  Dan sighed and pulled up to a pump, taking out the keys and leaving the door cracked behind them. 

  Aaron stirred again from the backseat. 

  “So, a ghost, huh?” 

  Milo jumped slightly, turning around. 

  “Jake’s a ghost now?” Aaron clarified. Milo nodded, so Aaron continued. “What does a ghost even look like? What, is there a white sheet or something?” 

  “I dunno.” Milo said. “He just looks like Jake.” 

  “Hmm.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t even realize— I didn’t even know he was dead. He just…looks like Jake.” 

  Aaron paused in thought for a moment. 

  “I didn’t even-hm. I don’t even believe in ghosts or whatever. What made you find out he was a ghost then?” 

  “What made you decide to become a baker?” 

  Aaron looked Milo over before chuckling. “I asked first.” 

  “We…” Milo slunk in his seat a little. “I found out on accident from some cleaning stuff. We got in a fight. He disappeared.” 

  “Well, I know a thing or two about fighting with Jake.” Aaron turned to watch Dan pump gas from the window. “Welcome to the club, kid.” 

  “Not like that!” Milo unbuckled entirely to turn around, holding the back of the car seat. “We just got in an argument. You hurt him!” 

  “Ah.” Aaron smiled lazily up at Milo, not getting up from his sprawled position. “That’s the funny thing about hurting someone. You can do it so much better without ever laying a hand on them. Our ol’ mom was a natural at that.” 

  “I-“ Milo looked at Aaron with a blank expression for a moment, face flushing, as a sudden swirl of emotions tried to fight its way to take the front. 

  “I wouldn’t worry about it, though,” Aaron continued. “You guys seem…close. He didn’t, I don’t know, poof away sooner. Jake’s always been good at leaving. But he stuck with you two.” 

  Aaron looked back out the window, leaving Milo to stare at him. Milo swallowed harshly, his face still feeling warm. 

  “Your turn. How’d you get into baking?” Milo asked quietly, eager to change the subject. 

  “I didn’t mean to,” Aaron said. “I actually applied to become a cashier, but one day my boss was overwhelmed with reservations, so he showed me some tricks so I could help out for the day.” 

  “That’s it?”

  “Nah,” Aaron laughed. “It turns out I was really fuckin’ good at it. My boss is thinking about paying for me to go to culinary school when I’d never really cooked a day in my life before. I just had a knack.” 

  “Huh.” 

  “Of course, it helped that I was good at carving the fondant, cutting the tips of icing bags as to not let too much ooze out,  using a torch to caramelize… just. Precision.” Aaron looked back up Milo through the corners of his eyes. “Turns out we both got something out of Jake, huh? You, what, a father figure? For me, practice for my future career.” 

  All the flushing— all the color— drained out of Milo’s face in an instant. Aaron forced a grin, watching as Dan climbed back in the car. 

  “Okay, so—Milo? Are you okay?” 

  Milo whipped his head around, staring at Dan wide-eyed. Dan reached over and felt his forehead. 

  “It doesn’t feel like your fever came back. Are you feeling alright?” 

  “I…” Milo looked back over at Aaron before sitting  back down in his seat correctly. “I just want to find Jake.” 

  Dan sighed. 

“Seconded. Where should we head first?”

  “Depends,” Aaron said from the back seat. “Where have you guys been so far?” 

“Uh…” Milo tugged at his hair slightly to focus on the task at hand. “He’s not at our house or Dan’s parent’s house. We stopped by a gross old bar where he played apparently, his school, and a bad restaurant.” 

  “We also visited his grave.” Dan added. 

  Aaron snorted. “Well, there’s your problem.” 

  “What?”

  Aaron finally sat up correctly, ignoring his knees knocking on the back of the front seats. He stretched slightly before continuing. 

  “You went places that are happy for him,” he said. “You didn’t go anywhere that he would have clung to in a bad way.” 

  “But we went to his grave-“ Milo started. Aaron just held one hand up to cut him off. 

  “Yeah, and that’s sad and all for you guys, but that’s the biggest sign of how loved he was. It was meant for him. It wasn’t even, like, just a ‘RIP’ message.” Aaron leaned forward. “You gotta go somewhere that sucked and he could never move on from.” 

  “Do you know where that is?” Milo asked. 

  Dan sighed as Aaron burst out laughing. 

  “The house he-“ “-we-“ “-grew up,” they said simultaneously. 

  “Didn’t it burn down?” Dan asked. 

  “Haha! Nah,” Aaron laughed harder. “Not on its own! Besides, they rebuilt the place but made it newer ‘n shit to boost ‘curb appeal’ or whatever.” 

  “Wouldn’t Jake have already gotten to Donna then?” 

  “I wish. She sold the property— hoo, I haven’t laughed that hard in a bit— before construction could begin.” Aaron wiped the stray tears out of his eyes. “Last I heard she’s living in a one-person apartment somewhere and some newlyweds are living in the new place.”

  “Wait,” Dan turned around slightly to look at Aaron. “Are you not- do you not talking to her anymore?” 

  “Ha! No.” Aaron’s smile fell momentarily before forcing it back to where it was. “It’s hard to do that when she put a restraining order on her only living son, but—god, but it really is for the best.” 

  “Hm.”

  “Is that where we should go then?” Milo asked. 

  “It’s your best shot,” Aaron said.

  “But there are people living there now, and—“ 

  Dan rubbed his face with his hands, thinking for a moment. Finally, he slammed his hands back down on to the steering wheel. 

  “Okay. Okay. Alright. Let’s go find Jake.” 

  —

  The drive was entirely unremarkable. Aaron was silent almost the entire time, spending most of the trip sleeping. Milo took turns playing on his phone and listening to the radio, trying to preserve his battery to the best of his ability. 

  Dan sat tensely, not taking his eyes off the road. In the long lull of the highway, he occasionally drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. Milo tried to strike up conversation with him a few times, but Dan was too lost in thought to notice. 

  It wasn’t until Milo fell asleep (though he wouldn’t admit it) that Dan finally spoke up. It was hoarse from the brief period of disuse, soft and sad. 

  “Hey, we’re here.” 

  Milo jolted up immediately, looking around trying to see where this house of horror was. Instead, in front of them was…

  “This is Cody’s house.” Milo said. Only silence followed, and Milo felt his stomach begin to sink. “Dad, is it-is it near here? Are we just picking up Cody, or walking to save gas or something? Are we-“ 

  “You’re going to be staying with Cody until we get back.”  Dan interrupted. 

  “No- no, no no no.” Milo reached over and tugged at Dan’s sleeve. “You can’t be serious. Dad, I thought we were in this together.” 

  “We are.” Dan turned his head slightly to face Milo. “When we get back with Jake—“ 

  “That’s not what I meant and you know it!” 

  Dan sighed. “I know.” 

  “Milo,” he continued. “I don’t know how Jake’s going to be…feeling when we find him. There’s a chance he’s not going to be himself, and I’m sure he wouldn’t like you to see him like that.” 

  “Then what was all this for?” Milo cried. He began tugging at his hair, frustration bubbling over. “Why’d you take me along if- If you were just going to ditch me-“ 

  “Milo!” Dan grabbed Milo’s hands, holding them firmly but gently. “Milo, this wasn’t part of the plan until I realized Jake probably isn’t looking to talk.” 

  Milo froze, trying to pull back out of Dan’s grasp. 

“…What does that mean?”

  “I’ll explain it when we get back.” Dan let go, pulling his hands back and settling them in his lap. “And we will be back. Jake, me-“ 

  “Preferably not me.” 

  The two jumped at the sound of the third voice. Aaron leaned forward, frowning tiredly but clearly had been listening to the whole thing. 

  “I’ve got to get back to my cats, remember?” 

  Dan let out a breathy laugh. 

  “See? It’s just for a bit.” 

  “Dad…” 

  “Milo, we’ll be back—after I drop Aaron off, I guess— and we won’t come home without Jake.” Dan forced a smile. “I promise. Just stay here where it’s safe just in case. Please.” 

  Tears began to bead up and steam down his cheeks as Milo looked at Dan intensely. After a moment, he unbuckled and flung himself at Dan, hugging him tight. Dan froze, surprised by the sudden movement, before relaxing into—and returning the hug. The two stayed like that for a moment, silent except Milo’s quiet sniffling. 

  Aaron cleared his throat. 

“Again, we’re on crunch time, guys.” 

  Milo finally pulled back and wiped sloppily at his face. 

“I’m still really mad at you.” 

  “I know.” Dan wiped some of Milo’s tears away. “But we’ve got to ‘get on the grind,’ right?” 

  Milo laughed a little, but he didn’t take the bait to make fun of Dan and change the subject. 

  Dan watched Milo climb out of the car, grabbing the stuff he packed for the morning road trip. He forced a smile again in Milo’s direction, waving slightly. 

The car was filled with a suffocating silence as Milo walked to Cody’s door and knocked, and Dan let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

  He readjusted the rear view mirror to get a better look at the backseat—and now only—passenger. 

  It had been one week since the Pierly house burned down. 

  Jake was sitting on the couch, clutching his head and taking quick, shallow, and ultimately  unnecessary breaths. Dan was sitting next to him, rubbing his back. 

  “I can’t keep this up.” Jake wheezed. “I can’t- God. I can’t-“ 

  “I don’t know what you mean. You’ve been doing great so far! It’s not like Milo really knows any better yet, but you’ve been able to hold most drinks and-“ 

  “No, Dan. You don’t understand.” Jake glared up from in between his arms, his irises now a flaming red. It was odd to see that expression, though it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar. 

  Dan’s hand began burning. Steam pillowed up from his palm, so he ripped it away, quickly rubbing the burn. He recoiled further as Jake’s whole body glitched in a showy display, though Dan made sure to be never out of reach. 

  “They’re still out there.” Jake murmured. 

  “Who?”

  “My mother. Aaron. Dan, Dan, I can’t-“ His form glitched further, and Jake clamped his hands over his mouth to cover an anguished groan. 

  Dan could have sworn, just for a second, Jake seemed skeletal. 

  Dan paused before reaching back out, ignoring the burning, simply to lay a hand back on Jake’s knee. They sat there for a bit, waiting for Jake’s breathing to even out. Once it did, Jake leaned back on the couch and laid his head on Dan’s shoulder. 

  “…What if…Hey, Dan?”

  “Hmm?” 

  Jake counted his breaths, still leaning against his best friend. He laid a hand on each knee, palms facing the air. 

  “When I came back, I was just…angry. I was angry at them. I was angry at myself. I wanted to hurt them for what they did to me. Dan, I still do—more than anything, just, like…I don’t know. It’s like…sometimes I can’t focus, and all I can do is feel and…” Jake swallowed. “Dan, what if, one day, that’s just it?” 

  “What do you mean?” 

  “What if one day I’m just…angry? I chase it, or, more specifically,  I chase them. And that’s it, I’m not me anymore at all. I’m gone, and nothing but anger.” 

  “That’s not going to happen.” 

  Jake laughed dryly. “How can you be so sure?” 

  “Because I’m going to drag you back, whether you like it or not.” 

  Dan sighed, forcing a smile at Aaron, restarting the car. 

“You ready?” 

  “As much as I can be.” 

  “You…could probably move up here if you’d be more comfortable.” 

  “Nah, I’d rather not sit next to the guy using me for ghost bait.” 

  Dan shifted the car into reverse but did not take his foot off the break. 

  “What?” 

  “C’mon, you think I haven’t seen Scooby Doo? Or literally any ghost movie?” Aaron smiled back  lazily. “I might be dumb but I’m not stupid. As soon as you pulled me aside to say you didn’t plan on taking the kid, I knew you’re just going to throw me in there and hope for the best. Am I wrong?” 

  “…No, but! I have a plan.” Dan turned back to the road pulled out of the driveway. “If he’s looking for you, then we get you inside. You distract him long enough for me to salt a circle around the house, and then we talk to him and convince him to come back home.” 

  “It doesn’t seem very thought out.” Aaron fiddled in his pockets before producing his lighter. He flickered it a few times. “It also sounds like you’re setting me up to be killed.” 

  “I’m not. He’s just…angry with you.” 

  “Oh, it’s okay. You can say it. I, along with my mother, ruined his short and miserable life, and were the reason for his life being so short and miserable. It’s pretty much all over your face, anyway.” Aaron looked out the window. “I can’t blame him.” 

  “Why are you going along with it then? If you knew this whole time…” Dan trailed off, trying to remember how to get there based off of memory alone. 

  “Mind If I smoke in here?” Aaron asked. 

  “Actually, yes-“ 

  “Too bad. Consider it my last meal on death row.” Aaron lit his third cig of the reunion period. “And to answer your question…I don’t know.” 

  He took a drag before continuing, cigarette still in his mouth. He talked out of the other corner of his mouth. 

  “I keep telling myself I’m on my way to be a good person. I have the chance to make amends of any kind, even though it’s…weird. If I don’t take it, can I really call myself a better person, much less a good one?” 

  Dan looked at him through the rear view mirror. Aaron immediately turned red, shrinking in on himself for the slip of the tongue. 

Dan was quiet for a moment, rolling down a window to air out the smoke filling the car. 

  “It’s not your last meal on death row. Unless you try something—in which case you have to worry about me coming after you— nothing’s going to happen.” 

  Aaron just laughed and rolled back up the window. He took out the cigarette out of his mouth and glanced in Dan’s direction. 

  “You make a lot of promises, big guy. Do you think you can keep all of them?” 

  —-

  The new house was charming. It was a quaint blue suburban with a well-kept yard. The driveway was empty and all the lights were off but the ones outside the door, seeming to welcome in any visitors that might come its way. 

  It was hard to imagine a furious blaze that destroyed its predecessor. Or, even before that, the screaming matches, the blood and tears shed that painted the halls. 

  “Damn, you weren’t kidding.” Dan and Aaron sat in the car, parked at the street. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

  “I’m positive,” Aaron said. “The real question is how we’re going to get in. Are we just gonna, what, waltz up to the door? ‘Hey, we’re looking for a ghost of one of the guys that lived here when he grew up. Don’t worry, he didn’t die here, but I was the one that burned it down!’”

  “It wouldn’t hurt to try.” Dan shrugged. “It doesn’t look like anyone’s at home, though.” 

  Dan reached and grabbed his pre-packed backpack. 

  “Okay, I have kitchen salt and walkie-talkies and I think those have full battery.” He tossed one to Aaron who looked at him blankly. 

  “Why the fuck do you have these?” 

  “Because I’m an adult and I can. Make sure yours is on channel 2.” 

  “Okay, but-“ Aaron flipped his between his hands. “If I’m inside and you’re salting the outside or whatever, wouldn’t it be easier if I just. Y’know. Yelled?” 

  “Maybe, but we’re guests. It doesn’t look like anybody’s home, but I don’t want to wake up the whole neighborhood.” Dan got out of the car, looking back over his shoulder at Aaron. “Besides, this way lets me get back to you right away.”

  “Okay, okay. New question,” Aaron said as he climbed out of the car. “What if he’s not even here? This was just a hunch, and it’s not like me and Jake were the closest. This was a bad idea. What if-“ 

  With that, the sound of a guitar strum filled the air, the vibrations of which seeming to shake Aaron to his core. The sound caused the front door to crash open and the porch lights dimmed before turning to a brilliant cyan. 

  Aaron took one horrified look, but before he could climb back in the car, Dan clamped a hand on his shoulder and closed the door behind him. 

  “No, I’m pretty sure Jake’s here.” 

  —

  “…And they just left you?” 

  Milo, laying face-first on Cody’s bed, just groaned in response. 

  “Why?” 

  “Too dangerous.” Milo lifted his head up just enough to talk. “Dan said something about Jake ‘not being himself’ or whatever.” 

  Then Milo slammed his face back down on the comforter and groaned again. Cody sat down on the edge of the bed, patting Milo’s back. 

  “Want to talk about it?”

  Milo shook his head, but pulled himself up and scooted  to sit next to Cody. Milo sniffled, laying his head on Cody’s shoulder.

  The two sat like that for a moment, Cody thinking. Something was off about this, but he couldn’t put his finger on what. 

  “Did Dan go by himself?” He asked. 

  “No.” Milo replied. Cody kept looking at him expectantly, so Milo sighed before continuing. “He went with Jake’s jerk brother.” 

  “Huh.” 

  The room was silent for a moment. 

  “Did Jake or Dan ever tell you what happened in the haunted house? With the demon?” 

  “No. I don’t really remember anything about it really except waking up in the hospital.” Milo said. “Jake didn’t visit me because he was si-Wait a minute. That was a lie too, wasn’t it?!”

  Cody just laughed nervously in response. 

  “Ugh. So. What did I miss, then?” 

  “Well, I mean. You were tossed from the third floor, so I guess it makes sense that you don’t remember. But…after we moved you, Jake got really quiet.” Cody absentmindedly touched the nicely-healed scar on his forehead from the flying debris. “He told me to keep us out of danger? I guess?” 

  “Yeah?” 

  “Yeah. Then he kinda. Blew up? I guess? His skin-“ Cody shuddered. “He became a skeleton and his clothes changed to this suit. He yelled ‘no one hurts my family,’ and then he…ripped the demon apart, piece by piece.” 

  Milo was quiet before lifting his head off of Cody’s shoulder. 

  “Jake did?” 

  “Yeah.”

  “The blonde one.”

  “Yes, Milo, I can tell apart your dads.” 

  “…Sorry. Continue.” 

  “Okay, so-“ Cody began. “The house caught on fire a little bit because Jake was on fire and he was burning the…remains. That’s when Dan showed up.” 

  Cody fidgeted with his hands for a moment. 

  “Jake turned back to normal, but he used too much energy.” Cody continued. “Then he was…gone. Dan picked you up and helped us get out.” 

  “Why’d didn’t you tell me that…?” 

  “Jake is a ghost?” Cody shrugged. “I thought about it, but I thought it was something he should say. Besides, once he was back to normal, he looked really sad and…scared?” 

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. I think part is that he was worried about what you’d think,” Cody said. “And part because it was scary to see him mad. It was like he couldn’t focus on anything but beating the demon. I think he burned up a lot of energy;  it took him a long time to reform.” 

  The room was quiet for another moment before Milo spoke. 

  “Dan and Aaron are going to the house Jake grew up in because it’s somewhere that would make him upset still,” he said. “Do you think…”

  “That he might be vengeful?” Cody swallowed a lump in his throat. “Maybe. Probably, if it’s somewhere upsetting enough trigger that mode.”

  “Wait,” Milo paled. “Do you think Dan’s in trouble?” 

  “…Maybe? I don’t- oh! I know! Do you know the address?” 

  “Uh, no.” Milo shrunk in on himself slightly.  “But I think they said the town.” 

  “Dang. Well, I guess that’s a place to start.” Cody got up went to the computer. “Okay, so we can look through 9-1-1 logs online. If the people living in that house called the police, the transcript should be here. And so if they called the police-“

  “Jake isn’t acting like Jake.” Milo finished. 

  “Yep!” Cody sat down on the office chair, typing some stuff in before freezing. “This…might take a bit, trying to narrow it down to the address.” 

  “Wait- the house is new I think. Aaron said something about somebody burning it down.” 

  “That helps! If I look up the town and arson- do you know when that happened?” 

  “I don’t know. Jake said he died about 10 years ago, and Aaron said their mom put a restraining order on her only living son, so maybe it was about the same time?” 

  “Okay…so if we narrow it down…” Cody trailed off, furiously typing and clicking through the pages. “Oh! I think this is it. House burned down…suspicious in origin… ’Donna Pierly could not be reached for comment at this time.’ Aaaaaaand- here’s the address!” 

  Cody opened a document and copied and pasted the address. 

  “Okay, so now let’s look through the 9-1-1 logs.” Cody was silent for a moment, digging through some files. He seemed to find it and froze, before turning around and forcing a nervous smile at Milo. 

  “Okay, do you want the good news or bad news first?”

  “Good news,” Milo said. 

  “Good news is, Jake was there at least as of last night. Bad news? He’s almost certainly in vengeance mode and Dan (and Jake’s brother, I guess) are probably in trouble.” 

  —

  Aaron was in trouble. 

  Dan cracked open the salt as the two stood on the doorstep.

  “Remember, if you need me, use the walkie-talkie. As soon as I’m done, I’ll be right inside to talk to him.” 

  Aaron simply glared at Dan as a response. Dan gave a thumbs up. Aaron looked away, sighed, and took a step inside. 

  The door immediately slammed behind him. 

  The house was dark. Pictures lined the walls of complete strangers. 

A young couple was featured in most of them. Some were of their families; seeing all of them smiling, pictures hung with nothing short of careful thought and love made Aaron’s stomach churn in jealousy. 

  As Dan earlier suspected, the house was empty. The lights were all off, though there was faint music coming from the direction of where Jake’s room once was. 

Aaron took out his phone and turned on the flashlight feature. He turned it around, looking around the house. 

  More pictures. Some plants. The house’s layout was different, but it was still the cleanest Aaron had ever seen it. It was charming. Aaron’s eyes caught a painted portrait of the Virgin Mary. It was set up in the living room with a frame painted gold. 

  Aaron went to take a closer look, when he felt breathing on the back of his neck. Aaron whipped his head around. No one was there, though blood suddenly splattered the hallway where Aaron was moments before. 

  Aaron gasped and staggered back, into a solid form. It grabbed his shoulder before spinning him around. 

  A skeletal form was standing there. Its- no, his- blonde hair was the only real recognizable feature. His features were sharp. He was wearing a sharp suit, though slightly decayed at the ends. 

  “You.” 

  Aaron broke into a cold sweat, immediately taking a step back. The ghost didn’t move, simply glaring daggers. 

And, as such, Aaron took off running toward the door. The specter made no approach.

  Aaron began furiously wiggling the knob, which had locked itself sometime after Aaron entered. As he went to unlock it, a searing pain shot through his fingers. Aaron recoiled, stumbling backwards. 

He looked at his hand, seeing the start of a burn. Blisters were already beginning at the tips of his fingers. 

  Aaron swallowed, clutching his injured hand. He sighed, trying to muster up as much courage as he could, before turning around. 

  “You can’t run back to Donna this time,” the ghost said. “You don’t just get away with what you did.” 

  “…Jake?”

  “Don’t play dumb.” Jake vanished before reappearing a few feet in front of Aaron.

  Aaron backed up, pressing against the door. Aaron hissed in pain as the door knob, still scalding, pressed into his lower back. Aaron sidestepped to try and move away from the door, inching toward the living room. Jake watched him. 

  “Hey…bro…” Aaron said, trying to change the subject. How long does making a salt circle take, anyway? “How have you been?” 

  “Funny thing about that,” Jake started. 

  The skeleton form began to shutter, his joints jerking sporadically. It glitched a few times before Jake’s skin reappeared. It really did look like Jake, though he was still wearing the suit. 

  And his eyes were glowing red. 

  “I’ve been dead, Aaron.”

  It took a second for Aaron to register that he was looking up at Jake. Jake was hovering a couple feet off the ground, closing in the distance. 

  Jake picked Aaron up by his shirt, holding him up. 

  “You already forgot? Because I think it goes like this-“ Jake turned around and threw Aaron, leaving him skidding across the floor. “You showed up. You came to my home to hurt me again.” 

  Aaron swallowed harshly and forced himself to a mostly-sitting position. 

  “It wasn’t enough when we were little. You came back that day, to what? Finish the job? I’m dead. I have been for a decade.”

  Cyan flames began rising behind Jake. It didn’t seem to burn the furniture, but Aaron was able to feel the heat already. He began scooting back, shaking a bit in fear. 

  Jake watched Aaron’s slight retreat for a moment before exploding. Embers went flying, scattering across the room. Some landed on Aaron, which he quickly tried to brush off and put out. 

  “Say something! Say anything!”

  Aaron cringed before realizing he’d have to speak. He racked his brain but said the first thing that came to mind. 

  “I’m sorry.” 

  Jake froze as Aaron forced himself to continue. 

  “I hurt you, Jake. Mom and I- you shouldn’t have had to deal with that. With us. But this isn’t you.” 

  Jake glared at Aaron for a second before lowering so his feet touched the floor. Despite the fiery color of his eyes, his glare was icy. 

  “You wouldn’t know.” 

  “You’re right! I probably wouldn’t. But I was with your family all day. And they never stopped talking about you or looking for you.” 

  Jake’s eyes softened for a moment before his form shuddered. His back arched before his upper body lurched forward marionette with cut strings. 

  “My family? Dan tried to get rid of me. Milo hates me. And you…” 

   Jake took one step toward. His form glitched again, this time appearing…younger. He looked like he did when he left home, wearing baggy clothes and hair dyed black. Bruising covered half of his face. However, this form seemed completely deadpan. 

  “You made me become this.” Jake’s hands caught on fire. “How’s that for family, Aaron?” 

  “Jake-“ Aaron felt his pockets for the walkie-talkie but came up empty. 

He whipped his head around the room, and instead saw it toward the door. It must have fallen off when he was thrown. Aaron looked back up at Jake wide-eyed. 

  “We never had to be alone, we never had to deal with Mom. It could have been us against the world.” Jake glitched again, briefly appearing as a child with broken fingers wrapped in a homemade splint. As soon as it was there, it was gone again. “But you decided a broken toy would be more fun.”

  Teenage Jake grabbed Aaron by the leg with his still-burning hands. Aaron yelped in pain; it didn’t burn the fabric of his pants at all, but he felt the burning underneath.  

  He dragged Aaron back toward the living room before dropping him. 

  “Listen, I’m sorry-“ Aaron tried again. 

  “Quit saying that!” Jake cried. 

  “No! I-I’m not. Jake, it’s okay to be angry.” 

  Jake froze. 

  “Listen, I hurt you. Mom hurt you. I’m trying to become a better person and, my therapist made me realize something.” 

  Jake’s form shuddered again, though he didn’t approach Aaron further. 

  “You can be angry. What you went through-what we went through. It only makes sense to be angry.” Aaron pulled his injured leg back slowly, trying not to get Jake’s attention in doing so. “But if we let it consume us, we just hurt the people we care about.” 

  “But Mom-“ 

  Jake finally showed emotion again. It was an expression that Aaron had only seen for seconds at a time. It was a look of panic and pain. Seeing it on the younger Jake, bruised and battered all these years later was almost too much. 

Almost. 

  “Jake, I haven’t seen Mom in years.” Aaron forced a laugh and pulled back more of his hair to show off his ear piercings. “I took a page out of your book. I got out and- and I could do anything I wanted! I got these done because I knew she wouldn’t approve. Not to mention the tattoo-“

  Jake glitched and raised an eyebrow. 

  “Your point.” 

  “Oh! Right. I finally went to therapy. And, Jake…it’s now like I instantly became I better, or-whatever, because that’s not how therapy works.” Aaron slowly began getting himself up, trying not to set off Jake. 

  “But I realized just how bad our Mom was. And how bad I was. Of course you’re angry. I’m angry too, a lot. No one asked you to forgive me. If you let it consume you, you just…repeat the cycle.” 

  Aaron stood up fully, trying not to put pressure on his burned leg. 

  “This isn’t Donna’s house. I burned it down years ago. This is just some random strangers’ place now.” Aaron held out a hand. “Just because it wasn’t us against the world then doesn’t mean I don’t care about you, too. Or that I’m not sorry.”

  Finally, Jake’s form glitched until it was back to his adult form, though he still had the expression of a distrustful child. His eyes flickered cyan for a moment, looking at Aaron’s hand. 

“I-“

“Jake, your family is waiting. They miss you want you to go home.” 

  Just as Jake began reaching for Aaron’s hand, the walkie-talkie went off. 

  “Aaron, I’m almost finished setting up the salt circle. I’ll be in in a minute. Over.” 

  Jake looked at the walkie-talkie and back at Aaron before grabbing his hand. Aaron screamed in pain as Jake’s hand ignited, fire running up his arm. 

  The fire retreated after a moment and instead spread across Jake’s body, bringing back the skeleton form. His eyes were solid flaming red as he glared at his younger brother. 

  “‘Go home’, Aaron?” Jake asked. “I should have known this was a trap. I can’t believe I actually trusted you.  Well…” 

  A circle of fire sprung up, trapping Aaron though never searing the floor below. 

  “If I’m going out, I’m taking you with me.” 

  “…Shit.” 

  —

  “We need to get there now! But how do we…” Milo trailed off, beginning to pace the room. 

  “By car would make most sense.” Cody said. 

  Milo gasped. He stopped and walked over to grab Cody by the shoulders, looking at him with starry-eyes. 

  “We steal a car!” 

  “No, we’re not stealing a car. First off, neither of us know how to drive. Second, that’s pretty illegal.” 

  “But-“ 

  “Milo, we’re not taking a car.” 

  “Fiiiine.” Milo groaned and let go of Cody. “What do you suggest then?” 

  “Well, how okay are you with getting grounded?” Cody asked. 

  “Joke’s on you,” Milo grinned. “I’m already grounded. What’s your plan?” 

  “I know my dad’s Uber log-in.” Cody smiled. “We order a ride, sneak out and head that way immediately.” 

  “I knew there was a reason I kept you around.” Milo nudged Cody in the ribs, grin only growing larger.

Cody just burst out laughing. 

  “Bold of you to assume I’m not the one that kept you around. You’re pretty much feral, Milo.” 

  “Yeah, yeah. Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s save my dads!” 

  —-

  Making a salt circle around a house was a lot harder than Dan thought it would be. 

  The first obstacle was trying not to run out of salt early. Dan thought he bought a lot when he picked it up from the store, but apparently he was cutting it close. 

  The second major obstacle was the fence. The owners had locked it, and Dan circled the perimeter. There was no other way to get it other than climbing the fence. 

  Dan thought suburban houses were nice. But the tall fencing was suddenly the bane of his existence. Despite the fact that Dan would consider himself to be pretty strong and relatively in-shape, trying to heft him up over slick wood was distinctively Not Fun. 

  After that, he had to figure out where to continue the salt circle. The house was silent, and the walkie-talkie hadn’t gone off. Dan carefully continued the salt circle from each end, about to meet in the middle. 

  The house was still silent. That sat in Dan’s stomach like a rock, so he took out his walkie-talkie. 

  “Aaron, I’m almost finished setting up the salt circle. I’ll be in in a minute.” Dan said into the device. Leaving it there felt odd, so he hesitated before adding an “Over.” 

  As Dan finished the circle, a shriek came from inside. Dan dropped the container instantly and took off running into the building. 

  —-

  Flames were licking everywhere. Even though it didn’t burn the house and remained smokeless, it still ate up oxygen. 

  Jake watched Aaron cough as the circle of fire slowly closed in. He had collapsed to his knees sometime earlier. Various burns were scattered across his body already, though Jake just watched as his coughing grew heavier. 

  Once he seemed sufficiently dazed, Jake waved away the fire surrounding Aaron.

  Jake held out one hand and summoned his guitar. 

  Aaron barely had the time to look up as Jake swung the guitar directly at his head. 

  Suddenly, the world seemed to topple over. 

  —

  Dan rushed in, watching Jake get ready to swing his guitar at Aaron’s head.

  Dan didn’t really have time to weigh his promises to Milo and Aaron, so he took off running. 

  He managed to shove Aaron out of the way, but the body of the guitar caught him full-speed in the side of the face. 

  And 

  the 

  anchor 

  cracked 

  and 

  broke

  —

“Thank you!” Cody called to the driver. Milo already took off running for the door. 

Technically, he leapt out as the car was still moving, pulling into the driveway. He stumbled a couple times, but nothing could stop him after he saw Dan’s car. 

  “Milo, wait-“ 

  Milo wiggled the door knob, crying out in frustration when it wouldn’t open. 

  “It’s locked!” 

  Cody waved quickly to the driver before running up to the door. 

  “Check under the mat.” Cody instructed. 

  Milo with shaky hands lifted the welcome mat and produced the spare key. He tried to unlock it, but his hands were shaking too badly. Milo dropped the keys and cried out again. 

  Cody just scooped it up and unlocked the door for him. Milo rushed in, but almost toppled over skidding to a stop as he took in the scene. 

  The room was still hot. Aaron had dragged himself in one corner, nursing some of the worse burns on his arm. He seemed barely conscious . 

  Milo whipped his head around before seeing Dan on the ground. Kneeling near him was a flickering, translucent Jake. 

  “-ilo, I’m -oRry-“ Jake looked up at Milo with wide and panicked brown eyes. Tears were streaming down Jake’s face. 

  Milo took a shaky step closer. As he approached, he realized Jake was trying to cradle Dan’s head, but Jake was phasing through him entirely. 

  “MiLo…”  Jake held out a hand, though it vanished. No glitching. No light show. His hand just disappeared. 

  Piece by piece, the same thing happened to Jake’s form. He was disappearing. Jake looked himself over before trying to force a reassuring smile to Milo. 

  It was entirely unconvincing, though, with the waterfalls cascading down his cheeks. 

  Milo fell to his knees, shocked and unable to bring himself to approach more. Tears began trailing down his cheeks too, but Milo didn’t immediately realize it. 

  Jake’s legs disappeared, then his torso chunks at a time. It began occurring quicker, until Jake was essentially  just shoulders and a head. He looked at himself again, and then back to Milo. 

  “I lOve yoU.” 

  And like that, Jake faded away entirely. 

  Milo didn’t process Cody running over, turning over Dan. 

He didn’t process Cody gagging at the swelling already occurring on the side of Dan’s face, or Cody telling him that Dan’s cheek or jaw was almost definitely broken. 

  He didn’t process the slight blood trail dribbling down Dan’s lips from broken teeth, or Cody moving rolling Dan on his side. 

  He didn’t process Cody calling for help, or sitting next to him to hug him tight and say whatever reassurances came to mind. 

  No. 

  All Milo could focus on were the pieces of Jake’s guitar, from the broken neck to the fractured body, a faint cyan glow still  illuminating it in the dark room.