Dancing with Your Ghost [on hold]

f o u r

I got lost when you walked with my hand in your hand
I got lost when you asked me if I'd like to dance

Dawning of Spring
- Anson Seabra

»»————-　➴　————-««

The déjà vu seemed to attack him in waves of familiarity, reprinting itself onto his skin.

They say photographs can't capture the true essence of something the way our naked eyes do. They must be right. Taehyung didn't feel this weight on his chest when he saw the photograph, but now it left him gasping for air.

"Ghostie?" Jeongguk whispered, standing close.

He almost forgot he was with him.

"I've been here," Taehyung blurted, blinking rapidly, "I don't know how... or when but I have."

Jeongguk looked down, eyes widening when he noticed the ravenhead's feet sinking into the cement. "Um," he peeped, "Are you okay?"

"I need to go inside."

"It's Saturday. The theater closes on weekends."

Taehyung wasn't listening, storming towards the entrance as if tranced. His feet dropped deeper and deeper into the surface, swallowing him up to his knees—

"Stop!" Jeongguk cried.

At once, a dozen eyes were on him. He didn't have his phone pressed to his ear.

"I'm sorry— sorry," he rambled nervously towards the murmuring passersby. He reached Taehyung with a few big strides and rosy cheeks. "Look at you! You're sinking," he hissed.

The ravenhead finally snapped out of it, levitating back to ground level. He met Jeongguk's doe eyes with his own, equally horrified.

"I don't know— I don't— That never happened so quickly before." Taehyung instinctively reached for Jeongguk, seeking stability, but his hands went right through him. Shaken, he curled himself into a ball and crouched down.

"Hey."

Steadying his breathing, Taehyung slowly reopened his eyes. The chestnut boy had kneeled beside him, concern layered on his features and camera bag on the floor.

At this point, everyone around them must've thought Jeongguk had gone mad. But his attention had zeroed in on none other than Taehyung.

"What just happened?" the chestnut boy asked gently.

Taehyung sighed, eyeing the few women who stand by the pavement staring. "I think I got overwhelmed— in a bad way. It happens. Just— never that deep, never that quickly."

More worry laced into Jeongguk's eyebrows as he blocked out the sunlight with his arm. "I want to help you."

"I'm okay," the ravenhead intercepted. He inhaled, rising back onto his feet. "I just need to find a way in."

Jeongguk didn't defy his decision this time. "Is there a back door of some sort so people can quit staring at us?"

It was as if the question had sparked an immediate response from Taehyung. "On the left side, under the wing," he said, clasping a hand over his mouth immediately afterward, "I don't know why I know that."

"Let's go then. If it makes you feel better."

They rounded a corner, reaching the door partially hidden behind two parked trucks and a giant oak tree. It read in big bolder letters—

STAGE DOOR

"It's locked," Jeongguk said, gaze narrowing at the buttons demanding a passcode.