Ghosts {L.P.}

2:10

Riya winced as she accidentally plucked the wrong string. It wasn't a noticeable mistake, in fact, it added more depth if you hadn't known it wasn't purposeful, but Riya still knew it was a mistake—even if a beautiful one. Which led her to hang her head to stare at her plucking fingers instead, watching each string vibrate under her hold and fingers scab over with callouses from the metal strings.

"Finally! I've been looking all over for you." Immediately, Riya stopped playing, choosing to sigh heavily instead while she closed her eyes.

That voice had been the exact one she had been trying to drown out from the beginning of the day, a voice she wished she could forget, but the holder was far too persistent.

Not only was Luke a trespasser, but he was starting to become a stalker. And that wasn't what Riya needed regarding a ghost who could poof everywhere, and she could touch—although hitting him with a bat sounded like a satisfying ordeal in her head.

"What part of I won't help you wasn't clear the first time?"

"Please, I just need-"

"Luke, I already told you. I'm not helping any ghost with their..." Riya cut herself off as she raised her head to give Luke a glare from the reflection in the mirror, except it wasn't only Luke in the room.

Next to Luke—though she probably had no clue he was even there—was another girl in a camouflage printed bedazzled jumper, who Riya supposed was a student. She seemed thoroughly shocked at Riya, which she already knew the meaning of the look, the crazy allegations were coming back.

Immediately, Riya panicked while holding the guitar close to her chest as to not hurt it and pushed herself to her feet, the chair she was sitting on scraping loudly against the polished floor with how abruptly she had stood.

"I didn't realize there'd be someone else here," Riya laughed awkwardly at her words. Though the girl with her curly hair pulled back into a high ponytail didn't seem to care at the awkwardness, still to busy staring at Riya as if she had grown second and third heads.

"I promise I'm not crazy, there's a lot of studies proving that talking to yourself is actually really healthy. In fact, I can recommend you a couple of really good ways to help your mental health, or maybe you're just not interested and that's totally fine! I should probably just go, this has been fun—"

"You can see him too?" The girl interrupted Riya's rambling as she had begun to place the guitar back into place, both now emanating equal amounts of shock at each other.

"You can see this guy?" Riya pointed at Luke and the girl nodded, staring straight at Luke before looking back at Riya.

Not through Luke, at Luke.

Riya didn't know whether to be relieved there was someone else like her, or to be skeptic if the girl was just playing to her delusions to start up the rumour of the ghost-loving girl again.

Luke, on the other hand, was completely unbothered by both shocked girls, still grinning happily while looking between the two.

"Girl who won't tell me her name, this is Julie, we're kind of crashing in her garage. Julie, this is the girl who won't tell me her name."

"Riya."

"What?"

"My name's Riya." She corrected, making Luke's grin even wider—if possible—while he kept wringing his hands and jumping in place.

Riya was starting to notice Luke just couldn't stand still anywhere. He was constantly jumping, dancing, or moving his hands around.

He also seemed like a generally happy person, even for a dead ghost. She had yet to see him sad and with any other emotion but scared and happy—and even when scared, he still looked a hint of happy.