𝘎𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴! - south park

𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐗𝐈 - 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰

˗ˏˋ꒰ 👻 ꒱

[Name] didn't come upon that eerie feeling again, but the memory of it popped back into their mind for fleeting moments whenever they went back to the graveyard at the end of a job. The curiosity on what, or maybe who, the entity that had observed them once always lingered in the crevices of their brain, occasionally pushed to the forefront of their mind at random times.

Today, as they hung out with Butters, was one of those times. The backdrop for their thoughts was consistent with every time they visited the Stotch residence, sitting on Butters' carpet as they drew and chatted about whatever. They did other things, sure, but this was what the duo usually fell back on.

[Name] shifted their pencil from the starry jellyfish sketch had been working on, beginning to doodle a few eyes on the corner of the page. As they shaded to the best of their ability, their mind averted back to the mystery entity. When it did, the eye drawings suddenly took on a creepier energy to them. Like they were the eyes that had stared from what [Name] could only assume was the woods.

Butters noticed his companion's spacey expression, taking on a worried countenance himself. "Hey fella," he started to catch their attention, continuing once he was successful in doing so, "are you doin' okay? You seem like you've got somethin' on your mind.."

[Name] glanced down at the eyes that littered an edge of their paper, before letting their [e/c] irises go back to their friend's face. "I'm alright, it's nothing much." They paused momentarily, brainstorming a way to switch topics off their obviously troubled mind. "Do you wanna do that thing where we draw something and switch papers every five minutes?" Relief flooded through them when Butters' cheery answer came, "Sure buddy!"

The rest of their hangout went off without a hitch, and soon enough the eyes that resided on the corner of that doodle page, which had found its place in Butters' drawing pile, meant nothing more than a simple sketch. The reminder of what [Name] had felt that one day retreated to the back of their mind once more.

˗ˏˋ꒰ 👻 ꒱

A few days later, after encountering him in Tweek Bros. Coffeehouse, [Name] was invited over to Craig's house. They had no clue how they had apparently managed to get into the space loving boy's good graces, but they weren't going to complain. Especially not when they found out that he had a guinea pig.

They showed up to his house that day with the personal goal to pet Stripe implanted in their mind. When they had been allowed inside Craig's room, they instantly searched the room for the guinea pig's cage. Their eyes caught on the fluorescent stars stuck to the ceiling, and a few of the Red Racer posters scattered across the walls, before finally landing on the big cage that resided in a corner of the room.

[Name] hastily made their way over to it, sitting down and peering in between the bars. They barely even noticed Craig do the same once they caught sight of the tiny, fluffy creature scuttling about. They heard a small rustling noise coming from the black haired boy's direction, but they paid it no mind. Instead, they watched as Stripe slowly approached their translucent form curiously.

Soon enough, the rustling noise died down, replaced by the crinkling of a plastic bag right next to them. It was enough for [Name] to break their [e/c] gaze away from the adorable rodent before them, focusing back on the teen beside them. Craig now held a bag full of shredded carrots between them, holding it out to the spirit. "You can give him a few," he offered, noticing how much they seemed to like the animal.

[Name] muttered a small 'thanks' in response, followed by a smile as they took the bag. They opened it, reaching in and taking a few shreds of the orange vegetable from it. They inserted them one at a time through the bars, both of the teens watching as Stripe ate the carrots out of their hands.

"Stripe doesn't seem to hate you that much," came Craig's monotone voiced comment after he saw how his guinea pig didn't immediately bite them like it did to almost everyone else. Well, other than Tweek.

[Name] hummed in acknowledgment, letting their fingers linger between the bars after the carrot shreds were gone. They waited for a moment, then reached their index finger a little further in to pet the adorable creature.

Stripe allowed the ghost to pet him for a couple of moments, before reaching up to bite them. "Aww.." [Name] sighed, a little disappointed that the guinea pig didn't like them as much as they would've hoped. Although Craig couldn't say he was too surprised by it, since Stripe only really liked him and Tweek thus far. "Never mind, maybe he does."

˗ˏˋ꒰ 👻 ꒱

[Name] found themself going back to their usual spot a few hours later. Their hangout with Craig went pretty well, getting bit by Stripe aside. They played some rounds of Mario Kart (with [Name] getting their ass kicked every time), and afterwards watched a few episodes of Red Racer. They could definitely tell it was Craig's favorite show, the way his eyes were glued to the screen like his life depended on it. He also occasionally went on little rants about the plot to fill in the details that the spirit was missing, which they appreciated.

But as they approached the familiar graveyard, that same feeling from days ago washed over them in a cold wave of unease. Yet within the ocean of discomfort stemming from the oddness of whatever was nearby, they could feel the warmth of familiarity bloom. It was a little jarring for [Name], considering that they had never met anything that they were certain had passed on already. So why did the presence seem like someone they knew?

As they drew closer to where they had frequently resided, they were able to make out a recognizable assortment of colors on a person they knew all too well. It instantly clicked what, or rather who, that weirdness belonged to. [Name] was certain he had passed on to the afterlife, and they would be right in that assumption, if his energy was anything to go off of.

They approached him, pausing when they were a few paces away from them. Their [e/c] irises met his brown ones, and they could only stare for a moment, processing the sight of their best friend standing in front of them, something they thought they'd never get to see again. "..Philip?"

𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥...