Phantasm || irwin

[ 32 ] 2013

[ 32 ] 2013

When Calum left that night, Ashton remained in Harley's bedroom. He had nowhere else to go. The house that now belonged to the Quinns was the only home he knew. She had gone into her bathroom to change into something comfortable for the night and emerged wearing a pair of white shorts and a black tank top that Cindy had given her with the words 'St. Genevieve's Cheerleading' on it. Her hair dyed black with electric blue tips was pulled back into a pony tail. It was a warm night in the Australian summer and she wanted to keep refreshed.

Ashton coughed awkwardly, looking at the way she was dressed. "Doll, don't you think that's a bit too exposed?"

She rolled her eyes at him and climbed into her bed. Her legs kicked her thick blanket to the other side, she wouldn't be using it. Rolling her eyes playfully at him, she said, "I don't want to bake like a chicken in this heat just because seeing skin makes you uncomfortable." A smile played on her lips. She always found it rather amusing the way in which he had seen several generations go by, yet his mind was still stuck in the early sixties.

"It doesn't make me uncomfortable." He told her. "Not in the way you think."

"I'm not thinking anything." She said to him innocently.

After she spoke, there was a silence between them which lasted a couple of minutes. Harley bit her lip nervously, noticing that there were thoughts that bothered him. She wanted to know what those were. It was a few more moments before he finally spoke up. He had been debating with himself on whether or not he should ask her, but he needed an answer. "Harley, can I ask you a question and will you promise you'll answer truthfully?"

She nodded, but said nothing.

His face completely serious, he continued, "Ever since you moved here, you have made things more interesting. Before I met you, all I wanted was to move on, to be reunited with my family wherever it is that souls go once the body dies. But now...I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you because...I've realized I'm in love with you. My question for you is...what are your feelings for me?"

"Oh Ashton," She began, "I really like you too. You're so kind and you always help me whenever I need you." Harley paused for a moment. She was definitely attracted to Ashton, but how normal would it be for her to admit that she could possibly be in love with a ghost? 

Her thoughts then drifted to Calum. He also did so much for her. Calum actually cared about her. 

"If you are unsure of your answer..." He sighed, his hazel eyes looking down at the ground. "Take your time, I don't want to rush you." Her lack or a response wasn't exactly a bad thing, but he knew it wasn't a good thing either. In his fear and hesitance to show her how he felt, he thought maybe it had taken him too long.

"Ashton..." She began.

But he stopped her. "I'm going to go find Claire and have a talk with her. Hopefully she'll believe I've changed my mind and am willing to help her. Goodnight, doll."

"Goodnight." Harley said back, but he was already gone.

-

When Harley woke up the next morning, Ashton still wasn't back. She wondered what had happened to him. Her thoughts made her assume the worst; that maybe he had gotten back together with Claire and wanted to continue to the afterlife with her. 

She got out of bed, dressed as she was and went downstairs for breakfast before she would return to her room to shower and get dressed for school. Her jaw dropped in surprise when there was a new person at the kitchen table, chatting with her mother, but this was a person she knew from before moving to Sydney. They both turned at they heard Harley walk in. The girl sitting at the table with Harleen took one look at Harley and crinkled up her nose. "St. Genevieve's Cheerleading?" She read the words on Harley's shirt, but they came out as a question. "Since when are you a cheerleader?"