Visible (M.C.)

Six

"Less pale? Normal? Not dead?" With each word, Michael inches closer to me until I'm pinned down to the couch with him hovering over me. "Alive?" He breathes, mint fanning across my face.

"But you-" he presses a finger to my lips, silencing me.

"Please, I've been wanting to do this since I met you last week." Before I can process what he means, his mouth is attached to mine. I melt in his touch, surprising myself. It's amazing how human he feels, I wish he could be like this all the time.

He pulls away and looks behind me at the wall. Michael sighs, frowning, instantly losing his glow, his warm skin turning back into ice. He sits up and disappears. Standing up, I smooth out my clothes before going into my bedroom to see if he went there. I peak in and see him lay a dress on the made up bed along with a denim vest, heels and tights.

"What are you doing?" I ask him, standing in the doorway. He has his back to me but I can tell by the way it moved that he sighed.

"You only have an hour to get ready." He strides over to the bathroom and turns on my curling iron. He smiles at me sadly and leaves my view completely though I see out of the corner of my eye that he is on the balcony.

I was looking forward to my date with Ashton, but now, after what just happened, not so much. I jog into the bathroom, curling my hair, deciding that if I cancel the date I would feel bad. I feel like Ashton was looking forward to it and I can't just crush him like that. I guess that's why they call liking someone a crush. Once I finish my hair and make up, I step into my dress but struggle with the zipper. I look up and see Michael is leaning on the railing, looking down at the water. I walk over to the balcony, stepping out into the night air.

"Hey Mikey," he turns, startled. "Could you zip my dress?" He nods as I turn my back to him, moving my hair out of the way. I feel his cold touch trail up my spine as he zips the dress up. Goose bumps cover most of my body and I know he notices because he chuckles. The back of my head is suddenly pressed against his chest and his arms are wrapped around my waist, his hands slowly trailing down to my hips. I feel his lips brush over my cheek and up to my ear, stopping there.

"I hope he knows how damn lucky he is, getting to have all of this." My goose bumps become more intense at the sound of how raspy his voice suddenly is. He gives my hips a light squeeze and just as quickly as I was in his hold, he's gone and I'm left standing alone on the balcony.

"Jessie?" I look up and see Ashton standing in the middle of my bedroom, staring at me.

"Oh, hey." I smile and wave at him but he just frowns. "What?"

"I've been waiting on you downstairs for over half an hour," he walks toward me, stepping onto the balcony. "I called your cell and the apartment but you didn't answer. I got worried..." He trails off, looking down at his boots.

"I'm sorry, Ashton, I was daydreaming and lost track of time." Why lie to him? Oh right, because he will think you're crazy if you tell him that you have grown feelings for your ghost roommate and he's been distracting you. "I thought I still had another fifteen minutes."

"It's fine, I had to cancel our reservations though." Great, now I feel even worse.

"I'm so sorry, is there anywhere else we can go?"

"Most places around here are closed by now but I could cook something maybe if you'd like?" I hesitate answering, thinking over the scenarios of how this could go.

"Sure, give me a bit to change and I'll be right down." I follow him to the door and open it for him.

"Okay" he smiles and leaves the apartment. I hear the ding of the elevator and know it's safe to resume "talking to myself".