Dan’s POV
I was scared to show Ana the real me. I’d barely known her and I had no clue if she even was the one, but I had to be willing to try or I might never get out of this. It had taken a lot of time to find the witch that had cursed me, but once I did, I was able to get her to tell me how to reverse this. I had to get a girl to fall in love with me. The hardest part was, I couldn’t touch her in my current state. It was near impossible to make someone fall for you if they couldn’t kiss you, or hold your hand or hug you. Every other girl for the past three years had run out when I told her or blacked out and ended up in a psych ward.
Something told me to trust Anabeth and with my body being entirely transparent right now, I had no choice. My time was running out and I was dying. If Ana wasn’t the one, then that was all there was to it. I would die, and that would be the end of it. Taking a deep breath, I dropped the blanket and grimaced, waiting for the screams. They never came and I feared she’d passed out. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
"I'm, well... I'm a ghost I guess... it's uh, sort of a curse..." I sighed.
"YOU'RE A GHOST? BUT I CAN SEE YOU! EVERYONE CAN SEE YOU! YOU TOUCH THINGS!" She cried.
"I know! I said it's a curse! It's only partial! I can be tangible to everything except humans. They can see me, but not touch me!"
"H-How did t-this happen?!" She asked.
"Well, I was cursed of course, by a witch. I guess her family and my family had some big conflict and I pissed her off and boom I'm a ghost!" I explained. "It's been this way since I was 15... about 3 years now." I sighed. "If I don't fall in love by the end of this year, I become a full ghost and I die and that's it. I'm running out of time and I'm scared." I sat down. I turned solid again and it startled her.
"So why tell me this?" Ana asked.
"I - I really like you, Ana and you're the first girl I've told who didn't pass out and run screaming."
"Oh." She answered. "Well... this is a lot to take in, Dan. I don't know if I can handle this..."
I sighed. "I know. It's fine, really. Just go. I understand that you can't love a ghost. Hell you can't even touch me." Ana stood up, heading for the door.
“I – I just need time, Dan. I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!” She cried, running out the door. I let out a choked sob and fell back on the couch. It was hopeless. I was going to die.
Anabeth’s POV
I felt bad for him, but I was so shocked. I needed time. Time to tell him I loved him too...
The next few days, Dan wasn't in school again. I was worried that something had happened, as Phil was gone too. I worried, but tried not to think negative thoughts too much. A week passed and I'd still heard nothing from either of them. I guessed that maybe Dan was mad at me.
I passed by their flat, only to find it dark. I feared that they’d left, but according to the school, Dan and Phil had called in sick. Sighing, I headed home and tried not to let thoughts of Dan get to me too much. Entering my room, I perked up as it felt colder than usual. I spun around to see Dan standing near the window, wearing a dark hoodie and looking horrible. “Dan!” I gasped, rushing to him, only to remember I couldn’t touch him. “You look ill!”
“I am.” He coughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” He stared out the window distractedly.
“What’s wrong? How can you be sick? I mean, you’re a – a ghost.” I whispered.
“Half-ghost. I guess I can still get sick.” He sighed. “I just needed to see you once more, Ana. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I need to get back home.” He coughed again and his hand went transparent. “I’ve got to go.” He hopped out the window and I looked out to see him taking off running across the field before disappearing altogether. Stunned and shocked, I fell back on the bed and tried to sort out the thoughts in my head.
Was I falling in love with a ghost?
