ghost - cake

Thirteen

The following morning, Luke stole a gun. It was old, almost antique, but it was loaded and with a bit of polishing, looked like it had never been fired before. They both knew that was soon to change.

Luke was angry, though, and not only at the man he planned to kill at the first available opportunity. Calum had lied to him, or so he was convinced - told him that he was visible when he was in fact anything but. The blond had managed to sneak into a gun store, steal one, and get out unnoticed.

Not a ghost, huh?

So Calum stayed relatively quiet, not wanting to confront him. He was more confused than fearful, sparing glances in Luke's direction, at the boy who was definitely there. Maybe it was what came with their ability to communicate, and only possible for him? He still didn't believe it. Luke looked too real.

The sudden lack of trust between the two wasn't yet a problem, and both desperately hoped it would stay that way. Neither needed anymore trouble to further complicate their already complicated relationship.

They didn't have any new information to aid their search, so hopelessly wandering and avoiding human contact was the best they could do.

A couple of hours later, although this wasn't clear as the clouds hid the sun and they had no way of telling the time, Calum finally spoke. "I'm sorry, if you thought I was lying. I didn't think I was, but now..."

"It's okay," Luke smiled, small crinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes as he did so. They made him appear much older than seventeen, and suggested that the past had stripped him of his youth. "I just, don't really know what's going on, and I know you don't either. I shouldn't have taken it out on you, I should be grateful you even agreed to help."

Calum nodded sadly, before collapsing on a nearby park bench. Luke took a seat next to him, close enough that their shoulders brushed lightly against each other. "I couldn't have said no. I mean, what else have I got?"

"You've got me."

"Thanks, and you've got me too."

"I guess we ended up in the same position, so at least we have each other. It's nice knowing someone understands, or you know, partially does. You're still not dead yet."

"Yet?" Calum raised his eyebrows, but then shrugged. "Well, I wish fate would hurry up."

"You want to die?"

Calum sighed, refusing to meet Luke's gaze. He hadn't really spoken about this before, and it pained him to say the words. "When this is over, yeah. I don't want to live as a fugitive, and I'm not going back to jail. Death seems like my only option."

"You don't mean that," Luke pleaded. He reached over and brushed the side of his index finger down Calum's cheek, and for a moment he felt as alive as ever. "We'll find the man and make him confess."

"The man can't confess if he's dead, Luke."

"Fine," Luke sighed. "He confesses, and then I kill him. Slowly. Hopefully painfully."

Calum shook his head, placing it in his hands. He then muttered through his fingers, just understandable to Luke. "I don't care what you do, I just want this to all be over with."

Luke opened his mouth to respond, but then quickly closed it again, staring at the gravel beneath his feet. It was strange that Calum would say that to him, yet at the same time, he knew that Calum didn't quite understand it all the way he did.

It wasn't like Calum could read Luke's thoughts, although in his opinion that could've been rather fun. He may not be able to read Calum's anymore, with whatever connection they had before being now broken, but Luke still understood the way he thought, and he struggled to accept that it couldn't be returned.

Luke wanted it over more than anything he'd ever wanted before.

"So do I."

"You know," Calum continued, oblivious of Luke's reply. "When you died, I prayed to whoever the hell is out there that I actually was crazy. It seems stupid, but you were annoying and I was scared and confused. Now, I can't imagine getting through all of this without you."

Luke offered him a small smile. "I've not really done much. There's not anything I can offer but friendship and trust."

"And you think that's not enough? That's all I need, Luke, just to keep going. Sometimes I think it's not worth it, okay, make that sometimes most of the time, but somehow I haven't given up. You're the only reason why."

"I don't mean to rain on your parade," Luke says, fiddling with the handle of the small pistol before sighing and hiding it beneath his shirt. "But I won't be here forever, and you'll be on your own after that."

Suddenly the air seems a little chillier, and Calum's shift in mood seems to be the cause. "It's fine, I'm used to people leaving me. I didn't expect you to be any different."

"That's not what I-"

"Yes it is."

"Can you stop snapping at me every five minutes?" Luke's rage disappears almost as soon as the words escape his lips. "I, uh, thought we were having a moment. That we were finally getting somewhere."

But Calum's guilt kept his mouth firmly shut, too afraid that he might once again react harshly. He knew Luke meant well, but sleep deprivation, several injuries, and being on the run weren't exactly proving a good combination.

Honestly, he was surprised he was able to fight the urge of grabbing the gun and putting a second bullet in Luke's chest just to see if he'd shut up.

Deep down, though, Calum cared for Luke like a long lost friend, and everything he said about the blond getting him through each day was anything but a lie. In fact, he'd never been more truthful.

Maybe they were getting somewhere, maybe they weren't. Nothing really made much sense to him anymore. He had a mission - help Luke - and after that he'd have no direction. Maybe he just had to wait and see what might become of the future, whether it be a blessing or a curse.

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A/n: hi it's me, sorry I'm late x