technically, ghosts brought us together

techincally, ghosts brought us together

Ryan's biggest concern was not dying in a darkened dirty alley somewhere while his killer stripped him of his identification. Arguably, that's his main concern in life: not dying. He thoroughly enjoyed having to wake up the next day with no knife wounds or life-threatening injuries. So ordering something off of some website that definitely could lead to the said alley was worrying, to say the least.

He had been looking for something to spice up his ghost-hunting equipment and lo and behold; the exact thing he was looking for.

A spirit box.

Apparently, the box could create white noise that spirits can manipulate and speak through. Ryan had seen a few YouTube videos talking about it and demonstrating how to properly use it and even how to build one at home. (Ryan tried but got fed up loosing screws and not having the right size screwdriver.) The seller described the box as 'useless' and rambled on how ghosts weren't real. Usually, Ryan would ignore the people who talked against the validity of ghosts but the few jokes thrown into the rambles gave him a good chuckle or two.

Finally, the seller ended his ramble with an "only used it once, the ghosts ran because of the awful sound" and listed his price as fifteen dollars, which is such a steal as usually, the price range was much higher. And that's how Ryan was driving into an abandoned parking lot next to an apartment building which was close to his own house; Ryan eternally grateful he didn't have to travel to China to get his hands on it.

There were two cars there with two potential people Ryan was meeting up with. One car was broken down with all its doors open and two feet dangled out, with scraps of not-white-anymore socks clothing them. He heard slight singing coming from them and it wasn't bad but it wasn't really good either. He was singing something about a chicken and corn or something. Ryan chewed on his bottom lip with only one thought on his mind

Please don't let that guy kill me.

The other guy was sitting in the front seat, the door opened and revealing his long legs. He had shoes, socks, and pants so he was clearly the better option. Ryan drove up and parked near the entrance and that was enough for both of their heads to perk up and watch intensely as Ryan stopped the car and got out, slamming the car door behind him. He turned and the one fully dressed smiled and stood up.

Thank god.

The stranger was grossly tall, at least a head taller than himself and he had such a chaotic and smug aura that made Ryan smirk at his mere leisurely stroll toward him. In his hands was the spirit box- well he assumed so since it was cloaked in a small white box that showed off his lean fingers. He stopped short and sort of leaned on the hood of Ryan's black sleek car, which he sort of frowned about, and placed the box on top.

"I assume you're Ryan Bergara?" The seller spoke with a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"Yes, that'll be me," Ryan moved closer to shake his outstretch hand, "And you are?"

"Shane Madej." Shane smiled and it was a soft one, his smug aura slightly depleting.

Ryan nodded slowly, repeating the name in his head like a chant to remember it. "So the ghosts ran away from the sound, huh?" Ryan smiles goofily as Shane chuckled and looked down at the box. He nudged it with his ring finger.

"Yup, this darn thing is useless. Really, I feel awful for even charging anybody for this crap."

"Really? Why.. why did you even buy it?"

Shane smiled and focused his attention back on Ryan which kind of made him feel shorter than he already was. "This is what actually made me not believe in ghosts. Honestly, it spouts out noise and it's too ambiguous," Shane shrugged again. "Anyway, we agreed on fifteen?"

Ryan let his eyes linger before he snapped back into the motions. He nodded and reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. "You know, I actually go to haunted locations and try to suss out ghosts," Ryan handed a wad of cash to Shane. "Maybe I can change your mind?"

Shane smirked and slid the box closer to Ryan. "Oh? You're inviting me to a ghost adventure?"

Ryan pursed his lips. In a way, he was actually asking a complete stranger to hang out with him in a remote location where they can both get murdered. Guess Ryan's concern of being killed is out the window.

"Yeah! It'll be fun," He smiled openly at Shane and grabbed the box from off the hood. "I was planning to go to a supposedly haunted asylum."

Shane hummed and rolled his eyes up to the sky before looking back at Ryan. "Yeah, sure. I got nothing else to do. Here when you're ready, text me." Shane produced a pen from a hidden pocket from his jacket and scribbled something down on Ryan's palm.

Ryan nodded and glanced down at the blue ink on his hand. "See ya then, Madej."

Shane has already turned away and walked off to his car. "See ya, Bergara."
-
"Literally nothing happened. You got scared because of the wind!"

"Shut up! We got evidence from the spirit box." Ryan snapped back and watched Shane dissolve into laughter. They were just leaving a gross house and walking to Ryan's car.

Shane rolled his eyes and glanced down at the noisy box in Ryan's still trembling hands. "That joke? Please," He rolled his eyes and shrugged.

Ryan shook his head in mock disappointment, "This 'joke' made you tag along to multiple haunted locations with me, do not mock its integrity!"

Shane shrugged and shoved his hands in his pocket, clearly disguising his glee for nonchalant. "Whatever you say, Ryan."