[Vegas]
"You're not about to make me cut school with you."
To show his disaproval further, Pete grumpily crossed his hands over his chest.
"Come on, it'll be fun," I tried to persuade, pouting my lips at him.
He shook his head, looking away slightly. "Don't give me that face."
I continued on pouting. "What face?"
"That face that always makes me let you get away with just about anything." He glared. "It's how you got me to agree to this whole 3 day rebellion thing."
"I am quite charming, I know." To further prove my point, I winked.
Pete rolled his eyes. "That's not what I'm saying. We shouldn't be going against Leader's rules like this."
"Thought we are rebelling right now?" I smiled. "We'll be like the thai Bonnie and Clyde."
"I don't know who those people are but, what I'm saying is that we shouldn't push it."
"Just this one time, I promise." I hiked the strap of my bag on my left shoulder. "And besides, you're not going to get the full Vegas Theerapanyakul experience until you cut school with him."
Pete huffed as he followed me out of my room. "You know that this whole story was supposed to have a cliche ending?"
I quirked an eyebrow, amused. "Really now?"
"Yeah. It was supposed to end with you becoming good: start paying attention in school, stop cutting classes and become nice to everyone."
I tsked. "Please, cliche things like that only happen in movies."
And at that moment, I felt my chest constrict because if this really was a cliche scenario, Pete would get to stay with me forever but, this was reality and as much as it hurt me to admit, Pete would surely go away soon enough. Very soon. There was this heavy feeling in my chest that I woke up with today. It was like something bad was going to happen any time soon.
I had been trying to push it away as hard as I could but still, it was very present at the back of my mind. Pete would be leaving me soon and I absolutely wasn't ready for it.
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"So where are we going?" Pete asked as he walked right through the fence.
I blew a breath, because I'd just jumped over the school's back fence and I didn't quite land easily on my feet like I'd planned. I felt a bit embarrassed especially because Pete was here, and as silly as it sounded, I wanted so badly to impress him for some reason.
"So, how do you rate my ditching school skills?"
Pete tsked. "This is nothing special. I used to jump over school fences too back when I was still alive."
I was genuinely surprised at that. Pete didn't strike me as one to break any rules. I mean, he'd won a competition for his school, that wasn't something one who cut school would do.
"Really?" I asked, starting to walk away from the fence. He followed in step beside me.
"Of course," he answered, a little too eagerly.
I snorted. "Pete?"
"What?"
"Did you only do it one time?"
He refused to look at me and I stifled a laugh. "Yes..."
"Don't worry, that still counts as being a rebel."
"I wasn't trying to be a rebel though," he said as we got into the busy streets.
I quickly brought out my airpods and placed one in my ear so I could still talk to him and not freak people out.
"What made you do it?" I asked.
"The principal informed me that my mom was sick and that someone would take me to the hospital after school but," he let out a breath. "I couldn't wait."
"Is she fine now?" I asked.
"She got better but, I have no idea how she is now."
And with the shake in his voice, I knew this was something that had him pained. I didn't want to push him too much. We'd made sure not to cross that line but, I really would like to know more about his family and how his life before his death was like.
"I'm sure she's fine," I said, trying to cheer him up.
He sighed. "I hope so."
"So," I started, sidestepping a woman. "Any other family members?"
When Pete's face finally lightened up, I smiled, relieved that I had lifted the mood.
"My grandparents!" He was grinning. "Oh I missed them both so much!"
And right at this moment, a man walked right through him and Pete was caught completely off guard. He stumbled back a little and looked very confused as to what just happened. My anger picked up before I could even think anything through.
"Hey, watch where you're going asshole!"
The man turned to send me a puzzled look while Pete gave me a disaproving one. "Vegas! He can't see me, remember?"
But before I could even feel sorry about it, something weird started happening to Pete. His body glitched a couple of times and very quickly, like he did back at the main family's house. I felt my breath hitch in my throat as I started to panic.
"What just happened? Are you okay?"
Pete looked down at his body, looking as confused and lost as I was. "I don't know...maybe the man passed through me a little too fast."
"Does that happen often?"
He looked up at me and smiled. "Vegas, relax. It's nothing."
I wasn't the least bit convinced. "It looked like what happened back at the main house...when you couldn't disappear."
"It's not," Pete argued. "I didn't feel like I wanted to disappear. It was simply a glitch."
"You sure?"
He rolled his eyes at me. "Do you want to worry all day or should we keep going?"
I still wasn't convinced but I sighed, deciding not to further bring down the mood. Maybe really, it was just a glitch. The man had walked through him too fast. We started walking again. "Sorry, go on."
"I especially miss Grandma Jie," he continued, pouting now. "I always said she was annoying because she talks a lot and coddles me too much but, I actually miss that about her."
He giggled, his eyes a little distant. He was remembering a fond memory. "She would always sneak me food. Mom didn't like it because she said my cheeks were too chubby but grandma Jie didn't care!"
"I like Grandma Jie," I decided. "And, I also like your chubby cheeks."
Pete became flustered as he looked away. I laughed at that.
"I wonder how she is now..." A frown came upon his features again.
I bit my bottom lip, directing him to turn into a new street.
"Do you...do you want to go back?"
I remembered what he said the last time I asked him something like this. He'd told me that even though he hadn't died, he still wouldn't have been able to go back home.
I desperately wanted to know why. Why wouldn't he? Was he banished? Sent away? What was the thing he did that was so bad, he wasn't being allowed back home or even into heaven?
"Just to see them again," I said, "Your parents, and grandparents."
Pete sniffed, not looking to me. "No."
"You know they wouldn't be able to see you," I noted, "So, they can't be mad at you for whatever you did-"
"Vegas," he said, suddenly stopping in his steps, "Can we not talk about this? At least, not right now?"
I nodded quickly. "I'm sorry, this isn't what today is about."
Pete looked away, holding his hands in front of him awkwardly.
"Yeah so...where are we going?"
I smiled, gesturing ahead of me. "We're already here."
Pete turned to look, a dimpled smile immediately coming upon his features as his eyes landed on the bright and lit up sign.
"An amusement park?"
"Yeah, have you ever been to one?" I asked as we both started walking towards the colourful gate.
There were a handful of people walking in with little kids and the chatter from inside could be heard.
"No," Pete answered. "I've always wanted to go but, we don't have one in Chumphon, my village."
I sort of guessed that because there was a time I mentioned hating riding in an Ferris Wheel and he just looked puzzled.
"Wow Vegas!" I feigned an excited voice. "You are just amazing!"
Pete rolled his eyes. "Okay okay, thank you. This was very thoughtful of you."
"You're welcome."
It was amusing watching as his eyes kept darting around the place in excitement. He was fascinated by everything.
"What do you wanna try first?" I asked, trying to keep up with his pace.
He immediately pointed at the carousel. "That one!"
I chuckled, gesturing for him to follow me there. The carousel had horse themed seats, two in a row. I met the ticket seller, who seemed very, very bored with this job.
"Two tickets," I said, and he boredly tore two out and took my money.
We had to wait for the current ride to finish and whole time, I could just feel Pete's excited energy beaming next to me.
When the current ride was over and the people came off, Pete practically jumped into his seat with me following behind. When I'd gotten in, I noticed the ride guide giving me a confused look.
"Where's the other person you paid for? They can't keep the rest of the people waiting."
"What do you mean? He's right besides-" I paused and scrunched my eyes shut, realising.
"Vegas, they can't see me remember?" Pete said for the second time today.
"I just realised," I mumbled, looking over to the guide with a shrug. "Nobody's sitting here, I just wanted to be alone."
He shrugged before putting the machine into motion after making sure everyone had settled in.
"Hold on tight," I told Pete, holding onto the long pole with my right hand.
He did, placing both his hands on it. I bit my bottom lip, not quite knowing what I was doing as I started shifting my hand down to his own. I wanted so badly to be able to touch it, to squeeze it tight but as my hand reach his own, it went right through.
Pete looked at it and I was relieved when he smiled.
"Are you trying to compare our hands?"
I was trying to hold your hand
"Your hands are so small," I said instead, teasing him. "Look how only one of my hand can cover it up."
Pete tsked. "Please, my hands are okay just the way they are. You can be proud of your dinosaur hands all you want!"
I pursed my lips. "Uh actually, most dinosaurs have small hands so I-"
"You know exactly what I mean!" He pouted and looked away, grumpy again.
I couldn't help but laugh. "You're just too cute."
"I am upset right now so your compliment does nothing to me." He pulled his hands away from the pole and crossed them together.
"Way too cute."
The carousel was put into motion and slowly, the horses started moving around in a circular motion, with the seats going up and down. Pete let out a little yelp, caught off guard. He put his hands back on the pole again.
"Whoa." He was so fascinated with the whole process. He very quickly forgot about his previous grumpiness and started giggling as the carousel kept moving.
"This is so cool!" He turned to look at me, smiling so widely.
I don't think I was impressed with the carousel. I'd been on it about three times and found absolutely nothing special about it. But right now, I was beaming with joy and having the most fun and I knew that had a lot to do with the fact that Pete was here with me. That Pete was having fun. That Pete was happy.
Why can't this be forever? Why did he have to leave?
"Want to go again? Or you wanna try something else?"
Pete was already looking around again, eyes excitedly looking at every corner. He looked like a child at a candy store, not knowing what to pick.
"I'm conflicted," he said, sounding defeated as he turned to face me with a pout.
"We have all day, remember? We can do as many things as you want today."
His eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Really."
He let out an excited squeal and pointed at the currently moving Ferris Wheel.
"I've always wanted to get on those things!"
I looked up at it. The Ferris Wheel. I took a big gulp. I hadn't been on one of those since my tenth birthday when I almost fell off from it due to the seat being faulty. I won't lie, my heart did skip a beat at the thought of getting on but, I quickly put on a brave face before Pete would notice.
"Then let's go." Then I made an attempt to hold his hand and when my hand slid right through like it was supposed to, I could feel my mood immediately dampening.
Why did I keep forgetting?
Pete didn't dwell on that though, he simply grinned and skipped towards the wheel and a moment later, I recollected myself and followed behind him.
I bought two tickets, to which the guide was confused about.
"Where's the other person?"
I rolled my eyes. "I want to be alone."
He shrugged and gave me the tickets. More people started coming and getting tickets. A girl came around, and the man informed her that tickets were finished and she had to wait an hour for new ones.
She groaned, pouting as she crossed her hands over her chest. Quite like how Pete would act but not quite as cute.
"I have somewhere to be in an hour though," she complained.
The ride guide sighed, then he looked back to me.
"You could ask someone to sell a ticket to you or ask to tag along with them." I hated that he was looking right at me as he said this.
The girl's eyes caught mine and a look of relief crossed her face. I frowned as she walked over.
"Hey."
I sucked in a breath. "Hey..."
I looked over to Pete. He was just staring at her blankly.
"Can I ride with you?" She had a hopeful look on her face and a little something else.
I narrowed my eyes. Flirty. She was being flirty.
"Please?" She continued when I didn't give a reply. "I really wanna try this ride. I came all this way and it'd really suck if I don't get to plus, it'd be nice to ride with you...if that's okay with you of course."
I didn't waste a second. "I'm sorry but-"
"Vegas?" Pete's tone was disapproving. "You can't reject her."
I looked over to him with a look that I hoped read: But I already have a partner for this ride, YOU.
He gave me a look in return and I could just tell what he was trying to say: She can't see me, remember?
This was the third time he was reminding me of this. Reminding me that I was the only one who could perceive his presence.
And when I think about it another way, it felt like a privilege. Pete was mine and mine alone. He was my very own hidden gem. But in a situation like this, it was rather a harsh reminder of the reality of things.
"No," I said, making Pete gasp in surprise. "I want to be alone."
I ignored the disappointed look on her face and turned to get into the seat, Pete following behind me.
"That was rude."
I sighed. "Pete, what was the purpose of us coming here?"
He bit on his bottom lip for a moment. "Uh, to spend some time together?"
"Right, to spend time together. So why would I allow her ride with us?"
"Vegas, I'm not-"
"A human, I get it," I said through gritted teeth. "But I'm sick and tired of being reminded of that every damn minute."
He needed to understand that despite the fact that he wasn't human, my time with him had been more real than any other time I'd spent with other people.
"I'm sorry," he said a moment later, his voice a little low. "I'm ruining our day, aren't I?"
I shook my head. "You're not. Let's just have a good time and forget about everything else. That's the plan, right?"
He smiled his dimpled smile and that made me smile too.
"That's the plan."
The wheel entered into motion and Pete's beam lightened. He blew in a breath.
"I've literally been flying ever since I became a ghost, and yet, I'm actually still nervous about being on this ride," he said.
"I wish I can hold your hand," I randomly blurted out.
I'd never really been a touchy type but, with Pete, everything was different.
"I definitely took being on that weird bridge for granted," I continued saying. "Should've touched you more."
Pete huffed. "Ew. You saying it like that makes it sound like you're talking about something else."
I smirked, shifting closer to him. "Like I'm talking about...what?"
He turned red, something I was still so surprised a ghost could do.
"Shut up. You know what I mean." He looked away hastily.
"Actually, I don't. Maybe elighten me a little?"
He turned to glare. "I won't miss this part of you."
"Hmm." I adjusted on the seat. "Then, what part of me specifically will you miss?"
I felt a sudden gust of wind on my face, and I felt the carriage sway back and forth a little bit. My heartbeat quickened in that minute, frantically looking around and worried about what happened at my tenth birthday repeating.
I soon came to realise that we'd simply reached the top of the wheel. I didn't even notice.
"Whoa." I blew a breath, relieved that nothing bad had happened but still a bit skeptical.
"Vegas?"
I turned to find Pete grinning. "Are you...scared of heights?"
I tsked, and then I scoffed, and then crossed my hands over my chest as I sent Pete an offended look.
"What? Of course not."
Pete's grin turned into a knowing one. "Wow, I can believe that you cry over movies but being afraid of heights?"
I scowled. "Oh right, I forgot that stupid brochure pretty much already told you how much of a pussy I am."
Pete pouted then. "You're never gonna let that brochure thing go, are you?"
"I will keep reminding you until the day you die-" I paused, realising.
Pete smirked. "Again, too late."
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"So, what do you want to do next?"
"Maybe bungee jumping?"
I stopped walking. "Okay I know I said you can choose anything-"
Pete laughed. "I'm just kidding, scardy cat."
"I'm not a scardy cat," I refuted grumpily.
"But, I'd really like to try the haunted house next." He walked in front of me, holding both hands behind his back innocently. "There's this uncle of mine that always told me stories about haunted houses."
And there was no way I could say no to those eyes.
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We were both cautiously walking through the dark hallways of the haunted house. The air was thick with fog and eerie music was playing in the background.
I'd been in haunted houses before but there was just something about this one and something in the air that was making me feel a little uneasy. Every now and then, Pete and I would see a glimpse of a shadowy figure lurking in the corners and we also heard some strange noises and footsteps following behind us but, that wasn't why I was so uneasy because I was sure all of this was just a game set up to scare us.
Something else was making me uneasy.
And it was a few minutes into our walk, as we reached the heart of the haunted house that I noticed something a little different about Pete.
Pete's usually bright glow was now weirdly and very noticeably dim. At first, I thought maybe it was just a trick of the light, maybe the darkness in the room was causing it but, I'd seen Pete plenty of times in the dark before. He was never this...faded. Pete was always so bright, and even when his mood was down.
And right now, he didn't seem to be down at all. His eyes were wide and lively as he was looking around the haunted halls. Every now and then, he'd get scared of the shodowy figures but it always ended with a laugh but his glow never seemed to brighten.
"Pete, are you okay?" I asked. I hated the tremble in my voice. It was like I already knew the answer to that question.
Pete turned to me, a look of confusion on his face. "What do you mean?"
"Your glow," I said, trying to make it sound casual. "It's getting a bit dim."
Pete looked down at himself and he stayed quiet for a very long minute. In that long moment of silence, the grandfather clock that kept chiming, felt like it was coming straight from my heart.
"Oh, I see what you mean. I didn't even realize." He chuckled, like it was funny.
Me on the other hand, I felt a wave of panic wash over me. "What's happening, Pete? Are you going to disappear?"
The question was way too straight forward. Usually, I'd do all I could to ignore it but, not today, not right now.
Pete huffed a little laugh, one that I noticed didn't really reach his eyes. "No, no. I think this is pretty normal and means nothing. Plus, we're literally in the dark. Don't be so scared, Vegas."
I wasn't the least bit convinced about that and Pete noticed that. He sighed and took steps closer to me, standing right in front of me. He smiled. "Don't worry, Vegas. I'm not going anywhere...at least not yet. I'd know."
I nodded, ignoring the fast beating of my heart and trying to keep a brave face for Pete.
"And besides, can we get out of here now? This place is starting to freak me out a little."
I scoffed. "Says the literal ghost."
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Author's Note:
Hello my beautiful readers. I know it's been a while and I'm sorry. Pls don't be too upset.
Whoa, what do you think is happening with our baby Pete? :(