Felicity was so fascinated with Wakemastopilus. It was so new, so…untouched by time. Unlike Jeffersonia, an industry laden town of technological advancements, Wakemastopilus was like a hidden gem amongst coal. So natural, so honest. Felicity breathed in deep as she sailed down a hill on her favorite pale pink bike, watching as the suburban homes whisked by in a blur.
She pedaled harder on her bike as she hit the bottom and the hill increased in incline again. She loved riding her bike. To be propelled by a two-wheeled vehicle by your strength alone was amazing. She slowed down a bit when the ground leveled out, appreciating the town at a leisurely pace.
One thing Felicity loved about Wakemastopilus was the cookie cutter identical houses. Each house was prim and proper and the bushes were all trimmed. But then, amongst these picket fence havens, there were run down houses from a previous time. They were gray and ramshackle and, in Felicity's opinion, very cool. She wondered why the town never opted to tear them down - they definitely were out of place, possibly lowing property values - but then she remembered that they probably had, considering there were construction machines collecting dust outside of each property she passed.
But the waning buildings did not depress Felicity's mood, not one bit - in fact they rejuvenated her. She pedaled furiously up a hill, her braid slapping her back violently. She was lucky that her bike could handle such extreme riding.
Felicity let herself slow to a stop as her legs began to ache. She was pretty far away from her house, but it was okay - she'd get back eventually. She took off her cardigan and hung it on the handlebars of her bike.
She was on the edge of Wakemastopilus, overlooking the river. Wakemastopilus was probably best known for three things: one, it's wonderfully esteemed high school. Two, it's urban downtown area, packed with tight city blocks. And three, the beautiful Wakemastopilus River. It sure was beautiful. In the hazy evening air, the water glittered and reflected the sunset. It was so nice! Felicity wanted to just jump over the edge and plunge into its depths. She guessed it was cool, too, which would be nice. She hadn't realized she was sweating until now.
She sighed, leaning against the fence that lined the entirety of the east side of Wakemastopilus, cutting off the public from leaping off the cliff, which apparently was a problem. A sign, bent from a collision or maybe just a very strong fist, showed an image of a person falling off of the cliff with an anti-symbol over it. How grim.
Felicity would never do that. She ran her fingers over a piece of hair that she hadn't braided. Though she desired a dip in the river, she wasn't stupid. Who would just accidentally kill themselves like that? Maybe they weren't thinking. Maybe they were with friends and they dared each other to swan dive into the river. A pact of sorts. How scary!
As Felicity was mulling over the possible suicide victims in Wakemastopilus River, a movement down the road caught her eye. Mostly because, as she had memorized the basic outline of the city, the only thing down that road was the cemetery. Felicity had stopped where she had mostly because she wasn't interested in going to the cemetery, especially after reading all those spooky blog posts about ghosts.
So she turned her full attention to the motorcycle nearing her slowly. She was interested in knowing why there was someone coming from the cemetery so late. The motorcycle slowed to a growling crawl as they idled beside Felicity. The rider looked at her momentarily through the shaded glass of their helmet.
"Hello," Felicity said uncomfortably.
The rider took off their helmet, revealing the beautiful face of Vincent Elvesole. He shook out his curly hair and Felicity nearly fainted from embarrassment. She was all sweaty and gross!! She didn't want him to see her like this! She quickly reached over for her cardigan and put it on despite her sweatiness. "Vincent!" She squeaked. "Hi!"
The boy stared at her for a few moments, his eyes unreadable and dark and brooding. So handsome. Felicity felt like she was going to die. "Who are you?"
Felicity's heart fell. "F-Felicity…I'm in your class."
"Oh," He said, his eyes darting away. "Yeah. Sorry. I'm not good with names."
Felicity felt as if though her entire soul had been ripped from her body. She began to blabber, her face a dark red. "It's okay! I mean, I've only been there for a week or something so it's totally okay if you don't know who I am. I probably shouldn't really know you yet either I mean we've never talked but I asked my friend about you and I read your blog and it was really interested and I read a lot of it and you're really deep. I really like your bike and I like bikes too so that's really cool-"
"You read my blog?" He interrupted her, looking as cool and composed as he had when he first rode up.
Felicity would never admit it, because oh my gosh how embarrassing, but she had been checking his blog for updates on Bianca's computer whenever she was at her friend's house when her friend wasn't looking. He was an impressive writer, even if his entries were fake, like Bianca claimed they were. "Uh, I mean, I read it once, and I thought you were really good at writing and…yeah…"
He stared at her. She looked everywhere but at him. "What did you think?" He asked after a few seconds of awkward silence.
She hemmed and hawed. She failed to meet his eyes. "I thought it was really spooky. I don't know anything about ghosts but I think it's really cool if you can see them. If they weren't fake, I guess…" She didn't want to sound stupid in front of him, so she made up her story as she went along. Then she had a plan. "I mean, I believe in ghosts. I wish I could see them too. I mean, if you believe in ghosts. I mean…sorry, why are you looking like-"
Vincent had leapt off his bike and had grabbed Felicity's hands as they waved uselessly in front of her as she spoke. His face, rather than having it's normal stoic expression, was lit up with excitement. Felicity's heart melted and her speech faltered. Her face was probably the same red as the red in his sweatshirt. "You believed me?"
"I guess so," she said quietly, stunned by his beauty.
Vincent looked like he was going to kiss her, he looked so happy. "Nobody ever believes me," he said excitedly. The sudden change in his personality was startling, but excited Felicity all the same. She wondered how many people actually got to see the joyous expression on his face. He didn't even really know her and he was revealing this vulnerable, happy nature to her! It made her want to explode from happiness! He grabbed her hands tighter, edging her towards his bike. "Come with me, Felicity. I want to show you something."
Felicity didn't even care about leaving her bicycle being left on the side of the road. Without hesitation, she jumped onto the back of the motorcycle, wrapping her arms about Vincent's midsection. She was going to die from happiness. Not only did she get to ride a motorcycle, something her parents never let her do, but she was riding it with Vincent. Bianca would never believe it!
They made a tight u-turn in the road and went back the way he had come, to the cemetery. Felicity was a little unsure about the cemetery, but she didn't really have a choice. At least she was there with Vincent, who would protect her from zombies and stuff, probably.
They came to a halt at the gate. Vincent hopped off of the bike quickly, almost forgetting to cut the engine, and lifted the chain keeping the gate closed. Felicity carefully followed Vincent through the rows of headstones, feeling extremely nervous. Unconsciously, she gripped the back of his sweatshirt, keeping close to him. Night was slowly falling, which made everything even spookier. Her nerves were soothed as they got deeper into the cemetery, though she couldn't place why, since it was even scarier there, if possible.
Vincent suddenly swung around, and Felicity stumbled. "He's right there," he murmured, waving towards a grave. Felicity blinked. "The one I talk about."
As someone who had been reading Vincent's blog sneakily for nearly a week, Felicity knew exactly who he was talking about. Vincent had made consistent entries about a boy patterned in scars and tribal tattoos with long, thick brown hair and a handsome, masculine face. He had seen the boy in the hallways, on the road outside of houses, sitting on the stairs to the library. Vincent was obsessed with this ghost. It made Felicity excited to know he was nearby!
However, it also made Felicity wonder if maybe Vincent really was crazy. There was obviously nothing there, but the boy seemed to think there was. "Is he?" she asked. Vincent looked down at her.
"You can't see him?"
"Yes!" She lied, backpedalling harder than she had when she first switched to a gear-bike instead of a simple braking bike.
She tried to picture him standing there, lean and exotic like Vincent had described him. She was able to envision him when she concentrated really hard. She let out a breath, her concentrating tiring her out momentarily. When she looked back up, her vision had remained, and was now in action, his dark eyes blinking in surprise. "She can see me?" the boy asked.
Felicity yelped, tripping backwards in surprise. Vincent looked ecstatic and the other boy appeared confused. He got up from his sitting position on the grave and walked over, his footsteps making no noise on the grass. "Are you alright?" He asked, reaching out to her.
"Whoa!" She gasped, pushing back again. She stared at him frightfully. "Whoa! You…you're real?!"
The boy nodded, his hair sliding against his bare shoulders. He looked as Vincent described him - shirtless, in old black pants that cut off at the knees and without shoes. There was a pattern of cuts and burns on his chest, staining his skin in light stripes. His face was gentle and well defined. He was…dare Felicity say it…HANDSOME! So many handsome boys in Wakemastopilus, so little time.
Despite his good looks, she was still spooked by his, well, his existence. "I just…I was just imagining you and then I could see you!" She blustered. "What the heck!"
Vincent let out a dreamy sigh. "This is so amazing…Intina, she can see you…"
The boy ("Intina", Felicity supposed) didn't look too sure. He pulled away from Felicity. "I guess it's amazing," he muttered, looking suspiciously at Felicity.
Vincent didn't see the problem. He grabbed their hands and beamed at them. "This is the beginning of something wonderful, I know it," he said in an excited, hushed voice. Intina was staring at him, unsure, and Felicity was staring at Intina, still in denial about his whole being. "I'm glad I found you, Felicity," Vincent said, his smile genuine. "When I saw you, I knew there was something different about you. I knew you'd be able to help us."
Felicity was still too blown away by ghosts to respond coherently. Intina stared at her with an intense gaze and Felicity's heart stopped, a cool sweat developing on her forehead. Afterwards, she asked Vincent to take her back home, and she fell asleep almost immediately upon arrival.