• [ Hey guys! Author here, just wanted to say that I've been having so much fun writing this story and that I definitely plan to continue. With that being said, any comments/feedback/votes are very much appreciated! They definitely keep me motivated, thank you so much for reading! <3 ] •
- This chapter will be in Sal's point of view. Please excuse any errors if there are any! TY! -
Larry and Y/N talked amongst themselves as the trio walked towards the apartment building, Sally staying quiet and just listening in to the conversation as his eyes were pointed towards the ground, kicking a few pebbles. Although the awkward atmosphere from the car ride home had faded away, his stomach was still in knots over the embarrassing moment, unsure of how exactly to deal with the situation, "If I explain to Y/N that I don't like Ash anymore, would that make it weird? I mean, I'm sure she doesn't care, but I don't want her to think I'm hung up on Ash. Why am I so worked up over this? God, I know Larry didn't mean to put me in an awkward situation but...".
Y/N pushed the elevator button for its rusty old doors to open, looking over at her masked friend who she assumed was deep in thought due to his lack of conversing, "Sallyface, you alright or did school do a number on you? Did you hear what Larry said? We're going to his place to hang out for a bit, blow off some steam.". Larry's strong arm placed itself around Sal, the other flicking his prosthetic, "Cmon Sal! Don't tell me you're still mad at me for being a blabbermouth. I didn't mean to make you feel weird, I'm sorry man.".
Looking up at his best friend, Sal was really annoyed at him but, not mad whatsoever. Larry would never intentionally embarrass or shame you, the guy's a sweetheart and one of the most genuine people Sal had ever met. With a sigh, Sallyface gave his friends side a jab and walked into the elevator after Y/N, "Yeah yeah, you owe me some snacks from the vending machine though. I'm thinking some M&M's, how about you Y/N?", he asked, making her think for a second before declaring, "KitKat, and make it king size.".
The three of you laughed as the elevator descended, once opening hurriedly making your way over towards the vending machine, Y/N pushing the machine's faded buttons, Larry counting the change and inserting it, while Sal collected the snacks that fell down into his arms. The snack hoard now bought, the group entered Larry's apartment and went into his room, Y/N dropping her backpack to the ground and letting her body fall onto Larry's bed, clearly tired. Sal couldn't help but smile at the sight of a sleepy Y/N, her tired eyes and smile made her look so cute and delicate as she rested upon Larry's bed stomach down.
Dropping the snack pile on the ground, Sal began to open his bag of barbecue chips, Larry doing the same to his bag of salt and vinegar chips, gently tossing Y/N her KitKat, the chocolate bar landing by her thigh, making her slowly sit up and stretch with a soft yawn. "Larry, is it okay if I take my shoes off? I swear, my feet don't reek.", Larry nodding as he began to take his shoes off as well, "Go ahead, my feet are killing me too. Gotta get used to all that walking around school again, man I miss summer vacation."
Sal had already taken his shoes off so he sat in the bean bag chair and just mindlessly watched his friends take their shoes off, Larry tossing his off to the side and Y/N neatly placing them by the bed. "Heh.", Y/N looked up at Sal when he let out that small laugh, raising an eyebrow, "What?", she asked. Sal pointed towards her feet, her toenails specifically, which were painted black just as the nails upon her hands, "Your hands and feet match. That's funny.", causing Y/N to blush and lift her legs off the floor, hiding them under Larry's blanket, "S-so what? I like to match.".
The three of you laughed and continued to just chill out, talking about whatever subject came up, the math teacher who wore shirts that definitely didn't fit him, the weird mold growing on the wall outside the locker room, the elaborate doodles Y/N had drawn with her two friends, just everything that had happened throughout the day. Quietly observing his friend who was upon Larry's bed, her head against a pillow as she laid on her side, Sal noticed Y/N's [E/C] eyes taking longer to open when she blinked, strands of her [H/C] hair falling over her face. Before he knew it she had blinked one last time but this time, she didn't open her eyes, she had drifted off to sleep.
Nudging Larry with his foot, Sal pointed towards Y/N, Larry quietly giggling to himself, "Looks like we've got Sleeping Beauty over here. Good thing my mom washed my sheets yesterday.", Sal standing up to help Y/N by placing Larry's blanket over her shoulders, making sure she was covered enough to sleep comfortably and warmly. The two boys made their best attempt to talk and play video games together quietly, not wanting to disturb their peacefully sleeping friend.
* * *
The sun had set, it was half past six, Y/N had been asleep for quite a while now but still, Sal hesitated to wake her up as he stood besides the bed, wondering how he'd awake the sleeping girl before him. She was laying on her back, one arm by her head and the other atop her waist, her belly button slightly exposed due to her shifting in her sleep, blanket covering her from the thighs down. Her closed eyes allowed her thick, dark lashes to be seen, soft looking lips slightly parted, cheeks and nose tinted a light red shade since the room was a bit cold.
He couldn't help but gaze down at her, she was so ethereal looking, it felt like waking her from her slumber would be a sin. He had been told to wake Y/N by Larry as he went to use the bathroom after drinking an insane amount of soda while they waited for the time they had set for ghost hunting to approach. "Okay, just gently shake her by the shoulder, that'll probably do it. Don't make this weird, Sallyface.", with that thought, he did just that, shaking Y/N by her shoulder and saying her name a few times, but she didn't even stir, she was still dead asleep.
He shook her shoulder for a bit longer before he realized she wasn't waking up, "Mkay, guess now I know Y/N is a deep sleeper. Uh, maybe by both her shoulders? I'll try saying her name a bit louder too, I just don't want to accidentally scare her...". Leaning down slightly, Sal now placed his hands upon both of Y/N's shoulders, giving her a solid but gentle shake, "Y/N? We uh, we're about to go ghost hunting, remember? Can't see ghosts if you're asleep. Cmon, wake-", and with that Y/N, still asleep, reached her arms out towards him, wrapping them around his neck and pulling him towards her into a clumsy, but warm embrace, her face right besides his prosthetic, causing Sal to feel as if he was going have a heart attack.
Eyes wide and mouth beginning to feel dry, Sal lifted his hands slightly in surprise away from Y/N, not wanting to accidentally touch her anywhere he shouldn't. Heart racing, sweat forming upon his forehead, Sallyface had no idea what to do besides stay there in shock, "W-why did she do that? She's not letting go...c-can I hug her back? Is that what she wants? I-I mean, why did she hug me in the first place...-". Y/N finally began to speak, her arms never letting go of Sal, "Carry me...back to bed, dad. The couch...isn't comfy...".
By the groggy way she spoke Sal finally realized she was still asleep, she was dreaming, vividly enough to sleep talk it seemed, "Oh, heh, she's dreaming about being carried to bed by her dad. She must miss him. I know how that feels.", he thought to himself, and before he knew it he was carefully wrapping his arms around Y/N as well, shutting his eyes, the two now embracing one another gently, and although he knew she was asleep and unaware of who she was actually hugging, it still felt good to receive another hug from Y/N like the one on the first day they had met. "She smells like...vanilla.", was the last thing Sal thought during the embrace before Larry very abruptly and loudly barged through the door.
"Okay guys, we're gonna have to hurry up with the ghost hunting tonight because my moms ordering pizza for dinner and I'll be damned if ghosts stop me from-...uh, what're you guys doing? Am I interrupting something?", the sound of the door slamming open and Larry's incredibly loud pizza talk caused Y/N to jump and let out a surprised gasp, her eyes darting around the room before she remembered where she was...and well, right now she was in the arms of Sal, him looking back at her with a worried look in his eyes before he quickly let go of her, standing up and adjusting his mask.
"Y/N! You're awake, I uh, I wasn't doing anything weird, you just uh...", he rubbed the back of his neck, making eye contact with Y/N, a bashful look in his eyes,"...when I was trying to wake you up you hugged me out of nowhere, I think you might have been, uh, dreaming, or something. I swear I didn't just randomly grab you like a creep." Laughing, Larry walked over towards Y/N and ruffled her already messy bed head, "What were you dreaming about, dude?", he asked, Y/N blinking slowly as she removed the blanket atop herself, placing her feet on the ground as she began to regain all her consciousness, now fully awake and blushing like a fool.
"I-I um, I don't remember, but I'm sorry Sallyface, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything...", she spoke, looking down at her lap, twiddling her fingers, "...but thank you for hugging me back instead of just shoving me off. I know it must've been a bit weird, huh?", Y/N asked, looking up at Sal with a faint sleepy smile, cheeks still red, her eyelashes fluttering as her eyes adjusted to the light, laughing awkwardly to herself as she reached for her shoes to put them back on and prepare for ghost hunting.
"G-god damn it, she's torturing me every time she looks at me like that! She's too...c-cute.", Sal's mind was filled with thoughts about how precious Y/N was, how adorable her face while she slept was, how warm her hugs were, the faint scent of vanilla lingered within his mask, it must've rubbed off on his shirt. "D-don't worry about it Y/N," he sat besides her, placing a hand upon her shoulder, "...if it makes you feel any better, I have really vivid dreams too, plus, you're a great hug giver. Better than Larry, he always squeezes me as hard as he can, damn guy.", that made Y/N laugh as she finished lacing up her boots, standing up slowly, letting out a small yawn before stretching, smiling at her two friends while she ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to fix her bed head.
"I'm sorry I fell asleep for so long guys, I guess school really tired me out. But now, I'm awake and ready to see some ghosts! Who are we meeting today again, Megan?". Sal and Larry both nodded as they walked towards the door with Y/N following closely behind them, "Don't be worried or anything by the way Y/N, like we said before, Megan is a harmless ghost. She's a little girl after all, she's kinda unsettling to look at but hey, what do you expect of ghosts?", Sal spoke, walking besides Y/N as Larry tossed him something, catching him off guard as the trio were now inside the elevator, "Oh yeah, I got the Super Gear Boy back from Todd while Y/N was sleeping. He made a few more adjustments to it or something, I wasn't really listening."
Clutching the device to his chest, he gave Larry an annoyed look, "Jesus dude, careful! It's the only one we have to be able to communicate with these ghosts. Oh yeah, by the way Y/N," he lifted it up to let her get a good look at it, "-this is what we've been using so far to be able to find the ghosts and be able to talk to them. It's my old Super Gear Boy that Todd completely modified, that guy never ceases to amaze me.", he finished, noticing Y/N giving the contraption in his hand a bit of an odd look, "Something wrong? You don't believe it works?", he asked. Y/N shook her head, continuing to examine the Super Gear Boy as she began to answer Sal, "Oh, I definitely believe you when you say it works, it's just that I've never used an electrical paranormal device, yknow?", she remarked.
Sal nodded, "Oh, alri-wait, what? You've never used an electrical paranormal device? Does that mean you've used a non-electrical paranormal device...?", Larry now looking over towards Y/N as well, interested in what she had to say. Placing a hand on her hip and the other on her neck, Y/N nodded and began to tell her story, "Yeah guys, I actually own a Ouija board, it's sitting underneath my bed somewhere. I got it from a thrift store when I was about 14, just in time for the 6th period freshman Halloween party. We were told to bring snacks and games if we wanted, and yknow, the one I had was made by Hasbro so, I brought it. But nooo, as soon as I pulled it out of my bag some super religious girl started to completely freak out, and get this, she fucking passed out! Like, are you kidding me?! Next thing I knew I was suspended for a week. I've tried to use it to communicate with the dead plenty of times but it never works, so I'm really excited to try the Super Gear Boy out today.", the elevator doors opened onto the dark, desolate fifth floor as Y/N finished her story.
However, the spooky atmosphere was drowned out by Larry's loud laughter, stumbling out of the elevator as he bent over from how hard he was laughing. "No fucking way, you got suspended over that shit? Why haven't you told this story to us sooner, Y/N? That's fucking gold! Little old Y/N scaring someone half to death and getting sent home, man, I'd pay good money to see that!", Sallyface placed a hand over the forehead area of his prosthetic, he was also beginning to laugh pretty hard under his mask as well, not believing the crazy story Y/N had just told, and before he knew it the three of you within floor 5 were laughing in unison at the absurdity of it all.
Finally catching his breath, he turned to Y/N and stated, "Y-you've got to tell us these sorts of things more often.", Y/N red in the face from both the embarrassment of retelling her story and from how hard she was laughing, "I was gonna mention it some day, it just happened to come up today. I'm glad you guys took such a liking to that story. Wait till you hear about the time I accidentally set a trash can on fire.". Larry and Sal both looked at one another, Sal's eyes wide and Larry's eyebrows raised as he smiled eagerly, Y/N could tell they wanted to hear that story, badly, "I won't tell that one today," she remarked, "but just know nobody got hurt. Anyways, we came up here for ghosts! Not for me to tell you goofballs my life story. So, where is she?".
Knowing she was referring to Megan, Sal cleared his throat and pointed towards one of the several doors in the decrepit hallway, "She's in there, 504. She's in the bathroom of the apartment, and it doesn't exactly smell the best in there. Maybe cover your nose when we get in there before you get used to the smell.", he advised, taking the lead and making his way towards the door, Larry and Y/N following.
Once the door opened, the inside of the apartment was revealed, exactly the same as the others but in terrible, unrepairable condition. After Sal entered Larry followed, Y/N holding onto Larry's arm as she walked in without even realizing it, the vibe of the room just felt...dark. It was clear something bad had taken place here. Leading the way to the bathroom, the door was already slightly ajar when Sally pushed it all the way open with his foot, both hands busy as he held onto the paranormal detecting device, the foul odor instantly making itself known.
"Ugh, you weren't kidding.", Y/N remarked as she lifted her hand to pinch her nose, Larry doing the same thing. Sal however hardly took notice of the smell, his mask did help shield him from its intensity, plus, he was too focused on getting his ghostly little friend to appear. He clicked a few of the Super Gear Boy's buttons in order to detect the spirit, and suddenly, the air shifted, the hairs upon the back of everyone's neck standing up, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Then, there it was, something began to form from out of the ground, a puddle of what looked like disgusting red mush began to bubble and grow in size, it was bone and human tissue slowly beginning to form into a body.
Once the grotesque process was completed, there stood the faint figure of a tattered little girl with lilac hair and a white dress going past her knees, just as anticipated. "Hello Sallyface! Oh, you brought your friends! Who's the girl? I've never seen her around before. She's pretty.", she asked, her voice sounding like an echo of the past. Before he could answer Megan's question, Y/N let go of Larry's arm, taking slow, steady steps towards Megan before she kneeled before her, now at eye level with the ghostly little girl, "W-wow....you're...", she paused for a moment, thinking to herself before continuing, "...the prettiest little girl I've ever seen. You're Megan, right? I'm Y/N, it's so nice to finally meet you.
Sallyface here tells me you're the coolest kid ever, isn't that right Sal?", both Megan and Y/N glancing up at the boy who was watching their interaction, surprised at how easily Y/N was able to approach Megan without even flinching. "Y-yeah, of course! Megan, Y/N has been waiting for a while to meet you. She's really nice, me and Larry are good friends with her. And I agree with what you said earlier, she is really pretty.", this comment made Y/N smile up at Sal for a moment before returning her attention to Megan, beginning to engage her in more innocent conversation, from her favorite color to her favorite activities she liked to do when she was alive, all while never backing away or showing any signs of fear.
Larry and Sal watched the two girls converse with one another, it was quite cute seeing Y/N acting so sisterly and sweet towards Megan despite her frightful appearance, but it hadn't even been five minutes when the little spirit announced, "Oh! I've got to go now, I'll see you guys next time, bye Y/N, Sallyface and Larry!", and just as quickly as she had formed, she disintegrated into the floor in the same grotesque fashion as earlier, leaving the trio in silence for a moment before Larry asked, "Y/N, you okay? How do you feel..?". Y/N stared intently at the spot where Megan had just been standing, before slowly getting up and turning towards them, both her hands upon her chest, in awe of the whole experience, "I feel....I feel like god damn Lydia Deetz. I just spoke to a ghost, holy shit....!".
Sal chuckled at the same time as Larry, "Phew, she didn't pass out and she didn't start having a panic attack, that went a lot better than expected. Y/N really is one of a kind. Not just anyone can walk up to a ghost and ask them what their favorite color is. God, she's amazing...", and with that thought Sal quickly opened the door to the bathroom, joking that if the three of you stayed in there any longer the smell might melt his mask off. That was that, Y/N's first encounter with a ghost, and certainly not her last.