5 years [Stantzler]

chapter one

Ray felt as though his whole world had fallen apart over the course of half an hour. Peter left the courthouse after yelling at the judge. Winston was trying to talk to Ray and Egon but all Ray heard was a loud ringing in his ears and Egon was as quiet as ever and he couldn't stand it.

Ray had essentially given up everything for the Ghostbusters, for this team, for this family. He had no where else to go now that they weren't allowed to bust ghosts anymore. He had sold his house, uprooted his whole life because he believed in this team, that all of this could work. He was known for being naive but he knew he should've seen this coming.

Once the court was officially dismissed, Ray stood on shaking legs, trying to keep his head high as he exited the courthouse, walking alongside Egon and Winston. As soon as they exit the courthouse, they see Peter sitting on a bench, taking deep breaths.
"Hey, man. Don't stress too much about this." Winston says, sitting down next to Peter. They felt so far away from Ray despite the fact that they were right in front of him. Egon felt even further away.

The drive back to the firehouse to pack up their stuff was silent, a rarity for any ride with all four Ghostbusters in the car. No music, no chatter, no side comments from Peter about Ray's driving abilities. Nothing, just the occasional noise of somebody clearing their throat or the sound of their own breathing. Ray felt as though he couldn't breathe the whole drive home, he could barely focus on the road in front of him. Home, he would never experience something like home again.

The next couple of days were rough for everybody. Ray barely slept, Peter barely ate, Winston had given up on trying to calm everybody down and Egon was even more quiet than he usually was.

Three days later, Ray had finally moved all his boxes into the cheap apartment he had managed to find. It was empty and cold and he hated everything about it. It would never be home. Home was the firehouse. Home was all his friends. Home was the loud sirens and Janine yelling loudly into the phone everyday. This apartment was too quiet and Ray hated quiet.

Ray slept not a single minute that first night in his new apartment, missing the sound of the other three guys breathing. Eventually, he gets too lonely to even stay laying in bed so, he gets out of bed, goes to the kitchen, pours himself a bowl of cereal and sits at his small kitchen table, wondering what the other guys are up to as he eats, wondering if they missed him as much as he missed them.