𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐝 ✰ 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

• • • • • • •

the sun peeked out through the sparse clouds in the sky, filtering in through the circular window of the loft. the soft, warm rays danced across the two ghosts who slept on the futon.
julie's laptop had died hours ago, the screen dim between their two ghostly bodies. char's hair fluttered over her face with every breath of reggie's, whose cheek pressed up against the side of her head.

their slow breathing was in sync, and if they still had a pulse, their hearts would have been beating together.

those gentle sunbeams crossed charlotte's face, lighting up the freckles that dusted her cheeks and causing her eyelids to open slowly. she glanced up and noticed reggie, so close to her. she would've laid there for as long as she could, but she didn't want to create an awkward situation when reggie woke up. so, char slowly disentangled herself from his arms and stood up, careful to tiptoe around the creaky boards in the floor.

she pulled a skirt off its hanger, then snapped herself into that and a tank top. she shrugged on a zip up and tied her converse with a little wave of her finger.

as she smoothed out her hair in the mirror, reggie blinked open his eyes, the world around him and the girl in front of him coming into focus.

he could say it right now, he thought. he could just blurt it out if he wanted to.
he really, really wanted to.

reggie sat up and turned his head side to side, working out the kinks in his back as he stretched. that futon definitely wasn't the most comfortable.
"morning." he yawned. "sorry i fell asleep up here."

"oh, hey." she turned back around to him. "yeah, it's okay. it was late."
she leaned back against the dresser, her eyes flitting around the now-sunlit loft.

reggie looked at her, and he could feel the nerves brewing up into a pit in his stomach. the silence was only making him more anxious.

"uh, char, i-"

"i was just-" she stopped, her cheeks already going red. "sorry, what were you gonna say?"

reggie pressed his lips together, suddenly too scared to confess his feelings.
"i-i just..." he paused, frantically searching for something to say, "i really like your outfit. it's, um-the colors work really well on you."

"oh." she smiled. "thanks."
she looked down to her hands and tugged the sleeves down over her wrists.
"i was just going to go give julie her laptop back." she said.

"i'll come with you." reggie stood up suddenly. "let me put on a new shirt, though."

the ghost popped down to the lower level and went to his backpack to grab a fresh black t-shirt. charlotte came down the ladder with julie's computer tucked under her arm. she glanced at reggie as he pulled his shirt off with one hand-