Ghost | L.S

four

"i'm sorry, honey. the company is just really struggling right now," his mother said through the phone. "are you sure you're going to be okay?"

harry threw the yo-yo, doing a couple tricks while having the phone pressed to his ear. he was lying on the foot of the bed, head upside down, all the blood rushing to his head.

"would it make a difference if i said no?" he said in a bored tone. he heard his mother sigh.

"harry, it's not that simple."

"yeah, yeah, i know. it's okay."

"you know we love you, right?"

he stopped throwing the yo-yo for a second. "yes," he replied. the other end of the call was silent for a while.

"be good," she then said quietly, and harry nodded, forgetting his mom couldn't see him.

"i will. promise. i love you. bye, mom." he ended the call and let his arms fall and dangle in the air below him.

he wasn't surprised when his mom called to tell him they weren't coming home for another two months. it quite frankly happened every time they were on a business trip. usually he didn't mind because he had his sister. but now that she was in college, he found himself starting to feel lonely. it wasn't like he had any friends to invite over. all he was left with was himself, and a ghost.

"are you even real." harry said into the empty room, swirling one of his chocolate curls around his finger. it took a while, but the room's temperature dropped and louis appeared.
"or am i just going crazy from the abandonment?" harry sat up and watched louis with expectant eyes.

"i am real," louis said. he took a seat on harry's bed.

"it's hard to believe sometimes. i mean, considering the fact that you're a ghost. a month ago, i didn't even believe in ghosts. i'm not sure i do even now that i've met one," harry said.

"understandable. i didn't believe in ghosts until i literally became one," louis chuckled.

"please," harry wheezed, "imagine you're just driving, minding your own business, and then all of a sudden you're a ghost."

"making fun of me, are we?" louis said.

"what are you gonna do anyway? kill me?" harry shrugged. "that's alright. my life is so sad. the only person i interact with is literally dead."

"i take offense," louis said. harry was about to shoot him another cheeky insult when the bed suddenly started floating. his eyes widened as he got lifted high into the air as a passenger on the bed.

this was not the time to live in a mansion where the ceilings are ridiculously high up.

"what the fuck, louis," harry screamed. he was 2 meters in the air now. he gripped the mattress tightly, "put me down!"

louis started chuckling. he was amused by harry's suffering.

"this isn't funny! are you sick in the head?"

"no, but messing with you does bring me joy."

"...what the fuck?"

•••

the grocery store was a walking distance from the mansion. he sighed. considering the fact that he was the only one living in the mansion, he sure did a lot of shopping.

it being a sunday night, there weren't a lot of people in the store.

he walked by the dairy section. he thought about the expired milk still molding in the fridge, so he grabbed a fresh carton of milk and added it to the cart.

when he looked up, he was met with the sight of ethan hovering above him. his eyes went round.

•••

harry gasped in pain, slamming the huge front door shut behind him, and without even bothering to take off his coat, he ran to the bathroom. standing in front of the mirror, he pulled up his sweater just enough to expose his ribs. the sight of the giant bruise that wrapped around his side had him grimacing.

the skin that used to be so pale had all kinds of colors; yellow, purple, green. but it wasn't beautiful like his art works. it had painted his body ugly.

his fingers softly brushed against his ribs, making him hiss in pain and retract them at once.

"what happened?"

harry jumped and immediately pulled down his sweater. he didn't turn around, too embarrassed, but he watched louis in the mirror. he was standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

"you scared me," he said.
"just some guy from my school."

louis swayed farther into the bathroom. his eyes were darker than usual when he told harry to lift up in his sweater again. the other did as told. louis examined the bruise for a couple more seconds before he started twisting his face in agony. harry watched, confused, until he began to feel his own pain appease, and he realized.

louis was taking away his pain and bringing it onto himself instead.

"stop. don't do that." harry frowned, guilt taking over. as relieving as it felt, he couldn't let louis do it.

"harry, i'm dead, i think it's alright," louis muttered, but winced right after.

"well, clearly, you can still feel pain. just stop it! it's fine. i'm literally used to it. i don't need you to do this."

louis looked up. "the hell you mean you're used to this? how often does this happen?"

harry shrugged. "often enough."

louis' jaw tensed. he didn't say anything for a while, so harry changed the subject.

"can you eat food?"

"what?"

"as a ghost? can you eat?"

louis chuckled. "yeah i can. i can eat as much as i want without gaining anything," he smiled.

"not fair," harry said. being a ghost was starting to sound cool to him. "i've never seen you actually eat, though."

"believe me, it was all i did the first month after my death. i've actually grown tired of it."

"i don't think i would ever get tired of unlimited food," harry laughed, then whimpered when a pang of pain engulfed him. at least it only hurt when he made sudden movements.

"i should kill them."

harry laughed in surprise.

"can you actually?"

"sure. if you want me to."

"i don't think that would be a very good idea. but that's cool to know," he said to himself. then he thought a little more about it. he frowned, taking a step back.

"it's also a bit nerve racking knowing you could kill anyone whenever you want," he admitted.

"i didn't realize the silly ghost in my bedroom could be so dangerous."

louis laughed. "oh, come on. weren't you the one screaming in fear when we first met?"

"you were literally teleporting books at me!" harry said, putting his hands in his pockets. "how do you expect people to react civilly to that?"

louis laughed again, "fair point. but it was quite amusing. we should do it again sometime."

"we should not."

a smile dangled on the corner of louis' lips. "you better watch out."