Written in the Stars

Death and All His Friends

Song: Death and All his Friends- Coldplay

It's the first day of a new school tomorrow, I should be sleeping. Instead, I'm spending the time finishing up my notes on another ghost. Figuring out her unfinished business was trickier than it usually is. When you die, if you become a ghost, it's because there was something important that you didn't get to do while you were alive. You have to complete this important something before you can cross over.

Years ago, I found out that I could see ghosts and talk to them. At first, it was really weird and something I tried to avoid. I'd slip up sometimes and acknowledge the presence of someone that no one else could see. Once they knew I could see them, the ghost would follow me around asking for my help. I'd only end up helping them so that they could cross over and leave me alone. I didn't want to be seen as the freak talking to myself.

Over the years, I got better at confirming a person was alive before trying to speak to them. But then came the guilt of knowing I could help them and choosing not to. That brought me back to square one. I still used the skills of ignoring them in public (as best as I could) but still helping them in private. Everyone has a different unfinished business. Most of the time, you can find out what a ghosts unfinished business is by listening to what was important to them when they were alive. I started taking notes on the ghosts that I chose to help. It made it easier for me to help figure out what was tying them to this world.

I haven't always been able to see ghosts. I'm not sure what changed inside of me to cause this. The biggest change that I can think of around that time was my mom passing away. She was a huge part of my life and there wasn't anybody on this planet that was as close to me as she was. She always said that I reminded her of her brother. I've never met him since he passed away when they were teens. I know for a fact that my mom didn't become a ghost. As soon as I found out I could see ghosts, I went looking for her. I keep telling myself that it's better that she wasn't a ghost. I didn't want to be selfish and prevent her from crossing over so that she could stay with me.

Most of the time, when I help ghosts, I can take my time trying to get to know them and figuring out their unfinished business. However, there's been a few where it was time sensitive. A ghost would seek me out from some club. Every single one had a shining purple stamp that hurts them. Those I had to be quick to help. None of them would say what the club was or even what the name of the club was. They all seemed to agree that it was better that I didn't know.

This last ghost that I helped had been a part of this club. Anytime I come across a ghost who's a club member, it keeps me up later at night than other ghosts. I started keeping a separate journal of everything they said about this secret ghost club. They didn't give away much though. They all preferred keeping me in the dark. This time I got a name. I'm assuming this Caleb person is the leader of the club. The real question is, if so many ghosts are trying to get away from this club, what's going on? And if it's that bad, is this something I should be trying to stop? I shake these thoughts off for now. Something tells me this isn't something I can accomplish alone.

I try my best to shut my mind off and go to sleep. Starting tomorrow, I'm a student at Los Feliz High School.

~Next Morning~

In the morning, I sit at the table eating breakfast with my dad. "Maybe this school will be better for you," he says. At my last school, I hadn't figured out how best to ignore the ghosts and was labeled a freak. It's not really something I could tell my dad about, so he assumed the problem was with the school and not me. Maybe this school will be better.

Taking the bus provides itself to being the first obstacle of my first day. Being the new kid means getting plenty of curious glances. I'm having a hard time telling who's alive so I don't risk trying to start a conversation with anyone. Don't want to be labeled a freak before the first bell has even rung.

I make it to my locker when there's a noise I can't ignore. The sound of two people arguing. I'm not the only one who's paying attention so I assume both of these people are alive. I'm not close enough to hear what they're saying. I do catch the girl with pink hair say "This isn't like you Nick." The blonde boy she's talking to seems completely and utterly bored. In the middle of the pink haired girl's next sentence, he walks off.

I duck my head behind my locker door, eyes wide with shock. I wonder why they were arguing? And why would the blonde guy Nick just walk away like that? A voice speaks up behind me, causing me to jump. "Don't worry, they do that a lot." I spin around to face the person talking. The speaker is a girl about my age with super curly hair and glasses.

"Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop." The girl laughs and says "I'm not sure it's eavesdropping if the whole hall can hear them." I relax a little at her friendly nature. Then I freeze when I see what's behind her. One tip for ignoring ghosts is to only focus on the person you're talking to. If you don't let your eyes wander, there's less of a chance of making eye contact with a passing spirit. But it's hard to ignore three guys standing right behind her like they're in on the conversation too.

I'm almost positive that they're ghosts, but I can't be too sure yet. I realize that I've been silent for slightly too long. "So in case you can't tell, I'm new here. My name's Sam." I hold out my hand for the girl to shake. "Nice to meet you, I'm Julie." The three guys are definitely ghosts. If they weren't, this Julie girl would have introduced them or they'd introduce themselves.

"So is that like a daily thing?" I point my thumb over my shoulder where the pink girl is still standing. Her friend who has purple hair has come to talk to her. "Oh I wouldn't say they're that bad"

"Yea maybe every other day," interjects one of the guys. I press my lips tightly together to keep from smiling at his comment. It doesn't entirely fool the blonde in the middle though. His eyebrows knit together in confusion. Please let him pass it off as a coincidence. Of course I wouldn't be that lucky. Out of my peripheral view, I see the blonde nudge the brunette beside him and throw a pointed glance my way. The brunette moves to stand beside me.

"So what are your classes like?" The brunette lifts a piece of my hair to try and get my attention. "Um...." I shake my head like I'm trying to clear my thoughts. Really I'm trying to convince these three ghosts that I can't see them so they'll leave me alone. I'm quick to open my book bag and get my class schedule out.

The third ghost who's wearing a leather jacket catches on to what the other two are doing. As soon as the paper is in my hands, he's knocked it to the floor. "Wow that was really weird," I try to laugh it off like it was an accident. I bend to the floor to pick it up.

"Guys stop," I barely hear Julie whisper. "Sorry Julie," says the guy in the leather jacket. I freeze in my tracks and my head snaps up to look at her. Before I can stop myself, I say "You can see them?" She looks down at me with wide eyes. "Wait. You can see them too?"

The first bell rings signaling its time to go to class. So much for not getting wrapped up with ghosts before first period
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So this is my first time attempting to post a story on Wattpad. I'm really looking forward to it!! I originally posted this story idea on my Instagram (@drummerboyowen) and a lot of people seemed to like the story idea. If you wanna check out the rough draft of my story idea, it's on my Instagram as a post!! Please be sure to give me any feedback on this! Also tell your friends ;)

Also side note for anyone interested, I'm naming all my chapters after song titles. If you're interested in knowing what song it is, I'll link the video at the top of the chapter ☺️