Fifth Avenue

Manic Monday

 This is my first time writing fanfic so sorry if the formatting or anything is a bit awkward >.<

I'm going to name the chapters after songs and paste them here, they don't necessarily have anything to do with the chapter, just some fun 80's music to listen to! 

~ ~ ~

You stare in confusion at the full grown man lying on the floor, who appeared to be listening to the table with a stethoscope. 

This is New York City, you've come across your fair share of weirdos, but you've never encountered a situation quite like this at work. 

He seemed fairly normal, wearing a white dress shirt, tie, and gray sweater vest. And here he was in the middle of the New York Public library lying on the floor underneath a table, deep in thought. 

You step away from your book cart and slowly walk closer, attempting to make eye contact but he was just SO focused on that damn table. 

"Excuse me..?" you say gently.

Nothing.

You bend down to his level and say slightly louder (we are in a library after all), 

"Excuse me." 

He jolts upward, hitting his head on the table. He rubs his head as he maneuvers out from under the table. 

 "Um- sorry what was that??" he says as he removes his headset and pushes up his large, round glasses. 

"I was just wondering what is so interesting down there," you say suppressing any sign of amusement, "or can I help you find anything"

"Oh. I'm sorry, I'm Dr. Egon Spengler," 

He says standing up, brushing his dark brown curls out of his face "I'm here because there was a report of a free roaming, vaporous, full torso apparition that made contact with, I assume, one of your coworkers. I'm inspecting this table for lingering traces of possible activity that could more accurately direct me to the source."

Oh yes, you should've assumed this was related to the incident that happened a few hours earlier before you'd arrived at work. 

Poor Alice was still resting in the break room being consoled by the library administrator. You'd just assumed she was having an off day, or worse, she was following in the steps of her uncle (who you'd heard, thought he was St. Jerome). 

To think she could've actually seen a ghost..! You and your coworkers would occasionally joke about the weird going ons in the library, random doors slamming, odd sounds, but ultimately you'd always decide it was just the quirks of an old building. The last thing you expected when you came to work today was for there to have been a paranormal occurrence of this proportion.

"And you are....?" Spengler said flatly, slightly tilting his head to the side as he looked down at you. You snapped back to reality. 

"Oh! Yes I'm sorry, I'm y/n/l/n, a librarian here," you pause, "Do you think she really saw a ghost Dr. uh- Spengler?... or a ... roaming torsapppation... or whatever you called it?" 

"I cannot say for certain, it could've been a past life experience intruding on the presence, and I wouldn't yet rule out clairvoyance or telepathic contact. However with the readings I'm getting there's definitely a possibility that she did."

"Are you ..serious?" you say cautiously, not wanting to offend him, but you've never seen someone this earnest about ghosts. 

"I'm always serious." He says turning to face you, not a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"I see..." you trail off, "I guess there have been some other strange instances around here-" 

he cuts you off stepping closer. "Instances? What type of instances?" 

"Oh I don't know, weird sounds at night, chill winds in the basement, I always figured it was the building but-" 

"Do you remember when and where these instances occurred and what exactly unfolded?" he said eagerly, holding intense eye contact and standing a bit too close for comfort. 

"Oh I don't know, mostly in the basement I guess? I can only really think of one particular instance a few weeks ago, I was shelving books when suddenly a book a few feet away fell on the ground. It was night and I was the only one here so it really startled me but I thought maybe it just shifted when I put away a book." 

"That does sound peculiar," he said, taking notes in a small notebook.

"Well, I really should be getting back to work. But thank you for your help Dr. Spengler, I find what you're doing very umm... fascinating, and I would be interested to hear what you have to say after the investigation?" 

"Yes I will definitely follow up with the library staff after I have gathered satisfactory and conclusive evidence." 

"Great.. Well I'll leave you to it doctor" you say walking back to your book cart.

Why did you ask to discuss it later with him? Were you curious about the situation or.. About him? 

There was definitely something about this man, he was strange, sure, but there was something else you couldn't quite put your finger on. 

Smart? Obviously. 

Interesting? Yes but that wasn't it. 

Were you perhaps... attracted to him? You shook off the thought but your eyes wandered and found him from the corner of your eye.

Egon had moved to the other side of the table and was beginning to probe it with the stethoscope. You quickly glanced away, feeling embarrassed. 

No, no there's no way.