Phantom [Andley Short Story]

Phantom: The End

Despite the oddity of the situation, Andy let Josh assist in any ways he insisted he could. That mostly consisted of, as he had initially argued, covering for Andy if he has to disappear for whatever reason that was ghost related, but he was mostly moral support, really.

Josh was who Andy confided in, who he trusted with all secrets at this point. Josh was the only one who knew what had been happening in Andy's life. Andy could really trust Josh...

Andy didn't tell anyone else, either because he couldn't trust them, or he didn't want to put them in danger in any circumstances, or he just didn't want to know how they'd react. If he told his parents, they'd probably try 'sucking the ghost out of him,' if he told people at random, then word would surely get to Jordan, of all people, and Andy'd get completely alienated, and if he told Ashley... What would happen to Ashley? He'd insist on 'protecting' Andy, like he did at school when it came to the harassment from the football team, but what could Ashley do for Andy in this case? There was so much Andy worried about when it came to possibly having to confront the situation, but for now he was choosing to just lie his way out of any situation that called for it. If Ashley asked why he was out of class for so long, Andy'd simply say he got caught up in a conversation with someone.

So far it had been going smoothly.

After the incident in the locker room, seeing that ghost and all, Andy had managed to grasp the fact it was now his job to deal with it. He learned that the crystallized breath was his way of knowing there was a ghost nearby, and he taught himself how to control his abilities.

Now it was 3 years later. Graduated from high school, and decided he'd stay in town instead of moving off to California with Ashley. It upset Ashley, obviously, and it broke Andy's heart to stay back, but it was for the best right now. There was so much ghost activity here that he had to focus on. He couldn't just leave and let it all overrun the place. He had to be here.

Josh stayed with, as well. They got an apartment together to not only make their partnership work, but also to help one another financially. Ghost fighting didn't exactly pay...

Andy had become a bit 'famous,' in that photos taken of him in-action were being used on billboards to advertise random companies and products. He'd hear people call after him, and they had dubbed him 'The Phantom.' It was generic, not very original, but it wasn't like Andy had even planned on naming himself anyways. News anchors had shouted after him in attempt to get an interview, but he always ignored them. Did he like having attention? Hell yeah. Did he want attention that could possibly blow his cover? Hell no.

"I really think you should come on out and stay with me, Ands... You'd love it here." Ashley sat on the other end of a Friday night Skype call, a glint of hope flickering in his honey eyes. After all this time, Ashley was still so insistent Andy move out to be with him. And, honestly, Andy wanted to so badly.
"I can't." Andy sighed heavily.
"Why?" Ashley sighed back, equally as heavy. "You know what- forget it. I'll just cancel my flight out there."
"What?! Why?" Andy's eyes widened, the remark startling him.
Ashley sat up and huffed, arms folding over his chest. "Clearly you'd rather spend time with Josh than me. Flying out there to be a third wheel when hanging out with my own boyfriend is a waste of my time and money."
Andy panicked. "No- No, Ashley, stop. It isn't like that, and it won't be like that. Don't cancel, c'mon, we haven't seen each other in so long... Please." He begged. Ashley ran a hand through his hair and looked at something off screen.
"Fine. But Andy, seriously. I don't know how much longer I can do this long-distanced thing. I'm actually making quite a name for myself here, I can't move back there and lose it all."
Andy cringed. "Ok- can- can we just talk about that when you're here?" He ran a hand through his hair. Ashley looked back at him and nodded. "Yeah.. I'll see you Thursday, then."