Three Idiots and a Ghost

When an idiot cried Ringu!

Rags missed her chance to talk to Skyler later that night when he ended up being the last to come home. She had hoped he'd be the first like the day before so she could have some alone time with him. But getting this time became even more impossible when Cooper showed what he'd borrowed from a friend.

"Ringu! And it's the original 1998 version," he explained, waving the DVD cartridge out in front of everyone.

"And why did you get that again?" Rags asked.

"You said you've been hearing some kind of countdown in your dreams. Maybe if you like watch a movie about a similar situation, it might help you remember some things."

"To be honest, I do have my doubts about this, but I guess it's worth a try."

"That's the spirit, Rags!" Cooper giggled to himself, realizing his unintentional pun. "Ha! Get it? Because you really are the spirit, Rags." This earned him an unamused glare from everyone else in the apartment.

After dinner, the four friends gathered in the living room for movie night. Skyler made some popcorn which he placed on the coffee table before heading in the direction of his room.

"Woah, stop right there! Where are you going, Sky?" Cooper asked.

"I'm not watching some lame ghost movie."

"Lame?!" Cooper repeated with great offense. "Ringu is a classic!"

Archer then joined in, "Classic or otherwise, we both know you're only saying that to hide the fact you're terrified of horror movies, especially ones with ghosts."

"I am not!" Skyler's gaze briefly fell on Rags who was seated on the floor by the sofa. For some reason, it greatly bothered him to let his fear of ghosts show in front of an actual ghost. He refused to be defeated like this. "Fine. I'll watch your stupid movie."

"Try calling it stupid once you've seen it until the end," Cooper said, starting the ninety-five-minute film.

Skyler approached the sofa to sit with his friends, only for Cooper to stretch his entire body out on it, resting his feet on Archer's legs.

"Sorry, Sky. There's no room for you here. You'll have to sit with Rags on the floor."

"You're fucking kidding, right?"

Archer slyly added, "Don't tell me you're afraid to sit next to a ghost."

Skyler gritted his teeth. "Fine. I'll sit on the damn floor." He then took his seat next to Rags, careful to keep some distance between him and her, and leaned his back on the sofa.

Archer and Cooper passed a sneaky grin to one another. This movie night secretly had another purpose besides helping Rags figure something out about her dreams. It was also meant to get her and Skyler to become closer. So far, things were going according to plan.

Rags watched the beginning of the movie mostly in silence. She wasn't all that afraid of horror movies as it turned out. It was hard to be freaked out by a ghost when you were one too. What had her more concerned was how to talk to Skyler regarding last night and the fact that he'd appeared in her dream. Although she didn't once turn her head to look at him, she was constantly aware of his presence just a few inches away. But those few inches would quickly turn to zero the moment there was the first jump scare.

"Holy shit! What the fuck was that?!" Skyler shouted, lashing out to hug the closest person to him, which unfortunately for him turned out to be Rags. He wound up losing his balance while grabbing on to nothing but thin air and fell over.

Rags stiffened, unsure whether to ask if he was alright. It didn't help that his head was currently in her boobs, quite literally since he went straight through her. However, Skyler had no idea where he'd landed because his eyes were tightly shut. Rags saw this, along with the slight shiver that ran through his entire body. She couldn't help pitying the guy more than anything and reached out to give him a gentle pat on the back, which of course went completely unfelt.