Three Idiots and a Ghost

When an idiot and a ghost had a nice time

"I should've known Arch would pull something like this," Skyler groaned, staring down at his plate of cream pasta.

"It's not too bad," Rags said, mouth full of spaghetti. She helped wash it down with a sip of red wine. "Not being able to eat really makes you appreciate food whenever it comes."

Earlier that night, Archer and Skyler had come home together after class. Upon arrival, Archer immediately forced his friend to go dress in something nice while he did the same. He then revealed his master plan. Rags was to take over Archer's body again so she and Skyler could enjoy a nice dinner together. There was no room for refusal as Archer had already made reservations for a fancy Italian restaurant downtown. He insisted the two wouldn't be disappointed by the food there after all the positive reviews he'd seen online. This was also Archer's secret way of getting to eat at this place after failing to ever procure a date to take. Not to mention, Cooper had agreed to pay for the meal in full. The only thing Skyler had to do was drive him and Rags there, have a nice evening together, and hopefully resolve any possible past grudges. However, things weren't off to a great start.

"I swear that elderly couple over there has been staring at us for the past ten minutes. They probably think we're gay," Skyler said, unable to hide his chagrin. This was far from how he wanted to spend the night.

Rags smiled, trying her best to lighten the mood. "Well, they are technically half right. Hey, don't you have to drive—"

"Just a sip won't hurt," Skyler replied, having stolen Rags's glass of wine. He was too tense at the moment. If he had any hope of sorting things out between him and the ghost, he'd have to loosen up first. And alcohol always did the trick.

But as soon as Skyler had one tiny sip, Rags snatched the glass away. "No more than that. We wouldn't want to risk having more than one ghost in the house now, do we?"

Skyler sighed. "Yeah, whatever."

Yeah, whatever. You're such a buzzkill—

Rags placed her fork down midway to her mouth. She had experienced another déjà vu. This time, she could clearly make out the voice in her head, and it wasn't Skyler's. The young man's voice was closer to that of Cooper's high tone than Skyler's comparatively lower one. She had a strong feeling that she'd scolded someone for his drinking before while she was still alive. Could it have been a friend? Or perhaps a sibling?

The mention of sibling made Rags frown. Just thinking about the family she had to leave behind never failed to bring so much sadness. If only she could remember them. That way, she would know who she'd have to say goodbye to.

Skyler took notice of Rags's negative change in mood. He thought he had upset her by attempting to drink irresponsibly. "Look, I'm sorry. I sounded too rude again, didn't I? I won't drink anymore tonight. Promise."

Rags snapped herself away from her sad thoughts and back to the dinner table. "Okay, thank you. Um, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"I remember seeing a picture of your family in your room. What are they like?"

Skyler had to think about his answer. He was quite close to everyone in his family and knew them quite well. But when it came to describing what each of them was like, it wasn't so cut and dry. "My mom and dad are just like any parents, I guess. They're caring and supportive but also pretty strict. If they knew how much I partied and slept around in college, I'd be dead. Uh, no offense to you though."

"None taken. With how many dead jokes Coops has made so far, I'm used to it," Rags said with a laugh. "And what about your little sister?"

"Well, she's a handful. Always has been. You know how younger siblings can be."

"Yeah," Rags instinctively replied, even though she wasn't sure she had a younger sibling yet.

Skyler made no regard to Rags's response as he smiled to himself, thinking of his sister whom he hadn't seen in months. "She's a high schooler now. Knowing her, there's no telling what kind of boy trouble she'll get herself into. I just hope she doesn't meet a complete ass. You know, someone like me."

Rags saw the guilt on Skyler's face. "Hey, you're not that bad."

"Says the person who knows next to nothing about me. There's a chance we could've slept together before—"

"Okay, no need to mention that again!"

Both Skyler and Rags heard the elderly couple a few tables away clearing their throats extra loudly. It seemed they were eavesdropping, which reminded Skyler that to everyone else, he was currently talking and eating with a guy. It was time to change the subject.

"So, did you figure anything out about your dreams?"

Rags shook her head. "Not really. Movie night wasn't much help either. But here's something. In last night's dream, I was being chased by someone. Or was it that I was trying to avoid them? I'm not sure. Perhaps it could've been my murderer..."

"You're beginning to sound like Coops, you know that?" Skyler remarked. "And I've been meaning to tell you this. I did some digging around at the school library today. If it makes you feel any better, there hasn't been a murder case in this area for over twenty years. Of course, that's considering you used to live around here."

Rags was touched that Skyler would go out of his way to research something like that for her. Even if he did appear cold and indifferent all the time, he still did care. She smiled. "Thanks, Sky. That does make me feel a little better."

However, with murder taken out of the equation, three other possibilities remained: an accident, natural causes, or suicide. None of them appealed to Rags. Then again, the idea of death itself wasn't very welcoming in general. Sad thoughts were taking over her mind again which she quickly pushed aside. Rags reminded herself that she was here to enjoy a nice dinner with Skyler, and that was the only thing she wanted to focus on for the time being. Enough sad thoughts for one night.

During the next hour, Rags and Skyler slowly opened up to each other more, and by the end of their meal, they were significantly closer than before. The two glasses of wine Rags had did help with that. She wasn't drunk but simply a lot less overworked than usual and easier to talk to.

After dinner was all eaten and paid for with Cooper's card, Skyler drove the two of them home. Just as he was pulling up to the front of their apartment building, Rags had a sudden feeling of nostalgia. It was similar to the moment back at the café while eating breakfast.

This scene felt too familiar to her, being pulled up to her home by a man she cared about. She turned her head to Skyler and for a split second saw the profile of another guy in the driver's seat. But he was gone just as quickly as he appeared, so she couldn't make out who it was. The only thing that was left of this vision was immense heartache.

"Are you okay?" Skyler asked when the car lights revealed the teary-eyed friend next to him.

Rags blinked a few times to clear her eyes. "Y-Yeah. I don't know what came over me just then."

"Were you that in awe of how charming I can be?" he said, smiling.

She smiled back, making the pain in her chest fade away as if it was never there. "As if. To be honest, you're not really my type."

"Well, that's a relief because you're not mine either. I'm not exactly into dead girls, especially those who aren't even that hot."

"Then I guess we work out in each other's favor."

Skyler opened his mouth but hesitated a bit before his next words. "And let's continue to do so. Despite how I may have come out, I do want to help you, Rags. As a friend."

This was the first time Skyler ever addressed himself as Rags's friend. Even if she wasn't any closer to solving the mystery of her death after tonight, she still did feel like she had made a lot of progress. Now with three friends by her side, she was that much more confident she'd uncover the truth soon.