Ink and Blood [T@gged Fanfic]

#Six

Ghost's mind was raving with the message from Monkey Man, a threat directed at the pep rally that was coming. Guns and pom-poms. There was something so sick about it all that it made Ghost's bones rattle when she walked. She had gotten the message as she was closing up at work, which made her even more anxious as she was alone and didn't know how close he could be. She'd walked home with her pocket knife in hand that night, something hadn't done since she was jacking cars.

As she entered the school, her hands trembled like the first time she had held Ash's gun. Her eyes kept moving as she was hit in the chest with a falling flyer, which was for Nikki's party on Saturday. The entire school made their way into the auditorium and Ghost felt like her legs were going to give out as she started towards the collective greeting space, but her phone chimed suddenly and she frantically fished it out.

Unknown: Do you remember?

An image of Ghost and a little boy with shaggy hair appeared in the attachment, her arms dangling over his shoulders and smiles on their faces. He was the son of one of her father's old friends, which meant they hung out from time to time, but when middle school hit, it was like they didn't even know each other. That was when her mother's small business fell through and they plummeted into debt. Ghost was bullied and isolated herself. That was when she met Ash, the foster kid in the apartment next-door.

Ash soon replaced that little boy and Ghost was sure that she wouldn't know his face now...she could hardly remember his name. She knew it was something peculiar. The name lingered in the back of her mouth, but she couldn't quite identify it, like a scent from her childhood or a spice in a dish her mother had not made in years. She bit down on her lip and debated calling her mother, but didn't want to raise questions. She was sure if she went back to her house and looked through the old albums she could figure it out, but if she skipped school, it would raise even more suspicion.

She collected herself and entered, catching the end of a clip of Hailey. Ghost's eyes scoured for the girl, regardless of the horrid act in the video, hoping to find her eyes and make sure she was alright. Before she could find her, however, a scratching record jerked Ghost's eyes back to the screen. A video of a little girl running around appeared on the projector, an eerie tune drifting through the auditorium. A little girl's singing voice haunted Ghost and she recognized the girl, it was her. By the video, it was clear that the person behind the camera was about her height and she turned to smile at that person, sticking her tongue out.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE.

The large lettering made Ghost swallow the lump in her throat, her knees quaking as she drifted to lean against a wall. There was no telling what the video would display next, perhaps it would be her rolling around with Brandon, or dismantling someone's car in South U, or perhaps her beating up some random asshole who thought he could assault a girl at a party. There was no telling what would come next, but there was more video.

I'M SURE YOU KNOW HER...

HOW ABOUT NOW?

Her throat tightened as an image of her appeared on the screen, passed out. She was laying with blankets barely covering her nude form and an arm was around her waist. Ghost didn't remember the setting at first, but then she faltered. A hat rested on the nightstand. This was none of the things that she had expected. It was the night that Ash took her virginity. She bit into her lip and could see the eyes searching for the girl in the video, especially as another image appeared. This one was of her and Brandon, with him pressed against the bed and her straddling his waist, wearing one of his long sleeved shirts.

"What the hell?" she heard a murmur in the crowd as they recognized the boy.

NEED MORE HELP?

It switched to a video of Ghost, the first photo turning into a video as she stirred and awoke, pushing her hair from her face. She sat up and held the blanket to her chest, exposing Ash's face to the sun that was rising. They were at his place in the Grotto and the bed was wooden pallets, which made her back ache. She stretched with one arm at a time and grabbed the nearest article of clothing: his sweatshirt. Ash raised his head and she felt her stomach sink. Elisia appeared in the corner of her vision and she looked away.

The next photo didn't need to be a video to do its damage, instead, a video of her getting shot became visible. It began with her in a hoodie and to the average person, it looked like she was simply fixing the vehicle. The street lamp was just far enough away that she wasn't completely visible, but suddenly she heard the cocking of a gun and she looked up. Ghost's entire body shook as she watched the clip – she couldn't remember any of it. None beside Brandon. The puff of gunpowder sliced through the air and her body jerked back with the bang, the current version of the girl whirling around and sprinting out of the auditorium.

Blurry rings appeared around her eyes, her breathing growing ragged and heavy. She couldn't call Ash after everything she had said to him, but she felt so alone. Dizziness swept over her and she fell hard against a locker, hands pressed against her chest. A figure appeared beside her and she was about to jerk away when she saw it was just some innocent looking kid. He knelt beside her and she focused on him trying to comfort her, the awkwardness of his speech clearing her mind of what had happened. Exhaling, Ghost was about to thank him when Brandon grabbed him.

She scrambled to her feet when the boy was slammed against the locker, "Leave him alone."

"You come out here to make fun of her? Hmm?" Brandon ground his teeth.

"Brandon, stop!" she shoved, but he didn't move. Her anger rose in her throat; the boy against the lockers was terrified. Ghost grabbed Brandon's wrist and yanked it away, bending his arm quickly behind his back and pushing him against the lockers; he was startled to say the least. "Leave it." She released him and he turned on her in disbelief as she shook her head, "He was just trying to help. Which is more than you're doing."

His mouth was agape and the fire in his eyes dissipated, eyes flickering to the boy, "Sorry."

The round faced young man nodded, a little surprised that she had stopped the beating that may have come his way. Brandon looked Ghost's way before strolling off, leaving the girl to turn to her savior. Ghost turned back to him and smiled apologetically, ruffling her locks and sighing.

"I'm sorry too," she added, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, nothing a few years in therapy won't fix," he teased.

Ghost laughed, more genuinely than she had in quite some time and nodded, "I think that's all of high school, but hey." He chuckled in reply and she raised a brow, "Um, I'm Ghost...we've met before haven't we? I feel like I know you...I'm shit with names though."

He looked a little deflated at first, but then nodded, "I'm...I'm..."

Before he could find his words, the auditorium doors burst open and children flooded from the doors, Ghost glancing their way nervously, "Um...I-I should go..."

"Go," he nodded understandingly and she turned to go, pausing to kiss his cheek before running off.

Ghost flew down the steps like a bat out of hell, her hands clamoring over railings and feet slipping down stairs. She was able to get out of the building before anyone else caught up to her, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel the stares. She felt like someone was on her tail, even as she hurried from school to work, her knife in her back pocket. That night, she had Niko walk her to her motorcycle, which she was a little embarrassed to ask him to do.

It didn't matter, all she knew was that Monkey Man was everywhere.