Chapter Text
Eyes opened wide to a dark room as Jared bolted out of his sleep. The clock read 3:24am. Wind whistled through the window panes, rustling the curtains in a macabre dance. The Kleinman residence was in an older part of town and as the warmth of summer faded away, Jared’s bedroom, which was once an attic, returned to its terrible, eerie glory. He was usually glad about this, but tonight was an exception. After 16 years in that house, he felt a kinship with its creaks and moans, as though the walls could speak to him. Certainly, there was something unnatural in the air.
As Jared felt for his glasses, the wind carried with it a faint voice calling his name. He wrote off the noises as a lingering figment of his imagination, tearing off the covers of his bed.
Making his way to the bedroom door, he passed through an unusually cold spot in the room. Curious, he walked back to that spot and once again felt the cold overtake him. It was a static chill, like standing out in the snow. He checked his surroundings. His fan was on, but there was no way it could cool this particular spot to that degree, and though his windows weren’t completely sealed, they were usually adept at keeping out the crisp fall air.
After passing through the spot a few more times, Jared heard the voice again, louder this time. It was almost as though it was coming from inside his ear. “Kleinman, if you don’t stop trampling through me, I will beat the shit out of you.”
Screaming, Jared stumbled back onto his bed. “What the hell?! Who’s there?” He put up his hands, balled into fists. “I made it to a green belt in karate, I’m not scared of you!”
“I know you did, I was there.” Illuminated by a sliver of light shining through the doorway, a lanky young man materialized where Jared once stood. With matted long hair and a tattered hoodie hanging off an ethereal frame, Jared recognized the figure immediately.
He tilted his head, his mouth slightly agape. “Wait, Connor? Connor Murphy?”
“In the flesh.” Connor smirked, giving a slight bow. The spirit threw himself onto the bed, his hand passing through Jared’s thigh as he sat down.
“What the--how did your hand just do that?!” Jared swatted at his leg where Connor’s hand passed through.
A ghastly chuckle filled the room. “You know, for a nerd, you seem to know fuck-all about ghosts.”
“ Ghosts? Oh-ho-ho, NO. This cannot be happening.” Jared ripped off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. After a few tight blinks, he pinched himself, wincing as his nails dug into his arm. “Damn,” he muttered.
“As much as it pains me to say it,” said Connor, “this is totally real.” He attempted to pat Jared on the back, but once again his hand passed through the boy.
“Ok, I get it!” Jared pulled away, his face contorted. “Could you stop putting your hands through my limbs, though? It’s a little invasive.”
“Oh,” Connor said. “My bad.”
Jared scoffed, flopping backwards onto the bed. He stared at the ceiling, his eyes having adjusted to the darkness. As he examined the beams, a thought crept into his mind. “Wait,” he said. “Is this some sort of twisted karmic joke? Are you, like, haunting me now because I made fun of you or whatever?”
“You wish!” Connor spat back. He lowered himself onto the bed, lying next to Jared. “I actually have no idea what I’m doing here. The last thing I remember seeing was a bright light, and then suddenly I’m here in your bedroom. Surprisingly cool digs, by the way.”
Jared got up from the bed, heading towards his computer. He switched the light on as he made his way across the room. “Thanks, but don’t get too comfortable. You’re going back to the Upside-Down or wherever you were as soon as I figure out a way to get rid of you.”
“Trust me, I want to be here just as little as you want me to be here.” Connor sat up. “What I don’t understand is why I’m not still at the park.”
Jared stopped in his tracks. “The park? Like….where you died?”
“Yeah. I mean that’s the last place I—wait. How do you know I died at the park? It literally just happened.”
“Excuse me?” said Jared. “What do you mean it just happened?”
“What do you mean by ‘excuse me?’” Connor drifted closer as he stared Jared down.
“Well, I, uh—“ he sputtered.
Connor disappeared in a puff of smoke and materialized centimeters from Jared’s face, eyes dark and intense. “Tell me what’s going on.”
The boy gulped and let out a shaky breath that fogged up in the presence of the enraged spirit. “You, uh…well, you died about two months ago, Connor.”
Connor’s eyes widened and his jaw went slack. He backed away from Jared, slowly gliding through the air. Appearing to take a deep breath, he closed his eyes. “So it’s not August 27th?”
“No, it most certainly isn’t.”
“Then…what day is it?”
Jared picked his phone up off of the desk to check the date, and no sooner than he could unlock his phone he let out a loud chuckle.
Connor grimaced at his host, now doubled over with laughter. “Shit, Kleinman. What’s so funny?”
“See for yourself,” Jared said, tossing the phone to Connor.
The phone went through his chest and landed face up on the bed. Connor turned around, catching a glimpse of the date just before the phone was out of his line of sight.
OCTOBER 31, 2017.