Chapter Text
Alex
Alex, carelessly, does not knock. He opens the door, preparing to call out to Haley, when he hears raised voices from the kitchen. He hates walking into Haley and Emily’s fights. Haley gets loud and pitchy when she’s mad, but Alex only hears Emily, her slightly lower register distinct.
Emily is talking louder now, practically yelling, so Alex creeps through the open door and listens. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard her this upset.
“They’re not taking it seriously…I told the officer he had to look further into it, but he just told me this kind of stuff happens when people drink too much. I know exactly how alcohol works, and I knew how it worked for him!”
She falls silent. For a moment, Alex worries he’s been caught, but then he realizes, guiltily, that she’s crying. “Maybe it really was an accident. But I can’t believe they’d just leave it like that. It’s not fair to him or the people who cared about him…Yeah. Thank you for listening, Clint. I should check on Marnie.” Alex hears the click of the phone as she drops it in the cradle, and he feels dread start to gather in his stomach.
“Emily?” Alex calls, and crosses the familiar living room into the kitchen, where things are different already. The dishes are sitting unwashed in the sink. Emily’s face is in her hands, and she’s weeping. Her hair haloes her head, wild and blue, and Alex's heart swells in his chest with sympathy.“What happened?”
“Alex,” she says, and her eyes are rimmed with red. She pulls him into a hug, and Alex startles, but draws his arms around her. They stand that way for a moment. Alex shifts awkwardly on his feet, but he does not step away. She opens her mouth, and Alex wants to hide from what she’s about to say. Even more than he aches to leave the tense space between knowing and not, he doesn’t want things to change.
“Shane is… they found him on the beach, this morning.” She draws back a little and looks Alex in the eyes. He watches her chin tremble, tracks the progress of a tear down her cheek. He’s not going to cry. Alex needs to be strong. It was the only useful thing his dad ever taught him.
“Was he…” Alex trails off. His face gets hot and his throat tightens. He feels stupid for asking, because he doesn’t want to hear her say it.
“He was dead, Alex.”
Oh.
~
Alex knows he isn’t smart. He’s not good at stuff like this. But, he thinks, Abigail is.
He sprints across town before he can talk himself out of his own bad idea. He runs headfirst into Leah, who has never liked him, but who looks now like she would throttle him if two dead bodies weren’t too many for one day.
“You should watch where you’re going,” Leah snaps, and Alex thinks that even if she lives in a kitchenless cabin now, the citygoer in her is showing.
“Uh, sorry,” he says, “I was in a hurry?”
“So was I,” Leah says, and her face softens a little. “I’ve left Elliott alone for too long already.” Her arms are filled with groceries, Alex realizes.
Alex doesn’t know why Elliott needs her to buy him groceries, exactly, but calls out an “I hope he feels better soon” at her back as she abruptly turns away from him and starts to walk out towards the beach.
Anyway. Back to the Plan. He’s gotta stay focused.
He enters Pierre’s feeling a little sheepish, but the look Caroline shoots him is absolutely sympathetic.
“Alex!” She turns from restocking the shelves. “Are you alright? I know things are…weird, right now. You look flushed.”
“Uh, hi,” he scuffs his shoe on the floor. “I’m okay. Can I see Abigail, please?”
“Of course,” she frowns. “I didn’t know you two were friends.”
“Oh, uh. Yeah,” he blusters. “It’s good to be friends with everybody in a town this small.”
“Yes,” she says, and her face crumples just a little. “Which makes it even more sad when we lose someone. It hurts the whole community. ”
“Yeah,” Alex looks down at his feet. He didn’t mean to bring it back to that.
They stop outside a door that Alex assumes leads to Abigail’s room. Caroline puts her hand on his shoulder.
“You can always talk to me, you know. I know it might be hard for you, without your parents, but I don’t want you to feel like you don’t have support.”
“Thank you,” he says, and means it. “Really, I appreciate it.”
“I’m glad.” Caroline releases his shoulder and knocks.
“Abby, sweetheart? Alex is here to see you.”
Abigail comes to the door, still in pajamas, and Alex starts to have second thoughts about his Plan. Abigail is intimidating, regardless of how she’s dressed. The pajamas only serve to make him feel even more like he’s intruding.
“Well, I’ll be in the front if you guys need anything!” Caroline tells them, trying to smile. There goes Alex’s only lifeline.
“Hey, Alex,” she says, and gestures into her room. “Come in.”
“Abigail, I need your help.” Alex looks around at Abigail’s room, and finds her posters utterly foreign to him; another reminder that they’re not friends.
“Oh,” Abigail replies, sitting down in front of her console. “I wondered why you were here. Okay, let it all out. I won’t judge. I mean, it’s not the ideal day to have a gay awakening, but-”
“I’m not gay!”Alex yelps. This was exactly what he was afraid of. Alex chooses not to think about why Abigail analyzing his sexuality is scary. “This is serious.”
“No offense.” She unpauses the game, but turns to look at him, indirectly killing her character. “But unless it’s really, really serious, maybe it could wait? I didn’t know Shane all that well, but even I need some time.”
Alex doesn’t know how to say what he needs to say.
“I mean, if you just want to chill in here and watch me play video games, that’s cool too,” Abigail continues. “And if you ever do need advice on gay stuff, then-”
“We need to summon Shane’s ghost!” Alex shouts. Abigail drops the controller.
“Okay, what the fuck?”
Alex pulls his shoulders in. He feels so stupid.
She studies him. Alex hates the feeling of her eyes on him. He’s not enough.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“...Yeah.”
“Okay.”
“Really?” Alex jerks his head up so fast he gets a little dizzy.
“I mean, yeah? I’ve never actually summoned a ghost before, but I have some books and-”
“Thank you!” Alex cheers, and throws his arms around her. Abby puts a hand on the floor behind her to steady herself and brings the other one up to pat Alex on the back a little awkwardly.
“I’m glad you’re happy, but, uh. Maybe ease up on the touching?” Abby says. She’s smiling, though.
“Sorry.” Alex lets her go, feeling embarrassed at his sincerity.
“Also,” Abby starts, “If we’re conducting a Séance tomorrow , I am definitely going to make Sam and Sebastian participate.”
“Oh, cool,” Alex says, and dredges up a memory of a Spirit’s Eve long past. “Isn’t Sam afraid of ghosts?”
“Yep,” Abby replies. “He’ll agree to do it if Sebastian does, though.”
~
Sebastian
SAMMYROCKS555: R u sure this is a good idea ??
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: yeah we dont really know Alex at all
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: isnt he a misogynist or a homophobe or something like that
ABOOGAIL: rlly???
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: i mean i haven't heard anything but he gives off Vibes
ABOOGAIL: sebastian vibes are not enough
SAMMYROCKS555: I have nothing against Alex personally but like cmon
SAMMYROCKS555: Why are vibes not an argument now but they were last week when u told us eating amethysts gave u good vibes
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: good point sam
ABOOGAIL: wow guys prejudiced much!
ABOOGAIL: alex is cool!!
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: why do you say that
SAMMYROCKS555: Yeah now i wanna know Why Alex Is Cool
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: wait you guys aren’t a thing right.
SAMMYROCKS555: Omg
SAMMYROCKS555: I thought she liked Maru tho ???
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: ugh dont remind me.
SAMMYROCKS: I think its cute !!
SAMMYROCKS555: Imagine if they got married and you were related !!
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: yeah bc another sister is exactly what i need
ABOOGAIL: while yall were gossiping like old ladies i got some evidence to back up my claims
ABOOGAIL UPLOADED lookguyshescool.png
SAMMYROCKS555: Aww!!!
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: i am not convinced.
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: like yes that is a cute picture but come on we’re not that shallow
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: right sam?
SAMMYROCKS555: Idk sebby this is pretty damning evidence !!
SAMMYROCKS555: Hes good with animals! Look how Happy the dog looks !
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: he could have bribed it to look happy for the picture.
ABOOGAIL: i took the picture, so no he did not ‘bribe the dog’
ABOOGAIL: cmon guys pleeease
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: no.
SAMMYROCKS555: Ill do it if Seb agrees ig :/
ABOOGAIL: why not!!
ABOOGAIL: maybe your mom will stop complaining abt how u never get out of the house if u do it!
ABOOGAIL: also im gonna dm u guys and i bet after that youll agree ;)
SAMMYROCKS555: Yeah okay ill do it
SEBASTIANSUSERNAMEHERE: …..fine
~
Sebastian does not want to do this stupid thing. He decides, as soon as Abigail has goaded him into it with embarrassing photos (blackmail is a low blow, even for her) that he is going to be begrudging every step of the way.
This is only further magnified when Maru decides she has to butt in on this, too.
“Sebastian!” She had said, crossing the lawn to meet him. “Can I come to the spirit meeting Abigail is having? She invited me, but I thought I should ask.”
She’d looked so afraid of rejection. “I don’t want to butt in-”
“It’s fine. Alex is there too, so it’s not, like, a friend thing.”
“Oh,” Maru says. “Okay.”
“Yeah.” Sebastian tells himself he’s not gonna snark at her just because he doesn’t believe in ghosts. She’s certainly better company than Alex, in any case.
~
The five of them end up gathered in Abby’s room.
“Okay, gang!” Abby says. She is somehow the de-facto leader. Sebastian watches Maru watch her with some degree of detached fascination.
“Are we gonna do a chant like in the scouts or something?” Sam asks. “I always wanted to lead the chant, but we moved here way before I was old enough to be a scout leader.”
“We’re not gonna do a chant, Sam.”
“Actually, I don’t know,” Alex says. “Maybe we should do a chant.”
It’s only the second time he’s spoken, and Sebastian feels a little weird about it. Logically, Alex should be a bigger douche than this.
“Okay, fine,” Abby grants, ever the benevolent ruler. “Sam, you can do a chant.”
“Okay,” Sam says. “When I was in the scouts, the leader would say ‘Scooby Dooby Doo’ and we’d say ‘where are you’.”
“Sam.” Sebastian says.
“Yeah, Sebby?”
“That is awful.”
“Aww, c’mon! It might be objectively stupid but it’s also fun!”
“Aren’t we doing this to solve a murder, though?” Maru asks. “Maybe fun shouldn’t be the first priority here.”
Sam pouts. “Yeah, but. I don’t know. I thought we could use a morale boost?”
“I guess so,” Maru says, pulling some tupperware from her backpack.. “I mean, I brought brownies for that exact reason, but-”
“You have brownies?” Sam asks. Maybe to him, this isn’t that weird.
“Of course Maru brought brownies. She’s the best.”
Maru beams, and extends the tupperware. “Thank you, Abigail.”
Alex eats one of the proffered brownies. “Maru,” he masticates. “I love you.”
And then he flushes bright red.
“I mean,” he’s stammering. “Uh. These are really good!”
Sebastian is charmed.
“Thanks!” Maru says, avoiding the faux pas entirely. “I used two different kinds of chocolate chips!”
“Wow,” Sam says. “Alex was right. I also love you.”
Sebastian is jealous in two directions, something he previously hadn’t known possible.
~
“No, listen, guys.” Alex says. He finally seems comfortable in his skin after over an hour of what has amounted to mostly just a lot of brownie-eating and chat. “You know how the book said we need an object the person was close to in life?” He gestures towards a huge tome sitting in Maru’s lap. “I know who can help us get something like that, and I still don’t think we should bother Marnie.”
“Who?” Maru asks, flipping to the page that Alex is referring to.
“Well, he went to the saloon a lot, right?”
“Yeah,” Sam replies. And Sebastian remembers again that he knew Shane better than anyone else here.
“Definitely,” Abby says. “I saw him there all the time.”
~
The Stardrop is open, but Sebastian is not surprised by the framed picture of Shane that is sitting on the counter. Two candles are lazily flickering on either side, and Sebastian watches as a bead of wax slides down towards the base of the candle. It hardens quickly into the grain of the wooden counter. Rigor Mortis only takes two to six hours to set in.
Sebastian shakes his head free of gruesome thoughts and turns to look at Sam.
“Hi, Gus,” Sam says. He was supposed to be the talker, they’d decided.
“Hi, Sam.” Gus responds. He looks too tired for small talk.
“Shane came here a lot,” Sam starts. It’s awkward, even for him.
“He did.”
“Do you know,” Sam draws his finger through the hardened wax, and Sebastian tracks his hand. “If he left anything behind?”
“Yes,” Gus says, gesturing across the counter towards the stool Shane had favored. “That’s his jacket. I keep meaning to take it over to Marnie, but-”
“I completely understand,” Sam interrupts, grabbing the jacket. “Sebastian and I will take it to her.”
“Thank you, kids,” Gus says, mouth folding into a sort of droopy smile. “That’s kind of you.”
“Mhm.” Sam says abruptly. “Let Mom know if you need anything.”
And then he drags Sebastian out by the arm.
“Why’d you lie ?” Sebastian hisses at him, once they’re outside. “And why’d you implicate me in your lie?”
“I had to!” Sam says. “And besides, we will give it back! Eventually.”
“Eventually!” Sebastian reels. “Knowing you, you’ll leave it on your floor for months!”
“Dude,” Sam shouts, and Sebastian notices with guilt the genuine hurt in his tone. “What is UP with you today? You are being such an asshole! I can’t believe you-”
Abby, who has been waiting outside with the rest of the group, coughs. Sebastian flushes and realizes he’d forgotten his surroundings for a moment in his indignation. Alex and Maru definitely heard all of that.
“How’d it go, guys?”
“Well,” Sam says matter-of-factly, holding up the ragged Jojamart hoodie. “We got this.”
“Nice,” Maru responds. “That’s the perfect object.”
~
The walk back to Pierre’s is deeply awkward, and Sebastian jumps when Alex puts a hand on his shoulder. The two of them are lagging behind the rest.
“I’m sure it’ll work out,” Alex says. “You two are best friends.”
“I’m going to apologize,” Sebastian shrugs off the hand on his shoulder. “But thanks. I guess.” That has to be enough.
~
While Abby, Maru, and Alex set up a bunch of useless candles in the Yoba shrine behind Pierre’s, Sebastian takes Sam aside.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to be a dick.”
“It’s okay, dude. I’m just a little- well. Shane was my coworker.”
“Yeah,” Sebastian takes the plunge and hugs him. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“You already said that, Sebby.”
“They were two different sorries.”
Sam’s cologne is nice, Sebastian thinks. He’s been wearing it since ninth grade, and Sebastian still doesn’t know what brand it is. He doesn’t know how Sam feels, but he’d call hugging it out in the hallway for over a minute kind of intimate.
Hugging Sam is nice despite his sharp edges; he hugs with his whole body. The familiarity of it reminds Sebastian of rewatching the old sci-fi serials his mom had shown he and Maru when they were kids - before she started picking apart their scientific inaccuracies.
Sometimes Sebastian thinks he could buy a dorky anime dakimakura and never have to think about boys again, but right now isn’t one of those moments.