Chapter Text
”Fine!” Enjolras sighed. “I really don’t see the point of sitting in a circle on the floor surrounded by candles. But if you’re all determined to waste your time, that’s your call. Just please, try not to burn our apartment down. And if anyone wants to do something that’s actually productive, you’re welcome to join us in the kitchen.“
“You’re no fun.” Joly shook his head and turned to the rest of the group. There was an undeniable spark of excitement in his eyes. He’d been trying to convince Combeferre to join him in a séance for weeks. And now, finally, they'd managed to get enough people together for a lovely evening of wine and ghost summoning. Bahorel and Feuilly had showed up, as well as Marius and Cosette. To be honest, Combeferre was quite excited about the evening himself. His roommate however, was anything but amused.
“Right,” Enjolras continued, “who’s going to join me and Ferre in the kitchen? We still need to go over the plans for our next rally.”
“Actually, Enjolras, I thought I’d stay and see where this goes,” Combeferre explained.
“What? You can’t be serious. Do you honestly believe that putting your hands on a piece of wood is going to summon a ghost?”
“It’s a Ouija board actually and technically we’re not summoning anything,” Joly protested.
“Yes, thank you Joly. As I said, Enjolras, I’m curious to see where this is going. I can’t say that I believe in communication with the dead but until it's been scientifically proven or refuted, I can’t say that don’t believe in it either.“
Enjolras looked at Combeferre like he’d just proclaimed his allegiance to the Republican party.
“And besides,” Joly continued, “I can guarantee you that it does work. I’ve done it with Jehan quite a few times and the answers we get are too uncanny to just be your own subconscious or something like that. Feuilly, you where there the other week, tell him.”
Feuilly threw his hands up in the air in a gesture of surrender. “No way. I’m not getting involved.”
“Yeah, cause you were scared shitless when you came home,” Bahorel helpfully chipped in. Feuilly gave him a murderous look.
“Really?” Marius asked, his voice even shakier than usual. “I thought it wasn’t going to be scary.”
“Of course not. As long as we say the words right and follow Jehan’s instructions, it’s going to be fine,” Joly promised.
“Exactly,” Bahorel continued, “and if Joly, who's never done this on his own before, happens to say a word wrong, the worst thing that will happen is we summon a demon who’ll haunt us for the rest of our lives.” Marius visibly paled at his words while Feuilly bit his tongue not to laugh and Bahorel earned a slap on the head from Cosette.
“I’m not so sure about this anymore, guys,” Marius said.
“Well, you can always join Enjolras in the kitchen,” Joly suggested, raising his eyebrows.
The look on Marius’s face was absolutely priceless. Combeferre had never seen a human being look so conflicted and terrified in his life. He was saved from having to decide between the lesser of two evils though, as Cosette put a hand on his knee. “It’s just a game, sweetie.”
“I’ll leave you to you game then,” Enjolras muttered grumpily and turned towards the kitchen.
“Actually,” Feuilly said, standing up, “I’ve done this already and it’s not that interesting. I think I’ll go work on the rally with Enjolras instead. There’s a lot to plan.”
Bahorel made a noise that sounded much more like “Chicken” than a cough and Feuilly held up both his middle fingers in Bahorel’s direction as he exited the room.
“Alrighty, let’s get started!” Joly proclaimed with a huge grin on his face. “First, I had to promise Jehan to go over the rules. There are three ground rules for using a Ouija board that you have to know. Basically, never do it alone, never ask how they died and never leave without saying goodbye and closing the board.”
Combeferre looked around at his friends’ faces in the dimly lit room as Joly started to utter the words Jehan had taught him, asking for any spirit present to make itself known. They all shared a mixed look of excitement and trepidation, with the exception of Marius, who looked more like he was about to throw up.
Combeferre himself felt rather skeptical towards the whole event but both Joly and Bossuet had sworn to him that it actually worked and insisted that he try it. Well, he thought, it couldn’t hurt to see what happened.
Which, ten minutes later, appeared to be absolutely nothing.
“Maybe we should give up and watch a movie instead,” Marius suggested, sounding utterly relieved.
“Come on, just one more try, then we’ll stop,” Joly answered, stubborn as ever.
They all placed their fingers back on the planchette and Joly drew a breath to repeat the words. But before he’d even had a chance to speak, the planchette moved suddenly to Hello. It happened so quickly that both Combeferre and Cosette lost their grip on the little piece of wood.
“Whoa!” Bahorel exclaimed. “Who did that?”
They all looked around at each other, everyone seeming just as surprised as the next person.
Joly grinned. “Gentlemen, and Lady, I believe we have contact!”
“Okay,” Bahorel continued, “so, what do we ask it?”
“I heard that you’re not supposed to ask about death or anything personal about the ghost,” Marius stressed.
“So, what are we supposed to ask about then?” Bahorel sighed. “The weather?” Suddenly, the planchette started moving again.
W I N D Y
Joly was practically bouncing with excitement. “How many spirits are in this room?”
J U S T - M E
Combeferre scanned his friends’ faces to see if he could distinguish anyone deliberately moving the planchette. His bet was on Joly but he wasn’t a hundred percent sure.
“What’s your name?” Bahorel asked, and in turn made Marius whimper.
“Don’t worry, Marius, it’s just a game, remember,” Cosette soothed.
Hello M A R I U S
“Oh my god! How did it know my name?!”
U R - G F - J U S T - S A I D
Cosette and Joly both snickered. “See,” Cosette said, “it’s a funny ghost.”
“Oh, come on!” Bahorel interjected. “Someone is obviously moving the planchette. Ghosts don’t use text speak, do they?”
Everyone turned to Joly, as the impromptu Ouija expert. “Uhm, I don’t know. The spirits that Jehan communicates with have never spoken like that. Maybe it’s a young ghost?” He shrugged his shoulders.
“Oh, you mean recently deceased,” Bahorel whispered, smirking at Marius. “So, spirit, how old are you?”
2 2
“How long have you been 22?”
A - T W I L I G H T - R E F? - R E A L L Y?
Combeferre laughed. If Joly really was steering the planchette, at least he did it with a sense of humor.
“You still haven’t told us your name,” Bahorel continued.
For once, the planchette remained utterly still.
“Maybe it’s just shy,” Cosette suggested. “Perhaps if we try to introduce ourselves first.” She looked at the others, who nodded in agreement. “I’m Cosette. And Marius you know already.”
“I’m Joly.” Suddenly the planchette began to move again. Combeferre focused his eyes on the fingers atop the wood, trying to figure out if anyone was steering it.
W H A T - A B O U T - T H E - C U T E - Q U I E T - 1?
Cosette giggled. “Hey, Ferre, I think it’s talking about you.”
“What?” Concentrating on the participants fingers, Combeferre had completely missed which words had been spelled out.
“You should introduce yourself,” Joly pressed.
“Oh, okay. Uhm, I’m Combeferre.”
U - R - R E A L L Y - P R E T T Y
Marius laughed, seeming to have calmed down a bit. "I think it likes you!”
"Feels weird to call it 'it',” Cosette whispered.
"Right," Bahorel answered. "Do you have any pronouns you'd like us to use?"
H E
"Maybe you could score a boyfriend after all, Ferre," Bahorel laughed.
If Combeferre hadn't been convinced that Joly was moving the planchette before, he certainly was now. "I know that's you, Joly. And you're not funny."
"It's not me!"
I T - I S N T
Combeferre gave Joly his most well rehearsed unimpressed stare. "Seriously?"
Then, all of sudden, the dark room was filled with artificial light, as the table lamp began to blink in quick succession. At once, all of the people on the floor drew their breath. Marius made an undignified sound and Bahorel was half way to climbing into Cosette's lap.
"Holy shit, did you see that?" Joly cried. Combeferre had to admit that even he was shaken. Then, in an instant, the door to the kitchen flew open. A mix of shouts and swears amounted from different directions.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Feuilly asked from the door opening.
"Fucking Christ, Feuilly, you scared the living crap out of us!" Bahorel chided loudly. "You are so dead when we get home."
"Could we not talk about dead people, please," Marius whimpered.
"What are you guys doing?" Feuilly asked. "The lights in the kitchen are flickering like crazy.”
"Maybe it's just the weather," Combeferre suggested. A loud crash was heard and everyone jumped.
"SHIT!" Bahorel cried. Everyone turned to the source of the sound to see Enjolras's favourite coffee mug lying on the floor, its ear broken off.
"I'm not doing this anymore," Marius announced and hastily got up and walked pass Feuilly into the kitchen, followed by Cosette. The remaining three people on the floor looked at each other with uncertainty, trying to decide whether or not they should continue.
"Okay," Joly said at last, "I think we should keep going. Either way, we have to say goodbye and close the board properly.”
"All right," Bahorel agreed. Then he looked over to Feuilly, who was still standing in the door, looking perplexed and a bit shaken.
"What?" he snapped "Are you scared, Bahorel? Do you want me to come hold your hand?"
Bahorel snorted and turned back to the Ouija board. Combeferre could have sworn he heard him mutter "Yes" under his breath.
Once Feuilly had gone back to the kitchen and closed the door, the participants once again turned their focus to the game.
"Okay," Joly began, "you've proven you're here. We believe you." The planchette was still for a while. Then it began to move, at a slower pace than before.
S R Y - I - S C A R E D - U
"It's alright," Combeferre said. "That was... kind of amazing actually. How did you do that?"
I T S - H A R D - T A K E S - N R G
The planchette moved slowly and almost shakily between the letters. "I think he exhausted himself," Joly said.
“I think you’re right,” Bahorel agreed. “Maybe we should close the game.”
“No!” Combeferre exclaimed, not really thinking before he spoke. His friends turned to him, surprised by his uncharacteristic outburst. “I mean, there’s so much I want to ask. We just saw what could possibly be proof of otherworldly activity and you want to stop?”
Bahorel and Joly exchanged worried glances. But before they had a chance to respond, Cosette’s voice was heard from the kitchen. “We're coming through now, just so you know.”
The door opened and Marius and Cosette emerged, followed by Feuilly. “We’re going home guys. This was a little much for us,” Cosette said, holding the hand of a still frightened Marius.
“Yeah, I’m gonna head off too,” Feuilly announced.
“Right,” Bahorel said, “I guess that’s my cue to leave as well.”
“We should say goodbye and close the board then,” Joly said. They all placed their fingers back on the planchette and Joly asked if it was alright to end the conversation. The planchette slowly and shakily made its way to Goodbye. Combeferre tried very hard to conceal his disappointment.