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Many weeks have passed since the McGees family moved to their forever home, they have adapted surprisingly well in a span of a few weeks in Brighton. Although their sudden move to their new home disturbed a supernatural entity already living there, Scratch, a grumpy ghost that cursed Molly because she will not leave his house but it backfired as he is now eternally tied with Molly and her family. He used to try many ways to kick her and her family out, taking the opportunity whenever he could to make them leave his house but his plan never seemed to work. She would always try to find the silver lining in everything which annoyed Scratch so much.
However, as time goes by, Scratch does start to feel less and less hostile towards Molly and her family. He feels guilty the more he tries to ruin Molly's life as seeing Molly miserable made him reflect on his life that is full of loneliness and misery. Conflicting emotions often trouble him but he denies that he is actually growing soft on Molly the more they spend time together, even if it is because of the curse. Her optimism and cheerful attitude still bother him to this day, she would hug him at random times which could be bothersome to him but everytime he sees Molly lost hope or in despair, it would make him uncomfortable so he often tries to cheer her up by making it up to her, like the times when he helped with Molly's project or when he went out his way to get a pop star for the Bandshell. Molly considered him a McGee because of this even though he is not one but he had proved that he is worthy to be a McGee.
The McGees also start to like having Scratch around and even takes care of him by feeding him real food instead of him having to dig in the trash for food. Scratch would sometimes be with Sharon in the kitchen waiting for her to prepare him some grub, sometimes he would play along with Darryl on his shenanigans, or sometimes he would be with Pete discussing trivial or unimportant things in the living room. He would also wish Grandma Nin to visit often so he can eat her delicious snacks. His bond with the McGees gets stronger every day and his presence in the house does make things more lively even if he does not want to admit it. It's all thanks to Molly slowly making him warm up to them.
Then on Friday night, Molly was just finishing with her school homework just so she can have more free time on the weekend. Scratch was reading one of the comics on his cobweb bed while the rest of the family was preparing to sleep. After finishing the last number of her maths homework, she closed the book and walked to her bed. She scoots herself until she is near her pillow and then lies down on the bed while looking at her phone. She opened her gallery app and scrolled down to the pictures she had taken with her friends and her family.
She looked… happier than when she was at any of the towns she previously moved to. The people and friends she met here are great and having Scratch around her felt like a blessing for her instead of a curse. She smiled, then she looked at her calendar on her phone. She realized that tomorrow will be officially one month since the McGees moved into Brighton to live in this house. Molly felt excited to celebrate it with her family and Scratch in the morning.
"Hey, Scratch!" called Molly to her ghost friend who is reading.
The blue ghost perked up his head from the book, "hm? What is it, Mol?"
"Come here! I wanna ask you something," Molly signaled Scratch to come to her, Scratch obliged without questioning and sat down at her bed.
“So, what do you wanna ask? And make it quick, I'm sleepy” Scratch said.
"So, Scratch, guess what tomorrow is?" asked Molly excitedly.
"What? Your birthday? Darryl's birthday? Ooh! Is Grandma Nin coming tomorrow?!" Scratch's mouth suddenly waters as he imagined eating Grandma Nin's snacks.
"What? No! Tomorrow is our one-month anniversary of living here!"
"Wait what? One month only?"
"Yeah! Isn't that cool? One month since I met you and one month since I've lived in this beautiful town called Brighton!"
Scratch scratched his head, "I didn't realize it's only been 1 month. It felt like several months to me."
"Heh," Molly bumped her arm on Scratch's side with a smirk, "I guess the time we spent together felt like an eternity, huh?"
Scratch rolled his eyes, "you can say that."
Suddenly, Molly's smile fades a little bit and looks a little more serious than usual, "hey Scratch, so um… what do you think?"
"Hm? Think of what?"
"You know… me and my family," Molly responded while simultaneously rubbing her left arm.
"Why are you suddenly asking that?" Scratch folded his arms together with his eyebrow raised.
"I just wanna know how you feel about us ever since we moved to your home if that's okay."
"Hmm…" Scratch puts his hand on his chin, "you want an honest answer or a lie?"
"Honest answer, duh."
"Hmm, basically you people are annoying. That's it," said Scratch deadpanned.
Molly rolled her eyes, "ah, come on, I need more than that. Just say anything you wanna say."
Scratch tries again to come up with an answer, "uh well I… I guess I just kinda hated you people for moving into my house. I was just minding my own business and then boom! You just suddenly barged and moved into my home out of nowhere."
"Oh, yeah, well-"
"BUT…" Scratch stops Molly from speaking, "I guess I just grew out of it now. Your family does take better care of me than I take care of myself," explained Scratch cooly, "your mom makes good food, your dad's cool, and Darryl? Well, he's Darryl. He's fun though.'
"Aww… that's nice to hear. Then, what about me, hm?" asked Molly instantly.
Scratch gulped nervously, letting down his guard, "wha? oh, uh… you uhm..."
"It's fine, buddy, just say it. Oh-ho wait, I think I know what you're gonna say, you're gonna say "oh you're annoying! You're too optimistic! I hate this curse!", am I right?" Molly mimicked Scratch's grumpy look and how he usually speaks and then laughs and slaps her knee afterward.
"Hey! I don't talk like that! That's offensive!" responded Scratch aggressively before toning down his voice again, "but you're not fully wrong... Those were what I WOULD say to you back then. But I guess you just kinda grow on me..?" Scratch felt a lot of embarrassment saying that.
Molly was flustered quickly by Scratch's response and held her face, "aww… Scratchy's going soft on me?"
"Don't get used to it!" growled Scratch before calming down his voice, "but… when I said you were really important to me some time ago… I do actually mean that." Scratch played with his fingers idly.
Molly smiled, "aww, you're so sweet, Scratch. But it just sounds a little strange, I thought you actually hated me and think I'm annoying. I wouldn't actually expect you to say all these, y'know."
"Well, I DID hate you. You're annoying, you're clingy AND you always summon me anywhere. But… you've been so nice to me that I can't even hate you anymore."
"That's… surprising."
Scratch sighed and stared at the floor of the attic, "okay, look, Molly, you want to know why it's hard for me to be happy-go-lucky, friendly, and optimistic like you? And why am I always miserable?"
"Why?" asked Molly as she secretly inches closer to Scratch to listen. Scratch took a deep breath before finally revealing things about himself that he wouldn't reveal to anyone else.
"I'm a nobody, Molly. In the ghost world, in the real world, I don't have anyone. I don't have friends or family. I lied to you a lot so that you don't have to see this side of me. Seeing people happy just makes me upset! Why do I have to be the one suffering while other people enjoy their life because they do not have the same fate as me?" Scratch's voice got caught up in his throat and his voice sounded shaky.
Molly wasn't expecting this bombshell to drop at her now, especially from Scratch. Seeing him reveal all of this to her at this very moment is surprising to her but Molly wasn't really disappointed that Scratch lied to her about himself being very popular amongst the ghost but instead she now understood why Scratch is often grouchy and mean.
"It is why I always wanted other people to suffer the same fate as me. They looked down on me and humiliated me like I'm a piece of garbage," Scratch starts to shed tears from his ghostly eyes. Molly really felt the urge to hug him but she sat there waiting until the right time struck.
"But then…" Scratch looked at Molly with a smile and glassy eyes, "after you showed up, things started changing. Your optimistic voice may be insufferable sometimes but you still helped me a lot, Mol. You've given me some hope. You called me your best friend even though we barely knew each other. Even when I kept trying to make you miserable several times just so you can leave my house, you STILL considered me your friend. You're my first ever friend, Molly, and the way you even considered me a McGee during the bandshell concert… it means a lot to me."
Molly nodded with her usual bright smile.
“Look, the point is… I'm sorry for lying and did all that I did before to you, Molly. It's just really hard for me to be honest with you, I didn't want you to look down at me like the others just because I am a nobody and a loser in the ghost world. I mean look at you, your family loves you, you have friends that love you but I had nobody… All I'm good at is just sleeping, eating, and lying about myself to look strong in front of you but look where it takes me," Scratch sheds another tear but Molly then slowly wraps her right arm on Scratch and pulls his ghostly body onto her side as she gently gives Scratch a side hug. Not the usual Molly hug where she just strangled Scratch in excitement but this time it feels warm and tender that even Scratch can feel the warmth of her embrace.
"Of course I'm not going to do that, buddy. When have you ever seen me do that? Have I ever looked down on you?"
"Well… no. I just-"
"Hey, Scratch, it's okay. We all may have things we hate about ourselves, even I do,” Molly said, "I'm glad you told me all this though. I never would've guessed this about you."
"Yeah, I've never really told this to anyone except for you."
Molly felt happy that she was the first person Scratch opened up to, "but that's okay Scratch. Things will change because now you are a part of the McGee! And with the McGees, you are not a nobody. We all care about each other and I care about you! As I said, when it comes to the people we care about, we McGees, go the extra mile and that goes for you too, Scratch," Molly herself felt tears running out of her eyes as well, "and you can bet that you can tell me anything. I won't ever judge, I promise."
Scratch sniffed his nose and finally returned the hug, feeling overwhelmed with emotions, "thanks a lot Mol. It does make me feel better."
"Of course, pal. I know deep down you're not a bad person."
"Well… I can be a bad ghost sometimes heh, but I know my limits,” said Scratch with a soft chuckle.
"Nah. The Scratch I know is grumpy, lazy, and always hungry but that's what I love the most about him," Molly hugged her ghost friend tighter, "I love you, Scratch, and I do mean it."
Scratch was shocked and did not respond at first but he then gathered all his courage to say it back.
"I… I guess I love you too, kiddo," said Scratch, saying the words he never thought he would ever say to anyone.
Despite Scratch hating the constant affection from Molly most of the time, this time he did not try to wriggle away from her and instead enjoyed every single moment of the embrace. He finally feels some happiness after all the pain he felt from his misery previously.
After spending a few minutes hugging each other, he's the first one to release the hug and Molly follows suit.
"Phew, that was really emotional. Glad to see you growing softer everyday, Scratchy," teased Molly, poking Scratch’s nose.
Scratch then pointed at her face with his usual grumpy look, "hey! Like I said don't get used to it! You're not gonna be seeing this everyday, Molly McGee. And don't you dare telling this to anyone!" said Scratch, trying to sound threatening on Molly despite knowing it wouldn't work.
"Whatever you say…. Scratch McGee," responded Molly cheekily. Scratch can't help but feel flattered and honored to be called part of the McGee clan. He knows he claimed himself to be a McGee adjacent but he won't lie to himself anymore that he actually considers himself as a McGee now.
Molly was about to lie down on her bed before Scratch placed his hand on her shoulder, "hey, Molly, uh, before you sleep, can I ask for a favor?" Scratch asked nervously.
"Sure! What is it?"
"Well… it's just…" Scratch inhaled sharply through his teeth before continuing speaking, "if you need help ANYWHERE you go, don't… don't hesitate to just summon me, okay? I won't really mind it. I know I can be hard to deal with, I know I can be a jerk to you at times but… I still care about you, you're important to me and I don't like seeing you in trouble. So the least I can do is try getting you out of it… even if I am terrible at it."
Molly giggles, seeing Scratch's continuous effort in becoming nicer to her is very endearing, "of course, Scratch! But that goes for you too, okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"I know the curse only summons you whenever I call for you but anytime you also need my help just come to me, you promise?" Molly holds out her pinky finger, beckoning him to do a pinky promise, "I'll also do my best helping you."
"Well, I-"
Scratch initially wanted to deny that he will ever need help from her but seeing her seriousness, he then made up his decision.
“I’m no good at asking for help but… if you say so then…”
Scratch then uses his ghostly pinky finger and makes his pinky promise with Molly to always be there for each other when they need them.
"I promise, kiddo," Scratch said with a smile that felt alive and a voice tone that sounded genuinely happy for the first time ever. The two friends smiled at each other for the last time before they each headed to bed and awaited the one month celebration in the morning.