Chapter Text
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From inside his offering house, Scratch can hear the faint chattering from the floors below, and he peeks his head out the window just in time to see Molly flinging open the attic's trapdoor. She's wearing something different from her usual get-up; which, in his opinion, is a good thing, really, who told her that skirt and that jacket matched?
She's bundled up in a pink and purple patterned sweater and light blue denim shorts, a wide grin stretching across her face, showing her dimples; he narrows his eyes in suspicion.
Nothing good ever comes from that smile.
(Nothing good, he says; except for nearly everything that's come from the moment they've been cursed together.)
"Eugh, what're you gonna drag me into this time?" He says, scowling. Molly only grins brighter.
"Pfft, 'drag you into'... C'mon downstairs real quick Scratch!" She sing-songs, eyes squinting as her smile turns into a teasing one. "Mom put out some snacks..."
"Well why didn't you say so!" Scratch yells, affronted, and he zips out of his offering house and through the floor head-first; Molly's laugh echoes from the walls in the room, following him as he floats into the foyer.
Mom and Dad- Sharon and Pete are standing off a bit to the side in the living room, and Darryl is lounging on the couch; as promised, low and behold in the center of the coffee table is a bowl of pretzels and chips. Stretching himself out to shove the bowl in his mouth, his eyes catch a tall tripod and camera beside Molly's parents.
Spitting out the bowl, he picks at a tooth as he hovers over it, making a small questioning hum in the back of his throat.
"Wha's this for?" He asks, flicking a crumb off his finger, and a small hint of something akin to fear pops up in the back of his head. "You guys tryin' to take pictures to sell the house or something?"
"Don't say that, Scratch," Molly says behind him, aghast as she enters the room, and he turns his head around to stare. "This is our forever home! We're doin' a family photo, duh!"
Oh- well, that's... a thing.
He feels a little hurt, and he's not sure why, really- he floats off a bit to the side, looking away; if he had a heart still, it'd be squeezing painfully. Because of hypothetical heartburn, definitely, not from whatever feeling was churning in his gut.
"Oh, well I mean, I'll just-" He coughs a little, moving upwards to float through the ceiling, but Molly grabs him and yanks him down. "Wha- hey!"
"Scraaatch, it's a family photo!" Molly says, and Scratch's saddening feeling turns a little bitter at that.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, I'll be going now," He grumbles, but Molly just pulls him into a tight hug- really, what was with this girl and hugs?- and he starts struggling against it with a scowl. He sees her look over to her Mom, gesturing his head towards him.
"It's a family photo," Sharon speaks up from across the room, "so you've gotta be in it too, Scratch."
Scratch halts in his wriggling, his expression morphing into one of surprise. Molly's smile is ever-present still as she turns back to him, and he can see the others all looking at him with similar expressions; though Darryl's always seems to contain a bout of mischief in it.
It's then that he notices a white sheet hanging from the back of the couch, holes cut into where a pair of eyes would look through; it's a classic, boring ghost costume.
He looks back at Molly, and only then does her smile turn to something more sheepish than bright.
"Since you don't tend to show up really well in photos," Molly explains, and he looks back at the costume, eyeing Darryl as he grabs it and holds it up for him to see. "We figured you'd want something like that so the camera catches you? If you want."
"...Yeah," Scratch says, voice wavering a bit, squirming out of Molly's arms to pick up the costume. "Yeah, that's- that's fine."
With the sheet over his head, he feels a little bit more pulled to the ground; a bit more solid and real to the world.
It's a bit degrading to be wearing such a mocking costume, but the fact they'd thought of it at all- well.
"Now come on over here," Pete chuckles, waving an arm in front of the fireplace. "We spent a good thirty minutes finding the perfect picture place."
"I'm just glad there's a west-facing window in the house," Sharon adds with a wry grin. "Those always give the best lighting."
The others move to stand at the fireplace, looking expectedly at Scratch, who stands there for a moment, simply looking at them and their expressions.
They've already left room for him to squeeze into; Molly and Darryl's faces are filled with glee and excitement, and Sharon and Pete- they're looking at him with such mirth and merriment, like they know-
(Huddled a bit above Molly and Darryl, between Sharon and Pete, Scratch feels loved.)
"Aww, Darryl, you blinked!" Molly huffs, rushing to and back from the camera with admirable speed- maybe she should look into joining track at some point?- and Scratch's sheepish smile is hid beneath his costume.
"What?! No I didn't!" Darryl argues back, affronted. Pete stutters a bit as he speaks up against their bickering to no avail, and Scratch turns his eyes, meeting Sharon's own.
She simply raises an eyebrow with an amused smile, gaze flickering to Molly and Darryl and back. She says without words; Look at them- aren't they wonderful?
Scratch huffs a small laugh, gaze flickering down to the floor, and his shoulders raise up to his ears as he swallows his pride.
"Thanks, Mom," He says, quietly and mumbled, that only Sharon can hear as she's stood beside him; her blinding smile is worth the embarrassment.
Pete places Molly and Darryl back ahead of Scratch and steps back beside him; the click and flash of a camera has never filled him with such soft happiness.
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