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*
It feels colder up towards the attic.
Kat shivers, but grins so widely when Casper drapes an old, raggedy blanket to her shoulders.
"How is this possible?" she mumbles, flushing pink at the memory of their kiss back downstairs where the dancing happens.
Kat has never been kissed before. It was dizzyingly real. Nobody caught them running off. Casper's hand wrapped tightly around hers, firm and fleshy, leading her away from Halloween school party. Kat stopped him on the stairs, whispering Casper's name and tugging him in, giggling. Her lips lightly pushed on his. Kat's silver-ringed fingers pushed through Casper's fine, blond hair, gripping in.
Maybe she's a little overzealous, Kat supposes.
But… this is incredible.
(How can this be real? How can Casper be alive right now?)
"I know you want me to tell you everything," Casper admits, sitting down in another wood-carved chair, their knees touching. His breathtakingly-soft grin lessens. "I wish I could tell you, Kat. I'm afraid to… I'm afraid that this might go away."
Casper glances to the dusty grandfather clock, his voice full of dread.
"It's twenty-two minutes past ten o' clock. I should have been turned a ghost by now."
"Don't say that—you're not gonna change back," Kat says stubbornly. The corners of her eyes water. She sniffles, touching the side of Casper's face. Despite the sensation of skin, there's a hint of cold clinging to him. Ectoplasmic cold. Kat doesn't mind it.
"I feel you," Casper responds, his nose crinkling as he grins again. "You're like an echo."
"Casper—"
"This is all I ever wanted. I died, but I wanted to grow old and fall in love."
Casper's human-blue eyes gaze over every inch of Kat's face.
"Maybe I didn't get to grow old… I did meet you," he says bashfully, clasping Kat's hands into his, and Kat grips harder onto him. "I am in love with you, Kat. No matter what happens, and who I become, I want you to know that."
Casper's forefinger lifts, touching gently under Kat's eye. Her warm tear feels so icy. He leans in, meaning to kiss it off—Casper gasps, letting go of her, reaching for his white tunic. "What is it? Casper, what's wrong?" Kat asks, frantically standing.
She's not expecting the joyous laugh.
"It hurts, Kat," Casper breathes, shuddering and turning red, his eyes gleaming with moisture. "It hurts to be alive."
Kat claps a hand to her mouth, gawking. She's barely able to contain the sob escaping her.
All Casper wanted was a friend.
Now they always will be.
*