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You had barely spoken to anyone all day, and you hadn’t left your room either. It seemed that the other ghosts residing in Button House had understood that you might be feeling a bit out of sorts today and had decided – probably after you’d snapped at Pat that morning when he’d come to check up on you – that they would give you the time you so clearly needed.
But of course they understood what you were going through, as they had all experienced the exact same thing themselves.
It was your death day. Your very first one in fact.
Exactly one year ago today, you had come to Button House on an errand for your boss, who was considering holding a work function there. Then one unfortunate accident later, you were being informed by a bunch of people in strange clothes that you’d be stuck there for eternity, or until you managed to move on.
Despite the traumatic circumstances, you had, like everyone else, truly come to love living at Button House. As strange and eccentric as the other ghosts were, you’d bonded with them, and they’d become almost like a family to you.
But when you had awoken that morning and realised what day it was, it was like all of the progress you had made since your death was gone. You shut yourself in your room and refused to participate in any of the day’s activities – even though you had been quite keen to hear Thomas’ song for Music Club – and were unable to stop thinking about what you had lost, rather than what you had now.
You thought you should go and speak to everyone, apologise for shutting them out, but it was getting quite late and most of them would probably be fast asleep by now. But being alone all day had hurt your mood more than helped it, and you really needed someone to talk to. Perhaps someone would still be awake?
Standing up from your bed, you quickly walked through the wall and into the hallway. Everyone’s doors were closed, so there was a good chance they had all already called it a night, but your attention lingered on one door in particular.
You walked to the door, and taking a deep breath, you leaned as close to it as you possibly could without phasing through it.
“Thomas,” you said, trying to whisper but to still be loud enough for him to hear you. “Are you awake? I need to talk to you…”
A mere moment later, Thomas Thorne was standing next to you in the hallway. You flinched slightly, shocked that he’d just suddenly appeared like that, though by now you probably should have been used to it.
“It’s good to see you out of your room, I was quite concerned for you,” Thomas told you, looking at you with wide, sympathetic eyes. “The first death day was the hardest for all of us, but if there is anything at all I can do to help you through it, you need only ask.”
You knew that if you had been capable, you would have blushed furiously at that.
“Thanks, Thomas. You’re really sweet,” you said, looking down at your fidgeting hands. It always surprised you how quickly your spirits could be lifted when Thomas was around. “I was just wondering if I could come and sit with you for a while. I’ve been alone all day and I could really use some company.”
Thomas was silent for a few seconds, so you looked back up at him, wondering if you might have overstepped some boundary. He looked shocked for a moment, before his expression shifted to a soft smile. “Yes, of course. After you.”
You walked through the wall and stepped into Thomas’ room. It wasn’t significantly different to any of the other many bedrooms in the house, but somehow being inside it gave you butterflies in your stomach. Still feeling tired despite not doing anything all day, you took a seat on Thomas’ bed, and before you could really acknowledge the fact he had not followed you into the room, he had appeared again.
Thomas had entered the room through the same spot in the wall you had, though he hadn’t moved an inch away. Instead, he simply stared at you, and you realised you had been awfully presumptuous by sitting on his bed without asking him first. You began to stand up, but Thomas shook his head.
“No, please, stay seated. Make yourself comfortable,” Thomas insisted, moving closer to the bed before sitting down, leaving a frankly unfortunate amount of space between the two of you. Craving contact, you shifted towards him until you were close enough for your arms to touch. You weren’t looking at him, as your gaze was focused on the floor, so you didn’t see his eyes widen and the little smile he gave at the contact.
“Do you wish to speak about it? I shan’t force you to if it would make you uncomfortable…” Thomas asked, and you shook your head.
“I’d rather not.” You replied, sighing, before turning your gaze to him. “Just being with you is making me feel a thousand times better already.”
Thomas blinked rapidly, processing what you had said, before speaking again. “Well… I am glad that I was able to be of assistance… and I am very flattered by your kind words,” he stammered. He seemed so sweet and nervous, nothing like the Thomas in the stories that the others had told you from before you died, when he was madly in love with Alison.
“You’re welcome, Thomas. And,” you began, looking right into his eyes, “even though I didn’t want to die, I’m glad I died here, because meeting you made me happier than anything that ever happened when I was alive.”
In a flash, Thomas’ hands were holding your face, and his lips were against yours, kissing you gently but passionately. You hadn’t expected Thomas to do something like that, but you definitely were not disappointed, far from it. Trying to pull him closer, you placed your hands on his shoulders, but Thomas must have interpreted this as you pushing him away, because he broke the kiss and stared at you, mortified, for a moment.
“I must apologise.” Thomas stood up immediately and faced the wall, covering his face with his hand. “No one has spoken such beautiful words to me for what feels like an eternity and I lost control of myself. If you wish to leave and never speak to me again, I shall not blame you. But please know how sorry I am for ever doing such a despicable thing.”
“Thomas…” you said, walking to him and taking his other hand gently in yours. He turned his head to look at you, and you saw the tears welling up in his beautiful brown eyes. “It’s okay, more than okay. I’ve actually been hoping that you’d do that for a long time.”
Thomas stared at you in disbelief, a few tears falling down his cheeks. “You… have?”
“Yeah, for about a year now. Well actually, uh, exactly a year.” You felt a little embarrassed saying that, that you’d had a huge crush on him since you first laid eyes on him, but it made Thomas grin widely. He let go of your hand and turned to face you.
“You are saying that you fell for me at first sight as I did with you?” he asked, and you nodded. “Oh, my love, to think we have wasted an entire year not telling each other of our feelings…”
“Well, we don’t need to waste any more time,” you told him, wrapping your arms around him and resting your head against his chest. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”
“Indeed we do,” Thomas said, reciprocating the embrace and trying to stop himself from crying in joy. He’d have to spend some time thinking of some words that rhymed with your name.