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"Guys! It's starting! Are you coming down?" Alison's voice echoes up the stairs, and you call back down.
"Yea! Just getting ready!" You smile.
"You can't, Y/N, you're dead!" You can hear the laughter in Alison's voice.
"Hush and let me imagine I'm doing my hair, will you?" You snap in a mock-annoyed voice. You laugh and turn back to the mirror, swiping your hair back and trying to hide the spot on the back of your skull that got hit. Blood has soaked the back of your head and stained your neck, but you try to shuffle your hair into a braided ponytail that will soon devolve into a mass of tangles again within minutes.
Realizing it's a lost cause, you shrug and make your way down the stairs, stopping to poke your head into Alison's room, where the single ghosts have huddled to watch television.
"You good?" You ask it nicely, but Cap and Julian whirl on you, glaring.
"Outta here, square!" Julian sneers, and you gape.
"Excuse me?" You ask, baffled.
"Yes, thank you, Y/N, this is for independent people," the Captain snorts, shooing you.
"Yeah, we don't need any lovers," Julian says, crossing his arms across his chest. Pat sighs sadly in the corner of the room.
"Aw, I'm sorry guys," you try, but the group huffs in unison, excluding Pat, of course, who continues sighing. Fanny waggles a finger at you.
"We will partake in no such impurities in here," she informs you with a wrinkled nose.
You shrug. "Okay, well sorry you guys feel that way. We have movie night with all of you all the time, so-"
The captain interrupts you with, "Rubba dubba rubba dubba rubba dubba! Go."
You try to hide your laugh as you retreat, feeling bad that they don't have anyone to spend the night with like you have with Thomas.
Thomas.
Just the sound of his name makes you smile wider and you hurry down the stairs to meet him.
Just like you hoped, he's perched on the edge of the couch beside Mike and Alison, and he turns to smile at you when you arrive.
"Y/N," he grins.
"H'lo, Thomas," you say shyly, still in disbelief that the poet ever fell for you. You leap over the back of the couch, squealing as you collapse beside him, and he wraps his arms around your waist, nuzzling into your neck sweetly.
You break out into raucous giggles until Alison clears her throat loudly in an effort to get you to stop. You smack at Thomas's arm until he releases you, and you catch your breath.
"Where's Mary and Robin?" You ask after a moment. Alison shrugs.
"They should be here any minute," she says.
"Who will?" Mike asks dumbly, and you roll your eyes at him. He's silly, but you love the bugger.
"Ghosts, Mike," Alison explains.
"Yeah, but which ones?"
"Robin and Mary," she sighs.
"They're a thing now?" He asks, surprised.
"Keep up, Michael," you laugh.
"Y/N says to keep up," Alison grins.
"Hey!" You protest the attention, and suddenly Mike is staring at the ceiling.
"Actually that's pretty tough when all of you are dead an' invisible," he calls up, and you laugh loudly, turning away to curl into Thomas.
The man holds you against him, warm hands pressed firmly against your back as you rest your head against his chest, and his breathing lifts and lowers you gently.
"We here," Robin grumbles as he appears in the room, holding hands a bit awkwardly with Mary, who's blushing beneath the soot on her cheeks.
"Hey guys," Alison waves. "Welcome, sit wherever."
Robin gazes at the fire lustfully but sits across the room from it for Mary's sake. Your heart swells at the sight.
The caveman sits down and scoots his legs apart, leaving a spot for Mary to sit in front of him and lean back against his chest. She smiles as he hugs her tightly, resting his chin on her shoulder as he stares at the telly.
"Starting it now," Mike calls to the sky, and Thomas sighs.
"This bullcalf still speaks to us as if we're floating mid-air," he says disdainfully.
"Don't be mean, Thomas," you say, and he quirks a brow at you.
"I'm not the one in stitches over his antics," he retorts, and you press a quick kiss against his mouth to shut him up.
"Wait! Wait for us!" Kitty laughs as she stumbles through the wall and into the room, carrying Humphrey's head carefully beneath one arm. She pants, settling in by your feet on the floor in front of the couch, clutching Humphrey against her chest. She giggles, "Okay, settled, we can start now."
"Kitty?" Alison says quietly. "This is... erm, this is a couples' movie night, Kitty."
"I know," she grins, holding Humphrey up as if on display. "Here's my escort."
"Hello to you all this fine evening," Humphrey says, cheeks pink.
"I didn't realise you were a couple," you exclaim, shocked.
"I always knew," Thomas yawned.
You smack him gently in the chest. "You did not."
"I did! How dare you question my credibility, miss?" He gawks at you playfully and you shake your head.
"That's so sweet," Alison coos, hand on her chest. "Well then, welcome!"
"Thank you," Kitty grins, cuddling Humphrey against her. The group looks up as the Tudor's body wanders in through the wall, arms out in confusion. You jump up and tug him over to sit beside Kitty, and the girl thanks you.
"That's much better," Humphrey sighs as Kitty sets his head back on his shoulders gently. The pair leaned close to peck each other on the lips and turned back to the screen, where the opening credits are trickling in.
A choir of boys sing at a grand ceremony, and a public figure poses for a photo with an Archbishop.
You feel Thomas caressing your hair as you lean on him, his gentle hands so light against you that you hardly feel it.
Suddenly, the next scene is a brutal murder- and Kitty squeals, folding into Humphrey's side as blood flies and wild music pounds from the speakers.
"Sick," Mike murmurs in amusement, and you cling to Thomas, hands wrapping around his torso and not letting go.
"Is this even a romance?" You ask in bewilderment, and Alison relays the question to Mike, who shakes his head.
"Nah, it's a legal thriller. C'mon, Ali, you'll love it," he insists, grinning at his wife.
You shudder in fear as you watch the culprit on the screen racing down the train tracks, clothes soaked in blood.
Thomas wraps one arm over you, his billowy sleeve settling over your bear arm and warming you just enough. You sigh happily and ease into his embrace as he draws small circles on your arm with his fingertip.
Halfway through the movie, you hear a gentle snoring, and you look across the room to see Robin curled up around Mary, both of them breathing in unison as they sleep on the rug, Robin's arm cupping Mary's waist against him tightly.
Mary has the faintest smile on her lips as she snoozes, and your heart feels so happy at the sight.
Mike leaves unexpectedly and returns with popcorn, which you can smell but are sadly unable to reach out and bite. You gaze at it in disappointment as the movie music swells in the background.
Thomas, enthralled in the film, watches it with bated breath, and Humphrey does too, eyes wide.
You sigh and lean your head back against the couch and drift off.
...
When you awake, you find everyone still settled in their spots, the telly screen black and the clock on the wall blinking 2:31am.
You turn and wrap your arms around Thomas, who smiles in his sleep and hugs you back, pulling you against him and planting sleepy kisses on your face. You smile against his chest as you lay there, listening to his gentle breathing, and wonder how, even as a dead woman, you ever got so lucky.