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The sun was beaming as bright as ever down on the city of Hermitcraft. It was early in the morning. What time exactly? Grian didn't know. He had left the house for school around seven in the morning and hadn't checked the time since. It was okay, though, he didn't need to. His schedule has been so profoundly engraved into his brain that he doesn't feel the need to check, going purely off of muscle memory. It has worked for him so far, so he had no reason to stop now. There were only a few clouds in the sky on this sunny day, the breeze was cool and the air was warm. It was a pretty normal day.
Well, as normal of a day as it could be for Grian.
Grian wasn't exactly the textbook definition of normal. That was something he had known since he was in Year 1.
See, Grian was something called a Medium. Or maybe an Empath, a Sensitive, a Psychic, whatever it was that people preferred to call it, Grian was. In more simple terms, he could see ghosts. Ghosts, spirits, phantoms, souls of the damned, all of that nonsense. When he was younger, he thought it was the coolest thing in the world. He could see ghosts, he could speak to ghosts! It was like a dream!
But it got very old, very quick.
Grian considered it a curse. When he was more immature, there was a lot of concern surrounding his mental state. Apparently, talking to thin air and claiming there were people besides him when there definitely weren't, was not a sign of mental stability. Grian couldn't count the number of doctors he had been sent to see as a child. Soon enough, he learned that trying to tell people he could see the dead was pointless. They either thought his imagination was off the charts or that he was genuinely insane. So he learned very quickly to shut his mouth about the matter.
Besides people thinking he was a madman, it just got aggravating after a while. Other than the fact that ghosts most often were creepy as hell , the moment they realized Grian could see them opened a whole new can of worms. Please send a message to my living relatives, they would beg. Please help set my soul to rest, please help solve my death, please tell my family I love them, please, please, please, please. At the start of it all, Grian had been more than happy to help. But as time went on, it got exhausting. He couldn't keep up. It was practically the same as doing free labor for normal people, except it was slightly more pathetic. After a while, he started ignoring them, pretending he couldn't see them. It was challenging at first, with all the sobs and screams that flooded his ears frequently, but he got used to it after a while. He learned how to tune it out.
Now he can finally live a regular life. Well, he can try, at least.
However, recently that has proved to be more of a challenge.
Because he was ninety-nine percent sure his school was haunted.
The only reason he can't be certain is that he hasn't actually seen the ghost, but he knows a haunting when he sees one. There isn't a single kid in the school who hasn't complained about it being creepy at least once. Hearing soft whispers in the empty hallways, seeing faint shadows in the mirror, locker doors shutting out of nowhere, the list goes on.
Apparently, some kid died in the school last year shortly before Grian exchanged, so if Grian had to imagine, it was likely the same person. He didn't care enough to investigate and find out if it was really true, so he decided to simply speculate from the sidelines. The last thing he wanted to do was get the attention of some school-haunting poltergeist.
Grian quickly approached the building, already feeling annoyed with it. He never did like school, but then again, not many people did. He inhaled deeply through his nose as he walked to his locker, leaning his forehead against the cool metal. Just get through another day.
Despite Grian's lowest expectations, today hadn't been horrible. No random pop quizzes, no paper wads getting tossed at him in math, and no new subjects that made his head spin, so he thought it was a pretty okay day.
Grian kept his eyes on the floor, watching his feet as he stepped one in front of the other in the crowded hallways. He was so focused on the ground, he almost didn't notice all the chaos further down the hall.
He peeked up, seeing a crowd of students and hearing their loud murmuring. His eyes landed on a familiar face and he quickly walked over.
"Hey Mumbo, what the hell is going on over here?" He called out, watching as his friend detected his presence, a nervous smile growing on his face.
"Dude, one of the water fountains blew up!" He exclaimed immediately, eyes wide as saucers.
Grian's own eyes widened. "What?" He quickly snapped his head in the direction of the commotion, eyes landing on a very destroyed water fountain. The top of it was upside down on the floor while water flooded out the bottom half. "Woah."
"I know, right? Ren and his guys were just sitting by it chatting before the top busted off and nailed him in the face! Martyn and Doc took him to the nurse's office. It was gnarly." Mumbo explained hastily, his own words flooding out, either out of panic or excitement. Possibly both.
"I didn't know we had plumbing problems?" Grian said, though it expressed more like a question.
Mumbo shrugged. "We don't, at least I didn't think so. It was really random, no one knows why it happened."
Grian sighed, shifting. "Yeah, well, as fun as that is, I need to go. I'm going to be late for..." His words slowly trailed off, growing quieter as his eyes focused on the hallway. He heard Mumbo make a noise of interest, but he wasn't paying attention. His eyes were focused on the thing looming in the halls.
Here's the thing about ghosts. They rarely look like how they did when they were alive. At least, not naturally. Naturally, spirits looked dead (shocker) and faded, their bodies being mere shadows in a world full of light. While they could take the form of their living self if they so choose, they usually have no reason to. This thing was no different. It was tall, or at least Grian thought it was tall, he couldn't tell if it was floating or not. It was at least a couple feet taller than Grian himself. Its body was shady like a shadow, a dark aura emitting off of the spirit. Its eyes were a cold, inhuman green as they stared directly into Grian's own.
Grian's pupils dilated. He should have looked away by now, undoubtedly he had been staring for far too long to be unnoticeable, but he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away. It was like the spirit had him caged in eye contact, unwilling to let go.
Grian felt his blood run cold. His muscles were tense and he just couldn't look away-
"Gri? You there?" Mumbo snapped his fingers in front of the shorter boy's face, quickly snapping him out of whatever trance he was in.
"Huh?" Grian murmured, quickly returning his gaze back to the hallway to find nothing there. It was gone.
"You totally spaced out on me there, dude. You alright?" Mumbo asked quietly. Grian looked around to see the area had cleared up a little more. There were a few teachers by the water fountain now, shooing off any more students who lingered by the scene. How had he not noticed their arrival?
"Uhm, yeah, no, I'm good. Sorry, just remembered something was all." Grian said slowly, running a hand through his hair. Mumbo didn't look entirely convinced.
"Are you sure? You've gone really pale. You look like you've seen a ghost." His friend joked.
Oh, if only he knew.
Grian laughed lightly in return, trying not to disclose his anxiety too much. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm gonna head off now. See ya." He said quickly, rushing away from the scene. He could hear a distant goodbye, but he wasn't focusing on it too much. His mind was racing with what had just happened, thinking about the spirit. The spirit and its eyes. God, those eyes. They were almost enchanting, captivating Grian with their icy stare. It sent a chill up his spine just remembering it.
Grian knew there was a ghost haunting the school, but if he knew how much of a problem it might become, he never would have transferred in the first place.
Instead of going to his next class, he rushed into the nearest bathroom instead. He placed one hand against the sink and used the other to run through his hair. He let out a long, tired exhale. It was only the third period and he already longed to go home. He leaned forward, turned on the sink, and splashed water on his face. He stared into the sink, leaning against it a little. Just a couple more hours. He could stomach a couple more hours. It's fine. He would be fine.
He slowly raised his head, bringing his eyes to focus on his reflection and to quickly check his appearance, but then his blood ran cold.
Remember what he said only a few seconds ago about everything being fine? He takes it back. Everything was not fine.
In his reflection, looming just behind him, was the very same spirit from the halls. The same shadowy figure, the same large build, and the same piercing eyes that were staring straight into Grian's own.
He slowly turned his head, slowly raising his eyes until he could properly face the ghoul. He could feel his blood rushing in his ears as his eyes locked with the spirits. He swallowed.
All was still for a moment. It was silent other than the thud of Grian's heart. The spirit didn't move and it didn't speak.
Until it did.
"You can see me." It wasn't a question. Its voice was deep, rough as if it hadn't spoken in ages. There was a faint echo, a small distortion to its voice that made it clear this being was not human, yet Grian could still hear traces of what once was human beneath all the layers of toxin in its voice.
Grian swallowed before slowly nodding. "I can." his voice came off quieter than he wanted, making him internally cringe.
A pause. "You can hear me..?" It asked, sounding more disbelieved than before.
Grian nodded again. "I can." He thanked whatever heavens there were that his voice came out normal this time.
There was a long stretch of silence as if the spirit was taking in the new information.
"You can see me..." It repeated, voice sounding distant. "You can... see me!" Its voice amped in volume suddenly, causing Grian to jump. There was a sudden enthusiasm, a sudden excitement in the spirit voice that completely caught Grian off guard.
The spirit's form quickly changed, the shadows dripping off with ease as a far clearer form entered Grian's vision.
And it was smiling. He was smiling.
The cold green eyes suddenly looked much less cold when paired with such a smile. A smile that made Grian wonder why on earth he had been so scared of this ghost moments before. Now that the form of the spirit was clearer, Grian could see what he actually looked like.
He had short dark brown hair, somehow both messy and neat all at once. He wore a plain white button-up, halfway tucked into his black jeans. Grian was right, he was tall. And fit. Very fit. The man was incredibly well built for a high schooler, his tight shirt not leaving much to the imagination. Grian quickly shifted his glance away. He did not have the energy to unpack those thoughts.
"I can't believe you can see me! I can't believe you can hear me! No one's ever been able to see me before! Oh my, this is amazyn'!" The spirit exclaimed, staring at Grian like he held the whole world in his hands. The ghost's head suddenly perked up. "Oh! I'm being rude, aren't I? Sorry, sorry-" He reached out his transparent hand. "My name is Scar." Grian eyed the hand, shooting the spirit (or Scar) a glance. "What? Aren't you going to shake my hand?" He questioned, almost sounding offended. Grian's face went deadpan as he raised a hand and quickly passed it through Scar's, raising an eyebrow. Scar's face faltered. "Oh. Oh- right, I guess that makes sense." The ghost quickly lowered his hand, smiling sheepishly. Grian couldn't help but crack a tiny smile, but he quickly willed it away. "You still haven't told me your name, though. I don't need to shake your hand to get that, do I?" He asked, almost in a teasing way. He talked a lot for a ghost. Grian would have called him out on it, but he was at least seventy percent sure he was face-to-face with a poltergeist, and he did not want to be the one to light that fire.
Grian realized he hadn't answered and cleared his throat. "Uh, Grian."
"Grian..." Scar repeated. His name felt chilling off the spirit's tongue, rolling off smoothly in a way that sent a shiver up Grian's spine. "I like it."
Grian sputtered. "Oh, uh, thank you?" He said unsurely. He wasn't exactly used to getting complimented by alive people, nonetheless dead people.
"You are very welcome!" Scar beamed. He leaned back a bit, allowing Grian to let go of the breath he didn't even know he was holding. "I still can't believe you can see me. No one's ever been able to see me before! I mean, I haven't spoken to anyone in... I don't even know how long! It gets awfully lonely, you know!" He rambled, eyes shining with excitement.
Grian loosened his death grip on the sink slightly. "Aren't there, like... other ghosts you can talk to?" He asked.
Scar chuckled. "Oh, not really. People don't like going to school in life so they definitely don't bother going in death." He explained nonchalantly.
Grian tilted his head, a suspicion slithering into his thoughts. "Why not just leave the school?"
Scar faltered, his smile wavering. "Oh, I uh- I can't."
Grian's suspicion was quickly confirmed, but he figured he'd ask anyway. "Why?"
The ghost shrugged. "Well, I tried to leave a lot when I first died, but I couldn't. There was like an invisible wall blocking me. I think it might be because I died here, but I'm not sure... I was never into paranormal stuff when I was alive." Scar explained unsurely with a shrug.
"Huh." Grian thought for a moment. "I can see why you were lonely."
"Yeah." Scar's smile widened just as quickly as it faltered. "But hey! Now you're here! So I have someone to talk to now!"
Grian cracked a small grin. He really shouldn't be chatting it up with a spirit, especially one who he suspected to be a poltergeist. He promised himself years ago that he would ignore any spirit he passed. He couldn't break that streak just because some lonely ghoul wanted a friend! He shouldn't... but the way Scar's eye glimmered with hope, it made something funny twist in Grian's chest, and well... he is only human.
"Say, Grian?" Scar spoke up, causing the shorter boy to hum. "Are there a lot of people who can see the dead? Like, is there a club of you guys or something?"
"A club?" Grian repeated in a humorous tone. He couldn't stifle the small giggle that crawled out of his throat, causing the spirit the stammer.
"Well- You know what I mean!" Scar pouted, honest to god pouted.
Grian chuckled. "Well to answer your question, no, there is no club. I actually haven't met anyone else who can actually commune with the dead yet. Other than, well, dead people. Obviously." He explained with a shrug.
"Huh. Guess I just got lucky finding a medium then!" Scar cheered with a grin.
Grian breathed out a laugh. "I guess so."
"A cute one, too. My luck must be off the charts!" Scar proclaimed as he leaned in close once again. Grian's breath hitched at the sudden comment, completely throwing him for a loop. He opened his mouth before closing it again, struggling to find any words to say. Scar only looked at him with an amused look, a single eyebrow raised on his handsome face.
After a moment, Grian finally cleared his throat and spoke. "Uh, anyway- I should, uh, really be heading to class now. I'm probably- no, I'm definitely late. Yeah. So I should, uh…” He explained hastily while nodding his head nervously, hoping Scar would let him go without asking questions.
Scar perked up. "Oh! I completely forgot you had class, I'm sorry! Don't let me keep you!" He nodded while motioning his hands for Grian to hurry, an authentic smile on his translucent face.
Grian smiled gratefully. "Uh, see you around then, Scar."
"Buh bye!" Grian listened as Scar's voice faded the further he walked away. He didn't even realize how fast he was walking, solely immersed in the rushing thoughts inside his head. He can't believe he actually allowed himself to speak to a ghost again. He had made it a point to avoid any spirits at all costs! What was wrong with him? Just because some ghost kid was sad and lonely? He wanted to rip his hair out in frustration.
He slowly breathed out through his nose, collecting himself. That's the thing though, isn't it? He's seen plenty of sad ghosts, with even more tragic stories than Scar's, but he's been able to keep his distance. Yet for some reason, Scar stood out.
It clicks in Grian's head.
Scar hadn't asked for a single thing.
He hadn't asked for help, or if he was remembered.. He hadn't asked Grian to check on people or to translate a message for him. Nothing. He just... talked. That seems like all he wanted to do. Scar just wanted to talk to someone again. Being separate from both living and nonliving beings, not talking to anyone for who knows how long... It had to be lonely. Scar just wanted a friend, and yet he didn't even ask for that.
That's what made Scar stand out.
He was sad like many ghouls were, but he still smiled. He laughed, he joked, and he was as friendly as ever despite his situation. Grian had never seen it before. He wanted to see it again.
As Grian approached his classroom door, he felt a small smile creep onto his face.
Maybe he wouldn't mind seeing the ghost that haunted the school as much as he thought he would.