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Eli has one more thing left to do before he’s ready. He shuffles through his piles of research with enthusiasm; pre-stream is always the most exciting part, he often feels like an actor on stage, readying himself for his opening performance. As before every stream, he fiddles with the silver cross tied around his neck, praying for good faith and protection from evil spirits. He positions the camera at a suitably flattering angle, adjusts his glasses, and hits record.
“Hello there and welcome back to Theories and Theses with me, your host, Eli! This stream is going to be a spooky one… get ready to put on your theory hats folks because today we have a conspiracy episode. Our topic of choice, as suggested by the chat last week, is the terrifying world of ghosts. Ooooh spooky. Where do they come from? Are they trying to harm us or help us? Perhaps most importantly, if we hit the sub goal, I’ll go look for some myself.”
Eli smiles warmly into the camera, thinking of all the people that are watching him from the comfort of their own homes. He’s somehow gained a substantially large following over the past few months. His channel started as a little side hobby, a personal distraction from strenuous university life, but he’s had to become more reckless in his filming hours as of late due to popular demand. If any of his classmates, let alone his roommate, ever found out he was into conspiracies and urban legends, his social life would be over in an instant. Not to mention, as a pre-med student he’d be mocked for the mere suggestion that things could exist outside explainable science. Eli had always been interested in the supernatural, the unexplainable, the extraordinary- now he’d given himself the chance to share his passions with the world, as long as he didn’t get found out.
He’s distantly aware of a rustling sound coming from behind him as he speaks, but is too absorbed in his findings to bother turning around to investigate.
“As you can see, these so-called ‘well-known’ haunting sites are often found to be buildings with a history of tragedy, death, or misfortune. I hope to one day see a ghost myself. I am a firm believer that there are things out there we just can’t explain yet, so why shouldn’t ghosts theoretically be possible? Ghosts are said to be drawn to despair and feelings of fear, and this is why humans have formed such a mysterious connection to them. I’ve already scouted out a good spot for my own ghost quest, areas of high stress are often excellent markers for paranormal activity, so where better to go than student apartments! Ah, looks like the sub goal is nearly half way there, just 200 more until-”
Eli flinches as a cool hand taps him lightly on the shoulder. He quickly hits his killswitch, a hotkey designed to turn off all his active cameras and mics, before turning to look up at the intruder. The slim, pale face of his roommate stares inquisitively back at him, watery blue eyes brimming with unanswered questions. He smiles thinly, handing Eli a steaming hot mug, which he takes hesitantly.
“Sorry to intrude, you looked like you needed some coffee. Awfully nice setup you have here.”
The heat of the mug burns into Eli’s fingers, but he uses the pain as a focal point to calm the nervous beating of his heart. He rarely saw his roommate, Victor, wandering around at this hour. They’d moved in together just over a year ago, but each kept mostly to themselves, a solid level of mutual respect having been built between them. He knew little about the other man who lived with him- Victor was a tall, dark slice of a man, with milky pale skin and angular features that contrasted with his shock of light blond hair. He found himself drawn to the cool waters of his eyes, harsh with a curious glint that often appeared when speaking with Eli.
He tries to sound natural, but Victor’s hand is still on his shoulder and he’s slowly losing it under the pressure of nerves. “Oh, uh thanks.”
Eli wishes he could punch himself. He was literally talking on camera to thousands of people mere minutes ago but whenever Victor shows up he always seems to lose his train of thought.
He’s already disappeared by the time Eli figures out what to say. Victor moved much like a ghost himself, silent and invisible, except when he wishes to be noticed. Eli takes a big sip of coffee, wincing as it burns the roof of his mouth. He’s grateful for the distraction, since he can’t seem to shake the feeling of Victor’s eyes staring into his, the intensity of them maddening. He glances at the clock, 6 minutes, he’s been gone far too long not to raise some suspicion. He silently prays he hasn’t lost all his viewers due to such a rookie error. He hits the record button for the second time that evening, and the screens flicker back to life.
“Sorry about that little interruption! Now, where were we…”
He pauses, looking up at his display to see the thousands of chat messages flooding in.
Where did Eli go? Is he coming back?
OMG who was that??
That other guy was so pretty <3
You should do a video with him!
I wonder if they are dating??
WE HIT THE SUB GOAL :D Can’t wait to see some real ghosts!!!
Who’s the other person? Wish we could have seen his face :(
The first thing he notices is the amount of messages querying his departure- this doesn’t surprise him considering his abrupt exit. The second thing, which causes a wave of heat to flush up the back of his neck, is endless amounts of questions about Victor. He takes a deep breath, composing himself before turning to face the cameras.
“I see the chat has been very active. Firstly, thank you so much for all the subs! I’ll be able to go ghost hunting soon, so make sure to tune in to the next stream to see what happens. Secondly-”
He makes sure to cheerfully hold up the mug of coffee, plastering on a false grin that doesn’t quite match the fluttering feeling in his stomach.
“I apologize for the sudden interruption. My roommate, who everyone seemed to spy in frame before the cameras cut out, brought me some coffee. He usually isn’t around when I’m streaming and our schedules don’t overlap, so I wasn’t expecting him. I switched everything off to protect his privacy.”
Eli lets out a sigh of relief, hopefully this will calm the chat down as he continues with his planned schedule. He mindlessly recites all the facts and information he has been gathering over the past weeks, stopping to add in a few jokes here, a couple of insightful scientific facts there. He stops only once again to glance up at the chat window, and what he sees there makes him freeze up in a moment of absolute panic. Whilst he was busily absorbed in his script, the chat had become a devious monstrosity intent on achieving only one goal, which stood out to him in bright purple letters, as added by a traitorous mod: Chat poll- Should Eli go ghost hunting with his boyfriend? YES 98% NO 2%
His heart sinks as dread begins to pool up in the pit of his stomach. Almost without thinking he desperately mutters under his breath, with a conviction reserved mainly for himself, “Victor is not my boyfriend.”
The chat practically implodes with winky faces and heart emojis. Eli has seen enough. He hides the chat, sighing, even as a quiet buzz of fearful excitement sets in. Was this the opportunity he had been waiting for? A way to get Victor alone, and find out more about him? He laughs nervously at the camera, aware that he is still live to an audience. He has an appearance to maintain.
“Looks like the chat has spoken, thanks a lot mods.”
He makes sure to not so subtly show the anger in his voice, he would definitely be having stern words with his moderators later. He urges more excitement into his voice, feeling as if he’s reciting a script of his own script.
“Thanks for tuning in! Make sure to look out for my next stream where I’ll be ghost hunting... with my roommate. This is a rare opportunity so don’t miss out, this looks like it will be an exciting one!”
He hits the escape button as fast as possible, cutting himself off, but he can’t avoid the chat log that scrolls up afterwards, covering his entire screen.
Did anyone else see that reaction?!… They are SO dating ;)
You should have Victor on your streams more often!!
Can’t wait to see some ghosts XD
OMG did you see Eli’s blush?? He totally likes him :3
Goodnight!!!
I wanna see you read some scary ghost stories!
WE WANT A COUPLES STREAMMMMMM
Boyfriend face reveal when???
Eli groans, feeling extremely embarrassed after tonight. Now his entire chat believes that he and Victor are dating. He thinks with defeat, you wish, Eli. Even his thoughts seem to betray him. His hand drifts to the cross at his neck, please, God, help me through this. It’s not like this was really anything new for him, he’d been kind of crushing on his roommate since the day they’d first met. They seemed to be from two different worlds, an orphan and the son of two successful writers. Yet he couldn’t help but see some of himself in the other man, that curious glint, a desire to be more.
Victor was top of their pre-med class, holding favor over all the teachers, even managing to surpass Eli’s near perfect reputation as the teachers pet, all whilst remaining cold and aloof. He’d never seen Victor properly interact with any other students except him. No one had wanted to room with the guy, but Eli saw no fault in Victor’s attitudes, so readily accepted the free room in a much nicer apartment than he would ever have been able to afford. Eli had spent years carefully perfecting a social persona in order to get his way, trying his best to please everyone whilst remaining unchallenged- yet there was Victor, with his harsh, unfriendly glare, and a hungry shine in his eyes, climbing to the top despite having a temperament as frigid and unmoving as an iceberg. It infuriated Eli, the way everything seemed to bend around him without little effort, whilst Eli continued to try hard every day just to be perceived as normal and well-liked. Yet something continued to draw him in, the other man’s curious allure couldn't help but intrigue him- Victor was just another strange phenomenon that Eli so desperately wanted to get to the bottom of.
He switches off all of his devices, sliding his research into his desk drawer before taking the now empty coffee mug to the sink. As cool water slides over his fingers, he starts to think about how he’s going to approach Victor. Judging by his reaction earlier, he recognised Eli’s equipment but chose not to comment any further on his roommate's ‘hobby’. He figures the best course of action would be to be honest with him, explain the channel and then offer the chance to film. The idea sounds solid enough in his head, but when Eli’s hands start to shake as he dries off the mug, he knows nothing is bound to go according to plan. He takes a deep breath before walking in the direction of Victor’s room. Their rooms are separated by one very small joint bathroom, and it's through here that Eli decides to make his move. He knocks lightly on the door, tapping his foot nervously on the white tiled floor as he waits for a reply.
A cool voice slides through the bathroom doorway with a hint of amusement. “You don’t have to knock you know.”
Victor's room is much sparser than his own: where Eli has rows of books and papers littered across the floor, diagrams and drawings stuck to his walls, Victor has class textbooks and reference books arranged neatly on shelves. Most of the other surfaces are bare except for a pot of sharpies and a stack of particularly thick tomes with Vale printed on their spines. Eli feels ever so slightly like an intruder- perhaps it’s because he has never seen Victor’s room before this, or maybe it’s to do with the way Victor has casually draped himself across his bed, but all his questions suddenly become stuck in his throat.
Instead on a whim he stupidly blurts out, “What is that pile of books for?”
Eli wants to turn around and exit the room as fast as possible, he couldn’t have messed up his plan any more thoroughly. He is actually surprised when Victor inclines his head ever so slightly, again addressing him with that dangerous smile.
“Oh those? They are my parents' books, stupid self care bullshit that I can’t stand. I like to destroy them as a sort of.. hobby, you could say. Erasing pointless drivel to create something new from the rubble, something with a little more edge to it. Here, it’s easier to show you.”
He bends over, reaching his hand under the bed in one elegant movement to produce a book from beneath the covers. He eagerly holds it out to Eli, expression alight with curiosity. As he accepts and opens the pages of the book, he feels vaguely as if Victor is testing him. Eli expects to find idle doodles, perhaps a ripped page or two, but instead looks down upon rows and rows of methodically blacked out lines. Nearly every page has been written over, with the occasional word spared from an inky fate. He glances over these words as they begin to form sentences, whole narratives even.
Lost ------ and ------ broken.
----- save me ------------- from this -------- ------ ---- prison.
Help is --------- useless.
Submit to ------ --- the ----- dark, make it --------- your friend.
He shuts the book abruptly, not wanting to pry any further. He is touched by the fact Victor decided to share something so clearly personal with him. A picture begins to form in his mind, parts of a puzzle hesitantly pieced together. Successful parents, lack of time, isolation, neglect.
Maybe they weren’t so different after all.
“You’re good at this. Whatever this is.”
Victor takes the book back gently, shoving it under the bed and into its vault once again. Eli could swear a sense of relief flashes across the other man's face.
“Thanks. It helps to calm my mind. I find peace in the methodical process of erasure. But enough about me, you clearly knocked on my door for a reason. Did you need my help with something?”
He stops mid thought, how was Victor so good at reading him? He has a directness about him that the methodical part of Eli greatly appreciates. He laughs nervously, refusing to match Victor’s gaze lest he do something stupid by accident.
“Yeah… I came to say thank you, for earlier. I really did need that caffeine boost.”
“No problem. How did the stream go?”
That’s right, Eli thinks, his stream. The thousands of chat messages soar across his vision and his throat begins to tighten as he fidgets with his collar. They look so cute together - Are you guys dating? - When can we meet your boyfriend?? The room starts to spin slightly, and Eli reaches out to the wall for balance.
“Are you ok Eli? Maybe you should take a seat, you look really tired.”
Eli visibly relaxes at the thought of not having to stand awkwardly in the middle of the room when he realizes with dread that Victor’s patting the spot next to him on the bed. He can feel the hot flush creep back to his cheeks as he slowly sits down next to Victor, trying to remain as calm as possible. Focus on your goal Eli, put another mask on.
“It went well! I’m sorry I never got the chance to tell you about my channel... We run on such different schedules. If I’m ever bothering you or being too loud-“
“Don’t even mention it. I’m mostly out of the house anyway.”
Victor suddenly leans in then, blue eyes sparkling as he faces Eli.
“So do you actually believe in ghosts? I couldn’t help but overhear you earlier, I was under the impression you were religious from the cross and all- don’t your views conflict with such types of beliefs?”
He would be genuinely impressed with the depth of Victor's observational skills, if only Eli wasn’t entirely freaking out at their proximity. He’s close enough to smell him, a warm woody scent that clings to the dark wool of his turtleneck. Eli is flooded with a number of thoughts that he tries to simultaneously organize and bury forever all at once.
“Yes, of course I believe in ghosts. Why wouldn’t you want to think about the possibility of consciousness after death? If God made us to fulfill His divine purpose, then isn’t the mystery of the supernatural that much more interesting? What purpose do they have to fulfil? Sorry I’m getting a bit carried away… this is what my channel is for after all.”
Victor returns a smile like a hungry wolf, he’d caught the scent of his curiosity and was intent on catching his prey.
“I see, how fascinating. Personally, I don’t believe in such things. There’s no concrete science to prove them, everything is proven until disproved. There are plenty of resources that succeed in disproving the supernatural.That’s not to say you can’t entertain the notion of existence beyond death though, in fact there have been many studies into the brief, almost ‘supernatural’ effects of short term adrenaline increases. I hope to research some of this for my thesis if I get lucky.”
Eli waits with bated breath, this was just the opportunity he was waiting for.
“Say Victor, would you like to go ghost hunting with me?”
-
Victor had found a strange fascination with his roommate, a seemingly ordinary pre-med student, or so he initially thought. Eliot Cardale was everything he was not: he had an easy charm about him, attracting the affection of anyone who had the pleasure to interact with him, unlike Victor himself, who didn’t care for such things. He could not find much about Eli’s past, but he sensed there was a lot he was trying to hide. He knew the man to be highly religious, and would often catch him praying in his room late at night. He was intrigued as to why Eli chose to room with an elusive person such as himself, especially after his track record of rejection by others. What interested Victor most though, was the person who lay beneath Eli’s carefully curated persona, a person he’d got to see last night. He was not a fan of conspiracies, had always preferred a route of hard facts and logic, but the look on Eli’s face as he had talked excitedly to camera had struck a resonant chord within him. Victor often found people to be dull and uninteresting, but he was willing to pursue the dangerous spark of want he caught when he looked into his roommates eyes.
He knew how much Eli respected him from the moment he’d entered his bedroom- his face had taken on a sort of crazed reverie, caught like a fly in amber between the facade of politeness and his hunger for more information. Victor had decided to show him his books in a moment of inspiration, figuring that sharing a part of him would make it easier for Eli to let him into his own private sphere of existence. He enjoyed the attention Eli gave to him- unused to being the subject of someone else's admiration- and hadn’t failed to notice the slight blush that crept into the man's cheeks whenever their eyes locked for slightly longer than platonically necessary. It was clear that Eli liked him, and he had to admire the man's subtle manner of persistence. He couldn’t deny that Eli was decently attractive himself, all broad shoulders and tan skin, his mop of rich brown hair mirroring his eyes as they sparkled warmly behind thick framed glasses. Victor couldn’t imagine how such a pleasant person could want anything to do with him, the solitary recluse.
This pursuit of his continued curiosity (and perhaps something a little bit more) is how Victor now found himself standing outside of an unknown apartment building at 11pm, arms full of Eli’s recording equipment. The sky was dark, clouds looming overhead like graying beasts, blocking out the light. A short, copper haired girl bounds down the stairs towards Eli, embraces him in a friendly hug.
“Eliot!! It’s so good to see you. Here are my keys, I’ll come and check on you boys in the morning. I hope my apartment isn’t actually haunted. Have fun looking for ghosts!”
She throws a conspiratorial wink in his direction, and Eli’s face responds by coloring a bright shade of red which he very much fails to hide as he stammers awkwardly.
“Thanks Angie. I promise we will take care of everything! See you tomorrow morning.”
She floats off into the distance, waving as she leaves them alone on the front steps. Eli holds open the door as Victor passes through and heads up the stairs. Angie’s apartment is spacious, but highly cluttered. Engineering equipment litters every available surface, along with quickly scrawled diagrams and stacks of paperwork.
“Let’s set up the cameras here, the living room should be the best spot since we are going to be spending the night. At least the couch looks decently comfortable”
He watches as Eli begins to unpack, connecting meters of cables and turning on various bits of technology until he seems satisfied with the number of small lights blinking up at them. Victor knows nothing about ghost hunting, but this all seems a little bit excessive. Eli beams up at him from behind a small handheld camera.
“Looks like we are all ready to go! We will start with these big cameras and use this small one here if we have to move around. Feel free to introduce yourself once we go live, although we are probably going to be sitting here and waiting most of the night. Oh also please ignore the chat, they don’t know what they are talking about.”
Victor walks over to stand by Eli in front of the cameras, hovering like a dark smudge behind him, black on white. When he goes live, it’s almost as if Eli flicks a switch in his brain, another personality sliding in front of his real one. He finds the contrast fascinating.
“Hello there and welcome to a special ghost hunting episode of Theories and Theses! Today you are joined by me Eli, and…” He trails off, expecting Victor to say something.
He looks dead into the cameras as the chat explodes on screen. “Hi. I’m Victor.”
-
The moment Victor opens his mouth, the chat goes wild. Messages flood in, ranging from compliments to suggestions and even threats. Eli's stomach feels like it's doing backflips.
oh my god it’s really him!
Wait, is that Victor Vale? The rich kid?
Omg Eli, he’s so cute!
GHOST HUNTING WITH THE BF <3
Let’s catch some spooky ghosts :D
You should bring him on stream more often.
He calms himself, looking to Victor beside him, who is blissfully distracted with glaring at his mountain of equipment cables and lights.
“The chat has spoken, so I have delivered! We are at my friend's apartment, where there have been rumors of a ghost haunting the premises! Do you think we will find it? We’ll have to wait and see...”
It’s then that a loud crash comes from the direction of the kitchen, making Eli jump backwards in panic, directly into Victor, who steadies him with a hand on his chest. Eli hardly has time to react as the rapid thumping of his heartbeat deafens all thoughts except the gentle presence of Victor's touch.
“Vic-“
“Shhhh. Shut up. Did you hear that Eli?”
Another crash sounds through the room and Victor lets go of him, much to his relief and slight disappointment. Any longer and he wouldn't have been able to formulate any coherent thoughts at all. Victor puts a hand up and motions for Eli to follow him. They creep silently toward the kitchen, Eli’s portable camera trained on every stray movement that he can catch. They reach the kitchen and look around cautiously, eyes straining in the dark. That’s when he can see it looming behind Victor, a dark shape arched high against the windowsill. A low growling rises up from the shadows, peaking in a high whine before the shape readies itself to jump.
“Victor, watch out behind you!”
Eli calls out but it’s too late, the shape lunges for Victor as he gives a small gasp, crashing to the floor. In his hurry Eli drops the camera and it smashes to the ground, cutting off any outside connection. He watches Victor struggle with the creature, swearing frustratedly as it clings to his torso.
“Fuck. Get this thing off of me Eli!! These claws are really sharp, they're gonna tear my clothes. Ugh, you’d think your friend's cat was trying to kill me!”
Eli stifles a laugh as he helps drag the cat off of Victor, who now has a very grumpy expression on his face. He doesn’t look amused. Eli can’t hold it in any longer- he lets out a long, borderline hysterical laugh.
“You should have seen your face!! I almost thought you’d been attacked by some sort of ghost! I guess Angie forgot to tell me about her flatmate's cat… Poor thing must have been terrified.”
Now it’s Victor's turn to laugh, the sound lower and more rough than Eli’s. “Of course it wasn’t a ghost. Although, this night has certainly turned out to be more eventful than I’d thought. Help me up, would you?”
Eli approaches him and cautiously extends a hand, Victor's fingers are long and thin, his palms cool against the nervous heat of Eli’s skin. Victor drags himself off the ground, bumping into Eli on the way up, standing so close they are basically touching. Eli steps away a little too quickly, pulse racing.
“I... think my stream crashed when I dropped the camera in a panic. You know what, nevermind, let’s just call it a night here.”
Victor looks at the crouched form of the cat, now huddling under one of the chairs, and smirks.
“Yeah, I think that would be wise.”
They both trudge back to the living room to scout for potential sleeping arrangements. Their gazes immediately drawn to the large couch pushed against one wall. Victor sets himself down on it eagerly, long limbs stretching over the side of one arm.
“What do you think? I bet we can both fit.”
A fuzzy feeling bubbles up within Eli as he nervously sits down on the other side of the couch, fear replaced with anticipation. They are perched on opposite ends from each other, Eli sitting neatly, whilst Victor is sprawled across the other half, dominating it. He lays down, carefully avoiding Victor’s feet. The cat jumps up onto the couch and decides to settle itself on the other side of him and he strokes it idly, as a distraction.
“Goodnight Victor, thanks for your help. Sorry about the cat.”
He mumbles tired words of agreement. “No problem. Sleep well.”
Eli is already happily asleep by the time Victor decides to speak again, glancing over at the cat.
“Hey Eli, it looks like you made a friend.”
-
He looks so peaceful, Victor thinks as he watches Eli sleep. The brunette's hair is falling into his face, his expression content as his chest moves in a steady rhythm. Victor didn’t have the heart to tell Eli he’s an insomniac. He can hardly sleep these days- too many thoughts weighing on his mind.
Part way through the night Eli shifts up the couch, his head leaning onto Victor's legs- he doesn’t mind it so much as he thought he would. He finds himself feeling comforted by Eli’s presence, a steady, reliable force of warmth he knows will always be there. Victor reaches out a hand, ruffling it through Eli’s hair. He smiles softly, and for once the gesture is genuine.
Whether Victor liked it or not, Eliot Cardale was growing on him.