Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

~ September 7th, 2019 ~

You have arrived at your destination.

That was what the GPS said as a family of four pulled up to their local eye clinic in Upstate New York. They drove a blue van and had lived in the state for the better part of a decade, but a new challenge had presented itself to the parents when their daughter told them she couldn’t see the board at school.

“Hi, we’ve got an eye exam scheduled for today,” Esther Chen explained to the receptionist as she, her husband, and their two children entered the building.

“Can I get a name for the appointment?” the receptionist asked.

“The name should be ‘Juniper Chen,’” Esther said.

The person in question tugged on her mother's sleeve. “June, please,” she said.

“I know June honey, they just need your full name here, that’s all,” Esther replied to her daughter.

The receptionist pulled up June’s appointment on their computer. “Ah, yep. I see your appointment right here. Could you fill out this form detailing any history of vision problems or other medical problems in your family?” they asked.

Esther grabbed a pen from the cup on the side of the receptionist's desk. “Besides me, I don’t think there are any on the vision side of things,” Esther replied. She then turned to her husband. “Any vision problems on your side of the family, Ruben?”

Ruben shook his head. “None that I can remember,” he replied. Esther finished filling out the form and returned the pen to its proper place.

The receptionist took the form and looked over it. “Alright, just take a seat over there and we’ll have someone take care of you in just a bit,” they explained.

“Great, thanks,” Esther replied, with the receptionist giving a thumbs up.

Ruben and Esther walked back to the waiting area with their daughter, while their son Ollie was already there scrolling through his phone with his earbuds in. Ollie wasn’t too concerned about the ongoing situation, but his sister was the complete opposite.

Whatever was about to happen during the eye exam wasn’t too much of a concern for June, the problem was everything else. There were so many people in this waiting room and music playing over the loudspeaker and it was all just too much for her to handle.

Fortunately, there was a bead maze and some other assorted toys on one of the tables, which June used to keep herself occupied as she and her family waited for her name to be called. She spent about 15 minutes moving the beads around the wires before being interrupted by the sound of a door swinging open.

“Juniper Chen?” a voice called out from the door to her right.

“That’s us!” Esther exclaimed. “Ruben, Ollie, do you two wanna come in with us or stay here?”

Ollie looked up from his phone and took out one of his earbuds. “I’ll just stay here. The new trailer for Country Pumpkin just came out and I gotta watch this,” he explained.

“Yeah, I think you’re more familiar with this type of stuff than I am anyway. I’ll just stay here and make sure Ollie doesn’t get into trouble,” Ruben said.

“Alright, well we shouldn’t take any longer than an hour. Try not to cause any trouble, Ollie!” Esther said as she ruffled her son’s hair. She then turned around and led her daughter to the doctor’s room.

June took a seat in the office as the optometrist entered the room. “Hi! I’m June!” she said.

“Nice to meet you, June! I’m Dr. Eileen. What brings you in today?” the optometrist asked as she sat in a chair on the side of the room.

“It’s hard to see the board,” June explained.

“You can’t see the board at school?” Eileen replied.

“I can’t see it,” June reiterated.

“Alright, let’s do some preliminary tests so I can begin to figure out what’s going on. Could you hold your hand over your left eye for me?” Eileen asked.

June extended her index fingers and thumbs to make an “L” shape with each hand. She figured out which hand was left and used it to cover her left eye. Eileen took a mental note of this but said nothing.

“Perfect, now try reading the first row of letters on that chart for me,” Eileen said as she moved her chair and pointed to a LogMAR chart behind her.

June began to read the letters. “H… V, Z, O? S.”

Eileen recorded June’s results on her clipboard. “Alright, now move on to the next row,” she instructed June. This continued until she had accurately read as much of the chart as she could with each eye.

After June finished the visual acuity test, it was time to move on to the pupil response test. “Alright, now I’m gonna shine this flashlight into your eyes, and I want you to look straight ahead. Can you do that for me?” Eileen asked.

“I’ll try,” June said.

“Alright, here we go!” Eileen exclaimed as she turned on the flashlight.

The test seemed to be going fine at first, but June began to get incredibly uncomfortable after just a few seconds of having the light shined into her eyes.

“Stop!” June yelled out, now in tears.

Eileen backed up to let Esther console her daughter. “What’s wrong June honey?” she asked.

“It burns. Too bright,” June tried to explain through her tears.

“I’m sorry June, I didn’t know that would happen. Do you want to take a second to calm down before we keep going?” Eileen asked.

June sniffed as she wiped her eyes. “Okay,” she replied.

“Alright, your Mom and I will give you some space. Just knock on the door when you’re ready for us to come back in,” Eileen said as she escorted Esther into the hallway.

“Is that a normal response to that test? I don’t remember doing that when I had to get glasses as a kid,” Esther asked.

“Well, kids usually aren’t thrilled about having a bright light shined into their eyes, but it’s rare for them to demand that the test stops,” Eileen explained. “I also noticed she needed to do the ‘L’ thing with her hands to tell which one was left. She’s 8, right?”

“Yes, she turned 8 a few months ago,” Esther said.

“Children usually learn which side is which around age 6 or 7. Does she do that often?” Eileen asked.

“I haven’t noticed that specific behavior before, but now that you mention it, she is a little uncoordinated sometimes,” Esther said. “Why are you asking me about this?”

“I’m just checking because I work with a lot of kids, and very few of them are like your daughter. She’s very sweet, but also quiet and it seems like she handles things a little differently than most kids her age. If you don’t mind me asking, has she been screened for autism or anything similar?” Eileen asked.

“I don’t think we ever considered that she could be on the spectrum,” Esther said.

“I can’t blame you, autism is heavily under-researched and underdiagnosed in girls. Most people think that the symptoms are just us being ‘sensitive’ or whatever,” she explained.

“Are you saying she might be autistic?” Esther asked.

“Well, I’m not a psychologist, I’m just going off of my personal experiences, but I think it’s possible,” she explained. “If you want, I can write a referral to a screening center after we finish the test, and you can go from there.”

“Personal experiences?” Esther asked.

“Yeah! I’m autistic, which now that I think about it, I guess does give me some credibility when it comes to this sort of thing,” Eileen said.

This all came as a shock to Esther. She never considered that any of June’s behaviors could be linked to an underlying cause such as autism, much less what that entailed. As Eileen said, autism in girls was not well documented, but now that the possibility was presented to her, it was hard to deny that it could explain some things about June’s personality.

“Forgive me, but this is going a little fast. Could we discuss this with my husband after the test?” Esther asked.

“Sure, we can do that. I think I hear June knocking anyway, so that’s good timing,” Eileen replied as she and Esther reentered the office. 

June was able to get through the remainder of the preliminary tests and the actual eye exam without much trouble, allowing Eileen to reach her conclusion.

“Alright, so based on your results, I think you suffer from myopia, otherwise known as nearsightedness. That means that most of your struggle comes from seeing things further away, and you’ll need a pair of glasses to fix that,” Eileen explained.

“Makes sense,” June replied.

“June, your Dad and I need to talk with Dr. Eileen for a little bit. Wanna go back to the waiting room to get him for me? You can pick out your glasses with your brother in the meantime,” Esther asked.

“Sure, I’ll go get Daddy!” June exclaimed. “Bye-bye, Dr. Eileen!”

“Bye June! It was nice meeting you!” Eileen said.

Ruben then entered the room. “Esther, honey? You needed to talk with me about something?” he asked.

“Yes, and it’s something important. Dr. Eileen thinks there’s a chance June has autism. I was wondering what you thought about that, and if we should do anything, because that would be a big deal,” Esther explained.

Ruben turned to face Eileen. “What makes you think that my daughter has autism?” he asked.

“She had a very poor reaction to one of the tests, and I noticed some behaviors of hers that reminded me of when I was her age. I’m autistic myself, it’s not very well-researched in girls,” Eileen explained.

“I see. Well, I don’t know much about it myself, but if June needs any kind of support then that’s something I want to make sure she has. What do you think we should do?” Ruben asked.

“I was just telling your wife about this, but I can write a referral to a screening center and you both can go from there,” Eileen said.

“I’d greatly appreciate that. If she does turn out to be autistic, then it would be a good thing we were able to catch it now and not later down the road. Better late than never as they say,” Ruben said.

“Alright, I’ll write a referral and send it to the email on file later today, but for now, here’s June’s prescription for her glasses,” Eileen said as she handed Esther a note with the information she collected.

“Thanks. Also, thanks for being patient with her during the test,” Esther said.

“Eh, it’s not a big deal, I’ve been in her shoes before, like I said. Kids can be something else,” she said.

“So true. Well, we better help June pick out her frames, you have a good day!” Ruben said.

“You too, Mr. and Mrs. Chen!” Eileen replied as the parents joined their two children. Conveniently enough, June had just found a pair of glasses she liked.

“Mom! Dad! Look at these!” June excitedly said as she turned to her parents.

Ruben and Esther looked at the frames. They were red, cat-eye eyeglasses with a low bridge fit, and they made June’s eyes positively light up. Now aware of the possibility that her daughter had sensory issues, Esther wanted to make sure they were an absolutely perfect match for June.

“They look great, June honey, but do they feel okay on your face?” Esther asked her daughter.

June thought for a second. “They feel smooth. I like them!” she replied.

Ruben and Esther were proud of their daughter for picking out the frames on her own, as well as making the best out of this inconvenient situation. They both knelt and hugged June at the same time, which she didn’t understand at first but gladly reciprocated.

“You did a good job, June. We’re both so proud of you,” Ruben said.

“Now, let’s go take these frames to that table over there and get them fitted properly, then we’ll come back in a few days and you’ll be all set,” Esther said.

“Yippee!” June exclaimed.

After having her eyes measured, a pair of the red cat-eye glasses were ordered in June’s size and the Chens left the eye clinic. As the Chens got back into the family van, Ollie took out his earbuds and struck up a conversation with his sister.

“Are you excited about your new glasses, June?” he asked.

“Yes! It’s gonna be easier to see the board, and I’ll look cool doing it. Just a couple of days to go,” she replied.

While Ruben and Esther were happy that their daughter was about to have her vision corrected, they were concerned with what the next few days might entail beyond that. What if June was autistic? What struggles might that lead to, be they right now or later in life? What will she think of having that label attached to her?

Those were all questions for another day. Right as the Chens returned home, Ruben got the email notification from Eileen containing the referral, which he starred and vowed to use should June show any more possible autistic traits over the next few days. They weren’t sure if she was autistic or not, but there was one thing they both knew with their whole heart:

That they loved their daughter no matter what.

Chapter Text

~ A few months later… ~

After months of screening, testing, multiple questionnaires, and lots of research, one thing became apparent: there was no neurotypical explanation for June Chen. Her sensitivity to light and sound, difficulty with social cues and maintaining eye contact, and tendency to unleash what she specifically referred to as “unbridled truths” all came back to one underlying cause.

The cause was autism spectrum disorder, colloquially known as autism.

As the Chens returned to their home in Upstate New York following the diagnosis, a mix of relief, exhaustion, and nervousness washed over them. On the one hand, they were all glad to have some concrete answers on why June was the way she was and what kinds of support she may need to thrive, but the process of getting those answers was intensive and time-consuming. The nervousness mainly came from what her future may hold, but the reaction from June herself concerned Ruben and Esther as well.

Ollie, who had spent most of his day sitting in the waiting room while the rest of his family got the news, decided to break the ice. “Mom, Dad, June, are you all okay?” he asked.

Ruben and Esther weren’t sure how to answer at that moment. It was hard for them to deny that this newfound information changed what they thought her life was going to be like. Not in a bad way necessarily, but in a way they didn’t account for and now had to figure out.

While the parents were lost in thought, June decided to speak up. “Mommy, Daddy, do you still love me?” she asked.

Ruben and Esther’s hearts began to ache as soon as they heard her say that. They obviously loved June no matter what; she was bright, kind, and loved them right back. Why would she ever think otherwise?

“Oh June, of course we do. Why wouldn’t we?” Esther asked.

June didn’t respond. She just looked at the floor with an expression on her face that resembled guilt.

Ruben entered the conversation. “Your mom and I just need a little bit of time to talk about this, that’s all. Could you both go up to your rooms for a bit?” he asked his two children.

“Okay,” June dejectedly replied as she walked to the stairs, with Ollie following close behind to comfort her.

Esther brewed some tea on the stove while Ruben took a seat on a stool behind the kitchen counter.

“I was nervous about this,” Ruben said as he sipped his tea. “As soon as Eileen said June might have autism I was nervous about how she would feel about that label.”

“Well, it’s not like she would’ve magically become just like the other kids had we done nothing. This doesn’t close any doors for June, if anything it opens so many,” Esther replied.

“That’s true, this does allow her to get any assistance she might need. Still, it hurts my heart to hear what she said earlier. I don’t want her to think less of herself just because her brain works differently,” Ruben said.

“We just live in a world that isn’t built for people like her. Society expects her to fit into a box she can’t get into, and where’s the fun in fitting in anyway?” Esther asked.

“Yeah, now that you mention it, I guess I was sort of in her shoes once. I almost got laughed out of high school for wanting to hunt ghosts, but at least that was because of a conscious decision on my part,” Ruben recalled. “June never asked for this.”

“Hey, at least one person was willing to accept you for who you are,” Esther said with a wink. “Surely June will find people who accept her for who she is.”

“I hope so. I just want what’s best for her,” Ruben said.

“Well, I think what’s best for her right now would be going upstairs and showing her just how much we truly love her,” Esther triumphantly said. “Anything she needs afterward we’ll take care of, as a family.”

Ruben smiled. “I wholeheartedly agree. Thanks for the pep talk Esther, let’s go show our daughter that we still love her and that she can do extraordinary things.”

June was sitting quietly at her desk in her bedroom, tinkering with a drone she got for Christmas. She always showed so much passion for technology, it’s almost surprising that nobody thought she might have been neurodivergent sooner. Her work was interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door.

“June honey? Can we come in?” Esther asked her daughter.

“Come in,” June replied.

Ruben opened the door and he entered June’s bedroom alongside Esther. “Hey kiddo, we just wanted to check if you were feeling okay after getting the news,” he said.

“I feel like something is wrong with me,” June said.

Ruben and Esther got on their knees to meet June’s eye level. “Well, we sure don’t think so. We think you’re incredible just the way you are,” Ruben said as June continued to look down at the floor with the same guilty expression as before. 

Esther put her hand through her daughter's hair. “June, you don’t need to feel guilty for being who you are. There’s nothing wrong with you, and your father and I are going to make sure you don’t ever forget that.”

June sniffled. “You promise?” she asked her parents.

“Of course. If you ever need anything, and I do mean anything, you’ve always got us. We’re always going to have your back,” Ruben replied.

“And there’s nothing wrong with needing any help either. If you need anything, we’ll handle it together as a family,” Esther continued.

June’s tears turned to tears of joy as a smile stretched across her face. “Well, I think I know what I need right now,” she said as she got up from her chair.

“What’s that?” Ruben asked.

“A big hug!” June exclaimed.

“Oh June, of course!” Esther said as she and Ruben wrapped their arms around their daughter.

It was the tightest hug they’d ever given.

Chapter Text

~ Sometime in June of 2022 ~

“Smash that like button and subscribe!”

“And… cut!”

Esther turned off the video camera. “Great job, June!” she said as June walked away from the green screen in the middle of an empty parking lot just outside the city limits of New Orleans, Louisiana, the final stop in the Chen’s big cross-country road trip.

About two and a half years had passed since June was formally diagnosed with autism, and things had only been uphill from there. After June accepted her diagnosis as a part of who she is, Ruben and Esther quickly realized what her special interest was: technology. She loved tinkering with every little thing she could get her hands on, from the little things like opening her favorite toys to see how they worked, to bigger projects like robotics kits and advanced LEGO® sets. Realizing how her talent could be used to help her family, June stepped up to the role of “tech wizard” of the Ghost Chaser Chens, working out technical issues behind the scenes and designing/testing gadgets that could track down and destroy ghosts. When she wasn’t doing that, she recorded the outro for most of their MeTube videos.

Esther saved the project in her editing software and closed her laptop as Ruben and Ollie began putting away the filming equipment. “Well, I think that wraps up our segment about The Big Easy, and by extension, the whole video about the most haunted cities in America!” Ruben said. “Gosh, I can’t think of a better place to cap off our big cross-country road trip.”

“For sure,” Ollie replied as he collapsed the green screen and put it into the family van. “Based on what I’ve read, I’d be shocked if New Orleans isn’t the most haunted city in America.”

June nodded. “Gracey Manor easily had the strongest spectral activity readings I’ve ever recorded. Very good catch, Ollie,” she said. 

Ollie’s role as the family’s “research specialist” had come in handy when planning this trip, and without June’s gadgets, most of what the Chens did would have been impossible. Ruben and Esther were happy to have them by their side in their quest to rid the world of ghosts. Truthfully, MeTube was never a strong enough source of income to justify this trip, but hunting ghosts was never about the fortune or fame for any of them; it was about doing the right thing. Plus it was a good excuse to get out of the suburbs of Upstate New York and live a little.

Ruben closed the trunk of the van. “Alright, the equipment has been put away and the video is nearly done. What do you all say about getting something to eat?” Ruben asked his family.

“I think that sounds great!” Esther replied. “We should go get some po’ boys, I heard this place called ‘Parkway’ has the best ones and a fried oyster po’ boy with extra hot sauce would be heavenly right about now.”

Ollie shuddered. “They wouldn’t happen to have any vegetarian options, would they?” he asked.

Ruben put his hand on Ollie’s shoulder and smiled. “We’ll figure something out,” he said.

As the family got into their van and buckled their seatbelts, a thought came across June’s mind. “I wonder if the water from the Mississippi River is the reason why the bread-based food here tastes so good. If that’s how it works back home, surely it’s the same here right?” she wondered.

“Well, there’s only one way to find out!” Ruben excitedly replied.

After a round of po’ boys and a shockingly long argument between Esther and a random customer about whether Crystal or Tabasco hot sauce was better, the Chens decided to cap off their trip by visiting an iconic New Orleans location: the original Café du Monde at 800 Decatur Street.

The Chens all sat at an outdoor table and got 4 orders of beignets and café au lait. “Now THIS is a New Orleans staple!” Ollie said. “Wonder if any hungry ghosts are looking to feast on fried dough and powdered sugar before they feast on the souls of their next victims.”

“Good point, Ollie! I’ll turn on my Phant-O-Meter and see if there are any nearby!” June said as she switched her gadget on and stood up on her chair.

“June honey, I think your brother was kidding. You should get down,” Esther said, softly.

“Oh. I’m sorry, I thought he was being serious,” June replied as she sat back down.

“Nah, don’t worry June. You can never be too prepared for a ghost attack!” Ruben replied. “Just try not to get any powdered sugar on it, okay?”

“Good idea. I’ll just leave it on and put it away for now,” June said as she put her gadget into the backpack lying beside her chair.

The gadget (as well as June’s backpack) was mostly red, which had been her favorite color for a long time, but she developed a new appreciation for it after learning it was the color that represented autism acceptance. Something about her keeping red gadgets in a bag that shared that color that represented that part of her made June’s heart happy, knowing there was nothing wrong with her no matter how her brain worked or what she was interested in.

The Chens got their donuts and coffee and began to chow down. They all generally preferred tea (especially Esther, since she thought coffee was “too sweet” and she usually wanted spice) but this coffee combined with these donuts was something special.

“These are so good!” Ollie exclaimed.

June agreed. “It’s messy, but it’s so worth it!”

As they finished eating and got up from their powdered sugar-coated table, June decided to check the readings from her gadget. “Huh,” she said.

“Something wrong, June?” Ollie asked.

“I’m getting a reading coming from north of here, but it’s incredibly faint. The Phant-O-Meter isn’t telling me exactly how far away it is,” June explained.

“Think it might be a glitch?” Ruben asked.

June shrugged. “Not sure. If I could get the reading off of here and onto something more powerful, maybe I could gather some more information.”

“Of course!” Esther exclaimed. “Let’s get it onto one of our laptops. Maybe then you could narrow down where it’s coming from!”

“Ghost Chaser Chens, let’s go analyze this data!” Ruben announced as he, Esther, and June started to go back to the van.

“Wait!” Ollie exclaimed.

“Ollie? What’s up?” Ruben said as he turned around.

“We should probably pay for our food before we go,” Ollie said.

Ruben’s face turned red. “Oh yeah, we should probably do that,” he replied.

After they paid the bill for the donuts and coffee, the Chens went back to the family van in the nearby public parking lot and got out June’s laptop. She then wirelessly connected the Phant-O-Meter to it and uploaded the data it had recorded. At first, the isolated data didn’t seem to show anything the gadget wasn’t already showing; just a faint signal vaguely to the north of Café du Monde. Fortunately, June didn’t give up that easily.

“Anything interesting in the data, June?” Esther asked.

“One way to find out,” June said as she began to look deeper.

Everyone was huddled around June as she typed away. As soon as she isolated the source of the spectral activity, June’s jaw dropped. This can’t be possible. How am I getting a signal from all the way over there?! she thought to herself. Her mind began racing, the world around her became quiet, it became harder for her to breathe-

“Everything okay, June?” Ruben asked his zoned-out daughter.

June snapped back to reality. “The signal is coming from all the way in Brighton!” she exclaimed.

“Brighton? You mean that midwestern town we keep seeing clickbait about?” Esther said.

“There’s no way anything could possibly come from there. Andrea Davenport has spent the last year claiming she saw ghosts with no actual evidence to prove it,” Ruben said as he recalled seeing her MeTube videos on his homepage.

“Well, clickbait usually has some truth to it, right? Plus, I don’t think she was the only person reporting some paranormal activity in that town,” Ollie replied. “June, can you narrow down the location of the signal any further?”

“Give me a second,” June replied as she continued typing. “I can’t narrow down an exact address or anything, but the signal seems to originate from the manufacturing district.”

“I thought that area of the town was defunct after the tractor factory left?” Esther asked. They had considered going to Brighton as part of the road trip, and had even done some research on the town itself, but ruled it out due to a lack of solid evidence of paranormal activity.

Ollie began looking at local news articles from KWP6. “Seems like a wind turbine company just moved into that space today,” he said. “Funny how we’re getting such a strong ghost reading from an area that seemingly just got brought back to life.”

Ruben began to get anxious. “Back on topic, is that the part of town where Andrea Davenport lives?” he asked.

Ollie shook his head. “I don’t think so. Plus, I’m not seeing anything new that’s ghost-related on her page right now,” Ollie said. “I don’t know of any other influencers based in that town, so if she’s not faking this somehow, then it could be real.”

Ruben was lost in thought. If this isn’t some kind of publicity stunt being pulled by a local celebrity, how could these readings exist, much less be so strong that they’ve reached the other side of the country? he thought to himself. They had heard other claims of supernatural activity in Brighton before that seemed slightly more credible, but now they had hard data backing it all up.

“What are you thinking, Ruben?” Esther asked her husband as she put her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not 100% sure about these readings, but if they are to be believed, then something VERY bad could be happening in Brighton, and we may be the only ones who can stop it,” Ruben explained. “I know this was supposed to be the last stop of our road trip, but I think this calls for a change of plans.”

“A change of plans?” June asked, not understanding what her father was getting at.

Ruben looked at his daughter and nodded. He then turned to face his whole family and made an announcement that would fundamentally change all four of their lives:

“Chens, we’re moving to Brighton!”

Chapter Text

~ July 8th, 2022 ~

The last month had been very hectic for the Chens. Having their whole livelihoods uprooted due to the severity of those spectral readings was not in anyone’s cards for the year, but once they had actually made it to Brighton, they found that things weren’t so bad. Their new neighbors, the McGees, certainly made the process easier, and following an afternoon of moving boxes and getting acquainted with their new neighbors, the McGees and the Chens were both beat.

“Alright, that should be the last box!” Ruben said. “Thank you, McGees, for helping us get these all inside. It would’ve taken much longer without you guys!”

The Chens had received assistance from the parents, Pete and Sharon McGee, and their daughter, Molly. Pete blushed at Ruben’s words. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all, really. Because when it comes to people we care about…” he said as he signaled to his fellow McGees.

“...McGees go the extra mile!” they all said as Sharon and Molly posed with Pete.

Esther clapped her hands with excitement. “Oooh! I can’t wait for our barbecue tomorrow! You all seem so nice!” she said.

“We can’t wait too! Esther, you are going to love my stash of peppers,” Sharon said. “Some of them are so hot, they’ll make you wish you were dead.”

Esther smirked. “I’ll be the judge of that,” she playfully replied as they both started laughing.

“Is your mom always like this when it comes to spicy food?” Ollie asked Molly.

Molly shook her head. “Not really. I guess your mom brings out that side of her,” she replied.

Ollie breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay good, because my mom is always like this and I do NOT want to find any ghost peppers in the veggie burgers tomorrow.”

Molly steeled herself. “I’ll personally see to it that there isn’t a single speck of spice anywhere near them! Those veggie patties will be as spicy as apple sauce!” she triumphantly said.

“You mean the plain kind, right? Some apple sauce has cinnamon in it, that’s a spice,” Ollie asked. Molly appreciated his attention to detail with specifying the type of apple sauce she was referring to.

“Of course, not a single speck!” Molly replied. Ollie appreciated his new friend’s commitment to ensuring that his burgers were spice-free. “Unless my brother is planning any shenanigans for tomorrow, then I can’t guarantee anything.”

“Speaking of your brother, where did Darryl go?” Pete asked.

“I think June was showing him one of her drones near your house,” Ruben replied. “This neighborhood is safe for kids to be alone in, right?”

Sharon chimed in. “Well yes, but Darryl… isn’t so safe. At least sometimes,” she said.

“We should probably go check on them,” Molly said.

~ A few hours earlier… ~

“This drone is so cool! So first of all, it has four rotors, and I built it with a solar panel…”

Darryl was mesmerized by June’s proficiency with gadgets as she went over every little detail about her drone. Engineering or anything even slightly science-adjacent usually held no interest to him, but something about his new neighbor was different. When she spoke about this drone, Darryl wasn’t so easily distracted or bored as he would be during a science class; he actually enjoyed learning about this from June.

She continued explaining. “…so theoretically it can fly forever in most conditions as long as it has unobstructed access to sunlight! Second of all, the motors are strong enough to allow this drone to carry smaller objects on top with no problems. We sometimes attach a camera to it to get overhead shots for our MeTube videos-”

“You guys make MeTube videos? That is so cool!” Darryl replied. “Wait, you said this can fly even with something on top of it?”

June nodded. “It depends on what you put on top since it gets power from the sun, but it has a backup battery inside so even if it’s fully covered it can still fly for a bit,” she explained.

Darryl began thinking of something devious. “Before I ask what I’m about to ask, what are your thoughts on tarantulas?”

June thought for a second. “I don’t really like touching them, but I think they’re pretty cute!” she replied.

“You don’t like touching them?” Darryl questioned.

June began to frown slightly. “Yeah, the little hairs they have all over make me uncomfortable. That’s a symptom of my autism.”

“Ah, I see. I’m not autistic, but that happens to me sometimes as well,” Darryl said, to which June smiled in solidarity. “Anyway, here’s the deal: I have a fully grown pet tarantula, her name is Heidi Hairylegs and I love her dearly. I was wondering if your drone could fly her around.”

“That could be fun! I’d have to weigh her to be certain, but I think we could make it work,” June replied.

“Well, can the drone carry approximately 85 grams?” Darryl said, conveniently knowing the exact weight of his tarantula.

June almost had to hold back a laugh, of course her drone could handle that. “Oh yeah, that’s nothing. Our cameras weigh around twice that much, Heidi will be fine. However, depending on how long her legs are, that could affect how much sunlight the solar panel can take in.”

“You said it had a backup battery, right? Could you charge it before letting her fly around?” Darryl asked.

“Yes, but there’s no charging port; it only gets charged through the solar panel. So I’d have to prepare it beforehand,” June clarified.

“I see. Well, any amount of airtime is good enough for Heidi. Think I could see your flying skills?” Darryl asked.

“Sure! Let me get the remote out,” June said as she put her drone on the sidewalk and pulled a modified game controller out of her skirt pocket.

She turned the controller on, causing the drone to whir to life and leave the ground. “And we have liftoff!” June said as she started flying the drone around.

As she flew the drone around the neighborhood with absolute precision, Darryl was amazed. “Wow! How long have you been building and flying drones, June?” he asked.

“A few years. I got my first one for Christmas in 2019, after that I started to learn how to build them from scratch and use them to help with our videos,” June said.

“And these get confiscated from you at school? That’s lame,” Darryl replied.

“Yeah, it’s annoying. I would just be tinkering with them in my free time and someone would just swoop in and take it until the end of the school day,” June said.

“Adults just don’t understand kids like us I guess. We’re not troublemakers, we just want to have fun. I wish people would just, I don’t know, be more understanding,” Darryl said.

June landed her drone so she could focus on responding to her new friend. “Well, it seems like you understand me at least. That makes me happy,” she said.

Darryl smiled. “Yeah, I feel the same way. I think we’re gonna be good friends, June!”

~ Back in the present… ~

Ruben, Pete, Esther, Sharon, Ollie, and Molly all exited the Chen’s house not knowing what to expect. Darryl was a renowned troublemaker and June may not have known better if he suggested they do something dangerous. Fortunately, they not only hadn’t left the McGee’s front yard but the group was met with a pleasant sight: Darryl and June bonding over a newly shared interest in drones.

“Darryl has a bestie. My life is complete,” Molly said, trying to hold back her excitement.

Sharon sighed in relief. “Thank Cob, it looks like Darryl and June are doing okay! I was nervous they might have wandered off and met one of Darryl’s business partners,” she said.

Ruben raised an eyebrow. “Do I want to know what that means?” he asked.

Pete turned to Ruben. “I don’t know if I want to know what that means.”

“Well, as long as June is happy. I’ve never been able to help much with her gadgets, maybe Darryl will be better at it than I am,” Ollie said.

“Good point, Ollie! I’m just glad June finally has a friend around her age,” Esther said.

Molly couldn’t hold her excitement anymore. “I’m so excited about tomorrow! We’re gonna have so much fun!”

“Oh yeah, on that note, we should probably get to opening up these boxes. Thank you again, McGees!” Ruben said.

“You’re very welcome. See you all tomorrow!” Pete replied. He then turned to his son. “Hey, Darryl! Let’s get inside, we’ve got a barbecue to prepare for!”

Ruben turned to his daughter. “Hey, June! Let’s get unpacking!”

The two noticed their fathers calling out to them. “Be there in a sec!” they both called out. They laughed after realizing they said the same thing at the same time.

“Guess I gotta go. See you tomorrow, June!” Darryl said as he extended his arm for a fist bump.

June didn’t understand the gesture at first, but realized what Darryl wanted and returned the fist bump. “See you tomorrow, Darryl!” she replied. The two then separated and went back to their respective houses.

The Chens all reentered their new house. It had a modern design; very minimalist but with a splash of industrial. Had the Chens not scooped up this house right before Brighton began its economic rebound, they may have had to stay in a small apartment.

“Alright, Ollie and June, you both can go upstairs and decide on your rooms. Your mom and I are going to get started with unpacking down here,” Ruben said to his children.

Ollie nodded. “Sounds good to me. Let's get going, June!”

“Race you up the stairs!” June said as she bolted upstairs.

“Oh no you don’t!” Ollie said as he followed behind her. Ruben and Esther couldn’t help but smile.

“Alright, so where do we start?” Esther asked her husband.

Ruben opened a box in the entrance hallway and picked up a small picture frame. “I think we should start with hanging this up,” he said, to which Esther nodded in agreement.

The frame held a cross stitch of the Chinese character fu (福), meaning “fortune” or “good luck.” This had been passed down through generations of Chens, from his grandfather in China to his father in Florida. It had previously been in the entrance to their home in New York, and now it would christen their new forever home in Brighton. After hanging it up, Ruben had only one thing to say:

“And with that, now it’s a home.”

Chapter Text

~ July 9th, 2022 ~

“That's the paranormal sensors I installed on the roof!”

“Whoa, that's some major spectral activity.”

“Chens, looks like we were right about this town.”

“The ghost hunt is on.”

The Chens all did a group pose together in their garage holding their ghost hunting equipment. Nobody could see them, but they didn’t care, they were just happy to be together.

Esther broke the silence. “Now imagine if we reenacted this, and our logo just fell onto the screen, marking the end of our video about moving to the NEW most haunted city in America!” she said.

Ruben’s eyes lit up. “Good idea honey, we should do that for our next video! Sure, this is a very real and serious threat that relates to my childhood trauma, but our fans still deserve a good show,” he said, oddly calmly as he and Esther exited the garage.

The Chen kids were now the only people in the garage. “We should probably study these readings, huh?” Ollie asked.

June was already at the computer they had set up in the garage. “The activity has already gone back to nearly zero,” she said. “Whatever was causing this is long gone now, I can’t even track where it came from.”

Ollie was confused. “Huh, I wonder what it could have been. Was it the same thing that caused the readings from before?” he asked.

“I doubt it. That reading was incredibly consistent, these are much more erratic. It’s possible our first signal came from one powerful ghost, while these came from a large number of weaker ghosts,” June explained.

“That makes sense, but I’m trying to figure out how we could have missed what sounds like an army of ghosts. What did you set the range of those paranormal sensors to?” Ollie asked.

“They should cover the whole town, not just the manufacturing district,” June replied. “Maybe over the next few days, we should go into town and do some digging.”

“No objections to that. I’m not letting any ghost get away with scaring innocent kids here in Brighton, much less an army of them and their possible leader that drove us here,” Ollie triumphantly said.

June's eyes widened. “I hadn’t even thought of that possibility. Maybe the original signal was one powerful ghost surveying this town’s increasing amount of happiness after the wind turbine factory moved in, and this new one is an army of ghosts they sent to make the town miserable again!”

Ollie slammed his fist down into his open palm. “That’s a good hypothesis, June! I’m going to go up to my room and do some research after I unpack a little more. If anything else stands out, let me know,” he said.

“Will do. See you later, Ollie!” June said as Ollie left the garage. She would then spend the rest of the day analyzing the data.

As night began to fall in Brighton, June concluded her research for the day and went upstairs to her room, having progressed little from where she was earlier. Upon entering her room, she was greeted with one remaining box. “I must have forgotten about this one,” she said to herself. She opened the box and saw an oft-neglected but still very important item on top: her journal.

It was a red, hardcover book with the words “June’s Journal” embossed on the front, along with a few assorted stickers. Her parents had given it to her for her ninth birthday to give her an avenue for self-expression and also reduce her anxiety, but June had trouble finding the motivation to write in it regularly, aside from the occasional sketch of a possible new gadget here and there.

June held up her journal and stared at it for a bit. “Since everything is changing so fast, maybe it’s time I got back on track with my journal,” she said as she placed the journal on her desk and opened it up. She then jotted down the current date and began writing about her day.

July 9th, 2022

Dear Journal,

I’m going to finally try and write in this journal regularly from now on. Everything is changing so fast and I don’t know if I can handle it, but maybe if I jot down my thoughts it can help me cope with things. Let’s see where this goes.

We just finished moving to our new forever home in Brighton. Having to leave everything in New York behind was hard, but this town could be about to experience a bigger paranormal catastrophe than I could ever imagine. Whatever was causing all of these spectral readings is surely up to no good, and my family and I won’t rest until we rid this town of it.

So far, I’ve been unable to narrow down the exact location of the ghost(s) causing all of this. We were too far from the strong reading in New Orleans to narrow down a location, and too late to narrow down the cause of the fluctuating reading here. I know those were both out of my control, but I can’t help but feel upset about my inability to gather more information.

Whatever is happening, I’m glad it doesn’t seem to be affecting our new neighbors. Just across the street from us is the McGee family, who helped us move in and invited us to a barbecue earlier today. I didn’t really speak with the parents, but Molly seemed nice and Darryl and I had a lot of fun talking about my drones. I think he and I are going to be good friends.

When we first met yesterday, I accidentally let out one of my unbridled truths after Molly gave me a turnip (which smelled HORRIBLE, but I wasn’t supposed to admit that.) Thankfully, Mom pointed me in the right direction and I explained to them that I have autism, which they all understood and respected me for, and I will always be grateful for that.

Starting next week, I’ll be going to Brighton Middle School with them and Ollie. I hope I have a few classes with Darryl since he seems really nice and is fun to be around, and while he isn’t autistic, he told me he understood a lot of what I was talking about with my sensory issues and getting my gadgets confiscated (maybe he’s neurodivergent in some other way?)

My one fear is what will happen if he finds out that we hunt ghosts. It was hard to make friends back home because nobody took us seriously, and I don’t want to repeat that with the McGees. Ollie said on the way home that Molly seemed supportive of it, but just like how not everyone understands my autism, not everyone understands our ghost hunting.

We’re going to hang out with the McGees again tomorrow at our house, and I imagine we’ll have some explaining to do when they see some of our posters and equipment that we have strewn about. I hope Ollie was right about Molly, and that the other McGees are as accepting as she is, but based on what I’ve seen, I think everything will work out in the end.

Journaling already seems like it’s good for reducing my anxiety; I feel like a small weight has been lifted off my back. I’m going to keep up with this, just as I’m going to rid this world of ghosts and make new friends along the way.

June Chen

Chapter Text

~ July 10th, 2022 ~

It was a bright Sunday morning in Brighton. Not even two full days had passed since the Chens moved to this midwestern town in search of whatever was causing those insane readings, and while they had yet to find their suspicious specter(s), they had already found something arguably better: new friends.

After having little success with their respective research the night before, Ollie and June awoke and walked downstairs to help their parents prepare for the McGee’s arrival. Their barbecue yesterday was so fun that they wanted to hang out again the very next day, this time at their house, which sounded like a great idea at the time, but one issue had presented itself as the family began to prepare.

“Kids, we don’t have any food! And the McGees are going to be here shortly!” Ruben said, anxiety written all over his features.

“Darn you, instant noodles and easy eating out culture!” Esther said, feeling defeated. “The McGees went all out with that barbecue, how can we host them in our fancy new house that they literally helped us MOVE into without giving them something?”

Ollie had already come up with a solution to the problem. “What do we need? I can go into town and pick up some groceries,” he offered, much to the surprise of everyone in the room.

June was a bit skeptical. “Ollie, do you know where the grocery store is?” she asked. “I feel like that’s a good question, all things considered.”

Ollie turned to face his sister as his expression shifted to embarrassment. “Not at this moment… but I can figure it out!” he said. “Mom, Dad, what do you say?”

Ruben and Esther looked at each other. This usually wouldn’t be something they wanted one of their kids to handle alone, especially not in a new town with the potential for ghosts to attack at any moment. At the same time, nothing happened to them yesterday and it wasn’t like they could cancel their plans with the McGees at this point. Somehow, without exchanging any words, they both came to the same conclusion.

“Alright, you can go into town and buy some necessities while we get everything else set up and keep the McGees occupied until you come back,” Ruben explained to his son.

“Do you think any of them like karaoke? I could get our machine set up, I’m sure that would keep their mind off of food,” Esther said.

“I could get out my drones! I know Darryl likes them at least, we could fly them around in the backyard or something,” June offered.

“Great ideas, both of you!” Ruben said. “You two take care of those, I’m gonna write a shopping list for Ollie.”

June and Esther nodded and went to get their respective items, while Ruben got out a notepad and a pen and wrote down some things he thought Ollie should get at the store. He then got out his wallet and handed his son some cash alongside the list. “Here you go, Ollie. Stay safe out there,” Ruben said.

Ollie nodded. “Will do. Love you, Dad!” he said as he hugged his father and left the house. Ruben was so proud that he- *BOOM*

“Dad! One of my drones exploded!” June called out from the other room.

Yep, it was a good idea for Ollie to get out of the house after all, Ruben thought to himself. “Coming, June honey!”

Conveniently having not heard the explosion as he left, Ollie used the navigation app on his phone to navigate himself to Brighton’s premier grocery store: the Brighton Bargain Bag. As he approached the automatic door, he was greeted by the sight of an older black woman dancing in front of it.

“Oh yeah! This old girl is gonna whip herself up the best gumbo this side of the Mississippi-” She was so excited about the items she bought that she failed to notice her grocery bag was slipping out of her hands.

“I got it!” Ollie exclaimed as he lunged toward the bag, barely managing to stop the items from hitting the concrete.

“Oh no, are you okay dear?” she asked.

Ollie got back up, mostly unscathed aside from some slight dirt on his blue jacket. “I’m okay!” he exclaimed as he got up and handed the groceries back to their rightful owner. “Here you go, ma’am. I know you’re excited, but please be careful.”

“What a kind gentleman you are! The name’s Patty, what’s your name?” Patty asked.

Ollie blushed. “I’m Oliver, but you can call me Ollie. It’s great to meet you!” he said, extending his hand for a handshake.

Patty put one arm around the grocery bag and accepted the handshake with the other. “Great to meet you too, Ollie! That was a great save, you remind me of this girl who volunteers back at the retirement home sometimes.”

Ollie’s eyes lit up. “There’s a retirement home I can volunteer at?” he excitedly asked.

“There sure is! We seniors could always use another hand if you ever wanna stop by,” Patty replied.

“I would be honored to volunteer there!” he said, only to remember he was busy today. “Actually, maybe not right this second, I’ve got to get some groceries. You see, my family and I are new in town-” he tried to explain but got cut off by Patty.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I got you. Well, I hope to see you at the retirement home! Have a good day, Ollie!” she said as she began walking away.

“You too, Patty!” Ollie replied as he waved. He then walked into the grocery store and began getting the items on his list.

As Ollie walked through the Brighton Bargain Bag, he noticed how diverse and jovial the population of this town was (aside from a middle-aged man who didn’t seem like he had much of anything going on behind his eyes). A few months ago, the Chens had written this town off as not being notable enough to visit as part of their road trip, and just about a month ago, most of these people had little hope for the future. While Ollie couldn’t say he was happy about the former proving to be false, the shift in the latter due to the work of the McGees brought a smile to his face.

Ollie checked out and left the grocery store with everything from his list in hand, only to realize he hadn’t checked the time in a while. He pulled out his phone, and what he saw shocked him.

“It’s 12:01 pm?! Oh no, the McGees have probably been at the house for a while! I gotta get home fast!” Ollie said as he made a mad dash back to his house.

Ollie burst through the front door. “Hey guys! Got the groceries! Sorry for the holdup, I-” he cut himself off as he noticed another interesting sight.

“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! When you least expect it!”

Ruben and Esther, along with Pete and Sharon McGee, were all applauding for each other as they finished their performance. “We CRUSHED that! Atomic Pink, eat your heart out!” Sharon exclaimed.

“I’ve never really listened to this sort of music before! You said your son likes this?” Ruben asked.

“Oh, he LOVES it! He even enters all of these groups’ competitions, I think I even saw him enter one last night,” Pete recalled.

“That’s so cool! Last night, Ollie was telling us all about the bandshell you guys helped to rebuild, apparently Atomic Pink played the first show there?” Esther asked.

“They sure did! It was originally supposed to be Kenny Star, but he apparently had better things to do. Typical celebrities,” Sharon grumbled.

“Interesting. I wonder how Atomic Pink ended up filling in for him,” Ruben wondered.

Pete tensed up. He wasn’t sure how to explain what went down that day without revealing it was the work of a ghost. Fortunately, Sharon noticed a means of skipping over this topic. “Oh, speaking of Ollie, he’s here now!” she said, just before Pete could embarrass himself.

Ollie awkwardly waved. “Did I walk in on something?” he asked.

“Oh no, don’t worry kiddo. We were just doing some karaoke. I’ll take these off your hands,” Ruben said as he grabbed the grocery bags from his son. “June is outside with Molly and Darryl, wanna go join them?”

“Sure! I’ll leave you guys to your karaoke, see ya!” Ollie said as he entered the backyard. June was teaching Darryl how to fly a drone while Molly made sure nothing else exploded.

“Okay, now try going left!” June said.

“Which left?” Darryl replied.

“What do you mean ‘which left?’ Go left!” June replied.

“No, I mean what joystick do I use?” Darryl clarified.

“Oh! My bad, it should be the right stick,” June answered.

“Flying these drones seems like a challenge,” Molly said to herself.

Ollie then appeared next to where Molly was standing. “Eh, from what June tells me they’re not too bad once you get the hang of them,” he said.

“Ollie!” Molly exclaimed, not having noticed him at first. “When did you get back?”

“Just a few minutes ago. Has June been giving you any trouble?” Ollie asked.

“Pfft, of course not!” Molly replied. “I handle the folks at the retirement home regularly, she’s nothing compared to that.”

Ollie perked up. “It’s funny you mention that! I ran into this woman named Patty while I was at the store, she said I reminded her of a girl who volunteers there. Was she talking about you?”

“Probably! I visit her pretty often, she’s so nice,” Molly said.

“She seems like quite a character. Very enthusiastic about making gumbo,” Ollie recalled.

Molly’s right eye began to twitch. “Between you and me, you do NOT want to try that gumbo,” she said as she recalled the culinary catastrophe that was her last gumbo recipe.

“I see. Oh well, I’ll just make sure to eat something before I volunteer there. I think I’m gonna try and clear out at least one night each week to do it,” Ollie said.

Both of Molly’s eyes lit up. “Maybe we can volunteer together! Us enhappifying them together would be so sweet…” she said as she lost track of what words were thoughts and which were coming out of her mouth. “…for the seniors! Two pairs of hands are better than one as they say!” she quickly corrected.

Ollie smiled; he loved the idea. He already had immense respect for Molly after what he’d seen and read about her achievements, but that respect was slowly turning into something more. He couldn’t pin it down just yet, but there was something special about this girl. You could even say he-

“I think I’m losing control!” Darryl said as the drone got further away.

“Oh no, not again! Try to bring it towards you!” June replied as she tried to get closer to the drone.

Darryl fumbled with the remote to no avail. “The batteries in this thing might be dead,” he said as he turned around. “Can someone grab some more from inside?”

June was already in the distance trying to catch up with the drone and Molly was zoned out thinking about swoopy bangs (or whatever a girl her age would think about concerning a cute boy). Seeing no other way out of this predicament, Ollie knew exactly what to say:

“Have no fear! Ollie’s on it!”

Chapter Text

~ July 11th, 2022 ~

Ollie and June stood in the entrance hallway of their house as they put on their shoes and backpacks, ready for their first day at a new school, all while their parents stood back and watched with glee. Ollie was entering 8th grade while June was entering 7th grade, and while things seemed daunting, two people just outside their house would be there to help them get through it.

“Have a good day at school, you two!” Ruben said as he and Esther hugged their kids, which they happily reciprocated.

“Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!” the two kids said as they left the embrace and then the house. They then heard a voice call out to them from the bottom of the porch steps.

“Good morning Ollie and June! Are you both excited for your first day at Brighton Middle School?” Molly asked, more excited about school than anyone her age probably should be.

After the two families hung out for technically the third time in three days on Sunday, all four parents thought it would be best for Molly and Darryl to walk Ollie and June to school and help them get used to things. Molly was all over the idea, Darryl was fine with whatever, and Ollie and June both agreed this could help them get used to their new surroundings.

Ollie was almost as enthusiastic as Molly was. “Yep! I can’t wait to walk into that classroom and make some more new friends!” he replied.

June was a bit less excited about what her first day held. “Well, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. I’m glad you both are going to help us at least,” she said as she smiled.

Molly returned June's smile. “No problem! Now, let’s get walking!” she said as the group all began their trek to the school.

Not far into the walk to school, June felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She took it out to find a new text message from her mother.

Today 8:47 AM

Remember, during 2nd period we’ve got to meet w/ your teachers to discuss your IEP <3

“Ah shoot, I almost forgot, I have to miss recess. That’s unfortunate,” June said.

Darryl raised an eyebrow. “No recess, huh? Why’s that, June?” he asked.

“I have to meet with my teachers to discuss my IEP,” June explained.

Molly tilted her head. “What’s that?” she asked.

“It’s basically what accommodations I need to do well in class,” June said.

Molly was satisfied with that answer, at least until an unexpected interloper gave an alternative response. “I thought it stood for ‘Incoherent Effort with Predictable failure,’ ha!” Scratch said as he suddenly appeared, only visible to Molly and Darryl.

The McGee siblings both went silent, not understanding why Scratch was there. Scratch took this as a sign of them not getting his joke, so he decided to explain. “What? They’re ghost hunters, you don’t see any successful ones on the internet for a reason, Moll. Maybe it was a stretch-”

“Scratch!” Molly exclaimed, quietly. “What are you doing here?!”

Ollie turned around. “Did you say something, Molly?”

“I didn’t hear anything!” Darryl replied, lying through his teeth.

Molly went red in the face. “Um, yes! I was just talking about this itch I have in a really hard-to-reach spot on my back and I don’t know how to scratch it,” she attempted to explain.

“Sounds awkward,” June replied.

“Yeah, it is. I don’t understand what it’s doing here,” Molly said as she subtly locked eyes with Scratch.

“Ah, okay. Just wondering,” Ollie replied.

Scratch facepalmed. “I know you’re trying to hide the fact that you’re talking about a sentient being but did you really have to do it by using ‘it’ pronouns? I clearly use he/him,” he said.

Molly made sure to lower her tone of voice before continuing. “It would be nice if you explained what you’re doing here right next to a duo of ghost hunters! Didn’t I say to stay home?” she asked.

“True, you did say that, but come on, Moll. Is it really that big of a deal if they’re unarmed and can’t see me? I’d hate for these two nerds to drive a wedge between us,” Scratch explained.

Molly couldn’t argue with him there, they were unarmed and unable to see him. “I guess you’re right, I’m just nervous. Still, make sure to stay invisible and don’t talk too much, you nearly gave yourself away.”

“Fair enough, I’ll be more careful. Not a peep out of this ghost until Swoopy Hair and his sister are out of sight!” Scratch said as he physically zipped his lips with an ectoplasmic zipper that appeared over his mouth. Molly was grateful she had such an understanding friend.

“What about us being ghost hunters?” June asked.

Oh corn, she heard me, Molly thought to herself. Fortunately, June wasn’t the first person to catch her seemingly talking to herself, so she was able to quickly come up with an excuse.

“Oh well, about that. Like I said before, I think it’s really cool! The only thing is that I don’t know if the other kids are going to feel the same way and I was just thinking out loud about whether you should mention that or not,” Molly explained.

June seemed skeptical for a second, causing Molly to become anxious. Fortunately, she and Ollie both bought Molly’s lie. “That’s fair, our parents were telling us the same thing. I appreciate your concern, but we’ll figure it out,” Ollie replied, to which June nodded in agreement.

“We won’t say anything about it if you don’t. Unless I’m in a situation in which I have to or else I get taken out, which isn’t likely but also not impossible in my line of work,” Darryl said.

“That sounds very ominous but I appreciate your honesty, Darryl!” June replied, to which Darryl responded with the “ok” hand gesture.

The group arrived at Brighton Middle School right on time for their respective homerooms; Molly and Ollie went one way while Darryl and June went another, and Scratch invisibly followed the older group. As the bell rang at 9:00 AM sharp, Ollie and June’s first day had officially begun.

“As I’m sure many of you have noticed, we have a new student joining us!” Ms. Lightfoot announced to her students as Ollie stood next to her, about to introduce himself.

Molly sat in the back of the classroom while Scratch invisibly floated beside her. “Anyone else getting deja vu from this? I could’ve sworn that lady said the exact same thing on your first day, Moll,” he said.

Libby Stein-Torres, Molly’s human best friend who sat next to her in class, was paying close attention to each word of Ollie’s introduction. “So that’s the ghost hunter you were texting me about the other day?” she asked Molly.

Molly nodded. “That’s him. He’s got adorably swoopy bangs and the same drive to enhappify that I do, but he also has an appetite for hunting ghosts,” she explained.

“Sounds to me like you’ve got quite a conundrum on your hands, Molly. Do you let yourself get close to someone who could hurt one of your best friends, or keep yourself distant and lose him as something more than a friend,” Libby said.

“Something more than a friend?” Molly asked.

“I think you know what I mean,” Libby replied as she winked.

Molly’s face went completely red. She visibly had a crush on this boy, no doubt; she wasn't sure if she made it that obvious, or if Libby was just that good at deducing her feelings.

Scratch made his feelings on Ollie very clear. “I’m biased, but I feel like that’s a pretty clear-cut choice,” he replied, although Molly was too embarrassed to reply.

While the three of them were having their conversation, Ollie continued to introduce himself to the class. He had gone over some key details about his life and was about to discuss the events that led his family to move to Brighton.

“Before moving here, my family and I were on a massive cross-country road trip. Our last stop was originally New Orleans, but there was one thing about this town that made us add it as a permanent last stop. Would anyone like to know what that is?” Ollie asked his classmates, who were all very interested.

“Why do I get the feeling he’s about to say something that'll cause a lot of second-hand embarrassment?” Scratch asked.

“Probably because it sounds like he’s about to mention that he’s a ghost hunter,” Libby replied. “New Orleans is a pretty haunted city, after all.”

“So I’ve heard. Well since I’m already feeling nostalgic for Molly’s first day, I guess I may as well go all in,” Scratch said as he ripped a piece of his ectoplasm off of his body and threw it on the floor in front of Ollie.

Ollie began to step forward to add emphasis to what he was about to say. “The truth is, we moved here to- AHHHHH!” he attempted to explain as he stepped on the ectoplasm, causing him to slip and slide all over the place.

Ollie’s yelling snapped Molly out of her daze. “Scratch! Why did you do that?” she asked as she grabbed Scratch.

“I’m sorry, did you want him to reveal to the whole class that he’s a ghost hunter? If anything, I’m doing him a favor; this is way less embarrassing for him than admitting to that,” Scratch replied.

“It’s a bit extreme, but I think it’s a matter of Pikuach Nefesh; sometimes you have to put aside your morals to save someone,” Libby explained.

Molly put her head in her hands. “I guess I’m outvoted, then,” she said.

Ollie continued to slide around the classroom as he continued yelling, but he eventually regained his footing and ended up in an awkward pose. Unsure of how to save himself, he just said the first thing that came to his mind. “Um, record ClickClock dance videos?” he said.

The classroom seemed confused at first, only to then erupt into applause for Ollie, causing him to smile as he felt accepted by his peers. I’ll tell them about why I’m actually here later, maybe it’s best that they don’t know what might be coming, he thought to himself.

“He’s just like Molly, she was dancing when she got here. They’d be so cute together!” a girl said to herself without anyone hearing her over the applause. Another girl decided to cut through the noise to introduce herself to Ollie.

“Bra-va!” the girl said as she got up from her desk and extended a hand to Ollie. “‘Ahn’-drea Davenport, social influencer, future disrupter, Brighton Middle School’s official Goodwill ambassador,” Andrea said as the class applauded again.

“I see what you mean with the deja vu, Scratch,” Libby said.

“No joke, she said those EXACT words to Molly when she was up there,” Scratch replied.

Ollie shook Andrea’s hand. “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of you! Your videos are part of how we learned about Brighton to begin with,” he explained.

“Oh wow! I am so honored that you and your family decided to move to this town partially because of me. I just wanted to let you know that if you need any help getting adjusted to things here, I’m your girl. A friend of mine taught me that doing good is its own reward and I’m just trying to do the right thing,” Andrea explained as she turned and winked at Molly.

“Looking good, Andrea!” Molly replied.

Ollie smiled. “That’s so thoughtful of you! I’ll keep that in mind for later, thank you so much,” he said.

“No problem!” Andrea replied.

Ms. Lightfoot cleared her throat. “Alright, now with the welcome wagon over, let’s get to learning about the wonderful world of science!” she said as she directed Ollie and Andrea back to their seats.

Ollie moved back to his seat in the middle row on the left as the lecture began. That went pretty well, I hope June’s first day is going as well as mine, he thought to himself. 

If only he knew what that looked like.

Chapter Text

~ Inside Brighton Middle School, 9:00 a.m. (1st Period) ~

June stood at the front of the classroom, anxious about how her first impression with her new peers would go. Standing beside her was Mr. Bates, Brighton Middle School’s gym teacher who was pulling double duty as a math teacher after the previous one suddenly retired.

“Alright everyone, we’ve got a new student. This is Juniper Chen, feel free to introduce yourself,” Mr. Bates said, unenthusiastically.

June tried her best to look straight forward and introduce herself to the class. “Um, hi everyone. My name is Juniper Chen, but I prefer to be called June, and I’m a new student here,” she said as she waved.

The class didn’t react much; some smiled and a few waved back at her. Noticing the lack of enthusiasm, a student cleared his throat and stood on his chair at the front of the classroom.

“Let’s make some noise for June!” Darryl McGee said, causing the class to start clapping and cheering. June became visibly uncomfortable as what appeared to be an electric shock ran through her body as she gently brought her hands to her ears.

“McGee! Sit down!” Mr. Bates boomed, causing Darryl to sit and the class to calm down as June pressed harder against her ears. “Now then, let’s get to learning about math or whatever. Take a seat, Miss Chen.”

She lowered her hands from her ears and took a seat next to Darryl. June was grateful for what he was trying to do, but the noise combined with her anxiety was simply too much to handle. 

June turned to face Darryl. “Hey, I appreciate you hyping me up like that, but it got a little loud and I got overwhelmed. Please don’t do that again,” she whispered.

Darryl felt terrible; he didn’t mean to hurt June, he just wanted to make her feel welcome. “Oh no, I’m so sorry, I had no idea. I’ll make sure to tone it down in the future, don’t worry,” Darryl replied.

June smiled. “It’s fine, I just have sensitive ears,” she explained.

“No talking!” Mr. Bates said as he heard the two whispering, causing them to stop talking for the remainder of the class.

Not much else of note happened in 1st period until the bell rang, signaling to the school that it was time for 2nd period. “Alright kids, time for recess, let’s get moving!” Mr. Bates said as kids streamed out of the classroom.

Darryl and June exited the room into the hallway; he had to go one way to recess, while she had to go another to see the principal. “Good luck with your meeting, June. See you later!” Darryl said as they went their separate ways.

~ Principal O’Connor’s Office, 10:00 a.m. (2nd Period) ~

As June entered the office, she was met with a familiar sight. “Hi, Mom! Hi Dad!” she said as she noticed her parents in the office, who both waved back at her as she walked in.

“Hi, June honey! How’s your first day going so far?” Esther asked her daughter.

June shrugged. “It’s going fine, nothing to really report,” she said.

Ruben smiled. “Well, nothing to report is still good. Take a seat, Mr. O’Connor should be back any minute,” he said as he signaled to his daughter to take a seat in the chair sandwiched between him and Esther.

Just like clockwork, Principal O’Connor walked into his office alongside one of June’s teachers, Mr Pham, who looked incredibly tired. “Alright, looks like everyone is here!” the principal exclaimed as he took his seat.

Esther looked confused. “Isn’t there usually a counselor or at least a few other teachers for these sorts of meetings?” she asked.

“Oh yeah, about that. June’s other teachers are teaching other classes and the counselor got lost in the budget cuts,” O’Connor explained.

Ruben raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you’re saying this school has no counselor?” he asked.

“Yep, it’s honestly a miracle this school is still open!” O’Connor said with fake mirth. “Mr Pham is here at least, come on, introduce yourself!”

“Hello, I’m Mr. Pham and I’m June’s English teacher, let’s get this over with,” Mr. Pham dejectedly replied as he took a seat.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Pham,” June replied.

“This is totally not concerning at all,” Ruben sarcastically whispered to Esther.

O’Connor’s head moved to meet Ruben and Esther’s gaze. “Alright, so I looked at June’s IEP from her previous school and I have some slight concerns. I think we can implement most of it, but as it may be evident by our lack of a counselor, we’re very understaffed. I don’t think we can provide any kind of special education teacher to help June in her classes,” he explained.

June nervously looked down at the floor. This was a bit of a surprise for her; back in New York she had multiple special education teachers who would help whenever needed, and now she’d have to go into this new school without their ability to cushion her if she fell. 

Her parents weren’t much happier with this revelation. “How are you guys going to guarantee my daughter gets a decent education?” Esther asked.

“Well, maybe if we can make working independently a core goal of a new IEP for June and give her the tools she needs to reach that point, we can get around that,” O’Connor suggested as he looked to the middle chair. “June, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? What would you consider your strengths?”

“Well, I like gaming, coding, building gadgets, just about anything STEM-related is cool to me. Although a lot of my gadgets got confiscated at my old school,” June explained.

“Oh yeah, we don’t tolerate a lot of external devices here after a series of incidents involving another student,” O’Connor said, rolling his eyes as he recalled the countless times Darryl McGee was sitting in June’s seat. “You’ll have to keep that at home, I’m afraid.”

“I see,” June replied. “Besides that, I think I’m usually good at assignments after I understand the material. It sometimes takes a while for me to grasp the material, but once I know something I don’t forget it.”

“Looks like that is reflected in your grades, seeing a lot of A’s and B’s here!” O’Connor excitedly said. “What I’m thinking is we could implement the parts of the IEP that we can, and then we meet up again in a few weeks and see what June needs. Mr. and Mrs. Chen, does that sound good to you both?”

Ruben and Esther looked at each other for a second and nodded as they had both come to the same conclusion: June’s thoughts on this plan were what mattered most. “What do you think of that, June honey?” Esther asked her daughter.

June took a few seconds to think. This would be the smallest support circle she’s ever had at school, but if she had no other options and it would end with her achieving self-efficacy, then that didn’t sound bad at all. At least she now had a friend to help her through it. June reached her conclusion and let out an unbridled truth.

“I’m fine with that,” June replied.

O’Connor clapped his hands. “Great! And look at the time, you’ve got 15 minutes until 3rd period starts. Wanna go outside for recess?” he asked.

June’s eyes lit up. “Heck yeah!” she loudly exclaimed.

Mr. Pham shot awake. “Where am I?!” he said. “Oh, did I miss the meeting?”

“Yes,” June replied. “Anyway, I’m going outside. Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!”

“Bye, sweetie! See you at home!” Ruben replied as his daughter left the office.

~ Outside Brighton Middle School, 10:45 a.m. ~

June exited the backdoor of the school and scanned the area for Darryl. While he wasn’t up to any big scheme, he was still making enough of a ruckus for her to find him without much issue. “Darryl!” she exclaimed as she ran in his direction.

The boy in question turned around as a smile stretched across his face, pleasantly surprised to see his new friend. “June! You got out of your meeting early?” he asked.

“Yep, and now I’m here. What did I miss?” June asked.

“Not much if I’m being honest, although since you’re here, there are some people I’d like you to meet,” Darryl said as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. “Assemble!”

Suddenly, two kids slid in front of Darryl and introduced themselves to June. “You can call me Becca!” one of them said. “And you can call me Charlie!” the other said.

“The three of us are…” Darryl said as the three held hands in the middle. Almost as if they’d practiced this before (they had), Becca and Charlie moved themselves to either side of Darryl to complete the role call.

“…the Chaos Crew!” Darryl, Becca, and Charlie all shouted in unison as they struck a cool group pose reminiscent of various Japanese superhero franchises.

June clapped her hands. “Wow! It’s nice to meet you both, that was really impressive,” she said as she shook Becca and Charlie’s hands.

“Thanks! These two and I have been getting into all kinds of shenanigans ever since I moved here, I think you’ll all get along nicely,” Darryl said.

“Darryl tells me you’re a big fan of drones. I’d love to see your collection sometime, I haven’t seen any since he got anything with an internal battery that isn’t a cell phone banned a few months back,” Becca said.

“I’d be happy to! And on that note, I’m assuming you’re the student the principal was just telling me about?” June asked as she looked at Darryl.

“Ooh! Did you already rack up your first trip to the principal’s office?” Charlie asked.

“What could you have done to get sent to his office in the first period of your first day?” Becca asked.

“Ease up, you two. She’s got an IEP, the principal basically works for her,” Darryl explained. “Also, to answer your question June, probably.”

“Woah! Is that true, June?” Becca asked.

“Something like that, yeah. I’m autistic,” June explained.

“Is that like what you have, Darryl?” Charlie asked as he turned to face his friend.

Darryl’s face went red with embarrassment. Unlike June, he wasn’t public about his neurodivergence. Not only was knowledge of it not beneficial to his shady business dealings, but it also wasn’t something he understood as well as June seemed to understand her autism. One thing that was understood by those closest to him, however, was that the quirks in his behavior all came back to one underlying cause.

The cause was attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, colloquially known as ADHD. Darryl had the inattentive type to be more specific.

“Everything okay, Darryl?” Becca asked as June stared at him.

Charlie realized he had said something he wasn’t supposed to say. “Oh shoot, I’m so sorry Darryl. I didn’t mean to expose you like that-” he attempted to apologize only for Darryl to interrupt him.

“It’s fine, she can know,” Darryl said as he turned to face June. “I don’t think I mentioned this to you, but I have ADHD. It’s not something I parade around, but I have it,” he explained.

“That’s neat,” June replied.

Darryl was pleasantly surprised. “You think that’s neat?” he asked.

“Yeah! I think I get what you were talking about the other day about adults not getting us, it’s because we’re both neurodivergent!” June triumphantly explained.

A smile stretched across Darryl’s face once more. “Another person who gets it! Thank Cob, I was so nervous you wouldn’t understand,” he said.

“No, I completely understand. I think us neurodivergent kids should stick together,” June said.

“And on that note, do you wanna join our group chat, June?” Charlie asked.

“Sure!” June replied.

Darryl’s eyes lit up. “June, you’re now an official member of the Chaos Crew! Becca, Charlie, you know what to do!” he said as he snapped his fingers again. “One of us! One of us! One of us!” they all chanted.

June laughed. “Happy to be a part of it!” she replied. Just as she accepted the invitation to the group chat on her phone, the bell rang signifying the end of recess.

“Looks like I have to get to science class. See you later Becca and Charlie!” Darryl said as he waved.

“See ya, Darryl!” Becca said as she and Charlie went back inside.

“You’ve got science as your third period too?” June asked.

Darryl’s smile became devilish. “And here I thought I’d never be in another class with someone in the Chaos Crew after 6th grade. Follow me, June. We’ve got some matters to discuss,” he said as he signaled to June for her to follow him.

“Once again, very ominous. Let’s discuss,” June replied as the two went inside.

As they made it to their next class, their conversation about possible pranks and how June could enhance them with her gadgets proved to be immensely productive, as Darryl already had the beginnings of a new scheme forming in his mind. In less than 15 minutes, one thing had become apparent to Darryl:

He officially had June as his partner-in-crime.

Chapter Text

July 15th, 2022

Dear Journal,

Today just got very interesting. So Darryl seemed perfectly normal earlier, talking about how he put some graffiti on the side of the school and got away with it (until he got dragged out of class to fix it) but when I see him again in 3rd period he’s actually taking notes?!

I genuinely didn’t think I’d have anything to write about today, but I have now witnessed Darryl being a good student. I have never seen him take notes in that class before, he’s usually goofing off or taking a nap (occasionally both), but he wasn’t doing either in Ms. Lightfoot’s class just now.

As shocking as this is, that still wouldn’t have been much to write about because maybe Principal O’Connor just got really upset with him and that’s why he’s being a good student. No, what made this interesting was that he was doing this while frogs were jumping all around the classroom.

I had to step out while that was happening, I couldn’t focus, but somehow Darryl was more on task than he is in a frog-free environment. I don’t even know how those frogs got out if it wasn’t directly because of Darryl, but I’m very interested in how he stayed on track that whole time. 

Maybe he hadn’t taken his ADHD medicine when I saw him this morning (does he even take that?) which would also explain why he wasn’t eating or talking at lunch. I should probably just ask him my burning questions tomorrow. I’ve got homework I need to do anyway.

June Chen

August 5th, 2022

Dear Journal,

Ollie looked bummed out just now. I’m guessing something happened at the dance, but I can’t know for sure because I wasn’t there. I already knew that the whole event would be too loud for me to handle, so I just helped Ollie lay those Spectral Snares and went about my business.

I tried asking Ollie directly but he insists that he’s fine. He was so excited to go to the dance with Molly, almost as excited as Darryl was when he texted in the group chat that Atomic Pink was coming. I’m not sure what could have happened to cause him to get like this, but I hope he’s okay.

June Chen

August 9th, 2022

Dear Journal,

I just got back from the PTA conference with Mom and Dad and Principal O’Connor. We all agreed I was doing well in my classes even without the full support circle I had back in New York, and my IEP is going to stay as it is. I’m glad I’ve been able to make things all work out on my own.

If only Ollie could do the same, he hasn’t been right ever since the dance. I can only assume it has something to do with Molly, but he keeps insisting everything is fine. I’m not so sure about that, but he’s responsible for himself and I’m not going to bother him about it.

June Chen

September 26th, 2022

Dear Journal,

Made some more friends today. Some of the band kids needed some help using this new “Davenports On Demand” app to order new instruments and apparently I’m the most technologically inclined student in this school, so I was tasked with helping out. It was a cakewalk.

It’s nice being accepted by these people for who I am, rather than just being that “ghost hunter” or that “special needs kid” or otherwise being treated as lesser because of things I can’t control. For once, I’m around people who believe I can succeed and recognize my capabilities.

After I helped them learn the app, I saw one of them get out a 20-sided dice. I asked about it and they said they play RPGs when not practicing and I’m free to join in since I helped them. I do like a good RPG every now and again, I may join. Either way, I’m just glad I could help.

June Chen

October 31st, 2022

Dear Journal,

I should be over the moon. We finally captured real ghosts (and on Halloween no less) using my prototype Phantom Canister, but it doesn’t make any sense. I never figured out a mechanism for it to snap shut like that, so it should have been impossible for it to capture all of those ghosts.

There’s definitely something fishy going on here, and there’s a chance that Ollie has something to do with it. I remember he had the most indescribable face when we met up after the attack. I didn’t point it out, but he’s always been passionate about hunting ghosts, why was he so uneasy tonight?

Could it be connected to that ghost he was interrogating that he didn’t want me to finish off? I didn’t see him fight the other ghosts. This might be a stretch, but what if that ghost was their leader and Ollie let him let them get trapped in the canister for some sinister purpose?

Actually no, that’s probably nonsense. I would just study the canister, but Mom and Dad are hogging it (which makes sense, they’ve waited so long to capture real ghosts). Maybe I just need to sleep on this, but I feel like Ollie holds the answers to all of my questions.

June Chen

November 2nd, 2022

Dear Journal,

So this is really weird, Ollie seems to be over whatever happened at the dance, but now he’s acting weird in a totally different way. I asked him what he did this afternoon and he said he was at Brighton’s old video store, but he couldn’t give me a straight answer on what exactly he was doing there.

I know Molly and Libby (Molly’s friend) were there, but Ollie wouldn’t tell me what exactly they were doing either. It’s possible that nothing of note actually happened and he’s just smitten with Molly or whatever, but after what happened yesterday I can’t be certain.

Update: Apparently that building is getting renovated and Mr. McGee is leading the project. I guess that rules out whatever suspicious activity I thought might have been happening, but I’m still going to keep an eye on Ollie and see if that gets me some answers.

June Chen

November 5th, 2022

Dear Journal,

It turns out Ollie isn’t the only person in Brighton whose recent behavior confuses me, that also goes for Mr. McGee. I was minding my own business walking around the neighborhood when I heard loud shoveling noises across the street. I walked over and saw him burying a board game in the backyard.

I asked why he was doing that and he told me it was complicated. I’d actually never heard of the game he was burying, it’s a tabletop RPG called Mega City and apparently, it’s pretty fun with friends. Maybe the band kids have it or have heard of it, I wouldn’t mind checking it out sometime.

That would at least break up the monotony of playing Cave Crashers with Darryl, Becca, and Charlie every other day after school. Not that Cave Crashers isn’t fun, but this is something different and I wouldn’t mind branching out. Just have to find the motivation to actually try this new thing first.

June Chen

November 6th, 2022

Dear Journal,

We just got back from Ollie’s Turnipball game. The crowd there was a bit loud for me, so Mom, Dad, and I sat in the back while I had my red noise-canceling headphones on. He didn’t win, but apparently, he got the highest score in all of Brighton history, so that’s pretty impressive.

After he was through with getting tossed into the air by the crowd, we regrouped and went home. Ollie was super confused about how he was so good at Turnipball without knowing the rules, but I just told him he clearly doesn’t need to know them if he’s already the best player.

This also allowed me to see how he interacts with Molly and check if she’s causing any of his weird behavior. I didn’t notice anything off about Ollie this time, so I guess she isn’t. I may have looked too deep into the events on Halloween, but I’m still not sure. I’ll figure it out.

June Chen

November 7th, 2022

Dear Journal,

As it turns out, there was something going around at the Turnipball game and Ollie came down with a cold. Just in case he passed it to us and also to take care of him, we all stayed home today. As I write this, he seems to be doing a lot better and nobody else in this house is sick, so that’s good.

It’s a little unfortunate we couldn’t make it to school today. Besides missing classes, Ollie and I were both hoping to help out with the play Mr. Pham is putting on. If Ollie is all better by tomorrow night we should be able to go see it at least, but maybe next time we’ll get to be a part of it.

June Chen

November 9th, 2022

Dear Journal,

Whatever Ollie caught must’ve affected his brain or something, because he (and also Molly, but she’s got something else going on) decided to go even further with reducing his carbon footprint by swearing off dairy or anything even remotely involving fossil fuels.

It was a little sad honestly, he looked like he really wanted to have some of our pizza and watch Country Pumpkin with us, but he and Molly were too committed to their goal. It's not like they can fix climate change overnight anyway, that's something we ALL need to work towards.

Oh well, the pizza was good and it was fun hanging out with the McGee’s as usual (even if I’m not really a big fan of Country Pumpkin). Plus, Molly and Ollie realized what they actually needed to do to change climate change and now Brighton will be carbon neutral by 2032, so that’s neat.

June Chen

November 12th, 2022

Dear Journal,

Tomorrow is going to be a big day. NecroComic-Con (the biggest [and only] ghost hunting convention in the Upper Midwest) is being hosted in Brighton this year, and based on what Dad just told me, I think we’re supposed to unveil the ghosts inside the Phantom Canister live on stage.

I’m still so confused about how the canister trapped those ghosts, much less kept captured them for almost a month now. I know it was faulty; it should have never been able to remain shut due to the irregularities with the polarity of the inside of the canister. It defies all science.

Sure, it’s cool that we’re finally going to show off real ghosts and how dangerous they are to the world, but I can’t get over this confusion. Maybe after the convention I can get the canister back and figure this out. In the meantime, we’ve got to prepare for our booth tomorrow.

Conventions are usually not something I’d be excited about. There’s too many sounds, lights, and people, just a high number of unpredictable variables as a whole. Despite all of that, I’m super excited to go tomorrow. We’re finally going to prove ghosts exist, and I think it’s going to be life-changing.

June Chen

Chapter Text

~ November 13th, 2022 ~

“Also, we should do a similar experiment with ice cream. You know, for science!”

In the end, NecroComic-Con was pretty life-changing for June, just not in the way she expected. Instead of proving once and for all that ghosts exist and are a menace to society, she was now walking home and becoming friends with the ghost that saved her and the entire town of Brighton on Halloween: Scratch.

He was also very hungry, and June didn’t quite understand that. “These experiments all sound pretty self-indulgent, Scratch,” she said regarding the ice cream proposal.

“What can I say? I’m all about self-love,” Scratch replied as he hugged himself.

“Well, I’m all about science so let me ask: how did you trap those ghosts in my Phantom Canister?” June asked.

Scratch placed his hand up to his chin as he recalled the events of Halloween. “Basically I just cursed those suckers to be trapped in there forever. It’s my Chairman powers keeping that thing shut,” he explained.

June tilted her head in confusion. “Chairman powers?” 

Thankfully, someone walking behind her was happy to chime in and explain. “Oh yeah, Scratch is the Chairman of the Ghost World!” Molly McGee said.

June did a double take. She just saw this ghost banging on a door and begging for his “swag” back, and he’s supposed to be the ruler of the afterlife? Naturally, it was hard to believe.

She directed her questions to the other girl. “How and why did he become the Chairman, exactly?” June asked Molly.

“Because I killed the last one,” Molly nonchalantly replied, causing the boy walking next to her to jump as everyone stopped in their tracks.

“Wait, when did this happen?!” Ollie Chen exclaimed.

Molly thought for a second. “June of this year, about a month before you guys moved here.”

“Oh, so that’s why you never told me about it,” Ollie replied.

“That’s part of it, but it was a whole situation. What happened was Scratch got taken to the Ghost World for a trial, then I became a ghost-” Molly attempted to explain before getting cut off by June.

“You BECAME a ghost?! But then how are you still alive? Please tell me!” June said as her curiosity engine went vroom-vroom.

“Easy, June. I’m sure Molly will explain everything,” Ollie replied as he gave his sister a reassuring smile.

“Actually, I can explain that for her. She jumped through a portal to the Ghost World and her spirit got separated from her body, so she wasn’t really dead, just having a temporary out-of-body experience,” Scratch replied, suddenly very familiar with the concept of wraiths for some inexplicable reason.

“Something like that, yeah. Anyway, I chased after Scratch, then we both came face to face with this menacing guy in a black robe, and then WHA-BAM! I boop him on his nose and this big shockwave happens and he’s dead. Or deader, I guess,” she recounted.

“Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t become the Chairman. The rules say whoever vanquishes the current Chairman becomes the new one, and I’m not the one who laid down that killer boop right on his snoot,” Scratch recalled.

“Well yeah, but I was a wraith, and also I’m only 13. I’m definitely not qualified to rule the whole Ghost World; I’d probably blow it up if you put me in charge,” Molly explained.

“I now have even more questions,” June replied.

“Yeah, me too. Like, how’d you manage to take him out?” Ollie asked.

“You know how Molly is so joyful, almost to an excruciating degree at times? Turns out, that’s basically her superpower: as a ghost, she can destroy anything made of misery. Her just being here was enough to make this town less miserable overall, even before she did all of her enhappifying,” Scratch replied.

“So when she became a ghost and no longer had a physical body holding her back, she’d naturally give off strong energy readings,” June said as realization dawned on her. “Ollie, you remember what led us to Brighton in the first place, right?”

“Of course, we picked up a strong spectral reading from here while we were in New Orleans. Why do you ask-” Then the realization dawned on Ollie. “So that’s where that spike came from! I guess it was Molly’s joyful spirit,” he said.

“Molly, I think your joy energy was what led us to Brighton in the first place!” June said.

Molly’s face became an odd mixture of surprise and happiness, mostly the latter. “I had no idea I was that powerful! I assumed you guys came here because of Scratch, especially since Ollie over here went out of his way to capture him and interrogate him and all,” she replied.

“Wait, are you the ghost Ollie captured on Halloween?” June asked Scratch.

The ghost nodded. “Guilty as charged. Still can’t believe he got me stuck in that green goo in the first place, I was picking that out all night,” he recalled.

“So that means I nearly tried to double-dead you,” June said as a small wave of guilt washed over her.

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. You’re not the first girl to threaten to send me to the after-afterlife and honestly, I doubt you’ll be the last,” Scratch said.

“What girl threatened you before?” Ollie asked.

“You’re standing right next to her. She said I’d find myself in the after-afterlife if I ever sabotaged her love life,” Scratch replied.

“Well, it’s a good thing you haven’t done that!” Molly said, clearly wanting to move on from this topic.

“I sort of did, though. Remember the danc-” Scratch attempted to explain before Molly covered his mouth.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Molly exclaimed.

Ollie giggled. “Well, things are different now, I wouldn’t worry about June trying that again, right?” he said as he looked at his sister.

“Yep! No plans to, I’ve got some research I need to do instead,” June replied.

Scratch freed himself from Molly. “You’re sure you don’t want to try that ice cream experiment? I feel like that would give you some more information on ghosts,” he said as he longed for frozen dairy goodness.

“I don’t think it would be anything useful,” June replied, causing Molly and Ollie to laugh. She didn’t mean it as a joke, but that’s how it came across. 

As they kept walking home, June continued to ask her questions. However, Molly and Ollie were having a slightly different conversation.

June, Ollie, Scratch, and Molly all arrived at the fronts of their respective houses. The former two noticed their parent’s blue van parked in the driveway.

“Mom and Dad will probably need some consoling after what just happened. We’ll see you at school tomorrow, Molly,” June said.

“Before you go, I’ve got a question for you,” Molly said as she looked at the younger girl.

June’s curiosity peaked once more. “Yes?” she asked.

“Well, your brother and I were talking and we have an offer. Wanna take the lead on this, Ollie?” Molly said as she gestured to him.

“Sure!” Ollie said as he cleared his throat. “Basically, Scratch, Molly, Libby, and I are all part of a group called the ‘Ghost Friends,’ and we go around helping ghosts in need of engoodification. We both think you would make a good addition to the team. Would you like to join?” he asked June.

June thought for a second. The concept of ghosts being good was very new to her, but this sounded like a good opportunity to help good ghosts and gather more information on ghosts as a whole. Her decision was obvious.

“I’m in!” June exclaimed.

“Great! Welcome to the team, June,” Molly said as she extended her hand for a handshake. June was just about to shake Molly’s hand when a shadowy figure appeared near them.

The figure revealed himself to be Darryl McGee, hot off the heels of a very secretive business deal. “Can I join too?” he asked.

“Where did he come from?” Ollie asked.

“Were you listening to our whole conversation?” Scratch asked.

“No, just the part where you offered June a spot in your friend group. I wanna be a part of this too!” Darryl said.

“Darryl and I are sort of a package deal, so I’m fine with it if you all are,” June said.

“I’ve got no objections,” Ollie said.

“I think he could be very useful,” Scratch said as he rubbed his chin.

Seeing the majority of the group in favor of the decision, Molly decided to follow suit. “Well, the more the merrier as they say! Darryl, June, welcome to the Ghost Friends!” she said as she extended her other hand to Darryl, who accepted the handshake along with June.

“Sweet! Anywho, I gotta go. Darryl out!” he said as he zipped behind a nearby fence.

“We can still see you, Darryl,” Ollie said.

“Nuh-uh!” Darryl replied as he zipped further away from the group.

“That kid is something else,” Scratch said as he giggled. “Oh yeah, Moll, we better get inside.”

Molly looked at the sky; the sun was beginning to set. “Well, we better get inside before it gets dark. See you two tomorrow!” Molly said as she and Scratched waved goodbye and turned around.

“Bye Molly and Scratch!” Ollie and June said as they waved back. The two groups then went back into their homes for the night.

The two youngest Chens entered their home to find both of their parents in the kitchen, drowning their sadness in small-batch root beer.

“We were so close! What could’ve happened to that canister?” Esther angrily wondered.

“I have no idea. I’m just so bummed out we couldn’t finally prove that ghosts exist,” Ruben sadly replied.

“Everything okay in here?” Ollie asked as he and June made it into the kitchen.

“No, we’re upset over what happened just now. While you two were walking home with Molly, we searched all over the convention hall to find the canister and we had no luck at all,” Ruben recalled.

“How much do you wanna bet that basement dweller Ernie Fudderson stole it? What I wouldn’t give to teach him a lesson!” Esther asked as she rolled up her sleeve, to which Ruben signaled to her to calm down.

Conveniently having said canister tucked away in her backpack, June was as silent as a mouse, not wanting to draw any attention to her swindle. Ollie was more vocal. “Hey, don’t worry, maybe it’ll pop up at some point,” he said.

“I sure hope so. You both should probably go to your rooms, I’d hate for you to see us like this,” Ruben replied.

“Sure, Dad. Love you both,” Ollie said as he and June hugged their parents. The two then went upstairs to their rooms.

As June reentered her bedroom, she decided to chronicle the events of her day in her journal.

November 13th, 2022

Dear Journal,

Today ended up being pretty life-changing, but not in the way I thought it would be. After helping Mom and Dad with our booth at NecroComic-Con, we were supposed to get on stage and show off the Phantom Canister. It was a lot quieter than I thought, and everything else was going according to plan.

Or at least, it was, until Ollie dropped a bombshell on me: a GHOST made my canister work on Halloween. After I realized that good ghosts could exist, I didn’t want to go along with our plan anymore, so I used some tips I learned from Darryl to take the canister from under Mom and Dad’s noses.

With the crisis averted, Ollie and Molly introduced me to the ghost responsible for making my canister work: Scratch, Chairman of the Ghost World. I had some doubts about him being the leader of all ghosts based on his childlike behavior, but I guess if my canister is still shut, then he’s clearly very powerful.

He was also very hungry. When I told him I wanted to experiment on him, his immediate thoughts were, “How many x can I eat in one sitting?” I’m not really sure what that would prove. Still, I hope I can get the chance to actually experiment on him soon (and maybe also Molly? She apparently BECAME a ghost).

The other big event was that me and Darryl are now officially in Molly’s friend group. I don’t know much about it, but it sounds like a great opportunity to learn more about ghosts and help the good ones. I’m not very close with Molly, Scratch, or Libby, but with Ollie and Darryl there I think it’ll be fine.

I wish I could help Mom and Dad see the truth that not all ghosts are bad. I guess Ollie and I have to find some way to prove that to them, but that’s for another time. All I know is that from now on, I’m going to use my tech skills and gadgets not to hurt ghosts but to help them. Let’s see how this goes.

June Chen

Chapter Text

~ November 22nd, 2022 ~

Today 3:33 PM

hey june wanna hang out at my place?

Sure. Would it be okay if I brought some of my equipment?

equipment?

Yes. I want to experiment on Scratch’s ectoplasm. >:)

:0 /pos

can i help?

I’ve never had a lab partner before, but sure.

nice. do you need help with your stuff? molly and libby are upstairs i could prob ask them to help you bring your stuff in

I’d appreciate that. :)

i’ll go ask them o7

see you soon

See you soon.

Darryl climbed the ladder to the attic and opened the trapdoor. “Molly! Libby! Can you help me with something?” he asked.

The two alongside Scratch were sitting on the side of Molly’s bed watching Country Pumpkin 4: Harvest Of The Heart, the newest installment in the beloved movie franchise. 

“Ah!” they all squealed, not expecting Darryl to surprise them like that. 

“Oh, it’s just Darryl.” Noticing her brother, Molly paused the movie to talk with him, causing Scratch immense anguish.

“No! That was shaping up to be one of the best parts! Darryl, what could possibly be so important that you made us stop watching this absolute cinema?” Scratch asked.

“June’s coming over and she needs some help bringing some stuff inside, so I was just checking to see if the girls would want to help,” Darryl explained.

Scratch huffed. “Well, as you can clearly see we’re busy watching the movie of the year, so I doubt Molly or Libby would-”

“I’d be happy to help!” Molly excitedly replied as she jumped up, interrupting Scratch.

Scratch facepalmed. “Honestly, I don’t know why I expected her to not jump at the chance to help someone,” he said to himself.

“Yeah, I thought you knew me better Scratchy!” Molly jokingly replied as she smacked Scratch’s nose, much to his mild annoyance. She then turned to her human bestie. “How about you, Libby?”

Libby shrugged. “I do some lifting here and there at the bookstore, I could probably help with some of her stuff,” she replied.

“Sweet. June should be here any minute-” Darryl was interrupted by a loud *DING* coming from downstairs. “And, she’s here! I’ll go get the door, you two meet me downstairs!” he said as he slipped out the trapdoor and audibly ran down the stairs.

“Well, I’m gonna use this as an excuse to get a refill on popcorn. Gimme a call when you’re done with Swoopy Hair’s sister. Deuces!” Scratch said as he followed Darryl through the trapdoor with his popcorn bowl in hand.

Libby stood up and made her way to the trapdoor. “I guess we better follow Darryl-”

“Wait!” Molly exclaimed, grabbing Libby’s arm before she could descend.

“Yes, Molly?” Libby asked as she turned to face her best friend.

Molly put a hand behind her back. “You’re not super close with June, right?” she asked.

Libby shook her head. “Not really. I mean, she sits with us at lunch every day, so it’s not like we don’t know each other, but I don’t know her if you know what I mean.”

“Well, there’s something you should probably know about June just in case. This probably won’t be important but better safe than sorry,” Molly said as Libby raised an eyebrow.

She began to explain. “The thing about June is that she’s… she has… there’s something about June that is…” Molly was overthinking as she struggled to find the words to best describe June without resorting to the obvious.

Thankfully, she didn’t need to think for much longer. “She’s autistic?” Libby replied.

“Oh. Yes, that’s exactly what she is. Wait, how’d you know?” Molly asked.

“You expect the Bloodhound of Truth to miss a detail like that?” Libby asked as she smirked. “No, but Ollie told me the other day. I was wondering why she didn’t talk that much at lunch; I was nervous I did something wrong but I was too anxious to directly ask her.”

“Fair enough, I just wanted to make sure you knew just in case. Now let’s head downstairs!” Molly said as the two girls climbed down the ladder and prepared to meet up with Darryl and June.

Darryl opened the door and saw June, along with a few boxes full of scientific-looking things by her side.

“What’s up, June?” Darryl said, trying to sound cool.

“Hi, Darryl!” June replied as she looked around behind him. “Are Molly and Libby coming down?”

“Uh, they should be,” Darryl replied as he turned around. Conveniently enough, Molly and Libby had just made it to the main staircase of the house.

“Hi, June!” Molly said as she and Libby made their way down. “Darryl said you needed some help moving some things?”

June nodded. “Yes, I’ve got some boxes here that I’d appreciate your help with,” she explained.

Next to June were a few small boxes, containing items such as a microscope and some assorted beakers containing different chemicals. “That doesn’t look too bad,” Libby remarked.

“Could you also help with my other stuff?” June said as she stepped aside, revealing some larger furniture including a whiteboard and a file cabinet on wheels.

Libby gulped. She was not expecting June to bring in that much stuff. She got close to Molly’s ear and began to whisper. “Molly, how are we even going to fit this stuff through the door?!”

“No need to worry, Libby. We’ll do it through the power of a montage!” Molly triumphantly said.

The whole world seemed to repeatedly stop and start as it reframed itself depicting Molly, Libby, Darryl, and June getting different items down into the basement one at a time. Eventually, only one round of small boxes remained, which the four all began to transport to the basement.

As June reached the basement stairs for the last time, she overheard a distinct popping sound from behind her. Curious, she turned around and saw Scratch death-glaring at the microwave as his popcorn cooked. He was so focused on watching the microwave that he didn’t even hear the sounds of the prior montage.

“He really wants that popcorn, huh?” June observed.

“I’ve never seen him so focused on anything before,” Darryl replied.

“That’s Scratch for ya!” Molly said. The four kids then made their way down to the basement and dropped the last of June’s equipment off.

Molly dusted off her hands. “Looks like that’s everything. Libby and I will leave you two to your science, we’ve gotta see how Country Pumpkin 4 ends!” she said.

“Yeah, I think we’ve got just a little more to go before it’s over. Glad I could help with this, though,” Libby replied.

“Thanks, Molly and Libby. You both have fun!” June replied as she gave a thumbs up. The older girls then went back upstairs just as Scratch got his popcorn out of the microwave.

Darryl examined June’s stuff. “I have no idea how any of this works. Think I should sit it out while you get everything set up?” he asked.

“Well, I do have one thing you could do for me in the meantime,” June said as she rocked on the heels of her boots.

“I’m listening,” Darryl replied.

“Do you think you could make me a sandwich?” June asked.

Darryl looked a little confused at first, but then figured she was probably just hungry. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I could do that,” Darryl said. “What should I put on it?”

June pushed up her glasses and smirked. “Just put whatever Scratch would like on there,” she replied.

Darryl then became even more confused, but then he realized exactly what June was getting at. “Oh, I get it now! You want me to give Scratch a sandwich in exchange for some of his ectoplasm so you can experiment on it!” he deduced.

“Precisely!” June replied. “Based on all of the self-indulgent ideas for experiments he suggested after NecroComic-Con, I hypothesize that Scratch’s main motivator is food. If you can get Scratch to give up some ectoplasm in exchange for food, that’ll prove my hypothesis to be correct, and let us start doing science!”

“You’re a genius, June! You’re probably right too, I’m pretty sure Scratch just has a black hole right where his stomach is supposed to be,” Darryl said.

“Guess there’s only one way to find out. Think you’re up to the task?” June asked.

“You can count on me! I’ll get you that ectoplasm no problem!” Darryl said as he rushed up the stairs, leaving June to get her equipment set up.

~ Later that same day… ~

“Where could he have gone off to now?” June wondered. She and Darryl had spent the better part of the evening on a bit of a wild ghost chase, searching for the creature they had accidentally created using Scratch’s ectoplasm: Junior.

“No idea. He must get his sneaking skills from my side of the family,” Darryl replied.

“What do you mean? It’s not like he’s-” June cut herself off as she noticed something in front of her.

“Not like he’s what- wait, what are you pointing at?” Darryl asked. He then turned around and saw exactly what June was pointing at.

It was Junior, and he was about to hit critical mass.

“Oh. My. Cob,” Darryl said.

“He’s bigger than the buildings! What are we going to do?!” June desperately asked, on the verge of tears.

Darryl slammed his fist into his palm. “Fake our deaths, move to another town, and change our names! I can get the paperwork done tonight if you just give me your signature-”

June grabbed Darryl, cutting him off. “Now is NOT the time, Darryl! We need to neutralize this thing, fast!”

“As if I’d know how to do that? You’re the science wiz! For once, I’m innocent!” Darryl said.

“Oh yeah, because slamming your half of the ectoplasm into my chemicals had no impact on this!” June angrily and sarcastically replied.

“I didn’t mean to! Besides, aren't you supposed to seal those things shut when you’re not using them?” Darryl replied.

“Maybe I was about to use them for something less destructive! But now Junior is about to destroy the town!” June shouted.

Running out of energy, June sat in the middle of the road and accepted her fate. “I can’t believe this, all I wanted was to understand ectoplasm. I never wanted this to happen,” she said as she covered her eyes.

“June…” Darryl noticed his friend was in pain. He didn’t intend for any of this to happen either, but now his actions may have been the first in a long string of dominoes leading to Brighton’s destruction.

He wasn’t going to put up with this. If anyone was going to destroy Brighton, it was going to be him (not intentionally mind you, but it sure wasn’t about to be this creature who did it). “Sitting down and arguing is getting us nowhere, we need to get some help,” Darryl said.

June was on the verge of a full-fledged meltdown, but Darryl’s words snapped her out of it. She lowered her hands and fully shut her eyes, then took a few deep breaths…

How are we going to fix this? June thought to herself.

How are we going to calm Junior down? she continued.

How can we save Brighton from destruction? she continued again.

“Earth to June?” Darryl said, waving his hand in front of June’s face.

After less than a minute of breathing and thinking, June’s eyes snapped open and she triumphantly stood up: she had a plan. “Let’s go find Ollie and Molly! They’ll know what to do!” she said as she grabbed Darryl’s arm and ran.

“Hold on, do you know where they even are?” Darryl asked as they ran.

“I can find out! I’m tracking Ollie’s phone right now!” June replied as she looked at her phone. “Locked on! He’s a few blocks from here, I can only imagine Molly is with him for their bi-weekly banana split get-together.”

“I didn’t even know they did those,” Darryl said. “How’d you find out?”

“What? Do you think someone with a hyperfixation on drones doesn’t keep tabs on people from time to time? Gotta stay in the know when it’s my own brother,” June explained.

June and Darryl made it to the intersection leading to Sam’s Diner, where they caught their older siblings gawking at the ectoplasmic horror that was walking away from them.

“There they are! Let’s fill them in on what’s going on!” June exclaimed.

“Sounds good, then we can fill Junior in on how long we’re gonna punish him for!” Darryl replied.

The two then ran in their direction, adding yet another act to the performance that was Molly’s grand gesture toward Ollie.

Chapter Text

“Ha-ha! Yes! The Mmmm-ollie lives!”

“I love a happy ending!”

It may not have been the “grand gesture” Libby and Scratch had hoped for, but they were now overflowing with joy knowing that Molly had finally confessed her feelings to Ollie.

The catalyst for the confession coming courtesy of the couple’s younger siblings came as a confusing conundrum for the two constituents of the Chaos Crew, Darryl and June. Just a few moments ago they were fighting over who caused Junior’s rampage, but not only was said rampage over, it ended up creating more than it destroyed if Molly and Ollie finally becoming a couple was anything to go by.

They were happy for their older siblings, but at that moment June was a little more interested in the immediate aftermath of her and Darryl’s creation ascending to higher celestial planes.

“Wait, how did you two holding hands restore all the electricity?” June asked, bewildered.

“Good question,” Molly and Ollie simultaneously replied. June wasn’t able to ponder about the restoration of Brighton's electricity for long, as Scratch and Libby seemingly appeared out of thin air to congratulate Molly and Ollie.

“Molly! Ollie! Congratulations!” Libby said to her best friend and her now-boyfriend.

“I didn’t think you could pull it off on your own, but I’m proud of you Moll,” Scratch said as tears of joy began to well up in his eyes. “You and Swoopy Hair make a good couple.”

“Scratch and Libby!” Molly exclaimed as she went in for one of her famous hugs, to which both parties gladly reciprocated. “Thank you both for helping- wait, were you guys watching us this whole time?” she questioned.

Libby and Scratch froze with fear. They were about to speak up and offer some kind of bogus explanation as to how they knew Molly had confessed, but then Molly spoke again.

“That’s so thoughtful of you guys! I’m glad I have friends like you making sure I don’t make a complete fool of myself,” Molly said, without an ounce of negativity or sarcasm in her voice.

Libby sighed, grateful that Molly was so understanding. Scratch felt the same, but he wasn’t about to admit it, so he decided to make one of his usual snarky remarks.

“Yeah, you do that sometimes,” Scratch said as he sniffled.

June, still a bit on edge from being on the verge of a meltdown earlier, noticed that Ollie wasn’t getting much love from the rest of the Ghost Friends. He mostly just stood in place, happy that Molly was getting love from her friends, but silently wishing he had someone to hug.

“I guess something good came out of Junior’s rampage after all, am I right June?” Darryl said as he turned to his right, but to his surprise, his best friend was not there. She was walking over to her brother to make sure he was happy too.

“Hey, Ollie?” June said to her brother, hoping to get his attention.

“Hey June, what’s up-” Ollie attempted to reply before being cut off by a hug from his little sister.

“I’m proud of you Ollie. I think you and Molly are a good fit for each other,” June said through tears as her arms squeezed tightly around his waist.

Ollie was slightly caught off guard by June’s sudden embrace, but he was more concerned for his sister’s wellbeing. “You okay, sis?” he asked.

“I was scared. I lashed out at Darryl, I didn’t want to hurt anyone, I didn’t-” June was interrupted by Ollie kneeling down and hugging her back.

“You didn’t hurt me, or anyone else tonight, June. You did fine,” Ollie reassured his sister.

“You mean it?” June asked.

“I know it. And here’s another thing: you’re the best sister I could ever have,” Ollie replied.

“Thank you, Ollie,” June replied as she wiped away her tears.

Seeing the two Chen siblings relinquish the other from their grasp, Darryl walked over to June. “Hey, June?” he said, to which she turned around.

“Yes?” June replied.

Darryl took a deep breath. “I think I need to apologize for what happened between us earlier. I should’ve taken things more seriously and not tried to shift the blame, it was my fault this whole thing happened in the first place,” he said.

“Darryl…” June replied as she put her hands together.

“I just- I think you’re an awesome person and I’d hate for us to not still be friends. Are we still cool?” Darryl asked.

June smiled. “I forgive you. Plus, you did just save me from getting crushed by Junior. If that doesn’t show you care about me, I don’t know what does,” she said. “I’m also sorry I lashed out at you.”

“Apology accepted,” Darryl said as he extended his arm for a fist bump. June noticed the gesture but decided a hug would be more appropriate and went straight for it, catching Darryl off guard. Still, he happily returned it.

“I’m proud of you too, sis,” Ollie said to himself.

While June and Darryl finished reconciling, Libby pulled out her phone to find a text message.

Today 7:30 PM

Everything okay, Turtledove?

“Oh shoot, my Mom just texted me! I think we should all start heading home,” Libby said as she showed her phone to the rest of the group.

“Oh yep, that’s important. Let’s get moving,” Darryl replied.

Molly began to follow her brother, only to get interrupted by her new boyfriend. “Hey, Molly?” Ollie asked.

“Yes, Ollie?” Molly replied.

“Now that we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, would it be okay if I walked you home?” Ollie asked as he extended his arm out to her.

Molly couldn’t help but laugh at how corny her new boyfriend was being. “Ollie you goofball, you live across the street from us!” she said through her laughter. “But with that being said, I would appreciate it very much. You may have my hand.”

The group walked for a little while before reaching an intersection. Book Marks the Spot, the bookstore that doubled as the home of the Stein-Torres family, was in the other direction of the McGee and Chen houses.

“Well, looks like this is where I split off. You all have a good night!” Libby said as she waved goodbye to her fellow Ghost Friends.

“See ya Libby! Thanks for everything!” Molly said as she waved.

Scratch raised an eyebrow. “What are you thanking her for? Last time I checked, I did most of the work getting you and Swoopy Hair together. Didn’t that jolly green giant come from my ectoplasm in the first place?” he questioned.

“That’s a bit of a long story,” June said.

“Well, you better start telling it because if I contributed to a new life form being made I think I should use that to embellish my resume a little,” Scratch replied as he materialized a pen, glasses, and notepad from thin air.

“Oh! I wanna hear this story too!” Molly added.

“Me three! I’ve never seen June make something so huge before,” Ollie also added.

“Allow me to tell you,” Darryl said as the group began to walk again and he shined a flashlight that he conveniently had onto his face. “It all started in a dark basement, hidden deep below the floors of the McGee household-”

“I don’t remember the basement being all that dark,” June interrupted.

“I’m trying to give the story some dramatic elements,” Darryl clarified as he shut off the flashlight.

“Oh really? Are you sure you’re not setting up an excuse for knocking over all of my chemicals onto my half of the ectoplasm sample?” June said with a little smirk on her face.

Darryl’s face turned tomato red after getting exposed like that. “I thought we just made up!” he exclaimed.

“I think it’s been long enough that I can joke about it, Darryl,” June replied as a smirk began to stretch across Scratch’s face as well.

“Okay, so I might have slam-dunked my chunk of the ectoplasm right into June’s setup while she was electrocuting the other chunk causing the chemicals to spill everywhere, BUT in my defense, we did find out that ectoplasm makes a great bouncy ball alternative,” Darryl explained.

Molly snapped her fingers as a question dawned on her. “Did the sample react to the electricity? Scratch once flew into an electric fence and he was all wacky for the next couple of hours,” she recalled.

“I had no idea ghosts reacted to electricity that way! Could that explain why Junior- was that what you said his name was? Is that why he went on a rampage through town? Like he was just really unaware of what was going on until he discharged the electricity?” Ollie wondered.

“Slow down, Swoopy Hair. Are we all just ignoring the fact that that monster was partially the result of electrocuting my cutie bit? Hair expands and gets crazy when it gets electrocuted in cartoons, surely the same applies here,” Scratch said as he threw his materials in the air and crossed his arms.

“Scratch, this isn’t a cartoon,” Darryl replied. Unlike his sister, Darryl had next to no 4th wall awareness.

June giggled. “I appreciate everyone’s comments. I think today has left me with more questions than answers regarding ectoplasm, but I think if we all keep working together, we’ll figure things out soon enough,” she triumphantly explained.

“Agreed!” Molly, Darryl, and Ollie all said in unison.

“Eh, I’m on board as long as I get some more sandwiches out of it,” Scratch said, perpetually hungry as always. Everyone laughed after he said that.

Just as the discussion of Junior began to wind down, the group made it back to their neighborhood and began to say goodbye to each other.

“Looks like this is where we part ways for now,” Ollie said as his hand finally detached from Molly’s, having been together for the entire walk home. “Fare thee well, Lady Lemming!” he said with a bow.

Molly did a curtsey. “But of course, Lord Lemming! I bid thee farewell, um, as well!” she said, hoping she looked and sounded cool in front of her new boyfriend. The smile on Ollie’s face was proof that she succeeded.

“See ya later, June!” Darryl said.

“Bye, Darryl! Oh, and thanks for your help Scratch!” June replied, causing Scratch to respond with dual finger guns.

With that, the group officially split up for the night to attend to their normal nighttime routines.

Molly opened the door to her house. “Mom! Dad! We’re home!” she yelled and she and Darryl put their shoes by the door.

“Oh, hello kids,” Pete dejectedly replied from the living room while looking at a coffee table covered in plastic toys.

“Hope your day went better than ours,” Sharon regretfully added.

“You both seem more miserable than usual tonight. Did you both catch an extra long case of the Mondays?” Scratch joked.

“You could say that. We’ve been trying to sell these Smile Valley Farm minifigs since yesterday morning but everyone is over the game. Nobody wants to buy them,” Sharon explained.

“See! I told you you should’ve cashed out earlier! My generation has a short attention span, trends can come and go quicker than a Sundown Shine whatchamacallit, I forgot what it was actually called,” Darryl said.

“It was the Sundown Shine Surprise, Darryl, and it was beautiful,” Scratch replied, although Darryl was already distracted by his phone.

“It would’ve been even more beautiful if we could’ve gotten rich off these little cheap plastic toys! Why must the universe confound us so!” Pete asked, hoping whatever deity existed in this universe would hear him.

“Well, I might have some news that’ll lighten your spirits,” Molly said as she rocked on her heels.

“Oh please, any good news would be great right about now,” Pete replied.

“What’s the news, honey?” Sharon asked her daughter.

“Ollie is officially my boyfriend!” Molly shouted with joy.

Pete and Sharon immediately perked up. “Molly, that’s amazing!” Sharon replied.

“She’s growing up in front of my very eyes. I’m gonna have grandchildren someday!” Pete said through tears of joy.

Molly’s face went red. “Dad!” she exclaimed.

“I’m kidding! I’m kidding! Mostly.” Pete replied. “Anyway, your mother and I are so proud of you.”

“Molly, take a seat. I wanna hear EVERY detail on how you made this happen,” Sharon said as she directed Molly towards the couch.

“Sure!” Molly said as she sat down. “It all started when Scratch, Libby, and I were watching Country Pumpkin 4: Harvest of the Heart…”

Ollie and June entered their home to find a familiar site: their parents drowning their sorrow over the loss of the Phantom Canister in root beer.

“We’re home!” Ollie announced.

“You're absolutely certain it couldn’t have been stolen by Ernie? I just can’t shake the feeling. When I get my hands on him, I’m gonna-” Esther said to Ruben, initially not noticing her kids entering the house. “Oh, welcome home!”

“Hi kids, hope you both had a good day. We’re still pretty bummed out,” Ruben said.

“I can see that,” June replied.

“Do you wanna hear something that might make you a little less bummed out?” Ollie said.

“What could that be, kiddo?” Ruben asked.

“Well, Molly asked if we could officially be boyfriend and girlfriend earlier,” Ollie replied.

Ruben and Esther’s demeanor immediately changed for the better. “And what did you say?” Esther asked.

“I said yes! Molly is now my girlfriend!” Ollie exclaimed.

Ruben and Esther immediately got up and ran over to hug their son. “Good job, Ollie! We’re both so proud of you!” Esther said as she and Ruben's arms wrapped around their son.

“Aww, thanks, Mom and Dad. Think this is enough to get you out of your slump?” Ollie asked.

“Oh, definitely! In fact, I think this completely overrides our sadness over what happened at NecroComic-Con!” Ruben said.

June raised an eyebrow. “I highly doubt that. The whole experience seemed pretty traumatizing for you and that’s not the sort of thing you fully move on from-”

“Not now, June honey. We’re all congratulating your brother right now,” Ruben patiently replied to his daughter.

June shrugged. “Fair enough.”

“Ooh! You should tell us all about what happened leading up to the big question! Take a seat, Ollie, let’s hear the story! Esther said as she directed Ollie towards the couch.

“Sure!” Ollie replied as he thought about which parts of the story needed to be removed to stay under his parent’s radars.

“I’ll just excuse myself, I was already there for most of it,” June explained.

“No problem, I imagine Darryl wants to play an online game with you around this time anyway,” Ruben said as he and Ollie sat down.

“Maybe. Later guys!” June said as she went upstairs.

As June entered her bedroom, the mention of Darryl’s name was enough to make her feel as though something was still unresolved. Sure, Junior was neutralized, Ollie now had a girlfriend, and everyone got home in one piece, but something still felt off. June eventually realized what was missing and shot a text to the person who she thought needed to read what was on her mind.

Today 8:00 PM

Hey Darryl, I‘m sorry again about everything. I just wanted to say you were a good lab partner and I’m grateful for your help. I’m not sure I would’ve learned as much as I did if I was on my own.

dw abt it june, im just happy i could help :) /gen

(~‿^)

Chapter Text

~ November 25th, 2022 ~

They say the highest of holidays comes but once a year, and Brighton was no different as its stores opened their doors for their biggest day of the year: Black Friday.

Or at least it seemed like it was going to be a big day for shoppers, but the weird part was that the streets and sidewalks were very quiet on this fall morning, save for one of Brighton’s newer residents, who was walking over to Book Marks the Spot in hopes of getting her hands on a very unique book.

That resident was June Chen, and that book was the Pop-Up Book of the Paranormal.

As June entered the front door, she saw the store’s owner preparing for her own shopping escapades. “I trust that my little miracle can handle a few extra shoppers than normal while I scoop up some deals?” Leah Stein-Torres asked her daughter.

Libby pumped both of her fists. “You can count on me!” she triumphantly replied.

“Great! I shouldn’t be out for more than an hour, see ya Turtledove!” Leah said as she kissed her daughter on the forehead and left, conveniently not noticing June.

Libby waved goodbye and then looked at who had entered. “Oh, hello June!” she said as she directed her wave at June. “I haven’t seen you since we moved your things out of Molly’s basement on Wednesday. How have you been?”

June waved back. “Hi, Libby. I’m doing fine, thanks again for helping with that,” she replied.

“It was no problem, I have to carry things around here all the time. You should’ve seen me organizing the shelves earlier, gotta make sure everything looks perfect for such a big day,” Libby replied.

“On that note, I’m really glad to see you here today. There was something I wanted to ask you about,” June said.

“What might that be?” Libby mused.

“I was wondering if you had any spare copies of that pop-up book? The one with all of the information about ghosts?” June asked. “I don’t know its name, but Ollie said something about it when he was telling me about what happened at Brighton Video.”

“Do you mean… the Pop-Up Book of the Paranormal ?” Libby asked as she extravagantly pulled the book out from under her green sweater.

June’s eyes lit up. “I think that’s the one! Ollie told me that it was ‘spooky accurate’ and I think I need some more accurate sources after what happened with Junior,” she said as she scratched her back in embarrassment.

“Are you talking about the big green ectoplasm monster that ate all of the electricity and got Molly to confess to your brother?” Libby recalled as she put the book under her arm.

“Yep…” June awkwardly replied. “I have no idea where he went after he did that, but he taught me that I still have much to learn about the nature of ectoplasm. In any case, would you happen to have another copy I can buy?”

Libby shook her head. “Sorry June, this is the only copy I have. I’m actually not sure if any other copies exist.”

June frowned. “Oh. I see, sorry for bothering you,” she replied as she turned around.

This kicked Libby’s anxiety into overdrive. “Wait!” she exclaimed, to which June turned back around. “Business has been pretty slow today and despite what my Mom says I don’t think it’s going to pick up much. If you want we can read through some of it right now,” Libby offered.

June smiled. “I’d like that,” she replied.

Libby quietly sighed in relief. “Let’s move to those lounge chairs, I’ll show you some of my favorite parts of the book.”

June nodded and the two girls moved to the lounge chairs, where Libby opened up the book onto the round coffee table that the two chairs flanked. They looked at various pages from Howlin’ Harriet, to Story Sprites, to wraiths-

“Isn’t that what Molly was telling me about last week when she said she became a ghost?” June asked, pointing to the diagram of a living person becoming a ghost.

“I assume so. I was there when she became a wraith, it was truly something to behold,” Libby recalled.

“She said she killed the previous Chairman of the Ghost World with her power as a wraith. The joy energy she emitted was so strong; it was actually what drew us to Brighton in the first place while we were all the way in New Orleans,” June explained.

“I didn’t go to the Ghost World with her so I didn’t get to see that part, but I remember her and Scratch were bragging all about it when they came back. She was a unique golden color as a wraith, which seems to be related to her joyfulness,” Libby said.

Something clicked in June’s head. “Gold? And you said it’s related to her joy?”

Libby nodded. “Yes, I’ve never seen any other ghost with that color or energy.”

“Do you remember the other night when Ollie and Molly held hands and restored all of the electricity in town and how it looked like golden electricity surged through the area?” June asked.

Libby caught on to what June was saying. “Of course! Molly must've been so happy to have her feelings reciprocated that she couldn’t contain her joy, so it all spilled out as electricity!” she replied.

“And that’s how they restored the power throughout Brighton!” June and Libby said at the same time, which then caused them to start laughing.

“You’re really smart, Libby. It’s nice knowing someone else I can be on the same page with regarding ghosts. Would you want to help me with my experiments sometime?” June asked.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m not much of a scientist, sorry. Although if you ever need an informant for anything that happens in Brighton, then the Bloodhound of Truth is always on the prowl,” Libby said as she started howling like a wolf.

June was confused by the howling. “Why are you doing that?” she asked Libby point-blank.

“That’s just a thing I like to do, it makes me feel like a master detective,” Libby explained.

“I see. I do a little spying myself sometimes, there isn’t a single camera in Brighton I can’t hack my way into,” June replied.

“I should be asking you to help me then, although I’m guessing Darryl and your family keep you busy enough as is,” Libby said.

“You could say that. Still, my hyperfixation right now is learning more about ghosts and I’m going to get some answers eventually,” June said. “Maybe if she’s okay with it I should experiment on Molly next.”

“What was that?” Libby replied as she heard June whispering to herself.

June froze in fear; she didn’t mean to say that out loud. “I…um. Maybe if…”

Libby noticed June stumbling her way through repeating that sentence and realized she may have sounded more confrontational than she intended to. “It’s fine, June,” she said.

June sighed. “I’m sorry, I was embarrassed to admit what I said. It was about if Molly might be willing to let me run some experiments on her, I really do want to understand every last thing about how the power came back, but only if she’s okay with that of course,” she explained.

“You’re fine, June. It’s hard to deny Molly’s a very impressive person,” Libby said, recalling all of the good times she’d had with her bestie.

June looked down at the floor. “When we first got here and the McGees greeted us, I had a similar moment where I let out an unbridled truth that I didn’t mean to, and Molly was super understanding about it. She and Darryl make me feel like I’m not different in a bad way.”

“They make you feel validated as an autistic person,” Libby observed.

June turned to Libby in surprise. “How’d you know about that?!” she exclaimed.

“Like I said, the Bloodhound of Truth is always on the prowl,” Libby replied as she winked. “In all seriousness, your brother told me about a week ago.”

June was relieved. She wasn’t trying to keep that detail hidden or anything, but she also didn’t go around telling everyone she was on the spectrum, so it was a good thing that information hadn’t leaked out to the masses somehow.

“I see,” June replied. “Yeah, I guess not everyone can handle my unbridled truths.”

“I think I can handle them,” Libby replied. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s it like being autistic?”

June thought for a second. “It has its pros and cons. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by noise or how something feels or when there are too many things going on, other times I get to infodump all about my gadgets with my friends and memorize where every single collectible is in my favorite video games.”

Libby smiled. “I relate to some of that, I have lots of anxieties that I have to deal with every day.”

“When I first got diagnosed, I felt like something was wrong with me. I still feel like that sometimes, but overall? I don’t think I’d trade being autistic for the whole world,” June triumphantly finished explaining. “I hope that answers your question.”

“Oh, absolutely. I appreciate you shedding some light on it, imagine it’s a very personal subject for you,” Libby replied.

June shrugged. “I don’t mind talking about it that much, and besides, I trust you. Although, what made you wonder about that?”

“I had just remembered a story Rabbi Katz once told us at synagogue,” Libby said.

June’s interest was piqued. “What was it?” she asked.

Libby recounted the story. “Rabbi Katz was telling us about a fellow Rabbi who met an autistic child of a Jewish family. When the child entered his room, he stood in honor of the child.”

June tilted her head. “Why did he do that?” she asked.

Libby looked at June. “He said to his followers that he did so because the child, and all other children with autism, were holy and had pure souls,” she explained. “I just thought you might appreciate that.”

A soft smile stretched across June’s face. She wasn’t Jewish, but the story further proved in her mind that she was perfect just the way she was.

June turned to Libby. “Thank you, Libby. Like I said, being autistic can be hard sometimes; I’m mostly at peace with my diagnosis, but this story makes me feel like I belong, and for that, I’m grateful.”

“Glad it makes you feel that way,” Libby replied.

Silence filled the room for a few seconds as Libby and June looked at each other. What started as an inquiry about whether or not June could buy a book from Libby had gone off the rails (in the best way, mind you) and they realized they should attempt to get back on track.

“I think we might have lost track of what we were doing,” June realized.

“Oh right, the book,” Libby said as she closed it and stood up from her lounge chair. “Like I said, this is the only copy I have, but since I haven’t had to use it much recently, I could let you borrow it for a while if you want.”

“Really? I would love that!” June said as she stood up in excitement. “When would you like to have it back?”

“There’s no rush. You could have Ollie return it to me whenever you’re done. Or maybe you can give it back to me the next time we hang out?” Libby suggested.

“I’d like for there to be a next time. You’re very kind, Libby,” June replied as she smiled. “Either way, I promise to get it back to you as soon as I’m done with it.”

Libby put the Pop-Up Book of the Paranormal in front of her. “In that case, it’s all yours for as long as you need it,” she replied.

June gently accepted the book from Libby and basked at the cover before transferring the book into her red backpack. “This is going to help me so much with my research and gadgets and everything. Thank you so much!” She said as she went in to hug Libby. Libby wasn’t expecting it, but she gladly reciprocated it.

The two finished hugging. “Well, I better get home. Thank you again for letting me borrow your book, Libby. Have a great day!” June said as she began to leave the bookstore.

“You too, June!” Libby replied, happy to have made a new friend.

June was happy too, cheerfully skipping back home with the book in hand and her place in the world being more certain.

Chapter Text

~ December 26th, 2022 ~

“Molly! Get up here, it’s important!”

“Coming, Scratch!”

As Molly McGee reached the top of the stairs to the second floor of the McGee household, she noticed a deafening silence coming from the usually closed door behind and to the left of her. For the first time in what felt like a long time, Darryl wasn’t making some kind of ruckus.

He wasn’t planning a prank, playing with Heidi Hairylegs, raging at a game, rocking out to Atomic Pink, or anything he’d usually do; he was just laying down on his big, red bean bag chair and doing absolutely nothing. Knowing Darryl not causing some sort of trouble was almost always cause for alarm, Molly’s older sister instincts immediately kicked in, and she poked her head through the open door to check on her little brother.

“Knock knock,” Molly said as she knocked on the open door to try and get Darryl’s attention.

Darryl rolled over to face his sister. “Oh, hey Molly. You need something?” he asked.

Molly fully entered the room. “Not really, I just couldn’t help but notice you being so quiet. Everything okay?”

“I’m fine, just super bored,” Darryl replied as he rotated his body to face Molly. “Becca and Charlie are busy and usually June would be online right now, but y’know, she’s still up in New York with her family.”

A playful smirk stretched across Molly’s face. “Aww, you miss your bestie?” she replied.

A slight frown stretched across Darryl’s face. “Yeah, I do.”

Molly noticed the subtle shift in Darryl’s face and tone. “You wanna talk about it?” she offered.

Darryl moved off to the side and gestured to Molly to take a seat next to him on the bean bag chair, which she proceeded to do. “What’s the prob, corn cob?” Molly asked.

Darryl put his hands together. “Well, I’m sure you remember that in all the places we lived in I didn't have a lot of friends, and up until earlier this year I never had anyone in my life who understands me the way June does,” he explained.

“Is this about your ADHD?” Molly asked.

“That’s part of it, yeah. She’s autistic, so she knows about a lot of the stuff I deal with. It’s weird going back to not having someone like that across the street from our house, even if it’s just for a week or so,” Darryl explained further.

“I never thought about it like that. There was always one thing about your friendship that I always thought was so enhappifying to watch, I guess that’s what it is,” Molly realized.

“Yep. I know she’ll be back soon, but until then I’m just bored. I’ll probably get over it soon, but that’s the reason I’m just lying here,” Darryl finished explaining.

“Well, if it helps, I think I can relate a bit to how you feel. I miss Ollie, and I feel like he gets me more than anyone else I’ve met too. Mom and Dad probably also know how you feel; I bet they miss karaoke nights with Mr. and Mrs. Chen,” Molly said.

Darryl giggled a little. “Not gonna lie, that’s the one thing I’m not missing. Sometimes I could hear them singing over June’s microphone,” he recalled.

“Interesting, I’ve never actually heard them sing before. Are any of them bad singers? ” Molly whispered.

Darryl considered telling Molly who the bad singer (singular) of the group was, but he figured that would cause trouble and that’s not something Molly would do, so he decided to not answer. “It’s not really about that, it’s just annoying when we’re doing a raid and I hear one of them singing super loudly on the other end,” he explained.

“Ah, I see. Scratch sometimes decides to be annoying like that while I’m on the phone with Ollie, especially since we became an official couple,” Molly recalled.

“Are you two really an official couple if you haven’t gone on an official date yet?” Darryl teased.

“Ugh, I know. Can you believe we haven’t gone on one? We’ve both been so busy,” Molly lamented.

“Seems like I’ve got the opposite problem. The one time June and I aren’t busy with school or my shady business dealings or her gadgets or whatever is also the one time she’s out of state. What’re the odds?” Darryl wondered.

“Well, she and Ollie should be back soon. He told me they’d all be back by the 2nd, and that’s only a week away! June will be back and you two can get back to your legally dubious scheming in no time,” Molly said as she put her hand on Darryl’s shoulder.

“Ah, well that’s good,” Darryl said with a smile. “Although she might need a break from it when she gets back if I’m being honest. I’ve got lots of contacts up in New York, it’s a nice place but there’s lots of shady stuff going down in the streets if you know what I mean.”

Molly shuddered a little. “Truthfully, I don’t know if I want to know what you mean, but I do agree that it’s very nice. Ollie’s been sending me lots of pics of different buildings and parks, I wish I was there with him. We could have a romantic date capped off with a kiss at the top of the Empire State Building…”

She blushed at the thought of such a date, causing Darryl to wish he was anywhere else so he wouldn’t have to witness Molly’s pining. “Doesn’t Scratch need you for something up in your room?” he asked.

Molly snapped out of it. “Oh! He does, thanks for reminding me. I’ll talk to you later, Darryl!” Molly said as she quickly side-hugged him and bolted out of the bedroom.

Darryl waved and laid back down on his bean bag chair. “Thanks for talking to me, Molly,” he said to himself, still wondering what his best friend was up to at this very moment.

~ Meanwhile, in New York... ~

Ollie snapped another picture as he and June walked through a park they often played in when they were younger. “June! Look at this picture, isn’t Molly going to just love all of the flora and fauna here?” he asked his sister as he waved his phone in front of her.

“Huh? Oh yeah, probably,” June absentmindedly replied as the two kept walking.

She wasn’t paying much attention to Ollie’s picture, as she was more interested in the pictures contained within the Pop-Up Book of the Paranormal (and the interactive parts as well). After getting the book from Libby on Black Friday, she immediately got to work learning more about ectoplasm and how to make gadgets that could help good ghosts, and no family vacation was going to interfere with her studies.

June looked at the pages hoping to find the missing piece of the puzzle that was her Phantom Canister; how could she make it work without the help of a rare curse? What ghosts besides the Frightmares actually deserved to be trapped in there? How could she-

“Of course! Oh-!” June exclaimed as something stopped her from moving.

Not paying attention to her surroundings, June gently bumped into a slightly younger girl who was playing in front of her, causing her to drop the book.

“Oh no!” the girl exclaimed as she bent down to pick up the dropped book. “Is this yours? I hope it didn’t get damaged.”

June accepted the book from the girl. “Yes, sorry for bumping into you,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it!” the girl said as she suddenly started shaking June’s free hand. “My name is Emmie, what’s yours?”

“I’m June, it’s nice to meet you, Emmie,” she replied, somewhat surprised by the gesture.

“It’s nice to meet you too, June! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before, are you new in town?” she asked.

Ollie decided to chime in. “We’re here for the holidays, although we did originally grow up here,” he explained.

“Wow! Are you excited to see the ball drop? That’s my favorite part of the holidays,” Emmie said.

June shuddered. That was almost certainly going to be too much for her to handle, although still very exciting nonetheless.

“Oh yeah! I haven’t seen it in person since we lived here, it’ll be nice to do that again,” Ollie replied.

“It’s probably going to be very loud… It will still be very pretty though,” June said.

Ollie looked at his sister. “You remembered to bring your noise-canceling headphones, right sis?”

“Is hydrogen the lightest element on the periodic table?” she asked her brother, much to his confusion. 

“It might be? I’m not sure what that has to do with this, sorry,” Ollie replied.

June rolled her eyes in mild annoyance. “It is, and yes I did. I was making a joke,” she clarified, causing Ollie to realize what she was originally trying to say.

While June, Ollie, and Emmie were talking, a man sitting on a bench not far from them started waving in their direction and pointing to an invisible watch on his wrist. Emmie noticed this and realized she had to wrap up her conversation with her new friend and head home.

“I think I have to go. My Dad is over there and I don’t wanna keep him waiting. It was nice meeting you June!” Emmie said as she tightly hugged June, catching her off-guard. Still, she appreciated the gesture.

“You too! Have a good day, Emmie!” June said as she smiled, unable to do much on account of being bear-hugged by this girl she met five minutes ago.

As Emmie let go of June and exited earshot, Ollie was impressed by how quickly she and June were able to become friends. “She seems nice! Almost like a younger Molly,” he remarked.

June raised an eyebrow. “It’s so weird that you said that, she almost reminds me of Darryl,” she said. “I wonder why?”

“It might just be because she was so nice. Our ghost hunting didn’t get us many friends when we lived here,” Ollie said as he recalled the bullying he and June went through over their past as ghost hunters.

June frowned. “Yeah, I guess that would make people like her or the McGees stand out. We have to tell Mom and Dad the truth about ghosts soon,” she said to her brother.

Ollie put his hand on his sister’s shoulder. “We’ll tell them soon. Just gotta figure out the right time and place- Oh! We should probably get back to the hotel, wouldn’t want to make them worried!” he said as he looked at the time.

Nodding in agreement, June and Ollie proceeded to walk back to the hotel while June discussed her findings; the one in the Pop-Up Book of the Paranormal, and the friend she found at that same moment.

Chapter Text

~ January 9th, 2023 ~

As soon as June figured out the missing piece of the Phantom Canister, that was all she thought about in the remaining 6 days of her time in New York. When the Chens got home on the evening of January 1st, she bolted straight upstairs to her room and began working on a new and improved model.

The remaining week she had of winter break proved to be very productive for June, as when she returned home after her first day back at school she only had to make minor adjustments. Unfortunately, Ollie had a major problem that would force June to take a break from her work.

“June!” Ollie said as he burst into his sister’s room, unannounced and clearly out of breath.

June lifted her safety goggles and turned to face her brother. “Is something wrong? You usually knock first,” she said.

“It’s Molly, something happened today and I don’t know how to even process it,” Ollie explained.

“Molly?” June asked. “I hadn’t seen her all day, I assumed she had a cold or something.”

Ollie shook his head. “Nope, in fact, she seemed to have more energy than usual today. I didn’t see her until I saw her bolt out of the detention room of all places when I was leaving to go home.”

“That can’t be right, I don’t know how Molly even could get sent to detention,” June pointed out.

Ollie was just as surprised. “It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Anyway, I followed her to see if something was up and I caught her juggling chainsaws while riding a unicycle on top of a power line-”

“Slow down, this doesn’t sound like something Molly would do, much less something that actually happened,” June interrupted, thinking Ollie must’ve imagined all of this.

“Trust me, this all happened. Anyway, after she did all of that, she noticed me on the ground in the crowd of people watching, jumped down, and attacked me with kisses. She then ran off and I fainted,” Ollie finished explaining.

“That’s not something I’d expect her to do. I’ve seen that she’s very touchy-feely but I never knew her as the type to do that without asking first,” June said.

“Yeah, and if she did ask to kiss I probably would have said yes, but it just felt really sudden and awkward. I’m not sure why that happened or how to feel about it,” Ollie replied.

“Maybe you should talk to Molly about it? You could call or text her,” June suggested.

Ollie got out his phone and opened the messages app to Molly’s contact. “I guess I could, but I don’t know what to say. What would she even say-” Ollie was interrupted by a text message from Molly McGee herself. “Oh no,” he said as he read it.

“What does it say?” June asked. Ollie turned his phone so June could read the text. “A boyfriend and girlfriend emoji, a monkey covering their mouth emoji, and a phone emoji?”

“She needs to tell me something on the phone. Something private that’s about our relationship,” Ollie said as if that was obvious.

“How did you get that out of that random string of emojis?” June questioned.

“It makes sense to us, okay?” Ollie said. “Anyway, she knows I read it and I’m not prepared. What should I do?”

June held her brother’s hand. “Ollie, I don’t know anything about relationships or love or anything like that, but I’m sure if you just tell her what’s on your mind she’ll hear you out and it will be fine.”

Ollie took a deep breath. “You’re probably right. I’m going to my room to talk with her, see you in a bit,” he said as he left June’s room.

“Good luck,” June replied.

Ollie video-called Molly and she answered within seconds. “Hey, Ollie,” she said, guilt-ridden.

“Hey Molly, I saw your text,” Ollie said. “Is this about what I think it’s about?”

Molly’s expression was unreadable but Ollie could tell she was disappointed in herself. “Yeah, I was told about what happened earlier today and thought we needed to talk about it.”

“Needless to say, I’m gonna need a pretty good explanation for you jumping from a power line and kissing me repeatedly, that was very sudden and uncomfortable,” Ollie asserted.

“That’s totally reasonable. Bear with me because this will probably sound crazy, but I was cursed against my will,” Molly explained.

Ollie’s perspective immediately shifted; did an evil ghost try to hurt Molly again? He now had even more questions. “Against your will? Who did it?” he asked.

“...it was Scratch,” Molly clarified. “He put a rare curse on me that caused me to have no fear for 24 hours and because that part of my brain was shut off I decided to conquer my fears in some… very extreme ways let’s just say.”

“Yeah, like launching yourself across town on a trebuchet and getting a chip in your tooth. You gotta be more careful, Moll!” Scratch interjected as he floated by.

“Oh my Cob! Are you okay?” Ollie asked.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. A pile of leaves broke my fall and the dentist fixed my tooth. The curse also wore off a few hours ago, so no more of that from me,” Molly explained further.

Ollie wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Phew, that's good at least. Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I guess I understand why the kissing onslaught happened, but what fear do you have that caused you to do that?”

Molly went silent for a few seconds, embarrassed at the fear that led her to do that. She then worked up the bravery to explain herself. “I feared that I hadn’t shown you how much I care about you. I’ve been so busy since we became boyfriend and girlfriend that we haven’t been able to spend much time together, I mean we haven’t even gone on our official first date yet! I just felt so terrible about that and I guess that translated to me doing that to you. I’m so sorry, Ollie. I hope you can forgive me.”

Everything now made sense to Ollie. Molly was afraid she wasn’t a good enough girlfriend for him, and that’s why she did what she did while cursed to have no fear. He pondered what to say next for a few seconds before reaching the only reasonable conclusion. “I forgive you, and to tell the truth, I’ve had the same fear for some time. I didn’t have a lot of regular friends back home, much less a partner who gets me like you do, Molly. I had no idea you felt the same way.”

“I couldn’t keep up with a lot of my friends since we moved so much,” Molly said, pausing briefly to reflect. “You, Scratch, and Libby are my closest forever friends, if I hurt any of you I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

“Well, for what it's worth you didn’t hurt me, I was more confused than anything. Honestly, if you had asked me first I probably would’ve been fine with kissing,” Ollie said.

Molly blushed; she wasn’t sure what Ollie would say but she wasn’t expecting him to already be fine with the concept of kissing. “Bleh, if I weren’t already dead this conversation would have killed me with how mushy-gushy it is,” Scratch teased.

“You don’t have to listen in, Scratch,” Molly playfully replied.

“Oh yeah, that's right, I don’t. I’m going into my dollhouse, deuces!” Scratch replied as he shrunk and zipped through the window to his dollhouse.

Ollie giggled. “But yeah, I don’t want you to worry about not being a good girlfriend and if you weren’t fully in control of your actions, then that’s not something I can hold against you. We’re all good, Molly.”

“Thank Cob, I was so nervous that you’d be mad at me- which would’ve been totally understandable of course. I’m just glad we could work this out, maybe soon we can finally go on an official date and have a real kiss,” Molly suggested.

Ollie was blushing now. “I’d like that. Actually, since we’re talking about it right now, are you free after school this Friday?”

“Ooh, I’m not sure. Scratch and I were going to paint together after school on Friday, but maybe if we finish early I can go. Think we can play it by ear?” Molly asked.

“Sure! Worst case scenario, we can reschedule. I’m sure we can figure something out,” Ollie replied.

Molly smiled. “Definitely! I’m glad something good came out of this whole thing at least. Anyway, I should get ready for bed. See you tomorrow?”

Ollie smiled back. “See you tomorrow.”

The two waved and hung up. Molly went to do her normal nighttime routine, while Ollie went back to talk to June.

Ollie re-entered June’s bedroom, where she was waiting for him. “So, what was the deal with Molly?” June asked.

“It turns out that Molly was under some kind of curse from Scratch that made her fearless for 24 hours and that was causing her to face her fears in some very extreme ways. I think Scratch mentioned something about a trebuchet and a chipped tooth?” Ollie recalled.

“That’s extreme, I’d usually expect that sort of thing from Darryl,” June said.

“I guess so, yeah. Anyway, she said one of her biggest fears was that she hadn’t shown me how much she cares about me, so that's why she did all of that,” Ollie explained to June.

“I see. Did you forgive her?” she asked.

“Yes,” Ollie replied. “Thanks for the pep talk earlier. I might not have been able to find the courage to tell Molly how I felt otherwise.”

“I’m glad I could help you deal with this whole situation,” June said with a smile.

Ollie yawned. “I need some rest, this day has been emotionally draining,” he said.

“I can only imagine. Want a hug before you go?” June asked.

“Is hydrogen the lightest element on the periodic table?” Ollie replied.

“Hey! That’s my joke!” June replied, sounding a lot angrier than she actually was. She appreciated that Ollie now understood the joke she made back in New York.

Ollie laughed. “Well, the answer is yes. I would like a hug,” he said as the two siblings embraced. “Alright, I’m heading back to my room. Sleep well, June!”

“Goodnight Ollie!” June said as Ollie shut her door.

With Ollie’s fear quelled, June was able to devote the rest of her night to working on the Phantom Canister. She held the near-completed gadget and remarked about the only thing she now needed to make this gadget whole.

“Now, all I need is Spectrenium-283.”

Chapter Text

~ January 13th, 2023 ~

“I’m proud of you, buddy. You did the right thing.”

“Yeah. I am gonna miss those free churros, though. One more? For old times’ sake?”

“No. Take a walk.”

“Eh, it was worth a try.”

The McGees, Libby Stein-Torres, the Chens, and the best of the best of Ghostkind had just reached the end of what may have been the most eventful and action-packed afternoon of their entire (after)lives. Ghost hunters became ghost helpers, enemies became friends, and everyone was able to put aside their differences to stop Jinx and save both the Living and Ghost Worlds from being consumed by misery. Furthermore, realizing that being the lesser of two evils didn’t make him a good Chairman, Scratch did what was best for everyone by giving up the Chairman robes to find someone more worthy of the title, which he realized came with the unfortunate side effect of no more free churros.

Thankfully, Molly thought of something Scratch would like even more. “Wait, Scratch? Do you know what’s even better than free churros?” she asked her forever friend.

“I’m not sure something like that exists, but I’ll humor you. What’s that?” Scratch replied.

Molly smiled as she turned to face the entire group. “An impromptu party celebrating the friendship between the Living World and the Ghost World in our backyard!” she yelled.

A smile stretched across Scratch’s face as cheers erupted from the other ghosts; they all loved this idea. The living people were similarly enthusiastic about this.

“That’s a great idea, Molly!” Libby replied.

“I can get us some custom party decorations within the next half hour!” Darryl offered.

“I’ll make some Thai snacks, and we'll have a banquet that rivals Sart Duan Sib!” Sharon said to more cheers, especially from the Ghost Council.

“I’d be happy to help with that, honey-” Pete attempted to offer his assistance before getting thrown off by a little plastic hand touching his leg.

“And I’ll make some crudité. Those vegetables won’t know what hit them when they face the wrath of Lord DOOM!” a baby doll replied.

“This is gonna be one heck of a party!” Scratch said after hearing Lord Doom’s offer.

Sharon was a bit surprised by the ghost that was offering his assistance, but she appreciated the help regardless. “Alright then. Let’s see what you’ve got, ‘Lord Doom.’” she replied, emphasizing the seemingly very ill-fitting name.

“I think that sounds great, Molly!” Ollie replied. “June, Mom, Dad, what do you all think?”

June nodded in approval while Esther gave two thumbs up, but Ruben needed a second to think. Ghosts being good was still a very new concept to him after the trauma of Geoff scaring him as a child. Was he ready to be so close to so many ghosts for an entire night? Looking around and seeing the joy of all the ghosts and humans that surrounded him was enough to convince Ruben that he could do it.

“I’m in!” he triumphantly replied, much to Ollie’s delight.

Hearing this, Geoff was ecstatic as he went in to hug Ruben again, which was reciprocated this time around. “I’m so glad to be your friend, Ruben! This party is gonna be a blast!” he said. Jeff then floated next to Ruben to give his two cents.

“Oh yeah, Ruben? Quick thing- if you hurt my beloved Geoff or his feelings ever again, you’ll be dead where you stand. Got it?” Jeff replied, clearly not kidding.

Ruben gulped, but he understood. “Fair enough, no plans to do that again!” he shakily replied.

“Great! See you at the party!” Jeff replied as he, Geoff, and everyone else walked/floated to the McGee’s house for the party. Reaching the street, the Chens split off from the group to get a few things from home first.

The Chens re-entered their home, this time with a Phantom Canister present and accounted for, and began to prepare for the remainder of the night. “Alright Used-To-Chase-Ghosts Chens, let’s get ready for this party!” Ruben exclaimed.

“That name is going to need some work,” June said.

“We’ll figure it out later,” Esther replied. She then turned to her husband. “Do you think we’ll need to bring any food? I know Sharon said she’ll make some Thai snacks and that possessed baby doll said he’d make some crudité, but I’d hate to show up empty-handed.”

Ignoring thoughts of how a possessed baby doll could even make crudité, Ruben realized exactly what they should bring. “Not food, but definitely drinks. Ollie, can you help me carry some two-liter bottles of my small-batch root beer?” he asked his son.

“I’d be happy to!” Ollie exclaimed.

Ruben pumped his fist. “Yes!” he said. He then turned to his wife. “Esther, could you grab some paper plates and cups from the pantry?”

“You got it!” Esther exclaimed.

“Great! You’re the best, honey,” Ruben said as he quickly kissed Esther on the cheek, causing her to blush. He then turned to June, who had the most complex task of them all. “And June, could you quickly make a giant fountain that shoots out strawberry soda? Molly told me Scratch loves strawberry soda.”

June was puzzled. “I’m an engineer, not an architect,” she explained.

“That’s not something you could make?” Ruben asked.

June shook her head. “I can’t make one, especially not on such short notice-” she then had a realization. “Oh! I bet Darryl could get his hands on such a fountain within the next hour. He’s got a ton of connections.”

“That’s a very specific thing to have a connection for but alright, shoot him a text! And while you’re at it, make sure to put the Phantom Canister somewhere safe,” Ruben instructed his daughter.

“Will do!” June said as she put the Phantom Canister under her arm and began walking upstairs. Once she reached her room, she put the Phantom Canister on her desk and began texting Darryl.

Today 5:41 PM

Hey Darryl, could you get your hands on a fountain that shoots out strawberry soda within the next hour?

let me guess, for scratch? /lh

…Yes, Dad wants to do something nice for him for the party.

i got u o7

Thanks. :)

Before turning off the light in her room, June looked at the Phantom Canister on her desk and wondered if she should jerry-rig some kind of device to hold it just in case something happened.

Nah, it’ll be fine. The party will only be a few hours at most, she thought to herself. She then walked back downstairs and got the rest of her family’s attention. “Darryl will handle the fountain!”

Ruben and Ollie had just gotten the root beer out of the fridge while Esther gathered the other essentials from the pantry. “Great!” Ruben replied. “Now, could you help your mom?”

June nodded and walked over to Esther. “What can I help with?” she asked.

“Those paper and blue plastic cups that are stacked on the counter,” Esther said as she gestured toward the cups.

“Oh, right,” June replied as she picked up the aforementioned cups. She was fairly sure that’s what her mother needed help with, but just wanted to be 100% sure.

“Now, let’s head over to the McGee’s house!” Ollie said as everyone left the house and began walking across the street.

The McGee’s had little trouble setting things up for the party with the help of Libby and the ghosts. By the time the Chens were on their way, all that remained to take care of was the strawberry soda fountain, which Darryl was able to successfully obtain and keep hidden from Scratch.

“A little to the left! Too far, go a bit to the right! Stop! That’s perfect!” Darryl yelled to Giancarlo as he lowered the fountain into place with his helicopter and then flew away.

“Scratch is gonna love this fountain. Thank you so much for getting all of this on such short notice, Darryl. How do you do it?” Molly asked her brother.

Darryl smirked. “That’s for me to know and you to hopefully never find out,” he replied, much to Molly’s concern. Darryl’s methods would always remain elusive to her.

Pete observed the backyard. “This whole thing is really coming together, I hope Ruben is impressed when he sees all this. Where are the Chens anyway-”

“Knockity-knock!” Ruben announced as he and his family reached the gate to the backyard, just as he did when he first moved to Brighton.

“They’re here! Alright, just gotta play it cool,” Pete said as he mentally prepared himself to let the Chens into the backyard. He walked over and opened the gate. “Welcome back! I see you brought some small-batch root beer.”

“Yep! Didn’t want to show up empty-handed-” Ruben looked around the backyard and saw how many ghosts there were. He then looked at Ollie. “We might need some more root beer.”

“Oh yeah. Mr. McGee, would you excuse us while we grab some more root beer from the house?” Ollie asked.

“Of course, no problem,” Pete replied. “I see you’ve got some other supplies as well, feel free to just plop everything on that table over there.”

Ruben nodded as the Chens walked to the table. Esther and June dropped off the plates and cups while Ruben and Ollie dropped off the bottles of root beer, which immediately had a line of ghosts forming them. Within minutes, the contents of the bottles were poured into the little paper cups and the ghosts spread out across the backyard once more, with Esther following them so she could talk to as many ghosts as she could.

“Alright, we’re off to get a refill. I think we might need a whole barrel of the stuff,” Ruben said to Pete and Ollie, who nodded as the two went back to their house across the street.

“Now that everyone has drinks, I think it’s time we get this party started!” Pete exclaimed as he ran back into the house while pumping his fists. Once inside, he turned on the outside speaker system and walked back outside to clean up the table as music began blaring in the backyard.

Scratch, Geoff, and Jeff overheard the music from the living room of the McGee’s house and popped out of the wall to see how things were looking. “Sounds like the party is in full swing, better go load up on some grub,” he said as the trio entered the backyard, not noticing the fountain or caring much about the music.

None of the ghosts had strong opinions on the music, nor did most of the humans, but June was the total opposite; it was overwhelming for her. While it wasn’t as bad as her classmates yelling on her first day or Junior’s crying, the music was still a bit loud for June and she was visibly uncomfortable.

Sharon McGee walked into the backyard with some Thai dumplings and crêpes and noticed what looked like small electric shocks running through June. “June, is everything okay?” she asked as she put the food down.

June was caught off guard by Sharon but was very glad she asked that question. “Oh! Mrs. McGee, the music is a little loud. Could you please turn it down?” she asked.

Sharon nodded. “I’m on it. Lord Doom?” she shouted as she turned around.

“Yes, Sharon?” Lord Doom asked as he peeked out from inside the house.

“Could you lower the volume on the wireless speakers? June says it’s a little loud,” Sharon explained.

Lord Doom smiled devilishly. “With pleasure. I will DECIMATE THE DECIBELS!” he yelled.

Sharon rolled her eyes. “Don’t do anything crazy. Just move the little slider on the tablet down,” she explained.

Lord Doom saluted. “Understood,” he replied as he went back inside. The music then became quieter, much to June’s relief.

“I think I saw him earlier, what is that living baby doll anyway?” June asked as her curiosity peaked.

“Oh, that’s just Lord Doom,” Sharon replied.

June tilted her head. “His name is ‘Lord Doom?’” she asked further.

“I know, right? He doesn’t look like a ‘lord’ of anything, much less of ‘doom,’” Sharon remarked. “But I guess it goes to show that ghosts come in all shapes and sizes.”

“I wonder what events led to a ghost looking like that,” June wondered. She then proceeded to infodump all about ghosts to Sharon. “On that note, I’ve been reading Libby’s book about ghosts to improve my gadgets and it’s helping me figure out how ghosts come to be. I thought it was just a universal thing, like every living organism that dies automatically becomes a ghost, but now that I’ve seen Sobgoblins and I'm not sure what their origin is I’m not sure if that’s the case. It’s possible that ghosts only come to be under specific circumstances, but I don’t know what those circumstances could be. Whether or not someone/thing becomes a ghost might be case-by-case, maybe there’s an entity that decides if whatever criteria have been met to become a ghost, but that would be very difficult to test or prove. Still, it’s all so interesting to think about!”

Sharon mostly just smiled and nodded as she listened. She was impressed by June’s theories on why a ghost becomes a ghost, and how she offered both points and counterpoints to each possibility, but didn’t have much to add to the discussion due to a lack of paranormal research on her end. Still, she thought it was interesting and was happy to let June continue-

*BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP*

The infodumping was cut short by the sound of Scratch’s strawberry soda-fueled burp, which was so loud that June dropped her drink and fell on the grass due to the shockwave knocking her off balance, all while clutching her ears. Fortunately, the noise ended within seconds of starting and June was able to move her hands back down and sit up to breathe. While all of this happened, Sharon made sure she was okay.

“June?! Are you okay? Does anything hurt?” Sharon quickly asked as she extended her arm to June.

It took a second for June’s ears to stop ringing, but she managed to get back up and take Sharon’s hand. “I’m fine, I’m not hurt. Just glad it’s over.”

Sharon sighed in relief and picked up June’s spilled cup. Having recovered from the shockwave much quicker, Darryl stopped his conversation with another ghost and hopped over the table to check on his best friend. “You okay, June?” he asked.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” June reiterated.

Darryl sighed in relief. “Good, just wanted to make sure. That was a loud burp, even for Scratch,” he remarked. “You wanna sit down at the table? It’s probably more comfortable than the grass.”

“That’d be good,” June replied with a giggle. She then turned to Sharon. “Thanks, Mrs. McGee. For lowering the volume and helping me back up.”

Sharon smiled again. “No problem! If it gets too loud again, just let me know. I’ll be over there,” she replied as she gestured to where Pete, Esther, and some other ghosts were talking.

June smiled and waved as she sat facing away from the table. Darryl poured another cup of root beer for June and put it behind her as he sat down next to her. “So, crazy day huh?” Darryl said.

“Oh my Cob, yes!” June excitedly replied before doing some more infodumping toward Darryl. “We all got to become ghosts and go to the Ghost World! Then we took down Jinx and her army of joy-fueled Sobgoblins! You coming down on that helicopter was incredible, I really thought you had abandoned us like a coward and I was ready to give up then and there because Molly was gone and I thought nobody had listened to me about the Spectrenium-283 and there was no hope, but you listened to everything I said and swooped in to save the day!”

Darryl looked at June and smiled. “Yeah, I guess we make a pretty good team,” he said. “Plus it was cool becoming a ghost again, even if it wasn’t for very long. I didn’t get to go to the Ghost World at all last time.”

June tilted her head. “Again? Last time?” she asked.

“Oh, did I ever tell you about the last time I was a ghost?” Darryl asked.

June shook her head. “No! Tell me everything!” she excitedly replied as she picked up her root beer.

“Do you remember that graffiti of Principal O’Connor that I did on the back of the school? Well, after remembering when Molly became a ghost I decided to turn into a ghost myself to have my shell clean it up for me,” Darryl explained.

“Ah, so I take it you weren’t a ghost for very long then?” June replied.

Darryl shook his head. “Oh no, I was a ghost for pretty much that whole day. I didn’t want to get back into my body since I felt so alive as a ghost; I could just do my own thing without anyone getting mad at me,” he clarified. “But then Scratch convinced me I had to get back in there and after some shenanigans at the Brighton City Dump I got my body back.”

“How’d your body end up there?” June asked.

“I got angry and called Shell-Me ‘garbage’ so he hopped into the garbage can and got picked up by the garbage truck. Nearly got incinerated, it was not fun,” Darryl recalled.

“Oh, I see,” June replied. “Yeah, that sounds like it would have been very painful.”

“Eh, it’s probably not as bad as what the Yakuza said they’d do to me if I didn’t keep my side of the bargain for that pancake maker,” Darryl asked.

June spit out her root beer. “The WHO?!”

“Relax, I got away in one piece. Besides, the pancake maker was more trouble than they’ll ever be,” Darryl said as he recalled the trauma-inducing amount of pancakes that contraption made.

June giggled. “Yeah, that makes sense knowing you,” she remarked. “I hope I can become a ghost again, I would’ve liked to tour the whole Ghost World.”

“It seems like a nice place, just wish we could’ve been there under better circumstances. Maybe next time will be different?” Darryl wondered.

“Maybe,” June replied.

Hearing pieces of their conversation, Libby stopped talking to one of the ghosts and walked up to Darryl and June. “I heard some stuff about turning into ghosts again. May I ask what you two are talking about?” she asked.

“Hey, Libby! Not much, we’re just thinking out loud about going to the Ghost World again,” Darryl explained.

Seeing Libby, June remembered something important she had to tell her. “On that note, I wanted to thank you again for letting me borrow your book, Libby. Without it, I wouldn’t have known what the Phantom Canister needed to work properly,” she said.

When Ollie and June got the call from Molly to meet her in her attic, June was specifically told to bring both the Phantom Canister and the Pop-Up Book of the Paranormal to help with the ongoing emergency. June returned the book to Libby having gained the knowledge on how to make the canister work from the book, but since she hadn’t gotten any Spectrenium-283 and was told to bring the book and canister, she felt it was necessary to interrupt the Ghost Friends theme with that information. Libby and the others didn’t realize this at the time, but she now realized how important the contents of her book truly were to June.

“Wow! I had never given much thought to that part of the book, I mostly cared about the lore surrounding ghosts themselves. Glad you got some use out of that,” Libby replied.

“June just has a knack for that sort of thing. She knows how to lock in on specific info like that,” Darryl said.

“Yeah, it was very helpful. I’m sorry it took so long for me to get it back to you, I just needed to perfect the Phantom Canister after learning what happened on Halloween,” June explained.

“Don’t worry about that. I said it was all yours for as long as you needed it, and you clearly got a lot of use out of it. Feel free to borrow it whenever,” Libby said. 

Libby rarely trusted others to take care of her books, especially not this one, but June had proven that she could not only be trusted to take care of the Pop-Up Book of the Paranormal but also that she could use its contents for good causes. June was very grateful that Libby trusted her like that.

“Thank you so much, Libby,” June replied with a smile.

“Say, Libby. You wouldn’t happen to have a pop-up book about scheming, would you?” Darryl asked, half-jokingly.

“If I did, I feel like selling it to you would make me an accomplice to something,” Libby replied with a smirk.

Darryl shrugged. “I cannot confirm or deny that would be possible.”

“But I can confirm it,” June replied, causing the three of them to laugh.

June spent the rest of the party drinking root beer and having fun with her friends, grateful that she finally found her people.

Another hour or so passed before the party began to die down. All the ghosts besides Scratch had returned to the Ghost World, Libby had walked back to her Mom’s bookstore, and the McGees and Chens exchanged goodbye hugs (except Molly and Ollie, who exchanged goodbye kisses and another promise that they’d go on an official first date soon). The Chens were incredibly tired, but they all couldn’t be happier with how the day went.

Before they all went to their respective bedrooms, Ruben and Esther had one last thing to say to their kids. “Ollie, June?” Esther said.

“Yes?” Ollie and June both replied.

Esther and Ruben took a look at one another before smiling, nodding, and kneeling to meet their children’s eyes; they were ready to say what they wanted to say. “We wanted to thank you both again for opening our eyes. I don’t think your Mom and I would have ever realized that ghosts could be good without your encouragement and wisdom. We’re both so proud of you two, and we love you both more than we could ever put into words,” Ruben said.

Ollie and June were both crying tears of joy. “We love you even more than that!” June said as she suddenly hugged both of her parents, with Ollie following suit and both Ruben and Esther wrapping their arms around their children. They stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying each other’s presence and loving being a family. Eventually, the hug broke up and they all had to attend to their nighttime routines.

“Goodnight, kiddos!” Ruben said.

“Sweet dreams!” Esther said.

Ollie and June went upstairs to get ready for bed, where June was met with a peculiar sight: the Phantom Canister on the floor next to her desk.

“Huh, I wonder how that got there,” June said to herself as she opened her drawer to temporarily house the canister until she made something more suitable.

As she opened the drawer she noticed her journal, which had been untouched since the near-completion of the Phantom Canister. Having just gone through what may have been the biggest day of her entire life, June knew what she had to do. “Oh yeah, I should probably write something for tonight.”

June took a seat, turned on her desk lamp, opened her journal, and began to write.

January 13th, 2023

Dear Journal,

I finally did it! I convinced Mom and Dad that some ghosts are good! I thought this day would never come, and Dad still seems a little uneasy, but progress is progress.

I still can’t believe half of the things that happened today happened; after Ollie dragged me to the McGee’s house through his crazed “gotta help my girlfriend” rambling, I BECAME a ghost and went to the Ghost World! Then after Ollie and I got Mom and Dad to help us stop Jinx (the evil ghost who took over the Ghost World) with the help of Scratch, Geoff (THE ghost who scared Dad), and Jeff (Geoff’s husband of 100 years [awww]), Darryl and I worked together to trap her in the Phantom Canister! I just got back from a big party celebrating all of this and we’re all so tired, but in the best way. I’m just so happy right now.

Speaking of Darryl, he told me the most interesting stories at the party. I went to sit with him after chatting with his Mom about my theories (they also both helped me when it got too loud (Ｔ▽Ｔ)) and right after I was done talking about how cool it was to become a ghost and save the world, he told me he became a ghost before. I know Molly previously became one, but I had no idea this wasn’t Darryl’s first time as well. He told me his body nearly fell into an incinerator, which was nothing compared to whatever the YAKUZA (Japanese mafia) were going to do to him, so safe to say these were both typical days for Darryl. 

I’m just so glad to be a part of the Ghost Friends. I’ve always had Ollie as my big brother, but never in my life have we both been around such like-minded and kindhearted company as Molly, Scratch, Libby, and Darryl. Molly was so understanding about my autism, Scratch and Libby finally respected my intelligence, and Darryl just gets it; I have a friend I can fully unmask with. I feel like we can do anything as long as we work together, I mean not only did we defeat Jinx and save both worlds, but we forged new friendships and got Mom and Dad to see the light, something that I wasn’t sure was even possible until now.

When we moved to Brighton, being respected by the McGees regardless of my autism diagnosis was something that brought me so much joy, knowing that I now lived in a place where people would accept me for who I am. A lot of people treated me unfairly for things that I couldn’t control back in New York, whether it was ghost hunting or my autism, but that’s not how things are here in Brighton. The people here have grown to accept me just as myself, Ollie, and now Mom and Dad have grown to accept ghosts. I hope that all of our new ghost friends sleep well tonight with the comfort of knowing that the key threats to their joy are now gone.

I think I’ll sleep well tonight at least, knowing that tomorrow I’ll be waking up to a world that’s more tolerant than the one I went to sleep in.

June Chen