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“Show her.”
Danny gave Calvin a Look, but acquiesced. Susie jumped as the bright ring of light circled Danny’s body, splitting into two, both rings passing over him. Through squinted eyes, Susie watches Danny’s outfit change from their university hoodie, jeans, and some old Vans to a black and white hazmat suit that clung to Danny like a second skin. The most striking change, however, was his snow-white hair and glowing green eyes.
An audible gasp escaped from Susie’s mouth when the transformation was over. Danny hovered awkwardly in the air, a few feet off the ground. “You… What are you?”
Danny scratched the back of his neck, ignoring the worried looks the rest of their friends wore on their faces. “Technically?” He started, trying to force a joking cheer into his voice. “I’m half-alive. Or half-dead. However you want to look at it, I guess.”
Susie turned her head slightly to the other three, keeping Danny in her peripherals. “You knew?” Her voice sounded like a tightly strung violin ready to snap as she kept her composure in check.
“We found out almost immediately,” Sam admitted, “back in high school.”
“A trip into his parents’ lab gone wrong,” Tucker explained vaguely.
Calvin said nothing, just watching her. He was frowning slightly, and the crinkle in between his eyebrows—that Susie normally smoothed out with her thumb, while teasing him about looking like his father—was showing.
“You knew?” She asked again, this time hurt evident in her voice.
Reluctantly, the blond nodded. “Hobbes told me. Turns out, it’s easy to recognize a ghost when you’re one, too.”
“Technically, Hobbes is a Spirit,” Danny said automatically, wincing when he finished.
“Not helping,” Calvin deadpanned.
“Are you,” Sam started, taking a step closer to the brunette, “are you okay?”
Susie turned to her and started laughing. “Am I okay?” Tears sprang to her eyes despite the laughter. “No, I’m not okay! I just found out ghosts are real, Spirits are real, and Danny is technically dead! Why would I be okay?”
Tucker rubbed his wrist, a nervous tic he’d developed in the past few months. “That’s fair.”
“How long have you known, Calvin? How long did you know that our friend is dead?”
“… I found out over the summer when I went to visit them at Amity Park when you were visiting your new niece in Toronto.”
“You’ve known for at least five months,” Susie said faintly, disbelief in her eyes.
“Danny wanted to tell you himself,” Calvin rushed to explain, “but all of our schedules have been so–”
“I get it,” Susie cut him off, taking a step back from Sam and the rest of the group. She didn’t even flinch this time when Danny transformed back to his normal black-haired, blue-eyed self.
“Susie,” Danny tried, his voice sounding like he was talking to a scared animal.
“I need some time alone,” she said, taking a few more steps away.
“I’ll go with you,” Calvin said, not wanting to leave her on her own.
“I said alone, Calvin.” Her voice was like ice, and the only reason Calvin didn’t flinch like Sam, Tucker, and Danny was because he’d known her for so long. He knew that she was feeling betrayed right now, that the ice in her voice was because she was pushing her emotions aside while she was still in front of them.
“I’ll…” She trailed off, looking at all four of them in front of her, “I’ll message you later.”
This time, when she turned away to leave, no one followed.