Chapter Text
It’s not often that someone is willing to pay for a team of ghost hunters.
With both Pandora and Remus having such remarkable skills their business should have been a surefire success by now, but so far Evan’s watched as almost all their work has been pro-bono, both of them unwilling to turn away anyone who was desperate enough to have stumbled across the small advert they put up online.
“Luna Moons Psychic Mediums Expertise in Entity Removal. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Call now for appointments xxx-xxx-xxxx
Pricing negotiable.”
Evan has enjoyed the last two months as their outings across the state have increased a bit, giving him some alone time at home for a day or two.
His sister had the bad habit of using their shared apartment as the go to hangout spot for her friends, much to his annoyance. They were just so loud. On good work days, Evan is exhausted. On bad days, even his ears are dead tired from nonstop alarms and yelling and cursing and alarms alarms alarms—
Today was a bad day.
Evan shuffled through his front door, eyes blurry and body aching, only to hear the tinkling laughter at the end of the hall, faces peaking around the corner to look at him from their spots on the couch before Pandora gently pulls them back with a not yet, don’t bug him—
Evan could slide down the wall and weep. Even if they obey her and stick to an acceptable volume, he’ll still have to walk past them to get to his room to shower, walk back to the kitchen to eat, and then walk back again to his room to pass out. That’s three times he will have to endure just being in the presence of other humans again, his social meter at a negative one hundred already.
Evan doesn’t even glance at them as he walks past the TV. He drops his bag, grabbing the clothing on his bed.
Pandora has always laid out his pajamas for him since he’s started working at the hospital. If Evan didn't already know about the psychic thing, he’d be weirded out that she was able to predict in advance what clothing would be the comfiest for his ragged bones after each shift, always choosing better than he ever possibly could.
Evan trudges his way to the shared bathroom. He yanks the shower as hot as it can go, staring at himself as he waits. It’s only when steam starts to fog over the face reflected in the mirror that Evan begins to strip out of his scrubs.
Like always he takes way too long, dizzy and bright pink when he emerges from the bathroom.
He sits on the arm of the couch in the living room, eyes staring blankly at the TV, ears deaf to whatever conversations are happening around him, all of them long used to his odd and floaty wind down behavior.
He slides his socks on now that he’s not on wet flooring, standing with a muffled whimper as he makes his way to the kitchen.
There’s a bowl in the fridge for him, a post it note left on top of tinfoil that reads, Ev with a smiley face just below it.
Evan sits on the floor as he eats the noodles cold. Stir fry? that’s new—
He's got a mouth full when his peace is disturbed, and he swallows quick. He deserves the privacy to hunch on the floor and eat cold food in his own home, dammit.
“Hey. How was battle?” The question makes Evan want to roll his eyes every time. He would, but it’s simply too much effort, especially since Evan knows he’ll always answer the man anyways.
Food, Showers, and Lupin unfortunately had one common theme on his worst days like today: making him feel human again.
“Horrible. They unleashed wolves made of fire to chase me down the halls and tear my tendons out.” Evan finally looks up, meeting the warm honeyed gaze of Remus's eyes. Maybe his vision is just blurry right now from exhaustion, but they almost look as if they’re glowing when the kitchen light hits them at a certain angle, making them turn gold, luminescent.
Evan blinks and looks away, throwing himself back into their little song and dance. “I was able to stabilize, using the magical healing properties of IcyHot.”
“Clever thinking. Nasty beasts, those fire wolves.”
“Indeed. Oh, actually, this one’s worse—“ Evan closes his eyes as he thumps his head back into the cabinet hard.
He can hear Remus’s socks on the creaky linoleum floor as he takes a step closer, ”Careful—“
Evan ignores him.
If anything, hitting his head into the cabinet actually felt kind of nice, cathartic. “—if I have to hear another child cry I will legitimately blow my brains out, honest to god—“ Evan cuts himself off with a cringe, cracking one eye open. “Sorry.”
Remus shakes his head as he laughs, elbows bent as he leans back against the counter opposite Evan’s crouched form on the floor.
“You don’t have to say sorry every time. I doubt that god is going to smite you down just for saying his name around me.”
Evan holds in a grimace, shooting a look to the ceiling. Feels awfully bold and stupid, to say a thing like that.
Evan wouldn’t trust the whims of any prick in the sky with a toaster bath ready to be thrown down whenever he so pleased like a human with a magnifying glass above ants, vulnerable and unaware.
“Not helping my odds, though.” Evan says.
Remus hums before he pushes away from the counter top, talking as he walks backwards, his dimple making an appearance as he grins. “Well— just wanted to say good work today Evan. You’ll win the war.”
It’s so sincere every time, it makes Evan want to throw himself off a cliff, only to climb to the top and do it again.
“Aye aye captain.” Evan does a half hearted salute as he eats, and Remus gives him one last look before he turns, making his way back to the living room.
Evan gets ten seconds of peace before his twin comes sliding down the hall and into the kitchen,
Evan lifts a brow, and she gives him a playful eyeroll and a huff. “Remus said he was going to grab ice— bloody useless.”
Evan drops his brow, going back to his food.
“New recipe?” He speaks with his mouth open, no decorum left in his body.
Pandora plops down next to him, a large cup of ice in one hand, and uses her other to grab a piece of chicken from his bowl. “Mhm. Marlene and I tried this new marinade for tofu, so I used the leftover sauce on your chicken.”
Evan sighs, leveling her a look. “I told you I’ll eat tofu, so just make the damn tofu—”
“—you hate tofu!”
“Food is food, I’ll eat whatever—”
“Okay, me when I lie— You’ll sit there and eat everything around it until you give up and have crackers for dinner.”
Evan rolls his eyes, before deciding to roll his entire head, dropping it down to rest on her shoulder as he groans. “I wanna die.”
“I know.”
“Today sucked.”
“I know.”
“I wanna quit and become a Tibetan monk so I can live my days out in peace far away in the mountains where my pager can’t get me.” He whines.
She laughs, the movement jostling his head. “Dont tell Lupin, he’ll get jealous.”
“I don't think that's how religion works, Panda.”
She simply gives him a noncommittal sound, taking his hand when he sets down his bowl. She squeezes his wrist hard, and he sighs. “Thank you.”
She tries to catch his eye when she asks, “Have you been wearing the brace?”
“Yes.” He lies. He wears it in the car, but it’s too inconvenient to bother with while he works.
She squeezes tighter, and Evan lets out another sigh at the pressure on his joints, her fingers cold from the ice.
“Thank you.” He says again, eternally grateful.
She hums. “You wanna come sit? Or rest?”
His answer is immediate. “Rest.” He doesn't have much choice in his decision.
Evan turns and gives a small wave when he walks past the group, and a chorus of goodnight’s trail him back to his bedroom. He collapses under his sheets, finally in heaven.
~~~
For all his sister does for him now, Evan knows that Pandora will never come to the hospital. Not that he’s ever needed her too— until maybe now, when his car won't start.
He calls her, putting his phone on speaker as he opens up the Uber app.
“Evan? Are you okay?” He hears voices in the background go quiet as she speaks.
“ ‘M fine, just wanted to let you know I’ve got a dead battery. I'm gonna Uber, so I'll probably be home late.”
“You’re gonna UBER?” She puts a loud emphasis on the final word, and Evan rolls his eyes hard— he should have expected this.
He closes the app and a second later he hears background noises again, then she beams over the phone, voice bright and pleased. “Stay right where you are Ev! Remus is on his way, he’ll probably be there before an Uber would anyways.”
“You’re so not slick—”
The line goes dead.
He huffs. Sisters.
She’s right, he is faster than any Uber, and it’s not long before he’s parked out front, giving a smile and a wave as Evan approaches the truck, his shoes crunching on the salted ground.
Evan’s heart skips as he slides into the passenger side. Remus’s truck is a warm bubble, sheltering him from the January chill. Evan buckles before sinking in further to the plush seat of the truck's cab, the smell of Remus spreading over him like a gentle balm. Neither of them speak, and he’s grateful for it.
They’re about halfway to the apartment before Evan’s head lolls to the side, and he gives Remus a small, “Thanks.”
“Of course. I’m here anytime for you, if you need, so—” Remus’s sentence had started normal before tipping into sweet and awkward, a gentle flush rising up his tan neck when Evan doesn't respond back, instead just watching him with tired eyes.
Remus looks so warm and comfortable in his flannel lined jacket. Evan should get one of those.
His hair is getting long, the back starting to curl a little bit under his collar. Before he can think otherwise, Evan slides closer to him, reaching a hand out to tug on the curl. “Hair’s getting long.”
“That a bad thing? I’ll ask James to cut it later—“
“Don’t. Looks nice, good for winter too. ‘M jealous.” If Evan had more energy he’d be annoyed at his own lack of proper speech, but his brain needs a break from being a professional, and Remus doesn’t seem to mind.
Remus shoots him a look out of the corner of his eye before shifting his attention back to the road. “You’d look nice with long hair, why don’t you try it too?”
Evan huffs. “Trust me, I have, and it did look nice, but it was a sensory nightmare. If my hair ever goes past my ears I go insane.”
Remus hums, a comfortable silence settling. Evan doesn’t slide back to his original spot, staying close even though the seatbelt is resting awkwardly over his body.
He always forgets that Remus is new, relatively speaking. It feels as though he’s been around forever, always part of Pandora's little group of best friends despite the fact that she only met him five months ago back in August, a chance encounter in the library where the two had found a very rare, common interest between them.
Evan had gotten one warning text during his break a few days later. New friend at the house, he’s a sweetheart. You’ll love him.
Evan had doubted it. Not that he didn’t like her friends, of course he did, but he had a weird thing, with friendship. He’s always liked being on the outside, having the protective layer of his sister in-between to soak up the intensity and expectations attached.
Call it a crutch, but Evan would call it good planning on the universe's end, giving him a twin so he could leech up the small amounts of connection he was able to handle without having to do any of the dirty work.
And god did the amounts need to be small, especially after his year at the hospital. His already shallow social meter had become nearly nonexistent. So yes, he had doubted he would enjoy another one of her friends, especially since that last one to be introduced had been James Potter, sunshine extraordinaire, who wouldn’t know the words volume control even if they hit him in the face.
He had texted his sister back a simple yeah?
His sisters never led him wrong though, replying with Yeah. He’s calm. You guys will work well.
His mouth had pursed at her odd wording at the end, but he shoved the text out of his mind to focus on the rest of his shift.
It had been one of Evan’s better days, and he had intended to hang out with them after his usual routine, but when he had finished his shower and his food, padding back to the living room quietly, it wasn’t long before he was overwhelmed.
Evan took him in as he was distracted on his phone. He was cute, which could be annoying, but tolerable. Evan had thought James was cute too at first, until he opened his mouth.
“Evan, this is Remus. Remus, Evan.” His sister spoke, and Remus had finally looked up, giving him a heart stopping smile. “Hey, it’s great to finally meet you. Pandora talks about you all the time.”
Evan had stared like an idiot into Remus’s huge brown eyes before turning on his heel without a word and fleeing to his room.
Cute, and definitely not tolerable.
Evan doesn’t do well with crushes, and all it took was ten seconds for his brain to melt.
With tremendous effort he had been able to wrangle his mind into submission, and by the next time he had seen Remus again, Evan was able to hold a normal conversation and ignore every likable thing about the man.
But Evan has been on a slippery slope these past few months. Some weeks were easy to ignore the lure of Remus’s gentle nature and warm eyes. Others required more effort, especially with his sister meddling like today.
Evan slides out of the truck onto weary legs, and before he could even close the door Remus was there and taking his backpack from his shoulder, shutting the door for him. “I’ve got it.”
He nods without a fight, instead focusing on keeping his heart rate calm and head empty at the gesture, at the sound of his voice. It was harder to pull away when Evan was tired and craving the comfort that seemed to always follow him when Remus was around.
The door was unlocked, and Evan had gone through his routine, this time eating dinner in the living room, back against the couch as he sat on the floor, blankets piled high in his lap as Dorcas lay above him, hand in his hair.
“So, I have an idea.”
Evan’s head lolls to the side to look at his sister. Despite the fact the words are said to the group, her gaze is on him.
“With Evan’s break at the end of the month, we should be able to find a day for all of us to take a drive, right?”
James perks up, speaking before Evan can ask. “Course. Where to?”
Her eyes twinkle, and Evan’s own narrow as he watches her.
“I thought it’d be a good idea if you all joined Remus and I, and helped us record our first ghost hunting video for youtube.”
Evan’s brows fly up, and he shoots a look to Remus who looks just as surprised. “Youtube?”
“Oh no, don’t tell me you’re giving in to the sellout shit and becoming Zak Bagans.” Dorcas laughs, hand pausing in Evan’s hair.
“Is it really a sellout though, if it’s real? Might as well try and make some money while also getting our names on the radar. Even if the youtube thing doesn’t work out it'd still be fun to take you guys along.” She shoots a look to Remus as she continues, “I promise the spot I found won’t be crazy. Just a light haunting that should give us some good footage.” No exorcisms, she means.
Evan had sat there as they hashed out the plans, internally groaning. He had planned on doing absolutely nothing during his break besides relaxing. Now he had to join the Scooby Doo Gang as they traveled four hours out West to some famous haunted farmhouse maintained by the locals.
Remus had opted out of being on camera, and James had stepped up as Pandora's co-host, his charm and her skill bound to draw in viewers.
Of course it wasn't until a month later, and one long drive in Marlene’s rusty van that his sister did a complete 180, finally assigning Evan a role.
“I can’t be on camera, it’ll scare the ghosts away...” She said, eyes wide and pleading.
Evan knew her reasoning was crock full of bullshit, knew she chose the first thing that popped in her head before she deemed it good enough of an excuse so that she could make him tag along in the future, forever feeding into their codependent twin freak-quency.
Standing outside of the home, everyone else fully prepared and waiting, Evan had no choice but to agree.
With the equipment his sister had already amassed, James and Evan on screen, Marlene recording, Remus and Pandora as actual ghost handlers, and Dorcas just tagging along for the ride, they suddenly had a proper ghost hunting team.
Evan thinks it’s foolish for her to pass along the host job to him, he knows she’d do insane numbers. When his sister got that far away look in her pale green eyes, mind— somewhere else… She would be a much better fit than whatever garbage was about to be recorded as Evan and James stood together, complete opposites in every sense, somehow meant to blend well and entertain.
James focuses on him, voice serious as he drops his hands to rest on Evan’s shoulders. “I promise I’ll keep you safe, Evan.”
Evan rolls his eyes so hard he’s surprised they don’t fall out of his head as he pushes James’s arms off, trying to ignore the camera pointed on them as he walks away. “We’re fucking doomed.”
“No cursing!” Marlene interjects, both her and James catching up as she gets a shot of them walking side by side.
From his right and off camera, Evan hears Dorcas snort. “Oh, this is going to be a nightmare to edit, I already know.”
“I think everything is going to work out exactly the way it’s supposed to.” His sister says, ever cryptic.
Remus was the only quiet one as they set up inside, placing various items that Evan has no clue about in different rooms to find “hot spots.”
Evan simply stood by James's side in front of the large living room windows, setting sun at their backs as James blabbed away the rehearsed blurb he had written, a brief rundown of the property’s history.
‘—and tonight, we’re going to see if the ghost of Charlotte still walks these halls, and find out what really happened that fateful night in 1891.”
“I’m James,”
“and I’m Evan,”
“and this is our Ghost Adventures. Come along if you dare.” They both said at the same time, James’s excitement most likely drowning out Evan’s own monotone voice.
They take clips as they check out the house, James pulling out cue cards before stuffing them back in his pockets, giving information about the family who used to live there.
Once night falls completely, they both take a seat in the living room, dim light shining in from the moon outside, a flashlight on the floor between them, turned off.
James starts them out with introductions. “I’m James, and this is Evan. We’re here to talk for a little bit— To respond, you can touch this flashlight, and it’ll turn on and off.”
The room is silent after that, no sign of any presence.
“Is anyone here with us?” James asks, voice quiet.
With the camera on a tripod for stability, and everyone else in the far corner out of frame, Evan can’t fight the chill that crawls up his spine when the flashlight flickers on for a few seconds before going back out.
James gives Evan a nervous look, both of them tense. Maybe the thought is selfish, but Evan is glad it’s not just him down here. At least James has to experience the same creepy conversation as well.
“We were hoping to speak with Charlotte. Charlotte, are you here with us?” James asks.
The flashlight stays off.
Evan shoots a look off camera, and his sister shakes her head.
Evan speaks next. “Is someone else here?”
The flashlight flicks on.
“We’ve come to talk, is that okay?” James asks, voice kind.
The light stays on, not really giving him an answer.
“Can you turn the light off?” James continues, but the light stays on.
Another look to his sister, who’s now frowning.
Evan cuts in. “I’d like to continue talking. Can you turn the light off for me?” The light slowly goes out, only to reverse and slowly turn back on, smooth and seamless.
It shouldn’t be possible. The flashlight is so sensitive, he’s shocked there wasn’t even a tiny bit of flickering.
A slow drip of unease makes its way down his spine, and Evan says the first thing that comes to his head, not looking to his sister for instructions.
“Are you unhappy that we’re here?” The light goes out abruptly, and the living room ceiling creaks as if someone’s right above them walking.
James whimpers. “Evan—“
Despite his own trepidation, Evan’s had a lifetime of spooky experiences with his sister, and he already knows what to ask to keep the trajectory going.
“Is Charlotte here with you? We want to speak with Charlotte.”
The window behind them rattles, both James and him snap their heads to look at it. Could just be the wind—
Evan asks again, hoping for a response on the flashlight. “You need to be more clear. Is Charlotte here?”
A door on the far end of the house slams shut.
James let out a loud screech, making Evan jump next to him, heart pounding. “Jesus fucking christ James— Can you not?”
“Cursing..” Marlene reminds them, though even she has a wobble to her voice, Dorcas and her huddled close together. Both Pandora and Remus have matching frowns now, attention drawn to where the door had shut.
“Whoever I've been speaking with, was that you who shut the door?” Silence, and the light stays off.
Evan gnaws on his lip, “Are we safe here, in this room?”
The light flicks on, bright and solid.
“Are we safe, being around Charlotte?” The light goes out, and another creak sounds above them.
“Lord have mercy— Remus, please god—“ James stands up, grabbing Evan’s hands and pulling him to his feet as well to drag him over to the rest of them, solidarity in numbers. “It said we aren’t safe around her— I saw some theories online, but I didn’t think it was true—“
Remus puts a hand to James's shoulder. “We’re safe, I promise. The entity isn’t strong enough to hurt us. The only reason it’s able to slam that door is because the house is what’s holding its energy.”
“Charlotte isn’t as strong over here. She’s throwing a tantrum so we’ll come to the room where she’s more powerful.” His sister murmurs, eyes distant as she begins walking. Evan follows right on her heels, Marlene scrambling to grab the camera.
“James and Evan up front! Both of you, repeat what they just said.” Dorcas directs.
His sister slows, shaking herself from the haze and joining Remus behind the camera. Evan summarizes as they walk, unease still sticking in his throat. “We’re on our way to the room where Charlotte seems to be the most active.”
James turns around fully to speak directly to the audience as he walks, putting on a brave face. “There have been disturbing accounts that claim Charlotte wasn’t a victim— and that she in fact was the one who massacred her family that night before ending her own life.”
Jesus Christ, could James not have warned them beforehand about the hidden shit he had found online?
The door to the master bedroom at the end of the house is closed. They set up the tripod again, closer this time since the room is smaller.
Evan places the flashlight back down, his eyes locked with James. “Charlotte, are you here with us?”
Nothing.
“Charlotte, we’re here to talk to you. Are you here?”
After a few seconds, Evan checks the light, but it’s working fine.
“Charlotte, you called us in here. If you don’t answer, we’ll go back to the other room.”
The door slams shut, all of them inside. Evan hears gasps of fear in the corner, and James jumps, biting off a small sound in his throat. Evan quickly grabs his hand to keep him there on the floor.
“Charlotte, turn on the light.”
Nothing.
Remus opens the bedroom door, and this time leans against it so it can’t slam shut again. He nods his head for Evan to continue.
“Charlotte, turn on the light.” It turns on for just a second, bright blinding light before shutting off just as fast.
Evan looks to his sister, who’s biting the inside of her cheek.
“What?” He asks her.
“I don’t think she likes having an audience..” The words sit heavy in the quiet of the room.
“She wants us to be here alone?” James squeezes his hand as he speaks.
“Yes.” Pandora answers, eyes unfocused as she looks beyond.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea.” Remus says, brows furrowed as he looks to them on the floor, and back to Pandora.
With Pandora still checked out, Evan answers for her. “You said she can’t hurt us right? And you’ll be right outside the door. We can ask a few questions and then go back to the other room for a breather.”
Remus looks to James, who nods his head quickly.
“Okay— Just yell if you need us.”
The door shuts gently, leaving James, Evan, and the camera alone.
Hands still clutched, James gives him a light squeeze before speaking.
“It’s just us three now Charlotte. Are you here?”
The light turns on and off easily, and Evan holds in an eye roll, beginning to feel more annoyed than freaked out.
He’s happy to let James take over the questioning, Evan would probably have some not so nice things to say if he opened his mouth.
“We heard about what happened here. Did you die in this room Charlotte?”
The light turns and stays on.
James leans in, whispering into Evan’s ear, warm breath making goosebumps pop up on his skin. “Should I just ask straight up if she’s a murderer?”
Evan chews the inside of his cheek before nodding his head.
“Charlotte, did you kill your family in this house?”
The room goes dark,
“Fuck!” Evan yells, voice cracking.
He leans forward to get away from the feeling, dropping James’s hand so he can clutch at the back of his neck.
The door whips open, “What happened?” Remus asks, tone wildly different from his sister who speaks at the same time “What happened?”
James grabs the flashlight, clicking it on and aiming it at Evan, temporarily blinding him. “Shit, sorry—“ He lowers the flashlight away from his eyes, peeling Evan’s hand away from his neck to look.
“Oh holy fuck— We’re all gonna die.” James whines.
Remus strides over and drops down to his knees, one hand resting on his throat as the other traces the stinging pain with warm fingertips, making him shiver.
“What is it?” Evan croaks.
“We’re leaving. This was a horrible idea—“
Pandora drops to his side as well, eyes wide but not in fear or horror. “Interesting.”
“Pandora,” Remus starts,
“Let’s go. We can talk outside.” She interrupts him, rising to her feet.
Evan stands on shaky legs, both James and Remus at his side.
Dorcas uses her fingers to do a cross from her head to her chest and shoulders, despite the fact that Evan knows she’s an atheist.
Marlene is standing behind her, peaking over her shoulder as she speaks. “This is literally a horror movie. I can’t believe you guys do this shit alone.”
Both Remus and Pandora are silent as they make their way into the cold yard, leaving their things inside.
Being out of the house makes some normalcy return to his sisters eyes, head clearing.
“Tell me what happened.”
Marlene gets in close with the camera as he speaks, and Evan tilts his head for her to film his neck.
“James asked if she killed her family, and right when the lights went out I felt something on the back of my neck— What do you guys see?”
Marlene speaks. “Looks like the bitch scratched you.”
“Cursing..” James mutters, reminding her.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“She scratched me? I thought she couldn’t—“
Remus cuts him off. “She shouldn’t have been able to. You said this wasn’t demonic.” He looks to Pandora, mouth pinched in anger.
“It’s not. She’s bad, yeah, like literally a murderer turned ghost bad, but there’s no reason she should have had enough energy to do that.” Pandora keeps her eyes locked on Evan, and he laughs.
“Oh, don’t start this up again—“
“Start what?” Dorcas asks,
Evan scoffs. “Pandora used to think I had some of her witchy woo woo stuff as well when we were growing up. I can tell you for a fact that I don’t.” He ends his sentence with a strong look towards her.
Pandora ignores his words, pondering. “I think she was able to draw both of our energy when she got mad. Probably had no clue she even could, until that moment.”
“Absolutely horrible idea— You knew this was a possibility this whole time?” Remus asks, incredulous.
“Hey—“ Evan starts, but Pandora cuts in to defend herself.
“I had no idea before. Like Evan said, it was a long time ago when I.. felt things.. But Evan never had any incidents on his own in that house—“ Oh “—and then we moved out and the thoughts went away. We haven’t been in a haunted location together since then, I guess.”
“Time to go then. We can get a hotel nearby—“
Evan snorts. “Nearby? We’re literally in the middle of nowhere.”
“Okay, then we head back tonight instead. Marlene, I can drive if you’re not up for it.” Remus barters, desperate.
James speaks up, voice quiet but gaining confidence the longer he talks. “Who’s to say this won’t happen again though? What if another group comes here and someone gets hurt? Shouldn’t we get rid of her? That’s what you guys do, right? You get rid of the bad ones. She literally murdered her family—“
“Oh god, that other ghost in there is probably one of the fucking kids she killed, they tried to warn us she wasn’t safe to be around. We can’t just leave them like this.” Dorcas says, grief shaking her voice.
Evan doesn’t know if she says it to lighten up the mood, or just for consistency’s sake, “Cursing..” Marlene whispers.
Remus eyes down the house, arms crossed. They all watch silently, already knowing the choice has been made for him.
He sighs hard before he turns back to them. “Fine. But everyone else stays out here. No camera. Pandora and I will be in and out, this won’t take long.”
His sister nods her agreement, giving them all a genuine smile, though it falters a bit when she looks at Evan. “James is right— so it's a good thing we did come. She may not be demonic but she’s still bad, and we wouldn’t have realized if Evan wasn’t here with us—“
Remus shakes his head in disbelief, “I know what you’re trying to say Pandora, and we aren’t even going to touch that conversation right now. Let’s just get this over with.”
The rest of them sit in the van, heater thunking away as it’s cranked to high, and Marlene records them in the backseat. James gives the camera a rundown of the night, leaving out the fact that an active exorcism was currently happening not 50 feet away.
“Make sure to like and subscribe, and stay tuned for more of our Ghost Adventures. This is Evan and James, signing off.”
Marlene clicks the camera button, recording over. “I can’t believe this happened. I mean, I didn’t think Pandora and Remus were lying about what they did, but this is insane.”
“I thought they were lying.” Dorcas says, no remorse.
“I wish they were lying.” James mutters, slouching in the seat.
The ride home is a tense affair, Remus driving silently as Evan sits shotgun, comfortable despite the unexpected turn of the night.
Pandora gives Evan a smile when he leans around the seat, her eyes spelling trouble. They both already know what’s going to happen, even if Remus is still in resistance.
Marlene spends any of her free time for the next week practically glued to the apartment with Pandora as they edit the video, uploading it on a Friday and texting it to a new group chat,
Ghost Hunters >:)
Lena: she’s a beaut. Everyone go watch n like n comment NOW!!!!!
Pandora had waited until Evan got home so they could watch together, putting the video on the TV as they ate cheap ramen.
It’s ridiculous, and silly, and anyone could write off the flashlight and noises in the video as a hoax—
“Charlotte, did you kill your family in this house?”
Seconds before the light goes out, three orbs can be seen drifting directly behind his shoulder.
Evan rewinds, pausing the clip, eyes wide. “That is so fucking creepy. She was right behind me the whole time?”
Pandora nods, slurping down a noodle. “Mhmm.”
He shivers before unpausing, shoving more noodles down his throat, phone buzzing.
Jamie: holy shit!!!!!! literally going to post this everywhere. this is my legacy. Evan we look so cool!!!
Evan doesn’t point out the fact that James is very much not cool in a lot of the scenes.
Everyone else in the group chat responds besides Remus, so Evan messages him privately.
Ev: did you watch the video?
He responds fast.
Re: Yes. Did you?
Evan takes a video of himself and Pandora on the couch still, TV screen showing the paused end credits with the cute logo she had made for the channel.
Remus hearts the video but doesn’t respond. Evan huffs.
Ev: are you still mad?
The text bubble appears and disappears for a few minutes before a message finally comes through.
Re: No.
Evan rolls his eyes, standing. “I’ll be right back.”
Pandora hums as he shuts himself in his bedroom, clicking Remus’s contact.
He answers on the second ring, clearing his throat as he does so.
“Hello?”
“Hi. You wanna tell me the truth now? I saw you typing out an essay.”
Remus sighs, going silent for a second only to sigh again. “I’m not mad, okay? But I’m not happy either.”
“Not happy because I got scratched, or not happy because Pandora's been a pest this past week?”
“Yes and Yes.”
Evan doesn’t even particularly want to go out and do it all over again, but Pandora is so adamant about it that Evan knows it’s already written in the stars.
“You know she wouldn’t suggest it if she thought any of us would be in real danger, right?”
“You were in real danger. You got hurt, Evan. I was right there, and you got hurt.”
Evan bites his lip, traitorous butterflies in his stomach. He squashes them down until they themselves are ghosts.
“It was a scratch Remus. I’m fine. I’ve literally had worse during shifts at the hospital.”
“That really isn’t helping.” Remus says, voice worn. “Just— It doesn’t matter that it was just a scratch. It could have been more—“
“And next time we’ll be better prepared. I won’t leave your side, okay? I’ll even carry around one of your crosses, maybe some garlic around my neck if that’ll help sweeten the deal.”
He can hear the frown in Remus’s voice. “Vampires aren’t real, Evan.”
“So is that a yes to everything else?”
Silence.
“Please?”
A beat,
“I’ll think about it.” Remus finally responds, voice grim. Evan smiles, triumphant.
“Thank you.. What are you up to now?” Evan loses some of his spine as he asks. They don’t do this, they don’t call, yet here Evan is, kicking his feet in bed, a beautiful boy on the other line.
“About to cook some dinner, then working on that one book I told you about.”
Evans's lips twitch. “The self help one? Still?”
He moans. “Yes, still. I should have finished editing two weeks ago but I literally want to rip my eyes out every time I sit down to work on it. I don’t understand how someone can write so many words that say absolutely nothing.”
“Mhm. Maybe you just haven’t reached enlightenment yet. Should probably go back to that chapter and start over.”
Remus’s voice is so playful, it’s almost— “Did you call just to torture me? I know you aren’t so cruel, be nice to me Rosie.”
The butterflies resurrect with all the powers of Christ as they flood his stomach with a vengeance. Evan’s face is burning hot.
Rosie.
“Um—“ Evan squeaks out.
Like literally fucking squeaks. Die Die Die Die oh my god he needs to fucking die.
Breathless, Evan panics. “I’vegottagoPandorascallingforme—“
Evan hangs up.
Rosie Rosie Rosie Rosie Rosie
Dear god, why?
A knock, “Did you say my name?” His sister stands at the door.
Evan shakes his head fast. “Nope.”
She gives him a small smile as she slinks back out, door clicking shut behind her.
Evan has no clue what he just signed himself up for.
~~~