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Chapter Text

"Lor! How much longer are you gonna take?! I need to go to the bathroom!"

"Go downstairs!" she yelled.

"I need to comb my hair!"

"Oh my God. You're so irritating" she rolled her eyes and opened the door "Not a single girl is going to like you even if you comb your hair"

"Don't get me started about your hair when you just woke up and your breath in the morning" and he closed the door.

"My breath is perfectly fine!" she yelled.

"You should talk to a dentist"

Lorraine just rolled her eyes and took her phone. Not new messages, just as she thought. For some reason, she still checked. Just to see if someone would wish her luck her first day in a new school. Of course no one did. She walked to the kitchen just to meet her mom.

"Hey! Are you exited?" she asked. Lorraine shrugged.

"Most likely, terrified"

"Come on, you'll see everything will be fine here" she said. Lorraine nodded "Here, for the walk" and gave her a cupcake she baked that morning. She smiled and called for his brother.

"Roger! We're gonna be late! Stop torturing your hair!" after some minutes, he finally went down "You're gonna end bald"

Just like that, the both of them walked to the school. They learned the way the day before and... Knowing Roger... He could get lost, so her mom made sure to send them together at least a couple of days until they knew their way.

When they arrived to the door, they saw something a bit unusual for the first day after summer.

A fight.

Two boys were fighting really bad in the schooldoor. Instead of helping, everyone was just around them, admiring the scene. Some even recorded it with their phones.

"Where the fuck did we move...?" asked her brother "The first day and there's already a fight"

"Don't you dare to get close to them" she told him "They're probably bad influence"

A teacher finally arrived, parting both of them. As one of them was getting dragged away from the scene, their eyes connected.

Her eyes blurred for a second and then, a vision. It lasted just a second.

Ocean blue eyes looking into her's. Narrowed because of a smile she didn't get to see.

What the fuck was that?

She recovered in just a second. She had visions like that everyday in public, so she had to learn how to hide them.

But they were everytime about other people, other stories. Never looking directly into her. That close.

She shook her head and finally made her way to class. Whoever's eyes were those, she had more important things to take care about right now. 

She needed to find her class.

Chapter Text

Even if it was hard to believe, she actually made it through her first week. She actually made a friend. Just one, but it was way more than she expected. Her brother was already known by the whole highschool, as she expected. He always knew how to talk with people, not like her.

Some people knew her as Roger's sister, some didn't even know her. She didn't care at all. All she cared about was her friend. She was so happy.

She was walking around the corridors when someone appeared in front of her. Their eyes found each other. He was the boy from the fight. She looked at the floor, wanting to get away, but the boy talked.

"Hey! You're the new girl, right?" he asked. She didn't answer. Just walked away. The boy followed her "You're not? But you're Roger's sister, right?" he asked.

She suddenly turned around, making him stop his steps. 

"Don't get close to him"

"What?"

"As his big sister, I don't want people like you near him"

"People like me? You don't know me" he said. Lorraine started walking again.

"I saw enough the other day" she said and walked away, leaving the boy standing there. She didn't care if she sounded dry or like an asshole. She was being real. She didn't want her brother to get close to boys who got into fights the first day of school.

In their break, she got together with her friend.

Now, she was telling her some gossip from the people of the highschool.

"There were rumours about that Nancy was pregnant last year, but she wasn't. Luke, that one playing, fell down the stairs three years ago. And... I think there isn't anything else"

They were sitting on the stands, watching as the players practised for the match that weekend. She was just looking around when someone's eyes locked with her's. A player. The boy from the fight. They locked eyes for more than she noticed and when he was called, he ran away.

Lorrained blinked, confused. What was wrong wit her? Why was she looking at a boy for that long?

"What about... What happened the first day? There was a fight, right?" she asked. 

"Oh yeah. Ed really lost his head for that. You see... Number 3?" she asked, looking at the field. Lorraine looked for number 3. The boy from before "That's Ed. He's... Too good. He saw Charles bullying a kid from first grade and lost it. Even if it was the first day"

Wait, that was it?

"So... He isn't a bad boy?" she asked.

"Nah, not at all. He's just impulsive. He had a lot of problems because of that. He can't sit around things like that"

Oh my God. She just misunderstood everything. She thought he was a bad influence. Talked to him like that earlier... She wanted to die.

"Why do you make that face?" asked her friend.

"I insulted him before because I thought he was a bad boy. He was just trying to be nice..."

"Wait, Ed Warren talked to you?" she asked "Girl! You should've said that sooner!"

"Why? I messed it up"

"Yeah, that kinda sucks, but he's like the most handsome guy in school. Every girl has had a crush on him. He's even famous on instagram" that made her think "Right! You never told me your username, let me follow you!"

"I created the account some days ago... So I don't have much"

It wasn't a lie. She had to delete her old account because of the cyberbylling she was receiving. Calling her a witch, an attention seeker...

Now the only follower she had was her brother and had a black photo as her profile picture. Her friend gasped.

"We need to fix this if you want Warren to fall for you" she said. Lorraine frowned.

"What? I never said that"

"I know you wanted, come on. Let me take care of it"

She sighted and finally gave her the phone. She just... Wanted to be a normal teenager with her social media free of insults.

"The account has to be private and... Right now I won't reveal my face"

"Alright. Got it"

She looked again at the field just to see Ed, looking at her. That kind of face you can't decipher from far away. She felt like a fool, like an asshole. 

And maybe she was.

A week went by since that happened. She had some followers in her instagram account. Probably Cindy's friends. 

She introduced her to more people, so now she had more than four friend. She never had so many friends before. She felt like she was living in a dream. She even forgot about Ed's incident.

Until that history class arrived. 

"You have to work in pairs" said the teacher. She looked at her friend next to her, but the teacher talked again "And they'll be chosen by me" everyone groaned at that.

Instead of making it random, she started throwing names. She was an old woman, so she made a lot of mistakes.

"Is everyone already paired?" she asked, Ed raised his hand.

"I'm not" he said. The woman nodded.

"Alright, you'll do it with Norman"

"Norman already has a pair" he said, sounding tired.

"Everyone has their pair, right?" she asked. Everyone nodded. Lorraine froze. She didn't. No one remembered her. Or maybe didn't wanna pair with her. With the new girl. With the weirdo.

"There's someone left too. We're 30 students in this class" said Ed. Everyone turned around, looking for the person left.

Lorraine, with her face red and body trembling, raised her hand.

"I don't have a pair either, miss" she said, her voice low. The old woman nodded.

"What was your name again?" she asked. Of course, she forgot. As everyone in this class.

"Lorraine Moran"

"Alright, Lorraine with Edward" she said as the bell rang. Everyone got together with their partners. Lorraine got up and walked to him, wanting to talk about the work they had to do.

Instead, Ed gave her a paper with a phone number in it.

"I supposse you don't want to get close to a bad influence, so we'll organize ourselves through the phone, okay? I don't wanna make you do bad things" he said.

"Ed..."

Lorraine was ready to protest, but he didn't let her. He went away, leaving her with the paper in her hand and a mind full of thoughts.

Chapter Text

Lor: hey, Ed. Wanna talk about the project now?

Ed: alright, tell me what i have to do

Lorraine looked through the book. There was a lot, some parte a lot bigger than others. They couldn't discuss that through messages. She hated messages.

Lor: are you at home? 

Ed: ? Why?

Lor: i thought we could discuss it in a call, there's a lot to see

A couple of minutes went by. He saw the message and didn't answer. Wait, was she being too weird? After all, he didn't know her.

Lor: okay, no worries, we can discuss it through messages. Sorry

A minute later, Ed was calling him.

Videocall.

"What...?" she asked "What the fuck?!" 

She looked at herself in the mirror. It was a Wednesday night, she had her ugliest pijamas, with 'Love yourself' in the middle with a rainbow in the background.

She was going to make a videocall with the most handsome guy in school like that. She didn't deserve to live.

She fixed her hair the best way she could and picked it.

"Hey" she greeted. Ed was in his pijamas too. They weren't as humilliating as hers. He looked handsome.

"Hi" He greeted "How's everything?" he asked.

"Good, as usual" what kind of conversation was that?

"Okay. Let's get with this"

During the call, Lorraine couldn't even look at the screen. Ed was looking directly to her. Those eyes made her nervous, she wasn't going to deny it.

"And that would be everything" she finally said. She looked at the clock, almost midnight.

"You were right, that was long" he said. Lorraine smiled and nodded.

"It was" she sighed "Well, see you tomorrow then, I feel like I'm gonna fall asleep right here"

Ed laughed, just a little. Enough to make Lorraine blush.

"I see that" he said "Those judging eyes look tired"

"Oh please" she rolled her eyes "That was— I thought you were a bad kid"

"And you don't anymore?" he asked. Lorraine shook her head.

"Cindy told me what really happened. I'm sorry for... Talking to you like that"

"Okay, I accept it" he said with a smile "Apologies accepted"

"Thanks, I'll finally sleep today" she sighed. A moment later, she regreted her words.

"You couldn't sleep because of me?" he asked. Lorraine blushed and took the phone so only her eyes could be seen by the camera.

"I never said that" she said, her voice filled with nervousness.

"Yes you did" oh, he was smiling. His eyesbrows a little raised.

"You know what? You make nonsense" she said "It's probably because you're tired" she looked around her room, far from his eyes "Have a nice sleep!" 

And hang up.

What was wrong with her?! 

She just hunilliated herself in front of the most popular boy in highschool. Again.

She threw herself to the bed and put the pillow in her face, as if she was trying to choke herself with it. 

Finally, she took her phone again, no new messages. She turned off the light and finally tried to sleep.

It wasn't easy today either.

"Are you gonna come to the match? asked Cindy. 

"I don't know... I don't like it much..." she said. Memories invaded her. How her old classmates threw Coca-Cola to her hair, how her brother was kicked out from the team because he jumped the fence to help her.

The laughs, the phones recording, the noise...

No, she definetly didn't like it.

But, she needed to let that go. She needed to... Start her life again. She needed to let that go. 

She had friends now, it wasn't going to be that bad. 

"Come on, you'll have fun! And Ed will play!"

"I don't care about Ed" she said "But okay, I'll go" she shrugged.

"Perfect! Ed will be happy to see you" she said. Lorraine rolled her eyes "Did you talk about the project?" 

"We did... We made a videocall"

"A videocall?!" yelled Cindy. Lorraine blushed when some people turned.

"You're so loud!"

"A videocall with Ed Warren... You just arrived and you're already kissing the sky"

"You're so embarrasing" Lorraine covered her face with her hands.

Even if she said she didn't care about Ed, that he wasn't going to see him play... She was a bit exited about it.

She was really there. In the match.

She was really seating there, surrounded of people. 

People was sitting next to her, not like in her old highschool, where they let her sit all alone, no one around her. As if she had some kind of desease.

People around her was jumping, cheering happily. Their team was winning. They only had a couple minutes left. 

They were going to win. She had the biggest smile. She didn't care who win and who lost before, she just went to the match to see his brother play, but now... She really involved with them.

Cindy by her side was jumping, cheering. She wasn't, but she clapped when she had to and had a smile in her face. Just in the last minute, the other team scored. They were draw. Only one minute left. It felt like the whole field went silent. 

She could hear the people whispering, saying that they needed to win if they wanted to keep in the league.

When Ed Warren took the ball, some got up. When he ran to score, everyone was up, including herself.

He scored, all the people in there started cheering, including herself. She felt infected with the happiness. 

She clapped and jumped in her place. For the first time in so many time, she felt like a normal teenager. A normal girl. A girl that could go to a match without worrying about bullying. 

She looked at Ed. The biggest smile in her face. Ed, surrounded by his partners, was looking at her. A smile in his face. Even if they were hugging him, cheering with him. He was looking into her eyes.

And Lorraine's smile faded. 

Because she realised that the eyes from her vision were Ed's

Chapter Text

What should she do with that information?

The eyes in her vision were Ed's, but what did that mean?

Why Ed's eyes were in her vision? 

She couldn't stop thinking about it. Why did they look so close as if he was similing? Smiling at her?

"Lor!" yelled Cindy "The class ended five minutes ago! Let's go!" Lorraine put all her things together fastly and they got out of the class.

She got together with her brother and said goodbye to Cindy.

As they were walking around, her brother stopped for a second.

"Wait, I wanna ask about the football team"

He walked to a group of boys. Ed was between them.

She stayed behind, not wanting to interrupt the talk his brother was having.

But Ed Warren walked towards her. A smile in his face. What? What was happening?

"Hey" he greeted. Lorraine looked at him.

"Hi" she just said. She looked at her brother, who was still talking.

"Are you still scared of me?" he asked. Lorraine rolled her eyes.

"I already told you that was a misunderstanding!" she said a bit too loud. 

Ed laughed hard.

"I don't care, I'll keep torturing you" he shrugged.

"Did you do the project? Remember that we have the presentation this Friday"

"I'll have it for Thrusday" he winked at her.

"You better do" 

It was weird. She never acted like this. She was an introvert. It was hard for her to talk with unknown people, but with Ed... For some reason it came out easily.

As if they talked a lot before.

"What's happening here?" asked her brother.

"We were talking about a project we have to do together" said Lorraine.

"A project? You two?" asked Roger. She nodded.

"Life is how it is"

"Yeah, she has to work with the bad boy of the school"

"Stop!" laughed Lorraine. Her brother watched it all with an eyebrow up.

They finally walked away.

"What was that?" asked Roger suddenly. Lorraine frowned "With Warren"

"Oh, he was just joking" she shrugged.

"Joking? But like in a good way, right?" he asked. She smiled. He wasn't used to that.

"Of course" she looked at him "Don't worry too much or you'll end bald sooner than expected"

"I'm not gonna end bald! Dad has hair" he made a pause for some seconds "But be careful, okay? Don't trust everyone"

She nodded.

The Friday arrived. 

The presentation did too.

And she couldn't remember how nervous she got until that day.

When the teacher called their name, Lorraine got up trembling. 

Her entire body was trembling.

While Ed put the presentation in the board, Lorraine couldn't even read what was in her paper because of how bad she was trembling.

When Ed was ready to start, looked at Lorraine. Quietly, he walked to her side.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Lorraine nodded, but her eyes were glassy "What's wrong?"

"I... Don't have good experiences with presentations"

She was making a presentation about the middle age when someone threw a crumbled paper to her.

All of the class laughed. 

Other person threw another, reaching now her head.

She didn't stop talking, she needed to have a good grade in this. The teacher was just listening, he never looked at the board. And even if he did, he wouldn't care, because he thought she was a witch too.

In the end, she was presenting with paper falling to her face, chest and arms without stop. Even if her voice was steady, hot tears fell around her cheeks.

And this just repeated over and over, sometimes they threw papers, others they wrote witch in their phone and showed it to her... 

She had no one in her side. No one to take care of her. No one to tell her it was okay.

"Hey, I don't know what happened before, but it won't happen today, okay? You can relax. I'm here with you" he took her hand so it would stop trembltremblt'll be okay"

Her eyes blurred. Another vision.

"Don't worry baby, you'll never be alone again" a kiss in her forehead "I'm here with you"

Ed's mouth was the one that said that sentence. 

He looked different, a bit older and with deep sideburns. But he was Ed Warren. She knew it.

She came back to reality, Ed in front of her with a worried face. She just had a vision in front of him, he just saw how her eyes disconnected from reality.

Her mind was fast, reminding herself that he had no idea about her vision, that probably he didn't notice anything.

"Okay, thanks Ed" she answered. Nodding. 

Ed started talking to the class. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could do this. She was prepared. 

She started talking. At the beggining, her voice was trembling and couldn't make eye contact with the class, but as she kept talking and didn't hear a single laugh, she raised her eyes from the floor.

Everyone was paying attention, looking into her. Cindy was smiling at her, encouraging her. Everyone was silent. No phones, no paper flying, just her voice. 

When the presentation was over, she couldn't take her smile off her face. She did it. She actually did a presentation without crying. 

When the presentation ended, the bell rang. The end of the class. Cindy got closer to her.

"You did so good, Lor! You're good at talking in front of people!" she said.

If only she knew.

Ed, who was putting his stuff inside his bag, ran when he realised Lorraine was going to get out of the class.

"Lorraine! Wait!" he yelled. She stopped her steps until he was in front of her. Cindy next to them, watching the pair with her eyebrows raised "Can we talk for a second?" 

Lorraine raised her eyebrows and looked at Cindy. She nodded.

"I'll be in the cafeteria" she said and walked away. Oh, she could sense how much she was going to make fun of her later.

When they were alone in the class, Ed talked.

"You did a good job there, Lorraine" he suddenly said "You have good skills when you talk in front of people" he said. Lorraine laughed. 

"Thanks. You do too" she smiled "Is that what you wanted to say?"

"Actually... I wanted to ask something" he said. Lorraine frowned "When we were talking before the presentation, you kinda... Got out for a second. What was that?" he asked.

No. Please no.

"Got... Out?" she asked.

"Yeah, out of your... Mind?" he talked, not totally sure "As if... you were seeing something I couldn't"

She felt out of breath. She couldn't let them know. No one could know. Her mind raced fast. She needed to make an excuse.

"I... Yeah... I do that all the time..." she said "It's just lack of attention, you know? For a second, I wasn't thinking about anything, but I wasn't seeing anything either"

What kind of explanation was that? 

Ed nodded, pressing his lips in a thin line.

"So... Everything okay?" he asked. She nodded.

"Of course!" she probably had the fakest smile.

Ed nodded and smiled to her too. She didn't understand. No boy ever talked to her if it wasn't to make fun of her, what did Ed want?

Maybe he wanted to make fun of her too. He was very handsome and... She never had a boyfriend. She couldn't make herself believe things that couldn't happen.

Even if Ed wasn't a bad person, sometimes men likes to make women create false hope... She suffered enough, she couldn't let that happen.

So, she wiped the smile off her face.

"Well, gotta go" she just said, almost running out of the class. 

Chapter Text

Saying that the only friends a "witch" has are ghost can sound cruel, but for Lorraine, it had been a reality for so many time. When no one listen you, no one understands you, you look for that understanding, for a couple of ears that listens.

And when they're a ghost's, you hold onto that too.

She didn't think she would need some ears to listen to her now, she had friends... But she couldn't talk about everything with them. That's why, when an old lady sat next to her in the park bench, she didn't move. She knew she was a ghost, but didn't move.

"You look sad" said the lady "What's wrong, sweety?"

"I'm confused" she whispered "I... Don't wanna trust, don't wanna let anyone know me because... They won't believe me, they'll think I'm crazy. A witch..." she played with her hands nervously "But when he's around, I just wanna peel every layer of me to show him. Even my darkest secret"

"It's true that you can't trust everyone" the old lady said "But you can't life without trusting anyone either. You have to cry on someone's shoulder when you need to, to share happy moments with someone..." she looked at her eyes "I know you won't trust today or tomorrow, but please give Warren a chance" 

Just when she was about to answer, her phone received a notification. It was from instagram. 

Ed.Warren_ requested to follow you.

When she turned again, the old lady dissapeared. 

She looked at her phone. Even if this was giving him a chance to get under her skin, she accepted him. 

The old lady told her to give him a chance. How did she know that? How did she know she was talking about Ed? She was a ghost, but couldn't read her mind.

She got into her own instagram. Photos taken by Cindy received her. The profile picture had herself backwards, the wind moving her hair while she looked at the sunset. She had two posts, one having an icecream. Her face was hidden behind the icecream, the only thing visible was the corners of her mouth because of the smile and her hair. 

The second picture had a little stray cat. She wanted to take it home, but her mom didn't let her. The only things visible were the cat ad her shoes.

She sighed. Her instagram was boring, nothing interesting to find there.

Then, she entered into Ed's.

698 followers.

45 posts.

Was it too embarrassing to say she saw them all?

Even if he was handsome in real life, for some reason he was even more in the photos.

A smile decored her face until the face of a girl appeared in one of the photos.

A blonde girl, shiny and perfect smile, looking into the camera. Her hand was in his shoulder. They looked happy. She looked at the description.

Gonna miss you

Oh.

He was going to miss her?

Well, it wasn't a secret the long distance relationships were popular these days. 

She looked at the girl again. She actually looked a bit older. They looked comfortable with each other. That only broke her heart even further. Why was she even trying?

She put the phone inside her pocket and walked home.

That old woman didn't know what she was talking about.

She wanted to stop. 

She wanted to stop clicking at Ed's instagram. But she couldn't

And now it was 3 am and she was still up, looking through his photos. She analyzed them. In some, Ed had a big and happy smile, like the one she saw in the match when they won. In others, he had a tense smile, as if he didn't want to take the picture or he wasn't that confident.

She sighed, scrolling.

"Why am I doing this..." she rolled her eyes. Just when she was about to turn off the phone, someone knocked at her window. 

She jumped in her bed, touching accidentally the phone. She got up and checked. No one there. Did she imagine it?

When she entered in the bed, she received a message.

Ed: Cant sleep?

She looked at the screen. She just liked a post from 6 months ago. At 3 am.

She wanted to throw her phone through that damn window.

What should she do?

Ed: hello? someone there?

She wanted to punch his face. 

She took her phone and opened the chat. Answering was the best she could do.

Lor: Sorry, I was just scrolling

Ed: at 3 am? in my account?

Lor: Idk, im bored

Ed: you could sleep, we have class tomorrow

Lor: today is friday. We don't have class tomorrow

Ed: right

Lorraine let out a laugh a bit too loud.

Ed: are you laughing at me?

Her laugh faded.

Lor: How did you know?

Ed: i'm at your window

She turned to her window. What? She got up slowly and walked to open it. She looked around, nothing seemed out of place.

Ed: don't tell me you really went to check

Lor: You're stupid

Ed: HAHAHAHAHAH YOU DID

Ed: im not the stupid one here

Lor: im gonna block you

Ed: think about that

Ed: if you do, you won't be able to stalk me at 3 am

Lor: I wasn't stalking

Ed: right, sorry.

Ed: just a casual scroll in my account at 3 am

Ed: nothing to worry about

Lor: i won't block you

Lor: i'll kill you

Lor: jus wait for monday

Ed: you're funny

Lorraine bit her lip with a smile. She wasn't noticing, but her eyes were shinning. Her feet moving happily. 

Ed: why aren't you sleeping?

Lor: dont know, just cant

She didn't wanna tell him that the overthinking didn't let her. Overthinking about him.

Lor: and you?

Ed: some nights i cant sleep

Ed: even if im tired, i cant

Lor: you dont know why?

Ed: nope

Ed: but sometimes im happy for it

Ed: like today, im talking with you instead of sleeping

Lor: come on

Lor: as if i were more interesting than sleeping

Ed: for me, you are

Lorraine's face blushed. Hard. Was he being for real? Did he really mean that?

He has a girlfriend. He has a girlfriend...

Even if she kept repeating those words in her head, she couldn't stop feeling the butterflies. The famous butterflies.

Ed: What? You don't believe it

Lor: i cant

Ed: i wish you could just leave those fears behind and talk to me

Lor: i don't think you wanna know

Lor: and we dont even know each other

Ed: i assure you i wanna know

Ed: and, for me, it's like i've known you for a lifetime

Oh. My. God.

Lorraine's face was red, completely red. She sat on the bed, looking at the screen, speechless.

Ed: too fast, right?

Ed: just forget it, see you on monday

Ed disconnected.

Lorraine couldn't write, couldn't speak, couldn't move. She just sat there, looking at the message.

and, for me, its like ive known you for a lifetime

Even if it had spelling mistakes, it was the most beautiful thing she ever read.

Chapter Text

She couldn't sleep.

That message was still in the back of her head. Everytime she closed her eyes, she saw it. Never leaving her alone.

After showing Cindy the chat and hearing her for a whole hour begging her to post an insta storie just to see if he liked, she decided she would do it.

"Let me see" her friend said. She frowned at her.

"See what?"

"Your photos"

"I don't have photos" she shrugged.

"What? You don't have photos of yourself?" she asked. Lorraine shook her head "Why?!"

"I never had the opportunity to take one" she shrugged. Cindy pressed her little lips in a thin line.

"Alright, you know what? We can meet today and take you a photo... A mirror photo! They're always great and you don't have to show you face"

"Okay... You come to my house?" she asked. Cindy nodded.

A friend was going to go to her house. Her mom was really gonna have a heart attack.

"Mom, just act normal, for God's sake" she rolled her eyes.

"This is the best day of my life" she said. Lorraine laughed.

"You're making me nervous!" someone knocked at her door "It's her, go"

Her mom dissapeared into her room and she went to open the door to Cindy.

The went upstairs and started with their plan.

Cindy opened her closet and started getting things.

"Okay, try this on"

"Isn't this... Too informal?"

"Believe me, it's perfect" while Lorraine changed, Cindy looked through her closet "You have pretty good things in here"

"Thanks" she nodded.

When she was dressed, Cindy teached her how to pose.

"Just stick your phone here, in your face... Perfect! Now... Lean on the table"

"On the table?"

"Do as I say!" she did "Now relax and take the picture"

She did. She took a picture of herself. Cindy took her phone with a smile.

"It's perfect!" she cheered "Now let's find a song"

After scrolling for a bit trying to find a song, Cindy gasped.

"I have it" she clicked the screen "I fucking have it"

"Wildest dreams?" asked Lorraine "That doesn't look good"

The song started playing with the photo in the background.

Say you'll remember me

Standing in a nice dress

Staring at the sunset, babe

Red lips and rosy cheeks

Say you'll see me agaim

Even if it's just in your wildest dreams

"Cindy!" she yelled "This is- Oh my God" she laughed "You're crazy"

"Should I post it?" she asked "If you don't want to, we can just leave it there, but this will leave him with his mouth open"

"Okay" she sighed "Post it"

She actually did. She posted it.

While they waited, they started watching a show in Lorraine's laptop, but 10 minutes after starting it, Lorraine's phone buzzed.

Ed.Warren_ liked your story

Ed.Warren_ answered to your story: nice story

Their screams could be heard from the moon.

"What is wrong with this guy?!" asked Cindy, walking around the room. Lorraine laughed.

"This... I don't know. This never happened to me before"

"This didn't happen to anyone!" she threw herself to the bed again, ending next to Lorraine "Wait a couple of minutes to answer. Don't wanna look crazy"

"We are crazy"

The longest couple of minutes of her life.

"Okay, answer. Tell him... It's for you"

"I'm not gonna say that!" she yelled. Lorraine thought for a second and started typing.

Lor: didnt get you as a swiftie

They were giggling, kicking their feet.

Ed: I never said I liked Taylor Swift

"Because he likes you!" yelled Cindy.

"Don't be so loud! My dad is gonna hear us!" giggled Lorraine.

Lor: why is it nice then?

Ed: Because you're in it

"He is in love with you. This is it" Cindy threw herself to Lorraine's bed, ruining it.

"What should I say?!" asked Lorraine, face fully red "This boy is gonna kill me"

"Tell him..." she started thinking "I don't know! No one ever declared himself like that to me before!"

"He didn't declared"

"I hope you don't mean that because I'm already looking for a dress for the wedding"

Lorraine's phone buzzed.

Ed: meet me tomorrow at the match behind the stands

Ed: i'll clarify those doubts in your mind

Lor: okay

"This is crazy" murmured Cindy.

"He's crazy" said Lorraine.

"Yeah, crazy for you"

The match day arrived sooner than expected.

Lorraine put on the outfit Cindy told her to and entered looked for Cindy.

When she saw her between the students, she started going up stairs.

Until she heard it.

"Is that the witch over there?" she heard a voice asking. She froze in the stairs.

"Oh she is!" the boy started walking to her "Hey! Witch!"

She started running.

Fast, far away.

While she ran, she tried to decipher what were they doing there, in her new space. Then, she saw the poster of the match.

They were playing against her old highschool.

How could she miss that? Why would she go? She was so careful with everything to not see them again, not in social media, not in the supermarket. Never. What happened to her?

Ed Warren. That's what happened.

She was so happy, so exited at the posibility of having a boyfriend. Of having someone. 

She ended inside of the building. In an empty class. She could hear how they looked for her, laughing. Comments like 'she cast the disappearance spell' or 'she got into the top hat with the rabbit' cut her insides like a knife.

They didn't change. Nothing changed. She just had a nice two months in her new school, but that was about to end because she knew this people. She knew they would tell all the people, just like they told everyone when someone saw her talking to a ghost. 

She got under a table and started crying, and couldn't stop. She heard how they got tired of looking for her, but couldn't move. She was paralysed. Terrified. More than any demon could terrify her.

Her life was just going to become a hell again, because it'll never change. It'll haunt her forever.

She could hear people cheer. She knew when the match ended, but still couldn't move.

After some minutes of pure silence, she heard it.

"Lorraine!" someone screamed "Lorraine! Please!"

She could recognize it. Ed. He was looking for her. She wanted to scream. To scream for him so he would come and safe her.

But she knew the end. She knew he would eventually hear the truth and run away. She couldn't risk it.

When he was close, she looked around. A window.

She could escape through that window so Ed wouldn't see her. She wanted everything but him seeing her in that state.

The clothes they chose were ruined, full of dust and wrinkles. The little makeup she wore was run and her face fully wet and red. Her entire body was trembling as she climbed through the window. When she jumped on the grass, she tried running away, but she just couldn't.

When she was getting up, someone talked.

"Hey! The witch is here!" someone yelled. She fell to the ground again "Did you think we were still looking for you?" asked the girl with a loud laugh.

"Pathetic" said a boy from behind "Look at yourself, aren't you ashamed?"

"Leave me alone" she whispered. They gasped.

"Oh my God, she knows how to talk" laughed the boy "I think it's the first time we hear it"

"Were you wearing makeup?" laughed the girl "Why do you even try... How are we not gonna laugh at you? It's like you ask for it"

They laughed again. Her headache went worse. Her head was leaned against the building. She couldn't. She couldn't take this. She was tired, full of bad thoughts.

And then, he arrived.

"Lorraine!" he screamed, running to her. Ed. He threw himself to her, to check if she was okay. She wanted to hide, to dig a hole in the ground and bury herself alive. She couldn't even make eye-contact with him "Are you okay? What happened?" 

"Isn't this a nice surprise?" said the girl "The witch even got a boyfriend" she laughed "And he isn't a ghost!"

Lorraine closed her eyes. She said it. Now Ed knew it. She saw how the look in his eyes changed.

"Witch?" he asked. They laughed.

"She didn't tell you? She sees dead people and has visions. We don't know if it's true but... Whatever it is, she's crazy"

Yeah, whatever it was, she was cursed. Cursed to loneliness, cursed...

"Lorraine, don't listen to them, okay?" he stroke her forehead "I got you"

And suddenly, she wasn't in the school. 

She was hanging from a cliff.

And Ed was holding her hand.

He pulled her up, she climbed the best she could. When they were both safe, Ed stroked her face, but looked terrified. He had those sideburns again. That older look. She couldn't move, couldn't do anything. It was like she was seeing a first-person film. 

"It's okay. I got you" he gasped while Lorraine cried loud "I got you"

When she came back to reality, Ed was looking into her, into her eyes. He saw it closer this time. He had to know it by now.

"That was it! Did you see it?!" asked the girl. Ed suddenly got up under everyone's eyes, because now they had a lot of people around them. Many people looking and doing nothing, just like before.

Ed, without saying a word, lifted her and walked with her in bridal style until he reached a bench, where he made her lay.

"Wait here, okay? I'll come back in just a second"

Then, he dissapeared. She could hear the screams from where she was, but she didn't have the strengh to turn her head. For some reason, that vision left her exhausted.

After a couple of minutes, he came back, lifted her again and started walking with her in his arms to her house.

In silence.

But she could hear how fast his heart beated, how fast his breathing was.

She closed her eyes, her nose pressed against the material of Ed's shirt. 

Because that scent... She felt like she fell asleep with that scent a thousand times.

And maybe she did.

Chapter Text

They arrived to Lorraine's house. Ed reached how he could and knocked on the door, careful to not wake up Lorraine, who was sleeping in his arms.

Lorraine's mom opened the door and gasped.

"Lorraine?!" she asked. Ed shushed her.

"She's just asleep. She's very tired"

"What happened?" she asked "Follow me, let's put her in bed"

They walked around the house until they reached Lorraine's room. Ed looked around for a moment, a pile of clothes on the chair, makeup lying in the desk. She layed her on her bed and looked at her for a moment. He smiled seeing her sleepy face and went out of the room, following Lorraine's mom.

"What happened? She went to the match very happy"

"Some people was... Bullying her. She got really nervous" he saw how her eyes shifted.

"Oh God... Not again" she leaned against the wall, stroking her face.

"This happened before?"

"She lived a real hell in her old highschool. She didn't wanna tell us because we were struggling with money..." a tear fell down her cheek "She was really liking this place, I don't understand..."

"I think the match we had today was against her old highschool. The bullying didn't come from students that we knew"

"My poor girl... She suffers a lot already and society has to turn their backs at her..."

"Is it... Real? That she sees things?"

"We always knew she was special. God blessed her with that gift, but society made her think it's a curse" she wiped the tears that didn't stop coming "You have no idea how many people she helps. She's an angel"

Ed just listened. Surprised. Among all the things he thought, this one wasn't in them. She could see... Things that he couldn't and that was tormenting her just because some jerks.

"Can I... Stay until she gets up?" he asked. Lorraine's mom nodded.

"As you want. Are you her friend?"

"Yes" 

Lorraine opened her eyes slowly and looked around.

The first thing she saw?

Ed Warren asleep in the edge of her bed, holding her hand. Even if she was a mess, tired as fuck and full of fear, she smiled. He made her smile. 

"Ed?" she asked. The boy woke up in a second.

"Lorraine" he whispered "Are you okay?"

"I am, and you?"

"I'm perfect"

"How much time did I sleep?" she asked. He looked at the clock.

"It's 9 am, so... 13 hours"

"Oh my God" she closed her eyes "How much time have you been here?"

"13 hours"

"You didn't go home?" she asked. He shook his head "Ed! You didn't need to stay!"

"I wanted to. Needed to check that you were okay"

She looked around and her eyes fell on their interlinked hands. Ed's hands were full of... Blood?

She pulled his arm closer to her, making him gasp.

"What's this?" she asked "Don't you tell me you fought them"

"I did" he shrugged "Now, no one will touch a single hair of yours"

"Why did you do that?! Are you insane?! You could've get hurt"

"I'm surprise you think that when the first time we met I won a fight"

"You're stupid"

"I like you, Lorraine" he suddenly said "Actually, I think I even... Love you. I don't know why, but it's like I know we're meant to each other. You're mine and I'm yours, from a long time ago"

Lorraine looked at him with her big blue eyes. Did he just... Confess his love? She didn't even brush her teeth!

"Ed..." she started, but the door swang open.

"Lorraine!" screamed Cindy "Why did you run like that?! I chased you all along the field and couldn't find you! I thought those idiots hurt you!" 

"I'm okay" she said with a smile. That was when she looked next to Lorraine. Ed. Holding hands with Lorraine. Looking like you would look at a bird that poops on your jacket when you're proposing to someone.

"What...?" she asked. Then, she gasped "Oh my God! I'm sorry!" and she got out of the room.

All they could do was laugh, right? Ed laughed softly and stroke Lorraine's face.

"Let's have breakfast" he said.

When they got out of Lorraine's room, they found someone. Lorraine's father. And he didn't look happy.

"What the fuck is a boy doing in your room, Lorraine?!" asked her father.

"Dad... I..."

"He had my permission" said Lorraine's mother, appearing down the hall with a pan in her hand "I let him"

"Why the fuck would you-?"

"Talk to me like thta again and you'll eat this pan instead of food this morning"

Lorraine couldn't help but laugh when his dad pressed his lips together and walked to the kitchen, following his wife.

"They're always like that, ignore them"

Ed looked the path where they walked with a smile. 

When they sat at the table, Cindy was there. Ed sat next to her while Lorraine prepared breakfast with her mom while they talked.

"You just ruined the best moment of my life"

"I didn't know you would confess at 9 am!" she yelled-whispered.

"I couldn't hold it"

Then, Roger appeared.

"What the fuck is Warren doing here at 9 am?" he asked. Lorraine smiled.

"Language"

"Shut up, you're suspicious" he frowned "Didn't you tell me to not get close to him?" Lorraine slammed the dish in front of his face.

"Eat and shut up" she sat in her chair "You'll wash the dishes later"

"I hate you"

Ed watched the interaction with a big smile. Cindy saw it and smiled too. Ed never had a girlfriend before, never. Maybe he was waiting for Lorraine.

When they were done, Lorraine went to the door with both of them.

"Thanks for yesterday, really" she smiled "I don't know what would've happened if you weren't there"

"I did it because I wanted"

"Just don't get into fights again, okay?" she smiled to both of them "See you on Monday" and closed the door.

When she turned, she found her father and her brother, both arms closed and looking directly at her.

"What was he doing here?"

After explaining everything and saying how Ed got her out of that hell, she was back at her room. She took her phone. No new messagess. No one wrote her. Well, that was better than reading the things she had to read when she got out of that highschool. 

They told her all kind of things until she deleted her account. 

She sighed and sat on her desk, she would do some homework to clear her mind, to stop thinking. She needed to stop thinking and remembering.

Until the vision came back to her.

Why was she hanging from a cliff holding Ed's hand? And why did it seem like she... Wasn't in control?

Even in the visions, she could move her body like she wanted, and talk when she wanted.

But the visions with Ed... She couldn't get away from him, couldn't talk to him... It was like...

Like they were a memory.

She then remembered the old lady. She had to know. She had to know what to do.

She got dressed and got out of her house, running to that park. The old woman was there, sitting on the bench.

She ran and stood in front of her.

"Who is Ed?" she asked "Why do I keep having visions when I'm with him?"

"You know? My husband was an Ed too" she smiled "We have been together for 50 years until he had to go... I stayed alive for 20 years more, without him" the woman smiled "You have no idea how painful is to live without the love of your life"

"Who are you?" she asked with a frown.

"My name is Lorraine" she said "Lorraine Warren"

Chapter Text

"What...?" she asked. Then, she saw it. Their eyes were the same color, that shiny blue her mom always said was unique "You're..."

"I'm your ancestor" she said with a smile "I'm here to guide you"

"How could..."

"I've been here all along" she got up "All your life"

"I never saw you..."

"Because that gift God gave you... I had it too. I know how to hide myself"

Lorraine was confused, very confused. She had no idea this could happen. Her ancerstor? Her ancestor had Ed's surname? Did that mean...?

"And yes, your Ed was also my Ed" the old lady took her hands "I was scared too. I never had an easy life either... But Ed made it better, made it all better. As I told you, you have to have someone to rely one, a shoulder to cry"

"Why're you... Here? Why didn't you cross?"

"I had to make sure my soul got together with Ed's again" she said "The pain of a life without Ed didn't let me cross"

"So..." she started "Does that mean... We'll have a similar life?" she asked. The old lady nodded "Will this... Will all of this go? All this pain?"

"You know... The pain never goes away. I'm not gonna lie. When I passed away, some people still thought I was a monster, or a liar" her face had a sad smile "But sometimes... A single person can change everything. Ed did it to me. When I wasn't believed by the people around me, I looked at Ed. He always had this blind faith for me. Always believed on me, so he made it all less painful"

Lorraine couldn't help but cry. She could feel it, the devotion, the love. 

"But... How do I know that will happen to me? We aren't the same person... My Ed isn't your Ed..."

"Because even if you two hate each other, you'll crawl back together. When the souls are in love... There's nothing we can do"

"I don't want him to get hurt. He got into a fight for me and..." the tears started going faster and faster "I don't wanna lose him"

"You won't" the old woman wiped her face "For me, Ed was my protector, the one who defended me when I wasn't strong enough" she stroke her face "He won't mind getting hurt for you if you'll wait for him to clean his wounds and end your day together"

"What should I do, then?" she asked.

"Go look for him, Lorraine" she said "The sooner you get together, the less it'll hurt for all of us" 

"What will happen with you then?" she asked.

"I'll cross and reunite with Ed. The ancestor can cross when they make sure the soul is safe. And you'll be"

Lorraine smiled, but before she ran away, she had to ask.

"Will we... Be happy?"

"You will. You'll see"

With that, Lorraine got away, running. She had to find Ed. She left her phone at home, so she ran through the town, looking for him. The hours passed until it was darkening the sky. She had to find him, she needed to find him.

She ended in a big park. She could hear music in the background, probably a birthday or something. Ariana Grande in her ears while she ran. Then, she closed her eyes. She looked for him in her mind.

She saw him, in a Gazebo, all alone.

She opened her eyes and started running again. She didn't know where it was, but it was like her legs knew. Maybe it was her ancestor, maybe it was her soul, but she finally saw him. Sitting in a bench, thinking.

When he saw her, he opened his eyes wide.

"What are you doing here? You should be resting"

"I love you too" she said, out of breath "I love you too, so much it hurts"

"Wait, really?"

"You're the only one who makes me feel safe, who makes me feel like I could talk and talk and I'll always be heard" she talked non-stop "When I first saw you, I had a vision and since then, I keep having these visions of our life before this one"

"Our life before this one?"

"We were together in our previous life. We were married... We had the same names and the same faces"

She could see the confussion in Ed's eyes. He wasn't gonna believe her now? She heard the start of  Elvis' song and just knew it. Another vision was coming.

And if she was right about this connection, she could show him.

"I'm confused, Lorraine. I-"

But Lorraine took both his hands, sticking their palms together. And it appeared in front of her eyes. 

Ed's face in front of her, their bodies together, swinging with the same song they were listening but louder now. They were in the living room of a house. Even if they didn't know where that was, she felt it so familiar. 

She closed her eyes and listened at the song.

Like a river flows

Surely to the sea

Darling, so it goes

Some things are meant to be

Take my hand

Take my whole life too

For I can't help

Falling in love with you

She opened her eyes again to see Ed opening them. With the look in his eyes, she knew it. He saw it too. Their hands are still touching, trembling.

"What was that?" he asked, disoriented.

"That was me" she bit her lip, there wasn't a way to go back now "That was us"

Ed looks even more confused. He looks into her eyes, looking for any explanation.

"Even if it was first-person, I didn't have control of my body" he said "As if... It was a..." she saw he couldn't find the word, so she helped him.

"A memory" she whispered "It was a memory" her voice broke because of the tears "You know that house, that living room..."

"I do" he said, a frown in his face "I... felt love. But not this love" he seemed confused, trying to find to right words "It was like..."

"An old love" she nodded "A love you have for someone you know for so long" Lorraine tried to stop crying, to make her voice sound clearer, but couldn't "In our previous life we loved each other. We got married and I... Had this visions too. You were the only one who didn't make me feel like a liar or a monster, you made me feel safe. Like a normal person"

"That's why I've always felt like I knew you" he said fastly "That's why everytime I look at you I feel like... Like"

"Like you're home?"

"Yes! I thought I was crazy"

"You're not" she laughed "I'm sorry... I've been seeing this visions for so long... But I was scared. Scared of you. Of what did this mean to you" she looked at the ground "I've always known in the back of my head we were meant for each other, but never said it because I didn't know if you wanted... This destiny"

"And why did you come now? How did you find me?"

"My ancestor guided me" she said "She... Lost you. Had to live so many time without you... She couldn't cross because of the pain she went through. She had to make sure our souls were going to be together again. That I wasn't going to let the fear win"

"All this time... I had dreams about you. I couldn't focus on football or school because you were always in my mind. Since the first day we met. Since then, it was like something was pushing me into your arms, over and over"

"I'm sorry" cried Lorraine, letting her head rest on his chest "I'm a coward, I should've..."

"Never say that again" he ordered "You're nothing but brave and strong. You had to carry all that alone..." he made her look at him "And now, I should be scared of all this. Ghosts and previous lifes... But instead of that, I feel like I just started living"

Lorraine couldn't stop herself when she jumped on him, linking their lips. And they just fitted. they fitted like they were meant for each other. And they were. Ed had lips so Lorraine could kiss them and Lorraine had lips so Ed could kiss them. They knew it.

When they parted, Ed seemed speechless, but talked.

"I love you so much" he said "So fucking much it hurts"

"I love you too" she cried and kissed him again. Slower now, just feeling his lips. 

And they knew it. Their love was so strong not even death could tear it apart.

Suddenly Lorraine remembered it.

"Wait, what're you gonna do with your girlfriend?" she asked. Ed frowned at her.

"Girlfriend? What girlfriend?" he asked "I've never had a girlfriend"

"Are we goona start this relationship with lies? I saw it" she suddenly stick out her hand "Give me your phone"

Ed did without hesitation.

Lorraine got into his instagram and looked for the post. When she had it, she turned the phone. Just to hear Ed laughing at her.

"Hey! Don't laugh!"

"That's my sister!" he yelled, still laughing.

"Sister?" she asked, looking into the screen. Oh, she could see it now. Ed didn't stop laughing. Her face got burning red.

"Don't you tell me you were jealous all this time" he took her hand "Were you?" oh, he was teasing her.

"Shut up" she rolled her eyes "Who would post something like that about his sister? Brothers hate sisters and sisters hate brothers" she asked.

"She went to study to Canada. I was going to miss her" he shrugged "Don't worry baby, you're the only one my soul can see" and leaned to kiss her cheek.

Lorraine's chest tightened as she held Ed's hand. She knew that, no matter how hard life could get, that hand would hold hers forever.