A single dandelion swayed along with the gentle breeze, your hand reaching down to pluck it as your gym teacher continued to list off pairs of students for today's activity; partnered workouts. "Morrison, Cohen. Murphy, Smith. Phelps, L/N. Jefferson...", you dropped the flower that was within your hand, wondering if you had just heard that correctly. "He did not just say Phelps, did he?", you internally groaned to yourself before Todd and Maple walked past you, giving you an apologetic look before your lilac haired friend spoke up, "Yeesh, sorry Y/N! Try not to let him get to you.", she advised before herself and Todd walked off to start the assignment.

You smiled at your friends before turning around, looking among the group of students in an attempt to spot your less than desired partner for today, "Where is that guy? Might as well get to it, I don't need to have points deducted because of him.", you mumbled to yourself before you felt someone give the back of your head a flick, catching you off guard, "H-hey!", you quickly spun around, now eye to eye with Travis, "Looks like we're stuck together. Let's just get this over with. Try not to make us look bad in front of Coach Jensen, my grades can't flop just because you don't wanna do sit ups.", he annoyedly remarked, walking off.

You rolled your eyes as you followed behind him, running a hand though your hair, "Trust me, I'm not excited about this either, Travis. But yeah, let's just get this over with. You want to start off with a lap around the track?". The blond boy in front of you shrugged, "Whatever, just don't show off and sprint. My leg's fucked up so I can't go that fast.", he explained. Eyes shifting down to look upon his legs, you saw a large purple bruise on his ankle, it was definitely not a pretty sight. Feeling a shiver go down your spine as you saw his injury, curiosity got the better of you, leading you to ask, "Geez, what the hell happened? That looks bad. You sure you'll be alright?".

Sure you knew Travis hated your guts and you certainly weren't fond of him either, but you were a sympathetic person and couldn't help but feel bad after seeing that horrible bruise. Reaching the track, he turned to look at you, eyebrow raised as if he was surprised to hear you possibly be concerned for him, "It's nothing. Quit being nosy, Y/N. Worry about your own problems.", his tone being as nasty as ever.

You sighed, "So much for being nice...", you thought to yourself before beginning to jog at a steady pace, Travis jogging along besides you as a few other pairs of students did the same. The two of you jogged in silence for a while before to your surprise, Travis started to strike up a conversation, "Hey, speaking of being nosy, did you hear about those rumors going around about you?", he said, glancing over at you while continuing to jog, "Huh? What rumors? I didn't realize I was that important for people to go around spreading rumors about me.", you sarcastically remarked, taking steady breaths in order to speak clearly.

He laughed, "People are saying you and Pigtails are dating. That's hilarious.", he snickered. "Oh, people are saying that?", you asked, looking over at him just as you finished your lap around the track, the both of you now walking over towards the grassy field, "Well, it's not a rumor. Sal and I have been dating for a while now, we just don't go around making it obvious I guess?", you stated, wiping a bit of sweat off your brow as Travis stared at you in disbelief.

Once what you had just said processed within his head, he loudly exclaimed, "What the fuck? You two freaks are actually dating?", making you jump slightly at the sudden change of tone. Looking over your shoulder, you gave him a smug smile, "What? Jealous I landed myself the cutest boy in school?", you teased, laughing as you sat upon the fluffy grass, "Hands off Travis, those pigtails are mine.", you joked.

Furrowing his brows, he looked away, "T-tch! As if! Gross...", as he sat next to you upon the field, you noticed a bit of a red tint across his cheeks, he was...blushing? You had no clue why he'd be blushing, but you figured maybe the topic of relationships possibly made him uncomfortable, considering how conservative his beliefs were.

"Let's do sit ups, here, I'll hold down your feet.", you suggested, hands placed upon the tips of his sneakers, "Whatever...", he replied, beginning to lift himself up and letting himself go down, it was clear he was struggling slightly with the exercise. Once again, your kind heart got the better of you. Looking around the PE field, you noticed Coach Jensen was occupied with chatting up the school janitor in the opposite direction. "Hey, he isn't looking. You can stop for now.", you said, Travis quickly taking the opportunity to take a break from the tiring set of sit ups.

Panting, he looked towards you with a confused look on his face, a bit of sweat dripping down the side of his face, "You know, you're weird.", he bluntly stated. "Huh? What makes you say that? I mean, I know I'm weird, but what did I do?", you asked, eyes fixated upon your gym teacher just in case he looked your direction and caught you slacking off. "You're weird because you're being nice to me, even though I tried to fight your boyfriend before. And I hate your little group of friends. What'd they think if they saw you being all chummy with me?", he asked.

Giving it some thinking, you responded honestly, "They'd just say that's how I am. I know you're an asshole to us, but, I'm not going to stoop down to your level and be an asshole back. I don't enjoy being mean to people, even if they're mean to me first. Plus, my dad used to always tell me, if someone's lashing out or taking their anger out on other people, it's always gotta do with something going on in their own life, so try your best to be a little compassionate towards them. Even if they don't deserve it sometimes.", you paused, hugging your knees against your chest as you glanced over at your gym partner, who was staring back at you with a look you've never seen before, "I'm just guessing you've got your own stuff going on that makes you act the way you do. But, hey, what do I know? Sorry if it sounds like I'm assuming your life story.".

Something inside Travis clicked once he heard your explanation for being kind towards him despite him being nothing but awful towards you and your friends, like a sensation of both remorse and realization. He clutched onto the cross hanging from his neck. "Oh, shit. Jensen's looking. Hurry, let's act like we're doing crunches.", before Travis could respond to what you had said, the two of you were instantly back to doing grueling exercises.

You and Travis continued the assignment in silence, nothing really needed to be said anyways, the atmosphere felt a lot lighter after you had spoken sincerely to your blond gym partner, almost as if that negative aura around him had been lifted ever so slightly.

Class was over a lot quicker then you had expected, that wonderful sound of a whistle being blown signaling students to head towards the locker rooms. Just as you were about to catch up with Maple and head up to the girl's locker room, Travis called out to you, "Hey, Y/N.", your head turning to face him, "Yeah?". Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he continued, "Thanks...for helping me out today, you didn't have to do that but you did anyways. I don't know if you're stupid, naive, or just too nice for your own good, but thanks.", his tone was much less harsher than usual, now being reduced to a simple overly sarcastic way of speaking.

For a second you simply looked back at him, before giving him a half smile, still unsure of how to react to this sudden change of pace, "Don't worry about it. Later, Travis. See ya tomorrow.", you called out before walking off. As you changed within the locker room, you thought to yourself, "Was that...an attempt at being a decent human being? I mean, he did suggest I was stupid, but hey. Progress.".
* * *
"Ash, Todd, you uh, might wanna pinch your nose when we go in. This place reeks.", you warned your brunette friend as she gave you a thumbs up, raising a hand to cover the lower half of her face, "Don't gotta tell me twice, Y/N.", she replied. Larry was the first to walk into the room Megan resided in within the fifth floor, followed by Sal, yourself, then Todd and Ash.

The five of you had decided during lunch that today was a good day to go ghost hunting, Ash would be staying at Addison Apartments for a while anyways for tutoring with Todd, and Todd had made some adjustments to the Super Gear Boy he wanted to supervise. Sal reached out and took ahold of your hand, giving it a soft squeeze within the dim room, a signal the two of you had adapted as silent a way of saying, "I'm here for you.".

You returned the gentle squeeze, making Sal smile underneath his prosthetic as he looked back at you. "Alright, so we've seen the apparition of that man in my bathroom, that must be who Megan is referring to, right? Her mother's 'friend'?", Todd asked Sal, who nodded in response as the group made it into the cramped bathroom, "Yeah, so that only leaves Megan's mom as the only ghost you guys haven't seen yet. She's really difficult to actually make appear though, but with the adjustments you made we'll definitely be able to see her. Let's try and talk to Megan for a bit though.", he suggested, taking the opportunity to hand you the device.

A bit confused, you began to question him, "Huh? You want me to use it this time?". He nodded, "Yeah, of course! Your Megan's favorite, I'm sure she's more likely to appear if you're the one doing it.", Larry now chiming in, "Yeah, Y/N seems to be good with kids. Consider Megan practice for when you guys actually pop one out.", he joked, giving Sal's shoulder a playful jab. "Larry, cut it out before I get Y/N to beat you up.", Sal jokingly warned him, his ears beginning to turn a light shade of red. You couldn't help but giggle at the exchange between the two boys, but your attention quickly shifted back towards the task at hand; summoning Megan.

"Alright...", your fingers pressed upon the Super Gear Boy's newly improved buttons, the device beginning to radiate that signature green glow, "Megan? You there?", you asked out loud as the glow continued to shine brighter. Your friends shielded their eyes as the glow reached its peak, the air within the room shifting once that familiar pile of flesh and tissue appeared on the floor, quickly manifesting itself into the figure of the little ghostly girl.

"Y/N! Sally! Larry! Hi guys, what're you doing up here?", she asked in that sickly sweet voice of hers, sending a chill down Ash and Todd's spine, "Oh, you brought more friends? I think I remember the brown haired girl, but I've never seen him before.", referring to Todd. You gave Megan a kind smile before you began to introduce the unfamiliar faces, "Hey Megan! Yeah, we brought some other pals today. You've met Ash once before I think, and as for the boy, his name is Todd! He's really smart, he's the one who helped us fix up this device to communicate with you.", you explained to her, holding up the Super Gear Boy.

Megan stared at Todd with a curious expression on her face before she gave him a big smile, her small hand reaching out to point at him, "Oh yeah! He's got glasses, so he has to be smart.". Her innocent childish remark made the entire group laugh. After a bit more unimportant chit chat, you remembered the reason the group was there; to catch a glimpse and hopefully be able to communicate with Megan's mother, one of those most elusive ghosts within the apartment building.

Just as Larry was about to begin explaining the plot of Child's Play to the little ghost girl, you scolded him before starting to question Megan, "Hey, Megan, we've all been wanting to ask you something for a while now, I hope you don't mind us asking, but, do you know where your mom is? Is she here on the fifth floor? Do you think we'd be able to talk to her?", you gently asked her, not wanting to risk possibly upsetting her since it was a touchy subject. She simply looked back at you, blinking slowly before a small smile appeared on her pale face, "I know where she is! She's in the room you guys are in, silly. But just so you know, she doesn't talk much.", she explained to you, the gang exchanging excited looks with one another.

"Thanks, Megan! You're a really big help. We're gonna go try and talk to her now, okay? We'll come back soon and hang out with you some more once we get more free time.", Sallyface assured her, the little girl nodding understandingly before offering the group a wave, "Okay! See you guys soon! If you see my mommy, tell her I said hi. Bye!", and once she finished that statement, her figure melted back into the ground in the usual grotesque fashion it usually did.

"Jesus...", Larry rubbed the back of his neck, a troubled look on his face, "Still not used to that.". Ash and Todd nodded in agreement, "No kidding.", she remarked. Handing the Super Gear Boy back to Sal, you pushed open the bathroom door for your friends to exit, "Alright, she said she's in the room, so we should be able to find her pretty quickly. Let's do this guys!", you excitedly announced, happy to have more information on the ghosts that reside in the building.

Your boyfriend couldn't help but give your head a few pats as he stood beside you, seeing you all giddy like that was just too cute for him to handle even if you were inside a creepy old apartment, "Nice job, Y/N. You always know just what to say to Megan.", he stated, the group of teens now all standing in the center of the abandoned apartment. "Alright lovebirds, let's try and see Megan's mom! This place gives me the creeps, I'd like to go back to my room and take a fat nap as soon as possible.", Larry remarked, outstretching his arms while yawning at the same time.

Sallyface nodded and looked upon his group of friends, "Okay, you guys ready? Remember, we've never seen her before so try not to get too startled if she looks a little off putting. I'm sure she'll be just as nice as Megan though, can't be that bad, right?", he asked, the group agreeing with him as he once again pressed upon the buttons of the device, green glow once again shining bright before it died down, and yet again the air in the room shifted, yet this time it felt much different than how it felt before. It felt darker, and more...sinister.

Suddenly, in an instant, the old tattered mattress within the room began to have something form upon it, the familiar sight of flesh and tissue quickly coming together into the shape of a woman; but the sight of this woman was grizzlier than any other ghost you had encountered yet. Her body was seemingly tangled into the metallic coils of the mattress, covered in deep wounds from which dark blood oozed out of, a look of complete and utter misery upon her face, mouth agape and milky eyes open wide.

Ashley reached out and grabbed ahold of your hand, Todd doing the same and reaching for Ashley's hand, their faces beginning to drain of all color as they continued to behold the terrible sight before them, "F-fucking shit...!", Larry loudly shouted, placing his hand over his mouth. The only people in the room who seemed to have no reaction to the horrendous apparition were yourself and Sallyface, the two of you taking hesitant a step closer to Megan's mother, "U-uh, hello? You're Megan's mom, right? Uh, I'm Sal.", your boyfriend spoke.

She said nothing in response. He glanced over at you, gesturing towards the ghost, whispering, "You want to try talking to her?". With a gulp, you nervously smiled and nodded, turning your head to look up at Megan's mother, your voice shaking as you attempted to introduce yourself, "Um, h-hello! We're actually, f-friends of Megan! Y-your...", as you stared up at the ghostly woman, those milky eyes of her abruptly shifted to look directly at you, making you feel as if your heart had stopped as you uttered out the last word of your sentence "...d-daughter...". After you said that, the last thing you remembered was feeling lightheaded and turning to look at Sallyface, before everything went black.
* * *
"M-mmm...", you mumbled to yourself as the feeling of something slightly damp and cold was being pressed upon your forehead, slowly making you gain consciousness. The blurry sight of a blue haired figure sitting besides you was the first thing you saw, instantly you recognized the person as Sal.

"H-huh...? Sal, w-what happened?", you confusedly asked him, squinting your eyes as they attempted to adjust themselves to the dim lighting of your room, before a sharp pain rang through your head, causing you to flinch, "A-ah! Ouch!", you whined. "Y/N!", he worryingly called out, removing the ice pack and reaching out to take ahold of your hand, "Don't move too quickly, try to relax.", he advised.

The aching pain within your head faded away as you allowed your body to relax, sitting up against your pillows which were perfectly placed behind yourself; Sal had put them there so you could be able to rest as comfortably as possible.

His hand now in yours, you made eye contact with your caring boyfriend, a confused look on your face as you began to question him about how you had ended up in bed, "S-sally, what the hell happened? When did I end up back in bed? And why does my head hurt so damn much?", you asked, rubbing the sore spot upon your left temple. "The last thing I remember is taking the elevator to the fifth floor...everything's a blur afterwards.", you explained to him, eyes staring back into his.

Setting the ice pack onto your nightstand, he reached out and gently placed his hand upon your face, glad that you seemed to be back to your normal self even though you had a small bump on your head, "You don't remember anything after that? Well...after we talked to Megan, we talked to her mom.", he paused, "...you passed out after you saw her. And you hit your head on the ground pretty hard, too. I don't blame you though, she was really hard to look at. Larry had to carry you back to your place, and Ash and Todd decided it'd be best to save tutoring for another day, so they went home. I think seeing Megan's mom shook all of us up really, really badly.", he said with a shiver at remembering the sight of the ghost from earlier.

Hearing him recount the day's events made you feel a mix of uneasiness and embarrassment, you didn't want to remember what you had seen earlier, but you also felt silly for passing out in the moment, "You're kidding me, right? I passed out? Gosh, I'm such a wuss.", you groaned, hiding your face behind your hands as you began to blush with embarrassment.

Sal laughed softly, but quickly began to comfort you, placing his hand on your shoulder as he gently rubbed it, "Hey, don't be embarrassed, Y/N. If it makes you feel any better, Larry threw up, which made Todd throw up, and Ashley ended up throwing up after seeing them do it. Yeesh, the fifth floor reeks even more than it did before now.", he said with an amused smile, which made you smile as well, letting out a stifled chuckle.

There was no denying it, Sallyface always knew just what to say to make you feel better. "Hah, gross, man.", you said with a laugh, "I guess we weren't prepared for what we were going to see, aye Sal?", you jokingly remarked. "No kidding.", he replied, staying quiet for a while before he spoke up again, "Sorry I couldn't carry you, by the way. I uh, I tried