Snow swirled around Fletcher as he walked down the street and on to Holloway Academy grounds. Instinctively, he pulled his scarf up as bitter wind cracked against his skin. As he wiggled his toes in his cheap tennis shoes, he could hear his dad’s voice echo in his head, you ought to wear boots. He was right as per usual but Fletcher wouldn’t voice that. Under the glow of the street lights, he was surprised at how dark it still was. There were no stars, no moon, just darkness over taking the school. Almost like a beacon, the Wildes house was lit with Christmas lights. There was an electric feeling in the air. With a twinge of excitement, Fletcher was happy Christmas break was over. They could finally deal with what was to come.

Heading into the building, Fletcher couldn’t help but notice the inside of the Wildes dorm was totally transformed. The space was now well lit, warm and bustling with life. Streamers hung on doorways along with helium balloons drifting around the ceiling while a hum of people laughing echoed throughout the whole building. This sort of liveliness was how Fletcher always imagined what life in the dorms would have been like. He was always a tiny bit envious of the boarder student because there had to be some sort of comradery living in a space so close together, almost like a pseudo family. With his own lack of siblings, he’d imagine a dorm would be the closest he’d ever get.

Navigating down the halls, he spotted groups of kids playing a variety of games and laughing while they spoke. In one of the common rooms, he spotted Sam munching away. Large plastic tables were set at the back of the room and loaded with all kinds of junk food. Based on the color of the food alone, Fletcher decided it would probably break his diet for swim. The decorations were surprisingly good. If he’d had to guess he would say Sam made them. Gold and blue alarm clock decals were speckled across the walls. On the other side of the room were Roman and Warren sprawled on a couch with their legs tangled in a knot. Warren would toss a gummy bear in the air and Roman would snap his head back trying to catch it. Looking at the number of gummy bears surrounding him, he wasn’t very good at it. Fletcher snuck up beside Sam.

“Have you guys-”

“Yes.” Sam said, turning around. The slight red haze in his eyes and crumbs hanging from his mouth said more than enough. “We tried for about ten minutes, no ghost. Ellis said we should try when you get here.”

“Ah, okay.” Fletcher said as he grabbed a handful of chips, completely ignoring that he was about to break his strict diet. “So, what now...Talk to the spirit?”

The word spirit caught Roman’s attention. Untangling himself Warren, he practically fell off the couch. As he approached it looked like he was going to say something but decided against it at the last second. Fletcher couldn’t help but notice he was wearing the ugly jacket again. Silently, he considered how difficult it would be to take the jacket from him and burn it. Like a lost puppy, Warren followed behind Roman.

“Should we get Ellis?” Sam asked cautiously, eyeing Warren who’d swung his arm around Roman in what seemed like some ploy to show ownership of him.

“Why do we need Ellie? Are we not good enough for you?” Warren was just a hair too close to Roman’s face as he spoke but Roman didn’t seem to notice or care.

“Ellis.” Fletcher corrected.

“Can we have a moment in private with Roman?” Sam said with a sly smile.

“You can say whatever you want to both of us,” Warren replied.

“Sorry, Warren. I don’t think Sammy’s going to accept that.” Roman gently pushed him back as Sam gritted his teeth at the nickname.

“No fun.” Warren muttered as he strolled out of the room.

The moment he was out of the door, Sam launched forward and slammed it shut. With his back against the door, he let out a sigh. Instead of starting the conversation, Roman decided the snack table was far more interesting. Fletcher couldn’t understand it, but the way Roman was picking through a pack of gummy worms was infuriating. It could have been the nonchalant attitude about it all but Fletcher was more likely to believe he’d just gotten over whatever magical charisma Roman carried.

“So, are we going to talk about what happened?” Sam asked.

“What?” Roman whipped around with gummy worms hanging out of his mouth.

“Helga, Ghosts, our plan?” Fletcher suggested, his irritation rising with every twitch of Roman’s mouth.

“Oh yeah. I gave Helga some hair. Didn’t have an option.” Roman bite a gummy worm cleans in half, clearly not caring about anything going on. “I was at Ellis’s over the break and he didn’t mention seeing her.”

Fletcher couldn’t help but laugh. Roman wouldn’t even pick up the phone for Sam but he was always at Ellis’s beck and call. He never really could wrap his mind around how Roman valued people.

“So, you talked to Ellis over the break.” Sam accused.

“Yeah, his mom made me a fruit cake. Can’t exactly ignore the head mistress, now, can I?” As always Roman had an excuse for everything.

“Whatever. We should find Ellis. we can play the game down in that room we painted. Should be private enough” Defeated, Sam led the way out of the room.

Peeking in each room as they went up and down the hall, they finally found Ellis in one of the dorm rooms sitting in a circle with about five other people. His posture was even tighter than usual, practically doll-like. Looking straight forward with a pained expression, it was evident that Ellis wasn’t interested in what was going on but he’d have rather been the perfect host than have fun. Beck was sitting beside him laughing and smiling with the little charm necklace Fletcher bought her for Christmas.

“Hey!” She waved at them as they walked in. “We are playing truth or dare care to join.”

“No thanks, babe.” Fletcher replied with a slight wince not wanting to disappoint her but she’d already dropped her rosy lips into a pout. “Maybe just one round?”

“Okay! Truth or dare, Roman.” Beck smiled as she spoke but it was a little over enthusiastic.

“Yeah, I’m not playing. Puppy dog eyes don’t work on me.” Roman responded.

“I dare you to kiss the prettiest person in the room.” She said ignoring his answer.

Admittedly, the dare bothered Fletcher more than it should have. It was harmless fun but he couldn’t get over his new found distrust in Roman. Beck was like a rock for him, and wouldn't do anything to hurt him but Roman on the other hand, he doubted Roman cared much. A small aching worry occurred to Fletcher. What if Roman has a crush on Beck?

“You...you want me to kiss your boyfriend?” Roman was being entirely serious as he awkwardly stopped mid step. The room erupted with laughter but there was no joke. The discomfort on Roman’s face was apparent as his cheeks turned a rosy red. “Ellis, please. Can we go?”

The instant relief that crossed Ellis’s face was akin to a patient getting morphine. Rushing up from the circle, he went to Roman. Fletcher couldn’t quite make out what Ellis was saying but the speed his mouth was moving made him seem rather grateful or pissed. The other kids echoed ohs and some cheap jokes about the two but Roman was already too embarrassed to argue. Half hauling Roman into the hall, Ellis blew past Fletcher and Sam. Following them, Sam made an offhand comment to Fletcher about the other boys but Fletcher didn’t care to listen. Once they’d caught up, Fletcher noticed the stiffness in Ellis’s jaw as he narrowed his eyes.

“Why were you late?” The normal civilities in Ellis’s voice were gone, replaced by a tone that was usually reserved for Roman.

“I had to walk. Dad was working late.” Fletcher sheepishly admitted.

“You could have called me. I’d would have picked you up.” Ellis let out a sigh but dropped the topic. “Anyways, we can’t go through with the plan now. Not with this many people here.”

“We’ve been waiting way too long for this. If we don’t do something it’s only going to get worse.” Sam countered.

Fletcher didn’t pay much attention to the bickering but rather on the light footsteps approaching them. Hovering a few feet away, Warren reappeared solely to eavesdrop. Totally unaware, the boys kept talking with increasing volume.

“I said no!” Ellis snapped as he slapped Sam’s arm.

“Guys...” Fletcher tried to get their attention

“Last time I checked you don’t make decisions for everyone.” Ignoring Fletcher entirely, Sam replied with a chilling calmness in his voice. “Roman, yes, or no?”

“Seriously, quiet-” Fletcher tried again.

“I think we should. I mean what’s the harm?” As Roman spoke, Warren stepped over the group looping his arm around Roman in his oddly possessive way.

“What are we talking about?” Warren said with a cocky grin.

“Has he been here the entire time?” Ellis paused to look at Fletcher who nodded in reply. “Huh, weird.”

“So, what’s the cause of all this commotion?” Warren asked again, his smile not reaching his eyes.

“Oh, Sam and Roman want to play with a Ouija board.” Fletcher answered honestly.

Honesty more often than not was far more convincing than any lie could ever be. Remove a tiny bit of context and say it with a smile and people will rarely question it. Plus, there was no chance of being caught because it was already the truth.

“Let’s do it.” Warren smiled as he spoke, moving his arm to Fletcher instead. “You can’t hold out on me Fletchy.”

There was nothing more infuriating than Warren Park calling him Fletchy as if the two were friends. Like most people, Fletcher only tolerated Warren due to his association with Roman but now that he and Roman were on shaky ground at best, that didn’t matter. Shoving Warren off, Fletcher was almost ready to say something but the moment he opened his mouth the words were lost in translation. He was mad but also incapable of confronting him.

“What’s going on?” Beck appeared at the door.

“The boys are looking to play with some ghosts.” Warren made a failed attempt at a spooky noise.

Roman quickly shot him the Why do you do this to us? Look before shifting himself towards Ellis. The realization of his honesty backfiring hit him all at once and nothing could move the dread settling in the back of his throat.

“Oh, babe! I want to play too.” Beck tucked a blonde curl behind her ear as she spoke. Fletcher found the comment a bit off as she’d expressed a very certain disbelief in the supernatural more than once. “Come on.”

“No.” Ellis snipped. He and Roman exchanged a silent conversation solely with facial expressions. Although Fletcher wasn’t adapted to the odd form of communication, he got the gist that Roman was telling Ellis to say yes. “Fine.”

“Oh, Ellie is becoming Roman’s-” Warren started off with sneer before quickly being shut down by Roman

“Knock it off, Warren. If you want to play, you have to play nice.”

Roman’s warning was enough to silence Warren. Awkwardly, they made their way down stairs to the empty room. The cans of half used paint still sat in the corner of the room. The wall that they had so diligently painted already began to form new cracks, deeper than the previous but the other boys didn’t seem to care. Sam laid out the board in the center of the room. Carefully, Ellis placed candles around the board in a circle before Roman would light them. Unceremoniously, the boys took a seat forming a circle while Beck watched with a hint of curiosity in her eyes. She flicked the main light off, leaving everyone in the glow of the candles. She joined the boys but sat so close to Roman they were practically touching.

“So how does this work?” Beck asked, her eyes solely focusing on Roman.

“Well, we ask the spirits questions and they answer. Have you never seen a movie? It’s like that.” Sam inquired but didn’t care to hear her answer. “Should we start?”

“I mean it is the witching hour.” Roman noted.

“Then let's go.” Sam paused, taking in a deep breath.

Everyone placed their fingertips on the planchette. Fletcher noticed Ellis was wearing the grad ring on his middle finger. Swallowing hard he prayed no one else would notice but Beck’s keen observation skills were impeccable.

“Hey, isn't that an old grad ring?” She said skeptically, eyeing Ellis. “Why would you have that? That’s from three-”

“It was supposed to be Prue’s.” Ellis lied as easily as he breathed. “Can we move on?”

“Yes.” Sam answered. “Are there any spirits with us tonight?”

Slowly the planchette slid its way over the yes. Beck timidly feigned fear and leaned closer to Roman who’d stiffened up immediately before trading spots with Warren. Secretly, Fletcher was thankful but he tried to hide the relief from his expression.

“Who is with us?” Sam asked and the planchette jolted across the board. What’s with spirits and not wanting to tell us their name, Fletcher thought. Slowly the spirit started to spell. “G...O... G... O. Your name is Gogo...”

“It’s telling us to leave.” Ellis hissed.

The planchette creeped across the board slowly as it began to spell something out. Fletcher tried to keep track of the letters in his head but the spirit was moving too fast. Warren pulled his hand back as if the board had tried to bite him.

“C...H...O...K... E.” Warren spelt out. “Choke. Why’s it saying that?”

The spirit launched into spelling the word over and over again until the candles blew out. For a moment Fletcher could swear he heard radio static crackling in the distance but once Roman relit a candle it fizzled out.

“Kay this isn't funny anymore.” Warren laughed dryly in an almost angry tone. “Cut the shit, Schuyler.”

“I’m not doing anything.” Sam said without emotion in his voice. “Blame the ghost.”

“Yeah, cause so many people die in high school dorm rooms. Oh, wait they don’t!” Warren snapped back “You are intentionally-”

“Stop.” Ellis said as his eyes followed the planchette. The board spelt out Holloway in rapid succession.

“Oh clever.” Warren’s growl died out as the board started to spell Ellis.

“What the hell does it want with me?”

In the reflection of the little plastic circle, they used to see the letter Fletcher swore he could see a glimmer of a figure. As the others let go of the planchette to argue the legitimacy of the encounter, Fletcher felt drawn to the plastic piece. Slowly picking it up, he held it up in the air and for just one moment he saw a little boy, no older than eight with his eyes set on Ellis. A sort of seeping hatred emanated from him. The candles almost flickered out again but in the split second of darkness the boy was gone again.

“Are you still with us?” Sam asked as he took the planchette from Fletcher putting it back in its rightful place. The planchette shifted to no. “Who are you?”

“D... A... V... I. S” Beck spelt aloud. “This isn’t funny. It’s cruel. He was a real person and you guys want to use him for some cheap thrills? I’m over this.”

“I’m not doing anything.” As Sam spoke, he visibly realized his mistake. If he’d have just gone along with it being a joke, they could have had solid communication without fear of intervention.

“Oh really? Okay. How did you die, Davis? Where is the body?” Beck snapped, defending Davis as if she knew him. It occurred to Fletcher that she’d defended him far more than she ever would for him. Roman uncrossed his legs and kicked the board across the room in a desperate attempt to silence Davis. “What the hell?”

“Sorry, that’s just really messed up. We shouldn’t have joked about that.” Roman said smoothly.

Standing up Beck let out a slew of curse words all directed at the cruelty of the joke. Her face turned a rather unflattering red as she waved her hands around as if she was going to swing at the next person who disagreed. Warren seemed to agree as he stood up beside her.

“This is beyond fucked. Playing this kind of prank at a fundraiser event for the kid? You’re all sick. I can’t believe you tricked us into doing this.” Beck spat as she tried to storm out of the room but Fletcher caught her ankle before she could move.

“Wait, I can-”

“I want to be alone, Fletcher.”

Beck left with Warren following silently behind her although his absence was more likely out of fear then anger. In a way Fletcher was a little thankful they were gone, it meant they could be more honest with their approach to Davis. Sam retrieved the board placing it back in the center of the circle. A somberness hung in the air as the four boys placed their fingers back on the planchette.

“Why are you haunting us?” Sam asked. Pretty obvious, we killed the kid, Fletcher thought silently. The spirit spelt out ‘need peace’. “How do we give you that?”

“Seven Tunnels,” Roman said as he watched the board. “Grim...Grimoire?”

“What does that mean?” Sam looked around as if he was speaking to Davis directly.

“Get...The...Grimoire.” Roman read out.

“Why?” The spirit spelt out ‘Spell bring peace’.

“What spell?” Ellis became visibly uncomfortable, not frightened but angry.

“Obliitus Itsortis” Roman said slowly.

In the reflection of the plastic, the boy reappeared. Fletcher muttered for Sam to stop as he reached for the planchette but froze when he realized he could see the boy in front of him. The boy's eyes were vacant but that wasn’t what struck Fletcher as odd. It was the two full hand size bruises that wrapped around his thin neck. Slowly, the boy dropped his jaw and let out a screech like radio static. Clutching his ears, Fletcher silently pleaded for it to stop but the other boys didn’t even flinch.

“STOP!” Fletcher shouted as he snatched the board up and shoved it into Sam’s bag. “We got what we needed.”

“What is wrong with you?” Sam questioned lacking any sympathy or concern,

“Do you not hear that?” Fletcher motioned for the other boys to follow him into the hall. Sam blew out the candles before packing up while Ellis and Roman hovered at the door waiting for him. Thankfully, the screeching boy didn’t chase after them. “When we talked to the first ghost, I saw a little boy through the eye of the planchette.”

“Normally, I’d call you crazy but considering it’s now common for me to cry gold, I’ll take your word for it.” Ellis said as he dusted off his slacks.

“You should have mentioned it earlier. I want to see.” Sam said half excited, half joking.

“Sorry, I didn't want my girlfriend to know we were hanging out with a dead eight-year-old.” Fletcher tried to sound angry but it came out as defeated but Sam only shrugged in reply.

“So, what’s the plan?” Roman asked

“Grimoire, spell, get kick ass magic powers.” Sam said in a childish tone, as if this were fun for everyone. Maybe it was for him.

“And Helga and the potion?”

“Wait, what?” Ellis asked.

“Oh yeah, Helga is making a potion. Did she come and steal your hair?” Roman said casually.

“No and quite frankly the fact neither of you warned me is a bit...no it’s a massive disappointment.” Ellis shifted his weight and tightly crossed his arms “Roman, I literally saw you over the break. I brought you a fruit cake.”

“I’m sorry.” Sam said

“I’m not.” Roman said but Fletcher couldn’t tell if it was a joke or genuine.

“Doesn’t matter now, she attacked Fletcher and I while I was driving, so she is strictly on the do not trust list.”

Fletcher still wasn’t sure how he felt about the entire situation with Helga. On one hand he didn’t want to drink a potion that could potentially kill him but on the other, she knew far more of this world then they did. He wasn’t supposed to be magical, that's what she said at the cabin but suddenly he was seeing ghosts. She could provide answers the other boys couldn’t. He was only half listening as Sam tried to dissect what Davis had told them.

“Well, a grimoire is a spell book.” Ellis read off his phone. “Not sure about seven tunnels.”

“Easy, the tunnels under suicide seven. I skateboard there on occasion.” Sam answered. “But what about the first ghost?”

“Who cares he isn’t haunting us.” Roman added.

Fletcher didn’t entirely agree with that mentality but he was also the only one who saw the boy. He couldn’t help but feel a little drawn to the boy’s void eyes. The bruises around his neck left more questions than answered. Who’d hurt this boy? Why was he there? Would he be okay? Could he be okay? Fletcher didn’t have an answer but he so desperately craved one.

“I should go do damage control with Warren.” Roman stated as he slowly inched towards the stairs.

“Yeah, I have to apologize to Beck.” Fletcher followed after Roman but could hear Sam and Ellis share a groan over the statement.

It was hard for them to understand love. They couldn’t wrap their head around the sacrifices and compromises you need to make for the one you love. Fletcher knew most of the time he wasn’t logically wrong but he would apologize for how he made her feel.

Roman and Fletcher went upstairs leaving Ellis and Sam to talk out the logistics of their next move. As they wandered around the dorms, they saw a few kids sleeping but most were playing games or texting on their phones. Neither Warren or Beck were on the main floor. Fletcher asked around a bit but no one seemed to know where either had wandered off to.

After circling the main area twice, Roman suggested they split up. His idea entailed him taking the same floor they had just searched while Fletcher would scan the top floor. It was entirely lazy and unfair but Fletcher didn’t particularly care. As he walked up the stairs, Roman called to him.

“Just shout if you see Warren.” His voice carried actual concern.

“Sure, tell me if you see Beck.”

The second floor was essentially empty, most students favoring to stay where the snacks and games were. It was smaller than the main floor with most of the rooms being blocked off. In the distance he could hear a faint thud but he didn’t pay much mind to it as he walked along. His stomach churned as if he could already tell what was to come but Fletcher couldn’t figure it out. The thudding got louder as he approached the door at the end of the hall. He prayed it wasn’t the boy again.

As he placed his hand on the door knob, he could sense something was wrong. The static returned this time pounded in his ears. Slowly and softly, he opened the door, entirely expecting to see the boy. At first, he couldn’t figure out what he was seeing. Beck and Warren wrapped up in bed together. Tenderly, she moaned his name out just quietly enough that had the door been shut Fletcher wouldn’t have heard.

He considered shutting the door for a moment and pretending he hadn’t seen anything as if the entire situation was his fault. Was he not good enough for her? Maybe, if he’d paid more attention this wouldn’t have happened. The question didn’t linger long before the anger started to flow through his veins. He said the only thing his brain could muster,

“Hey, what the fuck are you doing?” His hands began to shake

“It’s not what it looks like!” Beck shouted as she untangled herself from a rather bored looking Warren. Wrapping the sheet around herself, she shot up from the bed and over to Fletcher.

“Really, then what does it look like? Like you are cheating on me with a dude who until about five seconds ago I thought you hated?” His voice cracked as he spoke.

“It’s not like that. I was just so upset.” Her bottom lip trembled.

“Upset with what? That you couldn’t convince Roman to sleep with you instead? I’m not stupid, Beck.” She reached her hand up to touch his cheek only for Fletcher to slap it away. “Or are you really going to say a board game made you cheat?”

“Baby, wait.”

Without an inch of hesitation, he bolted downstairs. Conveniently, Roman was leaning against the main door talking to some girl who Fletcher only knew as being a year older than them. He guessed Roman was flirting with her based on the way she would blush and look away as he smiled. Fletcher wrapped his hand around Roman’s arm and tugged him to the side but he didn’t budge.

“Take me home.” Fletcher spat.

“Why?” Roman said softly, trying to appear nice in front of the girl.

“Just do it.” Fletcher hissed, pulling him out the door.

Roman said a rushed and halfhearted apology to the girl before Fletcher had completely hauled him out of the building. Fishing his keys out of his pocket, Roman watched Fletcher curiously but didn’t dare say anything. Halfway across the parking lot an idea hit Fletcher.

“Just hold on a sec, I forgot something.”