Haunted (Alastor X Reader)

Chapter 7

"Ohhhhh Y/n! I'm respecting your privacy by knocking, but asserting my authority as your best friend by coming in anywa- oh, the door's locked."

You let out a small snort in amusement at Jess's voice, before looking back toward Alastor only to find that he had vanished- even the cup of coffee was gone from the table. You furrowed a brow in confusion and quickly dismissed the thought, walking over to your front door to let her in.

"Of course it's locked, it's to keep weirdos like you out." You teased, pleasantly surprised and ushered your friend inside. "Come in, come in- it's pouring out there."

"Sorry to just drop by unexpectedly, David gave me your address and I meant to call you but my phones being fuckey." She said, carrying a box into the house and setting it down on the kitchen counter. The tight curls in her chin length chocolate brown hair bounced as she strutted through your house. "I brought over the... Well, the rest of your stuff..." she said gently, looking back at you. Her golden brown eyes softened as you realized it was stuff you had asked her to hold onto prior to the breakup, important things you didn't want ex/n damaging before you had a chance to move out of his place. You took a deep breath in and smiled at her.

"Thank you Jess, I can't believe I almost forgot." You opened the box and gazed at the few, very dear to you items that had been carefully encased in bubble wrap and placed gently inside.

"I hope you don't mind, I wrapped them up so they wouldn't get ruined in between moves."

"Thank you." You murmured, taking one of the objects out and unwrapping it. You gazed at the picture frame in your hand, in it was a photo of you when you were a little kid up at camp with your mom and dad. You smiled fondly at the picture and walked over to the entertainment center in the living room and set it down.

"I miss them." Jess said, eyeing the photograph from a distance.

You let out an amused sigh. "Yeah, they loved you." You said with a small chuckle. "I miss them too... Can't believe it's been almost ten years already." You shook your head and walked back over to your friend.

"You going up to the cemetery to visit them? The uh... The date's coming up pretty soon." She asked hesitantly.

You nodded. "Yep, with lilies for Mom and a couple scratch off lottery tickets for Dad. Just like always."

Jess couldn't help but notice the wistful, forlorn look in your eyes as you stared off into space, presumably recalling memories you had with them. She couldn't blame you. After what happened you were inconsolable for months, she was by your side throughout your entire grief- her and your grandparents. You were certainly fortunate to have somebody like them in your life. You blinked a few times and adjusted your gaze back to her, and offered a soft but sincere smile.

"Thank you again, seriously. I really appreciate it."

Jess shrugged and offered a sympathetic smile. "You know I got you. How many times have you been there when my ass was in trouble?"

"Eh, only a handful." You snickered jokingly.

She laughed softly, but then her attention was diverted by Binx who was on the other side of the room just staring up at the corner of the kitchen and meowing loudly. His ears were straight and alert, his tail was all poofy and so was the fur on his back.

"What's up with the cat?" She asked.

You furrowed a brow for a moment and narrowed your eyes in confusion, eyeing the blank walls that your cat was incessantly mewing and hissing at until it finally clicked: Alastor wasn't gone.

He was just hiding.

You fought all urges to express any emotion on your face, only neutrality, despite the fact that you knew damn well there was a demon just casually listening in on your conversation. Your first instinct was to get angry at him for eavesdropping. But then again, he offered you his protection... It would make sense for him to stick around when he knew you weren't alone.