𝐫𝐮𝐛𝐲 & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 ✩ 𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐝𝗼𝐧

🆂🅴🆅🅴🅽

𝐬𝗼𝐧𝐠: 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐜𝗼𝐧, 𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐞
✩✩✩

Ruby couldn't do it anymore.

Now there were more, and they were always there.

When she went to brush her teeth, they were there.

When she sat down in class, they were there.

When she was working her shift, they were there.

And people were beginning to notice.

It was becoming hard to hide it too, when she'd get a fright because they'd appear out of nowhere- or she'd stare at them trying to listen to what they were saying.

Ruby was even less comfortable with their presence, due to the fact they all had quite gruesome injuries.

Before she could process it, her sophomore year was over.

And so too it felt, her glory days.

Although she still hung out with her old group, it wasn't the same anymore.

Ruby needed to get help.

It took her a while to find the class weirdos, and find the one who might be able to help her.

Tate Langdon.

✩✩✩

Ruby strode to school, her khaki bag slung over her shoulder loosely.

She wore a grey zipper and a Pixies t-shirt, and baggy trousers with rips in the knees.

Just like on her first day of her freshman year, she wore her blue converse.

She was listening to music on her Walkman, ignoring the five beings walking alongside her, all ranting angrily in different languages.

Tate was an outcast, Ruby was fairly sure he didn't have any friends.

He lived in the alleged 'Murder House', where all sorts of weird stuff went down.

Paranormal stuff.

Ruby had decided that's what was happening to her.

The only fear was that he wouldn't believe her- what was she going to say?

'Oh hey, you don't know me but I'm being haunted by a bunch of ghosts and you're going to help me understand why'- it didn't seem like a very good approach.

But she'd try anyway.

After all, if everything really went to shit, she could just drop out, leave the state and never look back. She was thinking irrationally.

✩✩✩

Ruby made her way to the cantina with Ella, talking quietly as they got lunch.

"Where are you going?" Ella asked as Ruby attempted to make a bee-line to Tate.

She spun around, an awkward smile on her face.

"I'm just going to go ask someone for a favour," she said. "I'll see you in physics, ok?"

Ella pursed her lips and looked in the direction Ruby was headed. "You're going to talk to that freak?"

"Em, yeah... for... drugs." Ruby lied, shrugging apologetically.

Ella shook her head and let out a small laugh.

"You're crazy. See you later, then," Ella sighed.

✩✩✩

Ruby sat down across from Tate at the empty table.

He looked up from his food.

"What do you want?" He said through a mouthful of pasta.

Ruby took a deep breath, and interlaced her fingers. "You know about paranormal stuff- don't you?"

He looked at her, confused. "What is this?"

"Listen, I'm not trying to make you some sort of target. I need your help."

"Seriously?"

Ruby nodded.

He smiled thoughtfully, twirling the fork in his food. "Tell me what you've been seeing, then?"

She massaged the bridge of her nose tiredly, and looked at him.

"It started off with only one of them. A woman, she's old and she speaks Russian. I only realised recently, but she's got strangle-marks on her neck." Ruby said quietly, watching his reaction carefully. "Then, a while ago, more of them began to appear, all with horrible injuries. None of them speak English- but they're all angry or sad."

He leaned in closer to her, interest painting across his face.

Ruby shoved her hair out her face. "I'm mad, aren't I?"

"I don't know." Tate replied. "What if you're not? Have you been taking drugs since you first saw the woman?"

"No. Since it happened, I was convinced it was the drugs that done it. But I've been off them since, only some light alcohol and smoking."

He nodded, processing the information slowly. "So you want me to help you, how?"

"Either get rid of them or help me control them." Ruby said surely.

"Are they hear now?"

"Only one- the Russian. I called her Vera," Ruby said.

"Do you understand anything that she's saying?" He casually continued his lunch.

Ruby took out a cigarette. "Satan. That's what she's saying. Can we go outside?"

He grumbled and stood up, abandoning his lunch and following her outside.

Ruby lit her cigarette, taking out another. "You want one?"

He gave her a smile and took it gratefully, allowing her to light it for him.

"I think they're ghosts." Ruby said, blowing out the smoke in little puffs.

Tate nodded. "Yeah. Y'know where the graveyard is?"

Ruby nodded.

"Meet me there tonight, at eleven." He said, turning to leave.

"How do I know you're not just gonna stab me to death?" Ruby said simply.

Tate laughed, before saying in a very non-joking way, "you don't,"

"Lovely. I'll see ya tonight then." Ruby replied, giving him a cheesy grin.

Tate shook his head and walked away, unable to resist a smile. He couldn't understand what he'd just agreed to, but he didn't really care.

✩✩✩