the ghost of christmas love

nini

DRAAAAAAMMMMMAAAAA coming ur way HAHSGSA

also i have math and science midterms tmr. same day. back to back. wish me luck help

ENJOY!!!

i'm standing by a box of decorations and i hear ricky ordering the pizza in the back. i pull my phone out and text seb and kourtney as fast as i can.

"hey i ordered the pizza."

i put my phone in my pocket quickly and turn around. i nod my head and smile. the room is slightly dark due to the dim lights and the sun hiding below the horizon. it's a good thing because i feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"we should decorate the tree.", i suggest.

the tree already has pre-hung christmas tree lights so we jump right in with red ribbon. as we're swirling it around, the doorbell rings. i hold the roll of ribbon and ricky grabs his wallet, rushing to the door. he opens it and takes the pizza, giving the guy cash.

he brings it into the living room and sets it on the coffee table. i can smell the cheese and dough already.

"what do you want to drink?", he asks.

"a water is fine."

he goes into the kitchen to fetch drinks while i finish wrapping the ribbon around the tree. he comes back with two glasses of water and sets them on the table.

"let's eat.", he smiles.

he serves up slices of pizza and hands me a plate. we sit next to each other on the couch and begin to eat in silence.

"so...what did you think of today?", i ask out of curiosity.

he takes a bite of pizza and i can see him thinking about what to say.

"you know...it was surprisingly fun.", he smiles, looking at me.

the way he's looking at me makes my heart beat faster. i smile back and awkwardly turn away.

"i'm glad you had fun. you're making progress.", i joke, putting pizza in my mouth before i say something i regret.

both of us sit in silence while eating the pizza and occasionally taking a sip of water. once we both finish, we stand up and i look at the empty tree.

"let's add ornaments.", i suggest.

i grab the box of blue and silver ornaments and open it. i pick one up and reach to hang it on the tree. i notice ricky disappeared so i turn around. i see him walking back from the kitchen just as the lights turn even more dim. he connects his phone to the speaker and soon melodies of slow christmas songs fill his apartment.

i feel my stomach do back flips as he comes over to the tree. he smiles at me and grabs an ornament, finding a branch to hang it on. when he turns to look back at me i realize i've been standing there, an ornament in hand, staring at him.

"you gonna add the ornament or..."

i clear my throat and awkwardly turn away, hanging it on the branch. i take a deep breath and we both continue hanging ornaments until eventually the tree is fully decorated.

i step back and smile at it, "see...look how nice it looks."

i glance over at ricky and he nods his head, walking over to me.

"thank you...for helping me decorate.", he smiles, "it really uh- it really does look nice."

i nudge his arm, "you're progressing a lot faster than i thought. if i'm being honest...i didn't have high hopes...but you're not that bad."

he laughs and shakes his head. i swallow the nervous lump in my throat and look back at him.

"and if i'm being honest...you're not too bad yourself. i mean—you are a ghost.", he says and i chuckle, nodding, "it's weird that i can touch you..."

i shrug, "yeah i still don't understand how it works."

silence grows between us and for some reason we stay looking at each other. my eyes are locked on his face and through the dim lights i see his eyes glance away from my eyes and just below them, to my lips.

both of us lean in and then a blaring ringtone starts to echo through his apartment. i jump back and look at him worried. he takes his phone out of his pocket and quickly answers it.

"paige what's wrong?", he asks.

i see his face scrunch up as he listens. i hear the faint voice of his sister and i can tell she's panicked.

"i'm coming right now.", ricky says, hanging up.

he looks at me with a face that screams 'sorry' and i shake my head.

"go, go! is everything okay?", i ask as he starts rushing to put shoes on.

he stops for a second to catch his breath and he shakes his head.

"s-something happened with grace...the cancer i- i don't know.", he frantically says.

he grabs his keys and we both exit his apartment. he locks his door and smiles at me. he starts walking away from me before he stops abruptly. he turns around and wraps me in his arms quickly before rushing to the elevators and disappearing.

i stand in the hallway, my chest rising up and down faster and faster. i smile and then bite my lip as i look at the floor. i snap my fingers together and travel back through the white mist.