𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐂, 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯ᴬᵁ

[ 022 ] - Ears Are Ringing.

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Trigger Warnings for this chapter -
Implied child death, implied murder, panic attacks, the grabber mentioned..

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Steve smiled to himself as he moved into the kitchen, still watching the ghost boys talk amongst themselves where they were still in the living room.

It felt weird, of course, since Steve was literally engaging in talking to real life ghosts, but he couldn't help the sense of normalcy that settled in too.

Vance was so happy with his boyfriend by his side while he snuggled closer to Bruce and rested in his arms happily, a small fond smile on both their faces as they listened to Griffin, Billy and Robin chat to each other, their words getting mixed up here and there and it made Steve let out a quiet laugh.

It was nice to have everyone so carefree and having fun, it made his heart flutter in his chest at the thought they looked happy, like they found peace even though it wasn't exactly the peace they were meant to get.

Steve watched as Bruce pulled Vance closer and pressed a quick kiss to the top of his head, before talking softly, "god, you're so cute when you're happy, you know that?"

Steve sighed quietly to himself as he turned around to lean back on the counter and found himself staring at the phone, the disconnected one, with the biggest glare he could give it.

The other ghosts looked up as they noticed him staring at the phone, all of them looking concerned, especially Robin, but it was Griffin who spoke up in a worried tone, "is everything okay, Finney? What's on your mind?"

"Hm? Yeah, I'm not used to hearing people call me that now.. I'm okay, Griffin" Steve spoke lightly but Griffin looked unconvinced as he looked at Steve with a small frown.

Billy spoke up hesitantly, "are you sure? You don't look okay at all. You look really worried and scared about something. And what's with the staring? You just suddenly started staring at the phone like it had personally offended you or something."

"Phones and me don't get on, remember?" Steve chuckled trying to keep lighthearted making Robin and Bruce exchange concerned glances at that comment before Griffin spoke again, "yeah we remember. But what's with the staring? You just started staring at the phone out of nowhere and looking like it was the most offensive thing you've ever seen."

Billy then spoke up, a concerned tone in his voice, "Finney, no offence but you're so obvious. We can all tell you're not okay, don't lie."

"..it keeps ringing and I don't know if it's just in my head because of the trauma or if it's actually ringing, you know? I picked it up earlier and it was him and I don't wanna think about that again" Steve admitted as he started pacing back and forth in-front of the disconnected phone.

The ghost boys' faces all fell in shock and horror at that statement, that was horrible, the idea of it ringing and Finney not knowing if it was real or a hallucination..

Bruce spoke up in a soft and comforting tone, a hint of concern and worry lacing his voice as he said softly, "it's been ringing?"

"It's ringing right now, and it's loud too" Steve admitted as he stopped pacing making the ghosts all look concerned and worried again.

Griffin spoke up again hesitantly and full of concern, "and you're sure it's not just hallucinations?"

"What if it's Tommy or Nance? Or it could be Gwen since I haven't seen her since Denver either" Steve voiced his thoughts as Bruce, Billy and Robin all exchanged concerned looks while Vance sat silent and Griffin spoke softly, "and how likely is that? What if picking it up could trigger more hallucinations from him?"

"I hate phones, that's all I know" Steve said and then sighed loudly as the others all sighed after him.

Billy then spoke up again, "yeah, yeah you've made that pretty clear, Finney. But still, maybe if you answer the phone and it isn't him this time, that might make it better and easier. We'll all be here to calm you down if the call triggers anything, okay?"

"Yeah.. yeah okay, I'll answer the call" Steve said trying to psyche himself up as the others all sent him small and supportive smiles.

Griffin spoke up with a fond chuckle, a light tone in his voice as he said softly, "alright, Finney. Answer the phone. We'll be right here with you."

Steve nodded slowly and let out a breath before moving towards the disconnected phone and picking it up to bring it to his ear as everyone else stood silent, they all held their breaths slightly, they were tense but they didn't wanna stress Finney out by showing it.

Bruce wrapped an arm around Vance, wanting to hold him as they waited to know what was going on while Billy, Griffin and Robin stood slightly closer to each other nervously, they were on edge but they tried to stay calm, they didn't wanna show how worried they were for Steve in case he noticed.

There was silence on the other end for a moment before a small, hesitant and scared voice spoke up.

It was quiet and the words were a little broken up and shaky as the person spoke, like they had been crying,

"F-Finney?"