A spirit between us (bxb)

Chapter 9 -A mythical book.

Finn's impatience had reached its peak. His leg bounced uncontrollably under the desk in his math class, the third period of the day, each passing second grating against his nerves. The fact that he hadn't seen Archie at all since yesterday was driving him insane. It felt like there was a hurricane swirling inside him. Rage, fear, confusion, each emotion twisting and turning, making it harder to focus on anything else.

One thing was clear though. He had to tell Archie that the voice spoke his name.

The more he thought about it, the more unsettling it became. Hours of stewing in silence had brought up something he hadn't noticed at the time. Lyla hadn't heard the voice. At first, Finn was too fixated on the shock of hearing it to even register that fact, but now it nagged at him, growing stranger the more he mulled it over. Why hadn't she heard it? Why was it only audible to him and Archie?

It made sense for Archie. He was a medium; this was his world, his reality. Archie had probably grown used to voices from the other side, communicating with spirits telepathically and all that. But Finn? He wasn't anything special. He didn't have any powers, no connection to the paranormal world. He was just a regular guy who happened to be haunted by something far beyond his comprehension.

So why him? Why could he hear it? Surely people without any sort of paranormal ability shouldn't be able to pick up on something like that, even if it was attached to them. His mind kept cycling back to it, trying to find logic in something that defied all logic. Maybe Archie would know.

He had to find him.

When the bell finally rang, releasing the horde of students from the stuffy classrooms, Finn shot out like a man on a mission, his heart pounding with a mix of urgency and impatience. The crowded hallways, packed with people leisurely making their way to lunch, felt like an obstacle course he had to navigate. He weaved through the clusters of students, his feet moving at an almost frantic pace, shoving past a few people as he went. Normally, Finn wouldn't dream of being that rude, feeling guilty for so much as accidentally bumping into someone, but right now, he didn't care. Politeness had no place in his head.

As he made it to the lunch hall, his eyes instinctively scanned for his usual table, the table of goons he called friends. And there, like clockwork, was Lyla, waving at him enthusiastically as if she had completely erased the earlier awkwardness from her memory. Finn rolled his eyes so hard he was surprised they didn't tumble out of his head. He tore his gaze from her and glanced toward the back of the cafeteria, hoping, praying to see Archie sitting there.

But, to his dismay, Archie was nowhere to be found–

"Finn? Why're you just standing there?"

He turned to find the exact person he'd been searching for all day, standing right behind him. Archie. In a rare burst of impulsiveness, Finn grabbed Archie's hand without a second thought and began pulling him away from the chaos of the cafeteria.

Archie, true to form, didn't resist or ask any questions. He just accepted his fate, allowing himself to be dragged along without so much as a raised eyebrow. It was probably just another day for him.

After a few minutes of walking, Archie had already pieced it together: Finn was taking him to the same place as before. The library. It was the only place where they could talk without the constant noise of school surrounding them.

Archie glanced at their hands, still linked, and his voice came out casually, though there was an amused edge to it. "Hey... you can let go now, you know."

Finn's eyes widened slightly, as if suddenly realizing what he was doing. Silent but clearly flustered, he dropped Archie's hand as if it had burned him. His face flushed a soft pink as he awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets, suddenly hyper-aware of everything around him.