a/n: tHIS IS GONNA BE GOOOOOD WHOO
October 31st, 2013 at 5:12am
Columbus, Ohio
The Dun Residence
"It's your birthday," a familiar voice whispered in the dawn, making Josh stir in his bed, and open his eyes. He sat up, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes, and yawned. "Yeah, I know," he muttered, his eyes drooping still with tiredness.
"It's also the day I died."
"I know."
"It's also Halloween."
"Blurry, I know."
"It's also the Day of the Dead."
Josh sighed and groaned in annoyance. He's grown rather close to the phantom after he became somewhat of an investigator for his case. That night at his grandparents' house, they found some interesting things, but nothing satisfied them.
Josh was still iffy with the idea of becoming close to this...well, demon. But he made the voices stop, he's made everything stop. Which Josh was rather grateful for. So, he made a deal with Blurry...if Josh helped him solve his case, he needed to stop tormenting him—surprisingly, Blurry agreed immediately.
He still refused to tell Josh his real name, though—which really pissed him off because it could be really useful.
"I know all of those things. I know," Josh muttered as he got out of his comfortable bed. He hissed as his feet touched the cold floor. "Just thought I should remind you," the spirit said, making Josh roll his eyes.
It was way too early for Josh to be up, especially on a Sunday but because of a certain someone, he couldn't go back to sleep. So, he made his way into the bathroom and decided to get ready for the day. He didn't have much to do, since he never celebrated his birthday—after an incident when he was twelve, but let's not speak about that—but he could at least head to the park, and relax for a while...Maybe even head to Pete's house, or something. But for now, he was just going to the park.
Josh stepped out of the bathroom a while later, a towel hanging around his waist, and his red hair down, leaving small drops of water on the wooden floor. Blurry couldn't help but stare at the teen, and he was glad that Josh couldn't see him. He should feel ashamed, but he's not.
Josh opened his closet, searching for some clothes. He took out an old Pink Floyd shirt and some dark skinny jeans along with a jacket, and tossed them on his bed. He went to his cabinet drawer, taking out a pair of boxers, and sliding them on without having to take off the towel. He wasn't going to risk Blurry seeing his privates, not at all. He took the towel off, and began to get dressed. He didn't bother to fix his hair, before grabbing his journal from his desk drawer and the pencil case full of colorful pens, and heading downstairs.
Josh didn't bother making himself breakfast—a bowl of cereal with milk was all he could really make—and only grabbed a banana, and left. He didn't leave a note whatsoever for when his parents woke up, they wouldn't bother to read it anyway. Honestly, Josh could be murdered in front of them, and all they'd still think about is their precious jobs and Josh's siblings.
He sighed as he stepped outside, closing the door behind. He inhaled the cool air of the soon-to-come winter, grimacing slightly. Winter wasn't exactly his favorite season of the year...
He started walking down the sidewalk, making his way to the park. Everything was eerily quiet, but what exactly could you expect? It's early in the morning on a Sunday, practically no one is going to be up right now.
"You know, it's your birthday, right?" Blurry's soft voice spoke. Josh didn't know where his voice emitted from, it felt like it was the wind speaking.
Josh shrugged at his comment. "Yeah, I know. I just don't care about it..."
"Why? You're alive, it's another year of life..."
"When you died, did you care about your birthday afterwards?"
Blurry stayed silent for a while. "No..."
"Exactly. Plus, things happen...making you not want to celebrate your birthday," Josh stated. He walked into the park and made his way to the small forest.
"Oh."
☠
Josh didn't know how much time he'd been sitting against the old oak tree, until he looked at his phone for the first time that day. 1:17pm flashed on the screen. "Oh, wow. It's been almost eight hours..." Josh muttered.
"You've been here for a really long time," the familiar voice startled Josh. He hadn't heard it since that morning, so it's been quiet for quite a while. "Y-yeah...Hey, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Why can't I see you?"
Blurry became quiet, and Josh mentally scolded himself, because maybe he wasn't supposed to ask such thing. He just had to be curious, but who wouldn't be—when the spirit of a dead person is haunting you and suddenly decides to become your buddy when you become intrigued with their death, yet you can't see them or they won't let you see them?
"I was going to talk to you about that, actually," he said, his voice sounding closer to Josh than ever. Whenever Blurry spoke, it sounded distant and whisper-like; it sounded mixed with the wind. But now, it felt as if he were right next to him. Bolder, clearer.
Josh furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"It's the Day of the Dead, it's Halloween, along with the day of my death...it means I'm more bound to this world than ever. I'm more visible than you think now."
This only confused Josh even more. And he just sounded so close...so damn close to Josh...
"Josh..."
"Where are you right now? What is your name? I want to see you!" Josh exclaimed, sounding more impulsive, and standing up. He had the right to know more about him, he needed to know.
The phantom stayed quiet for a while, but somehow, Josh could feel him. He could feel him close, and not in that cold, distant way, but rather...more alive—ironically.
"Josh."
The red-haired boy turned his head quickly to the side, so quickly it hurt his neck, but it was worth it. There, standing just about three feet away from him, was a guy. He was wearing a black hoodie, dark skinny jeans that were rolled up at the bottom, displaying bright-red socks, and some some black Vans. He also had his hood up, and his face was hidden behind a white mask, that seemed as if it were a laughing man, and through the eyes, there seemed to be two glowing red dots—which Josh thinks are his actual eyes.
Josh couldn't see who was beneath the mask, but he knew who it was. "B-Blurry?"
"Call me Tyler."
