Goodbye, Evan [BxB]

3

We end up in a shop called Subway, eating sandwiches by the window. I tried to tell him that there was no point in buying me food (I'd tried eating before, one of the first times I became solid again, and instead of shitting it out it just disappeared) but he just ordered a ham sandwich for himself and turned to me.

"Are you vegetarian? Vegan?" "I don't remember." He gives me a look, "I don't, okay? It's been a long time. It's not like it matters, anyway." He sighs and orders me the same sandwich as him (brown bread with seeds, lettuce, cucumber, mayonnaise, cheese, toasted) just without the ham.

When he pays, I can't help but look in his wallet and see it's stuffed full of cash. Isn't he afraid of being robbed? We eat our sandwiches, him gobbling, me relishing. Even though I don't need the food and tastes a little dull, it makes me feel like I'm actually alive to do something so mundane. In the light of the window, my skin has a mother-of-pearl sheen. A reminder. I try to ignore it. I look into Theo's eyes and realize I need to get back on track.

"So, Theo ... what seems to be the problem?" He grimaces. "You sound like a fucking therapist." "Perks of being a ghost: you don't need to pay me." He grins (he has a little gap in his front teeth) and takes a bite of his sandwich to hide it. When he's done chewing, the stoic front he's putting on is back. "Your soul told me you needed to be safe, to get away, to be happy. Know why?" "You can hear my soul?" he asks, instead of answering. "Not anymore. Not now we've met." He massages the bridge of his nose.

"This is so fucking weird." "Don't worry." I take a bite of the sandwich and chew, unable to stop myself groaning in delight as the real, physical lettuce crunches in my real, physical teeth. My eyes lit up, and I see Theo grinning behind the paper wrapping of his sandwich. "You won't have to deal with this for long."

"What? Why?"

"Well, as soon as I help you iron out your little crease, as it were, you'll forget about me. I'll go back to being invisible, waiting for the next soul to call out for me." "So you remember them, the people you help, but they don't remember you?"

"Yup." There's silence for a moment, silence I don't know how to fill. "That's the what," Theo says eventually, putting down his sandwich. His eyes are wide beneath his mop of hair, and he seems to have forgotten to be callous.

"So, why? Why are you a ghost, instead of going to heaven or whatever there is after death? And why do souls "call" you? What's up with that?" "I don't know." It's half a lie, but I'm not here to open my heart to him. I'm not here to make friends. "So, now you know the deal" I continue, "So what's your problem? Why do you need my help?" The scowl comes back, and Theo opens his mouth. "And don't say you don't need my help, because souls don't call out to me for nothing, especially if they call out as strong as you."

"What do souls normally call out for?" "All sorts. Don't dodge the question." Theo looks over his shoulder. Nobody's looking at us - my magic at work - but he still seems uncomfortable.

"Do you want to go somewhere more private?" I ask. He nods in response. "Well, lead the way."

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