The Seven Unconventional Friends of Daniel Ezra Raine

8

Adrienne rested her head on Jasper's shoulder. "Do you think he'll listen to Finn?"

Jasper laughed. "No. Daniel seems pretty level-headed. Having a bunch of poltergeists in my house would freak me out too. Don't worry though- I'm sure he'll come around. It's not like he has much of a choice anyway."

"I don't like the term poltergeist. It makes me seem malevolent. And it sounds fat. Do you think I'm fat and malevolent?" Adrienne pouted.

"Fat? No. And you're only malevolent when one of us gets in your way. I'll just call us ghosts or something."

"Technically," Terrance popped into the room, squeezing between Adri and Jasper. "we are somewhere between the two. But 'ghost' is more accurate."

Groaning- but not upset- the pair moved away from each other, begrudgingly making space for the intruder. "Adri, don't let Tall-dark-and-handsome here distract you." Adrienne blushed. "And watch your temper, DJ Jazzy," he added, noticing Jasper's purpling face. "If we want to get out of here, we can't give in to our vices."

The trio looked up as Finn's tall, broad figure entered the room, head hung. "He won't listen to me. I told him everything except our respective stories, but he just left." Finn looked up at them, steel-blue eyes wide with shame.

"Oh, sweetheart," said Adrienne kindly. "It's not your fault. He's still just a little shocked."

"Yeah," Terrance paused in thought. "It's like... This is a weird analogy, so bear with me. It's like he's a plant cell, you know? And we're giving him water. So he takes in a certain amount and shuts out the rest because if he takes too much all at once, he'll burst."

The other three ghosts nodded along. They looked at each other and could feel their resolve growing. They would just have to keep at it, slowly, until Daniel could take in all the water.