Best Served Cold

Day Two: Denial

Note: I can’t even remember the last time I was updating every day on a fic… welp. *sucks down peppermint mocha frapp.* The characters herein do not belong to me, they belong to MysteryBen and Artsy.

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            Arthur knocked on Vivi’s apartment door at the crack of dawn the next day, tailed by his ever-present four-footed shadow. He was twitching from the four cups of coffee he’d downed the night before, but it was worth it. He could hardly wait to see the look on Vivi’s face. He knew she’d love it.

            Vivi opened the door, squinting in the sunlight. She had on a blue mickey mouse nightshirt that reached her feet, a blue terrycloth robe, and fuzzy blue Smurf socks on. Her hair stuck out every which-way, and she blinked sleepily.

            “Squire?” She mumbled. “It’s 4 am on a Saturday. What the blizzard?”

            He laughed. “Keep trying Viv, maybe someday you’ll actually crack a legit swear word.”

            Her eyes widened. “Squire… you’re laughing. And you’re joking about me.” She came alert, pressing a hand to his forehead. “Are you okay? It’s like yesterday didn’t happen.”

            Arthur removed her hand, grinning. “As far as I’m concerned, the last four days didn’t happen. Time’s a-wasting, we’re probably missing out on a dozen hauntings. Look, I even cooked this up for you!” He presented her with a small blue flat screen, lit up on one side with red and green lights.

            “Is this that ecto-decteco I’ve been bugging you for?” She squealed, snatching it excitedly, examining the buttons.

            “Yep, state of the art, although it keeps fluctuating whenever I hold it, kinda weird. It still has a few bugs, but I’ll fix them. So what do you say we take it for a test run?”

            She stood there a moment, the smile fading from her face. “Actually Squire, I was wondering if we could talk. Or, if you didn’t want to, could you listen to me for a bit?”

            Arthur shifted, suddenly concerned. Vivi never turned down a ghost hunt, and usually Arthur was the last person to volunteer one, so she should have been half-way to the van by now.

            “Sure Vivi. Um…” He gestured to her robe. “Need to change?”

            She glanced down. “Nah, not going anywhere. C’mon in, I’ll make you breakfast.”

            He entered after her. “Sheesh, you were in a big hurry to get me to change when you came over.”

            She stuck her tongue out at him, heading for the kitchen. “I showered last night. I could smell you through the door yesterday. Hash browns and ham ok?”

            “Sounds good.” He pulled a stool up to her breakfast counter, eyes following her as she bustled about, pulling food together. Mystery lay down under the breakfast bar’s overhang, sullen.

            “So, what’s on your mind that’s so big it bumps ghost hunting?” He asked.

            She said nothing for awhile, setting coffee to brew and spooning out grated potatoes into a frying pan. The oil sizzled, and the smell of cooking potatoes made his mouth water. He’d forgotten to eat in his enthusiasm the night before...

            “Squire, did you see what happened to Lewis?”

            His stomach lurched, and he gagged on the shock. “Wh… what?”