Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Oh my god.” Calum says quietly from where he's sat at the small table for two in their kitchen. Michael turns around from where he's standing in front of the stove, making scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast, to see Calum with an honest to god newspaper in his hands. Michael wasn't even aware that they still subscribed to it.

“What's up?” He asks as he goes back to cooking, finishing up the last few pieces of bacon before he splits the food up on two plates, but Calum doesn't reply as he's too busy reading whatever headline there is for today. “Cal?”

“They've found a body. That Hemmings kid.” Calum finally replies and Michael furrows his eyebrows in confusion as he carries the two plates over to the table, placing one of them in front of his boyfriend and the other one in front of himself. He doesn't recognize the name and he's starting to wonder if he should when he sees how heartbroken Calum looks. “They found him in an empty well in the middle of the forest. Fuck.”

“You okay?” Michael asks and places a comforting hand on Calum's arm, using his thumb to rub soothingly over the dark skin. “Should I know who he is?”

“He went to our school but he was a few years younger than us. Disappeared one night three years ago. I can't believe they've found him. I wonder what happened to him..” Calum trails off and Michael understands. His boyfriend has always been very sensitive and thoughtful, it's no wonder he's hurting about a boy they used to go to school with being found dead after being gone so long. “I always thought that maybe he'd just run off, y'know?”

“Hey, it's okay. He's been found now. The important thing now is that his family will finally get some kind of clousure.” Michael replies and gently takes the paper from Calum's hands. “C'mon now, eat up. We gotta leave in half an hour or you'll be late for work. You want me to drop you off?”

Calum shakes his head as he takes a bite of the food in front of him. “No, I'm just gonna take a walk today. I'll probably have to stay late as well, Claire is getting off early for some baby shower or something so I have to close up.”

“Okay. Text me if you want a ride home though.” Michael says as he finishes up his food and brings his plate over to the sink. “I'm just gonna jump into the shower. Have a nice day at work, babe.” He leans down to kiss Calum's cheek but the younger boy turns his head and presses their lips together.

“You too. Love you.” Calum says and Michael replies with a smile on his face before he leaves the kitchen and makes his way over to their bathroom to take a quick shower. He starts work almost an entire hour later than Calum, but he's always up at the same time so they can have breakfast together and he can give his boyfriend a ride if he'd like it.

When he steps out of the shower, the apartment is completely silent and he knows Calum has left already. He makes a quick work of getting dressed and tries to styles his hair into something that isn't a complete mess. He's not very successful but it's not like he cares much. His manager is chill and let's him dye his hair any colour he wants and let's him keep his eyebrow piercing in when he's working, all his tattoos on display as well.

He leaves 15 minutes later, taking the car he and Calum owns together since he works in the middle of the city centre and Calum works close to where they live. Once he's parked in his spot right outside the record shop, he notices a young looking boy standing in the park across the street, looking confused as he tries talking to people without getting a response from anyone. Michael groans and hopes the boy won't notice him as he turns around to go into work, but it's too late already.

“Hey! Hey, you! I saw you looking at me. I know you can see me!” The boy shouts as he runs up to Michael and tries to grab his arm, but his hand just goes right through. “I know you saw me! Please...what's going on?”

“I can't talk to you in public. Follow me.” Michael mumbles quickly under his breath, smiling at an old lady who looks at him strangely. He finally reaches the door to the record store and he unlocks it quickly before walking inside, knowing he's got at least half an hour before anyone else shows up as he's the manager and is always there early.

“Can you talk to me now? Please, I don't know what's going on.” The boy says and Michael turns around to get a good look at him. He's got blonde hair and striking blue eyes. There's a lipring looped through his plump bottom lip and he's wearing a black and red flannel along with black skinny jeans that are ripped at his knees. He looks like someone Michael could have been friends with. If he wasn't, y'know, dead. “Why can't no one else see me?”

“Because I'm probably the only one in town who sees dead people.” Michael says bluntly as he hops up on the counter, watching as the boy's eyes widen in shock before they turn sad and he frowns.

“I'm..dead. I died?” He asks quietly as he sits down on the couch they have in the shop for people to use when doing homework and just listening to music.

“I'm afraid so. I'm sorry.” Michael says sympathetically. This is always the worst part for him. Letting someone know that they're dead. Some spirits already know, but this boy obviously had no clue. “I'm Michael. What's your name?”

“I..Luke. Um, Luke Hemmings.” The boy replies and Michael's eyes widen as he recalls what Calum told him just this morning about this boy. “What? Why do you look like that?”

“Sorry, I wasn't expecting it to be you. Listen Luke, this will probably be hard for you to hear, but it's necessary for you to be able to let go and move on.” Michael says and pulls his phone out of his pocket, going to google and typing in 'Luke Hemmings', the search returning several results. He opens one about the boy's disappearance, backdated to almost three years ago. “It says here that you went missing almost three years ago. You got into a fight with one of your brothers and walked out of the house to clear your head, no one ever saw or heard from you again. They only found your body yesterday, in a well in the middle of the forest. You must have not seen it and fallen in.”

Luke looks pained as he shakes his head back and forth in denial. “No. No that's not what happened. Why are they lying?” He looks at Michael with wide eyes, filled to the brim with tears.

Michael opens his mouth to reply, but the sound of the little bell above the door interrupts him and he snaps his head over to see one of the employers walking inside looking tired. “Morning Ashton! You okay?”

“Oh my god.” He hears someone say and it takes him a moment to realize it was Luke and not Ashton. Michael watches curiously as Luke walks over to Ashton and tries to touch him, only to have his hand go right through Ashton. “Ashton, babe. It's me, Luke. Can you hear me?”

“Morning Mike. Just had a bit of a rough morning, thanks. You good?” Ashton replies, walking right through Luke to drop his bag of in the small break room they have at the back of the shop. “It's a bit chilly in here today, isn't it?”

“Yeah, I'll turn the heat up some more.” Michael says and continues to study Ashton who's got dark circles underneath his eyes, his hair a curly mess. “Are you sure you're okay? If you aren't, just let me know and take the day off.”

“No, yeah, I'm fine. I need to be here today. It's a good distraction.” Ashton replies with a small smile as he makes his way over to the counter Michael's sitting on.

“If you're sure.” Michael says and jumps down. “Listen, could you take the counter for a while? I've got some business I need to take care of, some phone calls, so I'll be locked up in my office for a while. Let Nolan know not to disturb me unless it's an emergency please.”

“Of course, Mike.” Ashton replies and sits down behind the counter, bringing out a book to entertain him while he waits for customers to start showing up. Michael looks to where Luke is then, just staring at Ashton with longing eyes. He motions for Luke to follow him once he's made sure Ashton is distracted and walks over to his office which is located at the back of the shop next to the breakroom. He sits down in the chair behind his desk after he's locked the door and Luke sits down in the one in front of him.

“He was my boyfriend. Ashton was my boyfriend. I love him so much. Can't you make him see me? Just once, please.” Luke begs and Michael feels his heart break at the desperation in Luke's voice.

“I'm sorry Luke, it doesn't work like that. I could help you communicate with him though, but I don't think today's a good day. He must have just found out that they found your body.” Michael replies and Luke's shoulders slump. “Luke, this is very important. Do you remember anything from the night you died?”

“I-I don't know. The last thing I remember is that I was going to go to Ashton's. Ben, my brother, he didn't like that. I think we got into a fight but he said he was sorry and that he would drive me.” Luke tells Michael before his eyes suddenly widen. “Oh my god. Ben. He did-”

“Mike!” Loud banging on his door interrupts them and Michael groans in frustration. “Open up! Fuck, it's important!”

Michael stands from his chair and unlocks the door to see a frazzled looking Nolan staring at him with wide eyes. “What is it? I told Ashton to let you know you couldn't disturb me unless-”

“The police is here! They're arresting Ashton!” Michael curses under his breath as he pushes past Nolan and rushes out to the front of the shop where a police officer is in the middle of handcuffing Ashton.

“Hey! What's going on out here? What do you want with Ashton?” He shouts and Ashton looks over at him with pleading eyes.

“Mike! I didn't do it! I didn't do anything! I loved him!” Ashton shouts and the police tells him to be quiet.

“You're arrested for the murder of Luke Hemmings. Anything you say, can and will be used against you.” The police rambles on as he escorts a struggling Ashton out of the shop.

“Michael! Tell them he didn't do it! Tell them Ashton didn't do it!” Luke is shouting at him but Michael ignores him as he watches Ashton get shoved into the back of a police car. “Michael, why didn't you tell them?! He's innocent!”

“Nolan, go home. I'm closing the shop for today.” Michael says and watches as the younger boy scrambles up his things and rushes out of the shop, probably happy to have the day off. Once they're alone again, Michael locks the door to the shop, turns the sign in the window to 'closed' and covers the windows. “Luke, I can't just tell them Ashton didn't do it. There's no proof of that and they wouldn't believe me.”

“But I told you he didn't do it! You have to tell them!” Luke insists and Michael sighs in annoyance.

“Do you think they would believe me if I told them that the ghost of the body they just found told me Ashton was innocent so they should just let him go?” Michael asks and Luke deflates on himself. “If he's really innocent, then we will have to find real proof against the one who really hurt you.”

“It was Ben.” Luke says and Michael gapes at him.

“Your brother Ben? Your own brother killed you?” Michael asks in disbelief and Luke nods his head slowly.

“He didn't mean it though. I know it was just an accident.” Luke says quickly and Michael shakes his head.

“Luke..” He trails off. “If he killed you, you know I will have to go to the police with that if we find proof right?”

“I know. I just..I wish I could just talk to him. Let him know I don't blame him.” Luke explains and Michael nods his head. Making a note to himself to get in contact with the Hemmings family as soon as possible.

“Luke..what happened that day? I need to know to be able to help you.” Michael says and Luke nods his head as he tries to remember all the details before retelling the events to Michael.

“It was a Thursday..mum and dad were out of town for a long weekend and they left Ben in charge over me and Jack, my other brother. I wanted to go over to Ashton's and spend the night there, but Ben didn't want me to..”

“Luke, it's a Thursday. You both have school tomorrow. I'm not gonna let you stay the night at Ashton's.” Ben says sternly and Luke groans in frustration as he glares at his older brother.

“Why not? Mum and dad would have let me!” Luke argues back and he can see Ben roll his eyes in annoyance.

“Well, mum and dad aren't here now and they left me in charge. I've told you already that you can't go and that's final.” Ben replies and Luke stomps his foot like a child throwing a tantrum.

“I'm going there anyway. I hate you! You just ruin everything.” Luke shouts and stalks into the front room where he slips into his shoes and grabs his snapback, putting it on backwards on top of his head.

“Luke! You're 16 years old, I'm older than you and therefore you will listen to me when I tell you what you can and can't do!” Ben shouts back, grabbing Luke's arm tightly to stop him from leaving the house.

“Fuck you, Ben! I know you don't like Ashton for some reason, but I love him and he loves me and I want to go see him. Mum and dad wouldn't stop me!” Luke says harshly as he rips his arm from Ben's grip.

“That's because you're a spoilt little brat who gets everything he wants!” Ben replies and Luke gapes at him.

“That's not true!” He shouts back and Ben just rolls his eyes. “Stop it, Ben. It's not true! Do you think it's easy being the only openly gay kid in school? Do you think it's easy having Ashton in a different school and not having any friends because of it? Being teased every day? I'm sorry you think my life is so good, you can have it if you want.”

“Luke..I'm sorry okay. C'mon, I'll drive you to Ashton's. You can stay till 10, but then I want you to come home.” Ben relents and Luke sighs before he finally agrees.

“Fine! But you're picking me up as well.”

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

“Hey Ben, you missed the turn for Ashton's street.” Luke says when he notices that Ben just keeps going straight forward instead of turning right like he should have. “Ben, c'mon, turn around.”

“I just gotta make a quick stop first.” Ben replies and Luke groans as he slumps down in his seat.

“It would've gone quicker if I had just taken my bike.” He comments but Ben doesn't say anything else until they're stopping at an empty parking lot where you can take different walks into the forest from. “What the hell are we doing here?”

“C'mon, I just wanna show you something.” Luke grumbles under his breath as he steps out of the car and follows Ben into the forest. He finds it strange that they're not walking on any of the paths, but shrugs it off. They must have walked for at least fifteen minutes before Ben finally stops and Luke looks at him in confusion. He can't understand why they've stopped here. There's absolutely nothing in sight except for trees and an old well made out of rocks.

“What are we doing here?” Luke finally asks, starting to feel a bit uneasy.

“God Luke, you're so fucking spoilt. Always having someone do everything for you. Letting you do whatever you want, giving you money when you need it and rides when you ask. I'm so sick of it. It's time you learnt a lesson. I'm gonna leave you here now and if you really want to spend the night at Ashton's, you can walk there.” Ben says and Luke stares at him in disbelief.

“What the fuck, Ben? You're kidding me, right? I can't walk all that way! It's gonna take me hours and it's already getting dark outside. I won't stay at Ashton's if that's what you want. C'mon, let's just go home.” Luke replies and tries to move past Ben, but his brother just grabs his arm to stop him.

“No. It's about time you realize you can't always get what you want.” Ben says and shoves Luke back when he tries to move past him again. “Get back, Luke!” He finally shouts in frustration and pushes him away. Luke's eyes widen as he loses his balance and falls backwards, hitting his head against the hard edge of the well made of rocks. His vision swims and he's got a hard time staying conscious. His eyes stays closed and he can't open them no matter how hard he tries.”Oh my god. Luke, hey buddy, are you okay? Shit. Luke, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to” Ben says but Luke can't open his mouth to reply. He feels Ben take his snapback off followed by something wet running down his cheek and when a drop runs into his mouth, he can taste the disgusting metallic tang of blood.

“Luke, please wake up. I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry. Oh my god.” Ben begs him and Luke feels his body being shaken but he still can't seem to be able to reply. He feels fingertips against his neck followed by Ben cursing, but Luke's not sure why, he's still alive. “God Luke, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I love you.” Ben says and Luke feels himself being lifted from the ground with a struggle and then he's suddenly free falling until everything turns black.

“Jesus christ, Luke.” Michael breathes out once Luke has finished. They've both got tears running down their cheeks.

“He didn't mean to. I know he didn't. I just need to let him know I don't blame him. Please Michael.” Luke begs and Michael nods his head quickly, wiping away his tears.

“I will contact your family today and try to set up a meeting with them for tomorrow. Do you remember what Ben was wearing that night? He might still have the clothes and if your blood is still on there, he will be going to jail. You know that right?” Michael asks and Luke nods his head, still crying.

“I know. He's my brother but I can't let Ashton go to jail. He loved me. He would never have hurt me.” Luke replies and Michael nods his head in confirmation.

“Okay. So any memory of what he was wearing would help us.” Michael continues and Luke looks like he's thinking hard about it until he suddenly lights up.

“It was his white shirt from when he went to New York once. A stupid souvenir one which says NYC in big, red letters. God, he loved that shirt for some reason..would never let me borrow it.” Luke trails off with a small smile before he remembers why he's giving these details to Michael and his smile falls off his face again. “His jeans were just plain blue. Quite dark, but he had loads of those. And he took my snapback. I don't know what he did with it, but I felt him remove it from me.”

“Okay, that's great Luke. It will really help. I think the best thing would be for us to talk to Ben by ourselves first, try to get him to confess himself. Otherwise we can pretend that we got an anonymous tip about someone seeing you two that night and describing what you were wearing.” Michael explains and Luke nods his head in understanding.

Michael's phone starts ringing then and he pulls it out of pocket, seeing Calum's name lit up on the screen. “Hey, babe.”

“Michael! I just heard that Ashton was arrested, is that true?” Calum asks and Michael sighs.

“Yeah, it's true. They showed up here about an hour ago, arrested him for the murder of Luke Hemmings.” Michael explains and Calum gasps down the line.

“Oh my god. You don't think he did it, do you?” Calum asks worriedly, he's always thought Ashton was so sweet the few times he's met the other boy when visiting Michael at the shop.

“No, god no. Besides..Luke showed up today so I know for sure that Ashton's innocent.” Michael says and Luke's head snaps up at the mention of his name and he looks at Michael with wide eyes.

“Oh, okay. I'll let you deal with this, I don't want any details until it's solved. Just, make sure he doesn't follow you home? You know how I feel about that.”

“Of course, babe. Don't worry. I'll see you later okay? Love you!”

“Love you, too.” Calum says before they both hang up.

“Sorry about that. That was Calum, my boyfriend. He knows about me being able to see the dead..” Michael trails off with a small smile and Luke nods his head in understanding. “Anyway, I better start looking for contact information for your family and set up the meetings for tomorrow. I think it would be a good idea for you to go visit your family. Maybe try to make your presence known, it would make it a little easier for them to believe me.”

Luke bites his bottom lip as he stares at Michael. “Do I have to? Can't I just go with you?”

“I'm sorry, Calum doesn't like it when there's spirits in our apartment. Especially not since I can see them and he can't. I will give you my address, but please, only use it in case of an emergency. Calum goes to work around 8:30 in the morning, you can show up then and we will see if I've been able to get a hold of your family. Okay?” Michael asks.

“Yeah, okay, I guess.” Luke replies and looks around the shop. “Do you mind if I stay here for a bit? I must have missed so many great albums in three years.”

“Be my guest. You should check out All Time Low and Good Charlotte.” Michael comments and Luke's eyes widen.

“Good Charlotte released a new album?!” He shouts and rushes over to the G section, beaming when he finds the album. “Can I put it on? Please?”

“Yeah, just not too loudly. People would wonder why there's music coming from a closed store.” Michael replies and Luke nods his head as he takes the CD in his hand and makes his way over to the stereo. “I'm really sorry this happened to you Luke. You seem to be pretty great. I'm sure we would've been great friends.”

“Really? Thank you Michael, that means a lot.” Luke says and then presses play, letting music fill the shop. Michael leaves him there with a quick goodbye and a promise to see him tomorrow.

He drives home in silence, letting the events of the day play out in his mind again. He's had a few cases like Luke's before, where someone has been killed and together they've managed to put the guilty one behind bars. But he's never had anyone as young as Luke before, never had anyone who reminds him so much of himself before and he's sad that this is how he met Luke. He wishes that they could have met back in school and bonded over their taste in music. But he also knows that that wouldn't have happened. Luke was three years younger than him, their paths would never have crossed unless fate would have gotten involved somehow. Michael shakes his head to get rid of the thoughts. He's here to help Luke move on and then he won't ever see the younger boy again.

When he gets home, he kicks his shoes off and lies down on the couch in the livingroom with his laptop and phone. He'd gotten Luke's parents names before he'd left and he starts looking for them online straight away, trying to find phone number he would be able to reach them on. There's several Liz and Andrew Hemmings close by and he has to call three people before he gets lucky.

“Hello, this is Liz speaking.” A woman answers and Michael starts the call off like he'd done with the previous ones, but this time he gets a different reaction in return.

“Hello, my name is Michael. I was a friend of Luke's, I'm looking for his-”

“How did you know Luke? Who is this?”

“I'm sorry, my name is Michael. I went to school with Luke. I would really like to meet up with your family tomorrow if that's possible and talk about his passing.”

“If this is some prank call, we will call the police. We don't want to speak to you or any reporters.”

“I'm not a reporter. I just want to talk about Luke, that's all. I know it must be hard for you, but it's very important and has got to do with the way he died. But I need you to not contact the police until after I've spoken to you and to listen to me with an open mind. Please.”

“Michael, I'm sorry but this sounds like something I would have to report to the police.”

“Ma’am, I'm begging you. Let me speak to you first and then you can do whatever you want. Would 10 AM be alright?”

“Okay Michael. I will trust you on this. But if anything suspicious happens, I'm calling the police.”

“That's fair. Thank you for agreeing to this and I'm so sorry for your loss. I will see you tomorrow.” They say their goodbyes and then hang up. Michael decides to just ask to speak to Ben first tomorrow when he sees them all instead of setting up a private meeting. That way they'll all be gathered in the same place.

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

Michael is sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal by himself, Calum had left an hour ago already, when Luke suddenly shows up looking upset. “Hey Luke, take a seat.”

“I was with them yesterday, when you called my mum. She and dad were so upset, they wouldn't stop crying. I tried to stay there and do what you asked me to, but I just couldn't. I couldn't stand to see them so upset over me.” Luke says, looking like he's on the verge of tears and Michael understands him.

“That's okay Luke. I'm sorry that I upset them. We will go over there in a few minutes. Are you ready for that?” Michael asks and Luke nods his head.

“As ready as I'll ever be, I guess. I just, I have no idea how they're going to react. One way or another they're going to find out about Ben and I know they'll never be able to forgive him.” Luke says and Michael smiles sympathetically.

“I can't say I know how you're feeling, because I really don't, but this will be a closure for all of you Luke. Your family will finally know what happened to you, Ben won't have to carry this secret around anymore and you will be able to move on to the other side.” Michael says and Luke looks thoughtful and a little scared.

“What's the other side like? Will I be okay there? I'm scared.” Luke admits and bites down on his bottom lip.

“I don't know what it's going to be like, but there's a bright light and it feels peaceful. I'm sure you will be fine.” Michael says truthfully and Luke looks a little more relaxed.

“Okay.” He says. “I trust you.”

“Alright, let's get going then.” Michael says as he stands up, bringing his now empty bowl over to the sink before he leaves the kitchen to put his jacket and shoes on. Luke is not behind him as he leaves the apartment so he figures that he's already gone home to his parents, but then Michael sees him in the passenger seat of his car. “That's not fair.” He says as he opens the door. “I had to walk all those stairs and you could just zap yourself here.”

“Zap? Really? And it's only one flight of stairs.” Luke replies and Michael shrugs as he starts the car.

“That's one flight too many.” He says and Luke laughs at him. Michael smiles at the sound.

They spend the rest of the drive in silence. It take them about half an hour to reach Luke's childhood home as they lived quite a bit outside the city. Once they get there, Luke tenses in his seat and Michael wants to reach out and touch him, to calm him down, but he knows that's not possible so he smiles at him instead.

“Everything will be okay Luke. I promise you that.”

“I will meet you inside.” Is all Luke says and then he's gone. Michael shrugs and hops out of the car, walking slowly up the driveway until he reaches the front door where he rings the bell once. Almost immediately it's opened by a woman who can be no one else but Luke's mum, they look so alike.

“Hi Mrs. Hemmings, I'm Michael. We spoke on the phone yesterday.” He introduces himself and reaches his hand out for a handshake which Liz returns quickly.

“Hello Michael, please come inside.” She says and opens the door wider, letting him step inside. Straight away he's filled with sadness, knowing that this is where Luke grew up. There's still traces of him everywhere. Photos on the walls of him when he was younger, a hook with his name above it next to the front door, a single jacket still hanging there.

He slips out of his shoes and jacket, making sure to hang it on any other hook but Luke's. Once he's done that, he looks up and sees Liz watching him curiously. “Would it be okay for me to speak to Ben alone first, if he's here?”

Liz looks taken aback by this, but recovers quickly. “Yes, of course. I will let him know. If you go through that door, you will reach my husband's office. You can speak in there.” Then she's out of the room and Michael follows the instructions she gave him. He settles into one of the chairs and not even a minute later, a man who looks a lot like Luke walks into the room, Luke trailing in behind him.

Michael gets up to close the door before he introduces himself to Ben. “Hi Ben, I'm Michael. I was wondering if it was okay for me to speak real quick to you about Luke?” Ben flinches at the mention of his younger brother's name and Michael glances over quickly to Luke to see the young boy looking upset already.

“Yes, okay. I'm sorry, how did you say you knew Luke? Did you go to school together?” Ben asks as he sits down in the chair across from Michael.

“Well, not really. You see, I didn't really know Luke until yesterday.” Michael says and Ben looks at him confused.

“I'm sorry, my brother Luke is dead. I think you're at the wrong-”

“Ben, this will hard for you to hear and believe. But all I ask you, is that you listen to what I have to say. Can you do that?” Michael asks and Ben nods his head. “You see, I have this 'gift' which allows me to see the spirits of people who have not yet passed on to the other side as they have unfinished business on earth. Yesterday, when I was going in to work, I saw Luke for the first time and he approached me as I was the only one who could see him. We were-”

“Oh my god. You're fucking crazy. Get the hell out of here before I call the cops on you.” Ben seethes as he stands up from his chair and moves towards the door.

“Ben, please don't. I know you didn't mean to kill Luke, but you can't let Ashton go to jail in your place.” Michael says and Ben stop dead in his tracks, staring at Michael with wide eyes.

“What did you just say?” He asks in disbelief.

“Luke told me the story of what he remembers from the day he died. Every detail he could remember. He wants you to know that he doesn't blame you and he doesn't want you to blame yourself either. He knows that you didn't mean to and that it was an accident. But you were the one who did this Ben, not Ashton.” Michael says and by know both Ben and Luke are crying.

“You're lying. I don't know what you're talking about.” Ben tries but Michael shakes his head and reaches a hand out to comfort Luke's older brother. “There's no such things as ghosts.”

“Luke is here with us right now, Ben. Is there anything you want to say to Ben, Luke?” Michael asks Luke, looking over at the corner where the young boy is standing.

“I want you to tell him that I love him and I don't blame him. That he didn't mean to. But that he needs to confess to what he did. Can you please tell him that?” Luke says and Michael nods his head.

“Of course. He says that he loves you and that he doesn't blame you, that he knows you didn't mean to hurt him but that he needs you to confess to what you did.” Michael says to Ben who's shaking his head.

“What kind of a sick fuck are you, showing up here and pretending like you're talking to my dead brother?” Ben asks angrily and Michael sighs.

“Why won't he believe you Michael?” Luke asks.

“It's not that easy Luke.” Michael replies and Ben looks at him like he's crazy. “Listen Ben, Luke told me everything that happened that day. How you got into a fight about him wanting to spend the night at Ashton's and you wouldn't let him. That you offered to drive him there but instead took him out into the woods and told him he needed to be learnt a lesson for being so spoilt. He said the he tried to move past you when you shoved him and he fell, hitting his head on the well. You removed his snapback before you picked him up and dropped the body into the well, to hide him.”

“Oh my god.” Ben whispers, staring at Michael with wide eyes filled with terror. “How do you know that?”

“Luke told me. I know that's hard to believe, but he's here right now and he doesn't blame you. He just wants you to know that he still loves you.” Michael replies and Luke smiles sadly as he moves towards his brother, placing a hand on Ben's shoulder, surprised when it doesn't go right through.

“There's something cold here. Is that Luke? Is he really here?” Ben asks, looking around the room like he's expecting to suddenly see his younger brother.

“He's right next to you. His hand is on your right shoulder.” Michael says and watches as Ben's hand flies up to lay his own hand on top of Luke's. He won't feel anything but a coldness but it seems to be enough for him to break.

“God Luke, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you. I love you so much. I wish you were still here, I miss you so much.” He cries and Michael feels his own eyes watering as he watches the scene in front of him.

“I love you Ben. I always will. And I don't blame you. I know you didn't mean to. But please, don't let Ashton go to jail for this.” Luke says to his brother, then looks at Michael.

“He says that he loves you and he always will and that he doesn't blame you. He knows you didn't mean to but he doesn't want you to let Ashton go to jail for this.” Michael relies the message to Ben who's looking at him with wide eyes. “You can confess to the police yourself, but if you don't, there is proof out there against you. I'm sorry.”

“No I, I understand. I've kept this hidden for three years. I-I killed my own brother. I should be punished for this.” Ben replies and Michael sighs in relief.

“Luke would like to speak to the rest of your family first. I have spoken to a police officer who will come to pick you up as soon as I send him a text that it's okay to do so.” Michael explains and Ben nods his head in understanding. “Okay. Then we will join the rest of your family now.”

They leave the room a few minutes later, when Ben has managed to calm down a little bit. Ben leads them into the livingroom where Luke's parents are seated with a boy who looks almost exactly like Luke. That must be Jack.

“Oh Ben, are you okay darling?” Liz asks as soon as she sees the tear tracks on her son's face, rushing over to scoop him up in a hug while glaring at Michael.

“I'm fine mum, just, let Michael speak to you. It's important. And I'm sorry.” Ben says and Liz looks at him before she takes her seat again. Michael moves to sit down in front of Luke's family, smiling softly at them.

“Okay, I just want to start of with saying that I'm so sorry about Luke. He seemed like an amazing kid. Next, I want to confess that I didn't actually know him in school, however, after meeting him I really wish I had.” Michael pauses and sees that Liz is still glaring at him, probably for lying to her and upsetting one of her children. “The reason I'm here, will be hard for you to believe, but I met Luke for the first time yesterday.”

“What the hell are you on about? Are you here for some prank? I won't hesitate to call the police!” Luke's dad bellows and moves to get up from the couch but Ben asks him to sit back down again and listen.

“I have this 'gift' that allows me to see spirits that haven't passed on to the other side yet. Yesterday, Luke came up to me as I was the only one who could still see him. He's still here because his death was unsolved and he hasn't been able to move on into the light.” Michael says and this time it's Luke's brother Jack that stands up from the couch and moves over to Michael angrily, grabbing his shirt as he start shouting at him.

“Do you get some kind of sick pleasure of coming here, pretending that you've been talking to my dead brother? My parents dead child? You're on a whole new level of crazy and I will have you put in jail for this!”

“Jack! Let him go and listen to him, I know it sounds crazy but it's all true.” Ben says and Jack looks over at his brother.

“What the fuck Ben? Are you on drugs?” He asks and Ben shakes his head.

“No, just trust me on this.” Ben says and Jack slowly let's Michael go.

“This is never going to work. They're never going to believe you.” Luke suddenly says and Michael looks over at him sadly.

“It's okay Luke, we'll just make them believe. It'll be fine.” Michael replies and Liz sighs angrily.

“That's it. I want you out of my house right now. I don't care who you are, but this is disturbing.” She says.

“Listen, I'm just here because Luke wanted to talk to you before he moves on. Luke, what do you want me to say?”

“Just tell them that I love them and I miss them and that I'm sorry I've made them sad but that they shouldn't worry about me. I'll be going to a better place. And that they shouldn't hate Ben. Please.” Luke says and Michael nods his head even though he knows it's going to be hard to fulfil the last wish once they know what happened.

“He wants you all to know that he loves you and misses you and that he's sorry he's made you sad but that you shouldn't worry about him. He'll be going to a better place. He also says that he doesn't want you to hate Ben.” Michael relies.

“No, I want you out of here now. I don't know what you're getting out of making this up, but it doesn't make any sense.” Luke's father says and Michael hears Luke groaning in frustration.

“I just wish they would all stop being so fucking stubborn and listen to you!” He shouts and swipes his arm out, not expecting it to collide with anything, staring in shock when the lamp he hit falls to the floor with a loud crash.

Everyone jumps and stares at the lamp with wide eyes. “I don't know how you managed to do that but-”

“For fuck's sake!” Luke screams as he suddenly grabs a bowl from the table and throws it at the floor, followed by a bunch of other objects that all land on the floor with a loud crash.

“Luke. Luke! Calm down! You're scaring everyone!” Michael shouts and Luke immediately stops, breathing heavily as he stares at his family who looks terrified at what's going on. “Thank you.”

“Is that...is he really here?” Liz finally asks and Michael nods his head. “Where is he?” Michael watches as Luke walks so he's standing behind the couch and puts his hand on his mum's shoulder, just like he had done with Ben.

“He's right behind you. You might feel a bit cold right now, his hand is resting on your right shoulder.” Liz reacts much like Ben had, her own hand flying up to rest on top of Luke's, tears streaming down her face. “He's trying to hug you right now.”

“Oh god. Luke, my baby, I miss you so much. I love you so much, sweetie.” Liz cries and by now everyone in the room is crying, including Michael. It hurts him to see the way Luke is clinging to his mum, tears streaming down his face. “Can he hear us? Everything we're saying?”

“Yes. He can hear it all. You just can't hear it when he replies.” Michael answers as he pulls his phone out of his pocket, sending off a quick text message. It takes ten minutes before there's a knock on the door, Michael's spent the time relying messages from Luke to his family, and Luke's father gets up to answer the door. He comes back not long after, Ashton and a police officer trailing in behind him.

“What the hell is he doing here? Shouldn't he be locked up in jail for what he did to my brother?!” Jack shouts as he stands up from the couch, only stopping when Ben grabs his arm.

“I'm here for the arrest of Ben Hemmings for the murder of his brother Luke Hemmings. We have strong evidence to believe he's guilty.” The police officer says and Liz immediately starts protesting but stops abruptly once he notices that Ben is making no struggle and instead turns around to have his hands cuffed together.

“No, Ben, tell him. Tell him you didn't do it.” Liz begs but Ben just shakes his head, silent tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I'm sorry mum. I can't do that. I didn't mean to. It was an accident.” Ben says and the Hemmings family gasps in shock. “I'm so sorry Luke, I love you.” He continues as he's led out of the house.

“I love you too.” Luke replies, but it goes unnoticed to everyone but Michael.

“What's going on? Why am I here?” Ashton suddenly says and Luke runs up to him, touches his hand against Ashton's cheeks, causing the curly haired boy to shudder against the cold.

“Luke wants to say goodbye to you.” Michael says and Ashton stares at him in disbelief. “I know it's hard to believe, but he's here with us right now. In fact, he's standing in front of you, he's got both of his hands on your cheeks.”

Ashton gasps as he brings his own hands up to put them on his cheeks, over Luke's hands. “Luke? Are you really here?”

“Yes. Yes Ashton, I'm here. Baby, I love you so much, okay? I love you.” Luke says, trying to use his thumbs to wipe away the tears falling from Ashton's eyes but it doesn't work.

“He says that he's here and that he loves you, so much.” Michael says to Ashton with a small smile on his lips. It's amazing to see the love shining in both Ashton and Luke's eyes right now.

“I love you too, Luke, so much. I never stopped, not once. I miss you so much.” Ashton says as he cries harder and Luke leans forwards to press a cold kiss against Ashton's forehead. “Was that Luke? I felt him. I swear I did.”

“Tell him I'll always love him, please. Tell them all that and that I'll watch over them.” Luke begs.

“Yes, he kissed your forehead. He says that he'll always love you. That he'll always love you all and that he'll be watching over you.” Michael says and then a bright light appears, visible to only him and Luke.

“Michael? Is it time?” Luke asks, looking scared again.

“Yes Luke, it's time.” Michael says with a nod and Luke slowly let's go of Ashton as he starts moving into the light.

“Thank you for everything.” He says.

“You're welcome. Goodbye, Luke.” And then Luke is gone along with the light, a soft breeze blowing through the room.

“Is that it? Is he gone?” Liz asks tearfully and Michael nod his head with a small smile.

“Yes, he's at peace with what happened now and he's passed into the light.”