Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For the longest time he thought he was going insane. Plain and simple. Losing his mind. Nothing more about it.

Then he found out ghosts are real.

Ghosts are REAL.

It’s hard to comprehend sometimes. But I guess it’s a little better than accepting the alternative…that he really is out of his freaking mind. Still…sometimes the thought manages to make its way back inside his brain.

Am I imagining it?

It vanishes just as quickly as Maddie appears whenever he passes by the bus stop.

She’s there. Not tangibly...but she’s there enough to make him realize…no…I’m not crazy…I’m not.

This whole thing is crazy. But at least he’s not hallucinating. I mean…he’s not on drugs. As far as he knows anyway. I guess there’s always the chance the gym teacher roofied his water bottle…or the cafeteria lady spiked his oj when he wasn’t looking.

No…no, STOP! You’re not gonna start thinking like that. Not now. So he can talk to ghosts…err…ghost without an EMF meter or ouija board. That doesn’t justify extreme paranoia…doesn’t justify thinking things that happen in B horror movies will suddenly happen to you.

It also doesn’t justify thinking he’s now the town weirdo. But he does…think that.

And he’s really starting to wonder how long it’ll be till other people start thinking it too. People like his teachers. Or Nicole.

Nicole.

“Uhhhh…Simon?”

He jolted a bit…like he was shocked by a sudden prick of static electricity…only he hadn’t been touching anything metal…nor had he been rubbing his socks against a carpeted floor.

“Are you gonna answer…or??”

“Uh, yeah…heh…wh-what did you ask?”

Behind his shoulder, a girl…who could not really be described as a girl…at least not a living one anyway…made a face at him.

He tried not to respond to it.

Nicole rolled her eyes, huffing in slight irritation. Boys.

“Y-you know what, nevermind. I…I swear something’s up with you. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Despite her slight annoyance at him seemingly ignoring her, the question was sincere. Simon had been off lately. It…it’s honestly starting to worry her a bit.

“I’m fine.” He answered curtly, looking down at his hands.

Huh…he seems to do that a lot. That…and put in his earbuds.

Maybe he’s just not in a mood to talk.

He’s been like that in the past.

To her…never to Maddie.

“That went well.”

Simon glanced over his shoulder at the blonde in the red checkered flannel and gray cropped tank. His hands were crossed in thought, but his knuckles seemed to relax a bit as soon as he acknowledged Nicole was a safe distance away.

“Yeah…I know what you’re gonna say.” He shook his head slightly, trying not to make the motion too drastic…the last thing he needed was making more people think he was losing it. He’s already got a lot of them. Nicole. Ms. Fields. Probably half the school. His parents.

“Do you?”

He huffed, unamused. Maddie always had a way of saying things. It’s like she could see right through his skull…right into his brain. Like she always knows just what he’s thinking. How he’s feeling.

He doesn’t always give her the satisfaction of being right, however. This was one of those times when his pride took over.

“You’re gonna tell me that I’m pushing her away.” He gritted, tightening the grip around his knuckles once more. “I’m not though.”

It was her turn to be unamused.

“How can you say that?! What was that just now then, huh? Friends don’t blow each other off like that!”

Simon threw up his hands, quickly folding them back in his lap and hunching more over the table after realizing some students had raised their brows at his slight outburst.

He lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’s not that…it’s just…she’s been talking a whole lot with Xavier…Xavier! You know…the guy who’s been slinking around in the shadows this whole time. The guy who cheated on you!”

The last part of that came out as more of a whisper-yell than anything, the change in volume making Maddie give him a warning look.

“And we still don’t know if he’s the one who…

Simon trailed off, his voice tapering till it was barely audible. Maddie’s face changed then, slipping from creased angry brows to soft, understanding ones.

“I-I know. We don’t know that yet.”

She ran a slightly shaky hand through her hair, going to stand in front of Simon so she could stop yelling at his back.

Her hazel eyes met his chocolate brown.

“Sure…she shrugged, moving to where she was sitting on the edge of the cafeteria table but never losing his gaze…he could have something to do with all this. But just because Nicole’s the only one who seems to think he’s innocent doesn’t mean you have to treat her any different. She’s not Benedict Arnold. She’s not consorting with terrorists or planning to assassinate the president.”

Simon huffed, rolling his eyes and breaking their gaze.

She continued, trying to get him to look at her again. “She just…she just feels bad for him, okay? I…I kinda do too.”

He met her gaze again, but the look he gave wasn’t the one she was hoping for.

“Really?! Maddie…I…sometimes I really don’t understand you. H-he…he could have murdered you! Don’t you get that?!”

“Yeah.” She shot back bluntly. “I…I don’t know. I guess I should feel some sort of hate towards him…for cheating on me…for lying. But that’s just it…it-it’s different now. It just doesn’t…doesn’t feel as important for some reason. It just feels like I need to…”

“Move on?” Simon’s throat was tight, the words coming out forced…like he knew what she was about to say but he didn’t want her to actually say it. He couldn’t let her say it.

“Yeah…maybe.”

Those were the last words she said to him then, choosing to dissipate away instead of hearing any more of what he might have had to say.

Honestly, he doesn’t blame her for leaving. He’d like to poof away too at this moment. Go somewhere alone…somewhere he could be the ghost for a while. Somewhere no one would ask ‘how are you?’ or tell him that everything would be okay. That they’d find her. That she wouldn’t be another missing person who goes unfound for decades…wouldn’t be some body a hiker stumbled across in the woods.

These words mean nothing to him. Nothing. ‘Cause he knows the truth. They don’t.

He knows she’s dead. How else could she be a ghost?

I mean…there could be another explanation. He had just assumed ghost based on what he’s seen in movies and read in comic books.

But maybe she’s something else. Maybe he’s something else.

I mean…why can he talk to her? And why only her.

“Dude…I think you might have upset her.”

Simon raised his head up slowly from where it had once been resting defeatedly on the table, his brows scrunching more and more together as he surveyed the cafeteria.

Who said that?

“I mean…she obviously looked upset. I guess I don’t really know for sure. You know…sometimes I don’t think I read women the best. That’s more Charley’s area. Not…not that being well…yeah…means he automatically understands women. Or girls. Or girly things. I mean he’s just a fashionable guy in general. Those things don’t have to go hand and hand, right?...

Huh?!

“...I mean…I’m not into guys but like…he’s a good looking dude…but don’t…don’t tell him I said that! He’ll tease me for like…I dunno…probably the rest of my afterlife.”

“Umm…hello??”

“Wait…hello?”

Simon’s heart almost skipped a beat, time seeming to freeze around him. His vision narrowed, the chatting group of cheerleaders at the table adjacent to his suddenly sounding more like the hum of his family’s old refrigerator.

He stared forward, unable to move…hardly able to breathe.

“C-can you…did you just hear all that?”

Simon could do nothing other than give the smallest of nods, his mouth slightly parted in shock.

He hadn’t seen it before. Not when Maddie had been there moments ago. Not ever. But there it…there he was, just visible enough by a faint, shimmery mist that hugged the shape of broad shoulders and long, sweatpant-wielding legs.

“What the…

The image vanished…just like Maddie…just like his sanity.

Chapter Text

“Ok, ok, ok…that didn’t happen! That wasn’t real! But…I’m a ghost…I’m not real…well…not really…not according to most people anyways. Uh! Now I’m just confused…

Wally paced back and forth along the poorly laminated floors of Split River High’s gymnasium. If he wasn’t a ghost, he’d definitely be making a lot of annoying squeaky noises now…but I guess that’s one perk of being dead…that, and you can pretty much do anything you want as long as it’s contained within the barrier.

Ah…the barrier. The cursed force that exists to constantly torture them by submitting them to an eternity in high school. Yes…it is hell. A hell. I guess there could be worse places to be stuck. He could’ve died in a prison. Or in Split River’s McDonald’s…okay...maybe he does have it pretty good.

“Wally? Um…I think you’re boring tracks into the floor.”

Wally paused at the voice, his hands grabbing at his hair anxiously and worry sprawled across his face. It was obvious something was seriously bothering him.

For a second, the football player thought of poofing away. After all, who is he to put all his problems on someone else. But the face Charley was giving him–the concerned yet curious one, the one that looked just like the face his old yellow lab would give him whenever he’d open the door and hurry off to morning practice–made him stay. He can’t always trust everyone–he learned that lesson while he was still living–but Charley…he can trust Charley.

He took a deep breath in, holding it till he caught Charley’s gaze. He exhaled.

“I think Simon saw me.”

“Ehehe ehehe…uhhh, what?!” Charley sputtered, the noise coming out of him sounding more like it came from a deflating balloon than from a person.

“There’s more.”

Charley’s hands flew to his head, grabbing at the roots of his wavy hair. “More?” He managed to squeak out.

“Yeah, uh, so…I kinda maybe let it slip just a little that you…uh…you’re into dudes.” Wally scrunched up his face, gritting his teeth and screwing his eyes shut in preparation for the blow out that would eminently commence in about 0.1 seconds from now.

Charley’s mouth opened, speechless. Well…speechless for about 0.1 seconds anyway.

“YOU OUTED ME TO A LIVING PERSON?!!”

Wally curled into himself, tucking his elbows tightly into his side and bending his knees together like someone preparing to take a hit in a place you should never hit someone.

To be fair, Charley screaming is pretty much equivalent on the pain-o-meter to getting a kick to the nethers. The only difference is that it gave Wally emotional instead of physical damage. Well…unless you count his ears…they were very much ringing painfully at the moment.

“It’s not like I wanted to!” Wally defended, relaxing a little after realizing Charley wasn’t gonna try to maul him. “How was I supposed to know he could hear me anyways? You know I like ranting to living people.”

“Yeah…yeah, I know.” Charley took some deep breaths between the words, cooling himself off before he accidentally turned into some sort of angry mist thingy–wrathful spirit, that’s the term Mr. Martin used. He never actually revealed to them if one of the students who died in Split River High ever became one. But maybe Mr. Martin’s just blowing smoke. I mean…wrathful spirit? Come on now! All the ghosts he’s ever met have been super nice! Okay, so maybe Dawn’s a little weird...but she’s never been angry. No one here has. That he knows of…

“So…Charley started.

“So.” Wally replied back awkwardly, his gaze shifting between his friend and the floor. He started pacing again, bringing his thumb up to his mouth and beginning to chew on the nail.

“So that kinda changes things.” Charley stated the obvious, Wally pausing to stare at him.

“Yeah.” He huffed out, flicking out the wrist of the hand he had previously been giving a makeshift manicure to as if to say “well duh!”

“So have you talked to him since then?” Charley prodded, seeking to draw as much info out of Wally despite him being in this very much volatile state.

“NO! Wha–why? I haven’t even had time to process the first time I talked to him!”

See…volatile.

“Ok…okay, I was just asking. Let’s…um…let’s just take this one step at a time, okay? Maybe…uh…maybe try asking Maddie about it?” Charley suggested, speaking slowly as to hopefully present the suggestion in a more digestible way.

“Maddie…yeah…yeah, that’s good. Wait…no, no that’s a terrible idea. Charley…that’s a TERRIBLE idea! Why would you even suggest that?!” Wally started pacing and biting at his thumb again, Charley rolling his eyes and crossing his arms exasperatedly at the jock’s sudden mood change.

“Dude…uggh! Okay, yeah so you’re kinda freaking out a lot right now. Maybe um…maybe just take a couple deep breaths?” Charley placated, taking a couple steps towards Wally.

“Yeah dude, you’re totally right. What would Mr. Martin say? What would Mr. Martin say?” Wally mumbled the last two questions under his breath almost hysterically, Charley raising his brow at him.

Charley took a few more steps towards the freaked-out football player, reaching out a hand and laying it on his shoulder when he got close enough to do so. “A couple deep breaths.” Charley reiterated, looking Wally in the eyes. “In…he instructed, Wally reluctantly coping the other teen when he inhaled himself…out.”

Wally exhaled as Charley did, balling up his fists and bouncing a bit in place much like how he used to pump himself up before a game. “Okay… ok, yeah! I can do this! We can do this! Just…act like nothing happened. Yeah! Yeah…just be normal. I can do that…

“Umm…not exactly the plan I had in mind.” Charley tried to hold Wally’s gaze, but the other boy was already back to pacing. This time, however, Wally seemed less nervous and more like the delusional meatheads Charley used to watch huddle up before the Friday football game. Yup, there was no way Charley was gonna get through to him now.

The only thing he was worried about…those delusional meatheads…well, let’s just say they almost never won a game when they acted like that. Yeah…this was not gonna end well.

“Okay, ok, ok…that didn’t happen!” Ghosts are real…obviously…he knows that now. But that ghost? No…no! What the hell is happening?!

Simon paced back and forth within the confined walls of Split River High’s janitor’s closet, the broom and mop heads brushing up against his jacket sleeves every time he turned a corner–not like he’d notice though…his mind was a little preoccupied at the moment…to put it mildly.

“So it’s not just Maddie then…Simon whispered to himself as he clasped his palms together and held his hands to his lips in thought.

In this moment, Simon was entirely unaware of his surroundings–he didn’t recognize the fact that his poor jacket had now accumulated the lint off of several used broom and mop heads–lint that could have came from literally anywhere–nor did he realize just how bizarre he looked with his hands to his lips like some budget Sherlock Holmes and earbuds in his ears that weren’t producing any music.

Luckily for Simon, being in the janitor’s closet meant he was all alone–no ghosts, as far as he knew, and no human would dare come in here. That’s what he thought anyways.

“You’re not supposed to be in here.”

Simon nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the deep, emotionless voice behind him. He turned around, eyes wide as a deer in headlights and right hand slowly drawing the earbud out of his right ear.

“Uhhh…

The man, who by his clothes was clearly the janitor, matched Simon’s stare, the two of them hanging out in the most awkward of silences for what felt like a whole freaking eternity (it was only 10 seconds).

“I just…need the broom.” The man mumbled bluntly, never once breaking eye contact.

“Yeah…okay.” Simon stuttered back, grabbing the broom that was located next to him and promptly shoving it at the janitor.

The janitor took it, turning to leave.

Just as he was about to exit, he turned back around. “I won’t say anything you know.” He whispered, giving Simon a knowing wink. “We all have needs.”

The older man nudged Simon’s shoulder with his knuckle, chuckling to himself as he left the closet, broom in hand.

Needs?? “Oh…ooooh…oh that’s disgusting!” Simon burst out after deducing what the janitor had meant. He furiously wiped his palms on his pants…not like it was as good as washing his hands, but it at least gave him some peace of mind.

Okay…no more using the janitor’s closet. He’s gotta find a better place to panic and clearly this isn’t it.

Simon put his earbud back in his ear as he opened the closet door and left in a hurry.

Note to self…never ever be alone with the janitor again!

He shivered just thinking about it, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets and rushing off to find a more secure location to think.

Chapter Text

She’s starting to think something’s wrong. Maybe she’s misjudged this whole ghosts don’t have hygiene issues ‘cause they’re dead thing and she somehow stinks to high heaven. If that’s the case, she’s gonna have to go pound a couple ghostie boys (and Rhonda) for not introducing her to ghost deodorant.

But that can’t be it. If ghost stink was a thing then she wouldn’t be the one with the problem. No, no…the stinkiest ghost award would definitely go to Wally. So she clearly can’t blame the fact that she hasn’t heard from Wally or Simon or Charley all day on the basis that she smells.

So it’s something else then. A secret. Gosh she hates secrets. They were apparently a problem when she was still living–talking about the whole Xavier cheating with Claire situation–but they’re even worse now since she’s dead.

Who knew? Ha! It’s actually kinda hilarious. She was a complete nobody up until she died. Now she’s the talk of the town. “Where could she be?” “I bet she ran away.” “Ten bucks says they find her body in a dumpster somewhere.”

And talk isn’t the same as having secrets, true, but it’s close enough. They still whisper their theories around like little kids trying to cheat on their spelling tests without the poor substitute teacher catching wind of their schemes.

And then there’s the actual secrets. The secrets her and Simon have been trying to figure out since the day she became the way she is now…dead. Those are possibly worse than the gossip. But only because they’ve revealed to her that the only people she can trust completely are…well…is herself.

And yeah maybe she can trust Simon too…and maybe Charley…and possibly (emphasis on the possibly) Wally and Rhonda. Maybe…just maybe she can also add Mr. Martin to the list. But that’s the thing…all these relationships she’s managed to stumble into…can she trust them? Are any of them real?

She thought her relationship with Xavier was real…look how that turned out. He may have murdered her…jury’s still hung up on the verdict. They don’t have enough evidence. Besides…she feels in her gut that he didn’t do it. Not Xavier. Not those blue eyes.

“You love me, right?” Maddie asked, giggling at her own words. Of course he did…she was just testing him…just teasing. She already knew the answer.

“What? Why are you asking that? Come on now…Xavier played along…but a hint of doubt–of worry–flashed in his eyes. “You know I love you.” He stated back almost too quickly, the sincerity in his tone faltering for a moment.

And it had…faltered. She was just too naive–too much of a lovestruck little girl–to notice it at the time. Gosh what an idiot! He’d been telling her the whole time…through his body language…through the way he seemed to look more at her body than her eyes. Her soul.

She always looked at his eyes. His sickeningly captivating, hypnotizing, blue eyes.

“Maddie?”

Wally’s eyes are brown.

“Hmm? Oh…oh! Hey, Wally. I-uh…I guess I didn’t see you there. How long were you…you know…standing there?”

She seemed testy…on edge…like she’d been thinking about things…girl things…and he’d just interrupted an intense session. Oh boy.

“I can…uhhh…I can come back later.” He pointed finger guns in the direction of the door, swirling on his heel and attempting to make a speedy exit.

“Wally…you can stay. I don’t mind.”

Ohhh no…she had that tone in her voice. The “please don’t leave me” tone. The tone that was gonna inevitably make him blab all his secrets to her. He should never have come! Frick! She was just too…too…I dunno…too Maddie to stay away.

That’s it. She’s Maddie. Maddie…the girl with secrets. Bigger secrets than he’s ever had…in his old lifetime and his one as a ghost. She’s a mystery…a novel you can’t ever seem to put down.

But she’s more than that. She’s a mystery…a novel…but she’s also your favorite song. Your favorite candle. Something you can listen to forever and never get bored of. A scent you find yourself attracted to…so much that you find yourself lighting that candle every moment you can. And what once was a firm, solid block of wax is now a vulnerable puddle.

“Ok…I’ll stay.” Wally agreed as he used the back of a chair to boost himself up onto the desk next to where Maddie was sitting. “So…it looked like maybe something was on your mind? Wanna talk about it?”

“No.”

Her honesty was another trait he admired.

He huffed a laugh, shaking his head in understanding. “Ah, ok…that’s fair.”

The two sat in silence for a while, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. No, it was more an agreement between them–a peace that they mutually decided to protect.

He let Maddie be the one to break it. “I was just getting kinda worried…

“Worried?”

“Yeah…thought that…I don’t know…that maybe I smelled or maybe I said or did something…

Wally’s surprised laugh interrupted her, his hand quickly going to cover his mouth as he realized she was being serious.

“What?!” Her eyebrows creased in judgement, but the smile that flashed across her face indicated she wasn’t upset by his outburst. “I’m serious!”

“You think you…you...a ghost…smell?” He laughed again, Maddie shaking her head and rolling her eyes at him in response.

“It’s a legitimate concern! I mean…she pulled her flannel up to her nose, inhaling to try to catch a whiff of any ghost BO that might be present…I don’t think I smell, but…I’d like to know if I do.”

Wally shifted closer to her, leaning his face into her and allowing his nose to hover right above her shoulder. He loudly sniffed twice, making sure the action was as obnoxious as possible.

“Oh! Oh! Maddie…you have got to do something! Take a shower! You…oh gosh! It’s like rotten eggs!”

She pushed him away, a giggle escaping her lips as he proceeded to hold his nose and make pretend gagging motions.

He laughed, letting his hands drop to his lap.

“But no…his tone became more serious…you don’t smell, Maddie. If you did…it certainly wouldn’t be BO…or rotten eggs for that matter.”

A question flickered across her gaze, one that seemed to ask “Is he flirting with me?”

She didn’t ask that, however–she went for the other question on her mind. “So what would I smell like then?”

That…that seemed to trip him up, the football player suddenly dipping his head, blush consuming his complexion.

“Uhhh…

“It’s okay…I know you were just trying to be nice. I’m guessing I smell like nothing anyway…you smell like nothing. I was just hoping I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t smell now. You know…now that I’m dead.”

“Ahh! Yeah…Wally nodded in understanding, a little upset with himself for not coming up with something quick enough to put another smile on her face…yeah…I can’t really smell anything either. We all can’t. Well…not usually anyway.”

“Not usually?”

“Yeah.” Wally confirmed, somewhat lost in thought. “Well…I mean, Charley sometimes says he can smell it…you know…the peanut oil that the lunch ladies use. They’re still using it too. Huh!” He huffed a sardonic chuckle, shaking his head incredulously. “Man that’s messed up.”

Maddie shook her head silently in agreement, a cynical grimace across her face. “Yeah…that’s…that’s really…uh messed up, yeah.” She wanted to say something worse…curse as loud as she could with as many expletives that she could creatively muster. But she didn’t…for Wally’s sake. She didn’t think it would do any good at the moment…considering the face Wally was making was similar to the ones she’s seen on the dogs on those ASPCA commercials.

“So…do you still smell anything?” She prodded, hoping maybe a question would jolt him from his slump.

“I do.” His head was still down, gaze looking into his lap. So maybe she shouldn’t have asked.

“I sometimes smell the grass. That’s it…grass. And I’m not talking about drugs.” He mustered a slight grin at that, his lips pulling up at the corner of his mouth. At least, even when he was sad, Wally could always find some humor in the situation. That was one of the things she admired most about him.

“Grass?”

“Yeah…he slowly nodded, proceeding to look up at her…like wet grass. That’s it…sometimes dirt too I guess. Same smell as when I, well, you know.”

“Ah.” She nodded, understanding.

Maddie sat for a while, her mind drifting to the scene of her own death…or, well, what she thought was the place she died.

The boiler room. Is there even a smell she can associate with that place? Mold? Damp? Is damp even a smell? Mold for sure is–she knows exactly how that smells…ever since that day in science class when they were tasked with seeing how long it would take for a sandwich to mold when wrapped in different mediums. Her group–Simon, Nicole, a random nerdy guy whose name she couldn’t remember, and herself–had chosen parchment paper.

Now parchment paper, typically, is pretty dang perfect for preserving something as dry as a sandwich–it’s non-stick, literally made to prevent sogginess from the oily salamis and pepperonis you just had to have despite their artery-clogging properties. But…but apparently it’s not that good because their group’s sandwich had molded faster than the peanut butter she had left on the mousetrap under the fridge in their kitchen. And that fridge, let me tell you, was damp! D. A. M. P. Damp!

Thinking back on it…something about the whole situation felt off. Why had it molded that fast? She had sandwiches wrapped in a freaking paper towel last longer than that. So…why was the parchment paper so bad?

Or was it? The parchment paper…

No. She shook her head, clearing it. Being dead has clearly made her paranoid. Why the heck would someone be so insane as to sabotage their freaking science experiment?? She’s gotta stop doing this…being cynical. Maybe that’s why Xavier cheated on her…

“Maddie?” Wally nudged her, concern riddled all over his brow. “Did I say something wrong?”

“What? Oh! Oh…no Wally, it’s not you. Clearly…it’s me.” For some reason her response felt loaded–like it meant something much more than what Wally was picking up. See…she’s a mystery.

“Maddie…he meant to reassure her–to help her understand that whatever it was she was thinking about wasn’t that serious. That she’s perfect, so no…it can’t possibly be her that’s the problem.

But the way he said her name, for whatever reason, made Maddie narrow her eyes.

“You didn’t come here just to chat…did you?”

Whaaaa…like what the actual heck? All he did was say her name! How could she possibly know something was up?! Maybe that’s it…maybe that’s been it all along. The reason she’s so mysterious is that…she’s psychic! That’s it! Has to be!

“Whaaaa…Wally verbalized, trying and failing miserably at keeping the pitch of his voice from skyrocketing…I-uh, ehhe…ummm…no, no…I just came to chat…really.”

“Wally.” She interrupted bluntly. “I don’t have to be a polygraph to know that you are lying through your teeth right now. Talking here for so long…I should have known! You’ve never been able to sit still for more than five minutes! Ok…what is it? Is ghost arson a thing now? Did you set the school on fire? Come on, spill!”

Wally pulled at the collar of his shirt, equal parts terrified and relieved at being able to get this secret off his chest.

“Ok, um…so Simon kinda…uh, well…

“Wally! I think I may know how Simon can hear you!”

Maddie and Wally’s jaws dropped in almost perfect comedic timing, Charley’s eyes nearly popping out of his head at the realization he had poofed right in front of the exact person he wanted to avoid.

“Uhhehe…um…heeeey Maddie.” Charley gave a sheepish wave, his face redder than when he’d eaten the fatal peanut oil fries.

The ghost girl gawked, at a loss for words. It didn’t take too long for her to gain her composure, however.

“Ok! That’s it! You two are gonna tell me everything right here, right now. And trust me…if you even try to run, I’ll tackle you harder than they did Wally on the football field.”

Both boys exchanged glances, gulping in unison.

I guess that’s the other thing about Maddie…she’s not just a mystery…she’s also scary!