Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It all started on a dark Saturday night.

The girls had been on hiatus for a month or two after the whole Gwi-ma fiasco. They had really needed a break considering they had gone straight from a world tour, to releasing a brand new single, to finding out their girlfriend was a half demon and defeating the demon king in under a month.

The events during that time had been hard on them all. Rumi had spent years keeping her secret from the others, culminating in her asking her pseudo mother to kill her. In the meanwhile Mira and Zoey had watched their family fall apart, Mira had gotten more volatile and less trusting and Zoey had ended up blaming herself for everything that happened.

It had taken the three of them a long time to return to normal but Zoey was pretty sure they were there.

Rumi had been more open about her demon side and was wearing more revealing clothing. Mira was learning to trust that, even after she still deserved to have them as their family. And Zoey was working on talking about her anxiety and not letting her worries fester.

They had a system where if one of them was having a hard time they would schedule a movie night where the person gets to pick all the movies and snack. This provides them with time to talk about whatever's bothering them in their own time.

Today Mira had scheduled a movie night. They had gathered up a bunch of spicy foods and were all cuddled up around Mira on the couch.

Recently the girl had been facing some online discourse about her lack of expression when compared to other idols. It was starting to get to the oldest girl and the other two had noticed.

Rumi and Zoey had spent the entire length of the first movie reassuring Mira that they loved her the way she was. They made sure she knew that her seeming indifference didn't mean she was any less deserving of a family.

Once Mira was feeling better they had decided to watch a new movie. Mira had chosen a horror about ghosts. Mira seemed to be having a great time, a grin lighting up her face as the protagonists ran away from the spector. Rumi and Zoey on the other hand were clinging to her eyes wide in fright.

“Zoey, you've got a death grip on my arm."

Mira laughed looking down at Zoey whose eyes flick to her before turning back to the screen just as the ghost jumps out at the main character.

On Mira's other side Rumi screeches, hiding her face in Mira's hoodie. Mira laughs again, turning down the volume on the movie and leaning back.

"Let's all take a break from the movie for a second.”

Mira suggests as the other two bring their heads back up to look at her.

“No, you picked the movie! It's ok!"

Zoey pipes up but Mira could tell that she was too spooked to actually enjoy the movie anymore. The same could be said for Rumi who was still hiding in Mira’s hoodie.

After pausing the movie Mira maneuvers around so that her, Zoey, and Rumi are sitting in a triangle with Mira facing away from the TV.

Rumi sits up straighter and looks at the paused tv screen. The ghost is frozen mid attack, glowing bright blue against the black background of the screen. As she continues to stare at the ghost, an idea forms in her head.

“What's that look on your face?"

“Yeah whatcha thinking about?"

Both Mira and Zoey ask and Rumi turns to them with a smile on her face.

“Ok so, if human souls are Blue like the Honmoon. And demons are just people without souls and they glow purple. What color would ghosts, souls without bodies, glow?”

Mira's eyes widen and she looks down deep in thought. Zoey on the other hand immediately smiles.

"Oh my goodness, we're the only people who know about the equivalent of Christian H E double hockey sticks, do you think we could figure out what heaven is like?"

Rumi nods a little looking at Zoey. They all sat in silence for a minute considering what Zoey had just said.

“I think I have a way to find out!"

Mira exclaims jumping up and running to her room. Zoey and Rumi look at each other, Zoey giving a small shrug.

Considering demons were real it's possible ghosts and by extension angels were real too. Zoey didn't think it was out of the realm of possibility for them to be able to interact with them.

Zoey personally didn't have anyone she would talk to if she could, all the family members who had passed on Zoey had come to terms with and she doubted there was anyone with a long standing vendetta on her family.

Rumi probably would want to speak with her mother if that was possible, there was still a lot left in the dark regarding her lineage especially when Celine would never speak a word about why she was the last sister.

Before Zoey could ponder more Mira burst back into the living room holding a box above her head.

Running back over to the middle of the room Mira sits down on the floor before beaconing the other two to sit with her. Once they were all sat down Mira opened the large box.

Inside the box was a variety of items, candles, incense, and more importantly a set of dowsing rods and a ouija board.

“Why do you have so much ghosty stuff?"

Rumi asks, leaning forward as Mira unpacks more and more things. She places candles around them and starts spreading salt in specific patterns.

“I had a moment when I was really into the undead, it helped that it pissed off my parents."

Mira continues to set up while she talks, placing the ouija board in the middle of them and placing the dowsing rods off to the side. Grabbing an old lighter from the box she passes it around as they all light the candles and incense.

The room starts to smell of pumpkin and vanilla and it works to slightly calm Zoeys nerves. Apart from the ouija board and slat circles the room has taken on a warm glow and nice scent. Otherwise it would make a very nice atmosphere.

Once everything was set up Mira instructs them all to hold hands and close their eyes.

“Are we sure this is safe?"

Zoey asks, looking at Mira with nervousness in her eyes. In turn Mira nods reassuringly.

“Yeah I've done this plenty of times and nothing's gone wrong yet."

“Come on Zo! It'll be fun!"

With both of their reassurance Zoey closes her eyes and links hands with both of her girlfriends. Mira has them copy a chant before telling them to all place their hands on the planchette.

"And remember, don't ever take your hands off of the planchette until we've all said goodbye.”

They all nod their heads and Mira smiles one more before looking to the ceiling.

“Is anyone with us tonight?"

Mira whispers to the sky and the other two watch as the planchette moves to yes. They all gasp and look at each other in excitement. The three continue to watch in anticipation as it moves back to the center in a neutral position.

“What is your name?”

Mira asks, watching for any more movement. Unfortunately this time the planchette stays still and they all slump slightly in disappointment.

“I wonder if they don't have a name or they don't want to tell us?"

Zoey says looking at Rumi, they make eye contact for a few seconds before they hear Mira gasp. Looking back down they see that the ghost has reselected yes.

“Yes you don't have a name or yes you don't want to tell us?"

Rumi asks eagerly, and the planchette slowly moves to two.

Deciding to change courses Mira asks if the ghost is a boy or a girl. Eventually they end up learning that this ghost was a girl from their area who died young.

“Do you know who killed you?"

Mira asks, she has a large smile on her face, Rumi too seems excited with this development. Zoey on the other hand is getting more and more nervous, her hands sweating and pupils small.

Faintly Zoey can hear murmurs coming from the corners of the room. Whispers that barely reach her ears and she can feel goosebumps traveling up her arms. The other two don't seem to notice so Zoey writes it off as her own nerves.

The planchette moves to yes again and Rumi gasps. Without skipping a beat Mira adds on;

"Do we know who killed you?”

None of them expected to know, it was said more as a conversational joke than anything else. So when the planchette slowly shifts back to yes their smiles drop.

The room feels wrong, the candles and incense no longer smell pleasant to Zoey instead all she can smell is the smoke. It presses down on her and chokes her, the feeling stifling.

Zoey

Zo-.

Her head whips to the side looking to where she heard her name. She feels lightheaded as she searches the room for any living creature that might've said her name but no one is there.

"Hey Zoey? Are you alright? We can stop now if you want.”

Rumi gently suggests as Zoey turns back to the group. Mira has a look of slight concern on her face.

"That's ok! We should keep going!”

Zoey exclaims before looking back down to the board.

"So why are you here today?”

Zoey asks the board, looking down rather intensely.

The other two glance at Zoey worriedly before looking back down at the board as the planchette moves again.

T O F I N I S H W H A T I S T A R T E D

All at once the candles go out bathing the room in inky blackness. The smoke is oppressive as it chokes the three girls.

Zoey

Help me Zoey

Let me in Zoey

Zoey gasps and lurches backwards, both hands flying off the planchette to catch herself. She scrambles backwards as the world seems to flash a sickening yellowish green.

The other two don't seem to notice as Mira quickly moves the planchette to the goodbye marker before leaping up to run to Zoey, Rumi quickly following suit.

“Zoey, are you ok?!"

Mira asks, kneeling down next to Zoey as her arms give out and she falls to the floor. Rumi leans over her and they both wait for her response.

"Yeah I'm good, sorry for ruining the fun.”

Zoey mumbles with a slight frown on her face. Quick to reassure the girl both Rumi and Mira speak at the same time.

“It's ok things were getting scary anyways!"

“It was already time to sleep, you two head to bed and ill clean up my ghost stuff."

Zoey nods silently and lets herself be pulled up. As she stands the world around her spins and she rocks slightly on her feet, about to fall again. Thankfully Rumi steadies her and leads Zoey back to Rumi's bedroom.

Falling into Rumi's bed Zoey cuddles into the taller girl. Thankfully they're already in their pajamas and dont need to change or remove any makeup.

They both listen as Mira walks around the house, cleaning up their summoning circle and placing her ghost box back in her room before walking into Rumi's room. Climbing into bed with the two of them, Mira curls her arms around Zoey from behind.

"You sure you're ok?”

Mira whispers to Zoey, who is falling asleep quickly. Zoey gives a small nod in response before pulling Rumi closer and smiling a little.

•••

The other two fall asleep quickly, probably due to how late it is but despite her exhaustion Zoey can't manage to fall into that same blissful slumber. Strangely enough Zoey can still hear the whispers from before. They're present but not enough for her to actually decipher what they mean.

Eventually she slithers out from between the two and makes her way back into the living room. The voices get louder as she goes

She sits down on the couch and looks down at where they had been sitting. She sits silently as the murmurs surrounding her get louder. The room takes on a light yellow green glow that makes Zoey feel sick.

She feels as if she's floating out of her body, disconnecting from her hunched form, almost watching in third person.

Suddenly the room feels less recognizable, shifting to something else similar but different. The floating feeling increases until she realizes that she is floating.

She looks down at her hands and sees that they are translucent, glowing the same sickly green as the room. Her own body is in front of her, sitting still below.

Drifting in front of herself she observes her body, there are dark bags under her eyes that weren't there before. She's staring blankly at the floor, her eyes lacking the usual sparkle she tries to keep there. Instead her usually brown irises also possess that ever present green color.

Something was very very wrong.

Whipping around Zoey sees another green figure standing in the middle of where the seance circle was, she was taller than Zoey and slightly older.

Zoey gasps as an intense feeling of dejavu rolls through her. She knows this person, but much like the whispers she can't tell exactly where from or how.

Hello Zoey

I've been watching you for a long time

And now you're going to help me get what I want

Mkay?

Chapter Text

Zoey jolted awake

She was drenched in sweat and her hands were shaking. Her band members were still dead asleep on either side of her which was strange because they normally got up before she did.

Checking the clock, Zoey realizes that it's around 4am. Before she can try to go back to sleep she's overwhelmed by an intense bout of nausea.

Squirming away from her two girlfriends as fast as she could without waking them up Zoey runs out to the hallway. She barely makes it to the toilet before she's hurling the contents of her stomach into the bowl.

Once she's done hurling Zoey coughs into the silent room, it's one of those wet coughs that would have the others worried. She wipes the back of her hand across her lips, clearing the excess throw up off her mouth. Resting her forehead on the cold rim of the toilet Zoey's shoulders sag and she sinks further into the floor.

Her bones ached and her head felt heavy like lead. The chill of the toilet felt nice against the fire she felt raging in her body. She was overheating to the max, if she wasn't already kneeling on the floor her legs would have given out already.

Eventually Zoey manages to lift herself off the floor and flush the toilet she was leaning against.

Stumbling over to the sink she pours some mouthwash in a cup and sloshes it around in her mouth. She spits it into the sink and looks up at her reflection.

Zoey's face doesn't look like her own.

That's the first thing she notices. Its like those uncanny valley videos Mira makes her watch, much like in her dream she has dark bags under her eyes, her hair is let down and mussed up, and her eyes-

Her eyes are dark, dimmed, and they have that same glimmer of yellow green to them. It swirls around her irises before disappearing entirely.

“See, all good!"

Zoey sighs to herself in the mirror, trying to reassure that it was all in her head. She was probably just spooked from last night and her dream. She was also sick and that was also sick and that was probably messing with her head.

Leaning down and splashing some water in her face Zoey looked back up.

A tall figure stands behind her, face blurred and unclear. There is a soft yellow green glow about her and the feeling of recognition returns with a vengeance.

Zoey tries to run and scream but she is prettified, her legs and arms are numb as she sees the figure step closer to her in the mirror. She feels as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her as goosebumps crawl up her body. All she can do is shiver as the figure places a hand on her shoulder and leans in.

We can work together, you just have to trust me Zoey

The figure whispers into her ear, Zoey can almost feel its breath on her neck. Her hands clenched tightly at her sides but she couldn't move them. She feels adrenaline rushing through her veins begging her to run or fight or something!

And then it's over.

Zoey lets out a loud and heavy breath, grabbing the sink to support her weight as her legs fail her once again.

Before she can make a move to leave the bathroom the need to hurl returns and Zoey stumbles back to the toilet.

•••

The other two find Zoey slumped over a kitchen counter at 6:30.

Mira got up normally at this time but was surprised to see that Zoey was not in bed and seemingly hadn't been for a while.

Normally Zoey and Rumi stay in bed until any time between 8am and 1pm. Mira was about to leave the room to hunt down Zoey when Rumi stirred.

“S’ cold."

Rumi had mumbed with a frown. Mira gave her a light smile before informing her as to why it was cold. Rumi had woken up a little more at the mention of their missing girlfriend and had managed to get out of bed to join Mira in looking for her.

They both walked, although Rumi more so shuffled, down the hallway. They peeked in Zoey's room, Mira's room, and the guest bedroom.

"This place is way too big.”

Mira grumbled as they headed towards the kitchen. Upon reaching the door the two stopped in their tracks when they saw Zoey.

The girl was face down on the counter, hair splayed out around her and a half drunk Gatorade next to her head.

Waddling over to Zoey, Rumi poked her in the shoulder a few times. When the girl didn't respond Rumi looked back at Mira who frowned and stepped closer.

Arriving on Zoey's other side Mira carefully lifts the youngest of their group off the cold marble and back onto the chair she was sitting in.

Looking closer at Zoey the two could tell that she was most definitely sick. Her face was flushed and her forehead was burning to the touch.

Mira shoots a concerned look at Rumi who returns it in kind. Carefully Mira tries to scoop Zoey up into a princess carry. She only gets so far before Zoey awakens with a harsh cough which easily turns into a hacking fit.

Quickly Mira puts her down, Zoey tries to push her further away with one hand (not wanting the others to catch whatever she has) but she fails dramatically with how weak her limbs are.

Finally with the coughing over Zoey collapses back onto the cold icy relief that was the marble counter.

“Are you o- no stupid question you're obviously very sick."

Rumi says out loud, not entirely sure what to do. Mira is already stepping away, thankful that they keep all of their medicine in their obnoxiously large kitchen.

Pouring some cherry flavored stuff into a cup Mira nudges Zoey back up before offering it to her.

"Come on, drink this, it'll make you feel better.”

Zoey takes it and downs it as fast as she can, which is not very fast. She isn't really in a place to do any thinking for herself, instead just doing what her girlfriends tell her to, her foggy brain just letting things happen.

“Are you sleepy?"

Rumi asks leaning in, Zoey tries to respond but all that comes out are unintelligible mumbes. Flailing her arm around Zoey tries to reach for Rumi's hand instead, she misses a few times but Rumi seems to get the point a latch on.

“Let's get you to bed and we'll take care of you.”

Mira decides, scooping Zoey back up and walking back into their bedroom. Rumi, who is still hanging onto Zoey's hand, brings her down into the bed carefully. She tucks Zoey in and watches as she promptly falls asleep.

"She's really sick isn't she?”

Rumi asks nervously, being the supernatural hunters they are, the three don't get sick often so it was out of the ordinary for one of them to get so sick.

"Understatement of the year, she looks like death itself.”

Mira deadpans and Rumi groans semi quietly.

“You're supposed to comfort me Mira!"

“Why, you're not sick."

Mira teases a small smile on her face before she looks back at Zoey.

“But you're right, I really am worried for her."

•••

Zoey was so hot.

And not in the good way.

She felt like she was burning and melting, like everything was on fire around her, down to each individual hair on her arms and legs. She was sweating like crazy and extremely nauseous.

Trying her best to sit up Zoey pushes off the layers of blankets on her and tries her best to fend off another person trying to keep her in the bed.

Her vision was extremely blurry and she didn't bother to check who this person was. All she knew was that she had to get somewhere before she threw up.

Realizing she was in her room, Zoey lunged for her nearest solid trash can, hurling all the Gatorade and saltines she had consumed between 4am and 6am.

The puke came out the same color as the Gatorade which Zoey would have laughed at if she wasn't hacking leftover phlegm into the basket.

Suddenly she felt a hand rubbing her back and another wrapping her loose hair into a ponytail so she doesn't get any bodily fluids in her hair.

Leaning back she practically collapsed onto the floor. Her vision clears enough for her to recognize Mira and Rumi. Zoey does her best to give them a reassuring smile but she's sure it came out crooked with the increasing looks of concern coming from both of them.

“How do you feel Zoey?"

Rumi asks, poking the younger girl lightly in the arm.

“It's so hot, m’ melting."

Zoey whimpered pitifully, Mira rests the back of her hand on Zoeys forehead and flinches away with how hot it is.

“Yeah, you're burning up to the point where it's not normal. We need to go to the hospital."

Mira says seriously, trying her best to make eye contact with Zoey's clouded eyes. The girl in question gives a tiny headshake.

“Nooo, no hospitals."

She murmurs, turning away from the two girls. Rumi frowns but nods a little, deciding that if it gets any more serious they would go, which Zoey agrees to.

" Why don't you want to go to the hospital?”

Rumi asks softly, trying not to push the sick girl too hard. On her other side Mira nods encouragingly.

"I dunno, just can't.”

That's right,

They can't help you

But I can Zoey

Zoey shakes her head a little more trying to clear out the fever voices and looks to Mira with big eyes.

"Can you pleaseee help me get an ice pop?”

Mira smiles and easily lifts Zoey up and brings her to the kitchen before handing her an ice pop. Rumi follows behind them later, having taken it upon herself to clean out the puke bucket.

They spend the rest of the day watching turtle documentaries on the couch, Zoey fading in and out of consciousness.

The voice was getting louder and louder, it was more angry bargaining for more. The voice was relentless.

Finally, after a long day of tired limbs an hurling Zoey has had enough.

Zoey

Zoey we can help each other

You're so weak now

But I can make you stronger

All I want is to finish what I started

And you can help

That's all you want to do right Zoey?

Help?

Zoey feels something in her chest shake, break, she feels like she's rupturing from within. Her body is numb and burning and Zoey has had enough.

I'll do it.

Chapter Text

And just like that the sickness is gone.

Zoey doesn't exactly remember the last hours of the night but apparently she had managed to make it into bed just fine.

When she wakes up neither girlfriend is with her and the bed is a little cold. She can hear them talking from the kitchen and faintly smell waffles being cooked. Zoey smiles and jumps out of bed energetically.

As her feet hit the floor she stumbles a little bit, everything seems a little lower to the ground than normal. Passing it off as some after effects of her crazy fever yesterday she walks over to her closet.

Today she chooses a pair of sweatpants that she stole from Mira and a hoodie from Rumi. She tries to put on one of her older shirts on under the hoodie but the shirt doesn't seem to fit her anymore.

Holding out the shirt she looks at and tries to remember the last time she wore it. It must've been two weeks ago when they had a game night (which Rumi dominated), the shirt fit fine then.

Shrugging it off Zoey heads out of her room and follows the smell of waffles to their kitchen.

“Morning everyone!"

Zoey yells, it's a bit louder than she intended but the other two don't seem to mind. They could tell she was a bit more energized after being sick, it was especially prominent when Zoey barreled into Rumi, almost knocking her over with a hug.

"Morning Zo, you feeling better today?”

Rumi asks as Zoey parts from their impromptu hug. The younger girl bounces on her feet with a big smile.

“Yep! So much better! I'm soooo hungry though!"

Zoey was practically starving. It made sense given that she had spent the entirety of the previous day emptying the contents of her stomach. At that moment Mira turns around with a plate of waffles and a sly smile.

“Lucky for you, I've just finished breakfast!”

Mira sets down the plates on the kitchen counter closest to the other two and starts to take off her apron. Zoey had bought her the apron as an april fools gift, on the front it says ‘kiss the cook’ in sparkly pink lettering. Rumi runs to grab some fruits and syrup while Zoey makes her way over to grab plates and cutlery.

Reaching up Zoey notices that the plates are placed higher than normal which is not unusual, the other two like to tease her about her hight.

What is unusual is that Zoey can reach the plates with ease. Zoey falters for a second before shrugging and grabbing the plates like she was supposed to.

When she turns around to bring them the plates she is immediately stopped by Mira. The girl looms over her with a slight frown on her face.

“Rumi come over here."

Rumi, who was stuffing her face with blueberries, sets them down and steps forward. Mira quickly maneuvers them so they are back to back, humming thoughtfully.

"Zoey, did you hit a growth spurt or something? You're almost as tall as Rumi.”

Mira asks, looking down at her. Rumi turns around and puts her hand to her forehead, looking shocked when it collides with the top of Zoey's head.

“Huh, that's so weird. Lemme grab something.”

Rumi murmurs before turning around to rustle through some cabinets. Eventually she returns triumphantly with a tape measure.

She rolls it out and Zoey stands up straight and watches as Rumi's eyes widen dramatically.

“Babe you've grown like three inches overnight, are you sure your socks don't have heels or something?"

Rumi says as Mira walks over to look for herself. Zoey smiles a little bit and shrugs.

"Well, I've always wanted to be taller.”

Zoey brushes it off easily instead opting to fill her plate with the cooling waffles and berries. Topping everything off with syrup and whipped cream she moves into the living room with the other two behind her.

•••

Zoey clicks on the tv, scrolling through the channels slowly. She isn't really paying attention to what shows she's scrolling past, instead waiting for one of the other girls to suggest something.

Eventually they land on Ghostbusters and all settle down on the couch together.

"Who you gonna call?”

They all say together smiling.

"Aren't we kinda like the ghost busters?”

Rumi asks, twirling a piece of waffle on her fork. Mira nods with a smile and Zoey cheerfully adds on;

“Demon hunters, Ghostbusters, they even sound the same!”

Zoey finished all of her food quickly, quicker than normal that is. It didn't really taste like anything and barely made an impact on her growing hunger. Frowning, she went to wash off her plate and search for something else.

Spying some extra fruit left in a bowl she grabs it and heads back. Every time she eats something it's like it disappears, making her even more hungry. It's probably still because of the fever. All the weird things happening were probably because of that crazy fever that's all.

Sitting back down next to Mira she starts to absentmindedly eat the fruits in her bowl. There are strawberries, apples, a few mini oranges but they all taste bland on her tongue.

The phenomenon is easy to ignore as she keeps her eyes locked on the TV, it was probably fine anyways.

Eventually she starts getting to the peelable fruits, she takes a second to get back into her rhythm but after peeling a baby orange or two she gets into the rhythm.

Assuming (because her gaze was locked onto the tv) Zoey was about half way through the fruit bowl now, at this rate it would seem strange that she's still hungry. It's like that one story, the hungry hungry caterpillar.

Zoey just brushes it off again, maybe she got a high metabolism from her growth spurt.

Zoey couldn't bring herself to think further into it. Her head would get kind of fuzzy whenever she tried to add logic to her situation and it was so simple to shrug it off. Everything was ok, nothing bad was coming of it, there's no reason to worry.

Unpeeling another fruit, Zoey tosses an unusually large slice into her mouth. She barely notices as Mira looks over at her bewildered.

Jabbing Rumi they both watch as Zoey tosses pieces of lemon straight into her mouth. What they don't notice is the faint swirl of green in her eyes.

“Hey zo- whatcha eating?"

Rumi asks slowly with confusion prominent in her features.

"Fruit.”

Zoey speaks around the piece of lemon in her mouth.

“Zoey, you're eating a lemon."

Mira says with a straight face. Looking down Zoey does notice that she is in fact eating a lemon. Shrugging, she continues to do so. So far the lemon has been the only thing remotely filling for her, the acid breaking through the tastelessness she'd forgotten was there.

"S’ good.”

Zoey finishes her lemon and places it in her small pile of peels.

It's a common known fact between the girls that although Zoey loves spice, she can't handle anything sour, much less a straight lemon. Rumi and Mira make eye contact again and Mira opens her mouth to question Zoey again. Unfortunately she is quickly interrupted by Zoey who doesn't even look at her.

“Guys it's fine, probably just left overs of the fever. Just pay attention to the show."

Zoey's face is strangely blank as she says this. Not wanting to push the girl any further, the two drop the topic.

Zoey pops another lemon in her mouth

The acid stings.

•••

Eventually the three had finished their morning movie marathon and decided to head to the gym.

Rumi had wanted to test out her half demon strength in order to feel more at home in her body and the other two didn't mind seeing their girlfriend work out so it was really a win-win. Once Zoey had snapped out of whatever trance she was in she regained her earlier energy and was very excited to hit the treadmill.

Bursting through the doors of the gym, Zoey hops up and down eagerly waiting for her girlfriends to catch up.

“Slow down Zoey, the exercise hasn't even started yet."

Mira grumbles, unhappy she had to run to catch up to Zoey, the girl oblivious to her plight. Rumi scans her gym membership card to get them in and they all head to the locker rooms to change into their usual gym clothes.

Pulling off Rumi's her sweater Zoey is left in only a sports bra. When she reaches to get her normal gym shirt Zoey catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Aside from the fact that she had grown slightly it was also suddenly apparent that Zoey had gained some amount of visible muscle. Where she was previously scrawny she had gained more of a lean build.

Zoey flexes a little in the mirror with a small smile before grabbing the shirt and pulling it over her head. Just like the last time she had tried on one of her shirts it was a bit of a tight fit. Unfortunately, this time Zoey doesn't have any other shirts so she elects to keep it on, doubting anyone will notice.

Rumi and Mira notice.

They stare at Zoey's biceps as she lifts her gym bag into her locker. Mira leans over and whispers to Rumi, trying not to let Zoey hear them;

“When did that happen?"

“Is this how you and Zoey feel?"

Rumi whispers back, following Zoey as she heads into the main gym area.

Mira goes to spot Rumi on the bench press while Zoey starts up the treadmill. As much as Rumi wants to start her exercise, she decides she should take the opportunity to admire Zoey some more while she can. Mira seems to have the same thought as they watch Zoey run on the treadmill without breaking a sweat.

Being a demon hunter has its perks after all. They're already experienced in running at high speeds for long periods of time.

After a while of Zoey running the other two decided to actually start their workout, Rumi lifting as Mira watched her carefully for when she hit failure.

Zoey on the other hand was enjoying her time at the gym less and less. It was as if there were more than just Rumi and Mira's eyes on her, watching her every movement. Deciding to ignore the feeling Zoey ups the speed on the treadmill, running faster than her normal as silently as she could.

Part of the challenge was being quiet as she ran, just as she had been trained to do. Feeling even more unsettled at the thought of her training Zoey pushed harder, reaching speeds she would normally not be able to keep up with.

Eventually even that didn't stop the feeling of being watched and she slowed the treadmill to a stop. For a second Zoey stood there silently, her hands gripping the handlebars, breathing deeply in order to regulate herself.

Once she turns around she sees that her girlfriends weren't looking at her at all, focused on Rumi's bench press. It was probably just a trick of her mind, maybe she was a bit insecure about her shirt being tight.

Walking over to the other two she watched as Rumi hit her failure, struggling to push the bar back up. Quickly Mira steps in and helps her to lift the bar back onto the rack.

Zoey picks up Rumi's water bottle and hands it to her as she takes a break. Soon enough they all move on to other machines but Zoey can't help but eye the bench press.

She already knew how much Rumi could lift and she wanted to test a theory.

When the other two went to change back into their normal clothes Zoey stayed behind. Wandering over to the bench press, Zoey stacked the plates onto the bar until they added up to Rumi's amount, way past what Zoey could normally lift.

The gym was empty at this point, the girls normally staying until it's dark. Even if there were people here they knew not to bother them about being k-pop stars, instead opting to stay away from them.

She knew it was dangerous to try something like this without a spot and she would look really stupid if she got crushed by the bar right now.

But she had to try.

Sliding under the bar she lifts it off the rack. At first she just holds it up, staring at her reflection in the clean metal. As she lowered it she looked closer at her eyes, there she sees that same green glow light up her irises.

She feels a surge of strength rush through her and suddenly she is easily able to rep a weight that would normally be impossible for her.

Setting it back on the rack she sits up straight, staring down at her shaking hands. She tries to take another few deep breaths to calm herself but instead she starts hyperventilating. She cant catch her breath instead it escapes put her throat as quick as she tries to draw it in.

She's being watched. She knows it, she feels too tall, too strong, it's not her. She's not her.

Bolting up, she runs to the full length mirror next to the dumbbells.

Her eyes are still glowing, she feels sick all over again. It's not fine, something is wrong with her. She needs to fix it, get it out. She needs to get h

.

.

.

Zoey jolts upright on the couch. Rumi who had fallen asleep on top of her falls off her shoulder and tumbles onto the couch.

Mira sits up a little straighter, looking at Zoey with that same worried look Zoey should be familiar with at this point.

Rumi, who was awoken by her fall sits up and sleepily mumbles;

“what's goin on?"

Zoey shakes her head, trying to shake something loose, a memory, an explanation, something. But nothing comes.

"Sorry, I guess I fell asleep and my brain did that oh you're falling thing.”

Zoey lies.

She hears the words slip out of her lips, she didn't mean to lie but it just happened. Instead of correcting herself she settles back into the couch.

This time they're watching ParaNorman, one of Rumi's favorites. Looking around Zoey notices a few half eaten chip bags and an open package of oreos. It still smells faintly of takeout in the room as well.

Checking the time she assumes that they must've gotten takeout on their way back from the gym before coming to the couch to start the movie.

She must have been really tired after that treadmill because she was totally blanking on everything that happened afterwards.

It was probably cool anyways, fever aftereffects most likely. Mira and Rumi don't seem to think anything was wrong so it was just her being weird again.

Wrapping an arm around both her girlfriends she drifts off again. She was calm, her head silent, somewhat at peace.

Everything was a-ok.

Chapter Text

It was about mid-day when things started going wrong.

The entire morning Zoey had been super uncoordinated, tripping and bumping into things left and right. She had bumps and bruises all over her body at this point. 

Zoey was really glad that she had chosen to wear a hoodie and long pants today as they hid her small injuries well. She didn't want to be a burden on the other two girls, they would probably be annoyed to have her complain about a few stumbles.

It was like her body didn't want to listen to her, her hands had tremors in them at the worst times and she was walking like she had two left feet. 

She also happened to be really hungry. 

Sure she had eaten breakfast and even a snack before lunch but just like the day before it was tasteless. 

They were also out of lemons, which was giving Zoey a weird amount of anxiety. She felt like she was going off the rails, spacing out during conversations, seeing things that weren't there. 

All in all, Zoey was not having a good time. 

And it was only getting worse. 

They were all seated in the dance studio, going over this popular new dance trend that they had planned to do together for clout. 

Mira was talking about what it would be like for them regarding the dance while pulling up the video. Rumi was nodding along eagerly, having been the one to suggest the trend.

And Zoey was trying her best to pay attention, she really was. 

But the more she tried the more the room became unfocused and blurry. Everything the others were saying sounded muffled, and in the back of her mind she could hear high pitched ringing. 

Shaking her head she tries her best to focus back on Mira but the ringing comes back louder. That almost familiar numbness starts to creep up her arms again as if her limbs were freezing slowly. 

Dejavu might as well be an old friend with how much she seems to feel it these days. 

The room starts to take on the same sickly green glow and Zoey watches in confusion as Mira and Rumi flicker out of existence, instead replaced with two other people, familiar but unnameable.

She looks to the large mirror that covers the wall of the room they are in and sees that she too is no longer herself. 

Zoey

Zoey

Zo-

“ZOEY!" 

Rumi yells, flicking Zoey in the face. The younger girl jolts upwards and sees both of her girlfriends standing above her. Mira offers her a hand which Zoey takes and uses to pull herself up. 

"Are you alright? You were really spaced out there.”

Mira says, looking her up and down. Zoey gives her a nod and a smile before bouncing backwards in false excitement. 

“Yep! Totally good!" 

Zoey lies easily, she's weirdly shaken by what she just saw but she didn't want her girlfriends to think she was crazy or anything like that they already put up with enough of her bullshit anyways.

They won't understand 

Mira gives her a small nod in return before Rumi grabs their arms and leads them into their starting positions. 

It's like second nature for Zoey to copy Mira's movements, it never takes the group more than 3 run throughs to have a good enough idea of what they are supposed to do. They work like a well oiled machine as they dance together. 

"One to three four!”

Mira says as they all move in sync, occasionally taking breaks to check the original dance trend video. 

Once they are confident enough Rumi sets up the camera and presses record. 

They all hurry to their places as the music starts, smiles on each of their faces. 

Zoey was determined to get it on the first try, they had spent most of their lunch time practicing this so it should be easy. 

Zoey falls into the dance, moving her arms and legs just like they practiced. They make it through about half the trend before Zoey catches a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye.

At their point that's not unusual for Zoey so she continues to dance. What is unusual is that it stays there. An almost see-through figure standing in the corner, faceless and yet watching. 

The dance is almost done so Zoey decides to push through but for the rest of the song she eyes the figure cautiously. 

The second the song is over Zoey turns to Mira and grabs her arm closely.

“Do you see that?" 

Zoey says pointing to the figure which has worryingly come closer. Zoeys hands are trembling, her pupils contracted into slits as she watches the silhouette take slow steps towards them. 

Mira on the other hand only sees a blank wall where Zoey is pointing. Mira reaches out and cautiously takes Zoey's other hand into hers and turns the younger girl towards her. 

"I don't see anything there, are you ok Zoey? Maybe we should eat some food and take a nap?”

Mira brushes a stray hair out of Zoeys face as she says this a small frown adorning her face. Although the gesture was meant to be comforting Zoey felt like she was the definition of high-strung. 

She breaks away from Mira was a slight nod, looking at Rumi instead who had been fiddling with the video they took. 

"Y- yeah, sorry must've been my reflection or something. I could go for some food.”

Before Mira could question her, Zoey hurries over to Rumi to watch as she uploads their video to all of their accounts. 

Just behind Mira Zoey could still see the figure, it was about the same height as Mira but that was the only feature Zoey could make out. 

She knew this person, or knew of her at the very least. Maybe she was hallucinating or something and that's why she felt this way. 

Maybe it was a ghost, they had been watching a lot of ghost related media recently. But what would a ghost want to do with Zoey?

Absentmindedly Zoey got up to follow the other two as they left to order dinner. She hasn't wronged a spirit in any way has she? The only other reason would be-

Unfinished business

It was right next to her, she was right next to her. 

Immediately Zoey stopped in her tracks and straightened up. The other two don't seem to notice as they continued down the hall, leaving her with this spector. 

You're going to help me Zoey

You're the only one who can

I need you

Zoey didn't dare look at the ghost hovering next to her. Each breath she took was shaky and her hands twitched anxiously. 

“You need me?" 

Zoey whispered into the cold air, her words visualized in the puff of white air that her breath released. The temperature in the room had decreased an extreme amount while the ghost had been talking. 

That's right Zoey

The ghost cooed in her ear. There was a part of her brain that screamed and cried for her to run, escape as far away as she could. 

But there was a larger part of herself that said she was needed. She wanted to be of service, to help, and she could help this ghost, the ghost needed her. 

Who was she to say no

•••

When Zoey ‘wakes up’ it's a little less abrupt this time. 

They're all seated around a table eating takeout. It's dark outside which is strange considering the last thing Zoey could think of was stepping out of the dance room. 

Her vision fades in and out as she regains control of her body. All of her food is still on her plate while both of her girlfriends are still full. 

Rumi is on her phone while Mira keeps glancing up at Zoey. Zoey's first reaction is to be defensive, to ask ‘what are you looking at’ but she stops herself and frowns instead. 

That really isn't like her. What is going on with her? Maybe she does need more sleep like Mira suggested. She doesn't want to be a burden. 

“Hey Zoey, what was up with your eyes?" 

Rumi asks, holding out her phone for Zoey to see. On it is the dance video they had posted. Zoeys eyes search the screen, briefly landing on the time. She swallows a gasp when she realizes it's been 4 hours since they'd filmed the video. 

4 hours that she doesn't remember. 

Watching the video at first glance there's nothing unusual about it but at a closer look she can see her own eyes grow frantic as a green light fills them. In the video she keeps glancing to the side nervously at something off screen, the other two don't seem to notice. 

The commenters notice though.

Huntrixfan3490- Is Zoey ok? She looks nervous…

Zorumirashippper82- Were Zoey's eyes always green or is it just me?

Bobbyisking609- Loved the dance but Zoey didn't seem too into it. What's up with that?

Zoey grimaced as she read the comments. Of course the fans noticed, they noticed everything, she has to be perfect.

“I dunno, I don't control my eye color.”

Zoey grumbles before she's able to stop it. Her eyes widen as she realizes what she just said, she didn't mean to say that, she had to be happy or they were going to hate her. Why'd she say that? It's not like her at all!

Mira quickly voices her thoughts leaning over the table to rest her hand over Zoey's. 

“Hey, are you ok? You haven't been acting like yourself lately, you've been so quiet after we left the dance studio.”

Zoey bites her lip at the mention of the time in between now and the dance studio. It was all a blank space for her, why couldn't she remember.

Realizing she'd been silent for too long Zoey quickly searches for an explanation, her hands trembling in her lap. 

“I'm sorry,-”

Zoey mumbles looking down, she can't seem to muster up a reason as to why she's being so weird. She didn't want to be a burden to the others and memory gaps would probably worry them way too much, Zoey could handle it!

She couldn't be too much, or they would leave her. They don't need her, hell they probably just keep her around because they pity her.

She knew she was regressing a little, she'd been working on not thinking like that but the worries just kept flowing. It felt so true, they would probably be better off without Zoey, just like everyone else. 

Rumi is quick to comfort her, standing up and giving her a side hug.

“Hey, maybe tomorrow we can go out to the bathhouse like you suggested!" 

"I did?”

The words slipped out of Zoeys mouth before she could stop them. She really needs to work on her impulse control, just another thing she needs to be better at. 

In her self loathing Zoey doesn't catch the look that Rumi and Mira share with each other, a silent promise to discuss once Zoey is asleep. 

“Come on it's late, we can clean up in the morning. Let's all head to bed now.”

Mira suggests, grabbing Zoey's hand and helping her stand up. Zoey doesn't say anything, everything she says just seems to dig her more into a hole. 

They don't care what you have to say anyways.

They'll leave you 

But I won't 

And it's easy to believe, to listen, to agree. 

•••

Zoey falls asleep fairly quickly. 

Once she does, the other two quickly move out of the room and into the living room. They seem to be of the same mind when it comes to the facts;

“Somethings wrong with Zoey”

They say at the same time. Rumi lets out a nervous laugh at their timing but it dies out when she sees how serious Mira is. 

“She had that super bad fever one day, and then the next it's gone? And she gets a random growth spurt? She's been shutting down for hours at a time. I'm worried for her.”

Rumi frowns and nods, she'd noticed all of those things about their usually peppy Zoey. 

“Yeah, and although the way she said it was unusual, Zoey cant control her eye color.”

They both sit in thought for a few minutes before Rumi lifts her head with a nervous expression. 

“It all started after that ghost summoning thing we did…”

"You don't really think-?" 

“I'm not sure,

but it could be supernatural…”

“Either way we have to be there for Zoey, we need to be there when she's ready to talk." 

What they didn't know was that by the time she was ready to talk, it will have been far too late

Chapter Text

Zoey was sitting on a couch, it wasn't her couch.

Come to think of it, Zoey had no idea where she was. It appeared to be an interview of sorts, some guy was talking but it was all muffled.

The stage was bathed in a familiar green yellow light and there were two girls next to her that she couldn't quite place.

"Ha– —-- —--- music — —--- performance next week!"

Zoey can't quite decipher the words from the girl next to her, her voice muffled and static like as it escaped her mouth. The host(?) laughs and responds casually before waving off to the side.

She follows his line of sight, expecting the production team she'd grown used to in this environment. Instead she is met with an endless void, black nothingness just past the edge of the stag.

Whipping her head around Zoey quickly realizes she is surrounded by the void, the only things not consumed are her and the other girls. She tries to ask them what's going on by her words are never realized, instead a voice not unlike her own speaks for her.

“That was a good one right girls? Come on, let's head home!"

The others nod and move to stand up, muffled voices muttering in response. Zoey tries to get up to follow them but her body refuses to move. She's frozen to her seat as she watches the other two walk straight into the void.

She tries to call out to them but her voice refuses to listen, her efforts barely resulting in a cough. Instead she is forced to watch as the darkness encroaches upon her until eventually it swallows her whole.

And she falls, down down down into the deep blackness for what feels like an eternity.

Zoey doesn't know if she'll ever stop falling.

.

.

.

Zoey jolts upright in her bed, Mira's arms are wrapped around her midsection and Rumi's legs are thrown across both her girlfriends.

Her sudden movement shakes Rumi, ever the light sleeper, awake. The leader grumbles as she opens her eyes and Zoey waves sheepishly as both a good morning and sorry for waking you up.

Rumi watches her with bleary eyes before nodding her head and promptly falling back asleep. Zoey sighs and carefully untangles herself from both the girls.

Today she has an early morning dental appointment followed by a photoshoot, after which she plans to jot down as many lyrics as she can so they can be ready for when their break ends.

It was a Thursday which meant that she would go grab some boba for the girls before she got back, maybe even a little extra snack if she was feeling it. Thursdays were never Zoey's favorite so the little tradition helps to brighten them up.

It was a little weird that her alarm didn't go off this morning but that probably meant she was going to be early!

She tiptoes back to her room before carefully pulling out her clothes for the day. Despite their money Celine apparently can't manage to fix the creaking of their floors, it's not like Zoey's complaining but it does make things like this difficult from time to time.

She takes longer than usual because her outfits are out of order, some were even missing from the closet, it was probably Rumi stealing her clothes again.

Zoey chuckled at the thought before pulling out a yellow dress shirt, and a blue-green sweater vest (hung on the rack with same color pants). Zoey pulls them on quickly and checks the time.

Swearing to herself Zoey realizes that she barely has fifteen minutes to get out of the house if she was going to make it there on time.

Forgoing her previous sneakiness Zoey hastily applies her makeup. Rushing out into the living room Zoey makes a beeline to her wallet and keys. As soon as she retrieves them she turns around ready to head out but is instead met with a very sleepy Mira.

Rumi, who is also very sleepy, pops out from behind her and wraps Zoey in a hug preventing her from leaving. Mira walks around from the side to hug her as well and rest her head on the youngest's shoulder.

“What are you guys doing? I've got to leave now or I'm going to be late!”

Zoey says slightly distressed, she had always found it incredibly disrespectful and inconsiderate to be late. She always made an effort not to waste peoples time so her being held up was really really bad.

“Where are you going Zo, it's our off day."

Mira grumbles into Zoey's shoulder, hugging her tighter. Zoey tries to pull away which only causes Rumi to follow suit and hug her tighter.

"Ive got that appointment today, and the photoshoot! I'm going to be late if you don't let me go! I'll buy you guys the boba on my way home, promise!”

Zoey says, exasperated, she was going to be really late at this rate. Maybe she would have to run some red lights but she might still be able to make it if she left right now.

She's too lost in her thoughts to notice as both girls loosen their grips on her and look up concerned.

Mira reaches out to tilt Zoey's head up, as their eyes meet Mira's Zoey notices the slight frown on her face. Her eyes flick to the side and see the furrow of Rumi's brows.

“Zo, it's Saturday, we don't have any plans today."

"What? No?”

Zoey frowns deeply, are they trying to prank her? She definitely hasn't done that appointment and she'd been kinda looking forward to the photoshoot. Now really isn't the best time for them to be messing with her, she really has to go…

Rumi quickly searches for her phone, switching to the calendar app and showing it to Zoey.

“See look, Saturday."

She says, shoving the phone in Zoey's face. The phone clearly says Saturday and when Zoey pulls out her own phone it tells her the same date as well.

"Heh very funny guys, changing the dates on my phone and all that, but I've really got places to be!”

Mira spun her around with both hands on Zoey's shoulders, pinning her to the spot.

"Seriously Zo, we know how important being on time is for you and we wouldn't mess around with you like this. I promise you it's Saturday."

“Oh…”

Zoey looks down, Mira's right, they're usually really good about being on time and running on schedule they wouldn't do this. She looks down and starts wringing her hands together nervously,

"You've been really off the past few days, are you ok?”

Rumi asks, reaching up and brushing a lock of Zoey's hair out of her face. Zoey smiles crookedly in return and backs away from the touch, she probably looks stupid, not knowing what day it is. Now she's gone and made her girlfriends worry, it's probably nothing too, they don't need anything else on their plates.

It's not like they'd care anyways

They'd probably just call you crazy and leave you

You're better off without them anyways.

"Oh! Haha, silly me, I've been really tired the past few days. It must be the brain fog!”

Zoey sets down her wallet and car keys with a large smile plastered on her face.

“Come on! I'll make breakfast as an apology!"

Zoey runs off to the kitchen before the other two can question what she was sorry for.

Today she would make chocolate chip pancakes. It was what she made most times considering her skills were limited to pancakes and American grilled cheeses.

Mira and Rumi sat down behind the counter as she continued to cook, they didn't press her for details and instead started up some light banter.

She was partially done with the batter when her ears started ringing. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence, the ringing, what was uncommon was the faint sound of laughter that accompanied it.

Glancing back Zoey acknowledged that although her bandmates were giggling slightly the voices were by no means theirs. She turns back to the pancakes and starts to place them on the stove top, grabbing a spatula to flip them as she continues cooking.

The laughing gets louder the more she tries to cook, overpowering the sound of her girlfriends.

“Yesterday —--- — —-- Ce -ine —-”

Zoey's head snapped up at the name. Celine? Why was she hallucinating about Celine? She tries to listen closer but the laughing just gets louder, almost as if they're laughing at her feeble attempts to understand.

She frowns and clutches at her spatula, they had gone no contact with Celine soon after Rumi came out about her patterns, so why was she hearing her name?

So lost in thought Zoey didn't notice as her hands grew hot and the girls behind her started yelling. She only turned back in when Rumi pushed her away from the stove and the apparently on fire pancakes.

Soon enough the fire alarms started ringing as Mira did her best to douse the flames. The ringing dispelled the ghastly sound of laughter but despite her newfound clarity Zoey couldn't do much but stand there dumbly.

While Mira continued to do her best with the flaming pancakes Rumi walked over to inspect Zoey's hands.

She lifted them up to the point where both of them could see the slight burning. It was strange how much Zoey knew it should hurt and yet how numb her hands felt. Matter of fact she hadn't felt much of anything today, not her girlfriends normally warm embrace, not the cold air when she rolled out of bed.

It was almost frightening how numb she felt.

She looked down at her blistering hands now shaking slightly, her body felt light like she was floating and darkness started to creep into the edge of her vision.

“-ey”

"Zoey!"

Rumi was shaking her shoulder, trying to get the younger girl's attention, Mira was standing close behind her with bandages in her hands and a concerned look on her face. Even further behind Zoey could see that the pancake fire had been put out and the fire alarm had turned off.

“Jesus, Zoey, are you ok? We've been worried about you, it's not like you to forget things like this.”

"Like what!?”

Zoey retaliated with some sense of defensiveness, there was some part of her that didn't like the questioning but Mira kept going.

It's not like they'd even care.

"Like Thursday when you forgot about your appointment and didn't care when you were late! You also forgot about Boba day, which isn't a big deal, but you woke up this morning promising to buy some! What's up with you?”

They're going to abandon you.

“I don't know! And if I did it's none of your business!”

Zoey jabs turning around and walking away.

The further she got the worse she felt, she yelled at Mira, lied to her, even messed up breakfast. And apparently she was late on a day she doesn't remember and forgot her weekly tradition, what if they all hate her? The doctors, the photo contractors, her girlfriends, that's why they're being so accusatory they're looking for a reason to leave her.

They're going to call you crazy.

They're going to leave you.

Just like they left me.