Marco Diaz was a normal kid. He was 15 years old, an only child, and in the top of his class. He had a few friends, but not too many. Today was a day just like any other. Marco was walking home from school, like he did every day.

As he began heading home, it began raining lightly. Except, it didn't stay very light. It began raining harder and harder. By the time he was a few blocks from the school, it was pouring rain. Marco could barely see for 10 feet. He began to cross the bridge over the river, but the ground was very slippery, and unfortunately, Marco happened to slip right off the bridge and into the water below.

Marco began yelling for help as the current swiftly carried him off down the river, but his calls were drowned out by the torrential downpour. He was suddenly pulled down by the current, and struggled to resurface. Only, the current was too strong, and his lungs were demanding air right now.

The next thing Marco could remember was waking up as someone shook him slightly.

"Hello? Hey, you okay?"

Marco moaned slightly.

"WAKE UP!"

Marco jolted awake, coughing out a bit of water as he sat up on a dusty bed.

"Hey! Are you okay?" A voice spoke.

"What's going on?" Marco said.

"You're awake."

Marco looked around, and saw he was in an old bedroom. Everything had a layer of dust on it. Looking towards his left, he saw a girl about his age standing next to him, looking at him in slight concern, but she was relieved when she saw he was okay.

"Who are you? What happened? Where am I?"

"I'm Star, I saved you from drowning, and you're in what used to be my house, in the middle of the forest." The girl, Star, answered.

"I'm Marco. And uh, thanks for saving me." Marco said. "Wait. What do you mean, 'used to be'?"

"Oh, uh… well, you see, I'm not exactly… alive." Star said.

"What do you mean? Wait… are you a zombie?!" Marco said, backing up in fear.

"No, no, I'm not a zombie. I'm a ghost, actually." Star said. She floated off the ground to show him.

"W-w-what are you going to do to me? Are you going to possess me? Haunt my dreams? Suck the life out of me like juice from a juice box?!" Marco was panicking now as he backed up further.

"What? Ew! No! No, nothing like that." She said as she tried to calm him down. "I'm not gonna hurt you. If I did want to hurt you, don't you think I would've done it already?"

Marco stayed silent for a moment. "So you're… not going to kill me?"

"Of course not. I'm not that kind of person." She said. Marco visibly relaxed.

"Well, do you know the way back to Echo Creek?" Marco asked.

"Well, uh… no, I don't. Sorry." The ghost said.

"Oh. Well, could you at least take me to the river you found me in?"

"Why do you want to go there?" Star said.

"I was hoping I could trace the river back home." Marco began heading towards the door.

"Wait!" The ghost said. "Could you… stay here, for a little while? I… it's been so long since I've seen anyone. I've been here all by myself for a really long time."

Marco paused and began to think for a minute. "Well, I guess I could stay for a while." He said.

…

A month had passed since Marco got lost and was saved from drowning by Star.

Star told him about how she had became a ghost. Her and her family were ambushed by a band of robbers. They killed her and her parents, and Star swore vengeance on the criminals with her dying breath. She came back as a ghost and killed the robbers before they even crossed the river, and now she was confined to a one mile radius within her former house.

Over time, Marco had decided to stay, and the two had grown to be close friends. Both of them had also fallen in love with each other, but neither of them knew about how the other felt about them yet.

Unfortunately, Marco had recently grown ill with an unknown disease. Nobody had ever found a cure, and it was a very lethal sickness.

"Marco, I'm so sorry, I can't find a cure!" Star cried. Marco coughed and weakly lifted a hand up towards her face to wipe away her tears.

"Star… don't worry about it." Marco said hoarsely. He began to feel his consciousness fading, and knew he had only seconds left. "Star… before I die, I need to tell you something…"

"Yes, Marco?"

"I… I love you…" Marco said.

"I love you too, Marco. So much." Star said.

"I want to come back as a ghost… so we can be together." Marco's eyes closed for the final time. Star could only cry as his heart finally gave in and ceased its beating.

Several minutes passed. Eventually, Star had to bury his body, but paused when she saw a slight movement in his arm. Marco opened his eyes, but wasn't breathing. His body had also stopped making any indentation on the bed. He was a ghost.

"Marco?"

"I'm here, Star." Marco said.

Star immediately tackled him in a hug, crying tears of joy. Marco gladly hugged back.

"Hey, Star?" Marco said.

"Yes, Marco?" She said.

"Would you like to be my girlfriend?" He asked.

"Of course, Marco." She said, then proceeded to kiss him.

Ever since that day, the ghosts began a relationship in the old house, and they couldn't be happier. It might be lonely and boring at times, but they had each other. They'd be together forever.