DISCLAIMER: I forgot to do this earlier. I do not own these characters, however it is my goal to remain as true to them as possible. :)
Casper sat in his playroom patiently. He glanced at the alarm clock for the fifth time. Twenty more minutes...
This day seemed to go by so slowly.
He didn't really understand why Kat had made such a big deal about going to school by herself. It wasn't like he was going to let anybody see him or anything. He was really good at being invisible, and he wouldn't cause any trouble. She wouldn't even have to talk to him if she didn't want to.
He just wanted to be near her.
He sighed, stretching out on the ground among the rest of his toys. He was playing with his rubber ball and jacks set. He knew how the game was supposed to go, but he invented his own game that he liked much better. He could play for hours.
He spun each jack like a top. They swirled and wobbled, pirouetting across the ground like little silver ballerinas. He loved watching them all spin together. As they spun and twirled, they almost seemed alive, deciding which way to go. This way or that.
But eventually they would lose momentum.
Every jack eventually gave up the dance and stopped spinning. Eventually died. Stood still.
All except one. There was always the very last jack that would hold out longer than the others, even if that meant dancing all alone.
Casper placed his chin on his hands, watching enraptured as the last little tin dancer spun and spun. It just didn't want to give up. He could relate.
He guessed that Dr. Harvey would have something to say about that. About the symbolism of the spinning jack in Casper's mind resembling his own reluctance to "give up the dance of his old life" and cross over, like he was supposed to do.
Or something like that.
Casper didn't really know about all that psycho mumbo jumbo. He just knew he always loved it when the jack just wouldn't stop spinning. It made him feel...good.
Dr. Harvey was supposed to be his uncles' therapist. But sometimes, if he wasn't too busy, Casper would try to get the chance to talk to him about things. Certain things that he couldn't really talk to anyone else about.
Like the things he remembered from his life. The way his father tried so hard to make that machine to bring him back to life, so that Casper could grow up one day. And somehow that made Casper feel very guilty.
It was nice to have someone who was willing to listen.
That morning after Kat had gone off to school ( making Casper swear that he wouldn't follow her), Dr. Harvey had asked to talk to Casper in private.
Casper agreed wondering if he was in trouble. If maybe Dr. Harvey saw that he had kissed his daughter and was mad about it. Sometimes, when a girl gets a new boyfriend, it takes time for the girl's dad to get used to the idea. But Casper figured Dr. Harvey was such a nice man. It wouldn't take him too long.
But that morning's talk turned out to be different than Casper expected. Dr. Harvey wanted to ask him weird questions that Casper didn't really know how to answer.
Why did he chose Kat to dance with, when there were so many other things he could have done with this single chance to be alive again? He could have eaten a real meal again, gone outside to walk under the moonlight again. But instead, he just wanted to be with Kat.
Why?
To Casper, that was a silly question. Kat was the most wonderful person in the world! She was smart, funny, and the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Who wouldn't want to spend their last few moments alive with a girl like her?
But Dr. Harvey didn't seem satisfied with this answer. He wrote a bunch of scribbling on his notepad.
"Casper, would it be alright if I told you what I think?"
Casper nodded, but for some reason the steady gaze the therapist gave him over the rim of his glasses made him anxious.
Harvey spoke slowly, writing in his notepad all the while. He said that Casper's "perceived feelings" for Kat were really another symbolism of his refusal to let go of the self concept of himself as a young man growing up and coming of age.
Casper wasn't accepting the fact that he wasn't a young boy growing up anymore. And that the sooner he could accept that, the sooner he could move on and cross over.
"Casper, please listen. Your father wanted so much for you to live on in this world, and without intending to, he put a great deal of pressure on you to do so by building the Lazarus. You are refusing to accept your death in an attempt to live up to his expectations. But I'm here to tell you, that isn't fair to you.
"Casper, you're not alive. And there's nothing wrong with that."
Casper felt very strange. He backed away from Dr. Harvey's desk, fear and confusion crumpling his face.
He didn't feel like talking anymore.
Without a word, he vanished.
All that day, Dr. Harvey wandered about the mansion, calling for him.
Casper heard him, but wouldn't appear.
He didn't understand why, but what Dr. Harvey had said to him hurt and frightened him terribly. He wasn't mad at Dr. Harvey. Not really. But all the same, it was better not to talk to him for a while.
He went up to his playroom to find his jacks set, and took pleasure in them all the rest of that day.
The ghost's soft blue eyes watched the little silver dancer that outlasted all of the others.
Don't give up, he told it in his mind. Don't you dare give up that spinning.
The old grandfather clock in the downstairs hall chimed three o'clock. Kat would be coming home any minute!
Casper flew into the kitchen, careful to stay invisible in case Dr. Harvey was still poking about. He wanted to make his new girlfriend a special after school snack. Then maybe she'll play cowboys and Indians with him in the back yard if he helped her with her homework.
"Casper! Casper, please come out. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you!" Dr. Harvey wandered into the kitchen.
Casper froze, not knowing what to do.
Thinking he was alone, Dr. Harvey sat down at the table, rubbing his temples tiredly.
"James, you big-mouthed idiot. You only hurt the poor kid, and you're supposed to be helping him," he muttered to himself.
He rested his head in his forearm on the table.
Poor Dr. Harvey. Casper bit his lip, making himself visible. He picked up the fresh carafe and hesitantly hovered over to the table.
"Coffee?" he offered.
Dr. Harvey looked up, startled. He smiled.
"I'd love some. Casper, I'm sorry about all that I said before, I just..No hard feelings?"
"Naaahh," Casper grinned. Then he happily busied himself about with Kat's snack.
