Unfinished Business
Chapter Three
Author's Note:
Okay, I realize it's been forever and a day since my last update but I do have my reasons. I promise. But I have been working on two ideas for this story; one being a songfic oneshot about Casper's time away and the other being a Soundtrack. Yes, a soundtrack with music that relates to the story. And while I'm more or less finished with it, I've decided to wait a little while before releasing it for your hearing pleasure. So, that'll probably be out by Christmas. Oh, and I wanted to thank those of you that have reviewed so thank you HeartlessandLazy, Livvy, AndSheSmiled89, hero stuff rulez, Invader Ivy, and imsuchanut for reviewing! I appreciate it a lot. (:
Kat
Kat opened the door to one of the many guest room's occupying the house and swung out her arm, as if to present something amazing. "Tada."
She watched Cameron examine the elegantly decorated guest room and nod in approval. Cameron plopped down on the bed, placing his hands behind his head and giving her a cocky grin. "I think I could get used to this."
Kat scoffed and looked over her buzzed friend. "Don't get too used to it. If my dad hears that you've been spending the night, he might actually start to think something's going on between us."
"I thought your dad liked me though?" Cameron asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Kat hated to admit it, but he looked adorable when he was confused.
Kat smirked and sat at the edge of the bed. "But that doesn't mean he wants to find me sleeping with you!"
Cam chuckled. "I think he'd know if we were sleeping together." He winked and she laughed, smacking him upside the head.
"Funny." She stood up from the bed, yawning and glanced at the clock on the wall seeing that it was 12:45. "Well... I'm gonna head off to bed, you know where my room is if you need anything."
Cam nodded, a little disappointed that she was leaving him. "Goodnight."
Kat smiled and stood in the doorway, closing the door behind her. "'Night."
Kat entered her- his bedroom and sat down on the bed. The room hadn't changed much over the years. It still had the same old green walls and the quilt she'd found of his in the top of her closet right after he'd left. Her father had actually bought her a new comforter last year but she'd never used it.
Right now it was sitting in the package, under her bed and only saw the light on really cold winter nights. Kat had actually loved the comforter, it was exactly her taste; dark purple with the outline of many black flowers on it. But since Casper had left she'd wanted to keep his memory close to her and his old quilt and their bedroom were the closest things she had to him, what with him being a ghost and all.
Kat opened one of the drawers to her dresser and pulled out a pair of her comfiest PJ shorts and her old softball T-shirt from the 9th grade, and went into the bathroom to change.
Damn, she looked like shit. Her hair was a mess, and her makeup had smudged. Kat sighed and brushed her teeth and washed the makeup off her face, before brushing the knots from her hair. She gazed into the mirror one last time and noticed the heavy bags under her eyes. "Yup, time for bed." She declared, exiting her bathroom and returning to their bedroom where she pulled the covers out from where they were tucked in under the mattress and climbing underneath the covers. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
Suddenly Kat awoke to a fairly cold wind blowing into the bedroom. Shivering from the bitter cold, Kat stood up and pulled the other comforter out from under the bed, quickly wrapping it around herself to keep warm. How could it be so cold in here? No windows were open, the heat was up, and the balcony doors were- open. Bingo.
"What the...?" Kat murmured to herself. She could have sworn she'd shut the doors before bed. She shook her head disorientedly, muttering about how her few drinks at the party were the culprit of this forgetfulness. "I'm never drinking again."
Instead of shutting the doors and curling back up in her bed like she originally planned to do, Kat slipped on her slippers and stepped out into the cool autumn air. It was late October and the leaves on the Manor's grounds were starting to fall, covering the lawn with thousands of red, orange, and yellow splotches which she could see even in the night. "Almost Halloween again."
Halloween- it had been one of her favorite holidays since she was little, but ever since the Halloween dance when she was 12- everything had changed. Not only was that holiday now ruined, but around this time of year she couldn't help but hope that Casper would come back. She didn't know what she'd actually do if he did come back, what with the slim chances of it ever happening and all, but she couldn't help wishing.
"Well it's pathetic." She murmured to herself, pulling the comforter closer to her freezing body and watching as her breath became visible.
"You know," A familiar sarcastic voice began from behind her. "talking to yourself is the first sign of craziness."
Kat sighed helplessly. The trio had more or less left her alone that day, not speaking to her since breakfast, one she had to make. Without Casper, they'd come to the conclusion that she was now their personal slave, but seeing as her father couldn't cook to save his life and the Trio were both too lazy and unable to be trusted to handle this responsibility, she went with it.
"What do you want, Stretch? I'd kind of like to be left alone." She asked in an annoyed tone.
Stretch ignored her request though. "And wanting to be alone all the time, that too."
"Again, I repeat. What do you want?" Kat inquired in a fierce voice. She was tired, upset, and could really do without the nettlesome ghost's commentary right now. Ever since Casper's departure two years ago, the Trio had more or less left her alone to deal on her own. But of course, once in awhile Kat would find herself in her current situation- a conversation with Stretch. Wonderful.
Stretch moved into Kat's line of vision and grinned in his usual sardonic way. "What? A ghost can't just stop in and say hi to his fleshie friend?"
Kat scoffed. She hardly considered them friends, but decided not to comment, knowing it wouldn't do any good. Stretch sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Alright, what's with the lack of bitchy sarcasm? I almost always get some kinda witty quip out of you." He questioned. Ever since day one she'd always had some kind of smartass remark to his comments, but lately he was lucky if he got any response.
"It's 3 am, Stretch. I don't really have the energy to argue with you right now. Try again when the sun's up." She replied, watching the waves crash on the beach.
"You sure that's it? 'Cause ever since bulb-head left-" Stretch tried, but was cut off by Kat.
"I'm fine. Casper left and that's fine. I don't need him either." She lied but Stretch didn't exactly look convinced.
Stretch watched her carefully for a possible crack in her facade after his next comment. "That's a little harsh, ain't it? Short-sheet wouldn't have left without a good reason."
Kat whirled around and glared at the ghost. He was much longer (as weird as that sounds) than Casper, but you could see the resemblance between the two. His violet eyes widened, surprised by her sudden movement and backed up some.
"Why are you standing up for him? It's not like you gave a shit about him anyway." Kat snapped angrily, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "He was basically your slave."
Stretch looked taken aback for a moment but quickly regained his composure, with a frown on his transparent face and hardness in his violet orbs. "Not that it's really any of your business, but I did care about Casper. Very much. He was my favorite nephew after all."
"He was your only nephew, Stretch. And you weren't exactly all that great at expressing anything even resembling love towards him." Kat replied, noticing that that was one of the very few times Stretch had actually used Casper's real name.
Stretch floated closer to the edge and looked out towards the ocean. "Ever since Casper- died, I haven't exactly been able to be around him without feeling guilty."
"Guilty?" Kat asked. Were her ears deceiving her? Why would Stretch feel guilty about Casper's death? It's not like he killed him.
Stretch nodded, and seemed like he was someplace else entirely. "When Casper was out sledding that day. There was a reason why his father didn't make him come back in when he should." He said this, guilt and pain could be heard clearly in his voice.
"J.T and I- we were arguing that day about Fatso, Stinkie and I's drinking habits, and how we should stop for Casper's sake. He looked up to us, and we should've been more of an example." He continued, eyes closed tightly. Kat could easily see how much he regretted not giving it up. If he had, maybe J.T would have thought to check on Casper, and he might not have died. "And because of that argument, that distraction; Casper died. It was my fault."
Kat took in a sharp breath. Could this be Stretch's Unfinished Business? "You couldn't have known that Casper would die."
Stretch nodded in agreement. "Your right, but I should have at least remembered that he was out there. I shouldn't have been so immature."
Kat found herself silenced, unable to think of anything she could say to make him feel better. She didn't understand, being an outsider to their old world, and couldn't think of much she could do. She couldn't very well assure him that it wasn't his fault. That was something only Casper could do.
"I-I'm sorry. I know it doesn't mean much, coming from an outsider and all, but I don't think he blamed you. Casper didn't seem like the type to hold a grudge."
Stretch was silent for a moment and she instantly regretted saying anything. Why was she so awful at comforting people? It was probably because of her lack of real experience with people. For years she'd been seen as an outcast, and only with urging from her father to at least try to make friends after Casper left had she even spoken to Cameron.
Stretch shrugged his thin shoulders, and his old sarcastic smile returned. "So Kat, does this mean we're friends?"
The brunette grinned cockily and laughed. "I don't think so."
But before Stretch could toss another comment her way, a familiar voice drifted out from just outside Kat's bedroom. "Kat?" She heard Cameron's voice say in a hushed voice, with a knock.
She turned to excuse herself, only to find that Stretch had already disappeared. Kat shrugged, figuring he didn't want to be bothered with meeting a new "fleshie" and crossed the room to her door.
"Yes?" Kat called in a fake sleepy voice, trying to sound like she hadn't been outside talking to Casper's ghostly uncle. The last she she needed was Cameron thinking she'd gone nuts. Yes, he knew about the rumors that circulated about Whipstaff Manor and it being haunted, but he wasn't exactly the type to believe in such things as ghosts. She wondered what he'd say if he had caught her.
"Um, can you open the door?" He asked, chuckling.
"Oh, right." She replied dumbly, opening the door for him and stepping out of the way so he could enter. She quickly glanced down either end of the hallway and shut the door with a sigh of relief. No Dad in sight. "Well, what is it?"
He glanced curiously around Kat's room with a grin. Cameron had never seen her bedroom before, what with her father being as protective as he was. In her father's mind, her and Cameron would have sex if they were left alone in her room for even a second. So no, Cameron's boundary was the stairs. "So this is your bedroom."
"Good job, Cameron. You figured out the obvious." She praised sarcastically, sitting back down on her bed. "So, what do you want?"
Cameron shrugged. "I got bored, so I figured I'd come visit you." He gave her a once-over, noticing that she was shivering and the balcony door was open. "And apparently so were you."
Kat smiled a little. "The cold air helps me think."
"Oh, dangerous thing to do Kat. I wouldn't get into the habit." He joked, grinning to tell her that he was only kidding.
Kat narrowed her eyes. "Hilarious. You know, you should be a comedian."
He continued grinning and stood up, and maneuvered his way over to the balcony, looking out to the perfect view of the ocean. "I can't believe you live right on the beach."
"In a creepy old house with a bad reputation." Kat added, sitting back onto her bed pretzel-style.
He looked over his shoulder at her. "You know, you can be so negative at times. Plus, it's not like the place is really haunted or anything, it's just a rumor."
Kat played with one of her rings, avoiding his eyes. He'd be out of here in a hot second if he knew the place was actually haunted. Not that she could really blamed him. "Mhm."
Cameron either didn't notice or didn't see anything wrong with her response, so he didn't continue the subject. "So, how pissed would your dad be if he caught me in here? Angry? Furious? Homicidal?"
Kat chuckled. "Let's just say your hangover would be the least of your problems."
Cameron nodded. "Then I'd better not get caught."
"I guess not." Kat replied. "And speaking of your hangover, shouldn't you be sleeping that off right about now?"
Cameron's eyes glinted mischievously, painfully reminding her of Casper. "Sleep's for suckers."
"Cam..." She warned, pointing to the door. "Your hangover's only going to be worse if you don't go sleep the worst of it off."
He rolled his emerald eyes, eyes so different from Casper's sapphire blue ones. "Fine, mom."
Cameron came over to Kat's bed side and pulled her into a tight hug, in which she could smell the alcohol that lingered on his clothes. When he pulled back, he placed a kiss on her forehead and whispered "Goodnight", before leaving the room and returning to his.
Kat sighed deeply and went over to the balcony doors, giving the beach one last glance before shutting the door. She then lay back down on her bed, pulling the covers back atop of her body. She snuggled under them and tucked a hand under her pillow, pulling it closer to meet the blankets and closing off the cold air's entrance. It only took a few moments and she was out like a light.
Casper
"Casper?" He heard Wendy say, even though he was positive that he was fast asleep and leaning up against the cool window of the car. "Casper!" Casper felt her shaking his arm and groaned, opening his eyes to find an annoyed expression on Wendy's face.
"Yes?" He murmured, still half in La-La Land.
Wendy narrowed her eyes and nudged him several times in the chest. "Wake, Up. Now."
Casper chuckled, closing his eyes again and grinning. "Or else what? You'll turn me into a toad?"
She stopped nudging him and Casper opened his eyes to find a smirk on her face. "No, of course not. You'll just have to sleep in a freezing cold car all day long while I go shopping for your clothes, and make you look like a total dork."
Casper furrowed his eyebrows. "Shopping?"
Wendy rolled her hazel eyes and grabbed hold of his arm, pulling him out of his seat in her car. He stumbled a moment from having just awoken and after regaining his composure he glared at her, leaning an arm on the car door.
"You are evil, you know that?" He stated, causing a grin to break out on her face.
"Yes, I'm proud to say I do." She replied, pulling him through the parking lot and towards an unfamiliar building.
"Where are we?" He asked, looking around curiously. It was a large brick structure with a huge parking lot, practically overflowing with cars. Teens, children and adults alike all exited through the many automatic doors and a different sign hung above a few of the doors further down the perimeter of the building.
"A mall," Wendy replied, looking surprised from where she was glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "You- you've never heard of a mall?"
Casper shook his head. "I have, but on TV it looked so much more- well, exciting."
"Television can be deceiving." Wendy agreed with a nod as the automatic doors opened before them. "But, this is basically what teens do. We hang out."
Casper smiled and looked around inside of the loud and bustling mall. "And you choose to do this to amuse yourselves? Looks real fun."
"To girls it is." Wendy nodded towards a group of girls about their age who were laughing and joking in a nearby store while trying on sunglasses and other accessories.
"And last time I checked, I wasn't a girl Wendy."
Wendy just laughed. "Well then let's get this done with."
Casper groaned unhappily and dropped the bags by his bed in his hotel room, letting out a sigh after doing so and falling back on the soft bed comforter. While he desperately missed Whipstaff Manor and his bedroom there, he couldn't exactly just drop in after 2 years of no communication with either Dr. Harvey, Kat, or his uncles. No, too much time had passed for that. He'd have to wait and go talk to Dr. Harvey tomorrow while Kat was hopefully elsewhere. Casper could only imagine what she'd say, if she even recognized him.
"You really need to work out. That was only what, 4 bags of clothes? My Grandma could lift that." Wendy leaned up against the wall with a smirk planted on her lips. Casper knew she was only joking but the thought that he was really there, really home after all this time was really stressing him out. He had a lot of work to do here and he wasn't really looking forward to getting down and dirty in this mess he'd made.
"Yeah, I'll put that right on my To-Do List, Wendy." He snapped bitterly.
Wendy's smile faltered and she looked concerned. "You're really worried about this, aren't you?"
He sighed. "Well, yeah. There isn't exactly a guarantee that Kat will even talk to me let alone want anything to do with me, friendship or otherwise."
Her hazel eyes saddened. "You don't know that."
"I also don't know that it won't happen."
"Well," She said slowly, forming her words in her head. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves now. We just got here."
Casper nodded, not wanting to talk about it anymore. He picked up the remote for the TV off of the bed and turned it on, settling himself back on the bed.
Wendy watched him for a few moments and then decided that he probably wanted to be alone right now. She mumbled a quick 'goodbye' and shut the door to his room behind her as she left, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Wendy
She briefly considered going to her own room and taking a nap to make up for the sleep lost while driving all night but thought that coffee would do just as well. She descended the steps, taking two at a time and heading back out the doors she'd come in through in the lobby, keys jingling in her hand.
Climbing into the vehicle, Wendy remembered the location of the Starbucks she'd seen while driving back from the mall, following her memories map, and pulling into the parking lot. Wendy got out of the car and locked it behind her before entering the cozy little building and approaching the counter where she ordered and payed for her drink. She thanked the girl she'd ordered from and took her drink to go find a table.
The shop was set up like you'd imagine any other Starbucks to be. There were quite a few brown leather booths along the walls and in the corners of the cafe, and several dark wooded tables scattered in the middle, leaving a large area for a line in front of the counter. The walls were a dark red and covered in artwork that was obviously meant to create a calm, happy atmosphere for the customers but the noise that filled the building seemed to block the serenity. And much to Wendy's delite, a fireplace sat on one side of the building, and there was actually a fire burning cheerfully inside of the brick structure.
Wendy looked around, seeing groups of teens clustered together at a few tables in the back chatting and laughing. When one of the girls in the group noticed her watching, she giggled and nudged the girl sitting next to her, nodding towards Wendy. The other girl laughed along with her friend. Wendy looked around, but didn't find anything out of the ordinary.
Strange people, She thought, shrugging her slim shoulders and making her way over to a table by the window.
The group of teens got quiet for a moment while one of them made a joke- looking in her direction- and burst into hysterics.
Wendy frowned. Had she done something wrong? Was there something on her face? She didn't know, but she would soon find out because she murmured the familiar spell under her breath that allowed her to hear their conversations, even from the great distance away they sat.
"Someone obviously likes being a loner." One of the girls snickered. She was pale with short blonde curls and unusual jade eyes, while her friend was her exact opposite with a mocha complexion, long deep brown hair and eyes that were almost black.
"Probably a psycho," The other one commented, glancing over their shoulder at her and scoffing. "And I think she's talking to herself."
Wendy growled low in her throat. That's it, she thought, focusing her anger and strength on the drinks that sat on the table before them. After a moment, the cups began to shake, softly at first and then more violently as the seconds ticked by and finally exploded, covering the group in coffee, smoothies, and any other drink they'd ordered. The grouped glanced at each other in surprise and then down at themselves. The two girls who'd been talking about her before glanced back at Wendy, who just smiled with mocking amusement at the looks of utter astonishment on their pretty faces.
Wendy picked up her drink and glanced briefly at the other table that currently was surrounded by employees attempting to clean up the mess, and left the coffee shop with a bitterly satisfied smile on her usually sweet face.
