{Hey, sorry for the delay. Been dealing with some personal stuff. Anywho, here's chapter 4!

-A. Elizabeth }

The first thing I really noticed about him was how tall he was. I mean, I'd always known he was on the lanky side, but he was a good head-and-a-half taller than me. Suddenly, it hit me what all had happened.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Fuck, fuck!" I frantically rushed to get some napkins from the bar next to us. I started trying to wipe the alcohol from his suit, to little effect. he chuckled.

"It's okay, it'll wash out." I stopped my cleaning. My face was beet red. Could I not get through one party without making an ass of myself?

"I'm sorry I spilled my drink on you," I said softly.

"It's okay. I mean, it's sort of my fault. I was looking at my phone. I'm not a big fan of parties."

"Me either." I didn't know what else to say. It's very awkward standing in front of someone you know a ton about when they don't even know your name.

"I'm Dan, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Ashley."

"Well, Ashley, don't worry too much about this. Most of my life is a series of mishaps and poor decision-making."

Without thinking, I replied, "Oh, I know." I widened my eyes, realizing I'd given myself away. His eyes lit up a bit.

"Oh, have you seen my videos?"

"Maybe one or two," I lied. I'd seen every single one, and had been watching since the infamous 'Hello, Internet' video. I could just barely make out a slight flush on his cheeks from my admission.

"Well, on the bright side, you already know how incredibly lame and awkward I am."

"I'm lame and awkward, too, don't worry. The only reason I'm here is my friend Anthony needed a date."

"Friend? Or boyfriend?" he asked cheekily.

"Just friends. I've known him since I was just a kid."

"Oh," he said with a small smile. "In that case, Ashley, would you like to walk around with me? We can go look around the hotel."

"Yes," I said, trying hard not to sound too eager.

So so he took my arm in his, and we walked out of the small club.

...

"You know, this hotel's haunted," I said to Dan as we walked aimlessly down a hallway.

"No. Stop. Don't tell me that."

"Yeah, and it was the site of the first ever Academy Awards. They say the ghost of Marilyn Monroe roams these very halls," I said in a low voice. I saw him swallow dryly.

"That's all just stories, though right? I mean about it being haunted."

"No. Actually, downstairs they have a mirror on display that supposedly shows her reflection when you look into it."

"No way," he said, a little nervously.

"Yeah, there's even a Marilyn Monroe Suite where people have recorded a woman's voice saying 'help me'." I turned to him and smiled slyly. "Let's go check it out."

"Oh, uh, I don't know, I mean, we might get in trouble and—" He sighed, seeing the determination in my eyes. So we went in search of the Marilyn Suite. When we finally found it, we sat down in the hallway outside the room.

"Is there anyone else with us?" I asked. No response. "If there's someone here, please do something to alert us of your presence." Still no answer.

"Ashley, I don't think it's such a great idea to fuck with spirits. You might piss them off."

"Ok, ok. Just let me try one more time." I cleared my throat for emphasis. "Is the spirit of Marilyn Monroe here with us?" I paused for a beat, before hearing a terrible crash around the corner of the hallway.

"Oh, fuck," I said.

We scrambled to our feet and into the nearest linens closet. It was a tight fit, and our torsos were almost touching. Through the slats in the closet door, we could make out one of the housekeepers picking up fallen cleaning supplies and placing them back on her cart. We sighed in relief.

"Holy shit, Ashley," Dan whispered.

"I know, oh my god, my heart is beating so fast." I took his hand and placed it on my neck so he could feel my pulse. He laughed. Then got quiet as he took in how close he was to this complete stranger.

"Ashley?" he said quietly.

"Yeah, Dan?" I searched for his eyes in the dim cupboard.

"Would it– Would it be okay if I kissed you?"

"Yeah," I said completely shocked. I felt his head move closer, and our lips just barely brushed.

Suddenly, the closet door swung open, and we were awash with bright light.

"What're you guys doing in here?"

{Yay, I actually updated. I hope you enjoyed it, please like and comment}