Chapter 9.5: Old Photo
BEN sat on Vivian's belly, glaring at her intensely. He leaned on his fist, watching her eyelids flicker from the movement of her eyeballs beneath them. Her skin glowed with a faint green, a side effect of the ghost using his powers on her. Vivian was a stubborn girl but she had always been a sucker for lucid dreams. It wasn't BEN's ideal way of getting her to realize what was at play here but it was necessary.
His lip pulled upwards in a smirk as he poked her shallow cheeks with a pixelated finger. He whispered to her softly, despite knowing she won't wake even if he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Stupid girl, lying to me. I know how you truly feel about all this – you have a soft spot for me, remember?"
He got off her, rolling onto the bed beside her. "The thing about childhood memories is that the emotions you felt at the time will never change, what's done is done. All that changes is how you deal with the memory."
"You'll help me, no matter what bull you go on about."
He sighed heavily, chuckling grimly to himself. He began to hum the reversed Song of Healing, a song he would never be able to get out of his head. He'd spent nine years listening to it after all. He stared about the room, taking in the sights. The place really did scream 'Vivian' to him. He couldn't quite pinpoint how, it just did.
He stared at the posters on the opposite side of the room, a Nirvana one, if he recalled correctly. Beside it, was a web of various newspaper clippings, notes and the like, all joined to one another through red string. Someone's planning something, he noted with a sneer.
He turned his gaze back to the sleeping woman, noticing that her skin had now broken out into a cold sweat. Her breathing had intensified, her face screwed up in a grimace. She looked scared even (though it wasn't enough for him). He felt proud of his handiwork as she rolled over suddenly, her back now facing him.
He gazed at her back for a time, his brow furrowing at the sight of a tiny scar at the base of her neck.
It was a circle, with a cross struck through it. He recognized that symbol anywhere, scrunching up his nose at the thought of the things associated with it. He chose to push away those thoughts for the time being. She clearly wasn't mindless like the others, still very much herself.
He glanced down the rest of her body, noticing the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from the back pocket of her jeans. Gingerly, he reached over and yanked the paper from her pocket, floating into a sitting position so he could get a better look at it. The room was dark but since he was always glowing, he was able to see.
It was a photograph of him, Vivian and Oliver when they were children. He faintly recalled the day that picture was taken; when his mother opted to take them all out to the zoo for a day. He then remembered that Vivian's mother had been completely against her leaving the house and was constantly called her throughout the day to ask if she was still alive.
Good times. He got slightly nostalgic from the memory, smiling a little too honestly. Regaining his control over himself, he slipped the photo back into Vivian's pocket, choosing to forget about its existence.
But he was having greater times now – he was having much more fun now than he ever had when he was alive. He sighed and floated out of the room, leaving Vivian alone to her nightmares. He thought for a while for what to do, deciding to mess around with her video games until he believed she had dreamed long enough.
Maybe she still has Ocarina of Time? Yes, that would be a much needed respite from Majora.
(A/N: I decided to just make a little filler chapter that takes place while Vivian is dreaming. It has very little to do with the storyline but I liked it so here it is.)