A/N: *Cough*... Er... Sorry about this being one week late. I finished this chapter a few weeks ago, but my motivation in general has been kind of dead since exams ended, so it took me a while to get around to editing this chapter. My mind burnt out a little. Thankfully I'm leaving for my vacation soon, where I'll have plenty of time to recuperate!

Thanks again to all of my lovely readers and those who have left me reviews!

Alrightie, I hope you all enjoy chapter ten!

Chapter 10: The Portal

"Welcome back, everybody!" Professor Stein greeted the class as the last few students piled into the small lecture theatre and took their seats. "I hope everybody had a great summer, and that you're all ready to get back to work!"

It was the next day, the start of the fall semester of Vlad, Maddie and Jack's fourth year of college, and the trio in question sat in the front row of the lecture hall.

"I had the pleasure of working with a few of you over the summer—" Maddie smiled at the professor as he nodded his head at her and a few others in the room, "— and I am looking forward to the work that you will all produce this year! As you all know, this particular fourth year paranormal studies course has a major focus on paranormal lab techniques and research methods. This will help everybody be more prepared for next semester's course, where those taking the course will work in groups to design and carry out an experimental research project on any desired paranormal topic.

"Keep in mind that although you are free — and even encouraged — to use the knowledge gathered from past studies to help design your experiment, the goal of the fourth year paranormal research project is to contribute new knowledge to the field. Be creative!

"And everybody, don't be afraid to try to push the envelope. I won't fail you just because your thesis proves incorrect or your experiment doesn't work. That's what science is all about — making mistakes and applying what you learn from these mistakes to improve your future studies. As long as everybody shows considerable effort, I can assure you that you will all do just fine in both of my fourth year classes.

"Now, onto the course syllabus…"

An hour later, Vlad, Jack and Maddie walked out of the lecture hall together and headed towards the nearest food court for lunch.

"So, what do you guys think we should do for our fourth year project?" Jack asked as they walked.

"I know that Maddie had her doubts when we were talking at the restaurant yesterday," Vlad started. "But I still think that it would be worth pursuing the research on the ghost zone."

Maddie sighed. "Vlad, trust me, I'd love to, but I'm just not sure… As interesting as it would be, I just don't know if we'll have enough time to complete a research project on that topic in just four months."

"We could always start early," Vlad argued. "The paranormal studies lab is open to fourth year students. Why not start background research and testing this semester? I'm sure Professor Stein wouldn't object to that. Think about it— if that's not showing considerable effort and dedication to this project, I don't know what is."

"Vladdie has a point," Jack said.

"Alright, fine, let's say we go with that topic," Maddie relented. "But what's our focus going to be? We need a concrete experiment, something that will give irrefutable support to the ghost zone theory. Your numbers were solid, Vlad, but not everybody appreciates a mathematical model. Harriet had a point — if we want people to take this topic seriously, we need concrete evidence. We need some sort of… visible proof. Something that not even the harshest of critics can refute."

The trio walked in silence, thinking hard. Then:

"What about a ghost portal?"

Vlad and Maddie stopped in their tracks and looked at Jack.

"A… portal?" Vlad repeated skeptically.

"Well, Maddie did say that we need 'visible' proof, right? Wouldn't building a physical portal be as visible proof as you could get?" Jack asked.

"Well, if you take what Maddie said literally, then yes, but—"

"No, Vlad, I think that Jack might be on to something," Maddie interrupted. Jack beamed at the praise as Maddie continued, "A ghost portal… if we could successfully build that, well, that would be the perfect proof. Nobody could deny the existence of something that they could see with their own eyes."

Vlad frowned slightly. "I don't deny that. But the odds of us being even remotely successful are… well… incredible low. Not to mention, how would we even start? Where would we get the proper supplies for that? Building a portal would likely be a very expensive endeavour, and if you two remember, I'm hardly swimming in money anymore. And anyways, even if we start a project of this magnitude this semester, there is no way that we'll be able to finish it by the end of our fourth year."

"But Vlad," Jack argued. "The prof was saying how the point of this project is to 'contribute new knowledge to the field'. Even if we don't finish the project by April, I'm sure we'll be able to contribute something to the field!"

"Jack's right," Maddie said, warming up to the idea more and more. "It'll be an incredible opportunity for us to make an impact and to lay down the groundwork for future experiments and studies! Maybe we won't finish our project by the end of the year, but who says our research, or the research on the topic in general, has to stop at the end of our fourth year?"

"Fine, alright," Vlad said. "But what about the money?"

"I have a feeling that once we tell Professor Stein about our idea — and you show him your theoretical model that you worked on last year, Vlad — I think that he'd be willing to provide us with some funding for our project."

Vlad helped up his hands. "Alright, you both have made your points. I'm in," he conceded. "Let's do it."

Jack whooped and Maddie smiled, her eyes lighting up in excitement.

"Can you imagine, though, if our experiment does succeed and we really do make a functioning ghost portal?" She asked in wonder. "That would change the very way everybody sees the world. Imagine the doors that could open for us!"

"Well, if we open up a ghost portal, we're bound to find ghosts, right? Maybe the three of us could open up a ghost hunting business!" Jack joked.

Vlad snorted. "Very funny, Jack."

Over the next few weeks, the trio began to develop a concrete outline for their experiment. Jack had the greatest imagination — he was the creative input. Vlad, incredibly gifted in mathematics and experimental design, took Jack's ideas and attempted to come up with potential schematics and mechanisms for a functional portal. Maddie looked over his mathematical work and technological designs, and thanks to her experience with paranormal laboratory techniques and methods, she was able to provide input on whether or not Vlad's models could realistically be built with the materials and the lab that they had access to.

Eventually, after a month of research, the trio settled on a prototype design that they figured would be a good starting point. Vlad was skeptical that it would actually work, but he figured it was time to start gathering experimental and not just theoretical data. If it was a bust, then at least they would know what didn't work.

After finalizing their first prototype design, Jack, Vlad and Maddie decided that it was time to present their proposal to Professor Stein. As Maddie had predicted, he was thrilled by the initiative that his students were taking. Once Vlad showed him the detailed model, he granted them permission to use the lab that semester in order to get a head start on the project. Although he couldn't promise them a large budget, he would do his best to provide them with any materials needed.

"Let me know if you three need any assistance, and I'll be glad to lend you a hand!" the professor said enthusiastically. "I'm looking forward to seeing the work that you three produce!"

With lab time and funding secured, the construction of the first prototype began, and after a few weeks, the trio were ready to test it out.

"Alright, this is it," Vlad said nervously, having welded the last piece of their first prototype in place.

Maddie took a deep breath and released it slowly. "This is it," she agreed.

The trio stared at what they had produced. The portal was small, the opening hardly a foot and a half in diameter. It didn't look particularly impressive from an outsider's point of view — it was grey, small and discrete. But the internal construction was complex. Although he had helped build it, Jack didn't really understand how it worked. Maddie grasped its functional mechanism fairly well, but since it was ultimately Vlad's design, he understood its function best.

And now he hoped it would work.

Jack walked over to Vlad and passed him the controller to the portal. "Here Vladdie, you do the honours."

Vlad nodded and took the controller from Jack, his heart beating quickly. He adjusted his safety goggles, and Jack and Maddie took a few steps back, giving the portal a wide berth.

"Alright… are we ready?" Vlad asked.

His two friend nodded silently. Jack crossed his fingers.

"Alright…" Vlad said nervously. He took a deep breath. "In three… two… one!"

He pushed the control switch down, and yelped as the control panel sparked and smoked as it suddenly overheated, causing him to drop it with a cry.

"Vlad, are you okay?" Maddie exclaimed as she ran over to her friend, who had bent over, clutching his throbbing hand against his stomach.

"I'll be fine," he grimaced, but winced when Maddie took his hand and examined it.

"Ooh I don't think so, Vlad, we'll need to go to the clinic to get this checked out," she said, examining the ugly, blistered burn on his right hand in concern.

"Um, guys? We have another problem."

Vlad and Maddie looked up at Jack's words, and Vlad swore when he saw what Jack was referring to.

"The portal's on fire."

Though Maddie and Jack managed to put out the fire thanks to some quick acting before any actual damage was done to the lab, the portal prototype was damaged beyond repair — they would have to start from scratch.

"Well, not completely from scratch," Jack insisted as he and Maddie sat in the campus clinic, waiting for the doctor to finish treating Vlad's burned hand. "I mean, we now know what doesn't work, right?"

"Great," Vlad grumbled, wincing as the doctor wrapped his burn with sterile gauze.

"Alright, you're all done here," the doctor said, standing up as he finished with Vlad's hand. "But please, try to be more careful in the future. You may have been wearing safety goggles, but I would suggest wearing proper protective gloves next time, as well."

Maddie assured him that they'd take better safety precautions in the future, and the trio left after Vlad got some painkillers prescribed to him.

"Guys, I've been thinking," Jack started as they reached their apartment. "The doctor mentioned protective gloves, but I think it might be worth taking it a step further — we should all get protective jumpsuits!"

"Absolutely not."

"You'd think you'd be more eager to get protective gear for the lab after getting hurt today, Vlad," Jack admonished, and Vlad glared at him.

"Fine," Jack said raising his hands in defense. "But I'm getting a jumpsuit. Hmm… You know, I'm thinking orange. Orange is pretty hot. Do you think I'd look good in orange?"

"You'd look like a stupid pumpkin," Vlad said grouchily, falling into an armchair and cradling his injured hand protectively.

Jack slouched, looking crestfallen.

"Alright, I think it's time for you to take your pain medication," Maddie said, handing Vlad a glass of water that she had grabbed from the kitchen and the bottle of pills.

"And Jack? I think orange is a lovely colour." Maddie added sweetly. "And so does Vlad."

Jack beamed at her, while Vlad just rolled his eyes.

After their initial disastrous proto-portal trial, the trio were forced to go back to the drawing board. Vlad decided not to completely scrap their initial prototype design, but he and Maddie made several chemical and mechanical changes that would hopefully lead to a more successful proto-portal.

Or, well, at least one that wouldn't catch fire.

Still, as a precautionary measure, when Jack placed an order for his new orange jumpsuit, Vlad made sure to add in his own order for a pair of very thick and sturdy gloves. His right hand had healed nicely, but he wasn't eager to repeat the experience.

Their second portal prototype was completed right before the Christmas break. After they had written their last exam of the semester, they decided to come to the lab to test it out. This time, however, they were met with a little bit more success.

"Did you see that?" Vlad exclaimed in excitement, pointing at the portal's opening after they had switched it on.

"I did!" Maddie gasped. They had all seen it — a bright flash and green tendrils of what had looked like some sort of energy, briefly extending from the edges of the portal towards its centre before quickly dissipating.

Jack laughed, elated at their small success. Something had happened, albeit very briefly, but to them it was a sign that they were in fact on the right track.

The trio gathered around the portal, and Vlad and Maddie began to check their instruments and record their findings. They left the lab a few hours later, already discussing what they could do to improve their next prototype.

"I was thinking that we should also make some adjustments to the ecto-filtrator," Maddie was saying as the three trudged through the snow drifts on the way to the bus stop.

"Me too," Vlad agreed. "It needs to be far more efficient if we want to keep that portal on for more than a brief moment. We'll have to work on that once you two come back from the holidays."

"Hold on, you're staying in Madison for the break?" Maddie asked, puzzled. She turned to Jack. "I thought he was going to spend Christmas with you?"

Jack shook his head. "No, not this year. My mom's sister-in-law invited all of us up to Toronto for the Christmas break. I asked if I could bring Vlad, but my parents said that it'll be a tight squeeze with all of the family gathering there…" He trailed off, looking a bit guilty.

But Vlad shook his head and patted his friend's back. "Jack, I told you not to worry about it. I'll be fine here! I have some work to get done. Besides, if I get bored, I can always get started on that new echo-filtrator, right?"

"Ya, I guess… Well, you'll probably have a better time here, anyways. I don't really know why my parents want to spend Christmas in Toronto. What's so great about visiting a country full of igloos and polar bears?"

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Jack, don't be an idiot, Canada isn't a land full of igloos and polar bears. Have you ever picked up a geography book in your life?"

"Hey, I'm not an idiot! And yes I have, thank you very much!"

"Sorry, let me rephrase that: have you ever actually opened one?"

"Vlad, be nice," Maddie admonished. "Jack, Madison and Toronto lie at a very similar geographical latitude. Actually, you'll probably find that it's milder there than it is here."

"Huh. So how come everybody thinks that all Canadians live like eskimos up there?" Jack asked in genuine bewilderment.

"They don't think that. It's just a select few special individuals like yourself who do," Vlad smirked.

Jack stopped dead in his tracks. "Alright, now it's war!" he declared, and with a mad grin, he bent over and packed a massive snowball in his hands.

Vlad ducked as Jack's snowball sailed over his head. "Maddie! Help!" he exclaimed in mock distress. "Jack's trying to kill m— oof!"

Jack laughed as his second snowball caught Vlad square in the face. "Bulls-eye!" he cheered, but his celebration was short lived as Vlad ran at his friend with a battle-cry and tackled him right into the snowbank behind them. However, their scuffle was short-lived before they heard Maddie cry out:

"Bus!"

The boys looked up at the sound of her voice, and scrambled to their feet when they saw the bus in question pulling up to the station up the road. The trio ran and caught the bus just as the driver was about to pull away. Once on the bus, the trio plopped down in some empty seats and caught their breath.

"For the record," Jack panted, "I totally won that."

Vlad snorted and shook some snow out his hair. "You wish."

"No Vladdie, I know."

Vlad went to retort, but Maddie didn't hear what he said as she tuned the boys out. She couldn't help but feel bad that they would be leaving Vlad behind for the Christmas holidays…

"Vlad, are you sure you'll be alright to stay in Madison alone?" Maddie asked suddenly, interrupting the boys' bickering.

Vlad turned to face her, his face showing surprise at the abrupt topic change. However, he smiled after a moment. "I promise, I'll be alright," he assured, but Maddie noticed that the smile did not quite reach his eyes.

And she knew why.

This was the first Christmas that Vlad had no place to go. The first Christmas since his blowout with his father. There was no doubt that Maddie admired how well Vlad had pulled himself together after the incident, but she also knew that Vlad had a history of pretending to be alright even when he wasn't. Perhaps he didn't want to worry his friends now. She wasn't sure. But what she did know, was that although Vlad had assured her that he had moved on from the incident, eight months wasn't enough time to entirely heal the hurt.

Maddie shook her head. She had made a promise to Vlad, and she was going to keep it.

The next day, Vlad was in his room analyzing the data from the proto-portal trial when the phone rang shrilly. He grumbled at being interrupted from his work, and knocked on the wall that separated his and Jack's bedrooms.

"Jack, can you get that?" he called out loudly.

"Er—" came the muffled, slightly panicked reply from the other side of the wall. "My parents are going to be here in twenty minutes and I'm not done packing yet—"

Vlad sighed. "Never mind!"

Reluctantly, he got up from his desk and quickly made his way over to the living room.

"Hello?" Vlad answered as he picked up the phone.

'Hi Vlad, it's Maddie calling.'

"Maddie?" Vlad asked in surprise. "I thought you left for Florida this morning!"

'I was supposed to, but I decided to switch my flight. I'm leaving tomorrow instead.'

"How come?"

'Well… I know this is a little last minute, but how would you like to come down to Florida and spend the Christmas holidays with my family? I've just checked, and they have some cheap, last-minute plane tickets available that you could buy.'

"Huh?"

'Christmas holidays. Florida. My parents' place.'

Vlad shook his head. "No, no I understood what you said, it's just— I wasn't expecting that."

'Well, I would've invited you earlier had I known that you were planning on staying in Wisconsin for the break!"

"Maddie, I—" Vlad hesitated. "I really do appreciate the offer, but I don't want to intrude on your family time—"

'Uh uh, stop right there! My family has invited you and they'll be more than happy to have you as a guest!'

"Are you s—?"

'If I wasn't sure I wouldn't have called! Listen, here's what's going to happen. You are going to hang up, pack your bags, and I will meet you at your apartment tomorrow morning to take a taxi to the airport. I'm not going to let one of my closest friends spend Christmas alone in Wisconsin!'

Vlad felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "I suppose I don't have a choice, do I?" he asked jokingly.

'No you don't.'

"Alright, in that case, I will see you tomorrow. Oh, and Maddie?" Vlad added, before he hung up the phone.

'Yes?'

"Thank you."

Though Vlad had been to Florida on a few occasions with his father on business, he had never been during the winter holidays. It was strange, seeing palm trees and green grass instead of bare trees and snow during the Christmas break, but he acknowledged that it was a nice change.

He and Maddie sat in the taxi that was taking them to her parents' home. It was around an hour's drive from Palm Beach International Airport to sunny Port St. Lucie where Maddie's parents had moved after their early retirement, but the drive passed quickly as the two friends chatted away.

However, as the taxi pulled up to the house and the two stepped out and grabbed their luggage, Vlad found that he was suddenly nervous.

"Are you alright, Vlad?" Maddie asked in concern, noticing that her friend stood frozen in the driveway, looking up at the house uncertainly.

"I— yes, I'm good," he replied after a moment. He shook himself out of his thoughts. "Let's meet your family!"

The two rolled their suitcases up to the front door. As Maddie rang the doorbell, she looked over at her friend and noticed the serious expression on his face. "What's with the frown? Smile, Vlad, and don't worry — they're going to love you!" she exclaimed, smiling assuringly.

But before Vlad could say anything in response, the door swung open.

"Sweetheart!"

A woman with short auburn hair flew out the door and embraced her daughter fiercely. Maddie laughed as she returned her mother's hug. Mrs. Foster then pulled back and held her daughter out at shoulder's length, gazing fondly at her. "Oh darling, I've missed you so much!"

Maddie smiled and hugged her mom again. "I've missed you too! I can't believe it's been four months since I've been home."

"Only four months? I feel like you've been gone so much longer. I know it's been more than three years since you left for Wisconsin, but sometimes I still wish that you hadn't gone to school so far away from home…" Her mother caressed her daughter's cheek affectionately. "But enough of that, I'm just glad to have my beautiful daughter back home for the holidays!"

Maddie's mother now stepped back and turned her attention to the other person standing on her front porch. "And you must be Vlad Masters!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly. "Maddie has told us so much about you."

Vlad immediately noticed how similar Maddie was to her mother. The same colour hair, the same build, the same height, and the same kind smile. The only real difference, asides from her age, was her eyes; while Maddie's were an unusual shade of violet, her mother's were a warm shade of green.

Vlad flashed her a charming smile and joked, "Hopefully only good things!" He held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Foster."

"Oh dear, please call me Elizabeth," she said, shaking her head. "Mrs. Foster makes me sound so old."

Vlad chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind," he said as he shook her hand.

"So where's dad?" Maddie asked curiously, peaking through the front door into the house.

"He's probably still out back, tending to the barbecue. I hope you two are hungry! I may have gone a little bit overboard with the cooking… Well, anyways, there's no point in just standing around out here — come on in!" she said, ushering them inside.

Vlad took a look around as he entered the house. It had an airy, open layout, with modern furniture that complimented the honey-coloured wooden floors and the fresh, white walls. Family pictures of all sizes were arranged along the fireplace mantel and on various tables placed around the house, and colourful paintings brightened up the walls. The house had an air of comfort and coziness, and Vlad immediately started to feel more at ease.

Elizabeth led the two of them into the kitchen. "Hold on one second, I'll go get my husband," she said. She walked over to the back patio door and slid it open. "Jonathan darling, come out from behind that grill for a moment and say hello to your daughter and her friend!"

"I'll be right there, honey! I'm just taking the food off the grill."

Elizabeth smiled and gestured at the dining room table beside the kitchen, which Vlad noticed was already set with plates of food. "In that case, have a seat you two, dinner will be ready in a minute."

"I'm going to get a drink first," Maddie said, going over to the fridge. "Vlad, do you want anything?"

"Some water would be good," Vlad replied, smiling as he took a seat at the dining room table. Just then, the backyard patio door slid open and in came a tall man with short, dark brown hair, carrying a large tray of barbecued steaks.

"Dad!" Maddie exclaimed. She set down the two glasses of water that she had poured and ran up to the her dad to hug him.

Her father laughed and hugged her back with the arm that wasn't holding the tray. "And how's my little princess doing?" he asked once Maddie stepped back.

"Dad, I'm twenty-one years old now, don't you think it's time to put that name to rest?"

Mr. Foster shook his head. "Sorry, little princess, but I don't think so," he teased, ruffling her hair before he made his way into the kitchen with the tray of steaks.

Maddie pretended to huff in annoyance as she fixed her hair, but she was smiling at her dad.

"Those smell amazing!" Elizabeth exclaimed as her husband placed the barbecued meat on the counter. She gave him quick peck on the cheek. "Thank you darling."

"Well, it's a special day, with my daughter coming home for the holidays and all. Not to mention, I'm sure you've missed my incredible barbecuing very much," Mr. Foster winked at his daughter.

Maddie laughed. "Don't let it go to your head, dad," she teased. "It's not so much your barbecues that I've missed as barbecues in general — it's hard to have an outdoor grill night when it's snowing in Wisconsin."

"Ah, you wound me daughter," Mr. Foster clutched his chest with one hand, feigning hurt. "Speaking of Wisconsin, I thought you were bringing a friend home with you?"

That's when Vlad, who had been sitting quietly in the dining room during the father-daughter reunion, stood up and lifted a hand in greeting. "Hello Mr. Foster, I'm Vlad Masters."

Mr. Foster jumped, then laughed. "You sure startled me, I didn't see you there!" he chuckled, and made his way over to shake Vlad's hand. "It's great to meet you!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, sir," Vlad replied formally.

Mr. Foster looked taken aback for a moment, before grinning at his daughter. "Sir? I wish half of my employees treated me with the same respect that your friend does, Maddie!" he laughed.

Elizabeth smacked her husband lightly on the arm as she passed by, carrying a bowl of salad destined for the dining room table. "That's because you used to take your employees out to dinner or to the bar every Friday night," she teased. "You were more their friend than their boss. It's a wonder you ever got any work done at your firm!"

"You have you own company, Mr. Foster?" Vlad asked curiously, as the four of them sat down at the dining room table for dinner.

"Please, call me Jonathan!" Maddie's father insisted. "And yes, I have my own company. Well, had, seeing as I retired last year."

"What kind of business?" Vlad asked as Elizabeth began to pass the dishes of food around.

"It wasn't anything big. I started up a small structural engineering consulting firm here in Florida some twenty-five years ago. That's why we moved here from Arkansas when Maddie was a little girl," Jonathan explained.

"That's right, Maddie mentioned being born in Arkansas. That must have been a big move for you and your family," Vlad said sympathetically.

"It was definitely a change for everybody," Jonathan agreed. "It was probably most difficult for Alicia — Maddie's older sister — though."

"Speaking of Alicia," Maddie interjected. "I thought she was coming home for the holidays. Where is she?"

"She wasn't able to get much time off of work," Elizabeth sighed. "She'll only be able to get here on Christmas Eve."

Vlad turned to Maddie. "Your sister doesn't live here in Florida?" he asked in surprise.

But it was Jonathan who answered his question. "No, as soon as Alicia finished college, she decided to move back to Arkansas. I'm afraid my older daughter never took to Florida as well as Maddie did," he explained.

"To be fair, we left just as she turned twelve, so she was old enough to have already made a few good friends that she had to leave behind when we moved," Elizabeth pointed out. "She adjusted well here, but I think her heart was always back in Arkansas."

"She's definitely always been more of a country girl than a city girl," Jonathan chuckled in agreement. "I shouldn't have been so surprised when she told us that she was moving back just weeks after she graduated."

"And you were both alright with that?" Vlad asked, hesitantly.

Jonathan looked over at his wife, who shrugged and smiled sadly. "Well, of course we didn't want her to move so far away from home — we'd miss her so much!" she said. "But who were we to hold her back? Her heart and dreams were in Arkansas, not in Florida."

"It was the same thing with Maddie, here," Jonathan added. "When she decided that she was going off to Wisconsin for her studies, I was sad to have my other daughter move to the other side of the country! But her heart was set on the paranormal studies program, and if that was her dream, then of course I was going to support her. That's a parent's job, right?"

Maddie noticed Vlad stiffen beside her. "Yes, I suppose it is," Vlad said quietly, after a moment.

If Jonathan and Elizabeth noticed the note of bitterness in his voice, they tactfully did not pursue the topic. Instead, Jonathan asked, "So Vlad, Maddie tells me that you've been doing very well in your own studies. What is it that you're taking?"

"I'm doing a double major in genetics and biochemistry," Vlad replied, grateful for the topic change. "I also just finished a business minor — I finished the last required course for that degree this semester."

Jonathan whistled slowly. "Two science majors and a business minor? That's incredibly ambitious. You must be brilliant to be pursuing all of those subjects!"

"Er, I wouldn't say that. I just… work hard," Vlad answered a bit awkwardly.

Maddie snorted. "If I knew that all it took for you to be modest was to meet my parents, I would've brought you here a long time," she teased slyly. She turned to her parents and added, "Vlad's a genius."

Vlad flushed. "I wouldn't go that far—"

"Well, it's true," Maddie said firmly. "The ghost portal would still just be a dream in my mind if it wasn't for all of your work and research. You've really brought that thing to life!"

Vlad shook his head. "You don't give yourself enough credit, Maddie — you've had just as much input on this ghost portal as I have. The ecto-filtrator design was all yours, and it was only after we added it to our design that we actually managed to turn the portal on!"

Jonathan held out both hands. "Woah, woah, woah, hold on a moment!" he exclaimed and looked at his daughter excitedly. "I know you've been building a proto-portal this semester, but you never mentioned that you managed to actually turn it on!"

"It just happened two days ago, I haven't really had the chance, yet!" Maddie giggled at her dad's enthusiastic reaction. "But yes, we managed to turn it on. Very briefly, but it's a start!"

"That's my girl!" Jonathan said, looking proudly at his daughter. "And of course congratulations to you and the other boy — Jack's his name, right?" he added to Vlad.

"Yes, and thank you!" Vlad replied. "We're excited to continue testing the proto-portal next semester. Hopefully we can get it to actually stay on for a longer period of time, but with Maddie and I working on the ecto-filtrator, I think we'll get it to work. The designs your daughter made are impeccable."

"Impeccable?" Maddie asked, shaking her head. "Vlad, don't forget that we think the reason that the portal didn't actually stay open was because the ecto-filtrator I designed was flawed."

"It wasn't flawed," Vlad argued. "It just needs a few tweaks to make it more efficient! Things rarely ever work on their first try — the fact that yours did at all proves that you're brilliant!"

Elizabeth shared a look with her husband before she smiled coyly at her daughter. "Well, it sounds like you two make quite the team! Vlad, tell me dear, are you dating anybody right now?"

Vlad choked on a piece of roasted potato in response.

"Mom!" Maddie exclaimed in embarrassment, her face a bright pink. She thumped Vlad hard on the back as he coughed violently.

After a moment, Vlad managed to dislodge the potato and cough it out into his napkin. Eyes watering and face a brilliant shade of red, he pushed his chair back and stood up. "Excuse me," he managed to wheeze out between coughs. "Bathroom!"

Maddie pushed back her chair, too. "Just going to make sure he's okay!" she told her parents and quickly followed her friend out of the dining room.

Jonathan looked as his wife once his daughter and her friend left the room. "Really subtle, darling," he snorted.

She smacked her husband lightly on the arm. "Oh shush, you."

Meanwhile, Vlad was in the bathroom, trying to draw in some air now that his coughing fit had finally subsided. A moment later Maddie appeared, holding a glass of water.

"Here," she said, passing the glass to Vlad. He took it gratefully and chugged the water down in an attempt to soothe his burning throat.

Maddie cleared her throat awkwardly. "Look, Vlad, I'm really sorry about that. You know how moms are - super embarrassing. I guess I do talk about you a lot, but I mean we're lab partners, and I spend all of my time with you and Jack, so I suppose you just end up being in all of my stories, and she just made the assumption, and — wow I'm sorry, now I'm rambling," she laughed in embarrassment, though she didn't quite look Vlad in the eye. "I mean, we're just friends, right?"

"Yes," Vlad nodded fervently, but his face was still a bright red. "Friends. We're just two good friends."

"Exactly. Good friends."

"Right."

A/N: Haha, I love Maddie's parents. When I started writing that last scene, I had to first ask myself, "What kind of people do I want her parents to be?" My immediate answer was "the complete opposite of Vlad's parents", and so Elizabeth and Jonathan were created. The end of this chapter, as well as the next chapter, were never in my original story outline. However, there's still one conflict that I really want to emphasize before I get into the finale of this story's first arc, and Vlad spending time with Maddie's family will play an important role in resurfacing that conflict.

This chapter also brings us the origins of the ghost portal, and more importantly, Jack's orange jumpsuit. Haha alright, I'm just joking, the former is obviously more important than the latter, but I couldn't resist adding in the part about Jack's jumpsuit.

Anyways, only two more chapters before we get into part two of A Ghost Story! I can't promise when the next update will be. I'm leaving on my trip next week and chapter eleven is not done yet. However, I should have time during the second half of my trip to write, so expect two back-to-back updates in just over a month from now.

In the meantime, please leave a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter and of the story so far!

See you all later~~