A/N: Here we go again! I really wanted to go on one more 'mikey yokai adventure' story before the year ended. lets goooo :)

Leo - 20 years old, 3rd year of college; Raph - 18 years old, gap year before college; Donnie - 17 years old, 11th grade; Mikey - 14 years old, 9th grade... (my baby is growing up so fast what the heck TT^TT)

There was only one downside, really.

Mikey couldn't feel his toes.

Even with all of his layers — and Leo had forced him to wear extra of basically everything — the crispy cold November wind that billowed around Mikey was totally unrelenting, in both sheer power and desire to turn his butt into an ice-cube. An ice-butt. But who needed toes, anyway? The upside made it all totally worth it, one hundred percent. Because the moment he bit into his donut, all his worldly problems faded away into the background and there he was, in sweet, sweet, cinnamon sugar heaven.

Where have you been all my life, good donut? Mikey thought tearfully, the bite in his mouth melting into warmth and happiness. He felt like he was dissolving into all the good things in the universe. Candy. Sugar. Chocolate. Friendship. Laughter. Kindness. No more thoughts, just donut.

Hmm. Maybe ONE more thought: cider.

Looking up and around the wooden table he sat at on the cider mill eatery deck, Mikey saw they had a stack of cups, but no cider. What a travesty. He looked around to fix that, munching on his donut.

Through the wooden pillars of the open barn around them, the big wheel on the side of the mill turned at a slow pace, giving off a constant gentle rumble and splashes of water from the stream it was powered by. Over that sound, however, the lively chatter from the Eastman High School ninth graders filled the mill as students bought donuts and cider from the kitchens, out onto the deck and to their respective tables. Despite the chilling fall day that had seen runny noses, chapped lips, and puffs of breath visible in the air, the atmosphere that surrounded Mikey was… delightfully warm.

So in the spirit of that warmth, Mikey turned to his friends sitting at his table. "Hey, does anyone want hot cider? I can get some from the kitchen."

His entire table — consisting of Lita, Jason, Jennika, Bradford, Fong, and Xever — swiveled their heads to him a the same time, like a group of meerkats who had found their next snack. Mikey almost giggled, reminded of the cute creatures from his biology project last week, but he bit the inside of his cheeks so his friends wouldn't suspect he was comparing them to Suricata suricatta.

"YES," Bradford roared, stuffing his face with donuts. "YEEEESSSSS."

"Yo, over here too!" Jason said, raising a gloved hand.

"Ditto," Jennika said from Mikey's right, mouth full. Crumbs from the cinnamon sugar donut had fallen onto her thick red wool scarf, the tiny sugar crystals sparkling. "Also these are the best donuts I've ever had, I think."

Enthusiastic agreement filled their table. Mikey hopped up from the table, promising to be back soon.

It was an awesome way to spend the last day before Thanksgiving Break.

And to think! I didn't even KNOW this was a thing at the beginning of high school! Mikey thought in disbelief as he wove his way through and past the tables.

The Peter's Cider Mill field trip was apparently the field trip of the year for freshmen at Eastman High — it was something all the ninth graders looked forward to. So when Mikey had only found out in class two weeks ago, he'd rounded on Donnie — the older brother designated to tell him things about high school — right after they'd been let out for the day, waving the permission slip in his face.

"Sorry, Mikey," Donnie had said after Mikey's ranting about how out of nowhere this trip was, and why didn't he tell him? He had shrugged, his nose in an extremely thick book. "I thought you already knew."

"Already knew? Donnie, I thought going to the same school as my big bro again would keep me informed!"

"I do keep you informed? Last month I gave you a comprehensive list of teachers who have had at least one of us before." Donnie had paused, brow furrowing in thought as they walked home together. "You should really watch out for that one teacher who almost had an aneurysm because of Raph."

"Not that," Mikey had groaned, even though knowing which teachers had had which Hamato brother was always good to know. "I mean, like, the cool stuff! Field trips are so fun! I would have been so hyped from the very beginning of high school if I'd known there was a cider mill field trip to go on!"

Donnie had rolled his eyes. "It's really not a big deal."

"Blasphemy!"

"You get excited about everything. You go nuts whenever you get a 'good job' sticker on your homework."

"Those stickers are everything to me. Donnie, what else haven't you told me about?"

"I don't know! Maybe read the syllabus."

"Aw, but you're way better than a syllabus."

"Oof. Sap. But anyway, if it makes you happy, you can look forward to the Friendsgiving party we're going to the day after that, on Thanksgiving," Donnie had pointed out. "Back-to-back fun days for you, right?"

"The one Leo was telling us that Usagi invited him to?" Mikey had asked, a lightbulb going off in his head. "Wait, we're invited too?"

"Apparently so."

Mikey had squealed so high that a few onlookers had to glance at them in mild concern. And then Donnie had ended the conversation because he needed to focus on reading from his SAT prep book, so he could "study for standardized testing" so he could "get a good score" and "get into a good college". Extremely boring stuff like that was Donnie's idea of 'fun' and 'cool'. Mikey had had to make sure Donnie didn't wander off the path and walk into a tree a couple of times.

But the day had finally come, and Mikey could finally kick back and enjoy some quality time with his friends before they all headed off to break. He inhaled his last few bites of the donut he was having, already craving another one. Walking into the cider mill kitchen area, where the donuts were being made and served, Mikey spotted a thermoses of hot cider on a table, free to take. Taking a few steps over to the table, he spotted something else — rather, someone else.

With honey blond pigtails peeking out underneath her winter cap, Mikey's best friend Renet stood by the table, near the vents that was blasting out heat. Mikey's own blond curls whooshed up from the warm air, smiling as his cheeks thawed. He hadn't even realized he'd been that cold.

"Hi, Mikey," Renet greeted, breaking into a grin at the sight of him. "What're you up to?"

"Grabbing hot cider for everyone. What're you up to?"

"Warming up! I mean, I came here for like, another donut, but come stand here for a sec, it's so totally nice," Renet said, shuffling over to make space for him.

Mikey stood in line next to her in front of the heater, and felt the warmth envelope him even further. They both sighed in the same happy way, in unison. Then they laughed at their impromptu duet. Renet wiggled her fingers by the vent, which were all red.

Outside through the window of the barn, Mikey could see the other side of Peter's Cider Mill — an open field, with a few trees, and a dirt path that led up to a house that wasn't really a house. From the signs and the other people who were walking there, it was part of the mill attractions. A shop of some kind, just before the field opened into a water creek on the other side. Mikey perked up in interest, wanting to go to the cozy-looking mill shop to check it out.

"A gift shop, I think," Renet said, as if reading his mind. "I think the first floor is a bakery, but the second floor is the gift shop. Lita and Jennika and I were talking about going there after we were done eating. Wanna come with?"

"Dude, I'm down," Mikey said. He hesitated, but then stepped away from the heater and picked up the thermos of cider, pressing it to his chest. He could feel the comfort of the warmness leave him as if the air around was stripping it away. "Ahh… goodbye, heater."

"Goodbye, heater! We love you," Renet whispered dramatically. "Parting is such sweet sorrow!"

"Good night, good night, parting is such sweet sorrow," Mikey recited, trying to remember the lines. "Wait, how does the rest go?"

"I only remember that part, and — ooooh!" Renet gasped, then turned to the heater, romance in her eyes. "I wish I were thy bird."

Maybe it was the fact that Mikey and Renet had inside jokes for most everything nowadays, or just that recently in English class they'd been reading Romeo and Juliet and the timing of Renet's random line was perfect, but Mikey couldn't help but think it was the funniest thing ever.

As he proceeded trying not to die at the hilarity of his best friend trying to woo the heater, he didn't notice someone coming up behind him until they were shoving him hard enough to lose his balance.

"Move it, losers," a familiar voice floated from somewhere above Mikey as his shoulder slammed into the floor, trying to protect the cider thermos from falling open and creating a mess for the workers of the mill.

"Hey!" came Renet's shout. "What the heck, Sav?"

"Hey, what the heck, Sav? Mee-mee-mee-mee-mee," came a high-pitched unflattering mimicry from the same guy who'd shoved Mikey into the floor. "That's what you sound like, Renet. All. The. Time. It's so annoying, just stop talking."

Mikey sat up, the thermos of hot cider still intact. Whew. That was a save right there. His older brother Raph, who'd been the star of his football team when he was in high school, would be proud. Well, mad that Mikey was as stable as a twig in a windstorm, but proud that he'd saved the cider. Probably. Mikey didn't exactly understand football.

He stood up with some help from Renet, and brushed himself off. Then looked up. The boy Renet had called 'Sav' stood before them, souring the air with just his presence.

Romero "Call Me By My First Name And I'll Make Your Face Into An Abstract Art Form" Savanti was their fellow ninth grader and class bully, who seemed to tower over both Mikey and Renet even though in reality he just had a few inches on them. Mikey was pretty sure the guy wore something in his shoes for that. His black hair was slicked back with some kind of gel, as it usually was. He wore an expensive-looking coat and a cheap-looking smirk.

And even though he'd just been pushed by this guy, Mikey considered himself pretty lucky. He didn't have the displeasure of sharing any classes with Sav. Renet's situation was different.

"I'm going to tell Simon you're being rude," Renet said to Sav.

Sav snorted. "Sure. Let me know if you get his attention. Because between his dating your mom and working overtime at the museum, my dad doesn't really care what I do."

Mikey winced. Yeah, Renet definitely had it worse.

"Well, he's a chaperone today, so I think I can get his attention. Wanna be grounded, Sav?" Renet asked daringly. "Because I can make that happen."

Wow, shots fired, Mikey thought, noticing how Sav finally looked a little uncomfortable.

"Whatever. I don't care. Your friend was in my way," Sav muttered, and took off, slinking away, leaving his friend Mikey hadn't noticed was standing close behind him.

But now with Sav gone, Mikey could see that this new scowling boy was also in their grade, with dark brown hair, a sun-kissed brown skin tone, and a pair of heterochromic eyes: one blue, one green. He was someone who Mikey had seen quietly hanging around Sav a lot lately, and he struggled to remember his name, since the boy wasn't in any of his classes either. Then it came to him: Woody.

He looked at both Mikey and Renet, then his scowled deepened — Mikey didn't know how, the corners of his mouth were practically at seven and five — as if he didn't like what he was seeing. Then he looked away with a jerk, pouring himself a cup of cider before leaving.

"Weird," Renet said after a second. "He didn't go to middle school with us, right?"

"Yeah, he didn't," Mikey agreed. "So was it just me or did the dude seem… angry with us?"

"No, definitely. Making eye-contact just now felt like an act of violence."

"It really did."

"Yeah." Renet shrugged, as if forgetting about it. "Anyway, you okay?"

"Not a scratch on me, no worries!" Mikey grinned at her. "Nice job dealing with Sav, by the way."

"Think so? Lita and Jennika have been coaching me on how to sound more, like, assertive."

"Renet, the girl of many talents."

"Mikey, the boy with the best cider-preservation skills!"

"You noticed!"

As they joined their friends at their table, the others cheered and hot cider was poured for everyone. Mikey got comfortable in his seat again, and grabbed another donut off the tray. As he blissfully took another bite, he almost missed Lita's declaration.

"Mikey's an angel."

"Yes, true," Xever said. "I can confirm."

"Agreed," Fong chimed in.

Mikey smiled, his face heating up.

"He saved the cider from falling over," Renet added for everyone to hear. So naturally, to Mikey's further embarrassment, that made everyone start again.

"Wow," Jason said, nodding at him. "Thanks, man."

"Literal. Angel," Lita said, smiling at Mikey.

"No it was nothing, Renet helped more," Mikey tried to protest, but Jennika punched him in the arm playfully.

"Stop it. Take the compliment! Why are you so nice?"

Mikey laughed. Okay, I'm taking it back. My friends aren't meerkats, they're like, aggressive compliment-giving quokkas. Almost all of his friends, at least. Bradford had left the table at some point.

He sipped his cider and enjoyed the harmony of the fall season. This was nice. There was nothing to worry about. He let himself zone out a little, letting the conversations take place around him.

"I hath returned from the pit of despair," he heard Bradford say, taking a seat.

"What?" Jennika asked.

"He's come back from the bathroom," Xever explained.

"Ew, gross. Bradford," Jennika said with a laugh, her face scrunch up.

"Wait, hold up, my dudes," Bradford said. "Where the heck are all the donuts?"

"Oh," Xever said, a perfectly whole donut in his hand. "I took the last one."

"Fiend! Foe! Give it."

Xever seemed to debate it in his head. Then he looked up at Bradford, and without a word, proceeded to stuff the entire thing in his mouth in one go, not breaking eye contact.

Mikey knew what was coming, and he was the first to put his hands over his ears, followed by Fong, then Renet, Jennika, Lita, and Jason.

Bradford screamed, high and shrill. Several students broke off their conversations to turn their heads.

Xever munched and swallowed it all. He took a final swig of his cider calmly. The moment he set his cup down on the table, he took off at break-neck speed, cackling like a maniac. Bradford launched after him, sprinting as they took off across the cider mill field, over the colorful fall leaves and dying grass. Bradford's holler could be heard in the distance.

"GIVE ME BACK MY DONUT!"

"I hope Bradford doesn't actually want that specific donut back," Jennika commented without missing a beat.

Lita stared. "Should someone tell Bradford he can get another one from the kitchens?"

Jason casually dipped his donut into some of his cider before tilting his head back to eat it.

"Eh… nah."

"Oh, yeah! Who wants to check out the mill's bakery?" Lita asked, perking up. "Jennika, Renet, and I wanted to go there before we leave. There's a gift shop right above it, apparently."

The invitation was met with nods from the rest of the group — which was now just Mikey, Fong, and Jason, since Bradford and Xever had literally run away. The group finished off their donuts and cider, and then took off from the eatery, stepping off the deck to take the dirt path that led to the mill shop. Someone sneezed, and Mikey looked over his shoulder to say 'bless you', but then he bumped into someone and had to step back.

"Oops! Sorry, excuse me," he said.

"No problem," the man he'd bumped into said. "Where are you all headed off to?"

That's a weird question for a stranger to ask — oh.

Looking up, Mikey smiled politely at the man before them. Simon Savanti (a.k.a. Sav's dad, a.k.a. the man Renet's mom was dating, a.k.a. one of the parent chaperones on their field trip, a.k.a. someone Mikey didn't know very well) smiled at them with closed lips over his sharp nose. A breeze whipped by them.

Renet adjusted her earmuffs. "We're off to see the bakery and gift shop."

"Ah, a good idea," Simon said quietly, nodding as he looked to the house in the distance as the wind whistled, the canopy of white-gray sky contrasting against the black-haired man. "Our field trip is close to ending. We have an hour or so left, so enjoy it."

"We will, thank you Mr. Savanti," Lita said, falling into her 'talking to teachers' voice. Behind her, Jason rolled his eyes, and Jennika snorted behind her scarf.

Simon smiled pleasantly at them, turning to leave. Mikey wondered how this man had spawned offspring as big a jerk as Sav. He turned along with his friends to continue trudging against the dirt path. Just then the breeze turned into a gust, and Mikey squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as the wind bit into his skin.

"Oh, and one more thing," Simon said in the pause the sudden wind had created. "Be mindful of Peter."

Mikey exchanged blank glances with their friends. Did anyone know a Peter?

"Um, who?" Mikey asked.

"I don't think we have a Peter in our class," Lita said.

"No, he's from the mill," Simon said mysteriously, shrugging. "I wouldn't know, I haven't seen him. But the owners of the cider mill have stories about him having haunted this place for the last seventy years. Just wanted to let you know."

Mikey stared, letting that sink in.

The brisk autumn wind howled like wolves in the distance, and the ninth graders of Eastman High all quieted to hear it make the old cider mill moan. It sounded like a scream. Goosebumps crawled up Mikey's neck.

Fong sucked in a breath. "YOU MEAN A GHOST?"

Simon smiled, lips closed. "Just a rumor I thought I'd tell you all to be mindful of. Take care, all of you." He looked at all of them once more, and then left.

Mikey and his friends were left staring after the man in silence.

"Okay, so gift shop," Mikey said casually. He hadn't exactly meant for it to be funny, but it broke the tension and the others burst out laughing.

"Wow, what even was that?" Jennika wondered aloud. "Be mindful of Peter?"

"Nope, stop," Lita said. "It can't actually be a…"

"Ghost," Fong said, a grin spreading across his face. "Guys, it's Peter's ghost. Peter from Peter's Cider Mill."

"Spooky," Renet said with a conspiratorial grin.

Lita whacked her in the arm. "No, Renet. You and I are supposed to be on the No Scary Stories Squad."

"I mean, I don't love scary things, but I love adventure. And it sounds adventurous," Renet said, looping her arm through Lita's.

"You sound hypocritical. Besides, there's no such thing as ghosts," Lita argued.

"Says who?" Jason said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. He pulled out his cell phone. "This is cool. I'm going to look it up, maybe the ghost story's on their website." He frowned. "Dang. No bars."

There was a shrill, high-pitched whine over the wind again. The entire mill creaked.

Lita groaned, looking around nervously. "Everything is instantly creepier the moment someone says the word 'ghost'."

Shivering, Mikey quietly stuffed his hands into his pockets, tugging his coat tighter around him. A sense of unease filled him. Lita was right — just the word 'ghost' had given him the creeps. Hopefully it was just a story, and nothing more.

So all of them — Mikey, Jennika, Lita, Renet, Fong, and Jason — walked down the dirt path, breaking off into smaller conversations together, the leaves on the ground crunching under all their sneakers. The path that led from the cider mill to the bakery led up to the little house, painted white with dark green shingles. The few trees around them bristled; the landscape was completely void of birds.

I guess this is what the countryside is like, Mikey thought as they trudged into the bakery, a bell ringing above them as Jennika pulled open the door. They all ducked inside.

The bakery smelled amazing. If Mikey eating one donut had been cinnamon sugar heaven, he had no other words for what it was like to stand in the cozy bakery, the amazingly soft smells filling his nostrils. Strawberry, chocolate, honey, cinnamon! Even the smell of regular fresh bread was making Mikey want to weep. Baked goods filled the shelves and pastries and pies lined the inside of the glass display case that stretched out along the bakery floor.

Mikey browsed through the bakery. Outside, the wind blew hard, and Mikey could have sworn it sounded like crying, but no one else seemed to have heard anything.

They all realized pretty quick that they couldn't afford anything, so Jennika led them all up to the gift shop. They hurried up the stairs, each step creaking underneath their weight, and walked in.

"Wow," Mikey breathed.

It looked homey — mahogany walls and dark wood floor panels, with a bunch of display stands and shelves with seemingly vintage stuff. There was even a family of mannequins dressed up in clothes from the 50's.

"Oh, this is so cute," Mikey heard Renet breath out.

They found their friends looking among the stuff in the display shop pretty quickly. Jason and Fong were looking at their phones. Jennika was standing in front of the mannequins.

"Guys, look at this," Jennika said, putting on one of the mannequin's hats and posing.

Mikey and Renet walked up to the mannequins in interest, taking turns trying on the hats and scarves. Mikey turned to look at himself wearing a bowler hat in the mirror on the wall. The mirror was cracked and dusty, so Mikey blew on it.

"This used to be someone's house," Fong said in a creepy voice from across the gift shop. "Maybe this was Peter's room."

"Oh, stop," Lita grumbled. "I hate thinking about that. Peter was probably a happy man who lived a long happy life. Right, Jason? What does the website say?"

Jason shrugged. "Sorry, still no bars."

"Coincidence? I think not," Fong added. "What do you think, Mikey?"

"I don't want to think about ghosts," Mikey admitted with a laugh.

Lita brightened. "Mikey, you angel. See? He's on my side."

Then Jennika made a tsking sound with her mouth. Mikey turned to look at her. She and Renet were at the window, peering out.

"What is going on out there?" Jennika asked.

"What's up?" Mikey asked, stepping forward. The girls moved aside, letting him see.

Mikey peered out the little window in the gift shop. Down below, by the creek, Bradford, Xever, and two others were shouting at each other. There seemed to be venom in their tones. Seeing Bradford and Xever shouting wasn't unusual, but they weren't ever rude. Mikey frowned, because from the annoyed looks on both Bradford and Xever's faces as they talked loudly at the other two classmates was unsettling. Yeah, what was going on out there?

"Who're they talking to?" he asked.

Renet squinted. "Oh, no," she muttered. "Sav."

Mikey could see them now, stepping out from where a tree branch had been blocking the view. Sav stood there, saying something to both Bradford and Xever with that same smirk on his face as before, as if he were taunting them. The other kid who stood close by, not really next to Sav, but off staring in the creek water, was the boy from before.

"And Woody," Jennika said for all of them, her tone flat. It was the definition of sarcastic as she added, "What a great combination of people."

"Yikes. Woody's already got issues," Jason muttered from behind Mikey. "And Sav doesn't help. Are they being jerks together now?"

"Headed for mutual jerkhood?" Fong added, worry lacing his voice. "I better get down there."

"Yeah, you better," Jason said, and Fong took off.

Lita looked out the window and gasped. "Go with him, then, Jason," she said. "What if Woody does something?"

"Fong can calm things down," Jason said, a little warily.

Mikey blinked, trying to keep track of the conversation. He didn't have any classes with Woody or Sav, but he realized that his friends probably did. And they were acting like this was a big deal.

"Come on, I'm sure it's just a little misunderstanding," he said, a little uncertainly. "They're not that bad."

"Well, Mikey, we know Sav an be… mean," Renet said, and Mikey could tell she didn't want to completely disagree with him. "Who knows what he's saying right now to our friends?"

"Yeah. Plus, Woody's a freak," Jason added.

"Dude," Mikey said after a second.

"You're way too nice, Hamato," Jennika said, clapping a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Even Fong hates the guy."

"Wait," Mikey blinked. "Our Fong?"

"I'm sorry, do you know another?"

Lita nodded. "I have to agree with everyone here, Mikey. Woody's weird. Not in the nice way, like Renet was when I first became friends with her."

"Wow, thanks girl," Renet said softly, as Jennika snorted out a laugh into her elbow.

"No, for real," Lita said to them, shrugging. "I have history class with both Sav and Woody. Let me tell you. Sav is not a nice guy, always calling people losers and whatever, but Woody's worse. You might be having an okay conversation one second, but then he loses his marbles and snaps at you. He gets emotional, and says things… I don't know, he says things in the moment, and they make Sav's insults look like praises."

"Yes! Exactly. Like, overly emotional, but in a bad way," Jennika chimed in. "I have Spanish, and English, and lunch with the guy. Back to back to back. It's a mess — he once made a teacher cry because he was so rude to her."

"Oh," Mikey said in shock. That sounded bad. "He's really that unfriendly? I mean, he didn't go to the same middle school as us, but… I don't know."

"What's there to be confused about?" Jason asked.

"Maybe he has a hard time controlling his emotions?" Mikey suggested.

"You're way too nice," Renet told him.

"No, I mean, I'm not trying to be," Mikey said honestly. "I'm just… I'm just trying to look at all the sides here."

Jason nodded. "I get it, man. My mom's always all about giving people the benefit of the doubt, too. But listen, I tried being friendly a few times and he was…" He trailed off.

Quietly, Lita said, "He called Jason's music trash and… well, a few other really mean things I won't bother repeating."

Mikey's jaw dropped, and he looked at a shrugging Jason. "Your music is awesome, though."

"What a jerk," Renet said in a hush.

"Woody doesn't talk to people unless it's to hurt them really bad with his words. I don't know how he does it, but he does it," Lita said, summarizing it. "That's why we're worried about Bradford and Xever."

There was a shout from below, and Mikey and his friends peered out the window again. Bradford and Xever both looked like they were trying to pull each other back from punching Sav in the face. But Fong was there now, his hands raised as he said something, probably to ease the tension. Sav was looking at him, bored.

"That's right, Fong," Jennika murmured under her breath. "Diffuse the situation."

Mikey watched nervously as Sav said something, his lips moving too fast for him to read. Fong was shaking his head, still remaining calm. Then he looked past Sav and pointed to Woody, and said something. Woody glared at him, and said something with his head turned.

Whatever he said, Fong apparently heard — and the look on Fong's face took on one of shock and and a sudden flash of hurt. Mikey blinked a few times. Oh, no.

Jennika scowled. "What on earth did he say to Fong?"

Then something else happened, impossibly worse. One minute Fong was standing by the creek, and the next, Woody was pushing past him, a scowl on his face. His shoulder accidentally bumped into Fong too hard, causing him to slip.

Right into the creek.

"FONG!" everyone yelled.

"Call a teacher!" Jennika shouted, and then they were bolting out of the gift shop, charging down the stairs.

Mikey's heart raced. Oh no oh no oh no — and he ran after his friends. But just as he passed the dusty mirror, he felt a chill that wasn't from the outside cold take over, freezing him in his steps. He jolted to a sudden stop, all alone in the gift shop, unable to do anything other than stand where he was.

What's happening? Mikey thought wildly, his heart racing faster as he realized he couldn't lift his feet. It felt like he was deep, deep, deep under water, and even his pinky finger weighed a ton because of the pressure around him. Mikey could only breathe a little, the air coming out in puffs. Why can't I move?

For a moment, all Mikey could do was stand like a statue where he was. He could hear the sound of his friends shouting downstairs, the bell above the door ringing, and then the door itself slamming shut as they ran outside to help Fong. He could hear them rounding the house.

But he couldn't move.

Why couldn't he move?

He felt like ice — cold gripped him from inside.

And then he saw him. In the mirror. A boy, looking at him.

Mikey's eyes widened as much as they could as he stared at the sight in the little oval mirror on the wall. The boy standing next to him in the reflection was half his size, his hair long and wavy and brown. He looked much younger than Mikey, and he stood on the wooden floor of the gift shop with bare feet, dressed in a shorts and a dull gray shirt. His eyes were sunken in, shadows surrounding his softly glowing irises.

A chill spread through Mikey's bones. The boy was only in the mirror, not in the room with him.

"Do you want to make a promise with me?" the boy asked, his voice like a whisper and an echo at the same time.

Uuuummmmm what.

The boy asked again. "Do you want to make a promise with me?"

Mikey just stared, not understanding what the boy wanted.

"Do you want to make a promise with me?"

Mikey grew incredibly colder. His body felt like ice, and his lungs struggled to take in air. His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest in fear. But he forced himself to look at the little boy and moved his lips.

"N-not really, no thanks," he managed to get out.

And that was all it took. In a blink, the boy disappeared, and Mikey collapsed onto the floor on his hands and knees, free to move. Warmth rushed back into his body, but Mikey sat back on his haunches and looked at the mirror again, eyes wide as he realized something.

That had been Peter's ghost.

Okay.

So maybe, there were two downsides to this field trip.

A/N: thank you for reading! let me know what you thought :)