A/N: You know, I love Michael Seater. If I were to ever meet him, I would pinch his cheek, like an ugly aunt with bright red smeared lipstick. I don't think he'd appreciate that. But it's just something I'd have the urge to do. He's just so adorable. And I was surprised. I thought he was really young. It turns out, he's only about nine months younger than me...(I learned this while researching for this story) which only makes me love him even more. I kind of wouldn't mind meeting him, but at the same time, I'd be scared too. Meeting an actor or acelebrity of some sorts is always a risk, because it can shatter the preconcieved illusions you have of them. It just raises the question: Is it better to know the real them, or to love them for who you imagine them to be? I don't think it would change my watching the shows he's on if he weren't a great person, because he's still a good actor. It's just food for thought.

Anyways, if you don't review, I babble. So there is your incentive to review.

ENJOY!

Chapter 5:

Professor Z was startled to find Josie standing in his doorframe. Even more startled when she demanded he accompany her downstairs to the science lab. He was dressed in sweats, he hadn't showered or shaven in the past few days, and his hair was uncombed. He looked, by all meanings of the word, a mess. But if there was one thing that could be said certainly about Josie Trent, she was persistent. If she wanted something, she didn't back down. So he found himself minutes later taking long strides down the hallway in an effort to keep up with Josie's quick pace.

"What is the emergency, Josie?" Professor Z cried, jogging down the stairs beside her.

"You won't believe me," she told him, breaking into a sprint down the hall and calling over her shoulder, "But it's something you should really see."

She threw the door to the science lab open and, out of breath, Professor Z followed her in. He looked around the room. He hadn't been in there since the night of the explosion, and he hadn't really taken in all the damage. Now he grimaced, painful memories of the student lost in that blast brought forward in his mind. Josie put her hands up, spreading them out and looking expectantly at Professor Z. He looked around the room, before turning to her inquiringly.

"Josie, what is this about?"

"Can't you…how can you say that? Can't you see him?"

Professor Z furrowed his brow, taking another look around the room.

"See…who?"

"He can't see me," Lucas spoke up, and Josie turned her face to him. He was sitting on the table, chin propped up in his hand, "I tried to tell you before you took off. He came in the room…I guess a couple days ago. He couldn't see me. Corrine, Marshall, and Vaughn have all been here too. Not one of them could see me. You're the only one, Josie."

"Josie…?" Professor Z said, "Are you alright?" Josie licked her lips, trying to take in what Lucas was telling her. Only she could see him. How was that possible? She took a few steps forward, her eyes boring into Lucas. He shifted uncomfortably under the weight of that stare. There had always been something about the way she looked at people. That intensity. It rattled his nerves but at the same time excited him.

At the moment, Josie was thinking things through. Or trying to, in between having a nervous breakdown. Lucas was dead. And as many delusions as she harbored that he wasn't really gone and it was a trick being played on them by Black Hole High, a shadow over her heart was slowly planting the seeds of doubt within her so that even she wasn't believing her own gut instinct. She was trying to keep everything together, trying to keep everyone together. Was it possible, she wondered, that it wasn't the school playing tricks on her but her own mind. It didn't help that she was the only one who could see Lucas. She turned away from the boy who was plaguing her thoughts back to her teacher. She couldn't throw away her sanity yet.

"Z," she started carefully, wondering how to breech the subject, "Scientifically speaking, what are the possibilities of…well…ghosts?"

"Wait…Josie, what?" Lucas stammered, straightening considerably and not quite following where she was taking the conversation with Z, "Are you thinking that I'm…A ghost implies dead. Josie, I'm not dead." She paid him no mind, however, staring curiously at the teacher.

"Oh…um…well," Professor Z was thoughtful. Given a science topic, his thoughts were momentarily relieved of his current grief. He removed his glass, rifling through his mind, "Well…that's a complex subject right there, Josie. Scientifically speaking, ghosts are really up for debate. There are some scientists who have dedicated their lives to proving the existence of ghosts and then, less open-minded, scientist who spend their lives scoffing at them while studying more practical fields of science. I mean, first you'd have to figure out what a ghost is. A residual life force left on this plane of existence? Or an entity all its own? And even then, that just leads to such esoteric questions as what is the spirit or soul of a person? What is that consciousness that makes us 'human'?"

"Well…say you saw a ghost. How would you know it was a ghost? And…what would the ghost want?"

"I can answer that for you," Lucas cried, "I am not a ghost. And I want to fix this…you know, not being seen thing!"

"Ah…interesting questions. I'm not really a parapsychologist, and really, there are just theories on these things anyways, nothing proven. Ghosts have been described in different ways, the most popular being translucent, pale, and often times able to break certain laws of physics. But I think the best way to tell if it's a ghost, would be if you're seeing someone that's dead," Professor Z explained, "And as to what it would want. Well, once again, this is another field made up of theories and half-explanations. The more modern and most popular idea of the ghost is that it's a lingering spirit of a dead person who stays amongst the living because the person it was died with something left unfinished. In order for the ghost to move on from life it would have to satisfy the unfinished business, as it were. But there are other theories."

"I see…what if that ghost can only be seen by one person…and can't leave a particular…say…area?"

"Josie," Lucas breathed haggardly, jumping down from the table top to stand his full height, "I'm only going to say this once more. I. Am. Not. A. Ghost."

Professor Z narrowed his eyes at the young girl.

"Josie, what is this about?" he questioned, though from the look on his face, he already had a hunch. Josie sighed audibly.

"I can see Lucas," she mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"I can see Lucas," she spoke up, and Professor Z raised his brow, "I know what you're thinking. I'm crazy, right?"

"No…of course not," Professor Z assured her, then in a patronizing voice, "Is Lucas here right now?"

"Ugh!" Josie threw her hands into the air, turning and walking a few paces from him, then turning and walking back, "I know it sounds insane, and completely impossible, Professor Z, but please hear me out. I don't think Lucas was killed in that explosion. I think that…well I believe…it's another black hole mystery. Somehow, Lucas is here, in this room. No one but me can see him, and he can't leave here. It must have something to do with the Oubliette…whatever it does and…"

All the while Josie was talking, Professor Z found himself shaking his head until finally he caught her shoulders.

"Josie," he cried, "Please, just stop." Josie opened her mouth to protest, but she saw the red rim of his eyes, how they glistened with new tears, and the pain more evident in his voice. He released her, satisfied she was done talking, "Josie…I know that you've been having trouble adjusting to what happened."

"Adjusting?" Josie sneered, "Lucas - "

"Is dead," Professor Z interrupted, and both Lucas and Josie caught how his voice cracked at that, "You saw him, Josie. You saw the…the…body."

"Body?" Lucas repeated, "What body? He can't possibly mean…my body?"

"You think I'm crazy," Josie guessed, "You think I'm just seeing things."

"No, by no means," Professor Z was quick to say, he walked away from her, leaning against a tattered and scorched shelf, "Josie, dealing with the death of someone you were close to is always difficult. And despite your best efforts, I'm sure, to hide your pain, I can see that you've been taking it particularly hard. You haven't been getting much sleep lately, have you?"

"I…" Josie started, then lowering her eyes, "No."

"Or eating much, either?"

"I guess not," she murmured, playing with the hem of her shirt.

For the first time since Josie had entered the room, Lucas really looked at her. He winced. Why hadn't he seen how bad off she was? Her skin was placid, her hair tied back in a messy half-hearted ponytail. She hadn't bothered with her clothes, wearing tattered jeans and an oversized shirt. She was pale, a bit sallow, and her eyes were sporting prominent bags. She looked so brittle, he thought, a slight breeze could push her over. Where was the Josie he knew? Healthy, bright, and strong? What was this weak creature standing before him, a shadow compared to his Josie.

"The mind can only take so much strain, Josie. I believe that what you think you are seeing is not, in fact, Lucas, but a subconscious delusion stemmed from fatigue and minor starvation," Professor Z concluded. Josie was silent. He turned to face her, leaning his back against the shelf and folding his arms over his chest, "Tell me what's going on. I know I haven't been around the past couple of days…I guess it wasn't very responsible of me…but I'm here now. Talk to me, Josie. Tell me what you're feeling."

"What I'm feeling?" Josie demanded, "I'm feeling angry."

"Alright," Professor Z continued, "At who?"

"At you. Because you think I'm insane!" Josie cried.

"Okay…" Professor Z relented, shifting slightly and pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, "Now, Josie, I think you may be a little angry at someone else, too." Josie lost her footing then, lowering her eyes. She flustered. "Josie…who else are you angry with?"

"I don't…well…I…" she closed her eyes, "Maybe I'm a little angry…a bit angry at…Lucas."

"Me?"

"And why is that, Josie?" Professor Z asked, a look of triumph on his face that they finally seemed to be getting somewhere.

"Well…I'm mad at him for…" Josie stumbled with her words as she jostled through her emotions. She was surprised to have heard herself say that. She hadn't realized until then that she was angry at Lucas. What was she angry at him for? "I'm mad because…because…I'm angry at him for…for dying."

"Uh…Josie…I'm not…"

"I see, so…" Professor Z began again, but he was quickly cut off by Josie as her eyes flashed open.

"I mean, how could he do that? He knew better then to mess with things he knew nothing about! And how could he just die like that? How? We needed him, and he left us. How could he do that to us? How could he do that to me?"

"Well…I…"

"Josie," Lucas breathed softly, staring at her in stun. She was silent again, studying the floor, her cheeks flushed and body visibly trembling. Her fists were clenched, finger nails biting through the flesh of her palms.

"And I'm angry at myself. Because I'm trying so hard to be tough and strong, the Josie everybody expects, but Lucas is gone…how can I be strong against that? How? I need to be strong for everyone, but I can't hold on."

"Josie, nobody expects you to be the strong one," Professor Z commented.

"Well who else is going to do it? Huh? Marshall is talking about leaving, Vaughn doesn't talk about anything unless it's sports related, and Corrine just sits in our room crying all day! Who's going to hold us all together? You?"

"Now, Josie," Professor Z interjected, "That's not fair."

She hung her head, taking deep breaths. He studied her a moment, before clearing his throat.

"Josie…have you…have you cried?"

Her eyes flashed up, looking into him with a burning confusion.

"Excuse me?" she demanded.

"Cried. It's a natural part of the grieving process," Professor Z explained to her, "Crying helps to…"

"I cry every night," Josie whispered, and Professor Z fell silent. Lucas felt his heartbreak.

"Josie," Professor Z spoke up again, softly, "I think the reason you're seeing Lucas now is maybe because you want to talk to him. There are things you want to say to him, perhaps?" Josie peeked up at the teacher, "I think in a way…you're giving yourself that chance. I'm going to leave you alone, give you time to talk to Lucas."

"I don't understand, though. I miss him, Z…but…why do I feel like this? Why does it hurt so much? I've been afraid I'd lost people before, but it had never felt like this..."

Professor Z sighed, smiling sadly, "Sometimes, Josie…sometimes you don't know how important someone is to you until they're no longer there. I'll be outside if you need me." Josie nodded and he headed for the door, disappearing into the hall.

"Josie, you can't possibly believe that…" Lucas started, but Josie stopped him with a soft moan that escaped her throat.

"There were so many things we hadn't done yet," she mumbled, "We needed you to help us solve the Blake Holsey mystery. There are so many jokes, so many stories, and moments in time that aren't going to happen now." She paused, and Lucas thought to say something, but he wanted to hear what she had to say, "There are things I might have one day needed to tell you, but now I'll never get the chance."

"Josie. Please, listen to me. I'm not dead," Lucas insisted, "You'll have those chances, we'll do all those things that we haven't done yet!" Tears were now streaming steadily down Josie's face, and she was shaking uncontrollably. Without thinking, Lucas reached out to comfort her, but his hand fell through her body, grabbing only empty air. She stared at it in horror. He realized, that hadn't helped his case at all. Her eyes met his, burning with a swirl of anger and sorrow.

"Why did you die?" she demanded of him, before turning on her heel and running out the door. Lucas chased after her, calling "Josie wait," but as he ran though the door, he found himself once more in the science lab. He let out a frustrated cry.

"Why can't I get out of this room?" he yelled at the blackened walls.

Lucas realized he was shaking. The things Josie had said were pounding in his head and it pained him to see her with so much grief. He'd caused her that pain, he realized. It was all his fault that she was so miserable. He put his hand through the door, watching it with a distraught expression.

"Maybe I really am dead."

He sighed, stalking towards the table. He didn't bother turning around when the door reopened. It didn't matter who was there. He was stuck in his purgatory between one life and the next. He wondered what he would do to pass the time. Think of Josie and all the pain he'd caused her. Think of all his friends and the pain he'd caused them. Think of how everything was his fault.

"What are you still doing here?" a voice said casually over the unmistakable sound of a broom scraping across the floor. Lucas spun, his eyes focusing on the janitor. His heart jumped into his throat.

"You can see me?"

The janitor lifted his gaze, looking directly at the younger man. His face was as expressionless or, rather, unreadable as always.

"Of course. You're there, aren't you?"

"Why does that not surprise me?" Lucas asked of no one in particular, throwing his hands up above his head. The janitor seemed to smirk slightly.

"Having trouble getting noticed?"

"As if you don't know anything about it…"

"You haven't answered my question," the janitor persisted, "Why are you still here?"

"I think that would be obvious," Lucas replied haughtily, "I can't leave this room!"

"Why not?"

"Because…I can't."

"Of course you can. You always could."

Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. And how do I leave here?" he demanded. The janitor pushed his broom casually.

"I would have thought you were smart enough to know that," the janitor scoffed, seeming to be enjoying being so obscure, "The same way you came in."

"The same way I came in…the door? I've tried the door! I can't open the door, my hand goes through the knob. I walk through the door, I'm back in here. It doesn't work!" Lucas said on the verge of a shout. But it was obvious, from the way the janitor continued to sweep the hopeless mess that was the floor, Lucas wasn't getting any other answers on that. He sighed. Moving on. "Even if I do get out of here, what am I supposed to do beyond that? No one but Josie can see me and she thinks I'm a figment of her overworked imagination. She's not going to help."

"Just remember," the janitor said, "Even if you're no longer there, you're not gone." And then as abruptly as he'd entered the room, he turned and left.

Lucas put a hand to his forehead. His mind was such a jumbled mess. The way out of the room was the same way in. Which had to be the door, right? But he'd tried the door, he couldn't get out of it. And what about that last bit the janitor had said. 'even if you're no longer there, you're not gone'. How could he not be gone if he was no longer there? It didn't make any sense.

-00000-

Corrine took a deep breath, standing in front of that imposing door. She adjusted her shirt and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear before softly knocking. There was some rather muffled movement inside, and then the door slowly opened. She forced a smile up at Marshall. He looked wearily down at her, rubbing the back of his head and grunting, "what time is it?" a bit drowsily.

"Did I wake you?" she asked carefully, the faint smile fading from her face.

"I wasn't really sleeping," he mumbled, "Did you…need something?"

Corrine opened her mouth but no sound came out. She closed it. She hadn't really thought about why she was coming there. She was wondering how Marshall was doing, first and foremost. Having spent so much time locked up in her room studying and crying, she hadn't really seen him the past two days. She could see over his shoulder that he almost had all his packing done. His side of the room was almost completely empty of any personal effects. It seemed strange, a bit ghostly, all of Lucas's belongings laying in there alone.

"Can I…come in?" she asked. He took a moment to consider it, before widening the door and motioning that she enter. She walked in, thoughtfully looking about the room, before taking a seat on his bed, "You're almost finished packing."

"Yeah," Marshall replied, shutting the door and leaning against it, looking at Corrine.

"So…you're really leaving," she continued, lowering her eyes to her lap. She folded her hands.

"In about another week, yes," he answered quietly. He started towards her, but paused, shaking his head and turning towards the door, "Corrine…I…" He could feel words pressing against his tongue. Things he wanted to say, but couldn't quite understand or get out. It all sounded so coded in his head. Like a foreign language. His feelings for her were all Greek to him.

"Why don't I help you finish packing?" Corrine suggested, sensing a need to change the subject before he said something that would make his leaving all the more painful.

"Thanks," Marshall said, "Corrine. You know, I have to leave here. At least…for right now. Lucas is…was…my best friend."

"I know, Marshall," Corrine interjected, "It can't be easy for you…it's not easy for any of us. I was wrong to get mad you for making the decision to leave. You have to do what you…have to do to get past this. And I shouldn't have even suggested that solving the mystery behind the black hole here was more important than losing Lucas."

"It's not like I'll be completely gone from y-…from the science club. I can still exchange e-mails…and maybe help with research, keep in touch."

"I think we'd all like that," Corrine murmured. They held each other's eyes for a brief moment, before flustering and breaking the connection. "Um…what would you like me to help with?"

END A/N: Yes, that was a slight Corrine/Marshall moment. The janitor finally made his omniscient appearance, and Josie is freaking out.

Oh, and a note on Michael Seater. While researching for this story, I did come across some very strange fans on fandoms and have heard divergent ideas as to his personalities and claims from people who say they've went to school with him and know him (don't ever believe those people, for the most part, they're all liars. But you all knew that, right...?) and say he's a dick or something that thinks he's an all-that actor. I don't claim to know anything for certain, but common sense dictates if Michael Seater were anything like that, there's no way that he would, not only, continually work with the same actors on different projects (Robert Clark, Shadia Simmons, for instance...) but also constantly be hired by the same company on different shows. (The Zack Files and Life With Derek are both handled by the same production company). If he was at all any kind of arrogant dick, it would make him difficult to work with, and nobody wants to work with a difficult actor no matter how good they are. (Take Shannon Doherty for example)

Got off track there, again.

Please excuse any grammatical or typing errors. Please REVIEW! And...thanks for reading!