A/N: I'm taping the Strange Days series, and I just missed the first ten seconds or so of the episode on right now. I'm so pissed! Oh well...I guess...augh! I'm gonna be mad about it for awhile. They'll release it on DVD one day, though, right?

Anyways, missing the show. This is probably all for today. More to come tomorrow.

ENJOY!

Chapter 6:

Lucas was laying on the floor, staring at the door, his legs sticking through an upturned table.

"I have to leave the way I came in," he was saying, "I came in through the door. But I haven't been able to leave through the door. So how can I leave the way I came in, if it won't let me leave." He'd been running through the same logic for what seemed hours to no avail. "Stupid janitor," he muttered. And then, suddenly, he clumsily pulled himself to his feet, "I got it," he announced, before gripping the table and fighting the dizzy spell that accompanied picking himself up so fast. He shook his head and straightened, "I have to look at this as if it were a science problem. Objective: to leave the room. Constants: the door, and me. Variables…" Lucas sighed, hunching, "Too many to count."

He paced about the room stroking his chin, the gears in his mind twisting and turning.

"What are the major differences between when I entered this room and now?" he mused, his eyes lit up, "I went through the open doorway, not through the door. Maybe it has to be open…" he sighed, shaking his head, "Great. How am I going to open it?" As if in reply, the doorknob jiggled slightly, and then twisted. Someone was coming in. Lucas grinned, stepping up and waiting as the door swung open and Principle Durst started in. He maneuvered around her - he'd already been through Z and Josie, but Durst was just too gross - and slipped out the doorway.

Only to find himself back in the science lab. The door closing behind him, as Principle Durst entered the room, clucking her tongue. He sighed, disappointed.

"Well, that didn't work," he muttered, but not discouraged, "There's got to be something else…something I'm missing. What else is there…what else is there…" He looked to himself, eyes running over his legs, his arms, his chest. "I wasn't intangible. I had a solid body. I have to go through the doorway in a solid body," he shook his head, what little excitement he gained from the realization dwindling away, "Where am I going to get a solid body?" His eyes fell on Principle Durst, who was almost surveying the room. His face contorted with disgust, "Why me?" he demanded of the ceiling.

Lucas stepped up beside the principle, taking a deep breath and rubbing his hands together. His idea was to jump into her body, maybe he could possess her or something, take control. In movies, ghosts did it all the time. He took another deep breath. The things he had to put up with at that school. He bent his knees, and quickly flung himself towards the portly older woman before he lost the nerve.

And flew right through her. Tripping and falling to the ground. He groaned, lifting himself up and checking for any possible injury aside from the sore ego.

"Okay, Lucas, there's a reason they're called 'movies'," he muttered to himself, scrambling to his feet once more.

"Hm," Principle Durst snorted, before heading towards the door.

"I've got one last plan. This better work," Lucas told himself, before rushing to fall in behind Durst. She opened the door, and right as she began through, he stepped into her, walking through the door intermingled with her body. As soon as they were in the hallway, Lucas stumbled out of the Principle, checking himself quickly as the older woman departed down the hall, having noticed nothing. Lucas looked around the mostly empty and wonderfully familiar corridor, and grinned. "Yes!"

"Oh, Victor," Lucas heard Durst squeal in surprise. He edged his way around the corner, stopping in his tracks as he saw the older Pearson dressed in usual black.

"Amanda. I'm here to see the site," Victor stated brusquely. Lucas's eyebrows drew together. What site? Principle Durst had dropped her voice at this point, so Lucas couldn't make out what they were saying. And then he remembered something. They couldn't see him. He began forward cautiously, and he stood right beside Victor, shoulder to shoulder.

"…gress you've made with…" Principle Durst was saying until Victor raised a hand to cut her off.

"It is of the highest confidentiality," Victor told her, "I will inform you the minute anything happens that I feel is necessary for you to know about. Now, have you told anyone about any of this?"

"Of course not," Principle Durst hissed, "I called only you."

"And the boy…he was the only one involved with this 'accident'?" Victor pressed, leering down at the elderly woman. She swallowed hard. Lucas frowned, chewing his inner cheek. What were they talking about?

"Well…there were other's there…but he was the only one affected by it," Principle Durst answered meekly. Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Was Vaughn there?"

Lucas arched his eyebrows. Wait…what were they talking about?

"Yes…but…he didn't appear to have been there when the incident occurred."

"I see. Show me the area," Victor commanded. Durst led him down the hall towards the science lab, and Lucas watched them, gaping. He thought to follow as well, but he wasn't ready to go back into the lab. What if he couldn't get out again? Who knew when his next chance would be.

Lucas moved swiftly through the halls and up the stairs with ease. He was used to being invisible to his fellow classmates. He paused when he saw Vaughn leaning against the banister talking with Stu Kubiak and other football players. Stu said something and the others laughed. Vaughn was silent. He muttered something about, "there are more things to life…" Lucas frowned, deciding he didn't want to kill brain cells eavesdropping on their conversation. He continued down the hall, picking up on dialogue here and there. Most kids were talking about how nice it was not having classes for the week, which Lucas found strange.

"…but you know, what do I care about some little nerd…" he overheard one girl saying, but tried to ignore it as he came up to his room. She was probably talking about someone else, not him, he convinced himself. He paused, looking at the door curiously. He wondered if Marshall was in. When was Marshall leaving? It didn't take him long to decide before he first tried the doorknob, which his hand went right through, then stepped through the door.

Lucas was surprised to find himself face to face, nearly a millimeter, from Corrine. He jumped quickly away from her as she bent to put a box to the side of the door. The room looked like two different rooms, as one side was practically empty, and the other was still overflowing with Lucas's things. Marshall was sitting on the floor packing things into a box. They were both so silent it was nerve-wracking.

Marshall lifted a picture of him and Lucas in the shade of a tree outside Blake Holsey. It was their first day. They both looked so excited. He turned the picture over, burying his face in his hand.

"Marshall…?" Corrine questioned, "Are you okay?" She seemed solemn.

"Uh…" Marshall rubbed his face slightly, sniffing, "Yeah. I'm fine."

Lucas left the room quickly. It was comforting to know Marshall had yet to leave the school, but at the same time, the eeriness of that scene left him somewhat depressed. It wasn't fun being dead. Somehow, Lucas felt he needed to rush, that he didn't have much time, though he knew it was a strange feeling to have. At least, he thought it was.

When he reached Josie's door, he felt he should knock. Of course, stupidly, he tried it, and, of course his hand went through. So he took a deep breath, knowing that this was definitely crossing a line somewhere and could definitely jeopardize his friendship with Josie, albeit, it was an emergency, and stepped through the door.

When his eyes fell on Josie, the only thing he could really do was stare and gape. She was in the middle of changing, he noted her bra was a pretty yellow color, and she was standing in front of a mirror, fumbling through her laundry for a new shirt. She looked up, absently running her hand through her hair. And then, she turned and her eyes locked on Lucas.

She screamed.

Lucas jumped back, lowering his eyes sheepishly, his cheeks a deep red. She had reached for the nearest article of clothing, holding it up to her chest defensively and glaring accusingly and somewhat confusedly at him.

"I'm so sorry," he started, stumbling as he turned his back to her and picked a spot on the ceiling to stare at, "I would have knocked but my hand just goes right though…"

"What are you doing here?" Josie demanded, pulling a t-shirt on. She closed her eyes, licking her lips, "This is not happening. You're not really here. You can't be. You're not real. You're not real. You're not real. You're not real." Lucas turned to glance at her with a raised brow. She peeked an eye open at him, before sighing, "That didn't work."

"Maybe because I am real?" Lucas suggested.

"No. You're not," Josie argued, "Lucas is dead. So you're not real."

"But I am."

"You're not."

"I am."

"You…"

"Are…"

"…not…"

"…dead."

"Real! Stop that," Josie cried and Lucas smirked, "You…you're just a figment of my imagination!"

"So now you're imagining me watching you change?" Lucas joked, "My, Josie, that is a dirty mind you have. Yellow is a good color on you, by the way." She widened her eyes in shock before spinning her back to him and crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

"What are you doing here?" she repeated angrily, "I thought you said you couldn't leave the science lab!"

"I had a visit from the janitor," Lucas explained, before shaking his head, and putting his hands in front of him for emphasis, "But that's not important right now. Josie, I just overheard…"

"Whoa. Wait. You had a visit from the janitor?" Josie turned her eyes back on him.

"What did I just say!" Lucas muttered, throwing his hands up in defeat, and walking around the edge of her and Corrine's shared room. It looked the same as always. Corrine's half neat and organized, Josie's a chaotic landfill.

"He could see you?"

"Yes," Lucas hissed exasperatedly.

Josie rolled her eyes, shaking her head, "Why am I not surprised?"

"You know, I said the same thing…" Lucas began, before shaking his head and reminding himself to stay on track, "He told me how to get out of the science lab…well…he didn't tell me…but he…did…"

"I know what you mean," Josie assured him, and he went on.

"But I just overheard Durst and Victor talking about what happened. And get this Victor wanted to see the science lab. He kept calling it 'the scene of the incident'. Josie, I think what's going on definitely has something to do with the black hole."

Josie brightened for a moment, before lowering her eyes.

"Lucas…what's happening to you?" she asked. Lucas scrunched his brow, glancing down at himself. He was fading!

"Oh man," he groaned, before looking back to her, "I don't have much time, Josie. I need you to get the science club together and bring them down to the lab…" he trailed off, moving his head back and forth as she was doing. He stopped, pointing his finger threateningly at her, "Stop shaking your head at me."

"No," she moaned, chewing her thumbnail and walking away from him, "You're not real. You're just a figment of my imagination…you're not real…"

"Josie, I don't need this right now. You are not helping!"

"Just go away! You're not real!"

Lucas scrambled, he was almost gone now. His legs and arms completely faded. His heart was pounding in his chest. Somehow he knew, he just had to get the gang down to the science lab. His mind reeled. There had to be someway to convince Josie he was the real Lucas and not some figment of her imagination, and that he wasn't really gone. And then, he recalled what the janitor had said. Just remember, and an idea struck him.

"Josie!" he called, desperately, "Look…if I'm not real, if I'm just a figment of your imagination, then I wouldn't know anything that Lucas had known before the accident that you didn't, right?"

"I guess…" she mumbled.

"Then…Josie! Look at me, go to my room! In my closet, there's a package for you. It's wrapped in blue, has a card on it with your name. It's your birthday present. Josie, please, I'm begging you, bring the science club down to the lab. Please, do this for me. I need you."

And then he was gone.

Josie turned, staring at the spot where Lucas had just stood. She sunk to the floor, kneeling with her head in her hands. He was gone. Again, Lucas was gone. Maybe this time forever, she thought with a hollow sob. Why was he haunting her? Why was he tormenting her? She squeezed her eyes shut.

And then flashed them open.

She had to put it to rest. She stood abruptly and throwing her door open, she slammed it shut behind her. She tore down the hall towards dorm 32.

Corrine and Marshall both jumped when Josie burst in unannounced. She ran her eyes over the room, before stopping on her objective and bounding over, Marshall and Corrine following her with speechless eyes. Josie thrust the closet open and began shuffling through clothes on hangers, checking pockets, rummaging along the top shelf, finding a sleeping bag, a pillow, a toy race car, and other various objects. She plopped to the floor, ravaging through knick-knacks and fallen or discarded clothes, tossing them out of the closet over her shoulder. She saw a glimmer of blue and ripped it out savagely only to discover it was nothing more than a half-melted action figure. She tossed it over her shoulder as well. And then she fell back, glowering at the closet with maddened eyes and a twitch on her lip.

"It's not here," she stated. Corrine and Marshall took that as a cue to blink.

"What's not there?" Marshall asked, clearing his throat rather loudly. Josie sighed, shaking her head so that her hair fell around her face, and lifting herself up. She started slowly towards the door.

"Nothing," she muttered. She had let herself hope…but it wasn't there. She really was cracking up. Everything had gotten to be too much and she was finally going insane. All she wanted to do now was take a nice, long, hot shower and then fall to sleep. Maybe never wake up again.

"Okay," Marshall muttered, "You rush into my room without knocking looking like you've seen a ghost…"

"Funny you should say that," Josie mumbled to herself.

"Tear my closet apart looking for something you say isn't there," Marshall went on, "And it's…nothing?" Josie sighed, opening her mouth to reply, when something struck her. She turned to Marshall, pointing at the spot she'd just torn apart.

"That's your closet," Josie questioned. Slowly, Marshall nodded.

"Josie, are you alright?" Corrine spoke up, but Josie was already walking towards the other closet door across the room, pointing at it and glancing at Marshall.

"So then that's…"

"Lucas's," Marshall answered.

"But I thought that one was…"

"We switched," Marshall shrugged, looking downcast to the box in front of him, "He was convinced someone or something was going through his clothes at night, so he thought switching closets would 'throw them off the scent'…"

But Josie wasn't listening. She made her way to the closet, tugging it open. Her eyes trailed from the shelf at the top overflowing with half-finished or didn't-work-properly inventions, down along the neatly ironed shirts and pressed slacks, to the stacks of boxes with parts and wires. On top of it all was a neatly wrapped shiny blue box. There was a card tucked into a crisp white envelope taped to it. 'Josie' was written on the white in Lucas's sloppy handwriting. She stared at it with bated breath.

"Josie…" Corrine whispered. Josie licked her lips, tears forming in the corners of her eyes and an almost smile starting on her face.

"Emergency science club meeting in the lab. Now."

END A/N: Yay, now we're getting somewhere. This story is moving right along. I'm thinking I might write another story after this, a sequel of sorts, but that's if this one is recieved well. I've, of course, already got one planned out, but I haven't started writing it or anything. I don't know what I'm talking about so I'll just change the subject.

I was thinking, it's weird, isn't it? The science club members are all (with the exception of Vaughn) like the top students at Blake Holsey, but they're also the ones who get in the most trouble. I just found it ironic, because that's not usually how things work.

Please excuse any grammatical or typing errors. REVIEWs are always welcomed, and actually, encouraged!

Thanks for Reading.