Charlie Prescott is spending an autumn Saturday evening lounging on his bed with his socked feet dangling over the edge, cell phone pressed to her ear. "Wow that does sound difficult," he sympathizes. "I bet you're just glad to be out of the hospital at all though." He smiles at the answer. "I thought so."
There is a knock at the door and he heads over to open it and reveal his best friend Lori Fitzgerald, who is staring intently at her phone. Her arm is still wrapped from her injury last week, but it appears fine.
"I have a conundrum and…"She glances up and sees he's on the phone. "Sorry."
"It's fine," he assures her. "Rachel?" he says to the person on the other line. "I have a distraught best friend at my door. I will. Best of luck to you. Keep in touch." He hangs up and she enters. "She says hello."
"How is she doing?"
"They moved her into that school- to learn different ways to maneuver and do things. Her parents forced her there but she's started to give in. She said she managed to pour a glass of water today. This is great because yesterday she was crying because-"He takes in Lori's sudden shift in emotion. "Shouldn't have said it."
Lori frowns, distraught. "No. But it's alright. We've- we've made our peace with one another strangely enough. But my conundrum."
Charlie flops onto the couch. "Yeah, hit me." She takes a seat next to him.
"So the Halloween dance is tomorrow and we all know it is the worst of the holidays and last year did nothing to help that." Charlie shrugs but nods in agreement. "But Shawn has been texting me for the past few days saying he wants to take me to make that whole debacle up to me. He keeps suggesting costume ideas and I don't know if I should stay angry and bitter forever," she admits. "I mean, I think I could… but maybe I shouldn't. I feel like I don't need that lesson."
"You know I think that's never the way to go." She sighs, conflicted. "I'm going if that's any consolation."
Lori pulls up her messages, clearly giving in. "Well, I still think it's a holiday for the crazies. But I suppose… I guess just call me a crazy." She sends the text. "Do you have a purple scarf? I might have an idea."
"No. Good luck though." She rises and ruffles his hair as he smiles. She then levels with him on her knees, becoming very serious.
"By the way, the next time I say to stay behind I mean it."
Charlie nods, somber. "I know. I just- it won't happen again," he promises. She hugs him tightly.
"I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," she admits into his shoulder.
"You'll never have to find out," he vows as she pulls away. "I'll listen. I swear. No benching necessary." She laughs and ruffles his hair once more before exiting.
XXX
So follow me down
(Lori stands with the book)
Where to?
Outta this town
(Charlie examines his map)
With you
Girl, you're movin way
(Hannah is typing away at her computer)
Too slow
So follow me down
(Michael grabs the first aid kit from a cabinet)
Which way?
Down, down, down
(Ben looks at his phone and sighs, adjusting his tie)
I'll show you around
(Kaity is drawing pictures of the group absently in her dorm room)
Okay
There's a place we gotta go
(The Disney Encyclopedia begins to glow. Lori sighs)
Follow me, follow me
(Lori, Charlie, Hannah, Michael, Ben, and Kaity are running through the preserve, freezing once on each of their faces)
Fa la la la la
Follow me, follow me
Fa la la la la
(Lori comes to a halt and the others crash into her, sending them all to the ground)
Lori Disney? (Not Likely!)
Episode Eleven: Don't Try to Hide
XXX
Meanwhile, Ben Prescott sits on the arm of the couch and removes a thermometer from his girlfriend Brittany Moore who is curled upon it looking flushed and pale. She looks at him and he just shakes his head.
"I could still go to the dance," she croaks weakly.
He tucks the blanket tighter. "No, you are going to stay in bed tomorrow. Now I am going to go cook up a nice bowl of soup for you and then we'll put on a romantic comedy you can fall asleep to but I'll have to endure." She laughs nasally.
"You're the best," she whispers as he sweetly brushes the hair from her forehead.
"I'll be right back." He exits and heads for the kitchen with microwave soup to starts cooking it. As the microwave starts, the head of Kaity Klingbeil peaks in and upon seeing him enters with something behind her back.
"Ben! I've been looking for you everywhere!" she announces, practically jumping up and down.
Ben considers his watch. "Somebody's up for nine o' clock at night."
"Ah, it's a typical peak," Kaity shrugs, brushing the hair out of her eye. "I haven't been able to sleep the past few days and I thought why not channel that energy into an awesome costume for the party. Artists should enjoy Halloween. And I wanted to show you."
He smiles at her enthusiasm. "Let's see it then." She holds up an exact replica of what he's wearing now, down to the ugly striped tie Hannah gave him. She pulls her hair back to complete the look. "You're- you're going as me?" he realizes, confused. "No one's going to get that."
"Like I care what the mass populace thinks. I just really wanted to make a tie and that ugly one was the first one I thought of."
"You made the tie?" Ben asks in shock, looking it over.
"No, but someone did and said I could claim credit." They stand awkwardly for a moment so she starts backwards. "Sorry for bothering you-"
"You know what, I've got an idea," Ben says before she can leave. "I could dig up some old sweats… maybe find a wig…"
"Are you suggesting-?"
"I suggest we have matching costumes… as each other…"
Kaity beams. "That is so cool! I can't wait!" The microwave sounds and she waves. "I'll see you tomorrow." She exits and he waves after her.
XXX
Lori is sound asleep in her bed as her roommate Hannah Frost lets out a sigh from hers. The clock next to Lori's bed strikes midnight and the date changes to October 31st. As if on cue once again the filing cabinet begins to rattle from beside her desk.
They both shoot up, groggily wiping the sleep from their eyes as the flash fills the room. Suddenly, three blue ghosts- two in hats with bags and one in prison chains- zoom through the walls and start circling the two. The two properly freak out from the shock as the ghosts circle- thumbs sticking out. Lori pulls out the bow and arrow from under her pillow and fires at one of them- only for it to go straight through and the suction cup hit Hannah in the jaw.
The ghosts laugh at this and that laugh echoes as the three vanish into the walls once again. The two sit in the absolute silence catching their breath.
"These actually hurt," Hannah comments as she plays with the fired arrow.
Lori falls back onto her pillow. "I hate Halloween so much. So much."
"It looked like the Hitchhiking Ghosts," Hannah comments.
"Haunted Mansion again… naturally." Lori lies on her side, facing her roommate. "I don't know if I'm going back to sleep tonight."
"I doubt it," Hannah agrees. "My hearts still somewhere on the floor right now."
"We need to get out there right away then. We'll start looking and then the others can join us in the morning. We don't need three ghosts haunting people this time around." She hops out of bed.
"Why not?" Hannah hops down too and the two start gathering their clothes from their dressers. "Can we at least stop for a pancake breakfast later?"
"We'll see."
"Just warning you- I'll be really crabby all day if I don't get my pancakes."
Lori just rolls her eyes and shoves her into the bathroom. "Come on. Spit spot."
XXX
Later that afternoon, the two wander through the preserve joined by the rest of the Companions. Lori seems as determined as ever, but the others not the setting sun as they start to grow restless.
Michael Harms decides to be the one to gently bring this up. "Lori, we've been at this all day. We've checked the usual spots multiple times."
Charlie nods. "We've checked the entire preserve according to my map."
"It might be time to take a break," Michael suggests. "It's getting late."
Lori shakes her head, disagreeing. "What if they do something? What if-"
Kaity hears something a whips her head away from the conversation. Through the trees behind her she sees a ten year old version of herself. She hears giggling and turns again to see two even younger versions of herself playing. She grabs her head and squeezes her eyes closed.
"No. No," she murmurs. She slowly opens her eyes to see the hallucinations are gone. "It was just a quick one. No need to be alarmed. It's alright," she whispers to calm herself.
"Kaity, what's the matter?" She turns to see everyone is now looking at her concerned, Lori having spoken. "You're pale and sweating like you've just seen a… did you see them?!"
She shakes her head, trying to clear it. "No. I'm just… I'm sick of all this fighting!" she lies. "Can't we all just have one good day without everything completely falling apart? I just want to spend time with my friends!"
Lori stares at her. "Peak or valley?"
"Peak, definitely a peak," she admits instantly.
Lori goes to say something, but Michael turns her so attention is back on her. "We need to take a break. We can all go get ready for the dance and-"
Lori's expression grows colder. "So that's what this is really about. We all want to abandon the fact the fact that there are three ghosts with no problem scaring people running around so we can go have fun!" she accuses.
"Lori." She turns to Charlie and he takes her hand. "You need a break too. I won't let you do this to yourself again. We can't spiral anytime something outside our control happens." She looks down. "Plus, you promised Shawn you'd be there. I know you're a little scared about that too, but we're here. It's going to be okay." She squeezes his hand and ruffles his hair, giving a small smile.
"Let's go get ready. We can always come back here tomorrow." They all start heading out- Charlie never letting go of her hand.
XXX
The dance is underway in the gym, music blaring. Lori however stands outside of it dressed as Sherlock in a black coat and purple scarf with her hair teased out to be extra curly. She sighs and checks her cell phone again to see she has no new messages. She glances at the clock to see it an hour and a half past the time it started. She then goes back to her phone, clearly upset but holding it in.
Michael and Hannah exit the gym dressed at the Tenth Doctor in his suit and Rose respectively. They observe her with pitying looks and she gives a pathetic attempt at a smile when she sees them.
"I'm sorry," Hannah offers.
Lori shrugs. "It's fine. Maybe it's for the best. On this stupid holiday-"Michael just strides over hugs her as she tears up on his shoulder, Hannah joining. "I know I'm being silly, but can't something just go my way."
They pull apart, Michael still with an arm around her. "Come on," he says desperately trying to cheer her up. "Forget about him. Let's go have a good time the group of us. I wouldn't want to spend my first Halloween dance without any of my friends." They lead her into the gym to where the others are gathered- Ben as Kaity with sweats and a blonde wig, Kaity as Ben with her best droll expression, and Charlie has decided to go with the classic Captain Hook. They welcome her into their fold and start dancing like idiots, not caring about the others staring. All are clearly having a great time together despite the shaky start.
Hannah then notices three blue figures across the gym. "There!" she points and they all turn. "I saw them. They're here."
Lori doesn't waste a beat, pulling the book from inside her coat. "Let's go!" The group bolts across the gym- dodging through the surprised people. The ghosts spot them and vanish through the wall just as they all crash into it from their gathered momentum. Lori hits the wall in frustration, trying to ignore the stares of onlookers. "We need to go around." They run into the door down the wall which leads into the basement hallway. She looks around wildly. "Alright, let's split up-"
"We're not splitting up," everyone echoes at the same moment. She just looks at them.
Charlie voices the group's mentality. "We're all sticking together." The others nod in agreement.
Lori gives in, nodding. "Alright. Let's start searching then." They start running through the various connecting hallways searching desperately when Ben gets a text from Brittany.
'Hope you're having fun. Miss you. :)' He stares at is a moment before stopping calmly and turning the other way.
"I think I'm going to go," he decides.
Everyone turns to stare at him. "What's wrong?" Lori asks.
"It's just something I need to do. Have a great night guys." He exits down the hallway and Lori finally takes this moment to consider their approach.
"Okay, this is just silly," she admits, slapping her forehead and getting a calm grip over herself. "They're ghosts and we shouldn't just go wandering into the dark looking for them. We need to think logically about this one. Put our brains together. Let's head back up and keep an eye out." They head back into the gym- keeping a wary eye out as they dance once again.
XXX
Brittany opens her door, blanket draped over her shoulder, only to be surprised to find Ben without the wig but still in the sweats. "I thought you were at the party," she croaks before coughing.
He pulls a bag of Dove chocolates out from behind his back. "I figured I wouldn't leave you here all by your lonesome, especially when you're sick. I brought us some candy and I thought we could just spend some time together."
She beams at him as he enters. "That was so sweet of you." He kisses her nose. "Thank you."
"Why would I miss out on spending time with you?" They take a seat on the couch and he opens the bag, both of them unwrapping one as she snuggles up to him.
"Who were you dressed as?" she asks, a little lost.
He shrugs. "Oh, my friend Kaity. Kaity Klingbeil. She went as me so I thought I'd reciprocate."
Brittany's smile falls. "Oh."
Ben becomes confused at her tone and looks down at her. "What's wrong?"
"It's just- I didn't think you'd be going to the dance with another girl. You said your friends-"
"Which happens to include her," Ben says as if it's obvious. He takes in her almost angry look. "There's nothing to be jealous of."
Brittany shakes her head. "You're right. I won't spoil a perfect evening." She has another one. "We'll talk about it some other time. Thank you so much for coming. It means a lot." He puts an arm around her and they settle in.
XXX
Kaity still seems to be having a good time at the dance, busting out some of her better moves. She even manages to catch the eye of Dr. Collins chaperoning across the room and blow him a kiss.
"Kaity!" a distorted voice shouts. She turns to see a regularly dressed version of Lori across the gym. She sees Lori is dancing next to her, but the other one shouts again. "Hurry!"
"Kaity!" Three Charlie's have appeared beside one another on the ceiling above her. "We need your help!" they shout. She puts her hands to her head and squeezes her eyes shut, desperately trying to make it stop.
Lori notices and is instantly concerned. "It's happening again."
"I'll handle this," Michael offers, dragging her roughly back into the hallway. She opens her eyes and sighs, relieved. "Listen, you need to get it together," he tells her harshly.
"I'm sorry. It's just during the peaks-"
"I need to be focusing on Lori. She's the one who needs to be protected. And since you've been around I've been too busy worrying about you and your emotional limits."
This starts to rub Kaity the wrong way. "Well, I'm sorry but-"
Michael continues, obviously wound up. "And last week when you tripped, Lori was shot again because you distracted me."
Kaity glares at him. "I didn't-"
"I understand you're sticking around, but just think about that. All the moments you steal away my attention that I need to devote to protecting her. So please-"
"I'll make this easy for you. I'll go home for the night. How's that for staying out of your way?!" she shouts angrily.
Michael stumbles at her shift in attitude. "You don't have to-"
"Forget it! Between you and Hannah I'm becoming so sick of this! I haven't slept in two days and I just want to go dance my soul out and have fun! But I'll just go back and sit in my room like I used to do and twiddle my thumbs. Screw you!"
Michael is now baffled. "What-?"
Kaity gets a devilish smile. "Because in the morning Lori's going to ask me why I left early and I'm going to tell her everything. I will sing like a canary. We'll see who regrets this little talk then." She shoves him roughly. "Find something in your damn backpack that will fix that!" She storms off up the stairs when twin Michael's appear on either side of her. She swats at them. "Get lost! It's bad enough with one!" A hand grabs her from behind. "I said get off!" She hastily pulls away only to see it's a very concerned Dr. Collins.
"Kaity, what's the matter?" he asks, voice conveying a deep European accent.
She just shakes her head and smiles at him. "I was just seeing things- completely normal sometimes. I was just heading home."
He sees no one around and puts a hand on her waist. "You shouldn't be walking back all by yourself. I'll give you a ride."
She can't help but blush. "Thank you. That's so sweet of you."
"Should you go tell your friends?" he inquires, the hand sliding up so it rests between her shoulder blades.
Kaity gazes up at him, starry eyed. "They'll be fine. Let's go." The two head out the back door hand in hand.
XXX
After Kaity has taken off up the stairs, Michael returns to the others in the gym. His expression shows he obviously already regrets the conversation that just occurred. Lori catches it and raises an eyebrow at him. "I made a mistake," he admits. "She took off. Tomorrow-"
"Yes, tomorrow we're settling all this once and for all," Lori decides definitively.
Something finally hits Hannah. "The parking lot!" she exclaims. "We need to check the parking lot!" She takes off and the others follow up the stairs and into the parking lot, confused. "They need a ride of course! They saw everyone gathering in the gym so they're going out here to wait for one." They arrive at the parking lot and hear a scream. From their spot on the stairs they see Victoria cowering on the ground beside an open car door with Tyler passed out on the ground next to her. The three ghosts surround her and cause her to scream again.
Hannah rolls her eyes. "Of course."
The cogs turn in Lori's brain before she smiles at the book. "I know how we can do this. We have the way home." She hits Hannah on the back. "You go take care of her. She hates you the least."
"Do I have to?" Lori gives her a look. "Fine," she groans. (
Lori climbs on top of the nearest car, waving her arms dramatically and whistling. "Hey! Over here! The girl in the scarf on the car!" The trio turns to her. She holds the book up. "I have what you're looking for!" They start after her and she runs back into the building with Charlie and Michael.
Hannah approaches a hyperventilating Victoria and kneels beside her. "Are you alright?"
"I swear to God I'm not imagining this. This is too much. I'm-I'm not crazy." She breaks down sobbing as Hannah's look becomes one of sorry and pity. "I even hit him with the door. What if he sends me back? I don't want to go back because I'm not crazy."
Hannah finally decides what to do, putting a hand on her arm. "No. You're not." Victoria's head shoots up. "And that's all I can say. You have never been crazy," she assures her.
Victoria wipes her eyes, nodding. "Alright." She gets a grip. "I do want you to come to the wedding. I know with Tyler it wasn't-"
"But I know that the ship has sailed," Hannah admits, rising. "You cannot tell anyone," she warns.
Victoria chokes out a laugh. "Who's going to believe me after everything?"
"I'm trusting you. We're trusting you." Hannah takes off back into the building, leaving Victoria to stare after her.
XXX
Lori has led the ghosts into the laundry room where she first encountered Michael. She is seated upon the counter with the boys flanking her. She taps the book, having the ghost's attention.
"Alright, so I know all you've been looking for is a way to get back to the mansion. And I have the only way you can do it." She gives a glaring look at the book. "And I just get the inkling that there's no lesson to be learned here. You just came to torture me because it's Halloween." She opens the book to a glowing poem and lets out a breath. "Oh and it looks like I was right. What do you know?"
Charlie leans against the counter, eyeing the time. "Send them back."
Michael yawns. "I'm exhausted and ready to go home."
Lori smiles at them. "Well, we stuck it out together. When the crypt goes creak, And the tombstones quake Spooks come out for a swinging wake "The three give a final hitchhiking gesture before vanishing. She closes the book and seems to realize something. "We stick together kind of like they do."
"What's that Lori?" Charlie asks as she hops down.
"Oh, nothing. There might just have been a lesson there after all." They head out into the hallway just as Hannah appears. Lori raises an eyebrow.
"I took care of it," Hannah promises.
Lori faces the gathered group. "So do we want to go back in or are we done for the night?"
They all look at one another before Michael speaks. "I think I've done enough running and dancing today to do the Doctor justice. I vote we go celebrate the end of this holiday with some candy in one of our rooms." Charlie and Hannah nod in agreement.
"Let's head out," Lori agrees. "Maybe we can find a ride back instead of walking," she jokes, putting her arms around Michael and Charlie as they exit, much calmer and at ease.
XXX
The next morning, Monday, Lori sits at breakfast staring at Shawn's number on her phone. She types a text as Ben takes the seat next to her and notes what she's doing.
"Lori, can I talk to you before you hit that button?" he asks, serious.
She gives him her full attention. "Sure."
"Do you know why I left last night?"
"I figured it was Brittany," Lori answers, a little lost on where this is heading. "She was sick, so you-"
"Now, if a character was running around and Shawn was sick would you take the night off to spend it with him?" Ben inquires.
Lori clearly stumbles over this. "I- well-"
Ben nods and continues. "Because when you're in a relationship, which is where I honestly think you're hoping this is heading by pushing that button, you have to put them first. You have to be by his side and make it work however it takes. Otherwise, both of you are going to end up unhappy. You're not a superhero with a double identity. You can't play both sides and have it work out. He's going to have to come before the book. He's going to have to come before the characters. He's going to have to come before the group of us honestly. Just something for you to think about before you text him."
Lori is deep in thought over what he just said. "Thank you." He nods and steps away to get a drink. She thinks for a long minute and then shuts her phone without sending or saving the message as Hannah, Charlie, and Michael take their seat. Ben returns a moment later just as Kaity also arrives in the same clothes from yesterday, though a large coat around her shoulders.
Everyone notices. "Why are you still in your costume?" Ben voices.
"Yeah. Halloween's dead and buried," Hannah agrees.
Lori sighs with relief. "Thank God."
Kaity sits down, blushing and trying to appear casual. "Dr. Collins took me back to his place. I spent the night. No big deal."
"I can't believe you did something so irresponsible," Lori voices with disappointment.
"I can," Michael says under his breath.
Kaity catches that and glares at him. "It was you who chased me off Doctor, remember. Do I need to tell Lori the story of last night?"
"He told me," Lori informs her. She puts her fork down. "You're both benched."
"Really?" Michael says in disappointment.
"What's that mean?" Kaity whispers to Charlie.
"It means you're out until you meet her criteria," he whispers back.
Lori takes a sip of chocolate milk. "You both have things you need to work out with one another after what happened last night- things that have been building for a while. When you two talk then I'll consider letting the two of you back into the fray. And you need to go to a therapy session like we talked about," she warns Kaity, who looks down.
"Good choice," Hannah agrees.
Lori smiles at her. "I'm glad you think so because you're benched too." Hannah's jaw drops. "She told me about the mall. You disobeyed me and I can't just let all this go. I need a team. So you three need to figure out how you can be a team, because I don't have time for this."
"So it's just the three of us for now?" Ben asks. She nods and he smiles, leaning back. "Huh? It feels kind of nice to be on the other end of this. It makes you feel cool and exclusive." The three shoot daggers at him.
"Don't get used to it," Hannah digs. "We'll be back soon enough."
"We'll see."
Hannah turns back to Lori. "Can I still go ahead with my plans for tonight?" Lori gives her a confused look. "I was going to face down that computer, finally put that program to rest and figure out what DIZ is."
This changes the whole attitude of the table as everyone sits up and becomes quiet, looking around at one another. "Get rid of the book. Our lives will go back to normal," Lori says.
Everyone still looks uneasy. "But we'll still be together, right?" Charlie asks, meeting eyes with everyone for them to look away. "We'll still have us no matter what happens?" Everyone's silent before turning to Lori.
"I hope so, but it looks like we'll just have to see." He nods, sadly understanding. "Tonight then?"
Hannah nods. "Tonight."
XXX
Tune in next week as Hannah finally unravels a large mystery that has dogged Lori and her Companions and the second Companion of the season makes a show-stopping entrance that will change the game.