Chapter 08
"No," Tom said firmly as he bent down to tie the laces of his shoes. "Absolutely not."
"Oh, come on," Bill whined in reply, drifting alongside the other man as Tom made to leave out the door.
"No way," the dreadlocked man said again, "you are not coming with me. End of story."
"Why not? Where are you going, anyway?"
"I don't know!" Tom snapped, clenching his jaw tightly to stop from screaming out in frustration. "And you're not coming, got it?" He slammed the door in Bills face, but the ghost just floated through it as if nothing had happened. Tom inhaled deeply, striding down the hallway, hoping to somehow shake off the ghost following him.
"Get lost."
"No," Bill replied stubbornly. "I want to go with you."
The nineteen year old through up his hands in frustration. "But why? What could you possibly want to do outside, you're a fucking ghost, you can't do anything!"
"You're right." Bill sounded weary, defeated. Tom attempted a smug smile, but it faltered when he felt the slight twinge of guilt prick at his insides. Bill disappeared with yet another annoyed huff, but Tom knew he was still being followed.
The dreadlocked male sighed in defeat. "Since I know you're going to follow me anyway, fine, come. I don't care," he practically growled. "Just don't talk, don't show yourself, and don't bother me." Tom heard a squeal of delight from somewhere behind him and groaned. Tom felt that at the end of every argument, he was never able to say no to Bill.
***
The world was coated in a thick blanket of fluffy white snow, glittering beneath the crisp winter sun. The vast sky was painted a bright blue, and it would have been yet another beautiful if it wasn't for the icy chill to the air. Tom squinted against the bright sunlight, and was once again wandering aimlessly down the street with no set destination in mind. He thrust his hands into the deep pockets of his jeans, letting out an exhale of annoyance as Bill started chattering again in a soft voice from somewhere to his left. Tom could tell that Bills aura had changed a bit - although he was outside, he could feel that the air around him seemed warmer, somehow lighter. He could feel that the ghost was actually happy, or at least mildly content.
"Tom!" Bill hissed, now from somewhere behind him.
"Shut up," Tom muttered back under his breath. "If I keep answering you, people are going to think I'm talking to myself."
"Tom, look!" Bill continued, clearly not paying any attention to Tom's protests.
The nineteen year old turned around, trying to hold back a sigh of annoyance. "What? Where are you?"
"By the pet shop," the ghost replied in a whisper. "Oh, Tom, look at the kittens! Aren't they just adorable?"
"Yeah, real cute," Tom replied carelessly. He glanced at the large glass window of the shop, to see a litter of kittens attempting to climb out of the large cage they were in, some of them pawing at the window, their fur standing on end. A small calico kitten opened it's mouth in an obvious hiss, and Tom grinned, wondering if the felines could sense Bills presence.
"Tom, you should get a kitten," Bill said softly, excitement lacing his voice.
"No way," the dreadlocked man answered without hesitation. "I'm not getting a goddamn cat."
"Oh, don't be so prude; they're so cute!"
"No."
"Just look at them," Bill continued. "How could you say no to those sweet little kittens?"
"I can and will say no. Be quiet," Tom snapped, a little too loudly, and several people passing by turned to look at him, alarmed.
"You're such a stick-in-the-mud."
Tom snorted, and didn't answer. He continued to walk down the sidewalk, the ice and snow crunching loudly underneath his shoes. Tom let out a tired sigh, his breath rising in a vapour in front of him, really beginning to wish it was summer again.
Stupid cold, stupid snow, stupid holidays. Stupid Bill.
***
Tom sat at the small, round kitchen table, absently picking at a container of Chinese take-out. He twirled the Chow Mein noodles around his fork before slurping them up loudly, earning a look of disdain from Bill.
"Quit it," Bill said, wrinkling his nose in disgust, "that's gross."
The dreadlocked male shrugged carelessly. "My place, my rules."
The ghost frowned and turned away, seated on the floor and hunched over a thick fashion magazine that he had talked (more like whined) Tom into buying him. And Tom still couldn't believe that he had spent almost seven dollars on a ghost. He watched Bill staring at the glossy pages of model after model dressed in fancy, expensive clothing with child-like wonder, and almost smiled. Almost.
Tom sighed and stared down intently at the noodles in front of him. This was all becoming too much for him to handle; he was losing his friends, his life, his mind, and wasn't sure how much longer he could bear this all. Bill was becoming a huge burden to him, but Tom couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the ghost; he couldn't imagine what it would be like, to just die all of a sudden and leave everyone, everything behind.
Maybe… maybe I could just think of Bill as an exotic pet or something. Maybe that would make things easier, somehow…
Tom laughed aloud at his own thoughts, quickly trying to disguise the outburst as a sudden cough, which resulted in a strange, choking sound. Bill looked over his shoulder at the dread-head, one eyebrow raised.
"Chew your food, Tom," the ghost remarked, turning back toward the magazine placed in front of him. "Or else you'll end up like me."
Tom looked up, surprised, and couldn't tell if Bill was joking or not. He cleared his throat awkwardly and didn't reply; as of late, the ghost had been making awkward comments that Tom didn't know how to reply too. When he looked at Bill again, the ghost had gone back to hovering over his magazine.
The dreadlocked male went back to eating in silence, and not another word passed between the two of them the rest of the night.
Wow, I didn't think it'd been THAT long... jeez, I'm really really really sorry. And also extremely sorry for this shitty filler chapter. I just haven't been feelin' it lately, and can't seem to write. at all.
On a lighter note, however, the next chapter will be longer, and way better. ;)