Erin jolted awake at the sound of something clattering to the ground. The sound came from somewhere else in her apartment. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she got out of bed to find out what on earth had made such a loud noise at 6 a.m. She trudged into the hallway and looked into her kitchen to see Holtzmann up on her knees on the counter, digging through the overhead cabinet.
Erin rubbed her sleepy eyes, still registering what was happening, "…Holtz?"
The engineer kept sifting through the cabinet, "This reminds me of that one time I got lost in a Whole Foods store… it was like, the third worst day of my life. But I gotta hand it to you; your pantry is certainly giving that day a run for its money." She held up a box of bran cereal and sneered, "Who even eats this stuff?"
Erin snatched the box away, "I do!"
Holtz shook her head, causing her loosely pinned hair to wobble back and forth as she hopped down. She spoke as she wandered around, "Where's the chips and candy? Pop Tarts, Eggos, Pringles, Twinkies…" She listed as she marched over to the refrigerator, opened it, and stared at the contents, dumbfounded, "You don't even have Snack Packs!" She threw her hands up, exasperated.
It was now Erin's turn to be disgusted, "Why on earth would I have any of that processed garbage? You just described the dream pantry of a three-year-old; nothing but sugar and high-fructose corn syrup."
Holtz shut the fridge and put a hand on her hip, "I happen to enjoy processed garbage, thank you very much."
"Well, if you keep eating like that you'll die of a heart attack." Erin warned.
Holtz slipped back into her chill demeanor, "That wouldn't be such a bad thing I guess. Then I'd get to come back as a ghost and haunt you," She said in a silly voice, "and your old lady cereal too!" She danced around as if she were a ghost, and snatched the cereal box. Holtzmann made ghost noises as she danced around with the box.
Erin crossed her arms and tried, in vain, to hold back a smile, "Oh, so that's what possessed cereal is like?"
A smirk grew on the blonde's face; it was one that was evident of something mischievous, "No, actually, it's more like this-" She reached inside the box and grabbed a handful, tossing it in Erin's face, "Boo!"
Erin dusted some of the cereal off of her shirt while Holtz just giggled and kept gyrating around.
"Oh you are so gonna get it," Erin growled as she lurched forward and tried to grab Holtzmann, but the engineer was quick on her feet and slipped out of her grip. Holtz dashed off and ran around the dining room table with Erin hot on her tail.
"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to play with your food?" The physicist asked as they circled the table.
"This is not food." She shook the box for emphasis.
"It's an important part of a balanced breakfast and it improves digestive health!" Erin argued.
"Phhht, what a load of bologna! I ate a toy car when I was four and I haven't seen in since, and look at me, I turned out just fine!"
Erin was taken aback, "Oh… oh my God, you should probably seek medical attention-"
Holtz used the distraction to bolt into the living room and take a few more laps around the apartment. Erin followed in suit, and every time she thought she had her, the blonde would slip out of her grip like some sort of elusive liquid. Erin came to a sudden stop in the middle of the living room. She hunched over, hands on her knees, and wheezed, clearly out of breath.
Holtz noticed and came to a stop as well, "Hey, are you ok? Did I wear you out?" She placed a gentle hand on Erin's back.
Suddenly, Erin spun around and tackled her. She pinned the slippery blonde to the ground. She had her knees on either side of Holtz's hips and held the engineer's arms firmly to the ground. She looked at her triumphantly, "Gottcha."
Holtz seemed to be in shock, or at least, Erin thought it was shock. The engineer just stared back, her pupils dilated and her breathing seemed to stop, which was strange, given that she was just running around. It took a few moments for Holtz's mind to come back from wherever it was. She tried to slip back into her easygoing self, but there was still a little waver in her voice, "W-Wow Gilbert. You got me good. You're faster than I thought."
Erin sat up, letting go of her arms, but still sitting on her hips, "That's because I don't eat processed garbage."
Holtz sat up on her elbows and smirked, "Hey, I said you were faster than I thought, not that you were faster than me."
"Agree to disagree." She shrugged.
The two sat in silence for a moment. Erin suddenly became very aware of the position they were in, but in that moment, it didn't bother her as much as it would've a while ago. There was something instinctual about the intimate position, and Erin couldn't figure out why on earth it felt so right. Holtz shifted and sat up more, now leaning on her hands, "You know, I've never seen you let loose like that," her eyes were no longer locked to Erin's eyes, but instead were gracing the exposed skin down her neck and collar bone, "it's nice to see you let loose." She drawled.
Erin felt her face get incredibly hot and she quickly stood up while Holtzmann, chuckling to herself, laid back down with her hands behind her head, and reveled in the effect she had.
"I'll be right back." Erin announced as she shuffled back into the kitchen and swept up the flakes of cereal from the linoleum. She grabbed a disposable disinfectant wipe from a dispenser she had on the counter and squatted down, scrubbing in meaningless circles on the floor. She wasn't even entirely sure why she was doing it; the floor had already been bleached of any possible germs the other day. She just focused in on the small circles she was making, only sensing the swishing of the wipe and the strong citrus scent. Although she refused to admit it, her cleaning had become a coping mechanism. When she became anxious, she scrubbed the counters; when she became stressed, she deep cleaned the bathroom; and when she became frustrated, she vacuumed. Cleaning was a fantastic distraction from whatever might be troubling her. Her therapist was concerned about the constant cleaning possibly becoming an obsession, but it was much better than the alternative. Cleaning brought Erin comfort and gave her something productive to do. She wasn't quite sure why she felt the need to scrub the linoleum, though. She had never gotten this way around the other Ghostbusters before, except for once when she was a child and Abby had spent the night. For the most part, Erin had been able to hide this part of her. She could hear a distant murmur, but she ignored it, focusing on her circles. She could feel the tips of her fingers getting sore, and her knees aching, but she was in a trance. The only thing that managed to break the trance was Holtz's touch and gentle voice.
"Erin?" She cooed, touching the brunette's shoulder.
Erin came back down to earth, finally noticing her surroundings. She managed to rub a hole through the disposable rag, and the ache in her knees suddenly became unbearable. She rose and faced Holtz, "Hmm?"
"Are you ok? I called your name a couple of times but you didn't answer." She was clearly concerned.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." She walked over to the trashcan and tossed the rag in.
"You sure, Gilbert?"
Erin plastered on a face smile, "Yes, I'm sure. Now, how about we go out for breakfast? There's nothing good here anyway."
Erin knew she had successfully evaded the topic when she saw Holtzmann's face light up, "Now you're talking! Holtzy needs some bacon!" She scurried into the bathroom to change. She immerged a few minutes later and rushed Erin, who was still tying her shoes, out the door. Holtz didn't even have time to find matching clothes, although, most of the time, it was difficult to tell if she had worn mismatched clothes intentionally or not.