The next morning the sun glared through the windows of Melle's room illuminating both her and her bed. Drowzily she perked up her head and stretched as a knock rattled on her door. "Oh..? Come...in?" Well there was something that she hadn't expected to hear ever again.
"Mornin' luv! I brought you some breakfast. Eggs, Toast, OJ and some bacon!" Smiling Dibs placed the tray onto the bed in front of her. Needless to say Melle was speechless about the whole thing.
"..A-AH....well, Thanks, Dibs..! You didn't have to though, I would've been okay with a bowl of cereal. I mean, I.. I could've made it.." Feeling bad for him she started to eat the food. "Mm, but this is delicious..!"
"Ah, it's no problem, now, your Mother wanted me to instruct you that you have a HUGE new closet filled with all of the styles you're sure to like. So get dressed and get off to school..! Right, Well, I'm... out!" With that the oddly hyper man was off and downstairs within minutes. Melle raised an eyebrow and giggled as she heard both her Mom and him start arguing as the booked it toward their car. The two of them had some important business to do after all dealing with the Lazarus. When Melle finished her breakfast she pushed it aside and opened the closet.
"Whoa....!" Her eyes widened in surprise. There were clothes everywhere and everything actually worked to her advantage.
Meanwhile Carrigan and Dibs arrived at the assembly of the Lazarus. They walked around and made sure that everyone treated this machine with the utmost care. The workers looked at the blue prints and pieced the thing together bit by bit. "Good, everything seems to be in order. I take it that you are taking very good care of my machine right? If there is one dent, there WILL be HELL to pay...!" Carrigan stressed the point with her red-eyed glare. The worker agreed happily and nervously about it, assuring her that everything was perfectly fine and well. "Good, now all we need is to get that team of scientists in here tonight to debunk what's in this..mixture that we're missing. It's only one ingredient, HOW HARD can it be to find??" Those were her famous last words. From that moment, day and night she had scientists working on finding out what the missing ingredient was for her! None of them could seem to find it in any of the normal chemical files. After three days Carrigan was pissed and yelled at everyone she could reach on her phone. She wanted that ingredient and she wanted it now! "DAMN IT, How hard is it to find a good set of rocket scientists!? These idiots keep losing things! We'll never find the ingredient at this rate!" Slamming the phone shut she stormed off into the kitchen.
Little did she know that it had very little to do with the scientists themselves losing the information. In fact it wasn't their fault at all, that the data had been lost! That was all thanks to a certain friendly ghost who wanted to keep his fathers legacy a complete family secret. Sure, Casper didn't know what made it tick, but, that didn't stop him from making sure no one else did either! "Okay, files deleted... papers shredded and test forms hidden. PERFECT! " Casper narrowed his eyes just a little then sighed as he released his temper. His determination drove him to try and keep this recipe safe. "I can't let them find out whats in it! I just... I can't...! I know this is wrong, but sometimes you do the wrong things for the right reason." Comforting himself with his words Casper nodded and flew off. First thing tomorrow morning he'd be back at it again! Back at the manor Dr. Harvey sat in the library and filled out his notes as he hung up the phone with some very important people. See, his work may have been worthless in the eyes of those who quickly judged others, but, the man had made a deep impact with the community and now even had some human friends of his own. There were ways for him to attempt to help Casper out but, whether it'd work out in the end or not...? Was still left to find out.
Deep in thought as he jotted down the notes in the dim glow of his desk light, Dr. Harvey almost didn't hear the weighted sigh from a rather bored specter. In fact it took him a moment to raise his head. Once he had he turned his attention to his therapy couch. "Oh...? Stinkie...? You look..rather pale! Something bothering you..?" The doctor smiled at his own little joke as he waited for the ghosts reply. Rolling his eyes Stinkie chose to ignore the lame joke that had escaped to doctors lips.
"I don't know! I don't know WHAT'S wrong wit me.... EVERYTHING'S wrong wit me...! An' dat's usually Fatso's area!" Throwing his arms around as he talked it was more than obvious that something bothered the spook. Looking from his notes and back to Stinkie, Dr. Harvey sighed and eased back into his chair.
"Alright then, what do you say, you and I talk about it...? Perhaps, We can come to some sort of conclusion...?" Grabbing up a special notepad and pen he readied himself to write down notes about what ailed the spook. He was always fascinated by how The Ghostly Trio worked, even if it caused him harm sometimes.
"...Okay den, I ain't used ta dis so... ALRIGHT! I'ts been exactly 5 days since I broke up wit dat fleshie as Boomer, an den it's been 3 days since dat ghoul's left! Dat ghoul bein' Melle 'o course..... an'... Every day dat passed by while I was stuck playin' Boomer I always had ta be around 'er, which drove me nuts! Now not nuts in da sense of da fact dat it made me mad, but in da sense dat it confused me!! I started ta doubt who I was, as a ghost! I mean, I was dating a fleshie and I'm supposed ta be scarin' 'em!! Den I was hanging out wit a WHOLE bunch of 'em at school, EVERYDAY and all I could think about was SCARIN' and how I wanted ta scare,but den how I wanted ta be around her! Dat's da other thing DOC!!! The feelings dat I had for her confused me too! I mean, I didn't like her because she was a fleshie, but I don't want her ta die either because den I'd possibly lose her, and den I didn't want any other guy ta touch 'er or be near her... I couldn't stand it when she cried, I actually started to CARE about dis fleshie!" Stinkie rambled on as he frowned and gripped his head in pain.
"Uh-Huh, go on!" Doctor Harvey jotted down the notes as fast as he possibly could, trying to keep up with everything that Stinkie was saying.
"I think dat confused me da most! I was supposed ta scare da fleshie one minute, den care about 'er da next! I mean...I'm a ghost, I should be scaring fleshies, but I found it harduh and harduh ta scare dis fleshie! I don't get it...?? How come I COULDN'T SCARE HER...? I couldn't stand to see her cry, and I couldn't stand ta see her hurt...! But then I just... I got so confused, and she was so hurt by everythin goin' on wit you guys, and dem guys... and I didn't wanna cause 'er anymore pain, but den, I do have ta continue my ways as a scary ghost for my Bro's... and... now dat she's gone I'm BORED outta my moind, I actually miss school... and... " His lower lip twitched. "How can I handle dis Doc?! I dunno what ta do!! Is dis normal fer a ghost....?? Am I some kind of abomination!?"
"I see.... I see...! Well, I can safely say that you are not an abomination to those who are your true friends and care, but to most of humanity you probably are..." Stinkie's face faulted into a look of annoyance as he waited for the Doctor get serious. "Okay, to me everything you've told me sounds perfectly normal. These are all normal feelings that a person, that a soul can feel! The issue you seem to be having is with understanding what you want and what others want from you! Take here for example, you are a ghost and you've been trained to scare humans at every hour of the day, which is something that you've wanted to do, but has turned into something that your brother's have wanted you to do, or expect you to do. You seem to have a fear about disappointing your brothers.... but what about yourself..? Do you care if you're disappointed...?"
"Well of course I do...! I mean uh..." Stinkie scratched his head trying to keep up with Dr. Harvey.
"I suppose what I'm getting at is that you were expected to go in and get close to Melle. Which isn't something that you wanted to do, but did because of your brothers. You started to fall in love with Melle which is something that you hadn't expected to do but did. Then it was expected of you to try and scare her. Thus creating a split personality of you. You wanted to scare, but not her, because whether you want to believe it or not, Stinkie, you are deeply in love with her. Which is not a bad thing! Loving someone is never a bad thing...It can actually be more satisfying in ways than scaring can be. You tried to separate yourself from yourself. Boomer.... Stinkie...... but you need to realize that you two are the same soul, the same identity! You both care about her because you're the same person. Scaring her isn't something you wanted to do to her, it's something that others wanted you to do. Something you thought was expected of you." Explaining Dr. Harvey placed an arm around Stinkie's shoulder.
"..... B ut it'd never woik out between us...! I mean... Im a ghost... and she's a fleshie... she doesn't even know it's me..! I bet if she did...she'd hate me....she wouldn't want anythin' ta do wit me...! I'd be..." Stinkie trailed off.
"Like you are right now...?" Smirking Dr. Harvey tilted his head at the ghost. "You are in love with her Stinkie, and you need to be true to your feelings and her. She will accept you, but only if you show it back to her." Widening his eyes Stinkie stared at Dr. Harvey for a moment as he floated up off of the seat.
"Hey, Y-Yer right...Hah....b-but what about ... my Bro's....? I dun want dem ta hate me... I'll probably be treated loike Caspuh for lovin' a fleshie..." Sighing heavily Stinkie rubbed his arm.
"Stop worrying about them and start worrying about you. What is that, YOU want...?" Smiling Dr. Harvey moved back to the notes he'd started taking before Stinkie came in.
"T-Thanks Doc, I.... I know EXACTLY what I want...!" With a HUUUUGE slobbering kiss to the doctors cheek Stinkie laughed and darted out of the library towards Melle and Carrigan's home. On the way he realized he hadn't really grabbed his Boomer gear. "HAH! Uh.... uh... dang it!" Cursing to himself he shifted his gaze to a clothes shop and flew in. "HOI DHERE! Nice night fer a midsummer's SCREAM dontcha think!?" Belching into the girls face he grinned at the other employee's. "Now, I'm gonna just take some of dese clothes an' make-up. You dun moind do ya....?" An evil grin formed on Stinkie's face. The employee's just screamed and clung to each other as they shook their heads no. "Didn' think so...!" With that he grabbed up what he needed and continued on his way.
When he arrived Stinkie narrowed his eyes at Carrigan and Dibs as the two of them hopped into their car. Carrigan complained about what was clearly the Lazarus and how everything had started disappearing. Once he watched the car drive away he shifted his eyes to the house. Upon finding the light on in an upstairs bedroom he threw a small light stick at it. Startled by the sound Melle shifted her eyes and inched towards it. She'd had a long, trying, couple of days at school. "Hm...?" Her eyes shot wide open as she was surprised by what she saw. There below her window stood Boomer wearing a backwards black hat with green scribbles across it's front, his black sunglasses, a black t-shirt with blue, green and yellow blended tire tracks across it, a white thing long sleeve underneath and a pair of tan shorts. Nervously he waved up to her. "Stinkie... HMP..!" Mumbling to herself she narrowed her eyes, walked away from the window and sat on her bed.
"Dang it...! I guess dat means I've gotta resort ta da second choice...~!" Reaching into a bush Stinkie fished himself out a guitar. "Hey! It woiks in da cartoons...!" Winking he laughed to himself as he placed himself perfectly in front of her window and began to sing her a song, I Need You Tonight. Upon hearing him start singing Melle raised her eyebrows and slowly sauntered back over to the window. Opening up the window she stared at him starting to blush as she noticed some of the neighbors poking their heads out too. Her face became flushed with the appearance of Amber and an Ashley from across the street.
"O-Okay...! Okay... I'll let you in...! Just... stop singing!! For now!" Racing away from the window Melle charged downstairs and opened the door. "What in the world were you thinking...?" Laughing she closed the door once he entered and locked it. "They could've called the police to file a noise complaint..!" Sighing she softened up a bit and stared into his eyes. "But.... it...it was really...romantic of you. Though don't expect me to forgive you just because you sang me a song! .....and it sounded better then I thought it would..."
Stinkie just grinned to himself, placing the guitar down and walked around. "Nah, I wouldn't expect ya ta forgive me wit jus' dat..." Flipping up a hand he almost gagged on the flowery aroma that filled the house. Though he had hoped the song would've won her over alone. "YECK.... Yer ma sure likes ta use a lotta air freshener don't she?"
"Yeah....I guess..." Leaning against a wall she watched every move that he made. Her heart pounded with every step he took, every look he gave. "So....What....did you.............want..?" Looking away she crossed her arms and frowned a little. Peering over at her from the white marbled fireplace he chuckled. As he inched closer to her, a very smooth smile worked it's way over his face.
"...You..." Placing a hand on both sides of her, he pinned her there against the wall. "I really made a mistake da other day. I was afraid dat you'd continue to get tortured by my bros because of bein' wit me! So I thought dat if I left, den dey'd stop! Well....dey did but...I.... ...I continued caring... I'm sorry! It was a stupid thing, lettin' my bros run my choices. I-if you could find it in ya to accept my apology, I'd love ta try dis ovuh again. As I said.... ... I need...you." Softly he brushed the back of her hand over her cheek. Nodding in agreement she shivered and watched his lips as he inched them closer to hers. Putting his arm around her waist he lovingly pressed his lips against hers. The two closed their eyes getting lost in the moment. Slowly Melle removed his hat to get a glimpse of just how it looked under there. Feeling the hat lift Stinkie did the only thing he could think of and formed a rather shaggy mane that went to his shoulders. "Like it...?" Excitedly Melle started to answer as Carrigan and Dibs walked in through the door and spotted them.
"AUGH, YOU! What are YOU doing here?! Get the hell out of my house and away from my daughter!!" Carrigan screamed at the ghost as she stomped towards him.
"WAUGH! Eheh, I.....guess I'll see ya t'morrow sweetheart..!" Quickly he kissed her again only to have a vase nearly smash into his head. "YIKES! Dat's my cue! LATAH!!" Grabbing his hat the ghost darted out of the door and passed Dibs.
"AYE, GET BACK HERE YOU SCOUNDREL!!!" Grabbing a rock Dibs launched it at Stinkie only to have it hit some guys expensive car. Gasping in a shrill tone Dibs quickly turn and darted down the street as a rather muscled man gave chase and cursed his brains out. Holding his gut Stinkie laughed as hard as he could. Up in her window Melle waved to him and he waved back and he ran out of sight.