Disclaimer – I don't own American Horror Story
. . .
Wait, so Lily wasn't crazy? She wasn't the only one who saw all those things everywhere? Or was it only here?
Whatever, none of that mattered now. Lily wasn't the only one who had seen those two girls at the bottom of the stairs before. Tate and Violet had seen as well. Now, Tate had probably only seen them because he was a ghost himself, but Violet was very much alive as far as Lily could tell . . .
And Ben and Vivian could see Tate. Lily knew that, too. But why could they see him but not the others? There have been many deaths in this house, she could feel it. Tate was just on in the numbers.
"I don't believe it," Violet said. "So all those times we thought you were crazy, you really were talking to ghosts?"
Lily looked down at her shoes, embarrassed. "Well, most of the time. Sometimes I was just messing around because I knew it creeped everyone out . . ."
"How long have you been able to . . . do that?" Tate asked her. There was something about his tone and the look on his face that led Lily to believe he was on the verge of breakthrough about himself being dead. Every time someone had said the word ghost since she'd been here, he had winced ever so slightly. And he seemed confused when Ben and Vivian had asked him about living next door . . .
"Long as I can remember," Lily admitted. "At first, I thought everyone could see them. I always wondered why I was the only one to stop and say hello . . . Then, when I was about six or seven, I realized that they couldn't. I was alone."
"That was suicide attempt number one," Violet said, recalling the entire thing. "Yeah I remember now . . . You ran out into traffic on purpose."
Lily nodded. "It didn't go well . . . Then, five years ago, I tried again. This time I slit my wrists, but my parents got to me in time."
"And most recently?" Violet asked, afraid for the answer.
"I tried to hang myself," Lily told her. "In my bedroom closet. My parents always got worried though, when I was spending a lot of time in my room. So, they checked on me, and found me about to do it. I had the rope around my neck and everything . . ."
"Why'd you do it?" Tate asked, sounding genuinely curious. That scared Violet, Tate's odd obsession with death. Maybe it was a subconscious thing.
"I thought I was crazy," Lily told him. "They wouldn't go away. The voices. They were everywhere, and I saw them too. The ghosts that were stuck here . . . It was Halloween last time I tried to do it, that's always the worst. Everyone can see them on Halloween, but I'm the only one who understands who they really are!"
"What else do you see?" Violet sat down on her bed and Tate joined her. They were ready for a long explanation.
"I can see how they died, if I'm in the spot they were in," Lily said. She had never told anyone this, even though it was the part that bothered her the most.
"You can . . . see their death?" Violet asked.
Lily nodded. "And let me tell you, many people have died here. All over the place . . . I can feel it."
"Do all ghosts know they're dead?" Tate asked.
Violet's eyes opened wide. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no . . . He knew. He figured it out. No, no, no, no, no . . .
"As far as I can tell they all do." Lily told the lie without as much as a blink. She was good at lying, she had lots of practice.
Violet sent a thankful look towards her cousin, hoping Tate wouldn't notice.
"Oh," he said, sounding almost . . . disappointed. Did he want to be dead?
"Well . . ." Lily grabbed her suit case off her bed. "I'm going to put on some pajamas, grab my laptop, and blog for a few hours. Just . . . pretend I'm not here."
She left the room, only to return a few moments later. "Where's the bathroom?"
"Second door on the right," Violet told her. Lily nodded, then left again.
"Who'd have thought," Tate said when she was gone. "You're cousin's not crazy."
"Why would you think that ghosts wouldn't know they're dead?" Violet asked him, trying to keep the panic from her voice.
He fidgeted around on her bed for a moment until he was in a more comfortable position. "Just curious I guess. I mean, it'd be pretty awful to be just . . . stuck and not know why. Don't you think?"
Violet didn't answer.
. . .
"I haven't been to school in a while," Lily admitted as she and Violet got ready the next morning. "I kept pretending to be sick."
"Same here," Violet agreed. "I haven't been since Halloween. Almost a month now . . ."
"So . . . Vi," Lily said as she took out her black lipstick and began applying it. "About Tate . . ."
"I know what you're going to say," Violet told her. "I know he's a . . . you know."
"How long ago was it?" Lily asked.
"He died in '94," Violet replied.
Lily paused. She set down her makeup on the table and looked her cousin straight in the eye. Think about what you're going to say, Lily. Violet had finally been warming up to her, what she wanted to say could possibly ruin that. She didn't want to scare Violet, or make Tate sound bad but . . . she couldn't help herself. She needed to know. "Tate's last name isn't Langdon . . . is it?"
"Yeah, how'd you know that?" Violet asked, running a brush through her hair.
"Westfield High Massacre . . ." Lily muttered. "I'm kind of a fan of that story."
"Why does the entire world know this story already?" Violet cried out in exasperation. "I mean, it'd be nice to know in advance that there was a freaking school shooting before I started on my first day!"
"What about a school shooting?" Vivian asked from the doorway.
"Mom! How long have you been standing there?"
"Just a few seconds," Vivian replied. "I just wanted to know what was taking you guys so long. Now what about a school shooting?"
She was giving her daughter one of those no nonsense looks. Violet was totally screwed. She knew her mother well. If she told her the truth, Vivian would be sure to do some internet research about it, and then she'd know Tate's secret. If Violet lied . . . well, what could she possibly say as a lie?
Lily knew. "Oh yeah, Auntie Viv, didn't you hear about that? A few weeks ago there was an attempted school shooting in Orlando. But the kid got caught with the guns before he even walked into the building."
Violet was surprised at how well her cousin could spin out lies. Violet was a pretty good liar too, but only because she'd had lots of practice on her parents. Where had Lily learned? Lying wasn't exactly a skill you were born with . . .
"Oh," Vivian said. "Well . . . the bus will be here in ten minutes, hurry up if you want breakfast."
Vivian disappeared down the hall way, and Violet and Lily each sighed in relief.
"So . . . Tate was the one who shot all those kids?" Lily asked, knowing Vivian was well out of ear-shot. Violet nodded. "And Tate doesn't know he's dead?"
Violet shook her head. "And I'm kind of trying to keep it that way."
"But why?" Lily asked. "He's so confused, Violet. He thinks he's dead but at the same time he thinks he's crazy for thinking that. You have to tell him."
Violet sighed. "I . . . I can't. Okay? There, I said it. I can't tell my boyfriend he's a ghost. If I tell him, he'll cross over and then I'll never get to see him again. Okay, I'm selfish."
"No," Lily told her. "That makes sense. But Tate won't cross over as long as you're here, Violet. He really loves you."
"How can you tell?"
"I can read ghosts emotions pretty well, people too." Lily added, "but ghosts are easier for me."
"This is such shit!" Violet exclaimed. "How the hell do you tell someone they're dead?"
Lily stood up from the chair she had been sitting in in front of the mirror. "I'll do it for you, if you'd like."
"How?" Violet was getting scared. Tate was going to know he was dead. Lily said he wouldn't cross over, but she could be wrong. Violet knew that if she didn't tell Tate soon, someone would. Whether it be Lily or Constance or one of the other ghosts in the house. Maybe even her father. If Tate was worried, wouldn't it be logical for him to talk to his physiatrist about it? Ben could very easily look into what Tate was saying, and figure it out. Then he'd tell him. She couldn't keep this a secret any longer.
"Well . . . I would show him," Lily said. "I can do that, too. I could show him either a vision of him being shot down by the SWAT team or him killing those other kids. Then he'd remember, and we wouldn't even really have to tell him. He'd figure it out."
"That's cruel," Violet said. "Making him watch himself kill people? Tate doesn't want to be crazy; he keeps saying he wants to be good."
"He won't be watching himself; he'll be in his own body. Like if I was to show you a vision of you when you overdosed, you'd see whatever you were seeing when it happened until you died."
"How'd you know about that, and what do you mean?" Violet asked.
"You were dead, Vi for like, twenty seconds. I saw it when I was in the bathroom yesterday. Tate saved you," Lily told her.
"I know," Violet replied. "But I was unconscious pretty much the entire time, so I just wouldn't see anything?"
Lily shrugged. "Like I said, you were gone for a while. I don't know what about what Tate did brought you back, but . . . it sure as hell worked. Kind of like CPR maybe . . . Either way, I don't know what you're so worried about. It wouldn't work out between you and Tate anyway, unless you actually die."
Violet was silent. Would Tate have saved her life if he knew he was dead? Would he have let her die, so they could always be together? Did she really want that? She and Tate had only been dating for like, month and a half. Sure, they loved each other, but was she ready to die just to be with him? That was bigger than marriage. With marriage, you can get divorced. You can't come back to life . . .
Although, there are probably tons of dead teenage guys out there in case things didn't end up working out for her and Tate. Being dead as a ghost was a lot like being alive really . . .
"Would you help me?" Violet asked her cousin. "If I decided I wanted to . . . would you help me kill myself?"
Lily was quiet for a few moments before she nodded. "Just know this; people say life isn't fair, don't expect death to be any different."
. . .
Constance entered the house without even knocking. She had no reason to do so; no one was home.
But she needed to see Tate. She needed to see if Violet had told him the truth or if he had figured it out. She needed to know. And, she had also brought Vivian more organs to eat.
The truth behind the organs was that Constance knew what was happening. If she and Moira were correct, that baby would be the key to lifting this stupid curse on the house. It would be the key to Constance's children finally being free.
"What are you doing here?"
Constance nearly dropped the Tupperware container she was holding. She turned to face her son. "Hello, Tate."
"What are you doing here?" Tate repeated. He was scowling, and his voice was cruel and harsh. He really, truly hated his mother.
"I just thought to bring these by for Mrs. Harmon," Constance explained, setting the container down on the counter. "Moira will be sure to take care of it, though. I'm sure . . ."
"What do you want?" Tate asked.
"Hmm . . . a better question would be, what do you want, Tate?" Constance asked.
"Really? I'd love it if you would leave."
"Why don't you leave?" Constance asked him. "Your little girlfriend's not here, and as far as I know, you didn't have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Harmon for today . . ."
Tate's angry expression flattened. "I . . ."
Constance bit her lip. No, you're not the person to tell him.
"Well, fine. I suppose you're right, I shouldn't be here," she said. "I'll just be going."
"Wait." Tate put his arm across the door that led from the kitchen to outside, blocking Constance from leaving. "I haven't seen Addie in a while. Is she okay?"
Constance swallowed. "She's . . . she's fine. Just fine . . ."
Tate nodded, then allowed his mother to leave, making sure to bolt the door behind her.
. . .
School sucked. Violet had to deal with the usual harassment, plus shithead teachers. Lily was getting picked on more so than usual, because not only was she a new kid, but she was also "emo" and an easy target. They had both already been in two or more fights (some against the same people at the same time) and it wasn't even dismissal yet.
"We'll tell him when we get home," Lily said to Violet as they sat down for lunch. "And I was thinking . . . I know a lot about ghosts, right?"
"Sure seems that way," Violet agreed, mushing her potatoes into her lunch tray. She really wasn't hungry after all this talk of telling Tate he was a ghost.
"Well, one of the things I know a lot about is haunting. And . . . Tate can't leave the house because that's where his soul haunts. But, a soul can haunt anything that was significant in that person's life. Meaning, there might be a way around Tate being stuck in the house all the time. Anything that grips him to his life . . . it could be as little as a favorite tee-shirt . . . he can haunt it."
"I don't think I follow."
"Well . . . Maria, for example. In her life, she was super religious, and her spirit could still go the church she was a member of if she wanted. She could go there because—"
"It's significant," Violet finished. "So you're saying if Tate wanted to leave the house and it wasn't Halloween . . ."
"He could," Lily told her. "As long as the place you're going is significant."
"Why is this relevant right now?" Violet asked her cousin, knowing she was going to get an unexpected answer.
"You and Tate could go on dates and stuff," Lily said. Violet knew there was something else, something Lily was leaving out about this master plan.
"And?"
"And . . . well, I'll tell you the rest later, once I'm sure it'll work . . ." Lily muttered.
The two girls finished their lunch period in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Violet was thinking about Tate, and how he'd react to finding out he was dead. Would he be mad at her for not telling him sooner? Would he hate himself for doing all the things he did? Would he remember, and want to go back to the way he had been? Constance's voice rang though her head over and over; He doesn't . . . react well to certain things.
Lily was thinking about her plan. She wasn't sure if Tate or Violet would like it very much, but she knew she had to tell them about it either way. It wasn't a pleasant idea, but it would help Tate, at least she thought it would.
. . .
Violet was about to start hyperventilating. The bus ride home was almost over. Tate would be waiting up in her room like he always was. Lily was going to tell him . . .
"Vi, calm down," Lily hissed under her breath. Violet looked up and realized people were beginning to stare. Not just at her, but at Lily as well. Clearly, they had all been too tired this morning to realize that there was a new kid on the bus. Violet heard some carried whispers from the gossiping teens.
"Who's the new chick?"
"What's the weird Harmon girl up to?"
"She looks like she's going to pass out . . ."
"That new girl looks like the devil."
"We're all going to die."
"Hey!" someone said. Lily turned. A spit ball hit her in the face.
"Alright, now Lily gets physical," she murmured, sounding unbelievably pissed. She stood up and glared at the kid. "Alright you little bastard. You wanna go?"
"Lily, sit down," Violet said. The last thing they needed was to get kicked off the bus. Violet didn't need Vivian on her case.
"No," Lily replied. "This kid wants a piece of me, he's gonna get it."
"Yo, I'm not fighting a girl," the bully said, sounding scared. Violet was worried, but Lily knew what she was doing, she had lots of experience with bullies. "Besides, what are you going to do? Murder me with your eyeliner?"
"Hmm . . ." Lily said. "I guess you're right."
She sat down. It was a total bluff, but she liked messing with people.
The bully looked proud of himself, but then Lily started to talk again. "I mean, I wouldn't want to . . . upset the spirits."
"What are you talking about, bitch?" Mr. Bully asked.
Lily laughed. "Oh come on, don't tell me you've never heard of the Bus Ghosts."
The bus fell silent. All eyes were trained on Lily.
"Bus Ghost?" the kid asked skeptically.
"Yeah," Lily replied. "You've never heard the stories?"
"No, because it's not real."
"Of course it is! Way back in like, the 80s there was this kid who got bullied on the bus every day. Really bad too. The bullies would take him by his underwear, open the emergency exit, and hold him out the back. The bus driver wouldn't even do anything. Then one day, the bullies accidentally dropped him, and he was killed." Everything she was saying was total bullshit, but everyone was paying attention, which was good. "So the kid's spirit was all pissed, right? He didn't like bullies. From that point on, he cursed every school bus in existence. Whenever a kid gets beat up on the bus, his spirit comes back to kill them."
There was silence for a few moments before the bully replied, "What a load. You're such a crazy whore."
"Don't make me call his spirit back from the dead," Lily threatened. Violet smirked. This was better than TV. Her cousin was turning out to be seriously cool.
"Yeah, okay."
"Alright, fine. But remember, you made me." Lily took a deep breath, and then spoke in such a creepy voice; it actually sent chills up Violet's spine. "Oh spirits from beyond, I call you back to Earth on this a cursed day to haunt this bully. I give you permission to do with him what you will, if that be rape, murder, or other illegal acts. When you are done with his body, I ask thee rip away his soul and cut it into a million pieces, so that he may never, ever torment children again."
No one said a word. Lily, with her gothic appearance, death glare, and scary voice, has seriously scared the shit out of everyone.
The bus pulled up to the Murder House, and Lily and Violet got off. The driver was smiling. Violet was pretty sure the bus driver purposely pulled up outside the house, just to add to the effect of Lily's story. The usual drop off spot—which was the end of the next street over—didn't make it as creepy as the Murder House did.
As the bus drove away, Violet and Lily could make out the terrified faces of the naïve kids, and began to laugh so hard that tears filled their eyes.
"School was fun?"
They stopped laughing and turned around to see Tate waiting for them on the front lawn.
Lily looked at Violet, then to Tate. "Come on, Dude. Let's go to our room. We need to talk . . ."