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"Haunted?" Mac asked skeptically, not sure if he'd heard her correctly.

"I know, it's crazy," Penny defended. "But...I dunno Mac, I'm scared!"

Penny rarely ever admitted that she was anything but happy, so the fact that she was telling MacGyver that she was scared told him that she really did believe that she was being haunted, and he figured he should probably hear her out. "Okay, tell me what happened, from the beginning."

"Well," she began. "You know how my mom had an aunt named Betty? She lives out in Wrightwood, right? Well, she died a few months ago, and in her trust she left me the house. So a little over two weeks ago, I moved out there, got all my stuff unpacked, and everything's been going just fine. The house is a little old and creaky, but I like it. It adds charm to the whole thing," she said with a quick smile. "Or, at least it did, until things started happening."

"Things?" Mac asked with a raised eyebrow. "What kind of things?"

"You know," Penny said with a shrug. "Random, haunty things. The floorboards only squeak when people walk on them, but I woke up one night and I heard the floorboards outside my room creaking. When I jumped out of bed and ran to the door, there was no one in the hallway. And it's not just that. I'll see things out of the corner of my eyes, but when I turn, there's nothing there. It's also little things. Things seem like they've been moved just barely out of place, and I just don't know what to do," she finished, crossing her arms like she did when she was uncomfortable.

"Penny," Mac said once she was finished. "That's not a haunting, but it does sound like someone may be stalking you and getting in your house."

"Oh, is that supposed to make me feel better?" she asked. "Wow, I feel so free now," she said sarcastically. Mac was slightly taken aback; Penny hardly ever used sarcasm unless she was beyond stressed.

"I didn't say that it was better," Mac defended. "I'm just saying that if it was a ghost, the best thing I could do would be tell you to line your furniture and door frames with salt. The fact that it's a real person though, that I can help you with."

"You're gonna help me?" Penny asked, her eyes lighting up, completely forgetting her frustration with her ex-boyfriend.

"Of course I'm going to help," Mac said. "I want to make sure you're safe, and-" Mac was cut off as Penny crashed into him, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Of course," he said, slightly shocked. Penny was always more of the touchy-feely one in their relationship, but the way she was clinging to him now was more than she'd almost ever shown. "Just give me a few minutes to grab a few things, then we can go."

0-0-0

MacGyver drove down the highway, following the road as it twisted and curved. They had a little less than forty-five minutes left before they reached Penny's new house, and the ride had been filled with constant chatter. Penny had asked about his life, and then told him all about her life, her acting classes, and how she was so excited about her new dance class. Her theater director, Jaq, was suuuch a nice guy, and he'd given her the lead role in their upcoming production.

"You'll come to that, right?" she asked, breaking off and looking at Mac.

"Uh, yeah, I'd love to," Mac said, slightly taken aback by the conversation turning back to him. "Let me know when it starts and I'll try and make sure I can get work off," he said.

"Thanks, MacGyver," she said with a wide smile. "You're the best!"

MacGyver gave her a sincere smile before turning his eyes back to the road.

"So Penny," he said after a few minutes of uncharacteristic silence. "Can you think of anyone who could be stalking you?" he asked, realizing he sounded like a cop from one of the many crime shows on television. Penny shook her head.

"No," she said with a thoughtful look on her face. "I mean, I go out a lot, to a lot of places, so it could really be anyone, I guess," she explained. Mac silently agreed. Penny was extremely social, and her circle of friends widened every time he saw her.

"No one in particular sticks out?"

"I mean, Jaq and I have gone on a couple of dates, but he's always been a complete gentleman," she replied.

"Anyone in any of your dance or theater classes?" Mac pried, knowing there had to be someone whom she thought might be behind it. "Anyone you've met that makes you feel uncomfortable when they're around?"

Penny thought for a moment. "You know, there is this one guy," she finally said slowly. "He's not actually in any of my classes, but he does come and hang out in a lot of our groups when we hang out," she explained. "He just kinda stares at me all the time, and I know that sounds conceited, he could be a really nice guy and just wanting to talk, or maybe he's not even staring at me. Maybe he's not even staring, he could be-"

"Penny," Mac interrupted. "Focus," he reminded her with a small smile. "Usually a gut instinct is pretty spot on. I always trust my gut when I'm out...trying the new things the think-tank comes up with," he said, barely catching himself before saying "out in the field."

"Okay," she said, taking in a breath. "So his name is Corey, and like I said, I don't really know him. He just hangs out with me and my group of friends."

"Does Corey have a last name?" Mac asked, sparing a second to glance at his friend before he turned his eyes back to the road.

"Um...Jackson? I think?" she replied. Mac made a mental note to have Riley run a check on Corey Jackson when he got off the road.

"Okay, we'll make sure to check him out," Mac said. "What about Jaq? Could he be your ghost?"

Penny shrugged. "I dunno. Like I said earlier, we've been on a few dates but he's always been completely upfront with me about how he feels," she assured her friend.

MacGyver wasn't ready to drop Jaq as a suspect completely, but Penny's assurance was pretty convincing, and he let the subject go for the moment.

"Are you sure you don't want to go stay in a hotel room for the night?" Mac asked. He glanced over as he saw Penny shake her head.

"No, I don't," she stated firmly. "I am not going to let this...whoever he is scare me out of my own house. Besides, if he is a stalker, he's gonna follow me wherever I go, right? I'd rather stay somewhere I'm familiar with," she finished. Mac kind of wanted to insist that she go to a hotel while he waited at the house, but she actually had a good point. If she did have a stalker, he'd see that she went to a hotel, and would follow her there. Mac let the matter drop.

"Thanks again for coming, Mac," Penny said quietly after a few minutes of chatter. Mac looked over at her with raised eyebrows.

"Of course," he said. "Why wouldn't I come? You're my friend, and you've always been there for me. It's what friends do," he replied. Penny smiled at him, and MacGyver could practically see some of the stress leaving her body.

Twenty minutes later, as the sun was just beginning to set, MacGyver pulled his jeep up to the front of Penny's new house, and they both got out of the vehicle. Penny reached into her pocket and grabbed her keys as they walked up the walk, unlocking the front door and showing MacGyver inside.

"So this is Aunt Betty's house," she said, gesturing with her hand in a general motion. "Your room is down that hall at the very end on the right; the bathroom is just across the hall. Also, the kitchen is that way. I haven't really had time to go grocery shopping since I moved in, so I've been living on ramen and macaroni and cereal," she added. "Sorry…"

MacGyver laughed, shaking his head. "Nothing to be sorry about," he said. "I feel a little bit like we're back in college though," he admitted. "C'mon, we're gonna go get some groceries."

"What are you, my dad?" Penny asked with a laugh, no anger in her voice at all.

"Not your dad, just a friend who's concerned about your sodium intake," he replied with a wink. He deposited his bags in the room he'd be staying in, taking a minute to look around. He had a strange feeling that someone was watching him, and even though he knew he was probably just being paranoid, he looked out the window just in case.

"MacGyver, ya comin'?" Penny called out from down the hallway, making Mac jump slightly. He shook his head, slightly disappointed in himself for being so spooked.

"I'm coming," he called back. As he walked towards the living room, he looked at the pictures on the wall. They showed Penny's mom and Aunt Betty, with a little girl in between them that Mac could only assume was Penny.

Penny's dad had died when she was less than a year old, and she and her mom were really close. Mac remembered hearing about Aunt Betty when he and Penny had been dating. She was a nice, older lady who mostly kept to herself, though she loved her family.

Mac walked into the living room and saw Penny waiting by the door. He gestured behind him. "Is that you in those pictures?"

"Yeah," Penny said with a wide grin. "Mom and I used to come up here every few weeks to help Betty with the upkeep of the house and yard, and most of those pictures were taken after we'd get done. Mom used to call them 'tracking my growth,' though I think she was mostly trying to teach Betty how to use a camera," she added with a laugh.

MacGyver chuckled and listened to Penny talk about her family, and what they used to do when they came up here as the two of them climbed in the jeep. Mac started the jeep and put it into drive, asking Penny for directions to the nearest grocery store. They were so focused on their conversation that neither of them noticed the shadowy figure watching them from behind one of the trees across the street.

Dun dun dun... any guesses as to who the stalker is?

So what did you guys think of chapter 2? Did I just completely ruin the story with this second chapter? ;) Lemme know what you guys think!