"Come on."
"She's usually in here."
Alice heard the voices outside the hall before she heard the door open. She didn't bother looking away from the window as she watched a couple wandering by. She heard the twins laugh but it slowly faded away so she could only imagine that they had left the room.
"Hey," Alice turned at the voice, looking at the boy curiously. She recognized him, of course, as Mr. and Mrs. Morrison's son, but that was all she really knew about him.
"You're not supposed to be able to see me." She replied, partly to herself and partly to the boy in the room. He reminded her of Matt, the one boy she had dated when she was alive and it made her nervous to be in his presence.
"I can see all of you. My parents don't know." He had moved to sit down on the edge of the bed, looking at the petite girl with curiosity. "Those two kids said you know all about this place."
Alice blinked, shrugging her shoulders slightly at the statement. She made a mental note to speak to Troy and Bryan about trying to set her up with the new teenage boys that came to the house. "I'm… I'm Alice, but I imagine you already knew that." She said softly, turning in her chair to face the boy as she nervously pulled the sleeves of her cardigan over her hands.
"Connor Morrison." He said with a nod of his head. He grinned at the blonde. "It's great to finally meet you. I've seen you wandering around a couple times now but never got a chance to talk to you."
"I don't understand why you can see us…" She ran a hand through her hair, pushing her bangs away from her face for a moment before they fell back into place. She had been able to see Nora when she was alive, but no one else. It just didn't seem to make sense.
"What happened to all of you? Why are there so many people in this house?" Connor looked serious, but he didn't look like he was afraid to know there were ghosts in his house. It increased her uneasiness about the boy.
"We… we died here and now we can't really leave…" She sighed, realizing just how strange this was. It had been so long since she actually spoke to a living person, so long that she had been near a boy anywhere near her own age that she felt uncomfortable now.
"Hey, I hate to sound rude, but there's another girl around here that looks like she's around your age. She always looks miserable or pissed off. Think you could introduce me?"
Alice stared at him for a long moment before realizing who he meant. She wasn't surprised that someone seemed attracted to the other girl, but the fact that someone wanted her to introduce them to Violet. She shook her head after a moment with a small smile.
"I'm afraid I can't. Violet and I aren't exactly close… If you go to the room at the end of the hall you may find her though. It used to be her room."
Connor just nodded, suddenly seeming excited about the thought and said a quick goodbye before running out of the room.

Tate had seen the guy coming out of the room Alice had unofficially claimed as her own. He recognized him from around the house, knowing he was the son of the couple who lived there but it didn't make sense. Alice avoided dealing with the living as much as possible, so why had she been spending time with this new boy? What also didn't make sense was why he seemed so irritated by the thought of Alice liking this guy. He cursed, making his way through the house and back to the basement before running into Nora.
"Is everything alright, darling? You seem distressed." The woman's voice was gentle but Tate took a moment to decide whether or not it was a good idea to tell her what was actually going on. He knew she would expect it to involve Violet somehow, but maybe she would be happy to know that it really had nothing to do with the other girl.
"Alice has a new friend." He muttered, sinking down in the white rocking chair he could so often be found in. "I don't know what it is but I just hate the thought of her hanging out with him."
"Him? Alice is friends with another boy?" Nora studied the boy's face for a moment before she smiled, shaking her head. "You're jealous of him, dear, because you want to be more than just friends with Alice."
"No way, no, Alice is my best friend." Tate responded immediately, shaking his head vigorously. The more he thought about it, the more it did seem to make sense, though, and it terrified him. Even if he did like her more than friends, she probably wouldn't even consider it. They'd be friends for too long to risk it over trying something new.
"You're in love with her. I promise if you just take a chance, it could make a world of difference." Nora lifted her hand to Tate's face, touching his cheek in an affectionate manner. "Give love another chance, darling, it's worth it when you find the right person."

Tate sat there for a moment after Nora wandered off, most likely to find Charles or one of the other ghosts, and thought about what the woman had said. He was in love with his best friend? How hadn't he noticed after all these years? If he had been jealous of Alice's previous boyfriend, then he must have had feelings for her even then. Was he ready to move on from Violet? He had said he would wait forever, but it was so difficult to wait, knowing that she would never forgive him. He groaned, putting his head in his hands as he tried to sort out his thoughts. It terrified him to put his entire friendship on the line for a chance, but Nora seemed to know more about the situation than she led on to. She wouldn't have told him to take a chance if she thought Alice had no interest in it. What the hell would sweet, innocent Alice see in him though?