Chapter 16
The Day Love Dies
The next morning, Scratch woke up from his dollhouse, thinking back to what the Ghost Council ordered him to do. He knew that he should keep Molly and Libby separated from each other in order to stay out of the Flow of Failed Phantoms, but he didn't know if he could go through with it.
As Scratch tried to think of a way out of this, Molly woke up shortly afterwards. She didn't get too much sleep, not just because of the late night last night, but also because of her thoughts of Libby.
"Scratch? Can I talk to you about something?" Molly asked.
"Um, sure. What is it, Moll?" Scratch asked, having a good idea of what Molly wanted to talk about.
"I've been thinking about this for awhile, and after everything Libby and I have been through together, I think it's finally time I confessed my love for her." Molly admitted.
Scratch was afraid that Molly would say something like that. He desperately tried to think of a way to prevent this from happening.
"You know, that might not be such a good idea." said Scratch.
Molly soon raised a confused eyebrow at what he just said. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Look, all I'm saying is that it is for the best that we don't have any expectations here! Libby might not be good for you after all! Maybe you should just forget about being in a relationship with Libby and go out with some cute boy instead!" Scratch suggested.
At that moment, Molly stared at Scratch, as if he just said the dumbest suggestion ever.
"Scratch, you know that I am a lesbian!" Molly pointed out.
With that, Scratch dropped his fake smile as he couldn't pretend anymore. "Oh, who am I kidding? I can't do this!"
It was at that point when Molly realized that something was wrong. There was no way that Scratch would want her to forget about Libby. Especially since he was starting to warm up to the idea of her and Libby becoming a couple.
"Scratch what's wrong?" Molly asked, now realizing that something is not right.
With a sigh, Scratch replied, "It's the Ghost Council! They just found out about your crush on Libby and want me to make sure that you two are separated.
Hearing this caused Molly to get worried for her ghost friend. She had a feeling that she unknowingly got Scratch in trouble with the Ghost Council.
"Are you going to be okay?" Molly asked, worried with what might happen to Scratch.
Truthfully, Scratch didn't want Molly to worry. Molly and Libby have come too far to not be a couple, so he knew what he had to do.
"Listen, don't worry about it! Everything is going to be fine!" Scratch promised. "Why don't you call Libby and tell you how you feel, like you wanted?"
"Are you sure?" Molly wanted to be sure that Scratch was okay with it before he gave a reassuring nod.
With a smile, Molly grabbed her phone before she dialed Libby's phone number. A few moments had passed before Libby's voice can be heard on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Libby! I know that we just watched the comet together last night, but I have something important I want to tell you! It's something that I've been wanting to tell you for a long time." Molly admitted with a blush.
"Actually, Molly. There's something that I've been wanting to tell you for awhile too." Libby explained. "Do you think we can have a picnic at the park before we say what we want to tell each other?"
"That sounds like a great idea!" Molly agreed. "Do you want me to meet you at your place?"
"Sure! I'll see you soon, Molly!" Libby said before she hung up.
At that moment, Molly decided to get ready to spend the day with Libby. She spent her morning changing out of her pajamas into her normal attire, eating breakfast, and brushing her teeth.
Once she was ready, Molly decided to leave the house to meet up with Libby. It wasn't long before Molly left, and Scratch stared at Molly through the attic window, wondering if he made the right choice in letting Molly and Libby have their picnic today. Knowing that there was nothing he can do about it now, Scratch laid down on his spiderweb hammock and was about to fall asleep before he was startled by a portal appearing out of nowhere. Here, Scratch was surprised to find Jinx entering the room.
"Jinx? What are you doing here?" Scratch asked, surprised.
"Just making sure you don't mess up with your very important job!" Jinx answered.
Somehow, things just went from bad to worse for Scratch. After all the close calls he had with Jinx nearly finding out about Molly and Libby's love for each other, Scratch didn't know if he can get out of this one.
"Are you sure that finding Molly and Libby is necessary? Who knows? They might have just fell out of love with each other!" Scratch said, desperate to get Jinx to leave.
"Not according to my new joy tracker! You'd better not destroy this one, or else!" Jinx threatened before she led Scratch out the window.
As she made her way to Book Marks the Spot, Molly thought of what she should say to Libby when the time came for her to confess her feelings. She opened the door before being greeted by Libby and Leah.
"Well, look who's ready for your little date!" Leah commented, much to Molly and Libby's embarrassment.
Ignoring what her mom said, Libby approached Molly and said, "Thanks for coming, Molly! I'm excited for our picnic together!"
"Me too! I have both of our favorite food packed, so I'm sure we would have a wonderful day together!" Molly smiled.
"That is so sweet of you, Molly! It's no wonder why Libby likes to be with you all the time!" said Leah. "Now, Libby! I know that you like spending time with Molly, but promise me you will be back home by dark!"
"I promise, Mom! I'll see you later!" Libby waved goodbye to her mom before she followed Molly outside.
Once they were ready, Molly and Libby walked together before they made their way to the center of the park. Here, Molly placed the picnic blanket on the grass before she set up all the food. The two friends soon began to eat their food as they admired the beautiful day together.
"I'm glad that we decided to go on a picnic together, Molly! It feels nice to relax on a beautiful day like this!" said Libby.
"It sure is! The best part of today is that I get to spend the day with you!" Molly complimented, to which Libby shyly looked away with a smile.
Meanwhile, Jinx continued her search for Molly and Libby. To keep her distracted, Scratch desperately tried to lead Jinx in the wrong direction. Unfortunately for Scratch, Jinx was not going to let him distract her like last time. She simply had her eyes focused on her joy tracker, ignoring everything Scratch had to say to her.
"It seems that those two are somewhere in the park." Jinx noticed as she floated to where the joy tracker was pointing her at.
Upon realizing that he was running out of time, Scratch made an effort to take the joy tracker.
"Hey, I think I just saw the joy tracker glitch. Maybe if I can just see this for a moment and-"
Before Scratch could grab it, Jinx turned to him with a death glare. This caused Scratch to immediately pull his arm back in fear as Jinx floated to the park.
Once they were done eating their food, Molly and Libby laid down on the grass together as they watched the sky. Before long, the girls turned to face each other as they shared a couple of smiles. They stared into each others eyes for a couple of moments before Libby spoke up.
"Molly, I want to thank you!"
"Thank me?" Molly repeated. "Well, I'm glad that you enjoyed the picnic!"
Libby shook her head "No. I mean, the picnic was great, but I want to thank you for everything you had done for me! Ever since we met back in 1st grade, you had done so much for me! You defended me from Andrea, you always encouraged me whenever I doubted myself, and you ended up being the best friend I could ever ask for!"
"I feel the same about you, Libby! I've never met anyone so kind, smart, clever, or beautiful." Molly blushed as she said that last part, so she shyly looked away.
"Molly? Are you okay?" Libby asked.
It was at that point when Molly knew that she should stop running away from her feelings. After everything she had been through with Libby, she was not going to give up now.
"Libby, there was been something that I've been wanting to tell you for a long time." Molly confessed.
"Oh, right. We had something we wanted to tell each other." Libby remembered. "You can go first, if you like!"
"Are you sure?" Molly asked.
"Of course! Whatever it is you have to say, I promise I will listen!" Libby promised with a reassuring smile.
Molly soon smiled back before she took a deep breath.
Meanwhile, Jinx was getting closer to Molly and Libby's location. It wasn't long before she found out that her targets were straight ahead.
"Excellent! They are just up ahead! I won't let them escape this time!"
Jinx soon took out her scythe, much to Scratch shock.
"W-Wait! You don't really plan to hurt them, do you?"
An amused grin formed on Jinx's face as she floated towards Scratch. "What's the matter, Scratch? Are you afraid that I'm going to hurt Molly? Your best friend? The friend that you have been hiding from me and the Ghost Council for so long?!"
It took a moment for Scratch to process what he just heard. "Y-You knew?"
"Of course I knew!" Jinx yelled. "I have been searching around and found out that you have been friends with a human this whole time! The Ghost Council was merciful enough to give you a second chance and come clean, but I know better! The only way to put a stop to this is to end Molly's life!"
Hearing this caused Scratch to glare at Jinx in anger. As long as he was around, he was not going to let anyone hurt Molly.
"I swear, if you lay one ghost finger on Molly, I'll-"
"Save your threats!" Jinx interrupted, not intimidated by Scratch in the least. "You only have yourself to blame for what I'm about to do to Molly!"
Before Scratch could react, Jinx slashed through him with her scythe, slicing him in two pieces. It thankfully didn't hurt Scratch at all since he was technically already dead.
"I'd love to stay around, but I have to deal with my latest victim!" Jinx taunted before she floated away.
"No!" Scratch yelled as he desperately tried to pull himself back together.
Meanwhile, Molly tried to think of a way to confess her love for Libby. She had always been too scared to tell Libby how she truly felt about her, but not this time!
"Libby, I've been waiting so long to tell you how I really feel. You have been an amazing friend, and I couldn't imagine my life without you! I enjoyed every second of being with you, and I think it's time I told you the truth! I love you, Libby Stein-Torres I've always loved you!"
In response, Libby's eyes widened in surprise as she processed what she just heard. She couldn't believe that Molly had a crush on her as well, and she never realized it. Libby soon smiled as she teared up in joy.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear those words! I'm in love with you too, Molly!" Libby confessed, much to Molly's surprise. "I wanted to tell you more than anything, but I was just too scared. I didn't want to risk ruining our friendship."
"Libby, I would never stop being friends with you! You are too important! We will always be friends, and we can be girlfriends too! I mean, if you want to, at least!" Molly blushed.
With a smile, Libby held on to Molly's hands. "I would love to be your girlfriend, Molly!"
With a couple of smiles, Molly and Libby closed their eyes as they leaned in close for their first kiss. Right as her lips were about to meet with Molly's, Libby opened her eyes and was shocked to see Jinx floating behind Molly. With a sadistic grin, Jinx took out her scythe and raised it in the air, ready to kill Molly.
"Molly, look out!"
Without wasting a second, Libby pushed Molly out of the way of the scythe. Once she realized what was going on, Molly watched in horror as Jinx slashed Libby across the chest with her scythe. Libby soon collapsed before she laid motionless on the ground.
Dark clouds appeared in the sky as Molly tried to process the horror she just witnessed. After getting over her shock, Molly rushed over to Libby's side.
"Libby?! Libby, wake up!" Molly yelled as she started to cry.
The once green grass was stained red from Libby's blood. A visible cut can be seen across Libby's chest where Jinx slashed her at. Fearing the worst, Molly desperately tried to shake Libby awake.
"No! Libby, please don't leave me!" Molly begged, unable to hold back her tears. "I-I need you! I love you! W-We could have been more than just friends! We could have had a happy life together! We could have been together forever!"
As Molly cried over the death of her best friend, Jinx was left surprised by this outcome. This was not what she expected to happen. Not that she cared anyway.
"This was not what I had planned, but I suppose she would have to do." Jinx spoke up, completely unsympathetic for what she had done.
In an instant, Molly's sorrow turned to rage as she glared at Jinx in anger.
"What have you done to her?!"
"Trust me, you were my original target, but your stupid girlfriend just had to get in the way." Jinx mocked, infuriating Molly even more. "Guess I'll just have to take her to the ghost world instead."
Right as Jinx said that a green ghost floated from Libby's body. Upon taking a closer look, Molly immediately recognized the ghost.
"Libby?"
Surprised by her new ghost form, Libby stared at herself in shock.
"Wh-What happened to me?"
"You're dead! I think that would have been obvious!" Jinx retorted. "I don't have to explain anything to you! We mustn't keep the Chairman waiting."
At that moment, Jinx grabbed Libby's ghost hand before opening a portal to the ghost world. Libby tried to float away, but Jinx kept her tight grip on her.
"You know, I never would have guessed that Scratch was keeping a human friend a secret from us this whole time!" Jinx commented. "We'll deal with him after the Chairman decides your girlfriend's fate!"
"Let go of her, Jinx!" Molly yelled, desperate to save Libby.
Jinx shook her head. "I don't think so! Your love for each other caused a lot of trouble for the Chairman! Now, it's time to say goodbye!"
As Jinx dragged Libby closer to the portal, Molly reached out in desperation with tears in her eyes. "No! Libby!"
"Molly!" Libby desperately reached out for Molly as well.
It was at that moment when Jinx dragged Libby to the other side and the portal disappeared. With Libby gone, Molly dropped to her knees, devastated by the loss of her friend. She immediately rushed over to Libby's dead body before hugging it in tears.
Scratch soon arrived shortly afterwards. He saw Molly cradling Libby's corpse in her arms to realize that he was too late. Without a word, Scratch floated over to Molly and gave her a comforting hug as she cried over Libby's death. As Molly continued to cry, Scratch started to feel guilty. If he just stopped Jinx, Molly and Libby could have had a happy life together.