Chapter 9
Milly
For the last couple of weeks, Molly has struggled to keep Scratch a secret from Libby. Every day, Libby got more suspicious of Scratch. Whenever she would hang out with Molly, she would always hear her talking to someone, even though no one is there.
It got harder and harder for Molly to keep Scratch a secret. The day soon came to an end when Molly returned home from all the lies she told Libby. Molly sat silently at the table, where she was working on a puzzle with Scratch.
"Aw, I hate lying to Libby! She's my best friend, Scratch! She should know about you! I'm getting stress hives from all the lies!" Molly showed Scratch her hives, causing him to scream.
"Molly, don't you see that the more people know about me, the less scary I am? And I'll be some kind of friendly ghost!"
"But I like friendly ghosts!" Molly argued.
"Well, the Ghost Council doesn't!" Scratch yelled as he used his ghost powers to levitate the puzzle pieces in the air. "If I don't keep my scares up, they will send me to the Flow of Failed Phantoms forever!"
That was when Molly was left with a sad look on her face. Scratch noticed this and sighed before he tried to cheer her up.
"Look, I know that you and Libby are close, but we need to keep me a secret from her. If you can't do that, maybe it would be for the best if you stop being friends with Libby and find a new best friend." Scratch suggested before Molly glared at him in anger.
"NO!" Molly slammed her hands on the table, startling Scratch. Upon noticing her frightened Scratch was, Molly's angered expression softened. "Sorry. I-"
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Scratch realized his mistake. "I know you don't want to lose Libby."
Molly shook her head. "Of course I don't! She's loving and she's thoughtful! I can't bear to see her go!"
Scratch then stared at Molly, confused. "Wait, what did you just call Libby?"
"Uh, that's not important!" Molly blushed, not wanting to reveal her crush on Libby. She soon slumped down in her chair, sad at the idea of losing Libby. "I really do want to keep your secret, but I made a promise to Libby too. I can't keep lying to her and risk losing her as a friend! I just can't lose her!"
It was at that moment when Molly sobbed softly before Scratch noticed a tiny ghost floating around her. Upon realizing what it was, Scratch flew towards it as he tried to shoo it away.
"Hey! Get out of here!" Scratch yelled as the ghost flew away.
"Wh-What was that?" Molly asked, noticing the ghost.
"That was a sobgoblin, Molly! They are ghosts that feed on sadness and despair, so we don't want them around here!" Scratch explained. "It seems that you are really upset about this, so why don't we just keep our minds off Libby for awhile and we can figure this out in the morning?"
With a sigh, Molly agreed before she walked up to her room. Later that night, Molly was laying down on her bed, eyes wide open. She wasn't able to get any sleep as she was worrying about her friendship with Libby. After all the lies she told, Molly knew that Libby was suspicious of her. Every passing minute, Molly got more desperate to think of a way save her friendship with Libby. It wasn't long before Molly thought of an idea, so she immediately got out of bed and put her plan into action.
The next morning, Scratch woke up with a yawn before floating out of his dollhouse. The ghost looked around and was surprised that Molly's room was a mess with paper scattered everywhere. He looked down on the floor to see a drawing of Molly and Libby with a broken heart between them. Scratch was so distracted by the drawing, he didn't notice Molly behind him.
"Hi Scratch!"
Startled, Scratch turned around to see Molly, who looked sleep deprived.
"Molly, what happened to you? You look like you didn't sleep at all last night!" Scratch noticed.
"That's because I didn't! I was up all night trying to think of a way to save my friendship with Libby, and I just figured it out!" Molly then grabbed Scratch's hand and led him to a bulletin board which had a drawing of Molly, and another drawing of Molly in a blue wig. "Libby needs a new best friend, which is why I created Milly, Libby's new BFF!"
"Um, they are both pictures of you." Scratch pointed out.
"Well, there is a familiar resemblance, sure, but this is my Canadian cousin, Milly! Milly has blue hair and is an exchange student, staying with the McGees! Meanwhile, Molly will be up in-" Molly's eyes drooped as she struggled to stay awake, so Scratch had to wake her up. "Canada! Anyhoo, what's important is that Milly and Libby's friendship is 100 percent lie free and pure! So, as long as I keep my friendships separate, it'll be fine!"
Somehow, Scratch wasn't surprised that Molly would come up with a plan this convoluted. "So, the answer to lying to Libby about me is to tell an even bigger lie about yourself?"
"It's either that or tell the truth!" Molly replied.
"Well, if it's going to keep me out of the Flow of Failed Phantoms, hello Milly!" Scratch exclaimed before putting the blue wig on Molly's head.
Meanwhile at Book Marks the Spot, Libby was reading a romance novel. In the novel, Libby read about a knight rescuing a princess as they fell in love with each other. Reading this made Libby fantasize about her and Molly becoming a couple. Just like the main couple in the story, Libby thought about her and Molly confessing their love for each other and sharing their first kiss.
Libby was soon startled out of her thoughts when she heard the bell to the front door ring. She looked up, and was surprised to see Molly in a blue wig. When Libby asked Molly what the wig was all about, Molly would lie and say that she is someone named, Milly. This confused Libby, so she listened to what this Milly person had to say.
"So, um, let me get this straight. Molly is in Canada, and you are her, uh, cousin, Milly, was it?" Libby asked, not buying it for a second.
"Yep! I'm Molly's Canadian cousin, Milly! Totally different person!" Molly tried disguising her voice in a Canadian accent.
Not convinced in the slightest, Libby stared at Molly in suspicion. She had no idea what Molly was planning, but she decided to play along.
"Okay, 'Milly!' You wanna check out the dystopian fiction section?"
"Do I! Unlike Molly, I am very pessimistic about the future!" Molly replied before she followed Libby.
It was at that point when Libby knew that something wasn't right. First, she heard Molly seemingly talking to no one, now Molly is pretending to be someone else. Right when Molly wasn't looking, Libby began to talk to herself through a tape recorder.
"A flimsy fake friend? The Molly mysteries multiply!"
As Libby began to hang out with her supposedly new friend, she decided to prove that it was actually Molly by asking her questions about Canada, like what part of Canada she is from. Much to Libby's surprise, Molly was able to answer all of the questions correctly as Libby was unaware that Scratch was secretly giving Molly all of the answers. Even though Molly was convincing, pretending to be her Canadian cousin, Libby was determined to reveal Molly's identity.
For the rest of the day, Libby was hanging out with Milly, trying to prove she was lying. They both walked through the park together before Libby just found another opportunity to prove that Molly was lying. This got Molly curious with what Libby was thinking.
"So, what are we going to do next, best friend Libby?" Molly asked.
"Oh, you're going to love it, Milly!" Libby replied.
At that moment, Molly was shocked to see that Libby was leading her to Irving, a magician who Molly really hates. Knowing Molly's hatred of closeup magic, Libby knew that Molly couldn't lie her way out of this!
"Magic?" Molly backed up in hesitation.
"Come on, Milly! Pick a cup!" Libby pushed Molly closer to the magician's table that had three cups, with one of them hiding a ball. "There's no way you would hate close-up magic like your cousin, Molly, right?"
"Of course! That would be ridiculously coincidental!" Molly forced a fake grin before she reluctantly chose a cup.
Every cup Molly chose ended up being empty. This frustrated her as she knew that this was nothing more than a cheap parlor trick. After the last cup was revealed to be missing, Molly glared at the magician in anger.
"The ball is gone, as if by magic!" Irving announced before a ball rolled out of his sleeve, ruining the trick.
That was when Molly felt her eye twitch as she was slowly losing her sanity. "Magic! It's so fun! So whimsical!"
"Aw, you are super great, Milly! Maybe an even better friend than Molly!" Libby teased, trying to get Molly to stop lying. She paused before she added, "Not to mention that you are so much cuter than Molly ever was!"
It was at that moment, when Libby gave Molly a hug. For the first time ever, Molly wasn't able to enjoy the hug as she was too focused on what Libby just told her. Cuter than Molly? Did she mean cute as in, she is attracted to her? This only got Molly jealous of herself. She wanted Libby to fall in love with her. Not some random girl named, Milly!
"Wow. What a nice complement for Milly! Who is me! I love it!" Molly forced a strained smile.
"Ah, young love! The most powerful magic there is!" Irving commented, much to Molly's frustration.
"No one asked you, Irving!" Molly yelled at the magician before she ran back home.
After the rough day she had, Molly make her way back home, exhausted. Frustrated that her plan backfired on her, Molly took her blue wig off.
"Milly's gotta go!" Molly said before throwing the wig away.
Upon seeing Molly this upset, Scratch knew that something was wrong. He had seen her upset by magicians before, but not this upset.
"Are you okay, Moll? I didn't know that the magician upset you that much."
"It's not the magician, Scratch! Well, he's partially the reason, but that's not the point! Libby thinks Milly is cute! She probably means that she is attracted to her! Libby can't be attracted to some random girl named, Milly! Milly isn't even real!" Molly complained.
"Whoa! Calm down, Molly! I don't see what the big deal is! What do you care if Libby is attracted to some random person?" Scratch asked.
As Scratch as her that question, Molly gave a nervous gulp. She remained silent as she desperately tried to think of an answer that didn't give away her crush on Libby. Thankfully, she didn't get a chance to answer when she heard the doorbell ring. At that moment, Molly looked outside and was shocked to see Libby standing out the front door.
"Hey, Libby! Come on in!" Sharon greeted Libby before she let her in the house.
All Molly could do was panic as Libby's footsteps got closer to her room. Right when she heard Libby knocking on the door, Molly knew it was time to leave.
"We have to get out of here before Libby finds us." Molly said, not wanting to risk Libby finding out about Scratch.
"I'm way ahead of you Moll!"
At that moment, Scratch grabbed Molly and flew out the window, forgetting that Molly wasn't transparent like he was. This caused Molly to hit the window before she fell on the floor.
"Ow!" Molly rubbed her head before she got back up.
"Oops! Sorry!" Scratch apologized before he and Molly opened the window.
As Scratch flew Molly out the window, Libby opened the door as she made her way in Molly's room.
"Hey, Molly? I mean, Milly? I just wanted to talk to you about-" Libby paused when she realized that no one was there.
It was at that moment when Libby looked around the room, confused. She knew that she heard voices coming from the attic. As Libby looked around, she noticed something by the window. Upon taking a closer look, she realized that it was ectoplasm. She stared at it in suspicious before she decided to confront Molly about this.
Both, Molly and Scratch rushed through Brighton as Libby gave chase. It was hard for them to lose Libby, especially since she was using her detective skills to corner them at every turn.
The chase went on until Molly made her way to the park. She looked around, and was revealed that Libby was nowhere to be found. With a sigh of relief, Molly took a seat on a nearby bench.
"We finally shook Libby!" Molly told Scratch.
"Or did you?" Molly heard a familiar voice, and was shocked to see that she was sitting on Libby, who was laying down on the bench the whole time. In response, Molly quickly put on her blue wig, disguising herself as Milly once more. "Once the Bloodhound of Truth gets your scent, there's no hiding!"
"Aww! Is that you? Is that what you call yourself?" Molly asked, pretending not to be aware of Libby's nickname.
"You can stop pretending, Molly! I know it's you!" Libby said as she took the wig off of Molly's head. "What's going on here? Why are you pretending to be someone else?"
Desperate to avoid revealing Scratch to Libby, Molly replied, "Okay! Let me explain, I am not Molly, or Milly! I'm actually, uh, Mally from Tallahassee!"
"No more lies! Look, Molly! Don't think I haven't noticed the way you have been talking to yourself! It was cute when we met in first grade, but now I'm starting to worry! If that wasn't bad enough, you have been purposefully trying to avoid me all day! Please tell me what is wrong!" Libby begged.
"N-Nothing's wrong! I promise that everything is fine!" Molly stuttered, doing her best to sound convincing.
Despite that, Libby wasn't convinced in the least. Her suspicious expression turned to a look of sadness as she could only come to one conclusion.
"Is it that you don't want to be my friend anymore?"
Upon hearing this, Molly's eyes widened in shock before she tried to convince Libby that this was not the case. "What? No! Libby, I swear that is not it!"
"What else could it be?!" Libby snapped as she started to tear up. "You have been avoiding me all day, and you won't tell me what is bothering you! I just want you to keep the promise you made me! Please, Molly! For the sake of our friendship, tell me what's wrong!"
A look of guilt appeared on Molly's face upon seeing how upset Libby was. "I really do want to tell you, Libby. What I've been hiding for so many years, but I just can't."
Libby couldn't believe what she was hearing. Even when their friendship is at stake, Molly still refuses to be honest with her. She stared at Molly with a hurt look, which only make Molly feel even more guilty than ever.
"So, that's it?! After everything we have been through together, our friendship is going to end just like that?!" Libby started to cry before she took her purple friendship bracelet off her wrist. "Then this is nothing more than a lie!" Libby threw her friendship bracelet on the ground in anger before she ran away in tears.
"Libby, wait!" Molly desperately reached out for Libby, but she was already too far away.
It was at that moment, when Molly was left standing in the middle of the park, processing what just happened. Was this really the end? After all that she and Libby had been through together? Molly couldn't accept this. Libby was too important for her.
"I have to tell her, Scratch!" Molly told Scratch in desperation.
At that point, Scratch started to feel guilty as well. He hated seeing his best friend like this, but at the same time, he couldn't risk being sent to the Flow of Failed Phantoms and being separated from her forever. "That's a hard no!"
"I can't keep living like this! Please, Scratch!" Molly begged.
"We can't risk it, Molly!" Scratch tried to reason with Molly. "Look, I know that Libby was great, but maybe you should consider getting a new human bestie. You would be amazing at making new friends!"
Molly then glared at her ghost friend. "I should have known you wouldn't understand!"
Sensing Molly's anger, Scratched asked, "Understand what?"
"Just forget it! You wouldn't know anything about friendship because you care about no one but yourself!" Molly yelled.
Hearing this surprised Scratch before he started to get angry too. "Hey! Don't make me look like the bad guy here! You're not the one who could get sent to the Flow of Failed Phantoms! Losing a friend is nothing compared to what I would go through!"
"Don't you understand?! Libby is more than just a friend to me!" Molly argued.
"More than just a friend?" Scratch repeated. "Why have you been obsessing over Libby lately? Why is she so special to you?"
"Because I'm in love with her, okay?" Molly yelled with tears in her eyes before placing a hand over her mouth in shock.
This caused Scratch's eyes to widened in surprise as he silently tried to process what Molly just told him. Upon realizing that she revealed her crush on Libby to Scratch, Molly collapsed on the ground, crying uncontrollably. Seeing Molly like this caused Scratch to feel bad for his best friend. He floated over to Molly and placed a comforting arm around her.
"I know that you don't want me to reveal you to anyone, but I just love Libby so much! I can't lose her! I just can't!" Molly sobbed.
With a look of guilt, Scratch made his decision. He couldn't believe he was going to do this, but he figured that he might as well make an exception this one time for Molly.
"Okay, fine!" Scratch spoke up as Molly stared at him with hope in her eyes. "But just Libby!"
Without wasting a second, Molly immediately stood up, and ran to the direction where Libby left. Thankfully, Molly managed to catch up with Libby and stopped her to speak with her.
"Wait, no! The truth is, I have been hiding something! Someone, actually!"
At first, Libby was confused when Molly nodded at seemingly nothing. However, she was shocked to see a ghost appear out of nowhere.
"Ahh, it's a ghost." Scratch said in a sarcastic tone.
Shocked by what she was seeing, Libby fainted as she fell on the ground.
"Happy now?" Scratch asked Molly.
"Thank you!" Molly thanked, grateful for him saving her friendship with Libby.
Now that Libby finally knows about Scratch, Molly felt as though a huge weight was lifted off her chest. After everything that has happened, Molly knew that she would have a lot of explaining to do when Libby finally wakes up.