Back in August of 2019, I wrote the first chapter of this story. Then.. Proceeded to forget and ignore it for 4 or 5 years. Well, no more.

This chapter will be a rewrite of the first chapter, just to kinda patch it up a bit before I post the actual new chapters. Yes the original WILL stay, but will be marked as "ORIGINAL", rather than be the true first chapter per say.

So, why don't we start over the author's note?

This story is based on The Grieving, a creepypasta that's recently resurged in popularity online (one of my reasons to revisit this, at least people will see it I guess). So I wanted to make my own take. Non-creepypasta one that is in a way? This version however, is rather the aftermath of everything. I like to kinda switch it up like that lol.

Anyways, as the original states. WARNING. This story contains dark material, such as suicide, death, mutilations (implied), etc. If you find any of this uncomfortable, please feel free to leave if you need to do so. I'm not forcing you to read this, it's your own choice.

With that said, enjoy the first chapter's rewrite!

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Horror.

It's all anyone could describe the school week as. Tragedy struck Elmore Jr. High school, and it struck hard. Nobody could concentrate on their work. Nobody could laugh genuinely or feel anything resembling happiness. They all knew what happened.

The youngest Watterson siblings, Darwin and Anais, were each found mutilated in the forest. One on the ground, one in a box. Unfortunately, their reason of death was unknown. Nobody knew how it occurred. First they knew the two had left school after lunch, then.. Nothing. Who knows what could have gone down. It wasn't pinpointed if there was a murderer or not.

Some wondered how the eldest dealt with it.

It was found out easily once Miss Simian's room was searched.

There he was, hanging limply from the ceiling, eyes red and strangled, with a simple brown noose tied to him. A chair had been found a few feet away, likely kicked. The police ruled it as suicide, result of unable to handle the grief of what he most likely witnessed, or heard. Not many questioned the sight after that.

The school hallways felt wrong now. It was almost a haunting feeling. Some said they felt a presence over their shoulders. Some said they heard the squeaks of the floor as something walked past.

Nothing was ever there.

All of it only felt eerie and terrifying for the students.


The school's halls were now so silent, you could hear the sound of a pin drop. It was after school, students long gone, while some stayed behind for their usual club activities.

Carrie was not one of those people. She was silently getting ready to leave, packing away her things into the locker. Schoolwork had prevented her from getting home by bus like usual, dreadful as ever. It didn't help that it only made her not want to stay any longer, knowing what happened. The news was very depressing that day.

She knew it didn't matter, at least to ghosts. Ghosts witness death all the time. To her though, it wasn't the same. The thought of never getting to tell the goldfish her love for him pained her immensely. She had tried to contact him so many times from the spirit realm, but.. Nothing. It was like he was never even dead.

Why did it have to go this way?

As she closed her locker door, she stiffened. There was someone here. Where? Cautiously, Carrie floated down the corridor, feeling a bizarre presence in her space. It felt otherworldly, almost as if.. A ghost.

And she was right.

There right in front of her, a transparent-looking spirit was slowly walking down the hallway, pale and dead with what looked like a noose swung around its neck, like some kind of twisted version of a scarf. Its eyes were bloodshot, and red marks could be seen at the neck.

Carrie automatically knew who this was. It was fairly obvious, telling by the cat-like figure, the appearance matching the description of his death. She should've known that Gumball would've been likely still walking here.

"Carrie?"

The ghost girl snapped out of her focus, turning towards the source of the voice. Penny was standing beside her, a look of concern on her face.

"Are you alright? What are you looking at?"

"..Not anything important. Just.. Lost in my thoughts." Carrie didn't have the heart to tell the fairy her deceased boyfriend still haunted the school, at least not yet. She floated away, but a lingering feeling stuck behind her, almost as if.. Someone was following her. By the time she turned around, nothing was there.

She needed to get to the bottom of this.


It was now nighttime, the moon in the sky with a dimly warm glow and its usual sleepy face expression.

Carrie was hiding inside an old broom closet, having waited several hours for the school to be completely empty. All the clubs were over, and all the teachers had gone home. It was an eerie quiet, almost perfect for what she would be doing here tonight.

Finding the coast clear, she left the dusty cramped space, and wandered the hallways, trying to find any sign of her feline friend. She knew it wasn't impossible that he would be roaming around, lost spirits tended to do that no matter what, but finding him would be the tough part.

As she turned a corner, she spotted a silhouette in the distance. Feeling relief, she cautiously approached, waving one arm to try and get his attention. However, he had already gone down another corridor, completely ignoring her. Did he even see her at all?

Where's he going?..

Carrie followed his trail, unaware of where she would be led. Upon observing the destination, she started to connect the dots, finding herself standing in front of Miss Simian's classroom. The area was dark and gloomy, with most things still left where they were. After all, thanks to it being a crime scene, the class had been moved to one of the extra unused rooms, unable to grab most things as they were deemed evidence.

The chalkboard still read the last date the class was in here, with lessons still scrawled along the center. Miss Simian's mug sat untouched on the desk, waiting for its next fill of hot coffee, and ungraded papers were placed nearby, with a red ink pen laid on top.

Unfortunately, the main center piece of the room was the brown rope that still hung from the ceiling, the bottom cut off neatly, a chair nearby. She felt sick just thinking about it, some officer having to stand on that thing to retrieve her dead closest friend. It felt so wrong, unfair even.

Carrie stiffened, feeling a presence beside her. Slowly glancing over, she couldn't help but feel unsettled, worried even. Gumball stood next to the ghost girl, looking up at the same sight. A frown could be seen on his face, as his eyes read of a deep sorrow.

She didn't know what to say. Usually, she would've gotten this over by now; talking with the ghost, seeing what was wrong if they allowed, all was fine. Yet.. She couldn't get herself to open her mouth. This was different compared to those times.

"..It's messed up, isn't it?.."

The ghost girl blinked, not expecting to hear his words. Hesitantly, she nodded, feeling it was now appropriate to speak. "..Yeah.. It is.."

Gumball finally looked at her, his state rather haunting to the other. "..I thought this would've made everything better.. That I'd be happier dead.. But.. I just feel worse.. Everybody being sad doesn't help either.. I pretty much ruined everything again.. Didn't I?.."

"What? No, you didn't ruin anything.." She replied, hurt in her eyes. "It's not your fault things turned out this way.. You just.. Thought this was the way to go.."

"It is my fault.." He muttered, his attention fixed to the floor. "They're dead because of me.."

"..What do you mean?.." Carrie asked, a dread in her voice. Her worry grew when she received no response.

Gumball simply sighed, as he walked over and sat down in his old desk, head resting in his paws as he looked at the chalkboard's contents. "..It doesn't matter now.. I can't go back and fix anything.. Now I'm stuck here, haunting school. Can you think of anywhere worse of a place to haunt than that?"

"Um.. I guess there could be worse." She floated over, sitting in a desk next to him. He hardly paid any mind to it. "You could be haunting a DMV, or maybe one of those lawyer offices.."

The cat hummed. "Fair enough. Try spending your eternity in limbo having to listen to Miss Simian screech all day though."

"..Gumball?" Carrie focused her attention on him, though he continued staring at the board in front of him. "..You don't have to be alone in these halls you know.. You have friends and family here that love you.."

"I know." His frown deepened. "I can't imagine they'd feel any better seeing me looking like literal death."

"But it would make them feel better if they knew you were still here.." She tilted his head to get him to look at her, the cat glumly watching her in response. "Do you really want to be here forever walking these halls?"

"..Why not?" He shrugged, turning to face the large classroom windows. Ghostly tears appeared in his bloodshot eyes. "..As much as I hate to admit it.. I have good memories here.. They used to be here with me all the time.. He would follow me around and we'd cause mischief together, even if he didn't wanna.. And she'd be there too to chew us out, or even help.."

Carrie came over and pulled him into a hug, to which the other accepted. "It's ok if you don't want to leave just yet.. I get it.. But.. Can you at least give it a chance?.. Please.. I can't.. I can't stand seeing you like this.. All alone with nobody to talk to.."

"..Are they gonna be mad?..."

She shook her head. "No, very much not.. Your family loves you Gumball.. I'm sure they'd be jumping at the chance to see you again.."

"...Are my siblings ghosts too?.."

The ghost girl paused. "...I'm not sure.. I.. Would have to check the woods.. Would you want me to bring them here?.."

Gumball did not answer, only hugging her harder.

She patted his back. "I understand.. We can leave the topic for another day.. But for now, I can help you see your other loved ones.. Okay?.."

"..Okay.."

Carrie saw the feline begin to smile, to which she did as well. It seemed this talk was doing wonders. "..I have to prepare the ghost potion, since well.. You aren't exactly seeable, but tomorrow I promise I'll come back with your parents at least, around this same time.."

He nodded, letting go of her. "..Can it be in the hall?.. I don't want them seeing this room.."

"Of course, whatever makes you feel more comfortable."

Gumball glanced over at the clock. It was three in the morning now, exactly five or six hours before teachers would start coming in to get ready for the day. "..Thank you for seeing me Carrie.. I.. I really needed this.."

Carrie smiled, giving one last hug. She was fairly grateful that she still could do such gesture, considering the limits of lost spirits. "It's going to be okay, you aren't alone.. We'll be here to support you no matter what happens.."

She soon noticed the time as well, floating over to the floor. Though, before leaving, she gave one last look at him, feeling some happiness as she saw him smiling at her from where he sat. "Hey, why don't you do something funny tomorrow? I think the whole class will get a kick out of some new mischief going on."

His smile grew wider. "You know me well."

"See you tomorrow you big goof." Carrie chuckled, and closed the door behind her, waving as she did. She traveled down the empty hallways, feeling this new wave of hope, even joy. Maybe things won't be so bad after all. Perhaps she could help him get the proper care he needed. Though, she still had no idea what had happened between him and his siblings. She could look into it in her spare time.

The ghost carefully teleported away back to her home.