Thanks to everyone who's read this story! I hope to give at least some form of closure to Ollie's character arc intended for season 3. It hit me in the early planning stages how ironic it was to write a fic exploring who Ollie is and have him forget himself in the climax.
There is a two year time skip, which places this chapter AFTER my next TGAMM fanfic I have coming out. I did not want to wait to finish Ollie's story until after the next one was written so this does make the following a foregone conclusion. But the real fun will be exploring how we got to this point.
Side note: Scratch and Adia win the award for most queerplatonic couple. My favorite headcanon with them is that they eventually get married for tax benefits.
"Hurry up, June! We'll be late!"
"My legs are not as long as yours, Ollie!"
The Chen siblings hurried down the streets of Brighton, trying to get to their destination on time. Their momentum was stopped by a busy intersection. They were forced to stop and wait until they could cross. The store beside them had a TV in front, playing some sort of infomercial that neither paid attention to at first. "-and now a word from the Chairman-"
Ollie's ears perked up at the word and he looked over. On screen there was a man dressed as a large couch with a crown on his head. "I'm a sofa darnnit!"
Stifling a laugh, Ollie turned back and continued waiting for the light to change. Hearing the word 'chairman' took him back, it had been a little over two years since his run as the Ghost Chairman. Life has changed since then-"Walk sign! Go!" He took his sister by the hand and led her across the road. Their destination was right around the corner.
The McGee's and Libby came into sight. Darryl pointed to the incoming duo and got Molly excitedly beckoning them. "Ollie! June! You made it!"
The Chen siblings reached their destination and stopped to catch their breaths. "We are so sorry we're late!" Ollie apologized.
"My latest drone had a slight malfunction-" It spontaneously combusted. "-and we had to clean it up." June explained. Perhaps using an untested homemade battery was not the best decision.
"You two are just in time." Molly assured her boyfriend and his sister.
Everyone had changed just a little bit over the last two years. They were all taller, and Molly's ponytail had gotten longer. June wore her hair in a low bun while Darryl's hair started to flop over from gravity. Molly and Ollie were sixteen now, and Libby would be sixteen in the fall. The three of them were going to be juniors in high school soon. Darryl and June, who were both fourteen, would be joining them as freshmen once school started. The middle school teachers had celebrated their freedom from the chaos and the high school staff dreaded their arrival.
The teens weren't the ones who'd changed the most. No, that went to Scratch. Two years ago they had discovered the truth that he was a wraith and he returned to his rightful body and assumed his real name: Todd Mortenson. He'd forgotten his time as a wraith and went on to live the life he'd always dreamt of. This was the same bus stop where Molly had seen him go and now-
"Here it comes!" Pete was the first to notice the bus heading their way. They were all eager, Molly in particular was bouncing on her heels with excitement. That bus couldn't stop any sooner for her, but when it did, a familiar figure quickly made his way to the door.
The aging fifty-something man grinned and greeted the welcome party. "What, no balloon arch spelling my name or a welcome back cake?" He teased the group while he set his suitcase down.
Molly couldn't hold herself back, she ran and hugged the man tight. "Scratch!"
Scratch returned the hug. "Heh, missed you too Moll."
Oh? Now this is a surprise. Todd remembers his time as Scratch. It happened exactly one year ago. As for HOW this happened… that's a story for next time. (Winks to audience)
Once Molly released her friend from her hug, he stretched out his arms and back. "Ugh, that bus was uncomfortable. Should've gotten a neck pillow." Uncomfortable ride or not, he'd promised his family that he'd return to Brighton each year on July 7th for a few days. This was the first anniversary of that day, and since then he'd been in frequent video contact with everyone. Scratch didn't travel back alone this time. He realized his companion still hadn't gotten off of the bus. "Adia?"
The older lady had heavier luggage than her friend. And she struggled to lift it down the aisle. "Why didn't I get one with wheels?" She asked herself.
Everyone noticed she needed help. Scratch turned to go back for her, but Ollie beat him to it. The teen ran up onto the bus and grabbed one end of the large suitcase. "Here, let me help."
Adia appreciated it. "Thanks." Together they took the luggage off the bus, Sharon and Molly joined in to lower it down the stairs. With the passenger and her baggage off, the bus closed its door and drove off. "Yeah, I'm not as light a traveler as Scratch is." Adia chuckled.
Now that Adia could put down her luggage, Molly came up close, eager to finally meet this woman face to face. "It's so good to see you outside my phone screen, Adia!" With age, came the restraint to not tackle her into a hug on the spot… but it was very tempting.
"I could say the same, I finally get to meet Scratch's other best friend in the flesh." Adia had first spoken with Molly the day Scratch returned to his body. She was unaware of what had occurred until the following year after Todd came back from a trip to Brighton, explaining to her about lost memories of being a ghost. She would have had a hard time believing him… if his friend Geoff hadn't come by to back him up.
"Welcome back to Brighton you two." Sharon stepped over next to her daughter, her husband and son joining her. "And it is our pleasure to meet you, Adia."
The McGee parents shook hands with their new friend, not exactly new, they'd spoken with her on video before. Scratch couldn't hide the joy on his face, his Adia from his Todd life and his family from his Scratch life were finally one big life. Molly nudged his side, "Go on, introduce her to everyone."
Scratch chuckled. "Sure, why not? Adia-" He extended his arm out towards three of the McGee's. "You already know Sharon and Pete. And also Darryl, who I'm sure has some amazing mischief he's going to get us into!"
"I can neither confirm nor deny that." Darryl smirked. "But if you survive you get a free shirt."
"'If' I survive?" Adia had heard of his exploits, and knew when he said 'if' he REALLY meant 'if'!
Wrapping his arm around Adia's shoulder, Scratch turned her to face the other teenagers all lined up to meet her. "And here's the rest of our Ghost Friends group, I'm sure you remember them from some of those photos. The boy with the swoopy bangs who helped with your luggage is Ollie Chen."
Ollie gave a sweet smile. "Nice to meet you."
"On his right is Libby. She can sniff out secrets and loves turtles." Scratch moved his arm to gesture to the next teen in the lineup.
Libby shyly gave a small wave. "Hi."
"Next up is June. Ollie's little sister and one of the smartest and most brutally honest kids you'll ever meet."
June adjusted her glasses and looked up. "Hello Adia, I've heard a lot about you from Molly and Scratch."
Scratch moved his arm out towards the last in the lineup. "And here's Geoff who-" Scratch stopped and did a double-take. "GEOFF!? When'd you get here!?" It wasn't just him, no one had noticed Geoff sneak his way into the group. Scratch had to admit it was pretty scary.
The ghost laughed. "Ah, I've been here since I came out of the portal." That answered absolutely nothing. Geoff stretched his arm over Scratch's head and held it out to his companion. "How've you been, Adia?"
Adia laughed and shook hands with the green ghoul. "I've been good. Thanks for asking." She'd already met Geoff many times over the year. As a ghost, he could open up a portal from the Ghost World to wherever he wants. Adia was a little jealous, that kind of fast travel would save tons of time and money.
Pete grabbed Adia's luggage, struggling to carry it on his own. "Let's-let's get you two settled in-" His eyes widened in dawning horror. He and the rest of his family WALKED there! They had to carry the luggage all the way home! The man bit his limp, trying not to whimper as he imagined the strain this would put on his back.
"Yeah!" Molly had a skip in her step as she led the way. "Let's drop off your stuff and then hit the town for some fun!"
The former ghost smirked. "You know it's too bad we didn't come in the winter. It'd be really fun to ride a toboggan." Right on cue, everyone simultaneously sneezed. Scratch cracked up. "Ahahaha-oh that is a great curse!"
OXOXOXOX
A few hours later, the group of Molly, Libby, Ollie, Scratch and Adia were out and about in Brighton. Sharon stayed back at the house with Pete, who'd been lying with an ice pack on his back. Geoff volunteered to help the Chaos Duo with an experiment, seeing if ectoplasm could be used to power a rebuilt drone. It was down to the initial four Ghost Friends to show Adia how much her hometown had changed since she was a kid.
"Behold! Brighton's own wind turbine factory!" Molly introduced their first stop.
Adia was beholding the once dilapidated factory, now renovated and back in business. "Wow, this sure is a sight to see."
Ollie excitedly shared what he thought was the best part. "And thanks to the power generated by the turbine's, Brighton's on its way to carbon neutrality!"
Scratch had his own piece to add. "The day this opened I couldn't enjoy it, I got sliced in half by Jinx and put on trial. It was also the day Molly killed death so-eh, sort of evens it out." He moved his hand like he was balancing a scale.
"Our next stop is-" with the magic of being written in text, the five were already at their next destination. "Ruben's Root Beer Pub!" Molly showed off the brewery.
Inside, Ruben already had a couple of bottles waiting for the group. "This is my dad." Ollie introduced Adia to the owner of the pub. "He started making root beer as a hobby, and, thanks to Molly, we found a way to turn it into a business." He gave a wink to his girlfriend.
Molly blushed at her boyfriend's gesture. "I really can't take credit. This was a group effort… I can, however, take credit for my idea of a hedgehog playpen. I still have not given up on that." The one feature of this establishment's inception that hadn't come to fruition. Molly wanted that hedgehog playpen. She wanted it so badly.
In a flash, the five of them moved to the next place. "The Brighton Bandshell!" Molly presented what she saw as the crown jewel of Brighton. Not to be confused with what was actually considered the crown jewel of Brighton, an overly shiny nickel on display at city hall.
Adia vaguely remembered hearing that there had once been a bandshell in town. Libby came up beside her and dropped some lore. "A tornado destroyed the original in the late seventies. Molly brought the whole town together to build this one."
"Don't forget who the true hero was. I stole a bus full of k-pop stars for the concert!" Scratch bragged.
"You also stole from a credit union." Molly recalled the little incident that happened during the fundraising.
"I put it back!"
Adia raised an eyebrow. "Wait, Todd, didn't you used to work at a credit union?" Silence fell over the group, the implications sunk in.
Moving on! The group stopped for a late lunch at their next destination. "This is the Thai restaurant run by my Grandma Nin!" Molly announced, though they were already sitting down at a table and eating. A little late to announce that, but it looked better for them to already be eating when the scene cut away.
Scratch talked with his mouth half-full of food. "It used to be Sam's Diner, till Nin took over and brought Sharon on to cook."
"What a memorable episode." Molly nodded, sipping her Thai tea. Yes, who could forget such an adventure where her mother rediscovered an artistic way to come to peace with her culinary past.
With another quick change of scenery, everyone was in the park. "This is the statue of Brighton's true hero and founder, Sally Tugbottom!" Molly gestured to the statue.
Time for Libby to drop even more lore onto the newcomer. "Her brother Ezekiel stole the credit for her actions, but we uncovered the truth and brought history to light!"
Ollie also had something to add. "Not to mention, Sally is also the current chairwoman of the Ghost World."
"You guys really have met some interesting ghosts." Adia was wowed. Scratch had mentioned meeting historical figures like Lincoln before, but it was hearing that him and the kids had met local icons she'd heard in her youth, such as Ezekiel Tugbottom or Sonia Davis that made this ghost stuff all the more special. The figures of yesteryear were still around to see their hometown find new life and flourish.
"Next up, this is the flaming pit caused by Darryl and June's shenanigans last week!" Molly took them to a gaping hole in the middle of the park grass. There were still embers burning inside, but none of the flames spread outside the pit.
Adia AND Scratch were puzzled by whatever the heck this was. "You said last week? It's still burning!" Scratch couldn't believe it.
Molly had gotten used to the inexplicable nature of the pit by this point. "Yeah, the fire won't go out. We all tried. But on the upside, people have been using the flaming pit to roast marshmallows!" She pointed over onto a corner of the sidewalk, where a vendor had set up a stand to sell marshmallows, hot dog wieners, and roasting sticks.
The older man's interest had been hooked. "Well, I'm sold! Long burn the pit!"
OXOXOXOX
After the visit to the flaming pit, Libby got a call from her mom and had to leave to help out at the book store. Their quintet down to a quartet, they ended their town tour and found someplace to relax. They found an open picnic table in the park and sat down.
"Brighton's definitely gotten a lot brighter since I lived here!" Adia remembered her hometown being in a downward slump when she left it. In all her years traveling around the globe, the thought of coming back to where she was born rarely crossed her mind. But seeing it with new life, and meeting the people that lived here, she understood why Scratch wanted her to come visit with him.
Molly was filled with pride for her town. "Yep! It's living up to its name!" Save for the random raccoon attacks and the strange abundance of bird deaths, it was a really nice place to live.
As much as Scratch loved sitting down, he'd actually been enjoying walking around after being stuck on a bus for a few hours. "After climbing mountains and trekking through the jungle, it makes a walk in the park REALLY feel like a walk in the park." He stretched his arms behind his back, hoping he wouldn't hear his old bones creak.
"Ooh! Is that what you did before you came here?" Molly's eyes sparkled with wonder. Scratch had kept quiet about his adventures for the past month so he'd have stories to tell Molly when he came to visit.
Adia was also reminded that her best friend hadn't had a chance to catch up with his other best friend since they arrived. "If you two want to take a walk and swap stories, go ahead."
The teen girl did want to spend some time with her long-distance bestie, though she didn't want to leave her boyfriend and her newer friend behind. "What about you two?"
"We'll be right here when you get back." Ollie was on the same page as Adia. Molly and Scratch had been apart for a year, they needed time to themselves.
Molly and Scratch accepted their offer and wandered off, the former leading the way with a promise of showing the man a tree she'd planted that had almost reached her height. It was down to just Ollie and Adia at the picnic table.
"Soooo…" Ollie tried to think of something to talk about. "Do you have any questions about… any of this? Like the town, ghosts, the flaming pit…"
Adia tapped her chin, there was something she'd heard that had her curious. "Actually, I would like to ask about a ghost thing."
Ollie breathed a bit of relief. "Oh, I can definitely answer any ghost questions! What would you like to know?"
"You said before that Sally Tugbottom is the current chairwoman of the Ghost World. How did that happen?" Adia asked, unaware of how connected Ollie was to the answer.
The boy froze momentarily, pulling himself back while trying to figure out how to explain this. Seriously, out of ANY question?! "First, how much has Scratch told you about the deal with the Chairman robe?"
"He told me he was the ruler of the Ghost World for a bit, then he trained his quote-unquote 'swoopy-haired protégée' to take over for-" Hold up. Hadn't Scratch referred to Ollie as 'swoopy-bangs' during his introduction? "Wait a minute, Scratch was talking about you wasn't he?!" Adia connected the dots.
"Yep. Scratch was my self-proclaimed mentor and cursing teacher." Ollie chuckled. "I was in charge after Scratch but had to step down after a few months. The robe chose Sally as my regent to rule until I become a real ghost." He couldn't have come up with anyone more suited than Sally. She was dependable, a good leader, and her bear was well-behaved towards the Ghost Council. She'd been passed up during the initial chairman search, but her actions had made her the runner-up for the position.
Adia raised an eyebrow. "Why'd you step down?" Oh boy, she was opening a can of worms. And she'd opened cans of worms before, her and Scratch went fishing once. He fell overboard and got a hook stuck up his nose-getting off-topic here.
Taking a deep breath, Ollie prepared himself. "It's kind of a long story-" Not too long if it got resolved by chapter 11. "But the same memory loss that Scratch went through when he was a wraith happened to me. Only it got accelerated by me burning myself out from overworking and constantly jumping in and out of my body."
"Oh, oh no." Adia was concerned by what she had just heard.
"Molly brought me back to my senses. I couldn't keep being the Chairman while I was still alive, so I had to give up my position for now." Ollie recounted.
Adia felt bad for bringing this up. Scratch had never mentioned anything about this and for a good reason. "I'm really sorry, that had to be difficult for you. No one at your age should have to deal with… well, all of that."
Ollie smiled sadly. "It's alright, I'm doing better now." He didn't immediately get better overnight, it took some time for Ollie to completely recover from the aftereffects of the incident. His physical and mental health took a big hit. He never needed everyone's support more than he did afterward. "It's thanks to my friends and family, they helped me heal and looked out for me."
"I've only met one member of your family, but I know you have amazing friends." Adia looked over in the direction Molly and Scratch had gone. Before she'd even met the rest of the Ghost Friends, she'd figured they were a strongly knit group.
Following her lead, Ollie also gazed out towards the park. "Yeah, they are amazing." One standout memory from school crossed his mind. "I was exhausted and low on energy, it took until right before middle school graduation to get my body feeling like it should. I had my gym final three days after that happened and I fainted during it. Libby was there, and she hauled me over to the nurses' office-"
"HEY YOU GUYS!"
A very distinct voice interrupted the conversation. The two could see Scratch off in the distance, shouting out loud instead of walking over to them. "THERE'S A LITTLE GIRL SELLING CUPCAKES! DO YOU WANT ANY?"
"Do you want one?" Adia turned to Ollie, who shook his head 'no'. "NO, THANKS, WE'RE GOOD!" She shouted back.
"COOL!" They could just barely see the man giving them a thumbs up before going out of sight again.
That happened. Now to pick the conversation back up. "That sounds like it was really rough." Adia empathized.
"It was," Ollie sighed. His mental health at the time had fared just about the same. "I only made it harder on myself. My stress levels were increased and my emotions felt out of whack. I was a mess." He gave a single, mirthless laugh. He'd always gotten nightmares when he was stressed out, long before moving to Brighton. Previous nightmares had involved guilt for his ghost hunting past, or his parents abandoning him if they found out he no longer hunted ghosts. The latest addition to his nightmare collection was losing himself, of what could have happened or if it happened again.
"I was beating myself up for unintentionally hurting the people I loved." His own family had thought they'd lost him. How could he have done that to them? "But they all understood I had no control over it. Everyone just gave me unconditional support and affection, and no one gave me more of that than Molly." Whether he needed to take a walk and get some fresh air, or when he felt super tired and needed a hug and a shoulder to cry on, Molly was there. She held his hand when he needed to ground himself out of his own head. She held him close and let him nuzzle up to her. And of course, they'd finally gotten to the point in their relationship where they would give each other kisses, ON THE LIPS!
Adia grinned. "You two are very close aren't you?" It wasn't hard to see that those two teens were crazy about each other. Ollie lit up when talking about his girlfriend, it was really sweet.
Ollie bashfully rubbed his neck. "We've been through a lot together these past few years. We even had our first real fight as a couple late into freshman year."
"Seriously?! What could possibly get you two into a fight?"
"Stage magic." Ollie spoke seriously. "It lasted almost a week."
Moving on and not elaborating any further, Ollie continued with what he'd been saying before. "Molly has always been there for me when I needed her, and I've always done the same for her when she needed me." For as much as Molly helped him when he was at his lowest, he wished that she'd never need him to do the same for her. Then Scratch left. Losing Scratch really hurt Molly, but she knew he was happy and could support his second chance at life even if it meant not being a part of it.
Then, at the end of the same summer, sweet, old Patty passed away. Patty had no regerts so she did not become a ghost. Molly avoided grieving until she learned Patty wasn't a ghost, she was truly gone. She'd lost two friends that summer and her mental well-being took a dive for the first two weeks of high school. It took everyone to help her grieve and start healing, but it was Ollie that she truly opened up to about her feelings. "She's always got such a big heart. So when it's hurting…"
Adia figured what he meant. "Like when her best friend didn't remember her." Once she reunited with her childhood friend, Adia could tell someone else had given him the spark to live (though she had no idea how literal that was). He didn't know himself, but he confided in her that he still felt incomplete. He was missing an important piece of his soul.
"Yeah." Ollie confirmed sadly.
"It hurt when I left Todd when we were kids. And it hurt when he never followed through on meeting up as adults. There were so many times I would regret not answering his texts… and how badly I hurt him. But if he suddenly forgot all about me… I couldn't even imagine how I'd hold up." Adia confessed. She'd seen Molly as such a strong, bright girl. But to be that strong she needed people like Ollie by her side to restore her light when it starts to flicker.
"It wasn't easy for any of us, but after what we thought was the end, everything sorted itself back into place. I mean, just look at them now!" Ollie cracked a grin and pointed to where he could see Molly and Scratch in the middle of a conversation of their own.
Scratch was in the middle of recounting his past month of adventures to Molly. "-I even gave a monkey a shower!... I do NOT recommend it!" This earned a chortle from the girl.
The two at the table couldn't hear what the other two were talking about, but they could see the joy radiating off of them clear as day. "That girl truly does 'enhappify' everyone and everything around her. No wonder Todd started using that word… though I still don't get what 'sweet baby corn' means?"
"It's a catchphrase." While Ollie had no idea how that one got started, as a supportive boyfriend he accepted it as one of her cute quirks. "Enhappify is less of a catchphrase and more of her core ideal. I've got one too, 'engoodify'." Out of every person on the planet, he found the one who also had their own 'en-something-ify' mentality. Ollie knew pre-destined soulmates were not a thing (he checked), but he was certain the connection he and Molly had was special.
"Oh wow, there's another word. Think it'll bug Scratch if I use it?"
"Absolutely!"
"Wonderful!" Adia cracked a mischievous grin. She cared for her best friend more than anyone, yet sometimes it was fun to get on his nerves. Kept things from getting boring. "In all seriousness-" She went back to the prior subject. "It's very reassuring that you two have each other to help deal with trauma and the hard stuff."
Ollie caught the bittersweet way she kept her eyes down with a small smile. "That's how you and Scratch are too, isn't it?"
The boy saw right through her. Did this kid have a sixth sense for empathy or something? "Ever since we found each other again. He travels light, but his emotional baggage is heavier than the one you helped me get off the bus. Plenty of nights we'd stay up talking, sometimes it's just catching up on the little things, a lot of times it's rebuilding the trust and support we let break down over the years. Scratch-he's dealt with more than his share of difficult times and if there's any way I can help him manage his issues, then I will."
"You and Scratch are truly important to one another." Ollie could feel it in the weight of her words, the relationship once burned had been reforged into a stronger one. However, there was still something he wasn't sure of. "If you don't mind me asking, what IS the nature of your relationship with Scratch?"
"Come again?"
"I mean, are you two in a relationship or are you just friends…?" Ollie clarified, a little embarrassed to ask.
Adia needed to think about it… she'd say they were more than friends but not exactly romantic. With great timing, she spotted Scratch further out in the park still walking with Molly. The older woman cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted like they'd done earlier. "HEY SCRATCH! ARE WE DATING?"
The man in the distance paused, also trying to come up with the answer. "I DON'T KNOW!... DO YOU WANT TO?"
"SURE, WHY NOT?"
"COOL." She could see Scratch giving her a thumbs up, totally chill over what had just happened. Molly was not chill and could be seen freaking out around him.
Ollie was flabbergasted at how casual that was. Adia turned back around like it was no big deal. "Guess that answers that." Somehow it only raised further questions. Ollie was pretty sure these two weren't the types to kiss or go on dates. He should ask Andrea later if there's a better term for what describes their bond.
Remembering how their talk got started, Adia snapped back to another question she'd been holding onto. "Speaking of answers, I do want to ask you one last question." Ollie listened and gave her a nod to go ahead. "Since you're free from being the chairman, what's next for you? Do you have any other goal for yourself?"
Two years ago, the day before he got the robe, Ollie had been asking that very same question. He thought he'd found the answer, but it became much more complicated than he'd anticipated. He's grown and matured since then, and time has let him figure out how to answer that question. "You know, I really enjoyed helping ghosts figure out their unfinished business and letting them find closure. It really felt like I was making a difference to them. During my time recovering, and even months after when my stress would get really bad, I was on the other side of the process. My friends and family helped me manage how I was feeling, and Libby pushed me and Molly into talking to a therapist about… as much as we could without letting the truth about ghosts slip. Helping others and being helped, it's got me interested in becoming a therapist."
"Really?" Adia raised her brows in surprise.
"It's something I can do to help anyone, living or dead." Ollie had a lot of studying to do to reach his new-ish goal, but it would be worth it. He'd engoodify the world by helping those who were struggling with their own inner turmoils. It wasn't some grand plan to fix every problem out there, but it was what Ollie could give.
"I think that's a wonderful dream." Adia sincerely believed.
Ollie had one more dream for his future, one he didn't feel he needed to say aloud just yet. Once they were old enough, he wanted to get married to Molly. Then, further down the road, the two could start a family of their own. They were only sixteen now, they had many years before that dream could be realized. Even with those dreams for his future, Ollie wanted to live in the now. He only had one life after all.
"How about you, Adia? Do you and Scratch plan to keep traveling the world?" Ollie wondered, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.
The older lady grinned. "You bet! It took so long to realize our dream, we're going to travel and explore the earth probably till the day one of us dies. And who knows, maybe we'll move back to Brighton if we become ghosts."
"If that ever happens, we'd be happy to have you."
The sun was beginning to set, an orange hue had snuck up on the blue sky. Ollie saw movement from behind Adia and leaned to the side to get a better look. There was a bubbly girl excitedly waving at them. "Ollie! Adia!" Molly eagerly beckoned them over. Scratch stood by and let his best friend expend her energy rather than him.
Seeing their partner's coming back, Ollie and Adia got up and walked over to meet them halfway. The teenage boy felt butterflies in his chest when he saw his adorably happy girlfriend illuminated by the sun's golden rays. "Hey Molly, you two have fun?"
Molly reached out and took Ollie's hand in hers. "You two need to see this! There's a swarm of fireflies over by the park entrance! They look all bright and glowy like a thousand tiny stars!" Her eyes sparkled when she spoke. "Come on, we'll show you!" The enhappifier led the way with her companions in tow.
Scratch and Adia walked a few paces behind the young couple, getting into their own chat. "Adia, I realized that I have made a horrible mistake!"
"You finally realize orange shorts clash with that blue Hawaiian shirt of yours?" She guessed.
"Does it?!" Scratch gasped, boy he was not ready to hear about her opinions on his socks and sandals combo. "I mean it's supposed to be all lively colored to bring out my renewed vigor-Wait no that's not it! I realized all this time after remembering I was a ghost, we've never taken Sharkie to the ocean!"
Adia was well acquainted with the ghost shark he'd created. "I've never swam with a ghost shark before, you might be onto something." She'd swum with regular sharks (and one very confused dolphin), and Sharkie was much smarter than any of them. "We'd have to find a place with no endangered sea life. Can't risk another international incident."
"It was a NEAR-international incident! No one ever found out it was me who sat on that-"
Molly and Ollie were only sort of listening to the discussion behind them. The couple had caught each other's eyes and shared loving smiles. "So Olliepop, what were you and Adia talking about while we were off?" Molly tilted her head curiously, the remaining golden sunshine sparkling around her. Ollie still thought it wasn't as stunning as her resilient and loving heart.
Back to what she asked, Ollie coyly grinned and looked aside. "Not much, Mollberry. Just life… though I might have told her about this really awesome girl I know." The orange color of the sky lit up Ollie's features, most noticeably the soft way his eyes settled upon her. Molly had to contain her happy squeal while she leaned in closer to her boyfriend, forever grateful to have found this boy who loved her as much as she loved him.
Ollie rested his cheek against Molly's head while they walked. Life would continue on for everyone. There would be good times and bad times. But Ollie was never alone, he had Molly, his family, his friends, so many people to share in all that was to come. He was certain that they all had a bright future to look forward to!