After James and Dex had left, Aleks was once again alone. This time, however, he didn't want to be. He soon ended up venturing out to find another companion.

After traversing a few hallways, he began to hear giant bangs and crashes, presumably coming from outside. He found his way to a door, being perpetually perplexed by the noises. He wrapped his fingers around the cold metal knob and twisted. As soon as the door was unlatched, a stray gust of wind blew it open causing it to slam against the wall as well as Aleks' shoulder.

"Oh, damn!" he screeched. "What the actual fuck?!"

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" another voice yelled over to him.

"What the fuck are you doing over here?!" Aleks yelled as he stepped back to the doorway. He saw a man, face illuminated by a small flame, in a red shirt with short, brown hair and a scruffy beard standing in the small courtyard.

"J-just practicing," the man yelled back.

Aleks walked over to him. "What could you possibly be practicing that does that?" he asked, obviously quite unamused.

The other man seemed extremely confused by the question and looked around nervously. "M-may I ask w-who's asking?" he stuttered out.

"Oh, sorry," Aleks apologized. "It's me Aleks," he put a hand on the other's shoulder, only to spook him further. "The ghost that Jordan forced to be here."

"O-oh right," he laughed nervously. "I'm Steven. Er, Ze. Ah, shit." He looked down and rubbed his fingers together.

"What?"

"Sorry. I'm not the m-most social person, and I'm still a bit spooked by not being able to see you," Ze explained. "My name is Steven, but, please, call me Ze," he said, smiling gently, yet nervously, and unknowingly facing the wrong direction.

"Nice to meet you, Ze," Aleks said, making the other's smile grow wider. "So, what are you doing out here?"

"Oh, yeah," Ze said, remembering what Aleks had previously asked. "I was just out practicing. Honing my skills."

Aleks chuckled a bit. "What do those skills happen to be?"

"O-oh. I'm sorry! I should've explained them sooner! God, I'm clueless today," he laughed nervously before actually explaining. "I can control the elements. Like, fire, water, earth, air, y'know? Fire is my favorite!" he chirped before spraying a shower of sparks from his fingertips. He followed this with a small jet of flame flying from his palm into the air. "The other elements are cool too, though." He lazily flicked his wrist and a small stone lifted off of the ground and flew to his hand. He twirled his fingers and a small twister arose in his hand. He lunged and soon a ball of water flew our way.

"Wow. That's pretty cool," Aleks chirped in awe.

Ze smiled. "I'm glad you like it, Aleks."
His gaze fell onto the grass. "Unlike some of the others around here," he murmured.

Aleks put his hand on Ze's shoulder, once again causing him to jump. "Sorry," Aleks muttered. "But I think that whoever doesn't think that you have some pretty amazing powers is very, very, confused."

Ze smiled again. "Th-thanks, Aleks. D-don't go saying stuff like that around Jordan," he said quietly as if Jordan could hear every word they said, "F-for your own sake."

Aleks nodded once. "Alright. If you say so."

Ze's smile grew brighter. "You're way more tolerable than most of the others, a-actually," he said softly. "I-I think you'd make a good friend." He stuck his hand out, ready for a handshake from the ghost that lingered behind him. "I-if you want, I mean."

Aleks took Ze's hand and shook it firmly, yet gently. "Why not? Seems like I need as much help as I can get around here," he said with a chuckle.

Ze laughed softly. "You really do," he whispered, hoping Aleks wouldn't hear.

"It seems that way... Why do you say it like that, though?" Aleks asked, noting the other's slight sadness that had accompanied his words.

"Oh! Um... Just... Just because. Th-things can get a bit... Crazy around here," he stuttered out. His smile brightened, but his hands shook nervously.

"I suppose, since you seem kinda busy, I'll be on my way," Aleks mumbled, moving to reenter the building.

"I-I'm not busy!" Ze exclaimed, much louder than he had intended. "Please stay," he said softly, words tinged with sorrow.

"Alright, I'll stick around," Aleks said, moving back into the middle of the courtyard. "But you're gonna have to show me some cool tricks."

Ze smiled, and, for once, it was entirely genuine. "Can do, Aleks."

~~~

A/N: Sorry it's so short! This chapter has been sitting here forever and I'm not sure where I was headed. I'll start something much more plot driven soon!!

Either way, I hope you enjoyed!

XOXOXO (ɔˇ³ˇ)ɔ~~~♥