The three boys sit outside the police station in Luke's car. Michael is picking at the chipped black nail polish on his fingers. Luke is chewing on his bottom lip. Calum is watching Luke.

"So... what now?" Michael asked from the back, his voice low. They all turned to stare at the front doors.

The police station had upped their security measures since they had last been there. Luke assumed it was because of the missing files on Calum Hood, which they had so happened to steal.

"Do you think they will recognize us?" Calum asked.

"They can't see you," Michael reminded him.

Calum considered this. "Oh. Right. Then, you guys?"

"They didn't see us steal the files. I'm surprised we haven't gotten questioned, honestly, considering we were asking about them the day before," Luke said.

"Shit police station," Michael offered. Luke had to agree. The moment Ashton had become a suspect, they considered their case closed. Done, over with, despite the complete lack of evidence toward their perpetrator.

Luke turned off the car. "Are you guys ready?" Calum took a deep breath. He felt nervous, for some reason, considering Michael was right. He's invisible. He tried to still his shaking hands, hiding them in his lap.

He still hadn't gotten used to the idea that he wasn't exactly real. It's quite debilitating when you find out you aren't exactly a real human, at least not in the traditional sense. That you have died, but your body has decided to stay on earth, for whatever reason. Caught between two worlds that you aren't really sure you belong in anymore.

Calum startled. Luke was saying his name.
"Calum. Are you coming?" Luke's blue eyes were wide in concern, one pale hand covering his. Calum felt his stomach erupt in nerves, just from the touch.

"Of course," said Calum, removing himself from his seat. "I'm fine."

The three boys walked up to the police station doors. Michael held them open while Luke and Calum walked in.

Lining the walls were about four police officers, arms crossed, silently observing the boys as they entered. There was a considerable increase in the amount of cameras that were tucked into the corners, blinking red lights flashing beside the lens. Calum noticed this all warily, and instinctively moved towards Luke.

"Hi," Luke said, flashing his brilliant and charming smile to the frowning woman at the front desk. "Could we speak to a detective?"

The woman chewed her gum and slowly tapped a few buttons on her office phone before raising it to her ear, calling for a detective. Luke rocked back and forth on his heels, hands in his pockets. Michael was making unnecessary eye contact with one of the officers guarding the door.

At last, a tall man walked out from the doors leading further into the office, a shock of brown hair, grey color creeping into his hairline from the sides. He had wrinkles creasing his eyes and around his mouth, with kind brown eyes.

"Hola!" he said playfully. He had a thick Southern accent. "How can I help y'all today?"

Michael automatically scoffed. Calum elbowed him in the ribs.

"We have some information pertaining to Calum Hood's murder case. We think you might want to hear it," Luke said hopefully. He glanced back at Calum, who nodded encouragingly.

Already the detective was tilting his head, pursing his lips. "Well, boys, you know we already have the perpetrator behind bars."

"He's not the one who did it, shithead," Michael snarled from the back. "If you looked into the case for more than, like, three days, you'd know this."

The detective's eyebrows shot up.

"What my good natured friend Michael means, is that we don't believe that Ashton Irwin committed the crime," Luke said, with a backward glance at the boy. "We recently learned something, actually, about Ashton's father––"

"Ah!" The detective clapped his hands together. "I knew Mr. Irwin back when I was in high school! A good man, he is. I did feel a bit awkward arresting his son, but he was quick to assure us that he thought it was the right decision. Said his son was acting strange recently, always quiet and moody."

"He was quick to assure you because he was the one who shot Calum," Michael said, voice rough.

The detective looked perplexed. "There is no evidence of this. Ashton Irwin confessed that he was guilty."

Michael groaned. "You don't understand. Ashton only said that because––"

"Alright, now, hold on a minute," the detective said, holding up his hands. "You boys look around Ashton Irwin's age, is that right? Were you all friends?"

Luke and Michael mumbled different answers.

"Look." The detective put a hand on both Luke and Michael's shoulders. Michael flinched away from it. "I know it's hard to realize your friend did something bad. But it's our job to make sure the victim gets justice. I'm sure you can understand that."

"But––" Luke tried.

"I'd better get back to work. Take care," he said. The boys watched helplessly as he turned and nodded at the front desk lady before disappearing behind the doors he entered through.

The boys were silent for a moment. "Shit," Michael said. Luke agreed.

They stood there for a few more seconds under the gaze of the four officers lining the walls, and then they made their way back out the front door.

They walked to the car. Michael took the keys out of Luke's hand. He often liked to drive, as long as it wasn't his own car.

"Dammit," Luke said. "This whole town is shit. Do they really have no experience leading actual investigations?"

Michael was brooding. Calum could feel the anger radiating off his skin. He stepped closer to Luke.

They piled into the car, this time with Michael in the driver's seat. Luke sat in the passenger with Calum in the back. As Michael pulled out onto the road, Luke slipped his hand behind the seat, just far enough so that Calum could slip his hand into Luke's. Luke held on tight, sensing Calum's anxiety.

"We'll figure it out," Luke said, more to himself than to anyone else. "We have to. We'll find a way."

Michael grumbled. "It's useless at this point. They're blind to anyone being the perpetrator other than Ashton. All because Ashton is Ashton and he considered himself guilty, when he wasn't."

"He's always taken the blame for things that aren't his fault," Luke said softly. How else could Ashton's father have gotten away with beating him for so many years?

Calum sat in the back, fingers intertwined with Luke's, waiting for his nerves to settle. It felt strange, being here with his best friends while they worked on uncovering his murderer. He couldn't quite believe that he was lucky enough to even have them in his life, and he felt grateful just to have them, even if it's just temporary, in what came after. Calum squeezed Luke's warm, soft hand tighter, not wanting to let go. He watched Luke run a tan hand through his shock of blonde hair, which had turned darker since he had seen him in his past life. Calum regretted the time that he had missed since dying and finding them on that train into town. Luke made him feel different than anyone else had made him feel, something he had struggled to come to terms with for a while, even after he accepted that he had feelings for a boy.

It's hard not to have feelings for Luke. Even being back, seeing him made Calum's hard ache. Those long blonde eyelashes shadowing his bright blue eyes. The necklace around his neck, his broad shoulders and how Calum had to look up in order to kiss him. The feeling of Luke's hands on Calum's hips–– gentle, but strong at the same time. Calum wanted to stay forever, his hand in Luke's. He didn't want to worry about the fact that he was dead. That he was no longer real.

The car slammed to a stop. Calum's cheek hit the back of the seat in front of him. Luke swore.

"Michael, what––" Luke stopped. "Why are we here?"

They were parked in front of Ashton's house. Michael's hands were clenched on the steering wheel, those leather bracelets looped around his wrists. He looked straight ahead.

"Drive back to Calum's, Mike," Luke said, slowly. "What are you planning to do here?"

Michael's jaw worked, clenching and unclenching. "We're fools, you know. They're not going to put Ashton's dad in jail."

"We just need more evidence," Calum piped up from the back. Michael just shook his head.

"We don't have any. We don't even know for sure it was him," Michael said. "But... I mean, hell. He deserves to be in jail. Infinitely more than Ashton does."

Before Luke could stop him, Michael was unbuckling his seat belt and switching off the car. He dumped the keys on the seat as he slid out of the car.

"Michael––" Luke fumbled with his seat belt, opening his car door in time to catch Michael's wrist. "You don't want to do this. This won't put Ashton's dad in jail."

"Trust me, this is the only thing I want to do right now," Michael said.

The boy walked up the gravel driveway to the front door. Luke watched him, eyebrows furrowed. Calum wanted to smooth the crease between them with his fingers.

Calum wasn't quite sure what he was expecting Michael to do.  Calum didn't realize why Luke was so concerned until Michael knocked on the door, and then immediately swung his arm and punched the man who opened it.

Luke swore again.

Michael was gripping Ashton's father's collar, landing another punch to his jaw. Calum saw Ashton's father spit a wad of blood on the gravel by the steps.

Calum hoped that was the end of it, but Ashton's dad seemed eager to fight back. He grabbed a glass bottle from inside and swung it against Michael's head. It shattered against Michael's skull, Michael ducking in pain as blood and glass shards littered the doorstep.

Ashton's dad punched Michael in the gut while he was doubled over. Michael coughed up red. Michael still had a hand on the man's collar, and he used it to push him further into the house.

The two disappeared behind the door. Calum could hear glass shattering, a couple yells. Luke said, "Shit, shit, shit." He reached over and pulled Calum close, staring at his phone in his other hand as though it will yield the solution to this particular problem.

"I feel like I should do something," Calum said, worried. "It's my fault he's fighting Ashton's dad. I was the one who got killed."

"Oh, God, don't think like that," Luke said, pressing his lips to Calum's forehead. "That's what got Ashton in jail in the first place."

Calum stayed silent for a few moments, letting Luke rub small circles over the fabric of his shirt onto his shoulder. "I still feel like I should go in."

"You don't know how to fight," Luke reminded him. "You would get obliterated."

Calum chewed his bottom lip. "I don't think so. He can't see me, remember?"

Before Luke could protest, Calum slipped from underneath his arm and began heading toward the house. Luke sighed. "Calum, please don't––"

"I'm not letting Michael get arrested, too," Calum said, voice a little stronger. Luke looked worried, and he turned his face toward the road.

"I think it's a little too late for that," he said. Calum heard them just a moment after Luke did. Sirens, wailing a little too close by. It was only then that Calum noticed the neighbors, standing on their front porches, looking over at the noise coming from Ashton's house.

Calum broke into a run. He had to get Michael out in time.

Calum slipped through the front door, stepping over the bloody glass on his way in. It crunched under his shoes as he made his way into the house. Picture frames were shattered on the ground, little spots of blood on random pieces of furniture, on the floor, on the walls. He followed the destruction and the noise deeper into the house. He felt nervous, despite being invisible. He'd be lying if Ashton's dad didn't scare him, especially since seeing the vision of him with the gun pointed straight at his face.

Calum heard Michael yell, and he rounded the corner to find Michael leaning on the kitchen counter, blood dripping down his left arm. He had a swollen eye that would inevitable turn black in a couple hours. His lip was cut, and a bruise was just beginning to form on his jaw. He saw Calum and opened his mouth, where red coated his front teeth.

Calum's heart jumped into his throat, before he saw Ashton's dad round the corner. Michael pushed himself off the counter and swung–– landing a fist into Ashton's ribs. Calum thought he heard a crack. Michael nearly fell with the effort of the punch. They had beaten each other to a pulp.

Ashton's dad was even bloodier than Michael. It looked like his right arm was broken, and his face was smeared in red. Calum felt his stomach twist. Blood had never been something he could stomach well.

He forced himself to grab onto Michael's arm, which was slippery from Michael's bleeding. "The cops are here, Michael. We have to go."

Michael pulled his lips back in a snarl. "Like hell."

Calum pulled harder. "You've done the job, okay? Just leave him be so we can leave."

Michael didn't fight against Calum, although he could have. Calum, even alive, wasn't ever strong enough to compare to Michael. "Let me go a little longer."

"A little longer and you might kill him," Calum protested. "Michael, please."

"Talking to the voices in your head, Michael?" Ashton's dad said. Calum tried not to think about how his voice sounded wet.

Michael smiled. "I don't think you'd like what they have to say."

Calum pulled again, harder this time, but before Michael could tear himself away from Ashton's dad, they heard footsteps clambering into the house.

"Shit," Michael and Calum both said.

An officer entered the kitchen, gun raised. "Hands up! On the ground, now!"

Michael was slow to respond. He slowly raised his hands, Calum being forced to step away. Ashton's dad lowered himself to the ground.

Calum watched, finally feeling distant, as the police put both Ashton's dad and Michael into handcuffs. Michael didn't look sorry as the police led them out of the house.

Outside, Luke's hands were in his hair. Calum slid over next to him and they watched as the police placed a hand on the back of Michael's neck, lowering him into the backseat of the cop car.

"We really chose some fucked up friends, didn't we?" Luke mumbled. The police flipped on the sirens as the car pulled out of the driveway, tires crushing gravel. They pulled onto the main road and Calum could see Michael in the backseat, head down.

Calum couldn't help but think that now, he'd gotten two of his friends arrested. All because of him dying. Calum knew it wasn't directly his fault, not really, but he was the catalyst.

Luke tugged on Calum's sleeve. "Come on, love. Let's go bail Michael out of jail."

---
A/N: hi guys happy quarantine! hope everyone is safe and healthy and not letting anxiety about this plague get to them too bad.

additionally-- should I write a dystopian-type story on here? what ship?

anyway i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I love you all to the moon.

bye