I love our story. Sure its messy, but this the story that got us here.

-How I Met Your Mother.

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Remember when I said I couldn't stay oblivious for long. Well I somehow managed to stay oblivious for a few more days. I don't know how I did it but it didn't hit me that people could see me and I was somehow, in someway, human until a random guy at the bus stop yelled at me for standing in the way.

It took a few moments for my brain to reboot. Annoyed, he shoved me out of the way. I finally understood what drove Einstein or whichever famous dead scientist it was that ran naked in the streets shouting 'Eureka!'.

It was like my very own eureka moment. I was confused and filled with a million questions but all I could think was, 'I'm human!'

I couldn't wait to share the news with Gavin, having forgotten that I was avoiding him. I ran all the way to his house, barely breaking a sweat. Through my excitement, I couldn't even feel my muscle exertion. That's the power of a eureka moment, people.

Tom and Leo both hit on me as soon as I burst into the house. Gavin was no where in sight.

'Seriously?' I arched one eyebrow. 'Guys, it me. Vasilisa.'

'Hello beautiful.... Wait. What?' Leo gaped.

I rolled my eyes. 'Yes. Me. The ghost. I'm... human. Somehow.'

'You're beautiful.' Was all Tom could think to say.

I couldn't even be mad at him because I couldn't believe it myself.

I'm human. Corporeal. Not some translucent figment.

It's gonna take a while for that to sink in.

'Gavin!' I hollered at the top of my lungs.

'What?' Came his irritated reply. A few seconds later, he popped out of the kitchen.

'You're back.' He sulked.

I rolled my eyes. 'Notice anything different?' I asked.

'No.' He declared after studying me for a while. 'You look happy. You're usually angry, slightly bitter and grumpy so that's different but other than that, nothing.'

'Gavin, I'm human!' I declared. I couldn't hold it in any longer.

'This is Vasilisa?' Tom asked. 'So not fair, dude.'

'Wait, you can see her?' Gavin frowned.

'I was wondering when you'd notice.' Kelsey grinned, strolling into the living room. She sat on the sofa, next to Leo.

'You've known? For how long?' I asked.

I can't believe I was human for over three days and I didn't notice.

'Since Gavin got shot.' Kelsey piped.

'What! That was like a week ago!' I gasped.

I whirled to face Gavin. 'Take off your shirt.' I ordered.

'Dude!' He protested.

'Take it off. I want to see the tattoo.' I replied.

He slowly peeled off his shirt so as not to disturb his bandaged shoulder. Luckily the bandage didn't cover the tattoo. Or where the tattoo used to be.

All that was there now was Gavin pale smooth chest.

I can't believe I missed the lifting off my curse! I've been dreaming about it for two years and turns out I missed it.

'But how?' I asked.

'I have a theory but it depends....' Gavin trailed off.

'On?' I prompted.

'On what happened to Marge.'

'Oh. She had a great life. Met a guy who loved her, got married, lived happily ever after. The only remotely hard part of her life was letting him go.'

'Confused guy right here. You're gonna have to expatiate on that.' He piped.

'There was another girl. His folks wanted him to marry the other girl. Marge wanted him to be happy so she let him go but he came back to her anyway. Crisis averted.' I rolled my eyes.

'First off, its the twenty first century. Almost no one says folk. And secondly, I thought so.' Gavin piped.

'Thought so what?' I asked.

'I've been doubting the curse for a long time now.  When you told me it wasn't specific, it just confirmed my doubts.'

'What are you trying to say? I wasn't cursed? I just magically turned into a ghost over night and the past two hundred years have  been what? A simple nightmare?' I arched an eyebrow.

'No. Not that. What I'm saying is that I don't think doing good deeds was your curse. Maybe it was part of it. Like a catalyst or a contingency out or something like that but I don't think that was the actual curse.'

'Okay Einstein, what do you think was the actual curse?' I asked sarcastically, crossing my arms.

'Do you remember a few weeks ago, around the time when we helped out at the Callahan's?' He inquired.

'Go on.' Where is he going with this?

'That's when I first really noticed it. Throughout that week, we had been doing good deeds and not even a dot on the tattoo had gone off. And then I remembered the time we volunteered at the library. The second time not the first. That was when you first told me something concrete about yourself. It was the first time you opened up. That night when I was taking a shower I noticed a huge chunk of the tattoo was gone. Far more than what had gone off all week long. And it got me thinking so I started paying attention and every time you tell about yourself or we get closer, a large chunk of it goes off. More so than when we're doing good deeds.' He asked.

I didn't even notice Kelsey silently herding Tom and Leo out of the living room.

'Okay, so what does that mean?' My brows furrowed.

'It means Marge never transferred her curse to you. It was your curse all along.'

'I wasn't a bad person and I'm not afraid of being good so why would my curse be about doing good deeds?' I frowned.

The exasperated look he shot me showed that I should've gotten the point by now.

'Don't you get it? Good deeds was never your curse. You just thought it was because you couldn't figure it out.' He replied.

'Assuming you're correct, what was my curse and why didn't Marge have to live with a curse?' As soon as I asked the question, the answer flowed into my mind.

'She didn't live without a curse did she?' I asked softly. He nodded.

'Her curse was to face her worst fear. That was the fear of losing the one she loved the most like her mother did. And she faced that fear when she let her husband go.' I face-palmed.

How could I have gotten things so mixed up I didn't even realize that?

'But I thought that was my curse.' I whispered. 'I watched everyone I cared about die.'

'Yeah but that was never your curse. I think it knew somehow that you would never let anyone in unless you absolutely had to.' Gavin said.

'So what? It turned me into a ghost and led me to you?' I asked.

'I think so.'

'Why? That makes no sense.'

'What's your greatest fear?' He asked.

'Losing someone I care about. Namely my mother. But I already lost her.'

'That's not your greatest fear. Even now, you're too scared to admit to yourself. What is your greatest fear, Starlight? Be honest with yourself just this once. Why do you always say "care" never "love"? Why do you disappear whenever we're having a moment? Why do you pretend to be this mean uncaring person so no one will ever see the real you or get close enough? You told me that finding out what you grandmother did changed you. In what way? Why did you identify with Marge's mother and not your grandmother?'

My breath was coming out in shallow puffs and my chest was constricting painfully.

I was on the edge of a discovery I didn't want to make. But I could do nothing to stop it. In my heart of hearts, I knew that.

'Because I'm afraid to love.' I said, astonished.

'I'm afraid of love.' I echoed.

'I think what losing Edward did to Marge's mother screwed ul your view on love and turned it to a weapon of hurt and pain in your eyes. And now you're terrified by the mere concept of love.'

I started laughing. High pitched bellying aching guffaws. By the time it turned to tears, I was already sprinting down the street leaving a stabbed Gavin in my wake.

By the time he pulled his wits together, I was already far gone.

'What happened?' Kelsey burst into the room.

'She ran away.' Gavin said, still a little stunned by my erratic behaviour.

'Is she... okay?' From the slight hesitation, it was obvious she wanted to replace "okay" with "losing it".

'She'll be fine. She's the toughest person I know.' Gavin replied with a small unconscious smile.

'Okay, so how do we find her?' She asked.

'She could be anywhere.' Tom said.

'Maybe she went back to her home.' Leo suggested.

'Nah. I know exactly where she is.' Gavin said, picking up his jacket and keys.

'Where is that? Where would she go with when her world has been turned upsidedown?' Kelsey asked.

'She went to see the stars.' He grinned, strolling out the door.

The three exchanged a confused look. Tom voiced what they were all thinking.

'But it's broad daylight outside. Its noon.'

'He has lost it.' Kelsey declared.

***

'How did you know I'd be here?' I asked not bothering to check who it was.

I know its him. His presence filled the room as soon as he stepped inside. It was like my centre of gravity shifted. It wasn't the earth anymore. It was him. Gavin Connor. I could feel the electricity. His electricity.

'It wasn't hard to figure it out. I know you after all.'

'If what you say is true, why do you think the curse is finally broken?' I asked, moving on to the question that has been burning in my mind for hours.

'Because you let yourself love and be loved even if you're not ready to admit it yet.'

I considered his answer for a while, before nodding a little satisfied by it.

'What about Asia? I don't want to be that girl. I don't want to be my grandmother.'

'You won't.'

'But I will. Don't you see! I'm doing exactly what she did. Taking you... Stealing you away from someone. I don't want that. I'll leave. I have to because I can't stay here. I can't be here. I can't watch you love her. I'll die. It'll kill me. I'll move. I'll go back to my hometown. I have some money saved up. All these years, I've been saving it. I figured it would my last hoorah when the curse is broken. I was going to donate it to an orphanage or a foundation to help abused women and children. Over the years, its grown. Its actually a large sum now.'

'You have money saved away? How is that even possible?'

'Well I have a lawyer too. He handles everything and once every year, I go in to see him. You know I can make myself  visible to other people for a while so during the meeting I let him see and hear me and then its over. Until next year again. I've been doing it for the past two hundred years. Its not hard really. And remember how I told you my great grandfather was rich? So yeah, I guess that's the whole story. I'll just take the money and leave. Right now it's in a bank account registered under one of my alias. Cahira Hathaway.'

'Wow. You were one insane ghost. And for God sake, you are not going anywhere. At least not without me.'

'Gavin, you have to understand.' I cried desperately because I can't say no to him. If he asks me to stay, I will even if it kills me.

'You won't hurting Asia because we're not together anymore. She broke up with me.' He said vehemently, shaking me by my shoulders.

'What!' I gaped. 'She's definitely a lot dumber than I gave her credit for. Why would she ever break up with someone half as great as you?'

'Technically, she didn't break up with me. It was a mutual decision. She saw you at the hospital and saw the the painting I made. She connected the dots. Anyway the point is, you have no excuse to run or to hide which is great because I think I'm madly in love with you.'

'You think?' My heart thudded violently in my chest. A fuzzy warmth surrounded me.

He crossed the small distance that was between us so that he was standing in front of me.

'No. I know I am. And so are you.'

'Gee, tell me more about my feelings, would ya?' I muttered sarcastically.

'Star, I've known for a while now.' He grinned, unperturbed by my sarcasm.

'And you only just decided to tell me. How nice.'

'If I had told you then, you would've bitten my head off.' He said, circling my waist with his arms.

'You're telling me now and I'm still going to bite your head off so mission failed.'

'You think?' He asked with a roguish smile.

That was the only warning I got before his lips capture mine in the softest caress.

'I think I love you too.' I sighed breathlessly.

It took two hundred years and a curse to get me to fall in love. I can't believe it.

'Mission accomplished.' He smirked. 'Just out of curiosity, if I hadn't agreed of help you with your good deeds mission what would you have done?'

'I had a mantra for I was going to do if that happened. Wanna hear it?' I asked, intertwining my fingers in the silky hair at his nape. I let my head rest against his.

'Yeah, sure.' He replied with a smile.

'Must haunt the playboy.'

'I'm not a playboy.' He replied indignantly.

'Zip it. You're ruining the moment.'

Author's Note:

This is officially the last chapter of Must Haunt The Playboy. It feels like a part of me has ended. There will be a short epilogue which I will be posting shortly. Thank you all for reading Gavin and Vasilisa's story so far. I hope you enjoyed it even more than I did. This is actually the first story I've written with over twenty chapters. It's a little surreal. Thank you for all your support, votes and lovely comments.

Please share this book with all your wattpad friends -anyone you know on wattpad- to help it get some attention. I really don't want it wither away and become one of the many.

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