21st November 2019

RENEE

I stared at the PDF I'd written down three months ago, comparing the traits of Oliver Jameson to the love of my life, Noah Stark.

From the way his hair fell upon his forehead, to the little smile he gave me, from his obsession with marshmallows to his ever calculating brain, I concluded that they were the same person.

And I'd gone paranoid for no reason.

"I messed up, Cloves," I told her sadly, my blotchy face meeting hers. "I shooed away Noah for no reason, and now he's never going to want me back ever again."

"Ren, it's two in the morning," Clover sat down next to me, her eyes droopy from lack of sleep. "You've whined enough about Noah. If you feel like you've made a mistake, then go and apologise to him in the morning."

"But is he Noah?" I cried out. "What if he's a clone?"

Clover rolled her eyes. I'd been torturing her for the past six hours, whining about Noah and regretting my sudden burst of anger. All Cloves had exuded was patience, but I could see that she was running thin on it, growing snappy with every passing second.

"Clones don't exist-"

"We're talking about Johannes here, he can make anything possible-"

Clover yawned loudly, much to my dismay. I turned away from her, glancing at a piece of Noah's handwriting upon the pdf, looking nearly identical to that of Oliver's.

"You're growing irrational, Renee Durvont," She sighed, falling onto my bed and lying on her back. "I'd suspected Grandma Phyllis before, but she's right. You have been severed."

I didn't say anything. I was scared to accept the possibility that I could be severed.

"Go to sleep, Ren," Clover mumbled.

I turned away from her, noting the breaking news that had cropped up on my feed.

Mysterious Teen hacks into LOLtube, warns viewers about the Death video.

The much-awaited music video, performed by LOLtube, titled 'Let's all Die!' was scheduled to be released at midnight, on their official website. Unfortunately, the website had been hacked before the release, now displaying the video of a man, dubbed as GhostGuy by the fans.

"He seems sketchy," Says Karen, a fan of LOLtube for nearly a year. "Why would the LOLtube plan to kill us and possess us? It's all messed up."

While fans speculate the reason behind his warning, Gordon, a professional hacker, is amazed by the skills of GhostGuy.

"I've never seen anything like this," He said. "There's no way to trace the source, it stays hidden no matter how much we've tried to trace it."

The police are trying to track down the mystery man, while the members of LOLtube are being investigated. Meanwhile, GhostGuy is trending all over the internet for his charming ways, despite his face hidden by a tacky ghost costume.

Tap on the link below to listen to GhostGuy's speech.

"Cloves, you might want to see this," I told her, only to find her fast asleep on my bed.

"Mmm?" She snored, before turning around and pulling the blanket over her head. I smiled at her, I didn't want to trouble her when she was this exhausted.

I clicked on the link, my mind reeling from what I'd just read. But even that hadn't prepared me for the video.

There sat a guy shrouded by darkness, a vague silhouette of a ghost costume visible in the faint light of the camera. He had sunglasses on his face, which added a funky touch to the grim atmosphere.

"Hi, I'm here to warn you," His voice was upbeat, amiable even and I found myself paying attention immediately.

"I know you're all here like, 'Who the heck is this lame dude, thinking he's going to warn us and shit'... Trust me guys, I'd do that too, I look so shady with this white sheet and stuff, but, warning you is more important, so here we are..."

I cracked a smile. This guy was charming, and we hadn't even seen his face.

"Anyway, the LOLtube aren't who you think they are. Remember that guy, Mike Durvont? You probably know him as Jeff Catcher of LOLtube. The thing is, this dude didn't commit suicide. He was murdered."

I paused. Not only was his voice familiar, but he'd gotten the facts right.

Did I know this guy?

"You see, Jeff was being mind-controlled or whatever the heck you humans call it. And, that's exactly what the LOLtube want to do to you: CONTROL YOUR MIND AND CREATE AN ARMY!"

The guy was gesticulating wildly, and I noticed the sheet slip off his left wrist. He had a black watch in his hand, the same one Oliver / Noah often wore.

Wait.

"I know that this sounds insane, and I don't blame you. All I'm saying is: Be careful, guys. Don't buy stuff from their webpage, especially anything edible, because that's how they get your info, and control your mind. I've already asked the authorities to look into their business, and I still had to warn you, so yeah. I hope you never get to see me again, and that LOLtube is shut down for good. Bye."

And then the video clip blanked out.

My breaths were shaky, my eyes wide as I stared at the screen.

Why in the world would Noah Stark be GhostGuy?

And why would he stop LOLtube, if he was working with Johannes?

I needed answers.

I stood up from my bed, casting a glance at Clover who was fast asleep.

I was going to talk to Noah now.

*****

I'd never left my house at three in the morning.

Soft snowflakes drifted from the sky, dancing gracefully in the gentle wind, and settling down upon my hoodie. Some of them tickled the tip of my nose, some getting caught in my fringes and others drifting away to freedom as I trotted quickly upon the sidewalk.

During my small talks with Oliver Jameson, he'd found time to describe where his house was, surprisingly only three blocks away from mine. Despite being friends, I hadn't exactly visited his house, but now I had a reason to.

I found his place, a three-storeyed building with each floor housing a flat. I remembered vaguely that he lived on the first floor and sure enough, the flat was under the name, Theodore Jameson.

Also known as Sir Johannes, the criminal mastermind of the Spirit Realm.

I swallowed. What was I thinking?

Johannes would be with Noah. He was his fake dad after all, and he was still a hundred per cent evil, now waiting for his revenge for evading him back in August.

I could still remember the day he'd thrown the lightning bolt at us. If it weren't for the Shield, I would've been destroyed out of existence.

How could Noah work with someone like that? He hadn't seen Johannes's evil side, only Cloves, the LOLtube gang and I had faced him a few months ago.

Was that a reason he'd been easily brainwashed?

Tears stung my eyes, threatening to freeze upon my eyelashes against the biting cold. I tucked my fingers in my pockets, deciding to confront Noah in the morning when he would be Johannes free, and I wouldn't be running high on anxiety.

I turned around, hating myself for taking the most irrational decisions ever. Cloves were right, I had been severed. Only that would explain why I was acting like the world's biggest idiot.

That's when I heard the door bolt open.

"Noah-" My words fell back into my throat as I stared at the man standing in front of me. He didn't look surprised, rather nonchalant as his dark eyes bored into mine. Something was unsettling in his silence, the way he twirled his dark goatee as he thought about ten different ways to murder me.

I stepped back immediately, knowing that I'd walked right to my death. Any moment now, Johannes would hurl the lightning bolt at me, obliterating me out of existence.

"Do I look like Noah Stark, girl?" He rolled his eyes. "He's taller, younger and has a terrible bout of rage."

"Um... I came here to see him," I blurted out, unable to digest the fact that I was talking to the criminal mastermind.

"Well, Noah Stark isn't here," Johannes spat out. "Did you think I'd let him live after he'd betrayed my wondrous LOLtube plan? I killed him right on the spot, girl and now he's buzzing away to the Spirit Realm."

I gaped at him, flummoxed.

Noah was dead?!

"The funeral is at seven in the morning," Johannes went on. "I must still buy a coffin and the flowers... I cannot abandon him just yet. I know that I despise him, but I am a respectable man too."

"I... What?" I blurted out. "Are you... Is this a prank?"

"A prank?" He threw his head back, laughing loudly. "Renee Durvont, do you think I've got nothing better to do than prank you at three in the morning?"

I stared at him, completely confused.

"You've got to be lying," I spoke aloud, trying to reassure myself. "You wouldn't risk killing Noah, because you brought him to the Earthly Realm, didn't you? And it's highly unnecessary too, you'd rather entrap him in the Pit of Darkness than let him run free..."

Johannes blinked. Then he opened the door wider, gesturing for me to go up the stairs.

"I can see why he needs you, girl. While he acts more on his emotions, you jump to logic, even in this severed state of yours." He smiled at me, which even reached his soulless eyes.

Strange.

"He's upstairs?" I asked, wanting to get away from Johannes as fast as possible.

"Yes, he's in his room," He gave me a smirk. "And he's not wearing clothes, apparently having a rather inappropriate dream about you-"

I closed my ears, but I could still hear his laughter follow me up the stairs. I found the door, already open, and I slipped inside, hoping that I wouldn't run into Johannes's minions.

The news blared on the television, speaking about the mysterious GhostGuy and how he'd singlehandedly saved every follower of LOLtube. To my surprise, I found Sam curled up on the couch, his laptop open in front of him. Thankfully he was asleep, sparing me a conversation.

I padded around the house, finally halting in front of a locked door. This had to be Noah's room, and I knocked softly, hoping that he'd open it.

Five minutes later, there was still no response. I placed my hand on the metal doorknob, twisting it slightly to notice that the door hadn't been locked.

And that Johannes wasn't lying.

Soft moonlight fell upon his sheets in a sharp sliver, right across his jaw to the relaxed muscles of his neck. His eyes were closed, his eyelashes grazing his cheekbones that appeared white in the diffused light. As my irises dilated in the darkness, I found myself staring at the toned muscles of his arms, his chiselled chest and wondered how they'd feel under my touch.

Ignoring my barely rational mind, I collapsed into the chair next to his bed, feeling like a total stalker as I observed him, mesmerized. His lips were slightly parted, softer in hue than his olive skin, now muted in the shadows.

Tearing my eyes away from his nearly perfect frame, I glanced around his room, hoping to remain on the border of innocent thoughts. His window was frozen with ice, the hazy view of the lights outside making it strangely magical. His walls were light cyan, as calm as his blue eyes, and then again, I stole another discrete glance at him, only to meet those very blue eyes almost instantly.

"You've been staring at me for five minutes, and I've been telling the world you aren't a stalker," He smirked, his deep voice reverberating through the room.

I stilled, knowing very well that he'd said something similar in the PDF. The day I'd built my realm, I'd been staring at my reflection, not noticing his arrival.

"Congrats Ren, you've finally decided to visit me," He said sarcastically, sitting upon his bed, only giving me a better view of his toned abs.

He was parroting the lines from that day we'd first met in the Realm. There was subtle, and then there was Noah Stark, hinting at the tiniest of things.

Maybe I didn't have a single memory of Noah Stark.

But I had the PDF, and for the first time in months, I felt like it was good enough.

*****

(A/N : I'm really sorry for the late update guys. I'll try to be more regular in the following weeks. Hope you're all doing well. 😊)