2nd December 2019

NOAH

Renee's house was the complete opposite of Clover's.

Everything was set in its right place, with the beige sofa blending with the walls, complemented by the creamy white curtains and carpet. The fireplace was lit, and the mantelpiece was decorated with pictures of the family, depicting happier times.

My eyes drifted to the wall on my right, where a large picture of Mike had been put up. It was taken in mid-laughter, with his eyes crinkled at the sides, and his mouth set in that easy grin that was unique to him. His hair was light brown as Mrs Durvont's, wavy in the wind and falling effortlessly onto his face. Exactly how Clover had always described.

Under his picture was a bronze plaque with writing. I peered closer, trying to read out what it said.

MICHAEL REUBEN DURVONT

I try not to laugh at my jokes, but we all know I'm hilarious.

I cracked a smile.

Mike Durvont didn't deserve to die that young. He still had so much to accomplish in the human world.

Maybe he'd still be living if evil J hadn't murdered him.

"That was my son," Mrs Durvont started in a low voice. "He was a member of the LOLtube, known as Jeff Catcher."

"I've met him, Mrs Durvont," I told her softly. "He already knew about Ren and me, back in August."

"Did he?" Mrs Durvont threw Ren a pointed look. "And I'm here, just finding out about you two!"

"Mom, it's a long story," Renee started.

"But Mike got to meet him!" She scoffed. "Tell me, Renee, am I the kind of mother who would forbid you from dating someone? I'm like your friend, and you don't have to hide these things from me!"

"I've tried telling you-"

"No, you haven't. I've had to forcibly extricate information from you. I don't know how you kids manage to date with helmets, but whatever it is, I want to know what my daughter is up to!"

"Fine," Renee sighed. "Mom, I'm sorry I haven't introduced Noah sooner. And yes, we met through helmets."

"How does that work?" Mrs Durvont asked, now more curious than furious.

"Well, I had a similar helmet, Mrs Durvont, and one day Renee's signal randomly picked up on mine," I told her, trying to make up a sensible story.

"Really? What happened after that?" She asked eagerly.

"We would talk to each other every day. Then we began to meet," I explained.

"Is that why you went to Clover's grandmother's house?" Mrs Durvont asked Ren, who simply nodded.

"This is so interesting!" She grinned at us. "I can't imagine Renee finding love, she's always stuck in her room, fiddling with screws and wires and keeping to herself all day. I've been worrying so much about her, wondering why she wasn't like the other girls, but now," She did a little dance with her hands. "I am very happy!"

I smiled back at her, before noticing that Ren had a stony look on her face. She appeared as if she wanted to retort, but she was keeping the words down, just for my sake.

I wondered how Mrs Durvont had a knack to sound polite, and yet actively insult her daughter while ending the conversation on a positive note.

The ISA would've gone insane trying to figure out what was going through her head.

"Noah, where do you live?" Mrs Durvont started again, guiding me to the kitchen as she pulled out a jar of cookies.

"Just a few blocks away, Mrs Durvont," I told her. "I've moved into the neighbourhood recently."

"I'm assuming that you're in school too?" Mrs Durvont threw me a careful look. "Not that I have anything against Renee dating a college student, but-"

"I'm in the same grade as her," I blurted out hurriedly. "We even have most of our classes together."

"Oh, that's nice," She smiled again. "Very convenient too. No wonder her grades have been dropping recently-"

"Mom!" Renee yelled in horror. "Noah has nothing to do with my bad grades. In fact, he's been helping me out of my tough spots."

"Has he?" Mrs Durvont raised an eyebrow, "He doesn't look like the geeky type, to me, does he? More like the-"

"Well, appearances can be deceptive!" Renee cut her off, her cheeks fuming red. "And Noah is the smartest guy I've ever met. He's so effortlessly intelligent, it's amazing!"

I blushed at Renee's words. Is that what she thought about me?

Mrs Durvont drew back, sending another suspicious look toward her daughter. Then the look disappeared as quickly as it came, her face back in that pleasant smile.

"That's wonderful, Renee. I'm really glad for you," She passed us a plate of cookies and milk. "I just wish that you'd share these things with me, that's all."

"Okay mom, I will," Renee told her through gritted teeth, before turning towards me. "Are you happy to meet mom?"

I felt the beads of sweat on my forehead, as Mrs Durvont gave me an expectant look. I nodded, before ending it with a sheepish smile and laugh.

I could see why Renee steered clear of her mom. Every conversation with her felt like an interrogation, not knowing what the ideal response was.

And yet, despite her shortcomings, I could sense that she loved her daughter deeply. Maybe she was rude, maybe she couldn't stop herself from the insults, but beneath all that, she only wanted her daughter to be happy.

As someone who'd been recently abandoned by his parents, I couldn't help but crave a parent who cared about me like this.

Yes, even with the insults and everything.

*****

"Boy, where have you been?" Was Johannes's way of welcoming me as I walked into the apartment. "Eleven in the night is no time for a young man to return home."

I noticed that he was now upon his favourite armchair, sipping wine and watching some black-and-white movie on the television.

Which meant that he was bored and waiting to start some drama, now that I was here.

"I was at Renee's house," I muttered.

"Sure you were," He drawled. "I can see on your face that you've been in close quarters with her... With messy hair and that swollen lip-"

"Goodnight Johannes," I sighed tiredly.

"Claire called me," Johannes continued to speak. "Apparently some student had approached her, saying that the trending GhostGuy was none other than Oliver Jameson."

I froze in my tracks.

Did they know about me?

"This student, Chantelle Prince, not only accused you but also came up with evidence proving that you are GhostGuy. Claire was a ninety per cent sure until I managed to convince her otherwise."

"You convinced Miss Claire?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, Noah Stark. It's a part of our deal... To protect your identity no matter what," He told me with conviction.

"Thanks, I guess," I shrugged, as my mind reeled to a few days ago, when we'd been scouring through Chantelle's messages. I remembered that the LOLtube had told Chantelle to report me to the police.

But, why had she gone to Miss Claire instead?

"Also, do you know why Chantelle approached Miss Claire?" I added, just as I reached the door.

Johannes gave me a knowing smile.

"I think it's Sam's story to tell, not mine," He answered. "And now if you excuse me, I've got a movie to watch."

With that, he turned towards the television again, looking at it with rapt attention that hadn't been there five minutes ago.

I headed back into my room, my eyes heavy with sleep and my body craving my bed like some addictive drug. It had been such a long day, and I hated the fact that I had to go to school tomorrow.

I'd like to say that my night ended there, but it didn't, because that's when I had the dream.

I was back in my room in the Spirit Realm, looking at my bed and the pristine white walls. As Spirits, we were forced to suppress our creativity, so my room had been very boring, very generic and yet, very nostalgic too.

I sat on the bed, feeling the fleece blanket with my fingers and thinking about how comfortable it was. The window looked into the street, where a hundred identical houses had been laid down by the ISA. I couldn't help but compare how different life in the Earthly Realm was, compared to the rigid Spirit Realm.

And then, my door burst open, revealing a smirking Shay.

"Missed me?" She asked, extending her arms. I ran forwards, immediately pulling her into a hug and sensing that her energy was brighter than before.

"Not as much as you missed me," I grinned at her.

"Oh please, I was too busy to miss you," Shay rolled her eyes. "I had to run the Astrascends all by myself."

"You're a half-Enlightened now, so shouldn't it be easier for you?" I pointed out.

At the mention of the word, her smile faltered ever so slightly, and she let out a sigh, before sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Cloves told you?" She asked as she closed her eyes.

"She didn't mention the details," I said.

Shay nodded, before plunging into the story. How Isaac had revealed that he didn't love her, to how she'd gained his powers. How she'd retreated into Renee's Realm before Mike and Violet consoled her to return.

"I didn't think I'd say this, but Violet and Mike are so selfless," She smiled. "I think they're my best friends, Noah. We three end up doing everything together."

"That's nice, Shay. You needed this, especially after Isaac," I smiled.

"Isaac is going to pay," She frowned. "I don't know how or where, but he definitely will."

I nodded, knowing that I'd seen Isaac's betrayal coming. I just hadn't expected it to be this soon.

"So, do you like being a Half-Enlightened?" I questioned Shay.

"I hate it." Was her retort.

"What?! Why?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I know too much!" Shay blurted out. "I've always been in my world, dealing with my problems... But now I've got to deal with other people's problems too? It's a nightmare, Noah!"

"You don't have to actively help them, Shay," I reminded her.

"But I'm the only one who can," She sighed. "Don't get me wrong. I'd do anything to help the people around me. But sometimes, it gets too much."

"Are you talking about something specific?" I asked her.

"No," She drew back, throwing me a careful look. "What gave you the idea... Oh, of course, you know. You know everything about me." She ended.

I stared at her curiously. Did her power just answer her question for her?

It was a really weird thing to witness.

"I'm talking about Violet," Shay explained. "At first, I thought she just saw me as a friend, but, now I'm not so sure."

"Why... Does she hate you?" I asked.

"No, she loves me!" Shay spat out.

"You?!" I nearly laughed. "Does she even know how grumpy you could get?"

"Shut up, Noah. I do have a charming personality-"

"Sure you do," I stifled my laugh. "No wonder people are scared of you and your atrocities."

Shay gave me the finger, paired with a sour look that shut me up instantly.

"I didn't see it at first," Shay sighed. "I always thought that Violet saw me as a friend, but now we've been hanging out a lot-"

"Oh, Shay's getting alone time!" I wolf-whistled.

"Like you haven't," She gave me an evil smirk. "I know exactly what you and Renee have been doing, making out in her bedroom, while her mom was next door-"

"Anyway!" I cut her off, my cheeks reddening. Why did Shay have to know every detail of my private life? It wasn't fair. "Tell me about Violet."

"And now he's suddenly curious," Shay muttered under her breath.

"So, do you know what Violet is thinking?" I asked Shay.

"Yes, and I wish I didn't. Because, I don't know if I can return her feelings," She sighed. "It's scary, Noah. I don't want to hurt her, but how do I tell her that I don't love her?"

"Do you not love her?" I asked.

"Isn't it too soon for me?" Shay pondered. "I'm just moving on from Isaac, healing my past and while I really like Violet, I don't think I love her just yet."

"So, you like her as a friend?" I questioned.

"Maybe even more?" Shay shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just so confused!"

I watched her flustered face. I'd never expected Shay to ask me for advice, especially regarding love. She'd always seen me as a younger brother, a kid somehow, even if we were the same age.

But now, I could see that her opinion had changed.

I pulled out a packet of marshmallows, giving her some and hoping that it could cheer her up. She smiled instantly, before plopping it into her mouth.

Maybe marshmallows don't solve everything, but it does help to ease the pain.

And by the look on Shay's face, I could tell that it was exactly what she needed.

*****