Chapter Summary: Vampire and ghost both have protective friends, and they all start to clash as they try to defend their own friend from any 'danger'.

When Casper woke up he had a positive outlook on the morning despite the frightening night he and Thatch went through. Today a lot will change. Today would be better. The ghost slowly got up and reached under his bed, where his new bag of clothes awaited him. He wasn't sure if it was Mantha or Ra that put them there for him, but either way, it was grateful to have such thoughtful friends. He had almost forgotten about the bag of clothes. He fazed out of his PJs, letting them fall lifelessly onto the bed as he went through the bag, picking out the second outfit Thatch had picked out for him.

It was a cute blue shirt that had 'boo' written on the front. Thatch had seen it and just couldn't stop laughing so they had to get it apparently. When Thatch laughed that hard Casper just couldn't say no.

It was paired with some nice 'blue jeans' as Thatch called them. He saw Jimmy wear them a lot too, apparently, they were very common and good to wear if you were doing anything. So Casper put the clothes on along with his socks and shoes, eager to get the day started.

Casper liked this outfit more because it didn't have the jacket, but he did prefer the bat shirt. It just felt more... Well, it was hard to describe. It was like he was carrying a piece of Thatch with him then, a constant reminder the vampire cared for him. But no matter what he wore it was nice, for it was all a gift from the bully.

Once dressed in his new outfit he looked around, seeing everyone groggily getting ready for the day. Ra had just barely pushed the lid off of his bed, looking ever so tired. Casper couldn't help but to smile and go over, helping Ra push the lid back fully. "Sleep well?" He kindly asked.

"Yaaa..." Ra yawned tiredly, lazily tightening a bandage on his wrist like he so often did. "You look awake this morning," he muttered as he looked over the ghost's outfit. He seemed to have no issues with his outfit- probably because it had nothing vampire or bat-related on it.

"Yeah, got back early last night. Actually got some good sleep." Casper happily chimed as he floated by his friend, filled with such energy.

Ra nodded tiredly and started to drag his feet towards the door. Casper only smiled and peacefully went along, opening the door for Ra as they went just to save the mummy the trouble. Honestly, sometimes Ra was so hopeless. He wondered how the mummy would ever function on his own, but it didn't matter as long as Ra had friends. Which he will!

"Can Thatch sit with us this morning?" Casper asked the sleepy mummy as they waited outside the girl's dorm as always, awaiting Mantha. Ra only nodded, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, uh sure- ask Mantha." He yawned. Casper rolled his eyes. Honestly, Ra was completely unable to think in the morning.

"Your hat is on backward, let me help." Casper moved closer, helping Ra adjust his little headwear. Casper always wondered why Ra wore it, or that type of hat exactly. The type of hat was like a beanie, which did not exist in Ra's time- but at the same time, Ra had some sort of gold snakehead on it to make it match his style.

"Thanks," Ra muttered as he reached up, making sure the snakehead was centered now. His hand briefly drifted down to his golden necklace with an engraved beetle on it. Honestly, Ra was so strange... Not just Ra himself, but what he was. Caper knew Thatch was never a fleshie or dead, but what about Ra? Did he have a human life?

Mantha opened the girl's dorms and stepped out, reattaching her arm. "Oh hey, guys. Sorry to keep you waiting." She kindly smiled. Mantha was always so much better in the mornings than Ra. "Aw Casper, you look cute today. Doesn't he look nice- Ra?... RA!" She raised her voice, snapping the dozing mummy awake.

"Oh!" He tensed, looking at Mantha, then to Casper. "Dude, that shirt..." He laughed softly. "It totally suits you," he quickly said. "Boo!" He playfully mocked. Mantha nodded in agreement, seeming to approve of Casper's new style of clothing.

Casper smiled shyly at his friends. "Thanks, guys. Mantha, I wanted to ask if it's ok for Thatch to sit at our table today," he continued.

"Well... If he flips my tray onto my head again I'll give him a piece of my mind- but... Yeah, sure. I'll give him a chance for you." Mantha decided simply. Ra looked confused about how to this was decided- clearly not remembering what he said in his half-asleep state, but he saw no reason to fuss if Mantha of all people seemed content with the idea.

The friendly trio made their way to the cafeteria, where they each got their trays and sat at their normal table. Ra sat beside Mantha this morning, so when Thatch came over he could take the spot beside Casper. The ghost smiled, seeming to notice the small things his friends did to make things easier. He knew he was breaking their routine, but seeing his friends act like it was no big deal brought comfort to him. They honestly cared so much, and it showed in every small action, every careful glance and sheepish smile.

Ra made a motion with his hand and Casper followed it, turning around in his seat only for his heart jump when he saw Thatch walk in. He was with his gang, talking... Casper felt his voice die in his throat and he couldn't find his voice to call out to the vampire. Ra, on the other hand, seemed to have no damn issue.

"Hey, bat-boy!" Ra yelled loudly. "Come here," at this point Casper wished Ra was still half asleep. Honestly, why was Ra sounding so demanding, it was only going to cause a fight or something. Couldn't Ra just, ask and not order?

Thatch turned away from his group, looking over at the trio with narrowed eyes. Ra waved, looking rather pleased with himself. Mantha was trying to ignore the situation, pulling out a book to read while she ate, she wanted nothing to do with this. Everything going on was for Thatch and Casper, she had no business making a fuss. But while Mantha thought Casper would handle this all, the friendly ghost just looked at the floor, unable to meet Thatch's gaze. He felt so jittery. Everything was supposed to change today... It felt so sudden even if they were so eager for it last night.

Thatch glanced back at his friends, who of course did not look overly impressed with Ra's yelling and orders. Thatch seemed to take the situation seriously, and after a few moments hesitation, he walked away from his group and went over to Casper's table. "What you want, bandage boy?" He returned the insult as if it was second nature.

"Come sit with us today," Ra said simply, poking at his breakfast with disinterest. His eyes were only on Thatch, judging the vampire. Ra wanted to see if Thatch really deserved to get so much attention from his dear friend. After all, Ra didn't want anything to happen to Casper. Not when he was around to stop it. "I mean unless there's some more pressing issue." He turned his nose up, his eyes going to Thatch's gang.

Thatch followed his gaze, looking back at his gang. Dummy Girl eagerly waved but stayed right where Thatch left them. Thatch slowly turned his violet eyes away and looked at Casper, who kept his head down with his face as red as a tomato.

"I'll be back," was all Thatch said before he walked away from the table and back to his gang. The friendly trio couldn't hear what Thatch was saying to his gang, but they could see it wasn't going well. Dummy Girl and Mosshead both left, heading over to their normal table where Harpy was sitting all by her lonesome, waiting for them all.

Slither on the other hand watched them go, then looked back to Thatch and nodded loyally. The serpent-like monster moved closer to Thatch, giving a shy smile before the vampire seemed pleased. Slither and Thatch both made their way over to Casper's table.

"Hope you guys don't mind if Slither joins."

"Why not. There's room. Slither sit by Mantha." Ra ordered, motioning over to the empty seat on the other side of the zombie. Mantha pulled her head out of her book, looking confused when the serpent monster sat beside her, setting his tray directly in front of him and seeming to be wanting to take up as little space as possible. "So Thatch, what happened?" Ra pressed as the vampire sat down beside Casper.

"Dummy Girl and Mosshead didn't take this change kindly... Slither tried to warn me and Casper about it last night." Thatch weakly smiled as he nudged the ghost, encouraging Casper to look up.

"Wait... He wasn't threatening us or anything?" Casper carefully asked. Casper swore Slither had seemed so hostile last night like he was planning on stabbing Thatch in the back.

"Slither hostile? Oh no no," Thatch waved the thought off quickly while trying not to laugh. "Slither always takes things seriously, it's how his kind works. They have trouble expressing kinder emotions sometimes. He was just worried about us last night and how things would go. His fears were, as it always seems, spot on." Thatch hummed as he looked at his friend, who averted his gaze in embarrassment, just wanting to curl in on himself. "Slither has a knack of knowing how things will turn out."

"But... But when you were leaving to go home, Slither- he..."

"I told you to stay away from Thatch, yes," Slither mumbled softly, just enough to be heard. "He's my... friend. He doesn't need trouble," The pale monster explained, turning his head away, his hair falling in front of his face to hide his expression. "I protect Thatch, much as Ra protected you that day," he hissed.

Casper looked at his mummy friend, who had his arms crossed over his chest. Ra seemed to be thinking things over carefully, trying to judge lies from the truth. The mummy still held a grudge against Slither, for reasonable reasons.

Thatch chuckled, placing his arm around Casper's shoulders. An outward display of affection- it made Casper's heart race. The ghost could almost feel the heat coming off his face as he stiffly sat beside the vampire. They both seemed awkward, learning how to be by each other while in public. Casper could feel the eyes on them now, from all around the room he could feel them staring even if he didn't look. Casper could feel the panic rising in his chest. But Thatch seemed so sure of what they were doing.

Ra watched the pair, then had to back down from his defensive stance. Thatch seemed to be impressing the mummy, or maybe just gaining the mummy's trust slowly. Whatever Ra wanted, he seemed to be getting it. Slither was also completely passive now towards Casper and his friends. He only ate his breakfast, not saying a word.

"Eat, Casper," Thatch gently instructed. Casper noted Thatch didn't have any food, but maybe the vampire just wasn't hungry. So the ghost started to eat, trying to ignore the feeling of dozens of eyes watching them.

"Ever think Dummy Girl and Mosshead will come around?" Mantha spoke up. It was nice to hear her voice, she was always the voice of reason in tough situations. Always the most logical of the group!

"I doubt it..." Thatch muttered. "Slither was the only real loyal one." The vampire chuckled, making the serpent sink further down into his seat in embarrassment. "Oops, any further down Slither and you'll be under the table," he spoke lightly.

"... Better than up here." Slither commented softly. Mantha just chuckled and shook her head as she turned back to her book. Casper couldn't help but smile. He had never really taken notice of Slither, or how shy the monster actually was. Hell, he didn't even know what Slither was. He was always just there, in the back of Thatch's gang with his watchful eyes.

Thatch grinned at his shy scaly friend, then turned to Casper, smiling kindly. "It's fine. As long as I got you and Slither everything seems perfect-"

"To get Casper you're getting me and Mantha," Ra cut in simply, stabbing his food with his fork. "That's the rules."

"... Then I accept those rules." Thatch agreed simply.

Casper flushed and gently held onto Thatch's side, shyly smiling at Ra and Mantha. Ra seemed annoyed with Thatch still, but when he saw Casper's smile his shoulders slumped and he stopped puffing out his chest to appear bigger. Honestly, it was a cute display if anything.

Mantha seemed overall pleased with the outcome- except for the shy, sinking monster by her side. She was more concerned about that than the vampire in front of her. "Uh, Slither you don't need to hide.

"Too many eyes." He mumbled, fully sinking below the table. "Plus, darker down here." He almost hissed. Thatch tried not to laugh at his friend, only shaking his head. Slither really didn't want to be anywhere near the center of attention, especially if the situation was positive.

"He's probably worried because people are looking at me and Casper." Thatch chuckled and turned his head, seeing that everyone in the cafeteria was staring as if the sky had turned pink and there was a clown passing out balloons.

"This will be a strange day," Casper noted. At least people weren't glaring. They just seemed confused more than anything, and Casper could deal with that. Casper turned to look up at Thatch, who had the cocky smirk on his lips. Oh no, Thatch wanted to make a big display of all of this. Casper was about to say something when Thatch leaned down and kissed the ghost on the lips, just to show everyone in the room. Damn it Thatch...