Chapter Summary: Having separate rooms suck, so Casper sneaks out after hours to catch up with Thatch and make sure everything is ok.

This was terrible. Casper was horrified. He stood by the door to his new room, his heart in his gut. Oh, the room was great, it was one of the many, many rooms they had in the castle. His new room had a soft bed with warm-looking sheets, even a feather-stuffed pillow. It looked so welcoming. Near his bed was his own dresser even! He also had his own desk and on top of it, a candle was lit, giving the room a soft golden glow. The curtains over his window were pulled back, letting in the fresh night air. Oh, his room was perfect, welcoming and honestly quite comfortable... But the thing was... He was alone.

Casper turned back around to argue, but Clementine had already moved on, guiding each student to their own private bedroom. The boys were in the West Wing, the girls in the East Wing. Mantha was utterly separated from them, then the boys were all forced in separate rooms. Casper dropped his bag by the door and hovered around his entry, staring into the hall and watching as one by one the students were guided into their rooms to settle in for the night. He rested his hand on the wooden frame, and without meaning to, he started to hover off the ground, just because he was nervous and he also wanted to get a bit higher so he could see further down the hall. He recognized this hall, of course, Thatch's bedroom was a few doors down... or should he say, all the way down the hall? Clementine had purposely put Casper and Thatch on opposite sides of the hallway, as far away as he could get! Hell Ra just got the bedroom beside Thatch!

The friendly ghost could feel his face slowly go red, but he tried to keep calm. He had no reason to be mad at Ra, so what if Ra was placed beside his boyfriend and not him? Fine fine, FINE. Whatever!

Casper huffed softly, and once the last student walked into their bedroom Clementine waved her hand and the torches in the hallway went out, only leaving the candles in their separate rooms keeping them from the dark. "Go to sleep children. No sneaking out and talking. If you must there is a washroom at the end of the hall." She called down the hall for all students to hear. "Now then, goodnight!" Then all their doors slammed shut. Casper huffed, angrily staring at his shut door before he tried to let it ok. Okay fine, it's time for bed. It had been a long day... But he still wanted to see Thatch. So, Casper decided to buy some time. He'll wait until he was sure everyone was asleep before he snuck out to see Thatch.

So, the friendly ghost started to unpack. He only had the outfits Thatch had given him, so he put those in his new dresser. His school supplies, notebooks pens and the like got sorted onto his desk. A picture of his family, Fatso, Stinky, and Stretch was placed upon his dresser, facing his bed so he could look at it. It was nice to have their photo here, even if he was so so far away.

No shortcuts to Deedstown, no sneaking off to see them or Jimmy. He would write a letter and ask Cappy to deliver it, Cappy was always so kind when it came to these sorts of things. He had to say sorry to Jimmy, but he would write often. He was sure that would help somewhat... and maybe, maybe on the weekends, he could sneak off? He wasn't sure though, Deedstown was so far away- did he just hear a door open?

Casper blew out the candle on his desk quickly and floated over to the door, not letting his feet touch the ground despite knowing stone doesn't creak like wood. He put his hands on the dark wooden door and pushes his head through, peering into the hallway. Clementine was walking down the hall after apparently visiting Thatch's room.

The mother was holding up a lantern, lighting her way as she walked in the dark. Casper quickly retreated back to his room and flew to his bed, diving under the covers. He shut his eyes tightly, back turned to the door. He held his breath- he didn't know why.

The door slowly opened, the light flooding into the room, but it was gentle and restrained, not enough to wake a sleeping child. Casper listened closely, hearing the soft clank of Clementine setting the lantern outside of the open door, then her footsteps as she walked into his bedroom. He opened one eye, just barely. On the wall, he could see her shadow drawing near his bed. He didn't know what to exact, but as the footsteps stopped right beside him he shut his eyes, trying to look like he was peacefully asleep.

Gently hands moved his blanket, tucking the ghost child in. She carefully adjusted his pillow so his head wasn't to tilted- not wanting him to get a sore neck when the morning came. She also went over to his window, shutting it and pulling the curtains shut with a gentle tug. It was odd, something only a mother would ever do. But why was she doing it for Casper? She hadn't stopped by any other bedroom, just Thatch's and now his...

Just as she came, Clementine left the room, her footsteps retreating. Casper listened to the door shut, how the metal latch clicked almost loudly in the deadly silent room. He then strained himself, hearing her gentle footsteps going down the hall. Soon, he heard not a single sound. The vampire had gone.

With a shaky breath, Casper slowly sat up in bed, letting the blanket fall down as he stared at the door. Okay, now was his chance. He carefully slipped out of bed, walking across the stone floor. He opened the door as silently as he could, peering out into the dark hallway. No signs of anyone. Coast was clear!

The young ghost quickly started to go down the hall, constantly throwing nervous glances back towards his room. He could barely see anything, the hall was so dark and everything was so silent. It felt so different than before. The hallways seemed so large and empty without Thatch by his side, so the nervous ghost hurried as quickly as he could while trying not to make a sound.

As he reached Thatch's door he just decided to faze through it, he was a ghost after all! He kept forgetting that important detail. As he stepped into Thatch's room he saw the vampire was still awake. He was sitting at his bed, reading a book with a candle placed on his dresser- it was closer than his desk was. Thatch noticed the 'intruder' instantly, his violet eyes darting up and narrowing until he saw it was just Casper.

"Damn it Casp, you're trying to scare me again aren't you?" He rolled his eyes and placed a bookmark back into his book before he just set it aside. Casper tried not to smile, recalling their little... meeting in here when Casper followed the other.

"Not trying to, I just wanted to see you." He explained as he went ahead and climbed into Thatch's bed, making himself right at home by the vampire's side. "You still nervous? Excited maybe?" The ghost questioned, then couldn't stop himself from laughing when he saw that familiar look in Thatch's eyes. Thatch was certainly fond of their game.

"Well... honestly, I'm still nervous," the vampire drew out slowly, his eyes drifting to the door. "I mean, there are so many people in the castle. It hasn't been that way in a long time- then the covers were taken off the portraits in the hallway! A lot of rules were broken within the first 5 minutes of getting there! Curtains were drawn back, windows open, torches lit!"

"The torches being lit are against your rules?"

"Hey, that's two questions... But uh, yeah. Mom always told me never to lit a torch, it might draw in the humans... She's paranoid, even with dad's protection still ever-present around us she fears them finding us again."

"She seems to be handling it really well."

"And that's so confusing! She went from being an utter... trust me I love my mom but she hates people, she's reclusive. And suddenly the whole school is living in our house and she's the 'vice principal' or whatever," Thatch mumbled softly, leaning against Casper's side. "Okay, my turn... Um, want to sneak out tonight?" He weakly asked. Casper tried not to laugh.

"Of course Thatch. Where will you take me? The pond or the ballroom?" He countered easily.

"Wherever our feet take us." Thatch replied calmly, letting a smile resurface on his face. Casper rolled his eyes and playfully nudged the vampire's side. "Okay, okay, let's go," he softly laughed. "We'll continue our game whenever we get where we're going." He decided as he pulled away from the vampire, getting out of his bed. As Casper slipped out the vampire blew out the candle, plunging them into the dark. They both stayed still at first, mostly because Casper's eyes needed to adjust. Thatch seemed rather content in the dark as he took Casper's hand and started to guide him.

Casper smiled and squeezed the vampire's hand as he followed, feeling much safer with the vampire by his side. He knew in due time these halls will become familiar and he would be exploring like he always did, but for now he rather not do it alone. As they left the West wing Casper noticed the rest of the hallways were still in the light, none of their torches had been put out.

Casper's curiosity-filled him, and just to his own surprise, he found himself pulling Thatch, peering down the lit hallways. Thatch didn't complain, he seemed just as curious as the friendly ghost. The two kept close, going down the silent halls until they heard the sound of glass shattering and Clementines' yells.

Thatch was off like a bullet, and Casper quickly took off flying after him, actually tackling the vampire to the ground right before he entered the lounge room. The two rolled and skidded to a stop just out of view of the open door, thanks to Casper. Thatch opened his mouth to yell and Casper quickly covered it, giving Thatch a stern look.

"Shh, we don't know what's going on," Casper whispered harshly. "It might be nothing. If it is something don't run off ahead of me, I can't help you if I lose track of you." He scolded as he got off of Thatch. That's where their argument ended, more important things were happening. Casper helped Thatch back up to his feet and the two kept close as they inched to the open door. The two children peered into the lounge. The torches were lit, the fireplace only had burning embers on the verge of dying- someone wasn't paying any attention to the fire, or perhaps they didn't care if it went out. The room was just like Casper remembered, warm and friendly-looking despite its age.

As the pair stared into the room they saw a shattered cup on the ground, and Clementine was firmly holding onto the sofa while Kibosh was clearly trying not to smile as he hovered in front of her.

"No Kibosh, I can't do it."

"Clementine you're a vampire!" He tried to reason. "Don't you think it's about time you learned how to levitate? Vincent learned it within his first year." He explained, offering his hand to the female.

"Yes, my husband was extraordinary as a human and vampire, but I'm just a normal human with a stupidly long lifespan, that just happens to drink blood," she defended quickly. She grabbed one of the cushioned pillows, stubbornly placing it on her lap and turning her head away as if to say she had no plans of getting off the sofa for a while.

"You can't keep changing to a bat every time you need to fly, that takes up so much more energy. And besides, you're extraordinary with magic, more than Vincent was. Clementine, you're no longer a human, you haven't been in a long time. Come on, try once more." He laughed, reaching down and grabbed Clementine's arm, pulling her off the sofa. The pillow fell to the floor as Kibosh guided her away from her seat and towards the more open part of the room.

"This is so dumb, I already broke a cup!"

"You were doing well, you got off the ground," he easily deflected her concern. He took both of her hands and watched the female vampire carefully. Clementine seemed annoyed, but after a few moments, she took a deep breath and let her eyes shut. She held onto Kibosh's hands tightly, and slowly she started to lift off the wooden floor.

Casper and Thatch watched in amazement from the hallway. Casper had no clue vampires could fly in their human forms. He looked to Thatch, who moved back from the door. Casper followed so they could talk without being heard.

"Thatch, vampires can fly like that?" Casper whispered.

"It's called levitating. It's really hard to do, some vampires can't even do it. Sometimes vampires can do things others can't. Some can hear for miles around while others having piercing eyes that can freeze a human in place, it's randomly given when we're bitten." He carefully explained, his eyes going between Casper and the doorway. "My dad was utter rubbish at magic, but he could levitate and had the most knowing eyes in the world... My mom was better at the magic side but I never seen her ever attempt to fly... I didn't even know it could be taught, I always thought we would just... do it?"

"Well she's being taught it right now, maybe you can levitate too," the ghost said excitedly. Flying with Thatch sounded like so much fun! The two children rushed back to the door and peered in, eager to see more.

Clementine was tightly holding onto Kibosh, looking a bit panicked as she started to float higher. "Kibosh! Help me down, now! Oh goodness, I'm in a DRESS Kibosh!" She yelled at the green ghost, who didn't seem phased at all. He floated up with her, keeping the vampire upright and in balance.

"The children are in bed and you have like what, 200 layers in that skirt? No one is going to see anything. You know, for trying to 'modernize' the school you haven't changed one bit."

"Some things don't need to be changed like my feet don't need to be off solid ground- oh stars!" She yelped, fumbling in the air a bit. It reminded Casper of the time Jimmy was trying to skate and how his feet kept slipping out from under him- this looked just like that... Only more dangerous.

"You're doing fine Clem, I'm going to let go now."

"Don't you dare."

"Letting go."

"NO!"

"Bye." Kibosh grinned and had his hands simply faze out of Clementine's, leaving her completely on her own in the air. Clementine yelped, her arms outstretched in a desperate attempt to keep balance- Casper tried not to laugh because it looked like she was trying to surf.

Seeing a paled vampire in a big black dress trying to surf was going to make almost anyone laugh. Casper covered his mouth, stifling his laughter as he watched. Thatch was trying to keep a straight face, but even he was smiling and trying not to laugh as his mother struggled to stay upright. Kibosh at least kept close to Clementine, making sure she didn't get hurt or suddenly plummet to the floor.

Casper wanted to stay and watch longer, but to his surprise, Thatch took his hand and started to guide Casper away. Casper pouted, glancing back at the door as the two walked away. "Don't want to watch?" He spoke softly. Thatch just shrugged as he headed down the hall and to the servant door that led out the side of the house. Casper smiled, feeling more excited now. They were going to the pond!

The ghost walked with a skip in his step now, eager to follow or um... Honestly, he was half dragging Thatch along now that he knew where they were going. Thatch did nothing more than give a helpless smile as he watched the eager ghost, seeming oddly at peace and relaxed compared to before. As the two rounded the house Casper let a pleased sigh escape him. The glowing pond with the colorful fish hadn't changed one bit, and Thatch's rose bushes were just as beautiful as he remembered.

The ghost and vampire sat beside the edge of the pond, watching the fish swim around idly, nibbling on the blades of grass near the edge of the water. The sweet smell from the rose bushes lingered in the air, giving the whole setting a pleasant, safe feel.

They sat in silence at first, getting familiar with their setting once more. For Casper, it was just a relief to be back here and to be with Thatch with no worry. But at the same time, this location provided a lot of trouble. The tower needed to be closed off for Thatch's and his mother's sake, then the nearby village with that curious human, that would be trouble. Then, what would Dummy Girl do here? Also, what were Clementine and Kibosh talking about? Finding their true potential, how their old school couldn't handle the incoming chaos... Clearly, it was because of their ages- perhaps it was about their powers? Ra was certainly discovering his, but so far they didn't seem harmful. Dummy Girl's were trouble for other students, and Thatch's... Okay yeah, maybe Thatch's powers were dangerous.

"Tomorrow will be a long day," The vampire murmured, his violet eyes gazing into the pond, watching as the fish swam around. "We're going to clean up the castle... I bet you and Fly Boy will have to clean off the chandeliers. Mantha will probably be in charge of removing books from our library and putting the school books in there," He noted. "I told mom Mantha was pretty smart." He answered Casper's silent question.

"It won't be so bad. Once we clean a bit I bet we'll have tons of fun here... Maybe we can make more strawberry shortbread?" Casper smiled and nudged Thatch, who let out a soft laugh. Casper felt a shiver run through him. Thatch's laugh was so soft and smooth like silk, the silence of the night made it stand out more than before. They were changing, Casper noticed it now. Thatch was taller than when school started, and he mellowed out once he had some true friends. Everything seemed to be going up, mostly.

This was going to be exciting, what a lovely change.