A/N: I'm going to try to do updates twice a week from now on: Mondays and Thursdays. Because you've been really supportive of this story and that makes me excited!

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I wonder, I wonder... I wonder what does it feel to be alive and to touch a ghost. I imagine it must be creep, but could it be uncomfortable or even painful? I remember that when I was alive I randomly felt like jabs of pain. I didn't know why, they lasted a few seconds and were completely out of the blue. It was like someone had hit me in, for instance, the ribs. But then it was gone I just carried on.

So what if every time I felt like that it was because a ghost touched me?

Nah, it can't be that because I've touched Mum the most and she's never complained or made an exclamation of pain. Yes, she does cry when I do touch her and goes pale and other things, but she doesn't seem to be in physical pain. So I guess that theory must be discarded.

James said he didn't like touching ghosts because it's too uncomfortable, which has led me to the conclusions that he has indeed interacted with others like me and he has actually touched them, which means I'm not fully alone-unless even among ghosts we can't see each other-, and the other conclusion is that touching ghosts for living people is not pleasant. But what exactly does it feel like? Is he exaggerating or did he say that just to reject me in a way that wouldn't make me feel miserable just after we cleared up the problem between us?

I will go with the option he's just exaggerating because that's easier to cope with and gives me the option to continue being creepy and scaring some people when I get bored. That is why I decide to follow Roxy and Adeline.

I'm doing this for mere scientific purposes. I just want to figure out what it really feels and as I can't experience it myself I need to observe and take notes of subjects' reactions to the stimulus to draw a conclusion.

Uuhh, I made myself sound fancy and clever, didn't I?

"Oh, Roxy! My dear," I call when I see her walking a bit ahead, next to Adeline. "Wait for me, friend!" I keep calling, waving my hands and in an overly dramatic tone.

Of course, no one sees this and they don't even react to it. What a pity, they are missing my great acting.

I finally catch up to them and decide to test them so I jump forward and clasp my hands on Roxy's shoulders as I scream, "Boo!" just because it seems fitting.

"AAAAHHHH!" she screams, stumbling forward and breaking the contact. She starts rubbing her hands all over her body like when you think you have a spider on you and you just freak out. She shivers and keeps struggling and looking back, but there's no one she can see.

"What happened?" Adeline asks her, following the direction she's looking at but she can't see me there, wiggling my fingers and smiling sheepishly.

"S-someone touched me," she mumbles. "Grabbed my shoulders."

"There's no one there, Roxy," Adeline tells her and I gasp.

"Rude. I'm standing right here," I say, offended but I receive no comment whatsoever.

"I know! That's why I screamed and I-" she shivers again. "It was so cold and creepy." She looks at Adeline with pleading eyes, as if she could help her and offer her a rational explanation.

So it's cold and creepy. "Like a dead person is touching you maybe?" I ask out loud, pondering. That would make sense, I'm dead after all, but it's not like a corpse is touching her, my body must be rotting somewhere because if I had my real body people would see me. They would freak out because a zombie is walking among them but they would see me and scream when they see me.

Truth be told, I think I would prefer to be a zombie than a ghost. Maybe there could be like a treatment to keep me from eating brains, like In The Flesh. Speaking of, I should go to the producers of that show and make them regret cancelling it after that massive cliffhanger.

For a dead girl, I watch many shows even on my own. What else can I do? I don't sleep and Mum leaves the telly on most of the time.

"It was nothing, Roxy. Let's go," Adeline tells her, cutting my mental ramble, completely belittling what happened and practically dragging her friend.

I stay there, waving them goodbye. I shrug when I realise that they just left me there without saying goodbye. I turn on my heels and just look around, at the people who resume whatever they were doing before a girl screamed in fear and horror.

I spend the rest of the day scaring-I mean, touching people and seeing how they react. Most do it in the same way Roxy did: jumping and shivering as if something cold touched them. They feel creeped out and uncomfortable, as James described but none exactly tells me what it really feels like. Although, I know they all react in a negative way. All of them feel my touch but none can see me. I wonder, however, why is that Mum never screams when I touch her. Could it be because I'm more gentle with her or because my intention when touching her is different? Or maybe she's just used to it.

I think my next mission should be to find another ghost. As James will not give me answers or help me out in any way, I need to find them myself or at least try. I have all the time in the world after all, so might as well do something with it.

Maybe the cemetery is a good place to start. However, I've never gone there or felt drawn to that place but maybe other ghosts do. I do feel drawn to college every day, even if it was a living hell for me, I still go every day and I don't understand that, it's really irrational and against my better judgment.

Whatever, it's a starting point and I must begin somewhere. Otherwise I'll keeping doing the same until the world ends.

On my way out I walk past the rectory and for a few seconds I wonder what James is doing, if he is still inside, working or just minding his own business. I bet he is enjoying the silence and solitude now that I've left him completely alone. He got his wish and now I got work to do.

Ahead of me I see a group of students and I'm about to walk past them when a word catches my attention: haunted.

"Yah really think it's true?" one of the three kids asks, her face shows she is really scared whilst the boy who is being asked keeps a smirk, looking confident. The other guy looks bored.

"I dunno, but the rumours is going around and you know weird things happen. Like today? Did you hear of all the people jumping and saying they felt cold hands on their shoulders? I bet the Strode Ghost touched them," the boy replies, almost whispering and the girl clings to him.

"Those are just stories, you're tryin' to scare me!" she whines but she doesn't let go of the boy's arm.

"That's what I've heard, it's not like I know. I've heard that most things happen in the studios for the Art students, yah know? I bet the ghost was an Art student, too," he muses and I blink, listening to them carefully.

I didn't know there were stories about me or that people actually talked about college being haunted.

"I'm popular!" I squeal before I burst out giggling. I even bounce and clap my hands, finding delightful that people are actually talking about me but not in a hateful or insulting way.

"I dunno but if it comes to haunt me I know I'll crap my trousers," the girl says and the boy laughs out loud.

A smirk comes to my lips and I start to reach out to touch her and give her the shock of her life, but before I make contact I hear a hiss calling my name.

"Paige!"

I stop immediately because no one says my name and so close. I mean, there are other girls named Paige but this sounds like someone is actually calling me. So I look back and I see James there, trying not to look at me but his eyes dart in my direction occasionally.

"Don't. That's mean," he whispers next, without even parting his lips. I just stare at him in shock.

I tilt my head to examine him more closely, wondering what's happening. As I've stopped moving, the trio is now walking away from me and the opportunity to scare the girl is completely gone. But James is still next to me, pretending he is just standing there, waiting for something instead of whispering to me.

"You talking to me?" I ask just to make sure because he was the one that barked to leave him alone.

He presses his lips in a tight line and looks at me for two seconds before looking away. "Yes. To stop you. You wanted to scare that girl, knowing she would freak out and probably cry."

"I was hoping she'd crap her trousers, as she promised," I say offhandedly and he looks at me with his brow furrowed.

"What have you being doing today?"

"Science," I smile brightly and innocently and I see him rolling his eyes. "You said you don't like touching ghosts 'cos it's uncomfortable but I don't really know and I got curious so I went around making experiments to see if I could come with an answer on my own," I tell him shrugging to lessen the importance of what I did.

He looks around before sighing and adding, "And by experiments you mean you went around scaring people?"

My sheepish smile is all the answer he needs. He actually pinches the bridge of his nose and I don't know why I find that amusing.

"But why are you talking to me? Because you talked first. I didn't even see you until you called my name," I question next, losing the smile and frowning.

He looks away and I notice his cheeks blushing. "I just wanted to help that girl, that's all. I was leaving when I saw you."

I look at him suspiciously, even approaching a bit and he reacts immediately, taking a step back and keeping the distance between us.

"Why do you care?" I interrogate him and he looks even more embarrassed.

"I don't but it just seemed like the right thing to do," he answers but my frown doesn't disappear.

"I thought you didn't like people, Mr Antisocial. Could it be that you're just pretending to keep all that mysterious aura around you but you're just really lonely and want to make friends?"

I honestly don't believe that, I'm just teasing him and I get paid off when I see his shocked expression. Wide blue eyes and mouth agape.

I laugh at him and step back, putting even more distance and just shrugging off what I did. "Anyhow, I wont take more of your time. You saved the girl and now I'll leave you alone. Adieu!"

I turn on my heels, ready to keep walking and leave him alone as he asked me to do, but then he calls my name again. I look back at him over my shoulder. "Are you gonna keep haunting people?" he asks and I shrug.

"Maybe. I might find someone else who can see me and answer some of my questions if I keep doing this," I reply, which is something really thrilling when I imagine it. Who knows? Maybe someone else can see me and I haven't found him or her. I just need to widen my horizons.

James groans and I shrug. Whatever is going through his mind I won't ask him about it. I got the memo that he doesn't want me around the first time and I said I wouldn't annoy him anymore, so it's time to leave.

"Come with me," he says then, surprising me. I freeze on my spot and I can't even turn around. "I don't know how much I can answer, but I'll try."

My head snaps in his direction, my eyes as wide as his before. "Are you kidding me?" He shakes his head. "Why now? Why are you gonna answer my questions now?"

He can't meet my eyes when he says, "I just do. Isn't that enough for you?" I can only blink, still expecting him to say it's a prank or something. "Don't you want to know anymore? 'Cos if that's the case then I'll-"

"I do!" I practically scream and I can see a little smirk on his lips. "I'll follow you. Lead the way."

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So... do you think James maybe missed Paige constant babbling? And uuhhh, we're about to know more about James! Are you excited? Also, this story is also a romance... how is that gonna work? Theories?

Dedication to @thatcherhoran

Bel, xx