Ghost Girl| Part Two
~

     Blake had spent her summer traveling to destinations she never thought she'd be able to. After spending a year as a ghost, she never thought she'd get the chance to leave the burial grounds again. After Tyler and Ms Thornhill created the potion that was meant to let ghost live as humans, originally meant for Tyler's mother but was given to Blake as default due to being the only "normie" at Nevermore, she used her time wisely. Many potions were left for her, a gift from Tyler after Blake made sure to keep him alive when he should have been killed. She needed one each day, and after finding Ms Thornhills recipe for how she created it from a certain plant that grew deep in the Nevermore Graveyard.....Blake seemed as though she'd been set.

Her and Xavier used their three months of freedom to do all the things Blake never imagined she'd get to do again. She saw every mountain within a thousand miles, swam in multiple seas and jumped from plenty of waterfalls. It had been stuck in her memory forever, but most importantly it was because she'd been able to do it with him. Living in a relationship with Xavier felt like a dream, as if she'd finally gotten everything she ever wanted in life. She spent her entire life with him, but nothing compared to the connection they shared as lovers.

But, like every dream, she had to wake up as some point. Blake just never imagined it would end in a nightmare.

When Xavier's father spoke of boarding school in Scotland, neither took it serious. But, as the warm weather began to fade, the new couple realized how serious the man truly was. Within two days, Xavier had his things packed and a flight heading for a different country. Blake tried to go with him, tried to reason with Xavier's father, did anything she possibly could.....but her hopes and begs weren't anything compared to the fear of his son's safety. After being falsely accused, he feared something worse happening to his child. He needed to be sent away for his safety. Perhaps not forever, but at least until graduation.

It was heartbreaking, Blake had the world handed to her and yanked away all at once. They considered long distance but knew that it would simply tear each other up. The time zones would make it difficult to ever speak, let alone communicate each day. Who knew when they'd have the chance to see each other again. They swore to stay in touch, but they both knew how hard that would be. The pair of childhood best friends would forever be connected at heart, but nothing seemed to last forever in Blake's world. Nothing.....not even something that's been there since the day she'd been born.

Xavier swore to write, which he would, and he swore they'd be the best of friends at heart forever....but maybe they were meant to stay just that. His words hurt Blake more than anything else, though she knew he was trying to make it easier on her. He left her for many things as reminders, and the knowledge that they'd likely always make it back to each other one day, but made her promise she wouldn't spend forever waiting around for him when she now had the ability to do whatever she wanted, no longer trapped in the ghost body that was keeping her in one place.

She was a mess for weeks, having a hard time so much as leaving the house. Her parents were helpful, but she stopped speaking to her friends in the mix of it all. As school began to come around again, the numbing pain started to wear off in the slightest. Going clothes shopping helped, as did the knowledge that she'd get to do her makeup everyday. Blake took for granted the small things before she died, like being able to change her clothes or wear different shades of lipstick. Now that she had the blessing of life again, she would fall emotional each time she realized she was able to do it all again. It changed her heart, it changed the way she viewed the world and the love that was in it.

"It'll be an amazing year, hun." Blake's mom smiled as she pulled up to the gates of Nevermore, looking at her daughter in the passenger seat. She held her hand tightly, realizing how much she'd miss it. "Please call me everyday."

"I promise." Blake reached over to hug her, knowing it was hard on her as well. She also spent a year not being able to feel the embrace of her daughter....now she wouldn't be able to again for months upon month's. The Costa girl took a deep breath as she opened the car door, staring up at the familiar gargoyles on the newly build school. She eyed the fence that killed her at some point, then the steps she ran down when gifted with the ability to live again.

The Nevermore air lingered of the heat but attracted a chilly breeze that always seemed to linger. It didn't feel the same without Xavier, it just didn't....but Blake knew better than to let herself sink into the depths of those thoughts again. It was hard to think of anything else, that was, with the eyes that watched her. The students of Nevermore got used to seeing Blake as a ghost, watching her open her door and carry her bags was unsettling. Her cheeks were flushed of pumping blood, her chest moving in the slightest to show the fact that she's been breathing....that she was alive.

Someone watched her from the top of the steps, leaning against the rail and staring directly at her. Someone she stopped talking to in her summer depression, someone she owed an apology.

"Isn't the entire point of you being alive so you don't ghost people?" Ajax rose his eyebrows in the slightest. He'd grown up a bit over the summer, he seemed slightly older and sinking into his features more. He skipped down the stairs with a knowing look in her direction, the purple beanie rather comforting under the gaze of those she hadn't known. "You look good."

"Thank you." She grinned slightly. "I'm sorry about the ghosting. I was-"

"Don't worry about it. Sorry it had to happen in the first place." His frown indicated he'd known about Xavier. Blake wished she hadn't ignored him this whole time. Ajax was always her friend, one of her closest. He attended the Rave'N with her, been the first to run for help when she died...he'd also been the first person she hugged when she got the first taste of living again. Blake had no right to ignore him, not when he'd turn the universe for her. "She's alive, people!"

His outburst caught attention, throwing his arms up like Frankenstein to go with his forced deep voice. Blake yelped in panic when he came at her, taken off guard. Ajax tickled her in the slightest as Blake laughed, hunching over slightly to give him access to toss her over his shoulder. Lurch huffed from the Addams car, offended. "Sorry, Lurch!"

•

After Blake got settled into her new dorm, Ajax drug her along to go find Enid. He didn't fancy letting her out of his sign for a while, mainly because he'd been worried about her. Blake picked up on it quickly, and while she found it kind, apart of her did want to go wallow in the darkness of her room and mourn that this would be her first year at Nevermore without Xavier. Though, when the dorm room opened, Blake was excited to see Wednesday standing on the other side.

"Hey, Wednesday. How was your summer?" He greeted her first, Blake grinned.

"I scalped a serial killer." She answered, reaching over to try and push her hand through Blake's face before huffing in annoyance. "Human."

"As ever." Blake hummed. "It's good to see you."

Wednesday rose her nose in response, though Blake didn't expect much else. Ajax hummed. "Is ughhh Enid around?"

"She left earlier with the pack." Was all they got back. "I threatened to neuter them if they did not get out."

"Well, do you mind giving her this?" He handed off the pink unicorn. Wednesday barely pinched the horn before slamming the door in their faces. "That was eventful."

"I take it you and Enid are doing great." Blake smiled as they walked down the hallway together, remaining happy for him despite her own circumstances.

"The opposite, actually." He frowned, Blake gave a concerning look. "She's ignored me all summer. Just completely ghosted me, I got nothing. I've been trying to find her since we got back, but nothing. I'm not even sure if we're still together."

"What? But she was crazy about you." Blake looked in confusion as they made it to her dorm, unlocking the door and headed into the unpacked room. "You guys really haven't spoken all summer?"

"Nope!" He threw his hands up in surrender, adjusting his beanie. "Wasn't a signal thing, either, because she posted on instagram."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's annoying. Maybe she's just trying to figure things out, you know? Maybe she's a little scared of commitment."

"Maybe." He was looking on the bright side, taking a seat on her bed and watching as Blake finally began to unpack. "So....are you and Xavier gonna go long distance?"

Blake had her back do him, a frown resting on her lips as the sadness overcame her. She didn't want him to worry, she didn't want pity so she replaced it with a clear of her throat and shrug of her shoulders. "Uh, no. No, we kinda just decided to leave it for now. We had a great summer and he thought we'd be better off not ruining our friendship or relationship with long distance. So, we're just pen pals."

"What?" Ajax was floored, his jaw hit the ground. "I would have thought that you both-"

Blake turned around with a look on her face that said enough. He shut his mouth and nodded. "Are you doing okay with it all?"

Blake realized who she'd been talking to. Ajax had been around for years, he knew her so well. He wasn't Bianca or Enid, he was close enough to know when she was feeding him lies. Blake sighed as she let the act drop, sitting on her bed next to him. "I'm doing a bit better but my feelings are definitely hurt. It's a lot. I understand being there for his own good but we were so happy....and then it's just gone and he tells me that I deserve to move on and not wait around for him. It's just weird and feels strange being at the school without him here."

"Yeah, I understand." He sympathized with her. "He's right, though. Kinda. You deserve to have an awesome year. You're alive again! You should be living it up instead of moping. If it's meant to be, it'll fall back."

Blake rose her eyebrows as she gave a point to her finger, shoving his nose with her index. "Take your own advice."

"Huh." He laughed at himself. "I did just say some good advice."

Blake rolled her eyes with a grin as she got up to start hanging her things up again. "It's sick you don't have a roommate."

"Yeah, I don't know how I managed to do that." Blake shrugged her shoulders, Blake saw his face fall slightly at her words. "What?"

"Nothing." He spoke quickly, realizing she didn't realize why she didn't have a roommate. He rubbed his stomach quickly. "Indigestion."

She rummaged through her bag, tossing a bottle of pepto at him. "Don't take if you're pregnant."

"Last I checked I wasn't." He nodded, thanking her silently.

A small knock at the door cut the pair off, their new principal offered a small as Blake opened the door. "Oh! No boys in the girls dorms."

"Right, sorry." Ajax apologized quickly as he stood up, brushing past Blake with a tight lipped smile. "See you around, Blake."

Blake smiled to their new principal. "I haven't gotten a chance to introduce myself. I'm Blake Acosta."

"Principal Dort. It's a pleasure. You were who I was looking for." He grinned, accepting her offer to step into the hallway. "There isn't an easy way to say this. You seem like a very nice young lady."

"Have I done something wrong?" She asked in worry. "Last year, I floated around in all the dorms so I wasn't thinking much about him being in here. It won't happen again."

"Oh, no. You've done nothing wrong." He reassured her with a sigh. "It's the opposite, actually."

Blake looked in confusion as he contemplated how to say this to her. "You are....too right. I know that last year, you were our Ghost Girl who floated our halls. It made you different. That's what made you an outcast."

Blake realized where he was headed with this, her face falling as the man did the same. "Blake, this school was designed so that outcast had somewhere to be without the judgment and hatred of the outside world. Now that you are living again, and you come from a normie family, and Mr Thorpe no longer funding for you to stay. I'm just here to ask you if you've got anything that may be an indicator you're an Outcast."

Blake frowned as she shook her head. "I'm just a normie."

"Well, I don't want to kick you to the curb just yet." He shook his head. "We'll give it two weeks for something to come up. Until then, you have a place here, Ms.Acosta."

Blake offered him a smile until he turned, her smile dropping as she huffed in frustration and throwing herself into her room. She began packing her bags again, knowing she'd have to go home in two weeks.

•

"But, you're apart of the Nightshades. You've gone here since you were little." Ajax met Blake's frustration as they headed into the Pyre, the large crow lumming over the pair.

"God, I still haven't gotten used to eating." Blake moaned as she continued to eat her candy apple. "Enjoy these last two weeks, Ajax. Might as well stone me while you can."

"Cmon, don't talk that way. Anything could happen in two weeks." He shook his head as they found a good spot to stand. "And, I can't believe you still want me to stone you. Has four years of saying no not done enough?"

"You'll give in eventually." She shook her head. "It would get checked off my bucket list. Once in a lifetime experience."

"Look, that's the douch bag I was telling you about." He pointed out a long haired Fur, watching as he stood in the front with his high cheekbones. "Even his face gets under my skin."

"Oh, come on. That's who she replaces you with?" Blake looked in disgust. "I never liked the greasy hair look."

"I don't know for certain, it's the vibe." He shook his head, but he knew deep down it had been true. "Is he more attractive than me?"

"No." Blake shook her head. "Snake hair is way cooler than greasy hair."

"Thank you, Blake." He adjusted his beanie, hearing the snakes hiss underneath.

"Good evening, Nevermore." Their entertainment spoke from the stage as everyone cheered. "Good evening and welcome to the Founders Pyre. Tonight, we're gonna start by singing the Nevermore Alma mater."

"Hey, maybe that's your Outcast trait." Ajax shrugged as they began to sing on the stage. "Terrible singer."

"Can't be worse than your fencing." She hummed. As the song came to an end, their new principal turned up the music as he danced on stage. Blake swayed some as her hair blew in the wind slightly, the purple lights hitting her perfectly. Ajax noticed that she'd done her makeup differently. Her eyebrows coated in lavender and a few rhinestones glued around her eyes. It went with the lavender outfit she wore, his eyes lingering at the light glistening on the stones before looking away.

"Good evening. I'm your Principal Barry Dort-" he hesitated, like he had something caught in his throat. "...and tonight we celebrate a new era.! I know change can be scary, but you don't have to be afraid. You know why? Because we are Outcast strong! From now on, I am abolishing the Nightshades and all secret societies. The protection of our school falls upon all of us."

"What about skinny dipping?" Blake's jaw fell. A few people looked at her in judgment. "....and the history."

"Therefore, we are all Nightshades." Dort motioned to the crowd. No one cheered aside the few who desperately tried to get into the group. "Now, in the words of the great American Outcast, Bruce Springsteen...you can't start a fire without a spark."

A large flame few from his hand, lighting the bottom of the twig built crow. Blake and Ajax turned to watch it engulf in flames slowly, then all at once. The crowd clapped for the matter before, the students with the ability, began to lift the crow and have it fly through the air, wings afire. Ajax pulled Blake slightly as it flew close to their heads, ducking down before laughing in amazement at the sight. It flew up and exploded in the air, having everyone cheer.

"Stop the bonfire!" Enids voice broke a moment too soon, gaining everyone's attention as she ran to the stage. "Principal Dort, Wednesday Addams is trapped under the pyre."

Blake looked back in panic just in time to see Wednesday do a roll out from beneath. Everyone made room, her clothes smelling of burning leather until Dort caught sight. "There she is! Our student of honor, Wednesday Addams! None of us would be here today without your bravery. Wednesday, would you help me unveil something very special?"

Blake gave Wednesday an encouraging look, waving for her to get up on the stage. Wednesday slowly took ridged steps upwards, before everyone and their daunting eyes. "I had this commission to commemorate how you and your ragtag group of Nevermore buddies saved our school!"

With a pull to a sheet, a large painting was revealed with a smiling Wednesday, Bianca, Enid and Eugene. Blake and Ajax shared a humoring look at Wednesday smiling in the painting, how strange it looked. Dort smiled as her. "Could you give us a few words of inspiration to launch us into the new era?"

The crowd began to chant her name, she shoved her book into Enids chest as the glared at the painting. Swiftly, she yanked the mic from the man with a crazed look in her eye. "Tonight....is our banquet of discontent. And we shall gladly feast off those who subdue us. Our fight is just beginning. And I'm ripping the band-aid off the scab of civility, and will not cease until our enemies have vanquished!"

Blake began to cheer in disbelief, thinking Wednesday turned over a new leaf and took this award like a gift. Her dark eyes bored over the crowd, a look that would have them all drop dead if it was possible. "And by enemies, I mean any imbecile stupid enough to cheer on some shallow, rabble-rousing diatribe like that."

"Oh." Blake began to stop clapping and disguise it with scratching the back of her head, giving the person behind her a glare. "Imbecile."

"You thought I was your hero? I'm not." She continued on, revealing the side of her they all knew. "I always play dirty, and I never fight fair. The only side I'm on is my own, and the only place I'll lead you is off a cliff. So do not put me on a pedestal, because I will burn if down."

With a drop of the mic, she grabbed the neared torch and set fire to the painting. Blake shook her head in laughter before finishing off her candle apple.

•

Kylie speaks

Okay I know I've been MIA
For years now but I just
Had to come back to write
Part two for this because
It's a bit more low maintenance
So I should have time for it!
While I will miss xavier
And Blake, reading back
From last season, I really
Loved the context of Ajax
And Blake's bond. I felt
Like this season would
Be the perfect opportunity
To explore it!!! Enjoy and
Don't hesitate to tell me what
You would like to see!! I'm not
Sure if people still read this
Considering ifs been years
Since I wrote in it last but
I sure hope it's a lot of fun!

I can't wait for yall to see what
ALL Blake is willing to do to
Become an Outcast ;)