Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I think I’m being haunted.”

They’re words Percy hears often. I’m haunted. My house is haunted. A ghost is terrorizing me. My cat's haunting my bathroom. As a ghost whisperer ( paranormal investigator, Hazel often corrects), he’s no stranger to the concept of haunted. He’s dealt with a lot of haunted after three years in this career.

The blonde young man came into their office around ten minutes ago. He was calm, opened the front door gently and spoke in a soft tone. A surprise, for sure. Usually the people who came seeking their help were more…frantic. But this one—Will Solace—looks like he’s just coming for a chill, friendly conversation.

“What makes you think you’re haunted?” Percy’s partner-in-crime (business partner), Hazel Levesque, leans in.

“Uh…I guess at school?” Will tilts his head in contemplation. “I feel a weird chill sometimes, and one of my classmates has been tripping on his feet every time he enters the classroom.”

It’s not really the most tangible proof and Will seems to recognize that. He shifts in his seat, nervously fidgeting with the hem of his green flannel. A beat of silence stretches between them and Percy clears his throat to break it.

“Do things happen to your classmate a lot?”

Will hesitates, a slightly uncomfortable look passing across his face and Percy shivers from a sudden cold breeze even though the windows and doors are closed shut. But he's Percy Jackson and he's mastered the art of ignoring things until they start becoming important. This counts as one of those things.

“Kind of? It’s just this one class. Sometimes they lose their things, trip over nothing, and the teacher’s chair broke a couple of times when he tried sitting on it.” Will swallows, as if debating something internally. “And…at home, too? Nothing bad, but it’s been really quiet even though my downstairs neighbor has an insomniac baby.”

Percy hums. The proof grows a bit more tangible, slightly. Abnormal surroundings? Worth looking into. A bad thing or two happening to the people around you could be a coincidence sometimes. But a lot of people around you? Consistently? He and Hazel share a brief look, and Percy sees her exhaling, nodding her head ever so slightly.

Truth is, Will Solace didn’t need to try and prove his case to the two of them. Percy knows Hazel can see it.

And as for Percy…he hears it.

“STOP INTERROGATING HIM!”

Percy wants to scoff. Two questions barely count as anything close to an interrogation. The ghost must’ve seen the look on Percy’s face because his energy intensifies, causing Percy to shiver one more time.

Oh, definitely an angry ghost.

Percy can’t see the ghost, to be honest. He's never seen them. That’s more Hazel’s job. And by the way her eyes are locked onto the empty space on the couch next to Will, it’s obvious that the ghost is right there. 

That’s kind of their thing. Hazel sees them but can’t hear them, while Percy can hear them loud and clear but he has no clue what they look like. They’ve been at this for, like, three years now. Meeting ghosts, helping them move on, and at the same time helping the living people move on as well. Their job isn’t technically ‘ paranormal investigating’ but Percy has no idea what they would be called otherwise. A medium? Ghost hunters? Psychics? Whatever their label is, their goal has always been the same: to help .

For now, the ghost doesn’t exude any sort of malicious energy. Just annoyed. And angry at them, not at Will Solace. As for why they’re here clinging on to Will? That’s what they need to find out.

Hazel gets up, gesturing for Will to do the same. She points at the door leading to the lobby slash, where they keep some ghost-ty related tools (Blessed items, Hazel often sighs at him). “Let’s talk more out there. I have a few things we can test out.”

Percy sees her glancing at the ghost pointedly before she and Will head outside. Before the door closes behind her, she gives Percy a look that’s basically telling him do not slack off, I swear to all the gods.

He shudders.

Anyway .

None of their ‘blessed items’ (happy now, Hazel?) actually do much. They're fake. Scams. Bullshit. They display it for looks and when they do use it, it's mostly to distract the living so Percy can have some alone time with their spectral guests. 

Admittedly, it feels stupid to be alone in the room with a ghost (sounds stupid, too). He feels like an absolute weirdo just talking to himself. And if anyone spotted him, they'll think so too. 

And, by the way, Percy would like to 0/10, not recommend the power to hear ghosts. He can't count the amount of time he's jumped at the sound of them whispering or suddenly talking to him when he least expects it. (God. He can still feel ghostly rings in his ears after one hellish encounter with a ghost who loved his trumpet too much).

Though he doesn't envy Hazel's power either.

Percy clears his throat and tries not to feel awkward as he speaks. “Do you have a name? We want to help.”

He can feel the ghost bristling, voice still angry and loud. “DON'T TALK TO ME.”

“Okay. No name.” Percy says, sighing internally. He's not a fan of these kinds of ghosts. Angry and refusing to talk. They've always been a little troublesome because some of them were quite closed off even when they were alive. “Then do you mind telling me why you're clinging on to that person? Is he your friend?”

“…no.”

Very helpful. Nevertheless, Percy continues. “He's not your friend? Or no, you're not clinging to him?”

“No, as in, I DON'T KNOW,” the ghost growls, his patience fading as the seconds tick on. “ STOP ASKING ME THINGS.”

“No can do. Will Solace asked us for help and we're gonna give it to him. So, can we please cooperate? We just want to help him, promise. Do it for him, at least.”

At that, the ghost seems to calm down a bit, which further shows their possible deep connection. A ghost doesn't just listen to anyone. In his experience, the closer they were to the person when they were alive, the less likely they were to lash out and give out the occasional curses. Unfortunately, the distrust still exudes from him in waves, which is, yeah, understandable, he guesses. Percy hears an annoyed huff (which is lowkey rude) coming from the ghost and Percy takes that as a yes. For now.

“Is there a reason why you're tormenting his classmates and teachers?”

The ghost's voice rises in anger one more time. “ BECAUSE. They're mean to him. I'm just giving them what they deserve.”

“That's it ?” Percy's mouth falls open, eyebrows rising. “How close were you two?”

“We're probably close…. I don't know.”

“Okay. What do you remember about your death?”

Cause of death isn't always the reason for a ghost to do anything but there are always things you can learn from it. What they were doing before, the last person they talked to, and what emotion they were feeling. Those things tend to stick to someone’s existence as they die. It can help point to the reason why a ghost is still lingering around. But it's also a… sensitive topic, to say the least, especially if their deaths are traumatizing or violent. Some ghosts remember almost everything, some only bits and pieces, and some—

“… I don't know.”

—don’t remember anything. AKA, the most frustrating thing to work with. Meaning they have to start with nothing to go off on.

“You don't remember anything at all? Your family? Friends? Partners? Your name?”

Complete silence. Even without Hazel's sight, Percy can almost imagine the ghost's expression. Almost . When the silence continues, Percy gets his answer. Not good. A moment later, the door swings open and Hazel returns alone. But the ghost is still here. Percy sees the way Hazel's eyes lock on to the empty spot again.

“Where's Will?”

Percy winces internally. The ghost was so angry before, but now he sounds so hurt and panicked.

“He's asking where Will is?” Percy tells Hazel.

“He went back home. I told him, I'll contact him once we make some progress.” Hazel studies the ghost with a frown. “But you're still here. Spirits typically can't stray too far from the person or object they're attached to. If you're here…then that means you've been willingly following Will Solace around.”

The ghost is completely silent and only Hazel can tell what expression they might be wearing right now. Percy would guess that it's mostly conflicted and maybe even lost, judging by the sympathetic look in Hazel's eyes. The curly-haired girl walks across the room and reclaims her spot next to Percy.

He explains the things they talked about before. Why the ghost has been tormenting Will's classmates and the complete amnesia. In turn, Hazel describes the ghost's appearance. A young man older than Hazel but younger than Percy, with shoulder-length dark hair and dark brown eyes. He's pale but that's probably his natural complexion, not because he's a ghost.

“He just looks tired? Maybe. Can't see any injuries.” Hazel hums, scanning the ghost up and down. “Honestly, he could pass as a living person.”

“What does that even mean?”

It means they don't have a single clue. Ghosts often mirror how they looked the moment they died. Car crash? Glass would still remain stuck on your face. Drowning? Drip water everywhere. Struck by lightning was kind of cool; their spirit appeared zinged with electrical currents. Now what?

“Do you really not remember anything?” Hazel asks. “It doesn't have to be anything big or complete. Just the small things. Like certain words or certain feelings?”

“I…” the ghost starts. And no, Percy is definitely not jealous of Hazel's ability to make just about anyone open up more easily, ghost or not. “ Not really…”

“What about Will Solace? How did you end up following him?”

“...I was already…before I knew it….” the ghost pauses. “I just feel…”

The ghost trails off and whatever expression he's making now, it's apparently enough for Hazel to stop pushing it.

“And your name?” Then Hazel adds quickly, “or maybe you can come up with one. It'll be easier for us to call you that way, right?”

“I don't...” The ghost starts, impatience returning to his voice. Then he stops for a long while as if trying to recall something. “Angel…just use that.”

They nod, Hazel smiling reassuringly. Then the chill in the air disappears and Hazel's shoulders slump, her gaze moving away from the now presumably empty spot to look at Percy.

“He’s gone?” Percy asks.

“Yeah. Probably to catch up to Will.” Hazel says, stretching her arms up. The two of them begin making their way to their small office.

Their building isn't that big. It's kind of secluded and hard to miss but people always manage to make their way here (also helped by the power of Super Deluxe Valdez Style Social Media Advertising™ that their friend Leo insists on doing for them in his free time. To this day, Percy's too scared to look at the Instagram page Leo made for them). The first floor of the building is the lobby, the living room they use to talk to clients, and their joined office space. There's an upstairs that has a private bathroom and a bedroom in case one of them wanted to crash here for the night. Otherwise, Hazel lives with her boyfriend and Percy with his girlfriend (fiancée, Seaweed Brain), Annabeth.

The office space is maybe Percy's favorite part of their building. It's small but one side of the wall has giant windows. Two desks are pushed against the glass, Hazel's and his. Hazel's desk is kind of messy with stacks of papers and a handful of gems (where did she even get those?) Percy's desk is almost barren except for the crumpled-up pieces of paper he'd been trying to toss into the trash can across the room (Hazel's winning with 29-37, goddammit).

Hazel plops down in her seat, swiveling it to face Percy, her curly hair bunching against the headrest and brushing her cheeks.

“So. Will Solace?” Percy asks, sitting down too. He takes a crumpled ball and tosses it (it went through, 30-37). “What else did you learn?”

“Not much,” Hazel shrugs. She tossed one, too (30-38, shit). “He's twenty-five, lives alone, and is about to finish med school.”

“Do they look alike?”

“Definitely not. Angel's face is more…hmmm…European? Plus, Will says he checks in on all his siblings once a month. So, I don't think family relations are on the list.”

“Friends, maybe? Or a former partner?”

“I don't know, Percy.” Hazel says with a sigh, “he did say we can visit his apartment if we want to check it out. He gave me his address.”

“Okay, great,” Percy says, straightening in his seat. “How about tomorrow afternoon?”

“Sure,” Hazel replies and he realizes that she's thinking of something. She's got that look on her face. They've been friends for years; Percy might even call her his best friend after Annabeth, and he knows there's something up.

“Haze?”

“Ugh, I don't know. Will…he's nice and polite, but he seemed so far away? Like, you know that look when ghosts are thinking of their lives and what they’ve lost?” Hazel shakes her head. “He looked more like a ghost than Angel, to be honest with you.”

Will Solace was already climbing up the stairs of his apartment building when Angel caught up. He's walking up slowly, giving Angel enough time to reach him completely. Out of habit, he matches Will's steps and follows him up to his unit. Just as he reaches his door, Will stops, his hand on the handle, and looks through an open window, looking at the sky for a long minute without blinking. Angel takes the opportunity to admire Will Solace. He's always admired him. The sunlight colors his hair brightly and the blue of the sky and his eyes are both so bright they’re basically interchangeable.

Angel's been following him for around a year now. He doesn't really remember much—or anything really, about his life—but he does remember waking up in Will's apartment, lying on the living room floor. He sat up, looked around for a moment, thinking he'd ended up in a stranger's house after a stupid night out. Then Will walks through the door, sunlight lining his figure. Angel had been entranced immediately.

Then Will walked through him. Literally. The blonde doesn't blink, doesn't even register Angel's presence, as he starts pouring himself a glass of water. Angel screamed, jumped around and waved his hand in front of Will's face fruitlessly.

That's when he realized something was wrong with him. He was dead. Gone. A ghost. 

He doesn’t know how, why, or when. All he knows is that he doesn't want to leave Will's side. He didn’t care about finding answers or whatever. He was content for a while.

Will looks away from the window, blinking back some of the tears that came from staring for too long. He pulls out his keys, a cute sun charm dangling from the metal, and slots it into the keyhole.

Angel really likes Will's apartment. It's a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment close to his school. Small but homey. The walls of the apartment are painted a nice baby blue that's soft and comforting, with hand-painted daisies on the wall next to the bookshelf that Will’s siblings did. Everything is neat and put together except for the messy stacks of medical college textbooks on the dining table and a laptop with an empty battery sitting, opened, on top of the stacks. There are a lot, a lot, of pictures across the walls and surfaces. Pictures of Will, his parents, his siblings, and his friends whose names Angel hasn’t memorized yet. It's clear that he adores his family and friends to death, never missing an opportunity to check up on them or go and see them no matter when or what.

“How are you feeling?” Angel asks even though he knows Will can't hear him and won't respond. “Do you really want to get rid of me?”

He won’t lie and say it didn’t hurt that the blonde went to go see a paranormal investigator. It stung. A lot. To think Will wanted him gone and out of his life just like that. The girl who could see him was right. He could leave and do what Will wanted. He’s not bound to the boy, free to roam wherever he wanted to. But despite knowing that, Angel doesn’t leave nor does he want to. He follows Will around even in this small apartment. 

Will stays quiet, setting down his backpack on the dining table. He pushes away his bangs from his eyes and approaches a bookshelf where a black picture frame stands. And although he's been here for around a year, Angel has never seen that specific picture. The framed photo is always pushed down against the surface, hiding the contents from view. Will, like now, often pulls it back up to stare at it with sad eyes. Who he could be thinking about, Angel doesn’t know. The blonde traces a part of the picture with his thumb and Angel grips his chest, feeling his heart clenching with a strange hurt. Even dead, he can't escape pain like this and he both resents it and is relieved by it. 

His head shoots up when he hears Will putting the frame back, picture down, hard enough for the plastic to clack against the shelf sharply. Oh. Angel knows what’s next. The blonde runs a hand across his face, lower lip trembling, before heading towards his bedroom. Inside, he falls face-first into his bed, not bothering with closing the door or taking off his shoes. Angel follows Will inside to hear him crying softly against the sheets.

He swallows and stands by his bedside, biting his lower lip. “Will, please…” Please stop crying. Please go to bed. Please forget about whoever it is that you’re thinking about! "You don’t deserve this…"

Reaching out is painful; he knows this. It’s the same. Every time Will even glances at that picture, he ends up crying for hours, curled up into a ball. And every time, Angel would reach out to do something only for his hand to pass through too easily . If he could, he would wipe those tears away, tuck the strands of blonde hair back from Will’s face, and just hold his hand tightly enough to let Will know he’s there for him.

It’s nighttime when Will finally stopped crying and fell asleep, cheeks still stained with his tears. Angel blinks down at him, staring at the slow rise and fall of the blonde’s chest. He indulges himself for a moment. Leaning close, pretending to press his cheek against Will’s chest, just enough to feel some semblance of warmth.

“Please don’t force me to leave.”

Chapter Text

The ghost looked gloomy when they entered Will Solace’s apartment.

He seems upset about something, huddling near a shelf as he quietly watches Will move around. He barely acknowledges Hazel and Percy's presence, only giving them a brief, sour look.

“Sorry it's a mess,” Will says from the kitchen. “I've been a little busy these days.”

The ghost's lips move and Hazel looks at Percy for a transcript. He mutters under his breath, “Exams.”

Angel sighs, then gets up to hover near Will.

“It's alright, Will. We won't be long.”

The blonde flashes them a smile as he sits down across from them. Behind him, Angel crosses his arms, roaming around the house with ease, even avoiding some of the furniture though he doesn't need to. All of this tells Hazel that the ghost has been lingering here long enough for him to remember the layout of Will’s apartment.

“So, uh,” Percy starts. “About your ghost. We know what he looks like.”

“Oh,” Will blinks, “they're here now, aren't they?”

“He is…how did you know that?” Hazel asks.

“I can just tell. It's really quiet, isn't it? It's impossible for the complex to be like this. Downstairs has the baby, and my next-door neighbor plays drums at this hour.” Will shrugs. “Is he…helping me? Or should I be concerned instead?”

Behind him, Angel looks proud of what he did, muttering something that causes Percy to sigh.

“W-What does he look like?” Will asks nervously. “Is it someone I know…?”

“Maybe you can tell us,” Hazel says, describing the ghost's physical appearance in detail. Will's eyes widen while Angel seems to perk up a bit. And Hazel doesn't know if he's eager to learn a clue about who he is, or…he's eager about Will knowing who he is.

“U-Uhm…I…” the blonde swallows and Hazel could've sworn there was a brief, terrified look across his eyes. The hand that runs through his hair even shakes a little. But it disappears very quickly, almost impossible to catch if Hazel hadn't been paying attention. Will shakes his head, his expression growing uncomfortable.

“I don't know anyone who looks like that,” he says quietly, and behind him, Angel appears to deflate with disappointment. The sad look in his eyes makes Hazel want to comfort him a bit. She always hates it when ghosts start feeling upset or lost.

“Hmm…I’ll chat a bit more with our friend,” Percy decides. “Do you mind? I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Sure?” Will tilts his head, his tone a bit unsure as an amused smile decorates his lips. Hazel watches as Angel reaches out to poke the blonde’s cheek, frowning when his finger only passes through.

“Cool. Well?”

Angel hesitates, scowling at Percy like he just said something offensive and unforgivable. He lingers for another minute, very much unwilling to separate from Will Solace, before finally conceding. He begrudgingly follows Hazel’s partner outside while stomping his feet without sound, like Percy's dragging him outside. 

When the door closes behind them, Will lets out a surprising laugh. “Sorry…that just felt funny.”

The moment he says that, something shifts in the air and the quiet of the apartment dissipates. Just like Will said, Hazel hears the beating of drums from next door and the muffled crying of a baby from the floor below.

“The quiet has been really helpful. I've been stressing out because the noise made it really hard to study,” Will sighs. “I'll miss it.”

“You seem very calm about all this,” Hazel remarks.

“O-Oh…I guess so. Is that…bad?”

“No, of course not. It's just, usually, people are a bit more scared or panicked when they're being haunted.”

Hazel thinks back to a few of them. Nerves, anxiety, and fear are normal. Some can get hysterical, some can get terrified until their whole body shakes, and some even get so scared they start laughing. All understandable reactions when you're dealing with an actual ghost. 

Hazel's favorite memory relating to this is actually of a Halloween party a year into the job. Of Leo jumping back and knocking over a bottle of champagne when Hazel told him there was a ghost right behind him. (It was a lie, but he screamed so loud, Percy ended up laughing until his stomach hurt.)

But Will is more than calm. He's barely reacting to his ghost at all. He doesn't seem bothered being followed around by one. When talking about his pranked classmates, his expression had been one of obligatory, mild concern.

Hazel's not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

“Sorry. My mind is just filled with nothing but my exams these days,” Will laughs. “I barely have the energy to do anything.”

“I see. Well, the ghost doesn't seem to have any malicious intent so we don't think you need to worry for the time being . ” Hazel explains, leaving out the part about Angel liking him too much to actually cause any harm. 

“Honestly, it wouldn't matter even if they did want to hurt me,” Will continues and Hazel frowns at his wilting tone. “I only noticed this one because it got really quiet and kind of cold all of a sudden.”

“Ah…because of your studies?” Hazel glances at the stack of books on the small dining table. They look like a real mess compared to the rest of the apartment, as if Will has been flipping through them frantically for a long time. “You have impressive focus.“

“Not really,” Will says sheepishly. “I just have this thing next week that I want to focus on.”

“So you're trying to finish all your studies before that?”

“Y-Yeah. I know it's not healthy…” Will swallows, glancing at a picture frame on his shelf, “it's just really important to me.”

The door creaks open again before Hazel gets a chance to respond. Angel comes rushing in, his expression twisted with concern, and looks up and down at Will as if he’s worried Hazel did something.

“So, I learned something,” Percy announces. “Our friend here remembers first waking up in this apartment. So maybe the previous owner might know something. Do you know them?”

“A little. We're acquaintances but I lost contact with her a few months after I moved in. I can try asking a few people for her number, though. If that's okay?”

“Of course,” Hazel answers. “I think we're done for today. We'll get back to you once we find some information. Thanks for today, Will.”

“I'm glad,” Will says, “and, uhm, you can take your time with it. He's not really bothering me or making me uncomfortable or anything. I just…don't want him to be stuck here forever, you know? That's unfair.” His blue eyes seem to darken with sadness for a moment, his voice growing strained. Hazel thinks he might start crying but he doesn't. “And…if he's still here. I just want to say…thank you? You've made studying a lot easier these past few days.”

Angel bites down on his lower lip like he's trying to stop it from trembling. He's reaching out again, fingers grazing the air near Will's hand. Then, feeling Hazel's gaze on him, he turns towards her. She sees his expression pinching like he's pained before it turns into the same scowl from before. He turns away from her with a little huff she can't hear.

“He's saying, and I quote-what the fuck do we do now?”

Percy's honestly still surprised Angel is willingly following them around and left Will Solace alone in his apartment. He'd assumed, based on Angel's personality and odd attachment to the blonde, that he would rather blink out of existence than leave. But here they are. Two young adults walking through the neighborhood while talking to a ghost. Just a typical weekend.

Hazel looks unimpressed with Angel's language. “Well, since you woke up in that apartment, we're going to go around the area. It's possible you lived there before, so maybe other places here will trigger a familiar feeling or even a memory.”

“ That sounds stupid,” Angel says, but Percy refuses to relay that to his partner. Still, he catches Hazel sighing to herself because she probably sees the look in the ghost's face.

“Come on,” Percy says. “What better way to kickstart your ghostly brain than a nice walk? It's a nice day out.”

And it is! For the past few days, the weather has been awful. Cloudy with the occasional rain and little to no sun in sight. But it's so bright out today, Percy almost wishes he were here taking a nice, relaxing walk with Annabeth instead since they've been so busy between life, work, and wedding planning. Oh well. Walking with his best friend is nice too, even if they have an extra guest.

Will Solace’s apartment complex is a three-story building that’s been around forever, judging by the overgrown weeds and water damage along the outer walls. A bunch of families and old people live in the building so Will definitely stands out.

They've never been to this part of town before. It's not as crowded as the downtown area but there are a bunch of shops lining the streets and a park across the apartment.

A nice little space if you wanted to settle down.

“ You sound stupid,” Angel sighs.

“Rude.”

But still, the ghost seems to follow close behind as they walk down the street, passing a few small restaurants and other stores. He doesn't say a word for the next fifteen minutes and neither of them forces him to. They've seen what happens when you push a ghost too much and it's never pretty.

So Percy is content to chat with Hazel, who updates him about how she's been doing at home ever since she moved in with Frank (she's fantastic!), and he asks her opinion on wedding flowers. He's in the middle of asking about bluebells when Hazel suddenly stops.

They're now standing in front of a small, cozy library with pots of yellow flowers on the windowsill. Leto’s Books, the sign says.

“You recognize this place?”

“ No,” Angel answers, clicking his tongue. “ I just have this feeling…”

A moment later, all three of them enter the small store, the bell on the door chiming softly. The inside is a complete mess, to be honest, but it's aesthetic. Annabeth would like it here, Percy thinks. The shelves are fully stocked with various books, new and old, while some of them are even stacked on the floor.

“Oh, welcome.”

An older woman with thin glasses perched on top of her head greets them from behind the counter. She's probably Leto, Percy thinks.

“Can I help you find something?”

“Uh…sure.”

Percy steps forward towards her, leaving Hazel and Angel to roam around the small space. The woman smiles at him and pulls down her glasses, her blue eyes looking at him brightly.

Oh, what the hell. Let me just ask.

“I'm actually here because a friend recommended it.” Percy says with a smile. “Maybe you've seen him around? About this tall, with dark hair and dark eyes.”

“Oh! You're talking about that nice young Italian man who lives around here, yes?” The woman laughs while Percy shivers a bit from the chill, which means she's piqued Angel's interest now. “He's very sweet, that one but he bought the most random books.”

“I see. Do you mind telling us which books? We're, uh, looking for them too.”

The woman nods before disappearing into the back.

“ I still don't remember anything. ” Angel mutters. “ I went here? ”

“Well, if you did live here, it would make sense that you went here once or twice before,” Hazel points out, grabbing a book from the shelf and turning it in her hands. “It seems to be the only bookstore around. Maybe you were a big reader.”

Just then the old woman returns with a surprising amount of books in her arms. Percy's eyes widen as she places them on the counter with a huff. He's never been good at reading anything with his heavy dyslexia, so just looking at some of these thick books is enough to give him a slight headache.

“Do you mind if we look them over for a sec?” Hazel asks with that charming smile of hers. “They seem heavy so we might take a few and then come back another day to bring the rest.”

“Of course, dear. Holler if you need me.” The woman laughs.

Percy lets out a deep breath once they're alone again. If this person is indeed Angel, then Percy wants to salute him. God, the amount of books.

“Damn. You read a lot. ” Percy whistles, looking down at the Basic Anatomy book, the Musical Notes 101 book, and the Introduction to Archery book. Too complicated for his brain.

“Hey, this is…” Hazel picks up a slightly smaller book with big, flashy letters on the cover that says Apollo: Lester Papadopoulos’s Journey, a biography. And the picture on the cover features an old photo of a familiar young man with blonde hair and blue eyes, singing into a microphone on a stage.

“You know him?”

Hazel shrugs. “Not really. But I think my mom was a fan. He's a retired musician.”

She glances at Angel, who's quiet now, and opens the book to a random page. Nothing seems noteworthy at a glance until Hazel suddenly stops at the page labeled scandals.

“Wait…” she mutters with a frown.

“ That's…” Angel suddenly whispers from behind them.

“ ... famous musician, Apollo, spotted together with country singer, Naomi Solace, just a few weeks before his shocking news of early retirement.” Hazel reads out loud. Her expression is twisted in distaste for the invasion of privacy.

“ Naomi. That's Will's mom,” Angel says. “ I've seen her visit a few times. ”

“And Apollo?” Percy asks but Angel just shakes his head.

“ I don't think they're together anymore. They haven't talked about him before.”

Percy sighs and runs a hand through his hair. This seems like some connection with Will Solace. It can't be a coincidence. A few things line up much too perfectly for it to be. And the man in the cover photo…he looks extremely similar to Will. There isn't a scandal related to Will in the book, but…

“Let’s put a pin on this,” he finally decides. “Do you recognize any of these other books?”

“ No, but…music and archery.” Angel says quietly. “ Will's siblings. I saw them visit before too. His sister does archery and his brother plays the saxophone. ”

The ghost's voice sounds lost and Percy sees Hazel reaching out with her hand before she realizes that it won't do much for a ghost. Physically and mentally.

In any case, the question becomes clear.

Could it be that Will lied about not knowing who Angel is?

Will sends them the previous apartment owner’s contact a week later.

The days after their little bookstore visit didn’t really go anywhere (unless you counted Hazel actually buying those four books because she felt guilty they didn’t come in there with the intention to buy). They tried walking through the area again but none of the other places really sparked new feelings or vague memories in Angel.

The ghost seemed down when they finished up for the day. Hazel understood that he was deep in thought.

After that, they tried digging through the apartment building’s history and tried to look for other buildings in the area that stood out, but that was a dead end. The apartment barely had anything that could help. The only fascinating thing about it is that it was the first apartment built in the area but that’s it. No conspiracies or mysteries.

Just a simple, quaint neighborhood.

That’s why Hazel hoped the contact could provide some help. She won’t ever admit it, but even she’s getting pretty desperate for a lead over here.

“Hi,” Hazel says into the phone. Percy urged her to be the one making the call because, in his words, she sounds more ‘diplomatic’ and ‘trustworthy.’ Whatever that means. “Is this Ms. Reyna Ramirez —”

“Yes, it is,” the voice on the other end says, cutting Hazel off with a slightly annoyed tone. “Can I help you?”

“Oh, sorry.” Hazel swallows, feeling nervous. “My name is Hazel Levesque. I got your phone number from Will Solace. I was wondering if I can ask you about the apartment you used to live in. The one Will’s living in now.”

The woman is silent for a moment and Hazel feels more and more nervous as the seconds tick by. God, she’s intimidating. Even her silence feels so heavy, like she’s scrutinizing Hazel. She’s half wondering if this is a mistake when Reyna’s voice returns. “Why? I’m sure he can tell you about it himself. I don’t live there anymore, obviously.”

“Well, I—”

“Apologies but I find this very odd. Is there a real reason why you’re calling me?”

“I mean—”

God. Who told Percy that it was a good idea for her to be handling the phone call?

Fortunately, Hazel is saved as Percy swipes the phone from her grip. “We’re sorry. We’re calling because we’re friends with Will.”

Percy licks his lips and Hazel can see that he’s nervous about this phone call, too. He’s leaning against their desk with his fingers tapping on the surface rhythmically. “We’re worried about him. He looked pretty rough when we saw him a few days ago. Ridiculously focused on his exams.”

Another stretch of silence as Percy listens. Hazel can vaguely hear Reyna’s voice coming through but hopefully it’s not as cold as before. She takes it as a good sign that Percy’s shoulders are relaxing with every exchange.

But it seems that she spoke too soon.

Not a second later, Percy straightens up suddenly. He frowns, glancing at the phone pressed against his ear like he just heard Reyna say something outlandish.

“Okay, got it. Thanks for talking to me.”

When the call ends, Percy stares down at the phone for a second, as if he still can’t believe what he heard, before he finally looks back up at Hazel, the phone forgotten in his loose grip.

“What is it?” Hazel asks, anxious all over again. “What did she say?”

“I’m not sure.” Percy says. “Actually, Reyna says not to worry too much. Says Will just gets like that this time of year because he’s…grieving.”

“So you really think he lied? About not knowing who Angel is?”

“I—”

Whatever Percy is about to say is cut off when Hazel sees Angel materialize next to them.

She gasps when she sees him.

He’s still incredibly pale but now there’s blood running against the side of his head, the red stark against his skin, and deep bruises marring his skin. Even his clothes aren’t spared, stained with dark blood and ripped in different spots.

“What’s wrong?” Percy asks her, concerned. “Is Angel…”

“He’s here.” Hazel says, trying to catch her breath. “He looks awful, Percy. There’s so much blood.”

Angel looks up at them, his lips moving. Though Hazel can’t hear what he says, as always, it’s apparently enough to make Percy’s eyes go wide.

“He says…he says he remembers. He remembers how he died.”