Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shreadhead99:
Has anyone ever talked with someone who’s dead?

Simon stared at his phone screen, silently considering the words he’d been reading over and over for the past ten minutes. The usual noise of the cafeteria bustled all around him, murmurs of conversation broken up by the occasional bark of laughter. It wasn’t like he normally paid much attention to the Split River High population, but he didn’t register any of it as he tried to decide what to do.

The whole thing made a vague feeling of guilt creep over him. Simon shouldn’t be wasting so much time thinking about something so inconsequential. Some manic ghost was running around in Maddie’s body and it was up to him to find her, but here he was, his mind stuck on a stupid, random post that probably didn’t even mean anything.

Simon couldn’t let Maddie down. Everything between the two of them was finally good again. He knew that she was real, that she was a ghost and not some fucked up hallucination of his greving mind. He knew that and he trusted her. He did.

He just… He worried.

There was a small voice that he couldn’t quite shake no matter how hard he tried. One that taunted him. What if she wasn’t really real? What if, after everything, Maddie did actually die and that's what finally broke him..?

While he had still been trying to figure out how real ghosts were, he had turned to the internet for answers. There were some forums that he’d come across, sites full of other people who’d had paranormal experiences. Looking at them had brought him a little peace. Like a balm that soothed the frayed edges of his worries, even if it hadn’t fixed very much in the end.

But right now, that little bit of peace was just what he needed to silence the voice. It wasn’t like he could go to any of the others about this. Maybe he could’ve talked to Xavier, who seemed weirdly accepting of the whole thing, but all of them were only just starting to believe in ghosts themselves. There was no way he could ruin that and make them doubt any further.

And Maddie… She had so much on her plate right now. Between all the mystery solving and learning about Janet, she was all over the place. There was no way he would add to that with his stupid bullshit.

But for all the times he scrolled through the posts on Weird Wisconsin, he never found anyone that claimed to have the same experience as him. No one has sat down and just… talked with any ghosts. All the stories he saw were about violent hauntings and possessions.

…Except…

Shreadhead99:
Has anyone ever talked with someone who’s dead?

It was a newer post from only a few hours ago, posted by an account that was barely even a few days old. No one had responded or even liked it. Simon could completely dismiss the whole thing and go on with his day, silencing the voice with plenty other, more prominent posts. There was no reason for him to get so hung up on it.

But… It made him feel… something. Like he wasn’t alone in this whole thing. Like there was at least one other person in the whole world who could understand.

Simon clutched his phone a little harder, his thumbs hovering over the screen. His leg bounced underneath the table. He let out a shaky breath and typed out a very short reply, sending it almost immediately so he wouldn’t chicken out.

horrorfan05:
I have.

“Simon!”

Simon put his phone down and turned towards the voice, seeing Xavier come through the cafeteria’s double doors. He was waving a thin book in his hand as he beelined for the table Simon was sitting at.

Simon honestly had no idea how him and Xavier had gotten to this point. Only a few weeks ago they were at each other's throats, having fist fights in the hallways. He had been convinced that the guy had killed Maddie for christ’s sake. Sure, he was man enough to admit that part of it had been a tiny amount of jealousy over how much of Maddie’s time the guy monopolised, but could you blame him? Even after all the bad blood between them, Xavier had immediately believed all his ghost talk, basically no questions asked. If Simon was in his place, he certainly wouldn’t have believed himself. Guess investigating your BFF’s not quite murder and being run over by her not quite murderer can really bring people together.

“Check it out.” Xavier said, throwing an old yearbook down in front of Simon. He flipped to a certain page, pointing to one of the portraits inside. “From 1958, Janet Hamilton. I’m pretty sure this is who we're looking for.”

Simon scanned the picture as Xavier sat down next to him. “This is great! Now we have a last name. I can check obituaries if you take a look at property listings.”

Xavier nodded, looking a little pleased with himself as he pulled out his phone. Since they were no longer mortal enemies, Simon decided that he liked that look on his face. It was much better than the nervous, wide eyed look he seemed to wear all the time now.

“Sounds good to me. I’ll let you know if…” He trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing at something on his screen.

“You good, man?” Simon asked, hoping it wasn’t more bad news. He didn’t want to jinx them, but this whole thing had taught him that no matter what, things could always get worse.

“What-? No, I’m fine.” Xavier quickly swiped away something on his phone, making Simon raise an eyebrow at him. “Just got a response to something I wasn’t expecting. It doesn’t really have anything to do with Maddie. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

Simon just nodded and went back to his own search. He looked up the last name Hamilton and cross referenced it with the year from the book. Quite a few matches popped up, more than he was expecting. At least nine Hamiltons were alive at the time, leaving him with a decent sized list to look over.

At some point, Nicole and Maddie wandered in. Nicole sat across from the two of them, clutching a freshly purchased drink from the vending machine in her hands. Maddie stopped to stand behind them, looking at what they were doing over their shoulders. She let out an appreciative hum and nodded, leaning back to rest against a nearby lunch table.

“What are you guys doing?” Nicole asked after a while, eyeing the yearbook warily

“Trying to figure out the whole farmhouse thing. You know, where it could be located and stuff.” Simon replied, not looking up from his phone.

Nicole sighed, resting her chin on top of her drink as the two of them continued to search. “I don’t know why you guys are putting this much effort into this. The whole farmhouse thing feels rando.”

“It’s not rando, though.” Simon countered, finally raising his head to meet her gaze. He knew that Nicole had been on the fence about this whole thing, especially with the drive they’d taken earlier, but he really needed her on the team. With Maddie and her ghost friends stuck at the school, they needed eyes and ears everywhere to look for Janet.

“That may have been the only place Janet felt safe.” He continued. “She could’ve gone back there, hoping some of her relatives were still living there. It-”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Xavier cut him off, slapping Simon’s arm to get his attention. “I got an address here on Route 17. It’s listed under Millard Hamilton.”

Simon leaned closer to him to peer at his phone, Maddie following suit from behind them.

“That’s totally it! Millard is one of the names I came across too. See here?” Simon put his phone next to Xavier’s, the two of them huddled together comparing information.

Nicole muttered something about the musical Hamilton, but Simon wasn’t paying her much attention. This was the big break that they’d been looking for. They could finally find Janet and get Maddie back in her body.

He could have Maddie back.

At some point, Maddie had left their side of the table and walked around to stand next to Nicole. She watched the other girl for a moment, before turning to Simon. “She’s still holding out, huh?”

“Big time.” Simon replied, not thinking as he continued to compare the information they’d dug up.

“What’s big time?” Xavier asked, his voice sounding right in Simon’s ear.

The volume made Simon jump, finally dragging his attention back to the people in front of him. He opened his mouth to reply, before it really set in how closer the two of them had been sitting. He’d gotten so wrapped up in everything that he hadn’t noticed how much he’d been encroaching on the other boy’s space. Simon cleared his throat and scooted away, taking his phone with him. At least Xavier wasn’t a dick about it like some people could be.

“The address, that’s- that’s big news.” He covered for his slip, pointing to Xavier’s phone. “It’s right out by that bus route we were scoping out, Nicole. We could probably head over there after school.”

“Well, I’m not going back there again.” Nicole protested, twisting the drink in her hands. “All we came away with is someone saying Maddie bought a stupid map. We don’t even know if it was Maddie!”

“You’re right.” Simon said as Maddie sat down next to Nicole. “It was Janet.”

“Janet." Xavier agreed, nodding his head along with Simon’s words.

Nicole scoffed. “Why are you nodding?? You had a concussion dude, not a lobotomy.”

Xavier made a face and put his phone away, not meeting Nicole’s eyes.

“Why would Maddie hide away in some stranger’s farmhouse?” Nicole continued, clearly frustrated with the two of them. “I don’t get how you guys can just… believe this stuff!”

“Because it’s not Maddie.” Simon stressed, hoping to get through to her. “It’s Janet.”

Nicole opened her mouth to reply, but the bell interrupted her. The rest of the cafeteria began to grumble and pack up as the four of them stood, Simon only remembering to grab the yearbook at the last second.

They needed a game plan. Any time they wasted here would give Janet more time to slip away. Simon had no idea what they’d do if this turned out to be a dead end.

“So,” He gestured to all of them with the book. “one more hour to get through and then I’m hitting Route 17 after bio.”

Xavier hit him on the arm. “I can grab my truck and pick you up.”

Simon laughed and shook his head, stuffing his phone into his pocket. “Nah, you’re still taking sponge baths, bro. I’ll drive your truck.”

Xavier shrugged as the two of them began to walk off, leaving Nicole and Maddie behind. Simon belatedly remembered that he was still holding the yearbook and paused. There was no way he was going to waste even more time dropping this back off before leaving.

“One sec, dude.” Simon quickly backtracked, ignoring the look of confusion Xavier shot him.

“Do you think you could return this for me Nicole?” He asked, holding the yearbook out for her.

Nicole stared at it for a beat, before silently taking the book.

“Thanks!” Simon called, not waiting to see her full reaction as he rushed back over to Xavier.

The other boy shook his head at him as they pushed open the cafeteria doors and made their way down the hall together. As per usual, every space was packed with other students trying to get where they needed to go, but they didn’t have too much trouble navigating through it.

“Thanks for helping me look.” Simon offered as they turned a corner, passing a girl fixing her makeup in a mirror taped to the inside of her locker. “I have no idea how you’re so chill about all the ghost stuff, but it’s made searching for Janet so much easier.”

“No problem, man.” Xavier replied easily, the pleased look from earlier returning.

Simon stopped in front of an open doorway, causing Xavier to follow suit. He jerked a thumb at the classroom behind him. “This is where I’m heading, see you in an hour or so.”

Xavier nodded and Simon shoved his hands in his pockets, going to head inside. It wouldn’t be fun to sit through an entire period of bio with so much on his mind, but he had no choice. He needed to be smarter about how much he was skipping, no matter-

“Wait.” A hand landed on Simon's shoulder and he turned to face Xavier, looking at him questioningly. Xavier clearly had something on his mind, hunching in on himself a little as he stared at Simon with wide eyes.

“...Yes…?” Simon prompted after the other boy didn’t say anything.

“I just… I was wondering…” Xavier looked down, a little bit of his fringe falling into his eyes. “...Nevermind. See you after class.”

Simon watched in confusion as Xavier sped away, disappearing into the slowly thinning crowd.
He shook his head to dismiss whatever that was and went to go sit at his desk. On the drive to the farmhouse he could ask about it, but it was best to try to ignore it right now. Simon didn’t need another thing to worry about on top of everything else.

With the few precious moments he had left before class started, he took out his phone and checked his reply on the forum page. He knew it was probably futile with the short amount of time that had passed since his response, but he needed the distraction. As he thought, no one had replied yet, not even the original poster. Simon sighed and threw his phone into his backpack just as the bell rang and the longest class of his life began.

Chapter Text

Xavier stepped out into the fresh air of Split River, Wisconsin, and made a beeline for his truck. Other students lingered on the sidewalk that he had to squeeze past on his way, none of them in a hurry like he was. As it came into view, he could see Simon was already there waiting for him. He was leaning against the door with a slight frown on his face, looking at something on his phone.

Xavier picked up the pace, going to fish his keys out of his pocket to pass on to Simon. And, when he really thought about it, wasn’t that a crazy statement? If you had told him a month ago he’d be letting Simon Elroy of all people drive his truck, he wouldn’t have believed you.

Simon looked up at the approaching footsteps, his shoulders dropping as he realized who it was. He pushed off of the truck and headed around to the drivers side as Xavier tossed him his keyring.

“Thanks.” He said as he caught them with a nod of appreciation. “I double checked the route and it looks like we won’t reach the farmhouse until it gets dark.”

“That’s fine.” Xavier shrugged as the two boys climbed in. “Not like I have anything else planned.”

Simon snorted, a small smile appearing on his face, and shoved the keys into the ignition. The truck began to rumble underneath them and Xavier pulled out his phone, planning to pass the time by scrolling. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Simon fiddling with the center console as they took off.

As his screen blinked to life, Xavier was reminded of the notification he’d gotten earlier. He sat up a little straighter, a strangely giddy feeling in his chest. Someone had actually replied to his post. Someone else had not just seen ghosts, but had talked to them. At least, if they weren’t bullshitting him that was.

horrorfan05:
I have.

It was such a simple response, but it was almost more believable that way. If someone had posted a huge, rambling paragraph he probably would've been more likely to dismiss it. But those two simple words…

Xavier clicked to reply but hesitated, thumbs hovering over the keyboard. How did he even respond to that?

The phone sagged in his hands as he thought about it, his eyes flickering around the cabin of the truck. On one side of him, buildings passed by in a blur out the window. On the other, Simon sat at the wheel, his fingers drumming against the wheel as his lips mouthed along to the song on the radio.

Xavier stared at him for a moment. Maybe he could ask Simon what he thought? He almost had earlier in the hall, but… it was probably a bad idea. Him and Simon had only just gotten on better terms and he still wasn’t completely sure what the guy really thought of him. They’d been ok since getting on the same page about the investigation, but Xavier doubted that showing hesitance would win him any points. Besides, the two of them needed to focus on finding Maddie’s body. Xavier owed it to her, for everything that he’d done.

He shook his head and focused back on his phone, ignoring the shame that began to worm its way through his stomach. Ok, ok, so no Simon. How should he approach this then? Maybe just a little confirmation of his own experience? He had no idea why he was so nervous about this.

Shreadhead99:
I think I have too. Wanna talk in DMs?

There, that was simple enough, wasn’t it? It showed interest without being too overbearing. …He sounded like a middle schooler trying to text their crush. Who knew that being suspected of murder and maybe possibly seeing ghosts could make him so lame.

“Hey, dude.”

The voice made Xavier jump, his head snapping up to look at Simon. The other boy seemed to notice his surprise, an unreadable expression taking over his face.

“What- What’s up?” Xavier replied, trying to go for casual. As he spoke, something began to feel a little off, the air between them taking a sharp turn away from how relaxed and casual it was before.

Simon’s voice had a slight edge to it. “Didn’t mean to startle you. I was going to ask you something, but it seems like you’re pretty focused over there… Texting someone special?”

Xavier's eyes widened, his fingers curling tighter around his phone. “What-”

Simon’s knuckles turned white where he was gripping onto the steering wheel. “Because while we’re actually working together now and you seem like you're really committed, you don’t exactly have a good track record with this kind of stuff.”

“...Fucking unbelievable.” Xavier scoffed, shaking his head as he turned to look out the window. “You really still think that shit about me? That- That even after all this, everything I’ve done to help you, I’d go running off to some other girl?”

Simon was silent for a moment. “I just-”

“I’m committed to this, to Maddie.” Xavier continued, cutting him off with a glare. “I don’t care if you're too much of an asshole to see that.”

He waited to see if Simon was going to try to say anything, frowning when it was clear he wouldn’t. Xavier went back to looking at his phone, trying to ignore the tense atmosphere that had grown between them. He scrolled blankly, struggling to absorb anything that was being shown to him.

He couldn’t believe Simon was still bringing this shit up. Xavier knew he messed up. He knew it. Cheating on Maddie had been the worst mistake of his life, and he knew that he’d be carrying around the guilt of it until the day he died. It was fine when other people didn’t believe him, that he’d changed. All the adults, his dad… He didn’t care what they thought of him, when they never bothered to look past the surface of who he was.

He knew that Simon and Nicole had no reason to trust or even like him, and he was prepared to live with that fact and spend every day proving to them that he was different, that he wanted to help Maddie. That he loved her.

But then they’d started to accept him, to welcome him into their group… Implied that they knew who he was.

He shouldn’t have gotten his hopes up for something like that.

The silence stuck around even as they began to enter the more rural parts of Split River, the sun sinking decidedly lower into the sky. Xavier gave up on trying to do anything on his phone and settled for watching the landscape rush by out the window.

“...I’m sorry.” Simon muttered out of nowhere, making Xavier freeze. “You’re right… you are committed. I shouldn't've said anything.”

Xavier looked up at him, scrutinizing his face for any signs of deception. Wherever his dad confronted him about something, his eyebrows would raise ever so slightly if he was just placating Xavier, but still thought he was guilty.

Simon seemed genuine enough and he could feel himself relax a little. Xavier didn’t even know he’d been so tense.

“Whatever man, it’s fine-”

“No.” Simon cut him off. “I was being an asshole. We need to work together on this, not just bring up old issues. I.. I got a little paranoid and I’m sorry.”

Xavier blinked, staring at the side of Simon’s head in shock. It had been so long since someone had apologized to him, like a real, meaningful apology. …God, that was sad.

He cleared his throat, crossing his arms across his chest. “Like I said, it’s fine. …I know if I was in your position I wouldn’t exactly like me either.”

Simon glanced at him, eyebrows furrowed as he shot him a look, but turned back towards the road before Xavier could decipher it.

The rest of the trip was spent in a much more comfortable silence. It wasn’t necessarily the same as when they first started, but Xavier was ok with that. He spent most of it continuing to scroll aimlessly on his phone, occasionally checking back on his reply to horrorfan05.

It seemed like they hadn’t noticed it yet. At least, that what he hoped had happened, there was always the chance he’d scared them off with the DM request. The most likely case was just that they hadn’t had the chance to respond yet. He needed to be patient and focus on the larger task at hand. He couldn’t forget there was a possibility they could be coming face to face with Janet really soon.

…Or Maddie. His mind whispered. Xavier shook away the thought.

“I think we’re getting close. Could you check my phone?” Simon asked as the ground underneath them shifted, the road turning to dirt. The sun had set about thirty minutes ago, leaving the two of them to drive around as night fell. Simon had mentioned something about it before, but Xavier didn’t realize just how dark it was going to be in a rural area like this with no streetlights.

“Yeah, let me see…” Xavier grabbed Simon’s phone, checking how far they had left to go. “We’re super close, less than a mile. Take a left up here by the way.”

Before reaching the turn, they passed a huge red billboard on the side of the road that caught Xavier’s eye. It was the only thing in the area that was lit up, two small bulbs at the top showcasing the words that were written there.

‘If you died today where would you spend eternity?’

He could tell that Simon noticed the sign as well. “Feels a little on the nose, huh?”

Simon snorted, turning the wheel to take them down yet another small dirt road. “You’re telling me.”

“It’s kinda like-” Xavier cut himself off, noticing a flicker of something out the passenger window. He twisted in his seat to try and get a better look. “What…”

“Do you see something?” Simon asked, a hint of anticipation in his voice.

“...What the hell..?” Xavier breathed, recognizing the glow of flames as they got closer and closer. “Fire…There’s- It’s on fire…”

“What.” Simon leaned over towards Xavier to try and see, his eyes widening once he spotted it. “Holy shit…”

Xavier turned to look at him, just in time to notice the cop car that sat in the road in front of them.

He smacked Simon, trying to get him to go back to his seat. “Dude! There's a cop up ahead, we need to slow down.”

Simon sat back down, bringing the truck to a stop. He had barely looked away, his eyes glowing as he watched the flames dance over the disintegrating remains of the farmhouse. Xavier was sure he was the only one who noticed someone getting out of the cop car, flashlight pointed directly at them.

The man stopped right outside Simon’s window and tapped on the glass. The noise snapped Simon out of his trance and he quickly rolled the window down.

“Can I help you?” The cop asked, clearly suspicious of them.

“Yea, uh, we were just trying to get around.” Simon answered, quickly making something up. It was surprisingly decent for the situation they were in. Xavier had been face to face with many cops in his time and, though he hated to admit it, it was always a little nerve wracking.

“You can’t go any further.” The man replied, his eyes flicking between the two boys. “You got business here?”

“No, no. We, uh, saw the smoke and-”

“Yea, the firetrucks on its way.” The cop cut Simon off, lowering his flashlight. Hopefully that meant he was starting to believe them.

“Is anyone in the place?” Xavier spoke up, leaning forward a little bit.

“Could be.” The man replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. Uh oh. “A neighbor walked around the property earlier today and thought he saw a vagrant. You kids know anything about that?”

That had to have been Janet.

Simon and Xavier exchanged a quick look, before Xavier realized he needed to reply and shook his head. “No, sir.”

The cop looked like he wanted to ask them another question, but was stopped by the blaring of a fire truck. He immediately went over to the road and began to direct the truck, seemingly forgetting about them.

Xavier slumped in his seat, relieved that they were off the hook, when Simon suddenly threw his seatbelt off and climbed out of the truck.

“Wait-!” Xavier scrambled after him, letting out a sigh when he saw that Simon hadn’t gone very far. He wouldn’t have put it past him to charge directly into the fire himself to look for Janet.

Simon stood a few feet away, watching as the firefighters began to unload their equipment. Xavier came up beside him, the two of them stuck in place watching the rest of the farmhouse burn to the ground.

After a while, Simon put his head in his hands, his body trembling ever so slightly despite the heat in the air. Xavier stayed silent and placed a hand on his shoulder, offering what little support he could in the moment.

Chapter Text

They had spent all of Wednesday looking for Janet. It hadn’t been hard for Simon to convince Xavier to skip school and go back to the farmhouse with him. Ever since Simon stuck his foot in his mouth during that drive, there had been something different between the two of them. While he regretted the whole thing… Honestly? It was probably for the best. Previously, they had started working together to help Maddie, but had still been wary of each other.

Now? Now Simon felt like he could trust Xavier with his life. He knew that he could count on him to do whatever it took to get Maddie back.

Nicole, on the other hand, wasn’t easily won over. She still wasn’t impressed from the last time she’d gone out there with him, and only budged because he told her that someone had seen Maddie walking around.

And ok, did Simon lie a tiny bit to get her to agree? Yes. Yes he did. But it was an essential lie! They needed all hands on deck to find Janet. And as a bonus, Claire tagged along as well. Simon had no idea why she’d been at Nicole’s house when they stopped to pick Nicole up, but he hadn’t complained.

If only they’d actually found anything besides an empty grave.

Simon threw his arm over his face. He knew he needed to get out of bed and start getting ready, but the thought of setting foot in that school filled him with dread. He had no idea how he was going to tell Maddie that they lost Janet. The farmhouse was the last, tangible connection they had to her. With it gone and Janet in the wind, he had nothing.

Grunting, Simon finally sat up and pushed away his sheets. He got to his feet and stretched, checking his phone for anything new. There was a single text from Nicole making sure he got back ok, but that was it.

Simon went through the paces of getting ready for school. Brushing his teeth, picking out an outfit, gathering up his homework in his backpack, etc. Each thing brought the inevitable closer, making the pit inside him grow deeper and deeper. By the time he was finished, he was dragging his feet.

Simon was about to head out into the kitchen to grab breakfast, before remembering that he needed to check his email. After they’d gotten back from searching yesterday, he’d reached out to a few more motels in the area around the farmhouse. It was the only thing he could think to try on the off chance that Janet might’ve crashed at one after her nighttime jaunt.

Simon dropped his backpack from his shoulder, heading over to his desk and opening up his laptop. He sat down in the time it took to turn on and typed in his password. As the computer unlocked, it showed the last page he’d been looking at, Weird Wisconsin. Simon had completely forgotten about it in all the craziness of the past two days.

He went to click on his email, before realizing that Shreadhead99 had replied to him. His eyes widened as he read the response, his body leaning in automatically.

Shreadhead99:
I think I have too. Wanna talk in DMs?

Simon couldn’t help the excitement that shot through him. He immediately opened the direct messages tab and set up a chat between the two of them. The hesitation he felt the first time was gone, replaced with a tentative sort of hope. He better just keep this simple.

horrorfan05: i saw your response. what do you mean you’ve talked to ghosts?

Simon looked the message over a few times before deeming it ok and pressed send. He stared at the screen for a moment, before shaking his head. Of course there wouldn’t be a response so soon, especially with how early it was. Well, he’d better go check his email, be disappointed that none of them had seen Janet, and then get going before he was late.

Just as Simon went to leave the page, three dots appeared at the bottom of the screen.

Shreadhead99: Oh hey!
Shreadhead99: Thanks for agreeing to chat. I was hoping we could compare experiences and stuff? I’m just trying to see if I can get answers for any of the millions of questions I have lol.
Shreadhead99: But to answer yours, I had a near death experience a while ago and I think I saw the ghosts that were at the hospital where I was staying.
Shreadhead99: It was pretty freaky tbh.

Ok, ok! That was something! He should try to keep it friendly, no matter how badly he just wanted to start grilling them. Maybe sharing a modified version of the truth was best. If he immediately came out swinging with everything going on, they would definitely think he was crazy.

horrorfan05: trust me i know how freaky it can get lol
horrorfan05: a close friend of mine passed away and now when i visit the place where she died i can see her sometimes
horrorfan05: occasionally she speaks to me too

There, that should be enough, right? Vague enough to sound plausible to the everyday person, but with hints of his own experience.

Shreadhead99: Oh wow.
Shreadhead99: So you get to see ghosts without any of the danger?
Shreadhead99: Lucky.

Simon couldn’t help the quiet snort that escaped him, the corner of his mouth twitching.

horrorfan05: lol guess i’m just a stud like that
horrorfan05: so was it just a one time deal for you or?

Shreadhead99: Yea, pretty much.

There was a pause before the next message that left Simon a little worried. He could see that they were still typing by the three dots at the bottom, but this message was taking far longer than the others had.

Shreadhead99: Sorry.
Shreadhead99: It’s just kinda difficult for me to talk about this. I flatlined while I was in the hospital and the implications between that and seeing ghosts? It freaks me out a little.

Simon could completely understand that. While not exactly the same thing, he’d questioned many times if seeing Maddie was just a symptom of his grief or some kind of convoluted coping mechanism. After his recent freak out, it was so much easier to just take all that and shove it into a little corner of his mind. He could deal with it later.

Shreadhead99: Honestly, I don’t even know if what I saw was real. That’s why I posted in the first place, to see if there was anyone that could help me wrap my head around this.
Shreadhead99: I like to think that it is though. Not too sure why.

horrorfan05: i believe too but sometimes i wish there was some kind of hard proof i could show people. i tried explaining what was going on to some of my friends and most of them didn’t believe me. they’re starting to come around to the idea but it’s been hard trying to change their minds

Shreadhead99: Too bad you can’t lure a ghost out with bait or something.

horrorfan05: that would make my life so much easier you have no idea

Shreadhead99: You never know until you try lol. Like ET and the Reese’s Pieces.

“Simon!”

Simon jumped, the little, comfortable bubble that he hadn’t noticed forming around him disappearing with a ‘pop’. His eyes instinctively landed on the clock in the corner of his screen. Oh shit, he was going to be so late.

“Shit!” He swore, slamming his laptop closed. He scrambled out of his chair, rushing over to grab his backpack and head out into the kitchen.

As Simon skidded into the room, he grabbed a granola bar from the box on the counter and went to pull on his shoes. He only stumbled a little bit trying to lace up his left sneaker while hopping around on one foot. Once he had everything mostly situated, he grabbed his bike from the garage and began the arduous task of pedaling to school.

The trip wasn’t anything special. He’d biked this route several times since the start of this whole Maddie thing. He couldn’t wait to get his car back.

Simon finally turned into the school parking lot, hopping off his bike to wheel it over to the rack. He was going to be cutting it close, but he was pretty sure-

“Simon!”

Simon froze, his hands instinctively clenching around the handlebars. There wasn’t anyone else that could be besides-

“Maddie.” Simon breathed, slowly turning towards the bus stop. Maddie stood there, clearly waiting for him to come over.

He…

…Janet…

Simon hadn’t even noticed that the pit had disappeared until it came back with a roaring vengeance.

He quickly turned away from her, ignoring the further shouts of his name. He nearly threw his bike at the rack as he passed by, not even bothering to lock it up. He entered the school, heading in the direction of his class in a bit of a daze.

Simon blinked as he entered the room. He sat at his desk and proceeded to completely ignore whatever his math teacher was trying to explain.

It was fine. Everything was fine.

He’d just gotten a little sidetracked, that's all. No need to freak out about this. What he could focus his freak out on instead was how he was going to tell Maddie about Janet. Yes, that was much more important than some silly little chat.

(...How could he have forgotten about Maddie..?)

The bell eventually rang with little fanfare, the people around him all gathering up their things to leave. Simon grabbed his backpack and swung it over his shoulder, quickly making his way out of the room.

After having the whole period to stew, he… didn’t really know what he was feeling. He wasn’t freaking out anymore, which was at least a little bit of good news.

Simon headed straight for his locker, keeping his head on a swivel. It wasn’t like he could see Maddie here, but he still couldn’t help but feel like she was watching him. He stopped in front of number 1417 and went to open it.

“Hey, man-”

“Jesus!” Simon whipped around to find Xavier standing there, his hands up in a placating gesture.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” Xavier said, looking a little sheepish. “What’s got you all jumpy?”

“Nothing, it’s- it’s fine.” Simon replied, inputting his locker combo. “What do you need?”

“I… I was just kinda curious about your whole ghost thing. Like, you can only see them in certain places, right?” Xavier asked, leaning back a little bit. Simon had no idea why he was bringing this up now.

“Yea.” Simon responded, his tone a little short. “Boiler room, cafeteria, auto shop, the bus stop. And now, the greenhouse.”

Xavier nodded. “Where the other ghosts died, right? …And you can see them too?”

“Nope.” Simon slammed his locker shut. He knew Xavier didn’t mean anything by this, that he was just curious, but his gut twisted with every word out of his mouth “Just Maddie.”

“And is she here right now?” Xavier continued, clearly not picking up on his aura of ‘please leave me alone’.

“I have no idea. The hallway isn’t a scar.” Simon answered, starting to walk away.

Xavier quickly followed after him, grabbing onto his shoulder to make him slow down. Simon stopped in the middle of the hall, turning to face him with a frown. The other boy's face wore a slightly nervous, wide-eyed look, an expression quickly becoming the norm for him.

“I just…” Xavier dropped his hand from Simon’s shoulder to start fidgeting with his backpack straps. “I feel like I should say something to Maddie. Now that I know she’s still here, you know? It feels weird to not give her, like, a message or something.”

“I’m glad that you want to make stuff right with her,” Simon began, trying to ignore the way his gut clenched, “but there are so many more important things we have to figure out right now, Maddie included.”

“Wait, you don't want me to talk to her? I thought-” Xavier froze. “Oh shit, does she not want to talk to me? She hates me- She hates me now, right? I totally understand, I get it. If I was her I wouldn’t want to talk to me either, but if I could just say something to her-”

“Xavier!” That shut the other boy up immediately. Simon took a deep breath and continued on, lowering the volume of his voice. “Look, she doesn’t hate you, I promise.”

Xavier leaned in. “Sorry, why are we whispering now?”

Simon glanced around, looking for someone he knew he’d never see. “Because Maddie could be listening.”

Xavier’s eyes flickered nervously, like the thought had never occurred to him before.

“We can’t see her, but she can see us. She could be anywhere on campus and we’d never know. If we go to talk to her, then she’s going to ask about what happened with Janet. Right now, the- the last thing I want is to deliver the message that we lost her, ok?” Simon admitted, looking away.

Xavier’ face dropped for a second, but he recovered so quickly Simon wasn’t sure he’d actually seen it. Instead, a slightly softer look of understanding took over. “Right. So no messages now. I’m cool with that.”

Simon nodded in thanks. “And stop with all the questions. Please.”

He didn’t wait for Xavier to respond, leaving him behind to head off to his next class. He hoped for once that wherever she was, Maddie wasn’t watching him.

Chapter Text

Simon knew that he’d have to step foot into the cafeteria at some point. His stomach was starting to rumble, and given that all he’d eaten today was a single granola bar, he was going to need some actual food soon. So far he’d done a pretty good job of avoiding Maddie, but running into her was inevitable, especially if he went into the cafeteria. It took a few hours of reflection, but Simon had finally accepted that he was going to have to tell Maddie the truth about Janet

Now, that didn’t mean he was looking forward to it, not in the slightest. It felt… bad, when he failed her. He didn’t know how else to describe it. Other words seemed too dramatic, or not enough.

But it was fine, the two of them had come this far. If they were able to figure out that Janet stole Maddie’s body, then they could come up with something else, find her some other way. They even had help now, in the form of Xavier! And maybe Nicole and Claire..! And… maybe other ghosts…? Simon wasn’t too clear on that part.

The point was, him and Maddie were good, they were fine.

And, because of all that, he was in a better head space now. He’d calmed down a lot from this morning, having had a few hours to shake off whatever the hell had come over him. He had no idea why he’d gotten so panicky over something so stupid.

It was probably just stress and whatnot. He didn’t need to think about it.

Simon slowly meandered towards the cafeteria doors at the end of the hall, trying to buy himself a few precious extra seconds. His pocket buzzed and he immediately took the distraction, stopping to pull out his phone. On the screen sat a notification that made him inhale sharply.

Shreadhead99: Hey, you said you can talk to your friend where she died, right?

No, no, It was fine. A simple text shouldn’t be making him hesitate like this. Yes, it had caused a little bit of… oversight this morning, but it wasn’t like there was any real harm done. He could just ignore it, forget the whole thing ever happened and turn all his focus towards the stuff that really mattered. He needed to dedicate him 100% to finding Janet… To Maddie…

…Maybe he could reply to it later. After breaking the news to Maddie and coming up with a new game plan, of course.

Simon slowly walked the last couple feet to the entrance to the cafeteria, pausing right in front of the doors. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, before pushing them open. As soon as he stepped across the threshold, Maddie was standing there with her arms crossed. Even though he knew it was coming, Simon still couldn’t help the way his shoulders hunched under the weight of her gaze.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, before Maddie threw her hands into the air. “What the hell was that, Simon?”

Simon looked away from her, jerking his head towards an empty corner of the room. Thankfully, she followed him over without argument, and the two huddled together to talk. Maddie raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for an explanation.

Simon fiddled with his phone case, still not meeting her eyes. “Look, I just- I had a bad morning alright? And I was late to class. I’m sorry.”

Maddie scoffed. “Yea, sure. And that’s the only reason you’re ghosting me again?”

“No- I’m not, I’m not ghosting.” Simon quickly reassured her, trying to hide his growing discomfort. “There’s just nothing to report.”

“Uh-huh, sure.” Maddie clearly didn’t believe him. She had always been able to see through his shit. “And why were Nicole and Claire messing around with my locker?”

Out of everything Simon thought she’d say, that wasn’t even close to what he expected. It completely threw him off. “What..? …Why would the two of them…?”

“Simon, come on!” Maddie continued, ignoring his confusion. “You have to have something. Didn’t you go to the farmhouse last night?”

“...Yes.” Simon’s eyes flickered around as he tried to figure out a way to spin this in his favor. What were the positives, what were the positives… Were there any positives? Xavier had found out that Janet was still alive, that was something… Xavier! He could probably use that!

“I went with Xavier, actually.” He continued, keeping his tone light. “Which is a silver lining if you think about it… because he’s on board! That’s good news.”

“And the bad news?” Maddie caught on, leaning in slightly. “Simon, just tell me what happened. Was Janet at the farmhouse?”

Simon hesitated, having to force himself to reply. “Yes… but, she- she… burned it down.”

Maddie stared at him with wide eyes. “What. Why would she do that??”

Simon opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by another buzz from his phone. He quickly went to set it to silent, when another voice called out to him from across the cafeteria. He made eye contact with Nicole, who was sitting at a table nearby with Claire. She gestured at her phone, mouthing at him to check his own.

“See, the thing is… uh...” Simon tapped the screen with his thumb, pulling up Nicole’s text.

Nicole Herrera: Diego saw Maddie at WWU!!

“-I actually have a new lead!” He finished, his shoulders dropping from the sheer relief that rushed through him. “So, I’m going to go take care of that. Don’t even worry about it, I’m all over it, ok?”

Before Maddie could say anything else, Simon walked away. He beelined for the table that Nicole and Claire were sitting at, nearly throwing himself into one of the seats.

“Jesus.” Claire said under her breath, looking up at his arrival.

Simon waved her away, turning to Nicole. “Oh my god Nicole, you're my savior. How’d you find Janet?”

“I didn’t even really do anything, Diego texted me.” Nicole explained, pointing her phone screen towards him. “He saw her wandering around the campus looking lost. Here, look.”

Simon leaned in, taking Nicole’s phone into his hands. He scanned through her brother’s texts, confirming everything she said. Thank god for Diego. He had another chance to prove that he could do this, that Maddie wasn’t wrong to put her trust in him. They were going to find Janet and save Maddie. He’d finally have her back.

“So, what’s the plan?” Claire asked, sitting back in her seat. “We could leave right after school, get over there before it gets dark.”

Simon handed the phone back to Nicole, shaking his head. “No. If you guys are up for it, we should leave now. We can’t let Janet get away again. If we get there while class is going on, we can ask around, see if anyone else has seen her.”

Nicole nodded. “We can take my car. I have some stuff I need to grab from my locker before we go, so I’ll meet you there.”

“I’ll come with you, Nicole.” Claire said, throwing her backpack over her shoulder as she stood up. “Simon, can you text Xavier? Tell him to meet us out there now or we’re leaving his ass behind.”

Simon snorted and pulled out his phone, watching the two girls walk away. He pulled up Xavier’s contact and sent him a quick explanation of what was going on. He didn’t even ask if the other boy wanted to come or not. If there was one thing the past few days had taught him, it was that Xavier was just as invested in saving Maddie as Simon was.

The guy was actually pretty cool when he wasn't acting like a huge dick.

Simon stood and made his way out to the parking lot. Upon stepping outside, he quickly spotted Nicole’s car and headed over to it. Unsurprisingly, he was the first one there, so he just leaned against the passenger door to scroll on his phone.

He planned to mindlessly look at Twitter for a few minutes, when another idea crossed his mind. While it wasn’t the perfect time for a full conversation, Simon could at least respond to the new message he’d gotten… He was going to be standing here waiting anyway, he might as well.

Shreadhead99: Hey, you said you can talk to your friend where she died, right?

Simon didn’t need to think about his response this time. This was something he was a little more knowledgeable about, even if he didn’t have all the answers. Although, it would probably be good to tone down just how much he was involved in the spirit world. Shreadhead was open minded, but he didn't want to dump everything they’d figured out about ghosts so far on the guy. From an outside perspective, it would probably sound insane.

horrorfan05: yea
horrorfan05: only in that room

He waited a moment to see if there’d be a reply. After a few seconds of nothing he gave up and shoved his phone into his pocket, just in time to see Xavier heading towards him. The other boy seemed to perk up a little once he noticed Simon looking and picked up his pace.

“Hey, man.” Xavier greeted once he was in range. “Where are the girls? I thought you were with them.”

“They split off to grab something.” Simon answered. “How’d you even get over here so quickly? I thought you were up on the second floor with Fields.”

A hint of a smile tugged at Xavier’s mouth. “I just used the classic ‘Can I go to the bathroom?’ and took all my stuff with me. I don’t think the teachers want to say no to me yet with the brain injury and everything.”

“I don’t know about the others, but Ms. Fields has definitely figured out what we're doing at this point.” Simon replied, crossing his arms. “I’ve pulled that with her a few times since this all started.”

“Oh for sure, but I don’t really care. …I am supposed to be the school bad boy, you know.” Xavier was full on grinning now, a teasing edge to his lips.

Simon suddenly understood how Maddie had been drawn into Xavier’s orbit. It was one of the reasons he’d disliked the other boy to begin with, how he seemed to lure girls in with his seedy charm. Somehow it was… different, having it directed at him instead of Maddie.

Simon snorted, rolling his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at Xavier any longer. He couldn’t stop the smile that crept across his face. “Yea, yea, I remember.”
“I was getting into fights every other day, man.” Xavier continued. “All of which I won, by the way.”

Simon took the obvious bait, putting a hand on Xavier’s shoulder. “Sure you did, buddy-”

“Hey idiots, stop flirting and let's go already.” Simon was cut off by Claire, who had snuck up on them with Nicole following close behind.

Simon pulled his arm back to his side and straightened his posture, feeling as though he got caught doing something wrong. Nicole’s nose scrunched in the way that meant she was trying not to laugh at him.

“I’m riding shotgun Simon, so get you ass back there with Xavier.” Claire continued, not stopping as she rounded the passenger side.

Simon glanced at the other boy, only getting an amused shrug in response. Simon shook his head and climbed into the back of the car. He shoved his backpack in between his legs on the floor, keeping only his phone out in his hands.

It would probably be good to look up a map of WWU before they got there. Simon had been there once, but wasn’t too familiar with it. The school had organized a day where they bussed all of the seniors out to tour the campus, but he hadn’t paid too much attention. He hadn’t needed to when he’d already had his mind set on Northwestern.

As Simon began to scour the internet for a map, the two girls began to chat in the front seat. While he wasn’t paying too much attention to them, they showed a sense of familiarity that Simon didn’t know they had. It was a little confusing to him at first, but he shrugged it off. He was glad they were starting to get along, just like him and Xavier.

Speaking of the other boy, it would probably be better if the two of them worked together on this. Xavier was pretty good at figuring stuff out when he set his mind to it.

Simon opened his mouth to ask, but paused when he finally caught sight of Xavier. He was in the middle of texting someone, looking oddly focused.

That was fine. He didn’t want to break Xavier’s concentration if it was something that important. Maybe he could-

Shreadhead99: How do you think that would work if she died outside?
Shreadhead99: Like, what counts as a room to a spirit?

The notification bar slid down from the top of his screen, proudly displaying the two innocent messages. Simon stared at them until they disappeared, leaving behind nothing but the WWU map he’d been looking at.

The map… It could be helpful, possibly. He should really come up with a plan, he was the unofficial leader of this whole thing after all.

…But Nicole had been there a few times with Diego, helping him move in and whatnot. She could probably direct them well enough…

Simon hesitantly opened the chat. His eyes flickered around the car, feeling like Maddie was going to pop out and start scolding him at any moment. He sat there for a beat, waiting, and of course nothing happened. Xavier continued to text, the girls continued to chat, and Simon let out a quiet breath.

horrorfan05: it would probably be some kind of radius around where the person died?
horrorfan05: idk i've never really thought about it before
horrorfan05: any particular reason you're asking?

Shreadhead99: Not really.
Shreadhead99: I tried to get some answers from an outside source, but didn’t have any luck.

horrorfan05: paranormal investigation for dummies?

Shreadhead99: I wish lol. Would be so much easier if there was just some kind of book I could read.
Shreadhead99: How about you? Any luck with finding some proof for your friends?

horrorfan05: not yet but i’m working on something right now that could be huge
horrorfan05: i just have to actually
horrorfan05: you know
horrorfan05: finish it

Shreadhead99: Good luck with that then! I’m rooting for you :)

horrorfan05: thanks! .;,;.

Shreadhead99: Wtf is that thing??

horrorfan05: it’s a smiley face!

Shreadhead99: Nah I think that’s like a demon or something.

horrorfan05: lol we’re talking about ghosts and you’re afraid of a little smiley face?

Shreadhead99: I never said I was afraid
Shreadhead99: Just uncomfortable with that thing… looking at me.

horrorfan05: uh huh
horrorfan05: sure.
horrorfan05: and i'm sure you never changed the channel when goosebumps came on as a kid

Shreadhead99: Hey, I’ve seen plenty of horror movies! My ex was obsessed with them and made me watch a bunch.

horrorfan05: name 5 horror movies.

Shreadhead99: Oh so you’re going to be like that.

horrorfan05: .;,;.
horrorfan05: get naming buddy i’m waiting

Shreadhead99: Friday the 13th, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Cujo, Scream, House
Shreadhead99: Are you happy now?

horrorfan05: i’m impressed actually
horrorfan05: house is a deep cut

Shreadhead99: I told you, I’m legit.
Shreadhead99: You’re really passionate about this stuff, huh?

horrorfan05: if you couldn’t tell from the username

Shreadhead99: Oh
Shreadhead99: Yea I should've seen this coming.

Simon snorted, going to type out a reply, when a sign caught his eye outside the window. He looked up to see that they were already pulling into WWU, the sidewalks thick with college students coming and going. He sat up a little straighter, phone forgotten on the seat next to him. His gaze flickered between every face in the crowd, trying to pin down the one that belonged to his best friend.

This was it. His last chance to find Janet. They could do this, he could do this. He wouldn’t let Maddie down again.

Chapter Text

“Whoa, where do you think you’re going?”

An arm hit Xavier in the chest, stopping him from walking any further. They’d finally arrived at the frat party from the picture Claire had found. It seemed to be in high swing already, despite the fact it was still light out. Colorful lights flashed inside as music poured out of the house and college students crowded every inch of the place.

It had been awhile since Xavier had snuck his way into a college party. He’d done it a few times to impress one of his exes, but they weren’t really his style. With all the Janet craziness going on, he’d totally forgotten that this little endeavor would cost him money.

Simon was in a similar situation next to him, having been stopped by the other bouncer. A confused look crossed his face, and Xavier resisted the urge to snort. He forgot how much of a dweeb Simon was sometimes. He was probably about to lose his party virginity. It really said something when Maddie was the most adventurous person in your friend group.

Well, now that he and Claire were here, she didn’t hold that title any longer.

(…As long as Maddie still wanted them around after she got back, that was.)

The girls, who had been behind them in line, got impatient and pushed past towards the house. Claire even had the gall to wink at him as she went by, dragging Nicole behind her by the arm. Xavier shook his head at her in amusement and she grinned, a real, genuine smile that Xavier hadn’t seen in a while.

Nicole glanced back at them with concern, clearly also losing her party virginity if she was worried about them getting in. Xavier nodded at her to keep going. Her eyes flicked over to Simon, before shooting the two of them a quick thumbs up.

“Well?” The bouncer spoke again, redirecting Xavier’s attention back to him. He had that smug, ‘I’m so important’ look on his face that douchebags always got when given the slightest crumb of power over other people. Well, douchebags and his dad.

Xavier rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet, handing a five dollar bill to said douchebag. Simon quickly followed his example, fumbling with his own wallet to get out the necessary cash.

After both of their entry fees had been paid, the two bouncers finally stepped aside and let them into the house. As soon as Xavier stepped inside, the familiar smell of weed hit him. He could tell that it had hit Simon too, if the way his nose wrinkled was any clue.

Xavier had to force himself to look away. He covered the motion with a quick scan of the house. It was pretty dark, with only small sources of light and smoke clinging to the walls. Crowds of people had already filled most of the rooms and more were on their way inside. While this was bound to be easier than finding Janet in the middle of a burning farmhouse, Xavier still had his doubts.

He also couldn’t find Claire or Nicole, but that was probably ok. He trusted them to keep each other out of trouble and away from college aged creeps.

“So once we find her, what’s the plan exactly?” Xavier asked once they’d progressed a little further into the house, turning back to Simon. “How do we get her to come with us?”

Simon paused, taking a moment to think. “...It might be best for us to split up.”

“What? Why?” Xavier responded a little too quickly, surprised that Simon would want to wander through the party by himself.

“We’ll be able to cover more ground.” Simon explained before he shifted, looking a little guiltier. “I also want to make sure we’re… focused on finding Janet. I know you have questions and everything, but now's not the time for them.”

Xavier scoffed, looking away. He couldn’t help the spark of anger that flickered through him. Ok, had he maybe asked too many questions earlier? Sure, but he was new to this! And now, it wasn’t just himself he was trying to find answers for anymore.

“You know I’m the one that found Janet.” Xavier snipped back, his shoulders hunching in. “Twice, actually.”

“And we’ve also lost her twice!” Simon snapped, making Xavier take an instinctive step back.

Something Xavier couldn’t identify flashed across Simon’s face so quick he almost missed it. The other boy stopped, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

He opened them, fixing Xavier with a calmer look. “I’m sorry, Xavier, this is really important. I just- I want to make sure we’re staying on task.”

“...Right. Ok.” Xavier reluctantly nodded, deciding to just give in. He started backing away before he even finished his thought. He didn’t want to argue, especially not with Simon. “We’ll split up-”

Xavier bumped into another person with a small ‘oof’. He whipped around, eyes going wide as he stumbled back towards Simon’s side.

“What the fuck?!” The guy he’d collided with cried, looking around wildly with clear anger written on his face. A red solo cup was clutched tightly in his hand, the front of his shirt covered in cheap alcohol. “Who did that?!”

…Fuck, Fuck!

He had just been insisting that he could help, that he belonged here with the rest of them. And he screwed it up. Like he always does. God, can he not be a compete fuck up for two seconds??

Now they were going to get kicked out of the party, and be down two people who could be searching for Janet. Shit, Simon was going to be so pissed at him. Xavier was finally off his shit list, and now he was going to destroy all the goodwill he'd built up between them in one blow.

Xavier could tell when the guy finally spotted them, a nasty grin crossing his face. He walked towards them with faux casualness, pushing between them to throw his arms around their shoulders.

“So, you guys freshmen?” The guy asked, squeezing Xavier a little too tightly.

Xavier swallowed thickly, deciding to just man up and confess, when Simon spoke up. “Yeah, I’m sorry man… That was my bad.”

Xavier could only gape at the other boy as the frat guy turned his less than friendly smile towards him.

“We can totally get you a refill on that.” Simon continued, trying to stay casual and play it off.

The guy patted them both on the back pushing them forward a little so they’d stumble. “Nah, it's alright. Let’s go get two more drinks, hm? Right this way.”

Xavier could feel himself being guided to the kitchen, but his mind was still stuck on the fact that Simon had taken the blame for him. No one had ever done that for him before. The only other time anyone had ever stuck up for him was when Claire told off his dad for calling him a loser.

People didn’t do stuff like this for Xavier Baxter. He was the mean kid, the delinquent. The screw up who was constantly in trouble with the cops. The one who was never up to any good, no matter what he was doing. The one… The one that people gave up on.

But Simon… This was so important to him, to Maddie. But he’d protected Xavier without a second thought, even if it meant he lost Janet forever…

God, doing something like that fucks with a guys head, you know?

Xavier jumped as a red solo cup was thrusted into his hands. He glanced over to see that Simon had one as well. He was looking down at it with distaste.

“I figure you little freshies could use a drink.” The frat guy taunted, making a gesture at someone else over their heads. He saddled up next to Simon and shook his shoulder, making the contents of his cup slosh around dangerously. “Although for the man of the hour, I got something extra special planned.”

Xavier’s fingers flexed as he watched the way Simon grimaced. He could feel the familiar buzz under his skin. The one that told him he needed to start bearing his fangs and tear it all down. To forcibly take control of the situation and get the fuck out.

He grit his teeth and ignored it.

“Here we go!” Another guy walked up to them holding-

Fuck. This was going to go so poorly.

The original guy took the funnel from his friend’s hands, holding it up like a trophy. He shoved one end into Simon’s hands, who just stared.

Xavier leaned in to whisper to Simon while the frat guy was distracted looking for something. “You got the tolerance for this?”

Simon shrugged, a shaky laugh escaping his lips. “I don’t know, man. I hope so.”

“You’ve never drank before?”

Simon shook his head, jittering a little bit. “Nope, not besides a few sips here and there. Maddie hates it.”

Before Xavier could respond, could reassure him, could do anything, the frat guy stepped up in front of Simon, shaking a bottle of tequila at them. A small crowd had started to gather when they realized what Simon was about to do. Xavier stood behind Simon, his arms wrapped around himself as he fiddled with the material of his jacket.

While Simon was clearly nervous, he also had a determined edge to him. It shouldn’t have surprised Xavier. If there was one thing he knew about Simon Elroy, it was that the boy was stubborn.

Simon raised the tube to his lips and started drinking.

A chant of 'chug! chug! chug!' started up around them, people clapping and whooping as he drank more and more. As it went on, Simon began to sway a little. Xavier watched him closely, making sure that he wouldn’t have to step in and catch the other boy. There was no way Simon was going to be able to search for Janet after this.

Shit, this was all his fault. He hoped to god that the girls were having more luck than them.

Simon finally finished, pulling away with a loud gasp. He wobbled a little and flashed a thumbs up as the crowd around them began to cheer. Xavier was immediately at his side to steady him. Simon felt warm under his fingertips, even through the flannel he was wearing. Xavier hooked his arm around him, decidedly not thinking about that as Simon pressed up against his side. He just needed to get Simon out of there before these guys got any other ideas.

He led the other boy over to the only couch that didn’t have people making out on it and gently lowered him onto it. Simon’s head lolled back, and he stared at the ceiling with a spaced out look.

Xavier stood there awkwardly for a moment, not really sure what to do now. He could go start looking for Janet, but he didn’t want to leave a drunk Simon all alone in a house full of strangers.

“I-” Xavier’s voice caught as Simon slowly dipped his head back down to stare at him. “I’m sorry.”

“...For what..?” Simon asked, his head tilting almost comically.

“I- I didn’t… You..” Xavier couldn’t get out the words.

Simon lifted a hand up and sloppily patted Xavier on the arm. “Issss fine. It’s fine..”

Xavier swallowed thickly. “But Janet… Maddie-”

“You were looking all sad," Simon cut him off, leaving Xavier to stare at him with wide eyes. “'n I didn' want you to be sad. Soooo... you're welcome.”

Simon had gone back to staring at the ceiling, not realizing how easily he had completely shattered Xavier’s worldview with a few simple, drunken words.

Simon, the same Simon that was tirelessly working to get Maddie back no matter the cost to himself, had given everything up for him. For the guy with no prospects or goals in life after high school. For the guy that was a low life loser, who had cheated on his best friend.

He didn’t understand.

Shouting began from somewhere else in the house, thudding footsteps pounding on the floor above them, but it was nothing compared to the static that buzzed in his ears, in his head.

“Campus security!!” Someone yelled a few seconds later, sending the crowd into a frenzy. That finally snapped him out of it enough to get moving.

Running on autopilot, Xavier scooped Simon up off the couch and began almost dragging him towards where he hoped a backdoor would be. A bunch of other people seemed to be making their way that direction, so it was probably a safe bet.

“Maddie!” A familiar voice cried out nearby. Xavier followed the sound to find Nicole rushing down a second set of stairs, looking around frantically.

They locked eyes, and Nicole pushed her way over to them. “I saw her! I saw Maddie!! Did you see her?!”

Shit, Xavier had been too focused on getting them out of there. “No I- I didn’t.”

“She was here! And weirdly, I thought she-” Nicole stopped suddenly, finally noticing the Simon that was plastered to his side, head lolling back onto Xavier’s shoulder. “Oh my god, what happened to him??”

“Did you hear the loud chanting earlier?” Xavier asked, Nicole’s eyes widening in realization. “Yea, that was for him. Now, could you please help me? We need to get out of here.”

“Oh shit, yea-” Nicole took up position on the other side of Simon, taking some of his weight off of Xavier. It was a relief, but another small part of him felt… annoyed? He wasn’t quite sure what emotion it was on top of everything else he’d felt tonight, but the one thing he did know was that they didn’t have time for it.

“...Nicole..! When’d you get ‘ere..?” Simon slurred, picking his head up to look at the girl in question as they began moving again.

Nicole was very clearly trying not to laugh at him. “Oh- I am going to have blackmail on him for weeks! I can’t believe he drank so much!”

Xavier shrugged as much as he could under Simon’s weight, trying to hide the way her words had made him stutter. He pushed through it. “We should try to find Claire, see if she saw anything.”

Nicole nodded as they stepped outside, finally able to break away from the flow of escaping college students. Out of the crowd, Nicole was able to get a clear view of the situation, and spotted Claire almost immediately. “Claire! There you are!”

Claire was standing near the edge of the backyard with a guy that Xavier assumed to be Nicole’s brother. They both looked over at their arrival, Claire seeming a little shaken.

Oh, if any of those guys in there had done something to Claire, he was going right back in. Screw campus security.

“Did you find ‘er..?” Simon piped up from between them, a startling glimmer of clarity in his eyes.

The brother (..Diego?) shook his head. “Nah. No luck here-”

“I did.” Claire stepped forward, clearly a bit spooked but determined. “I talked to her. Told her she could come home.”

“And?” Xavier had to adjust his grip on Simon with the way he’d begun to lean forward.

Claire’s eyes flickered between them. “...She’s gone.”

Simon let out a pathetic whine, something he never would've done had he been sober, and buried his head in Xavier’s shoulder.