Ghost

Three times. Reed has called him three times in the last few weeks. Once to water his plants when he had to go to a doctors appointment. Once to take some mail to the post office. The last one to ask him if he could get a hold of Ardy.

"You're slowly taking over for Ardy. I think she's probably cool with that." Cathrine sat, her legs crossed, on the seat next to him and was drinking an iced coffee.

How she could not freeze to death with an iced beverage was beyond him. Catherine was a small korean woman in her fifth semester, studying english and french. Her shyness was completely gone now, long forgotten the stuttering and the nervous glances.

Calister had prefered her like that , now she was making snide remarks about everything he did.

"So basically, you are dating him, right?" She sucked on her straw loudly as she added another provocation since he hadn't responded to the first.

"As if. I don't even know his last name, save his age, hobbies, all that such. How could I even call us friends?" Catherine pulled a face and poked his cheek only to quickly pull back her finger.

"Ew Cal, you should shave. It looks like a homeless person died on your face." He swatted her hand away as she made another attempt to touch his five o'clock shadow.

"I don't have time to shave. Midterms are coming up." Calister sighed and rubbed his eyes. Then he straightend up and smoothed down his curly hair into a low ponytail.

"You should cut that, you know. Makes you look old." Catherine took another gulp from her coffee. Exacerbated he shook his head. He didn't sign up for this. He wanted his old life back, when he hadn't had any friends and he wasn't the lap dog of a stupidly handsome barista.

Nevermind the last part. Not handsome, bothersome would be a better word for him.

Calister got up off the crappy plastic chair, apparently his uni couldn't afford any better for that study hall, and stuffed his things in his backpack.

"Aww mate, I still have to wait two more hours. Are you really going to leave me here? Alone?" His friend had gotten up as well, combing her fingers through her long black hair.

"I have work to do. You as well, don't be lazy Catherine." She pouted at him, her small lips puckering up.

"I'll go with you then." The petite girl threw on her white coat and grabbed her matching bag.

"And call me Cat. I feel like an old lady when you keep calling me Catherine." Calister made a dismissive hand gesture.

"Do what you want to do. I will go to the park." They looked quite weird walking next to each other, Calister towrring at nearly two meters and Catherine as short as 1,50.

He didn't really listen to her bubbeling on and on about this one Halloween party she was invited to as he wouldn't go there even if he was invited. Which he wasn't.

Apparently he was regarded as scary in most of his classes. He couldn't care less, if they couldn't be bothered to talk to him then they weren't really interested in the first place.

He marveled at the wondefully red leaves around him, the trees looked like little storms of colour with every step they took.

"Let's go meet Ardy. She should be on a break and I know you are dying to see your boyfriend again!" She ducked away from just quickly enough to be narrowly missed by his hand.

"You know that you make it more fun for me when you get all riled up like this." She teased and he let out a dry laugh. It did annoy him.

First, he wasn't gay. And even if he was, he'd never go for a weird scrawny kid like Reed. Who was probably older than him. And hit the gym nearly every day, according to Ardy.

"I don't feel like going to the coffee shop. I want to go home. Tell Ardy, I said hi." Before she could complain about it he had already turned left abruptly to get to his car.

"You are such a dick, Cal!" He didn't hear her after that and when he turned back to check she had already left, most likely to seek out the shop.

He shook his head and pulled his jacket closer around himself.

While he was still freezing out in the cold Catherin was already hanging over her hot chocolate. She didn't sit in the front but was curled up on the small couch in the employees room.

"Don't get it dirty, ay! Reed sleeps on here some days!" Ardy pulled her best friends sneakers off. Their laughing and bantering was loud enough to penetrate the thin wall and door that separated the public space from their room and Reed apolegeticly smiled at one of the customers.

The woman just gave him a pat on his shoulder and left. He reeled from the unwanted physical contact and nervously ran his fingers through his flat black hair.

Drumming a simple rythm onto the fake wood of the counter he took the next order and began heating up some water for the guys tea. A slight movement in the corner of his eye startled him and he tried to play it off with a nervous laughter.

Was he going mad? How could he even see something there, Ardy and Cat weren't spiritually talented and who else would enter this part of the shop? So lost in his thoughts he dumped a bag of salt into the tea.

While he was prefously apologizing to the man and preparing another cup of tea he scanned the back part of the shop for anything that might have set him off, but low and behold, he was still enveloped in darkness.

The man thanked him for the tea, which Reed had given to him free of charge to make up for his mistake.

He couldn't get the uncompfotable feeling that he had missed something out of his mind for the rest of the day and it followed him around like a raincloud hovering over his head.