"Sure I do." Ivory said, continuing to walk away. She began to cross the parking lot.

He stared at her in confusion and froze. "You do?"

"Yeah." She swung her gaze at him and said flatly. "You're a perv."

He laughed aloud, which was surprisingly gentle and soft to her ears. "That's a wild accusation." He said with a smile that met his eyes. He reached out to touch her arm, perhaps in an attempt to prevent her from leaving but she retreated a step.

She snuggled closer into her warm scarf, feeling the chills from the touch of his cold hand that had brushed her skin. His eyes were bright and icy blue like the sky before a storm.

At her reaction, he looked away in regret.

"For a perv, you don't seem like a bad person..." She mumbled to herself.

"This may be hard to believe but I can assure you that I'm not your typical stalker. In fact, I'm not a stalker at all, I'm a ghost and now that you can see me," He said regrettably. "I'm afraid that your life is in danger."

Ivory breathed sharply, backing away. "Please, just go." With a complicated expression, she quickly retreated towards the door, relieved to see her friend about to head home too.

"Huh? Ivory?" Lilith blinked as if seeing wrong. "What are you still doing out here?"

She smiled weakly. "Not important. There's some guy over there... I told him to leave."

Lilith peeked around Ivory's shoulder. Of course she should've suspected her friend would look back at the mention of a guy. Any time a guy was involved Lilith was like a moth drawn to a flame. "What guy?"

"The guy right over..." Ivory's words were left unsaid when she glanced at the empty spot where the guy once stood. She turned back to her friend growing pale. "I'm going to be sick."

"There, there." Lilith patted Ivory's shoulder comfortingly. "You look like you've seen a ghost." She exclaimed with disbelief.

In the end, Ivory walked home by herself. She trudged across the rocky pavement as her legs were unwillingly wanting to move any longer, but she had walked around a bit aimlessly and was reaping what she sowed. She spent most of her evenings here, walking along these roads, taking in the scenery, and letting the wind guide her path. The world seemed like a foreign place. She much rather liked holding on to a moment or feeling that would last.

Red and gold pine trees stood in the horizon while brilliant white stars twinkled above them as the night drew near. The houses were now lit with warmth and color, smoke rising from the chimneys signaling a fire laid in the hearth. Even miles away the smell of cocoa and turkey filled the cold misty air.

Without realizing she had come this far, she stopped in front of her house. The size was far smaller than the other homes, while many had two fully decked out floors, this building only had one and a staircase that led to a couple rooms. Hay was patched here and there to cover the holes that manifested in the roof from storms while the porch grew old from age, nevertheless this was where Ivory grew up and nothing would ever change how she treasured those memories.

With a sigh, she noticed the lights were vacant making the house appear even more ghostly.

Quietly she managed to sneak inside into the kitchen. These days her mom would sleep a lot when she came home from work. Before heading to her own room, Ivory figured she'd grab a bite to eat. There were usually some leftovers so she kept that in mind while pulling open the refrigerator door.

The jars of condiments clattered together loudly. She winced, slightly praying they couldn't be heard from upstairs. Peering towards the stairs, she sighed in relief finding her mother hadn't come out. By the end of the day her mom was always tired from working hard as a nurse. Ivory would always try to be respectfully quiet and let her sleep.

Clearing her throat, she pulled out a plate of roast beef coated in gravy and placed it on the counter, gently closing the door behind her.

She realized how quiet the house appeared. Not even a breeze could be found. The air conditioning was probably not being used.

Life here really seemed nonexistent. This house was once full of life and beautiful memories, but now, new ones are rarely made.

A candle lit itself in the kitchen window above the sink. Its sudden presence sent a light across the room, reshaping objects and playing with Ivory's mind.

Shadows danced across the walls, disappearing in the dark living room under the arch way. Just as quickly, the sound of metal chimes faintly rang making Ivory's ears prickle like they'd been stung.

"Aw hell no." She backed up into the counter, gripping the edge tightly. The marble was cold to touch. Colder than usual, she noted. The candle still flickered intently behind her as if in warning.

At this moment, Ivory could try to rationalize the situation and pretend the problem didn't exist, but then would she not die a fool's death? All that talk about believing in the supernatural... Was it all just talk?

Someone bumped into the wall in the living room. The sound was faint but clearly indicated someone or something was present.

She whipped out her phone, prepared to call the police. "You might want to leave, this house isn't practical for living anymore, let alone for haunting."

The shadows seemed to move and someone emerged into the dim light.

It was a man, but not just any man.

It was the man from the parking lot.

"YOU-" Her head whirled towards the door but sure enough the lock was in place and nothing was broken. She stood there dumbfoundedly and finally said, "I must've forgotten to lock up.. " And what a hell of a time to forget.

"Don't be alarmed." He said with a calm voice. "Forgive me, but it's been so long since a human has looked at me like this. I had to see you again... " He took a step closer, but not too close, showing his hesitation.

Biting back her words, Ivory considered the situation carefully. He was a stranger who broke into her home. If he didn't mean any harm, why did he force his way inside?? What nonsense was he going on about again?

"I didn't use the door to get inside, but I think you already know that." He smiled forlornly. "That's not really the point though." His expression lightened seeing that she didn't immediately reject him. "I'm not sure where to start, but what I said earlier is true. Your life is really in danger."

"Let's assume I believe you." Ivory played with the idea, giving him the benefit of the doubt. Her thumb still hovered over the call button on her phone. "Who exactly is after me? Why?" Abandoning the phone idea, she discreetly reached above the counter for a clove of garlic.

"Well... for your second question, that's because I'm visible to you." He looked at her with a hint of amusement now gleaming in his eyes. "Oh, and love? I'm a ghost, not a vampire~"

"Pfft... yes, I know the difference."

"Garlic doesn't work on me."

She put the clove of garlic away hastily. Ignoring the embarrassment, she watched him sigh.

"And they say ghosts are harder to deal with than humans."

"Sorry?"

He disappeared into a mist of cloudy dust just like magicians when performing a trick only there wasn't a hole in the floor for him to fall through. She knew his disappearance wasn't magic.

Did he finally leave?

Afraid to move, she froze in place and watched him reappear before her with his arms extended to the side like he just performed a marvelous trick.

He returned to his old spot without a moment's notice. "Do you believe me now?" He asked coyly with a laugh.

"I'm losing my mind."

"In a good way or...?"

"No, not in a good way!" She clasped a hand over her mouth, realizing she spoke too loud.

He merely stood there in the dark, leaning against the countertop and looking down as if unsure what to say or trying not to laugh. Her heart softened for some reason. He looked so young...

How did he die?

In a quieter voice she asked, "So, what you said is really true, huh?" For the first time, Ivory let the truth sink heavily into her chest. Seeing ghosts was not a natural phenomenon to say the least... but why did that make her a target? If she kept this a secret, no one would ever know.

The man nodded quietly. "What do you say we talk more another time? I know this must be overwhelming."

"Would it be peculiar if I said I'm fine with it?"

"So, you already believed in the supernatural?" He looked at her in a mysterious way, almost as if unexpectedly pleased. "Interesting." He commented.

Her ears perked up hearing him. "How so?"

"I'll be heading out first, please excuse me." He bid his farewell politely.

She watched him incredulously. Was he being serious? He was going to leave just like that? She took a step forward, stealing her resolve, but her lips never moved because he spoke first.

"The name is Seth, what about you?"

His question caught her by surprise. "That depends." She said deliberately slow, twirling her hair like a young school girl. Toying with him at this moment sounded really fun. She almost grew a bit excited. "Am I really going to see you again?" She asked. He was so full of wonders and mystery of the unknown that she couldn't stop her growing likeness for him. Besides, she had to admit, he was devilishly handsome. Dark wavy hair, icy blue eyes that could penetrate the soul... such characteristics were unfortunately her type.

He vanished into a cloud of white mist, except this time he was truly gone. The only thing he left behind was a tantalizing smile.

Ivory stood quietly for the longest time watching the shadows dance across the wall and disappear under the arch way once more, but this time they no longer seemed empty and alone.

Who knew to her dismay and delight he would be standing underneath the same tree that very next day on school grounds. She immediately went over feeling faint and dragged him by the sleeve to a secluded place.

Glancing around she made sure no one was watching. Then and only then did she fully look at him and was surprised how docile he was being about her pulling him along. She breathed deeply, failing to gather her patience. "Just what are you doing???"

"Aren't you pleased to see me?" He said between laughing.

She found her likeness for him disappeared and that she could actually scream in frustration. "Don't just go where you please." Quickly she shooed him away. "I have to go to class.