What happens when the story is over? What comes once the final chapter is written? After the last scene? When the hero walks into the sunset what becomes of them? Is a happy ending really a happy ending?

Some would say yes. Few would say no.

4 years ago, a story came to an end. A young girl was sent to a world of her greatest dreams a desire, she learned of a sinister truth. She was able to free the souls of captured children and stop the dastardly being.

She hauled the heavy planks back over the old and forgotten well, covering the best she could. She didn't want anything to fall in, or anything to get out. That night the girl laid in bed. Now that the hand was gone she had opened her window wide. Her new school clothes were laid out carefully on a chair.

Normally, she would be nervous about the start of the first day of term but, she realized she fancied she could hear sweet music on the night air. Only the kind of music that could be played on the tiniest silver instruments. She imagined that she was back again in her dream with the three children.

As the first stars came out, the girl finally allowed herself to drift to sleep while the upstairs music of the mouse circus spilled out onto the warm evening air, telling the world that summer was almost done.

This was the end of the story, but this was the beginning of the nightmares.

???: AHHHH!

The girl, now older, awoke from a restless slumber, air quickly leaving her lungs as her cords belted a symphony of endless terror. She was quick to cover her mouth and hold the rest in. Her eyes darted to the door to see if anyone would come. A moment passed, then two. She let out a sigh when she realized no one would be running in. Good thing, too, since she hated to be seen in her nightwear.

???: Nice one, Coraline. Almost woke the entire house....again.

She gave herself some time to gather her composure before slipping out of bed. Her hair was a mess, her tank top strap was hanging off of her shoulder, drool stuck to her cheek, and her eyes were most likely bloodshot. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.

Coraline: But you look great.

She clicked her tounge and pointed at her reflection before she went to get ready for the day.

Wybue: What'cha reading?

Wybie approached the bench his friend was lounging on.

The gardens of the Pink Palace were a sight to behold ever since the Jones had moved in and the grounds currently reflected the sun's cheer in autumn hues of red and gold. He smirked as he noticed how his friend clashed with the scenery, her bright pink sweater and green stockings offering a bold contrast.

Coraline looked up from the handful of fliers with a grimace and a shrug.

Coraline: Nightmares.

She passed him a few of the college leaflets and sighed.

Coraline: I don't know, I don't think I'm cut out for the whole 'higher learning' scene. At least not right now.

She adopted an obviously fake tone of magnanimity.

Coraline: I'm willing to be practical about it and consider that maybe it will be something to do in the future.

Wybie: I don't think you've ever been practical about anything.

He didn't bother to look at any of the papers but flipped through them for the illusion of interest.

Wybie: We've still got another three years before we're even done with high school! Why are you bothering with all this right now?

Coraline: Ugh, it's not like it's my choice. Mom's been hounding me for a month now to at least start considering my options. As if the world will end if I take a year or two off school to find out what I want to do with my life.

She scrunched her face in frustration and let the remaining pamphlets drop to the ground. Winding her now shoulder-length navy hair around one finger she brought the strands to rest on her protruding upper lip like a mustache.

Coraline: This whole adult business blows hard.

Though it came out a bit muffled as she tried to hold her fake mustache in place. Wybie shook his head at her antics and let the papers he was holding join the pile at their feet.

Wybie: Well, what do you want to do with your life?

Coraline: I don't know! If it were that simple I wouldn't be needing the time to think on it, now would I?

She dropped the blue strands she had been idly playing with and blew her bangs out of her eyes in a show of exasperation.

Coraline: What about you?

Wybie: No real long-term plans just yet. I was thinking about starting off in a community college, maybe go for something to do with computers. That's where it's at.

Coraline blew a raspberry at him not bothering to ask what 'it' was.

Coraline: Of course, there's no one alive who doesn't know that computers are the next big thing. Except for maybe our neighbors. Pretty sure anything more complicated than a toaster would spook them.

She giggled at her own joke but her face was soft with affection.

She had grown to genuinely love the old people who shared the Pink Palace with her, their eccentricities made them all the more dear. She and Wybie both tried to ignore the growing reality that they might not have but a few years longer with the lively old characters.

Spink and Forcible were now well into their seventies and rarely left the house. They were down to just one dog now, mostly because they could not keep up with any more, despite the want to. Coraline made it a point to visit them at least once a week and often times she could convince Wybie to join her. Once the threat of the Other Mother had been removed, Wybie felt comfortable enough to go inside the old apartment building, even if his grandmother still had reservations. The two actresses had taken to him instantly and would ask after him anytime Coraline visited alone.

The two teens were indulgent of the ladies' forgetfulness and for their wild exaggerations and superstitions. After everything that had happened, they were perfectly willing to believe that Miriam did indeed once have a phantom admirer or that April was passably clairvoyant.

They would serve tea, tell stories, and occasionally dig out an ancient projector to show off their golden years. Needless to say, Wybie and Coraline were both impressed and mildly horrified to learn that the two batty elderly women were in some rather risque roles in their youth.

Then, there was Mr. Bobinsky. He remained far more mobile than the two older women, although he had finally given up on the random acrobats – much to Coraline's relief. He had always been a touch more insane than either Spink or Forcible and that had not changed over the years. After a few well placed debates and outright sabotage, he had won a small section of the property's garden away from flowers and now spent most of his time tending his vegetables, which he willingly and insistently shared with his neighbors.

Both Coraline and Wybie would keep him company when he took to the soil, helping him pull weeds and offering conversation. He had even (eventually) allowed them to meet his mice. Coraline had only been a little disappointed that they were not the athletic and ambidextrous creatures that their puppet counter-parts had been. They could, in fact, ring bells and preform little tasks, but a marching band they were not. Still, they were cute.

The cat still came and went, though far more frequently he was away to his own devices. After years of trying, Coraline finally accepted that he could not talk outside of the Other Mother's world. Still, she knew he was more than just a cat- language or not. She and Wybie deferred to him like an equal, but it was disappointing not knowing what he might be thinking or what he was up to when not visiting either of them.

Wybie: What are you planning to do in the meantime?

She shook her head to reorient herself. Wybie laughed at her obvious lack of attention span.

Wybie: Zoning out again?

Coraline: Nah.

She replied several seconds late.

She sighed again, longer this time than before.

Coraline: I don't know. At the risk of sounding cliché, I think travel sounds like it might be fun. If anything, I want to go visit my friends back in Michigan this summer, see what they're up to. We- well, we haven't been as close as we used to be. If I hadn't of met you I probably would have gone insane from boredom.

Wybie: You'd probably also be dead.

The confrontation at the well felt so far behind them now that it seemed safe to bring it up in conversation. They rarely talked about the events of that first year the Jones moved in, but it no longer felt like bad luck to do so.

Coraline: Oh, I don't know. If someone hadn't been there to give me her evil, voodoo-spy doll, I might not have ever ended up in the situation to begin with.

Wybie: Maybe, but that would mean the key would still be in the house and it'd be able to get someone else instead. At least this way more future lives are safe.

Coraline: I don't like to think about it. Sometimes I wonder if she's still alive. The door's locked but... we don't really know if she's dead. Or if there might have been another way out after all.

She shivered. She still had the nightmares. The thought of the Other Mother slipping into her world terrified her. The fear only grew when she heard the sound of scratching. A sound no one else ever heard.

Coraline: I wish we could ask Cat and get a straight answer. I bet he would be able to tell us for sure, one way or another.

Wybie nodded with a grimace. It was a disturbing thought. He quickly changed the subject.

Wybie: I still feel kinda cheated that I never got to hear Cat talk for myself. I mean, he was my friend first!

Coraline: Jealous?

Wybue: Yeah, pretty sure I just said that.

He shrugged and stretched his legs to stand. Not for the first time, Coraline noticed how tall her friend was getting to be. He'd probably qualify as a giant if he didn't insist on slouching so much.

Wybie: Speaking of, I wonder where our friend is off to today?

Coraline: Who knows. Sometimes I almost think of him as just a cat, but then, once I heard Ms. Spink say something about familiars. I believe that's probably what he is, you know?

Wybie: Could be. Makes sense, I guess. Depends on what one's definition of a familiar is. Like, I read in this book once that they're suppose to be demons.

Coraline: He doesn't seem very demonic to me. I doubt he would have helped me out as much as he did back then, if he were. Plus, I really don't think demons are quite so cuddly.

Wybie laughed sharply, covering his mouth in amusement.

Wybie: I don't think he's very cuddly at all! He's too lean and feral for that.

Coraline: Oh, I don't know. I once coaxed him into a tub and he was definitely soft and cuddle worthy after that! Well, physically, anyhow. I don't think he's ever managed to give me the cold shoulder for so long before or after that particular adventure.

She smiled fondly at the memory and her friend broke into helpless giggles at the image of an indignant cat with a silky, freshly shampooed coat pointedly ignoring his assailant.

After catching his breath, Wybie switched the subject back to that of futures.

Wybie: So, travel, huh?

Coraline: I don't know. Maybe. Everyone acts like its normal to be indecisive but then they get frustrated when you actually are! Like, chill! Why do they expect us to both know and not know at the same time?

She stood up and looked down to the pile of papers awaiting her decision.

Coraline: I guess my only other options right now are to either find a job in town somewhere to stall for time or just pick one of these at random.

With obvious reluctance, she bent down and collected the litter off the ground.

Wybie: It won't be so bad. Everyone goes through this at some point or another, I'm told. But I stand by my earlier point, it's way too soon to be worrying about this sort of thing.

He smiled.

Wybie: At least give it another month or two before you really begin to gnaw it over. Fall break is next week! You really shouldn't spoil such a sacred time by brooding.

Coraline chuckled at his attempt to cheer her up. She supposed that he did have a good point.

A meow caught both of their attention and brought the conversation to a pause.

Coraline: Ah! Cat! We were just talking about you earlier. How nice of you to visit.

Coraline knelt down and scratched behind his good ear.

Coraline: I would ask if you had a nice trip to wherever it was but we all know how pointless that'd be.

The cat rolled his eyes with an indulgent expression and meandered his way through their legs. He meowed again and feigned cleaning himself. Coraline took this as a cue to carry on with whatever it was he'd interrupted.

Coraline: I guess I can table this for now. It's not like I have much of a choice in the matter, anyway. I'm sure I'll think of something.

Wybie smiled with a wink.

Wybie: That's the spirit!

The sharp sound of a bell brought an official end to the conversation.

Mrs. Lovat had begun to lose most of her famous lung capacity over the years but she still had the bell that hung on her porch. The old decoration had seen better days but the woman refused to replace it, claiming it warded off evil spirits.

Wybie: Looks like grams has breakfast ready.

He looked down at their furry friend.

Wybie: Who's it going to be this morning, Cat? Me or Jonesy?

The cat gave an effective shrug before circling the boy's legs, rubbing against them affectionately.

Coraline: Oh, I see how it is, following the food, huh? Well, I can't say I blame you. Your grandma is still one heck of a cook.

Wybie: Yeah, I'm going to be in real trouble when she finally decides to stay away from the kitchen. I can almost manage to burn water so if I'm supposed to be in charge we'll starve in a matter of days!

Coraline: I'll see you two later, then. We'll meet here and walk to the stop.

Wybie: Later!

He was already halfway down the driveway with the cat close on his heels. Coraline watched for a moment before she sighed.

He was her closest friend and yet she can't tell him the truth. The horrors that still plagued her dreams and the noises she heard echoing wherever she went. It was a living nightmare at times, but isn't that just life in general?

She shook it off with a rather depressing outlook on life and gathered herself. She had better things to worry about. Like school, and.....and......yeah, no. School was the bottom of the barrel. Should've started with something else like stupid boys or if her show recorded or if she didn't get her CD deliever to the music shop that she ordered like three weeks ago.

She knew what she would be doing after school now.

She got to her feet and gathered her things before heading inside. Her school uniform awaited. As did her coffee. She needed her coffee.

●○●

Coraline rode the bus into town. She didn't really feel like walking 4 miles to and from school every day. Wybie did suggest riding his bike, but she wasn't a basket or a handlebar kind of girl. Wybie also didn't really feel like biking four miles with the extra weight. It felt more like a chore so the bus it is.

The weather was just about as crappy as it usually got. The sun was hidden behind the grey storm clouds that were ready to unleash a hellish downpour. At least her flowers would get their much needed water. Unfortunately, that meant she might be hitting the music store after school.

This was starting to look like a rather boring day.

This boredom only grew as she walked through the Halls of Swerswight Prep. All the talking of TV shows and drama and this and that and it was all so boring. Where did all the excitement go? Even her uniform was a dull grey on dull grey on black mix. The only vibrant colour she had on her was her gloves. The yellow and purple stripes replaced her old ones she had when she was a child. The ones she wanted while she was battling the Other Mother. The Beldam.

The name alone sent shivers down her spine. She dreaded sleeping at times. She knew that once she closed her eyes she would see her face. The horrible, gray stained skin and those dark button eyes. Her voice, sounding like her mother's, haunted her even now. It was twisted. It was all twisted.

Coraline found her usual seat towards the back of the class. Wybie's first period was across the hall but that would mean she was on her own. She talked to her classmates, hung out with them even, but she mostly liked to keep to herself. Who would truly understand what happened besides Wybie? Her own parents didn't even remember what happened and they were stuck in a snow globe.

She sighed before the first bell rang. Students began to file into the room and take their seats as per usual. But something was strange. There was a different air in the room. A wind of change, as a certain song may say. She looked up when she heard the teacher enter. He must have been running late.

That's when she realized what was happening.

Behind the teacher was a student her age. Someone she had never seen before. A new kid!

Mr. Knight: Everyone sit down. We have an announcement before we get started.

Coraline's peers all began to sit down and conversation began to die out. Only a few mumbles were left when the teacher cleared his throat.

Mr. Knight: Class, today we'll be welcoming a new student. This here is Y/N Laika. I expect you all to welcome him with open arms.

Everyone stared at you as you stood there unmoving. You looked around the room, slightly flinching at a cough, before everyone went back to their mumbles. The teacher didn't seem to care about the reaction. He simply waved you over to the open seat near the back. You held your bag close and hurried to the seat and sat down.

Coraline watched you as you sat uncomfortably at your new desk. She looked at your bag to see a few colourful pins. Each one had a different monstrous face on them. She recognized a few but not others. She also noticed that you looked a bit nervous.

New school, new faces, sitting next to, at least what Coraline thought was, a cute girl. It was understandable. But that wasn't what had you spooked.

Mr. Knight: Class, today we'll be welcoming a new student. This here is Y/N Laika. I expect you all to welcome him with open arms.

Everyone stared at you as you stood there unmoving. You looked around the room, slightly flinching at a cough, before everyone went back to their mumbles. That's when you saw him. The boy that stood next to the blue haired girl. He had the glow to him. The skin hanging off of his cheek gave you a clear sign of what he was. His eyes were dark and his pupils seemed to be filled with blood. You were glad you couldn't smell him.

Then, he suddenly looked at you. You froze and prayed that he didn't see you. You didn't like it when they knew you could see them. That would usually lead to them latching onto you rather someone else. Whoever this boy was, he had business with the girl. Business you wanted nothing to do with.

You quickly hurried to your seat.

You peeked over to see the boy still standing there. The girl doodled in her notebook as the boy watched. You returned your attention to the front of the class.

●○●

You sat alone in the cafeteria and poked at...what might be food. You were sure it growled at you. You set your fork down and sighed. You haven't seen the boy since this morning, so you were at least relaxed enough to know that you stuck out. Everyone already had their friends and groups. You really didn't want to move half way through a semester, but that stuff was just out of your hands.

You rested your cheek on your fist and watched everyone interact. You missed your friends.

Wybie: So this is the new guy.

You looked to your left as a boy sat next to you. His curls almost covered his eyes but you could tell that he was normal. Well, normal was subjective. You then heard something hit the table in front of you. You looked up to see the girl from this morning. You think someone called her Caroline or something.

Wybie: Wow. He looks as dead as you said, Jonesy.

Y/N: Dead?

Coraline: I didn't say he looked dead. I said he looked like he saw the dead.

You narrowed your eyes at her but got interrupted when the boy threw an arm around you. He smelt like oil.

Wybie: The name's Wybie. Short for Wyborn.

He held out his hand which you stared at. You then looked to the girl who shrugged. You shook the boy's hand, smiling nervously.

Y/N: Nice to meet you. I'm Y/N.

Wybie: So why did you move here? Was it some dark family secret? Did your dad snitch on some mafia member?

The girl reached over the table and shoved the boy which made him let you go.

Coraline: Cool it, Why-Were-You-Born. You're scaring the kid.

Kid?

Wybie stuck his tounge out before eating a spoonful of the greenish yellow slob. So it was editable. Good to know. You still won't be eating it.

The girl reached across the table and held out her hand. You looked at her gloves and found yourself a bit caught off guard by the colours in the otherwise monochrome environment. Slowly you reached out and took her hand. The moment you did, her fingers latched into you hand and began to shake it with a lot of enthusiasm.

Coraline: I'm Coraline Jones.

You watched your hand for a moment before your eyes met. Then, something happened. Not the stupid "Love at first sight" crap. This was a different kind of connection.

When she looked into your eyes....

When you looked into her eyes....

You saw something.

She saw something.

You both stared at each other with wide eyes while Wybie watched. He slowly started to eat your food as his eyes narrowed. He absolutely did not have any romantic feelings towards Coraline. She was more like a sister than a potential partner, but he couldn't quite place why you were looking at each other like this.

Gasp! Could it be? Does Coraline have a crush?!

That wasn't it, but he didn't know that.

What she saw in your eyes was fear. The same fear she felt every day.

Y/N/Coraline: Who are you?