When I was seven years old, Mum and Dad were struggling a bit financially, and we were evicted from our large house in Devon, and forced to move a little closer to the city in order to afford anything. We ended up buying a small house at the edge of the closest city, and both my brothers and I were forced to share one room, while my two sisters had to share the other.

As soon as I set foot in that house, I knew that there was something wrong.

The house in general gave off a very eerie feeling. I felt uncomfortable walking into certain rooms, specifically my bedroom. Late at night, the boards would creak (which had freaked me out at the time, whereas now I would just assume it to be the house settling), the window beside my bed would violently shake sometimes, and I would hear moans and growls. While I did think that there was a ghost (which I find completely preposterous now), I had never seen a full-body apparition, at least, not until now.

When I saw Guy standing in front of me, I knew that it couldn't be a hallucination or anything of the sort. I rubbed my eyes to make sure that I was seeing correctly, and when I opened them again, Guy was standing only a foot away, grinning up at me. I flinched, dropping my bag on the floor.

"Hi, Chris," he said.

I blinked and tried to regain my composure. "But... you're... what the fuck is going on?"

He chuckled, and I took a small step back in fear. "Come on, haven't you ever heard of ghosts?"

I closed my mouth, not even realizing that it was open until just then. "Of course but... I didn't think it was... real!" I shook my head. "This is just some sort of trick my mind is playing on me, isn't it? It's just my way of dealing with grief, right?"

The dead man shrugged. "Whatever you want to think of it as, I guess. All I know is that I'm here and you're here next to me." He reached out to touch my left arm, and instead of feeling flesh, I felt a sudden chill run from my arm through my whole body.

The front door slammed, making me flinch, and I turned around to see Phil and Jonny standing there with the rest of my bags and my guitars. "Gee, thanks for the help, you wanker," Phil told me with a chuckle.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion and turned back around to Guy, who was looking at them curiously. I met his eyes and he shook his head. "Who's the lad in the cap?" He asked, and I looked back at Jonny, who was looking around the house. Why hadn't he noticed Guy yet?

"Uh.. that's Jonny. He's a friend of mine," I replied, and Phil looked at me like I was crazy.

"Erm.. I know, mate. We met at the funeral," he said.

"Oh, I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Guy," I said, nervously.

Phil laughed. "I guess you really have gone insane," he teased. At that moment, I knew that I was the only one able to see Guy's ghost, further making me wonder what in the bloody hell he was.

I shot Guy a look, who just shrugged, before walking over and touching Jonny's shoulder. Jonny shivered, and I grimaced. "What the fuck was that?" He asked.

"What is it, Jonny?" Phil asked. "A mouse?"

"No! Something touched my arm!" He shouted, and Guy laughed mischievously. "It felt really cool and sent a shiver down my spine."

"Maybe it's a ghost," Phil suggested teasingly, and I laughed nervously.

"I mean, do you think that it would be a possibility for someone to remain in a place after death?" I asked, and both of my friends turned to look at me as if I was crazy. "I mean, you know, if, hypothetically, ghosts existed."

Phil sighed and shrugged. "I don't see a reason as to why a spirit would want to remain on Earth when they have the chance to move on."

"Maybe they don't have a choice," I argued. I snuck a look at Guy, who was sporting a melancholy smile.

"Why wouldn't they?"

I looked to Guy for an answer, who sighed. "I personally think that I was left here to attend to some unfinished business," he said sadly.

I looked back to Phil with a sigh. "Maybe they've just got some unfinished business to attend to."

Jonny shrugged. "I don't believe in ghosts, personally, but that doesn't mean they don't exist."

"I find the idea of it really stupid, to be honest," Phil said. "The chance that ghosts exist is probably around one percent, but I guess there's still a chance."

Guy laughed heartily and walked over to my side. "You know I've got to mess with them now, right?"

I snuck him an evil look and nodded, while Phil and Jonny made themselves busy by taking my bags upstairs. When they were gone, I sighed. "Guy, what the fuck am I supposed to do?"

Guy raised an eyebrow and took my hand in his, however all I felt was a cold breeze. "What do you mean, love? Aren't you happy to see me again?"

I bit my lip. "I am, but... I want to know why you couldn't move on. You deserve to see whatever good place is beyond life, and instead you got stuck back here." I shook my head, feeling my eyes fill with tears. "I'll never be able to get over you if you're still here."

Guy gave me a sad smile. "Maybe you don't have to get over me," he said. I looked up at him, confused. "Maybe we can still date, Chris. Maybe we can still date, even though I'm dead. We never have to tell anyone, we can just be in love with each other and acknowledge each other's current existence."

My eyes filled up with tears again as I caught sight of the hopeful look on Guy's face. "Guy..."

"Chris, I still love you. I still want to be your boyfriend, even in the afterlife. Besides, I'm not going anywhere," he giggled.

I scanned him carefully. His body was the same as it was the night of the accident, down to the left sock, which was slightly rolled up in contrast to the other side. He was surrounded in a white aura that ran down into his skin, even though everything else was its normal color. His hair was still jet-black and his eyes were still a warm brown, but his skin was white, almost porcelain.

"Guy, you're also dead," I said finally.

He crossed his arms. "My body may be gone, but my soul is very much alive, Chris. Isn't that why you loved me? For my soul?"

Suddenly, Phil called from upstairs, saving me from having to answer Guy's awkward question. "Come on, you lazy arse! Come help us!"

I shot Guy a look and ran upstairs, leaving him looking disappointed and a bit hurt. I sighed, and walked into the bedroom, where Phil and Jonny were laying on my bed, popcorn in hand. I couldn't hold in a smile. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"We're going to watch a movie!" Jonny giggled. My heart did a flip in my chest, and I giggled with him.

"What happened to getting unpacked?"

Phil waved my question away. "It's been a long day for all of us. We thought it would be best if we spent the rest of today together and tomorrow you can unpack."

I smiled. "Philly, you're the king of good ideas."

"Actually, it was Jonny's idea," Phil admitted.

Jonny blushed when I turned to look at him, and I winked. "Aw, humble man, eh?"

I crawled into the bed with them and snuggled in between them under the covers. Phil had the remote, and Jonny had the popcorn, and I felt very comfortable in the presence of both of them. I looked towards the door, a smile on my face, and saw Guy standing there, a sad smile on his. I motioned with my head and eyes for him to come lay next to me, and his face instantly lit up. He crawled underneath the covers and I scooted over a bit so that he could sit in between Jonny and I. He kissed my cheek, leaving a cold spot there, and my grin grew.

Throughout the movie, Guy continued to make snooty comments about the characters and the cheesy plot line, making me laugh at parts that I shouldn't have laughed at, and having to stifle my snickers, especially when the girl was broken up with by Tom Hanks.

"You're not supposed to be laughing at this, Chris! The poor girl is devastated!"

"Come on! You really think this would ever happen in real life? She's standing out in the rain in tears because a bloke broke up with her! Who just lets themselves catch a cold because their boyfriend dumped them?" I laughed.

Guy laughed with me, and hearing his hearty voice was enough to make me laugh harder. I felt happy for the first time since he had died. Now, he was here again, and I could feel at peace.

"You're insane!" Jonny shouted, though also unable to hold in his giggle fit.

Phil rolled his eyes at us, before he too, falls into a fit of giggles. Soon, we were all cuddled into the bed, Phil fast asleep, and Jonny on the verge of passing out as well.

I rolled over and saw Guy staring at me, a dreamy grin on his face. "What are you staring at?" I whispered.

"You," Guy and Jonny answered at the same time, and I turned back to face Jonny.

I bit my lip as I looked at Jonny. His dreamy eyes, his soft, sweet lips. "Jonny, is it right to call you beautiful so soon after the accident?" I asked quietly.

He smiled, and I felt Guy's hand hit my cheek, hard. I was surprised not only that he had slapped me, but that I had felt it, but still, I tried to ignore it.

"You're only calling me beautiful. It's not like we're kissing or anything," Jonny replied with a smile.

I nodded. "Right, right. That would be... yeah. That's wrong."

He smiled sadly, and I could feel Guy's ghost watching me intently. I was conflicted. I wanted to kiss Jonny, to taste again his velvet lips, to remember what it felt like to truly kiss a man. Still, Guy was laying right beside me, and kissing him now felt like I was cheating on the man that I had loved for years.

"You are really beautiful, though," I said.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around me. Then, we were rolled together like a burrito.

"Hey, you bastard! What about me?" Guy shouted.

I felt like crying. I loved Guy still- there was no denying that. However, he was only a ghost. How could we maintain a relationship like that? I was the only one able to see him, which meant we couldn't go out and do what normal couples did. We couldn't get married, we couldn't go out for a walk in the park, we couldn't go out to see a film... in fact, what could we do?

As I scanned the features of Jonny's face again, I smiled. I was comfortable in his presence. He had cared for me when I told him that I needed someone to care, even though we hardly knew each other previously. It was as if we'd known each other for years, and he was here because he was my best mate, and he loved me like a brother.

But that wasn't the case.

What was it about me that Jonny was attracted to? Maybe he just a good person and felt sorry for me. Or maybe he just wasn't strong enough to deny my pleas for help. I shook my head.

"You don't have to stay, you know," I whispered.

"Hmm?"

I scooted closer to him. "You don't have to stay. You could've left the day after we stayed over at Al's that night."

He chuckled. "Why would I do that?"

"Well, because you can, I guess."

He smiled and stroked my cheek. "I like you, Chris. I have no reason to leave, unless you want me out of course. Everything I want is laying right here in front of me."

My heart did a front flip and I smiled back, my stomach in knots. I leaned in and broke the tension with a kiss placed gently on his full, pink lips, which looked black like everything else in the darkness. They tasted like stale chocolate and peppermint, probably from the cake at Guy's funeral, mixed with the taste of Jonny's toothpaste. We kissed for only a few brief moments before I pulled away, but his grin, the only bright part in the room, was enough to make the kiss seem like it lasted an eternity, and we were in the afterlife with Guy.

"Goodnight, Chris," he whispered, and turned over."

"Goodnight, Jonny," I replied, and turned on my back, not even noticing that Guy was no longer beside me.