"Mom, calm down! We are not getting married. We aren't even dating. Nora is a friend. That is all." Hyde tried to stop his mom.

She was giving him the don't have sex speech again. She was too late for that but Hyde wasn't saying anything. He wasn't talking to his mother about sex.

"Sure. Honey. You have never brought a girl home!" His mom was about to explode with excitement. "Since when are you friends with girls?"

Hyde rolled his eyes and looked at his dad. "Please help!"

His dad put up his hands. "I can't. I have no control over your mother!" He laughed and left the room.

Great.

Nora changed and washed her face and took a breath. She had never had a home before or parents. This was weird. Hell, she had never been in a house that wasn't run down, abandoned or haunted. Well, it had been years.

She knew she wasn't a typical girl. She was grateful for Hyde. He wasn't normal either because he accepted her for what she was. Who she really was. Time to face the parents. Nora took one step at a time and finally reached the bottom. Hyde met her.

"My mom is unhinged. Just thought I should warn you that she is about to walk us to the courthouse to get married!" Hyde covered his face.

Nora laughed. "It's fine. I never had family. It's fine, Hyde."

"You look gorgeous." Hyde smiled and leaned in like he was going to kiss her.

"What are you doing?" Nora glared at him and didn't move.

Hyde smiled. "I was trying something but it didn't feel right! I just don't know why I like you as a friend? You really are very....probably the prettiest girl in school and I feel nothing for you! It's a crime."

"You are an idiot and I am taking everything that you said as a compliment." Nora smiled.

"Okay. You ready?"

"Nope! Let's go!" They walked into the dining room. His mom and dad were there with four other people. Oh, okay.

"Nora, this is Hyde's Aunt Carol and Uncle Walt, my sister and brother-in-law and this is Kat and Hector. Hyde's godparents." His mom announced. "Oh, I'm Janice and that is Hyde's dad, John."

Nora smiled and was slightly nervous. She never so much as dated a guy before and had never met parents and now there were godparents! "Hi."

They swarmed to her. Nora was being hugged on all sides by parents. She didn't have any and he had an army. Hyde pulled everyone back.

"We are not dating!" Hyde yelled over the celebration.

Nora just laughed. It got quiet. "Sorry. We are just friends but you are the nicest people that I have ever met. Thank you for making me feel at home." She sat in the closest chair. "Sorry. Hyde is wonderful but we really are good friends. I don't mean to deflate the evening."

Hyde sat beside her. "But you make such a cute couple! Why aren't you dating? Hyde, what is wrong with you? She is gorgeous!" Godfather Hector pointed out.

Nora blushed. Hyde laughed. "She is a friend, Hector. Just a friend. We're helping each other with a family project. I brought her here to see the Miller house."

It got silent. Nora looked down. "She may be able to find something that we missed. So, she came to help and no, Mom, I will never give up." He answered a comment he knew was coming.

His parents had prayed and went to church every night. Confessed all of their sins and built a shrine to Willem. He never came back and the prayers went unanswered but they still had faith. Hyde admired his parents for that. He didn't understand it but he admired it.

Hyde wasn't his parents. They accepted that Willem wasn't coming back. He never understood that kind of faith. They missed him everyday but they were at peace. Hyde wasn't. Never would be. He feared that he would always have the nightmares. There would never be peace.

Dinner with his family should be interesting. Nora was nervous. She hadn't had a home cooked meal in a long time. His mom, Janice, pulled out all of the stops. It smelled so good. It was a roast with potatoes and carrots. Some kind of rice and a salad.

"This looks amazing, Janice. You didn't have to do this for me." Nora hoped she didn't do this to impress Nora.

"Nora. Janice loves to cook. You have to humor her while you are here. She loves company." John said with a wink.

"Well, thanks. I can't remember the last time I had a home cooked meal." Nora stopped talking. She should have kept her mouth shut.

"Your mom doesn't cook?" Janice asked.

"Oh, I, no. She doesn't cook for me. No." Nora wasn't getting into her crappy past.

"You poor thing. You are welcome here anytime that you need a home cooked meal. Hyde, you better bring her back here!" Janice threatened.

"So, what do your parents do?" John asked.

Nora smiled and played with her salad. "I, uh. I don't have parents." Nora said and gave a weak smile.

Janice stood up, marched over and hugged Nora hard. She was almost in tears. "Easy Mom. Nora is fine." Hyde was trying to rescue Nora.

Janice sat down. "Sorry, Sweetie. I couldn't imagine. May I ask what happened?" She figured they died or something.

"I lost them a long time ago. I was in and out of foster homes and now I live alone. I don't cook so, I eat out a lot." Nora smiled.

"She has the worst diet!" Hyde laughed.

"Hyde!" Janice gasped.

Nora laughed. "No, it's true. I love junk food and I hate cooking. I am a terrible eater but this is fantastic. I may have to take you up on coming back for food!" She loved to eat.

Janice smiled. She liked Nora. "Why aren't you interested in Hyde? I like you!"

Nora laughed. "I don't know. I must have something wrong with me. He is my best friend but that's all."

Janice smiled. Maybe they could grow to love each other. She was going to have to wait and pray.

Hyde just shook his head.

Nora was thrilled that they survived dinner and even more excited because they were on the porch of the haunted house in the middle of the night. Nora didn't understand her fascination with them but she loved them. They never scared her.

Hell, she was the reason for three of them close to a town she lived in. That was just for fun. No one got hurt and that town became a tourist attraction.

The haunted houses brought in revenue for the small town. It was a win win for everyone. She started that in another town also. People loved things that were haunted.

Nora could tell that Hyde didn't want to go inside so she went first. She took off the long sleeves and long pants but she was still dressed in shorts and tank top. Hyde was still and nervous.

He hated this place. His nightmare. Nora was floating round. She flew into walls and the ceiling. She began to enjoy herself. There was nothing here. No trace of a ghost. She floated for hours and Hyde waited silently on the porch, reading.

Nora landed.

"There is nothing here. Not a trace of anything dead or ghostly. Sorry, Hyde." She whispered the apology. She was hoping for something. Anything. There was nothing. This wasn't a haunted house. Just lore.

She was disappointed but not the same way that Hyde was. "There may have been something here at one point but I can't sense anything right now."

"Thanks anyway, Nora. I appreciate the effort. You are a good friend. My best friend." Hyde looked sad.

"Oh, Hyde. I'm honored and that's just sad! I am your best friend!" Nora smiled a little.

Hyde glared. "No, I take it back!"

Nora laughed and took his arm. "Shall we get out of here?"

Hyde nodded. "I have a party to get to, you want to come?"

Nora just stared. "No. I don't do parties, Hyde. Go and have fun."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Just be careful."

Hyde nodded as he left for the party and Nora went back to her room. She climbed the terrace and through her window and she pretended to sleep.

Nora wasn't interested in partying, especially with stranger. She wasn't much into parties and she never drank. She knew that Hyde would be drunk until Thanksgiving. So, two days.

Nora was up and went for a walk as the sun rose. She was walking to the house and she saw his mom, Janice, weeding her flowers in the front yard.

"Oh, another morning person, I see." She smiled and stood up. "You want some coffee?"

Nora smiled. "Sure. Thanks. I love mornings. It's gorgeous here and I was enjoying the sun." She follow Janice to the kitchen. She didn't require a lot of sleep when she was a phantom and she really did enjoy mornings.

She loved the hours before everyone started to wake up at school. The dorm was quiet and the grounds were still. It was peaceful. It was the same here.

"I love to do all of my gardening in the morning before it gets hot." Janice said and smiled. "Oh, we have some company coming tonight."

That felt like a warning. "Oh, great. More family? Your family seems great. Everyone is so nice." Nora didn't know why but she was getting very nervous.

"They are, yes. But this isn't family. I invited some ghost hunters here to show Hyde that the ridiculous house isn't haunted."

Janice smiled. "I invited the ones from TV, the Lloyd Brothers. I wanted someone that was real! None of those fake pretenders that were here before. They said they actually found ghosts."

She laughed. "Ghosts!" She didn't believe in ghost and wanted to prove that house wasn't haunted.

Well, that wasn't true, after the past year, she did believe in ghosts but she knew that house wasn't haunted. If that thing was real then ghosts could be real also. The thought of that strange demon standing in their yard made her shiver and she held her coffee cup tighter.

Nora didn't notice Janice's strange behavior because she thought she was going to pass out. Just breath. She had ran into spectral hunters before. A couple times. Most are fake and she was grateful that the two times that she found some, they didn't know what they had.

There are some that are real, not only do they hunt but they kill. They were dangerous. The Lloyd Brothers would know how to kill her. She was afraid of real spectral hunters. She had heard some rumors about The Lloyd brothers and saw them in action. They were the real thing and she vowed to stay away from them.

"Nora, are you okay?" Janice asked. Nora turned pale and she looked like she was going to be sick.

"Sure. Sorry. I think I need some water." She stood and found a cup and filled it with water. It gave her time to recover. "I love meeting new people. When are they arriving?" Nora cleared her throat. She had to find Hyde.

"Oh, just after five, I believe. I sent them an invitation and they are coming." Janice was excited. "They are joining us for dinner and they are staying through Thanksgiving!"

Janice would feel safer with them at the house. What if he tried something while everyone was here? She had nightmares all year. He was still out there, waiting.

Nora began to freak out but she had to look calm. spectral hunters were coming, today...at five. Today. Okay, remain calm and text Hyde.

Maybe they could go somewhere for a couple of days. She wasn't being very realistic at the moment. She could feel the panic clawing at her, settling on her skin.

She took a breath to calm down. "How long are they staying?" Nora tried to sound curious. The word today was echoing in her head.

Janice smiled. Clearly, she was excited. "Until Friday, I think. I hope that they can stay a little longer and prove that there are no ghosts. They are paid until Friday but if they find something interesting it could be longer."

She wondered if they could find that thing...that demon. She didn't know if there was a way to find a demon. Kill it. Stop it. She stopped a shiver.

Nora texted Hyde and hoped he would get back to her.

spectral hunters will be here today!

Nora shivered and didn't notice that Janice shivered a the same time. She began to wonder if it wasn't ghosts that took Willem, which it wasn't because ghosts don't take people. They just haunt.

What the hell happened to him? No one vanishes without a trace. How are his parents okay with it? They didn't even have a shadow around them. No sadness.

Shouldn't they be searching the moon by now? Leaving no stone overturned? Nora had a bad feeling. They should be fighting and divorced by now. Not closer and happy. She had watched all kinds of abduction movies and none of them were okay after a year.

There was something wrong here. Damn it, this was just day two. Four more to go. Maybe this was a bad idea. She shouldn't have come here.

She texted Hyde and recommended that she go back to the dorm. She didn't care about spending time alone, it was better than dead. No answer from Hyde.

Nora searched and couldn't find Hyde and he wasn't answering his phone or replying to his texts. She closed her eyes and this was tough to explain to others but she stretched outside of herself.

She could go a couple of miles outside of herself. She could sense people if they were close. She couldn't find Hyde. She had no sense of him at all so he was farther away than two miles. She was going to kill him.

It was almost five. She was pacing in her room. He was still at that stupid party. Great. She didn't know where that was. She tried calling Hyde again. He picked up. Finally. "About damn time!" She yelled.

"Sorry. Old high school friends kidnapped me. We went out to another party. It was nice so I didn't make it back yet. What's up?" He was slurring his words.

"Great. Are you drunk?" Nora was panicking.

"Maybe!" Hyde said slowly and laughed. "Okay. Yes. What is up? Are you drunk?" She heard him laugh.

Nora groaned. "No! Your mom invited guests for dinner and a show, I'm guessing."

"What? Who?"

"The Lloyd brothers. The spectral hunters from TV!" Nora almost yelled. "They will be here at five."

Hyde stopped smiling and he was sober. "I'm coming." He hung up.

Thanks very much for reading and please don't forget to vote! ;)

Spicy boys are coming!!!