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❝ 03 , save you again❞

Curfew had creeped past by now and it was dark outside. Demi knew it was dangerous to be out especially without her rapier and especially alone but she didn't want to go back to the house yet. She wasn't sure what it was but after George's questions in the Archives and all the reading, she couldn't face the house.

George had gone back hours ago and Demi had been wandering London all that time. She stopped for some pizza at George's favourite place but once that was eaten, she went off again as night slowly fell.

The streets got quieter and quieter the closer that curfew got and all that was left was a few taxis that roamed the streets and the nightwatch. Most adults couldn't see the ghosts so they hid inside. Demi, on the other hand, could see them all but she did her best to ignore them. Most of the Spirits didn't want to bother her and she had absolutely no reason to bother them.

All she wanted was to stroll around and maybe try and face home again. She still couldn't put her finger on what had triggered her down the sad path she seemed to be taking but she just needed a minute. Living with the boys never meant she got a minute so it was nice to get a few hours of those minutes.

There was complete silence as she stopped on the edge of the road. She closed her eyes and just listened. Listened to the silence and the way her breath moved through her body. The soft lift of her chest before she let out a huff. The breath rushed between her teeth as she let her shoulders drop down. Her head fell forward, too heavy to hold up any longer.

Lockwood would worry. She knew that. George would have told him that she had just stayed out for a walk and then Lockwood would worry. She couldn't blame him. A night like this is exactly what he had saved her from all those months ago. A night where she was alone and tired and sad and he saved her from some less than kind spirits.

She missed her parents. She had chosen to leave but she hadn't seen them. They didn't eat tea like they normally did that night so by the time she climbed out of her window, it had been at least twelve hours since she had seen them. That bothered her sometimes but she tried not to think about it too much. They had just wanted to give her space.

Eventually, Demi found herself at the door of Portland Row and she shoved her hands into her pockets to grab the key. She twisted the lock and pushed the door open, pulling the key out as she stepped into the warmth of her home.

It swathed her and it felt nice. The biting London cold made her shiver but this, this made her feel comfortable. She gently closed the door behind her and when she turned back around, Lockwood was there. She sent him a half-smile.

"Hey," She mumbled out awkwardly. He then crowded her. His hands moved to her shoulders and he surveyed her face for any injuries. The worry nipped at him even if his face didn't really show it.

"Did something happen?" He asked as he tilted his head slightly to check her face. Demi shook her head and then he frowned. It was subtle but it was there. She forced the corners of her lips into a half-hearted smile.

"Just wanted a walk." Demi then slipped past him. She wanted to talk to Anthony. She always did but she was tired and she wanted to eat something. Her stomach was growling so she took the stairs down to the kitchen, Lockwood followed closely behind.

"Dem," His tone was a warning. A warning that if she didn't talk now, it wouldn't be something he would drop so easily. Demi knew that. She pushed the kitchen door open, crossing straight to the snack cupboard. She knelt down and grabbed the chipsticks from inside, dropping the bag onto the side and then went to the fridge in search of some leftovers or just something that was easy to cook. She needed something easy.

Before she could even open the fridge, his hand moved to her wrist and he gently turned her around to face him. Her gaze lifted to meet his and he tilted his head just slightly, "What do you want? I'll cook," He offered. Demi stared down at the floor suddenly embarrassed. George was right. Anthony didn't cook for himself let alone other people. It was odd.

"I just want some pasta or something," She mumbled. He nodded and then he gestured for her to sit down at the table. Lockwood then grabbed the pasta, a pan and boiled the kettle. The bag of crisps crinkled as Demi opened it and when she put one in her mouth, everything felt better. Chipsticks were her comfort food. She always used to eat them after hard missions back at Fittes.

She didn't want to think about Fittes.

Not now.

But her mind didn't seem to be able to let the past go. It had been like that since the Archives. Her past was on a constant loop inside her head.

Meeting Lockwood, her parents, Fittes, Chase. All of it spun around in a nauseating loop that made her gut churn and tears fill her eyes. Though she always blinked those tears away.

Silence fell between the two as Lockwood waited for the kettle to boil. He had already poured a serving of pasta into the pan and he was watching Demi as she silently ate. Her gaze fixed on the writing on the table but her eyes were unfocused.

She wasn't looking at the little note they'd all written for each other. Instead, she seemed to be somewhere else.

That was until she spoke; "Do you ever think about your family? What could have been?" Demi's words were out of the blue and they made Lockwood's face fall to neutrality in a second. He turned away from her and picked up the kettle.

"I don't dwell on the past." That was a copout. Whatever was on the landing was clearly something from the past and he was dwelling on it. He was a liar but Demi didn't dare say that. Instead, she just hummed in response, "Is that why you were out?" He asked. The brunette picked up the pen from the pot in the middle of the table and chose an empty spot on the table to doodle.

"Maybe. I just didn't want to be here." Her words were so soft and quiet that Lockwood almost didn't catch them over the sound of pouring water. But they caused the corner of his lips to turn down and he glanced back. He hadn't seen her like this since the day he had found herself.

That day, she had been wandering completely alone. An old Fittes rapier tied to her side and a backpack over her shoulder. A Phantasm was following her and Lockwood had spotted it as he passed in a night cab.

If he hadn't jumped out and threw a salt-bomb, she would have been ghost-touched. In that moment, she had broke down. Anthony didn't know how to react but he had done his best to comfort her, offer her somewhere to stay.

Now, here they were and it was like she had returned back to who she was then. She had been a shell of herself. He didn't want that to return. It worried him.

"I'm sorry." Demi's head snapped up but all she could see was the back of his head as he stirred the pasta. He then turned the stove on, letting the pasta come to a boil.

"Please don't be," Demi responded. The brunette looked down at the table and swirled a few more patterns, "You gave me a place to stay when my life had fallen apart. Don't apologise." Lockwood had nothing to say, which was rare for him. The two stayed silent as the pasta cooked and when Lockwood sat at the table to wait, Demi leant over and wrote 'Tea?' right where he was looking. He smiled and nodded his head.

It was the least she could do so she got up and grabbed two mugs. A tea bag for Anthony and the hot chocolate powder for her. She then boiled the kettle again.

"I'm glad I didn't have to save you again. It was exhausting the first time." His familiar arrogance and teasing had returned and it made Demi chuckle. Her face brightened as she turned to look back at him. He looked equally as amused. The corners of his lips turned up in a smug little smile.

"I promise never to cry in front of you again if it was that bad." He rolled his eyes and she grinned right back at him. There was something so comforting about his presence and even when everything felt like total shit, he was there with his arrogant fucking smile and charming personality that made it all so much better.

***

Sundown was drawing closer as they stood outside the house. It wasn't dissimilar to their own home. A terrace nestled in the heart of London. It was meant to be going up for sale soon but the couple who owned it wanted to make sure that everything was okay because they'd suspected a haunting for a long time.

And Demi was convinced that there was something. George had opted to stay at home once again. He preferred working on research for their upcoming cases while Lockwood and Demi threw themselves - quite literally - to the wolves. It wasn't that bad though. The pair worked well together and Demi's more compliant attitude to Lockwood's antics made soothing the couple's worries much easier than they expected.

Demi was quick to ask if there was anything in the house that came with it and they listed off a few items. But Lockwood urged them away before they could discuss much further. The sun was setting and they needed to get set up in the kitchen. The kitchen was always home base. Unless it had a Source in it.

It was quiet as the pair walked through the hallway. Demi could certainly feel something as she slipped into the kitchen. But the sun wasn't down enough for her to make any true judgements but there had to be something. She could feel it. The way that the power emanated off it, she could feel it in her fingertips.

And when the sun finally dipped below the horizon as she nibbled on a digestive, it hit her in a nauseating wave. And then she heard it. A woman, screaming, images flashing in her mind and she dropped her biscuit, slamming her hands over her ears. Her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to filter the woman's wails out but it felt impossible.

The images were worse. Blood and a glint of a knife and terror. Complete and utter fear that crawled over every part of her body. It was draining.

And it felt impossible to claw back to herself. Demi desperately tried to control her abilities rather than them controlling her. It was only when she cracked her eyes open to see Anthony that she was able to claw back a semblance of control.

Anthony wasn't even slightly bothered by whatever wailing that had been. His eyebrows furrowed and he was speaking but she couldn't hear it. Her head swimming with the noise of the woman even if it was dulled a little now and the images didn't seem to stop repeating over and over in her mind. It was like she could feel the vibrations of the screaming.

"She's here," Demi said as she pushed herself to her feet. The chair scraped backwards but Anthony was quick to catch it before it fell to the floor.

"What's happening?" He asked and she looked up at him. The screaming had stopped so abruptly and she could actually hear Lockwood.

"She was screaming." Anthony furrowed his eyebrows and he looked around. He couldn't see any death glows in the room. And he hadn't heard anything. He wasn't prolific - in any way - in Listening so he wasn't surprised he couldn't hear it. He often found that Demi's Touch and Listening abilities merged into one.

"Could you really not hear that?" Demi asked. He shook his head. A soft sigh escaped her lips and she pushed her fingers through her hair, "I sensed it before I heard it." Demi grabbed her torch from the table and then turned towards the hallway door. If she sensed it again, she knew what to expect.

It didn't make sense that she could hear it if Lockwood hadn't. It was so loud and neither of them were particularly prolific. Part of her wondered if it was her Touch. She had always felt like she could almost sense the sound waves in the air. Lockwood had made the comment a few times.

Listening and Touch often merged. Sometimes what someone with Touch could sense would amplify what they could hear. It had never really been something Demi had used but this haunting was strong.

Her head swung from side to side as she checked the hallway. She couldn't sense a thing.

"Check down here, I'll check upstairs. There's a death-glow somewhere," Demi said. Well, ordered. She knew Lockwood wasn't the one to take orders but she needed to get away from him for a minute. Just to find her footing again.

Surprisingly, rather than arguing, he simply nodded his head and went to the next room.

Demi took the stairs slowly up and it hit her like a wave again. She could sense it at first and the further she got up the stairs she could hear it. And she winced against the noise. But she pushed forward still.

When she checked the first bedroom, the noise seemed to dull and the same with the second bedroom. The bathroom was equally quieter but then she climbed up the stairs to the third floor and then she let out a cry of pain.

She should have expected it. She had felt it like the first time but this time it was debilitating. Her torch clattered to the floor as she desperately tried to cover her ears. Her eyes squeezed shut and then she felt it come closer. Her eyes snapped open and the apparition was coming straight for her. She went to grab her rapier but the noise was too much. It was paralysing.

And the anguish, she could feel it deep in her bones. The overwhelming grief and anger that seemed to freeze her in place. The Ghost-lock was beginning to creep in as she stared at the apparition and it came flooding back.

All she could feel was terror. She felt like a failure. She thought she could control it, train her abilities so they worked for her but she couldn't. Her mind was turning over, every feeling amplified by the Visitors presence.

But she still had some semblance of control left which meant that she screamed "Lockwood!" as a last resort, but she could barely hear herself speak as she tried to get away from the ghost. It was impossible to tell if she had actually screamed at all. His footsteps were loud as he rushed up the stairs but nothing reached her ears as she desperately tried to fight the ghost lock.

Every movement was like walking through water and she tried to look away but she couldn't. Then the connection snapped and the noise stopped.

Anthony's rapier had just sliced through the ghost and he rushed towards Demi. He held his hand out and Demi snatched it as he pulled her towards him. The noise hadn't stopped completely but it wasn't so debilitating

"I can sense it in here. In the hallway," She admitted and she looked around, trying to find anything that would be a Source. Her eyes scanned over every single thing. The feelings were still churning in her gut. Every memory with her last team, what had happened. It was crashing over her and she felt sick.

"Were the bodies found?" Lockwood asked hurriedly. Demi nodded and then she began to step carefully around the hallway but as soon as she got near the actual staircase it became too loud. She took two steps back and lifted her hand instead of stepping closer. There it was. The familiar feeling in her fingertips. She still had control. She could do this.

"The painting. They mentioned that the painting came with the house," She exclaimed as she gestured wildly towards it. Anthony turned to look where she was pointing and he nodded. It was hung precariously in front of the stairs.

"Have you got the iron net?" He asked. Demi nodded and she reached behind her to pull her backpack off her back and then she saw it. The apparition in the doorway and so she shoved her backpack into Lockwood's arms and pulled out her rapier. If she couldn't fight the Visitor now, how could she ever hope to redeem herself?

"Cover the source," Demi demanded as the apparition swooped towards them. Lockwood stumbled away as Demi swung her rapier to slice right through the ghost's centre. She only briefly disappeared before appearing behind Demi and the brunette stumbled into the next room. Her rapier held up high, "Lockwood!" Demi called as she stepped precariously backwards. The phantom was slowly getting closer and she glanced back. He was fiddling with the net, trying to get it open, "Hurry up."

And just as the ghost swooped and Demi's rapier prepared to swing, she vanished into thin air. Demi let out a soft sigh and the dull screaming had disappeared completely.

"I think you're right," Demi said as she slipped her rapier away, "Touch amplifies my Listening capabilities," Demi admitted. They had worked together. She hadn't been Ghost-locked, they were alive. Lockwood had come over again and he looked a little confused, "I heard people drowning from a Source a little while ago. It was like I could sense their screams through the air."

"Well, we can explore that later. Are you okay?" He asked. Demi nodded and sent him a half-smile. She ran her fingers through her hair and let out a ragged breath.

"I need a biscuit." Anthony chuckled and the two of them headed downstairs, ready for a cup of tea and to discuss what had really just happened.

They were both nearing 17 so there shouldn't have been any major changes to their Talents and yet here they were. They were constantly learning and Demi didn't mind. It excited her that maybe her abilities could mean more.