nine
stay with me.

"GUYS, WHAT ARE we doing this weekend?" Roz questions the next day once her, Selene, Susie, Sabrina, and Harvey have gotten settled in a booth at one of Greendale's many coffee shops.

"Well, my dad is going to the Farm Expo for three days, so I'm stuck at home by myself," Susie answers glumly.

"Ooh!" Roz's face lights up. "Let's have a girl's' night."

Susie, however, doesn't seem very excited about this. "Uh.."

"C'mon, Susie, please?" Roz begs, wanting to get out of the plans she already has. "My mom and dad are trying to get me to lead this youth group at their church this weekend. Staying with you would give me the perfect excuse not to do that."

"I dunno, Roz," Susie shakes her head hesitantly.

"Brina, Selene, are you guys in?" Roz questions hopefully.

"Actually, we'll be the expo too this weekend," Sabrina lies as Selene nods. "We're helping my Aunt Hilda sell her honey."

Harvey then raises a confused eyebrow at his girlfriend. "Wait, you're not gonna be gone the entire expo, are you?"

Sabrina smiles at him sadly. "Yeah, I am. But I have a coping strategy. Whenever I'm really missing you, I'll hold you close to my heart."

"You guys are so cheesy," Selene remarks, smiling at them happily. "If you weren't so cute together, I'd probably want to throw up."

Harvey laughs at the strawberry blonde before pecking his girlfriend on the lips. "Call me the second you get back. I'll come right over."

Sabrina then cups his face, pulling him into a passionate kiss. They continue to kiss until Roz rolls her eyes. "Uh... Relax, Romeo, it's three days."

"Hands above the waist, mister," Selene chuckles. After she gets tired of watching Harvey and Sabrina with their tongues down each other's throats, Selene heads back to the Spellman house.

She reads chapter of Me Before You before she heads down to the kitchen to make herself a snack. She cleans some grapes, hearing Ambrose pacing in the hallway beside the kitchen.

"Ambrose, what's wrong?" Selene demands once she's grown annoyed with his pacing.

"Who said there's something wrong?" The boy questions, but he's still pacing.

"Ambrose, I know you and I know when there's something up," Selene points out, popping a grape into her mouth. "So, let me ask again. What's wrong?"

"Uh, well, Luke asked me if I'd like to go on a date with him," Ambrose confesses, as she shifts uncomfortably.

"Oh."

He nods carefully, avoiding making eye contact with her. "So I want to astral project to a coffee shop, with your help."

Selene nearly drops her bowl of grapes once he says this, but she manages to compose herself. At this point, she's not even worried about her feelings. She's worried about him, because astral projection is very risky. "Okay, well, that's very, very dangerous. Ambrose, you wouldn't even be able to touch him."

"But we could see each other," Ambrose breathes, a small smile finding its way to his lips. "Have a conversation, face to face. I like him, Selene."

"And I like you," Selene retorts, realizing she should've said that differently as soon as the words leave her mouth. Ambrose's adam's apple bobs as she says this, because he's caught off guard by her tone of voice. "You know what I mean, Ambrose. I don't want anything to happen to you. And a lot of things could go wrong with astral projection."

"Auntie Zee projects all the time," Ambrose whispers. "And with you guarding my body, I'll be perfectly safe."

"Only the dead are supposed to roam the astral plane," Selene says. "It's dangerous for living souls to do it. If you spend too much time there, the psychopomps will find you. They'll think you're dead, and then they'll take you somewhere where even I won't be able to bring you back."

Ambrose considers this for a moment before he licks his lips. "First sign of a psychopomp, and I'm out of there. Swear on Satan's claw."

"You're not gonna let this go?" Selene asks, and he instantly shakes his head. "Ugh, fine. I'll find some candles. You go find the address of the coffee shop and a map. Meet me in the basement in half an hour."

Ambrose lets out a happy cry before he goes to find the address and a map. Selene then heads to her room and gets some candles and a lighter.

She meets Ambrose in the basement half an hour later, and once he lays down on the floor, she intricately sets the candles next to his body. She lights them carefully, before she sits down next to him. "Okay, you've got twenty minutes."

"Thirty," Ambrose corrects her, but the girl shakes her head.

"I'm bringing you back in twenty minutes. I'm not taking any chances on you getting carried away by a psychopomp."

Ambrose sighs in defeat, before he offers Selene his hand. She takes it, before the pair begin to chant a spell. "Vola anima per aeterna. Vola anima per aeterna. Vola anima per aeterna. Vola anima per aeterna."

As soon as they finish the chant, Ambrose's hand goes limp and she knows his mind has traveled to the coffee shop. She then sets an alarm for twenty minutes, and fifteen minutes passes before she hears the doorbell ring.

"Crap," Selene curses, jumping to her feet and running up the stairs. She throws open the door to find Ms.Wardwell, one of her teachers from Baxter High. "Um, good evening, Ms.Wardwell."

"Hello, Selene," Ms.Wardwell sniffles, tears running down her cheeks.

"Um, can I help you with anything?" The girl questions.

"I'd, uh, like to make some funeral arrangements," Ms.Wardwell cries as Selene rushes over to a desk. She pulls out a stack of catalogs, and hands them to Ms.Wardwell. "Okay, well, you can look through these and go sit in the parlor. Um, I actually need to go check on something, so I'll be... I'll be right back. I'll be like ten minutes."

She runs out of the room before Ms.Wardwell can reply, and once she sees that eighteen minutes have passed on the clock, she freaks out. "Shit, Ambrose. Hurry up, please. Stay with me."

She then hears a bird chirping behind her, and she doesn't even have to turn to know it's a psychopomp. The girl lets out a string of curse words as she turns around, and snaps her fingers, snapping the birds neck without a second thought.

"What are you doing?" Zelda demands, angry at the scene in front of her. "Where's Ambrose?"

"Zelda, that's irrelevant," Selene breathes, moving the candles aside so that she can lay down beside Ambrose. "I need to wake him up."

"Selene, don't-" Zelda's eyes widen once she realizes what the girl is going to do.

But Selene has already grabbed ahold of Ambrose's hand. She lets her eyes close before she chants the spell once again. "Vola anima per aeterna. Vola anima per aeterna. Vola anima per aeterna. Vola anima per aeterna."

When she opens her eyes again, she's in a coffee shop, sitting next to Ambrose. Ambrose is covered in sweat, and Luke is completely oblivious as to why Ambrose is so nervous.

"Uh, Selene!" Ambrose's greets once he realizes that she's sitting next to him. "Wha-what're you doing here?"

"I told you twenty minutes!" Selene hisses, feeling blood begin to trickle down her nose. She then points out the window at the several psychopomps that have gathered. "We need to go. Now."

Ambrose nods before looking at Luke apologetically. "I'm so sorry. I thought I'd have more time. I have to go."

"But-" Luke begins as Ambrose stands up. Selene follows him silently.

"I'm sorry- this was a mistake," Ambrose links his hand with Selene's as they rush out of the cafe. As soon as they rush out the door, their minds return to their bodies and they wake up in the basement of the Spellman household.

Selene jerks awake, searching her surroundings with wide eyes. The girl begins choking erratically, but Ambrose seems perfectly fine.

"Have you two completely lost your minds?" Zelda scoffs, watching as Ambrose tries to get Selene's breathing back to normal. He pats her back gently until she calms herself down and wipes the blood from her nose. "Astral projection? Of all the stupid, reckless things you could do."

"I was just trying to help Ambrose-" Selene begins, only to be cut off.

"You left a client alone, upstairs," Zelda hisses angrily. "And Ambrose, my dear felon, you are housebound. You're forbidden from leaving the grounds, and that includes your spirit. Now, Selene, go help Sabrina go get ready for her first day at the Academy of Unseen Arts."

UNEDITED