Morlen re-entered the Willow's household, leaving Koda to sulk at the end of the driveway. Alfie was hovering in the corridor, and Morlen could only shrug. "Koda's not happy about this, and neither am I," Morlen said, checking if Molly or Connor were hovering too. "Koda won't let you go alone, and I bet Molly is biting her tongue too. Connor doesn't understand. He doesn't have kids. We'll think of something else." Morlen stomped back to the kitchen with Alfie's eyes following him.

Morlen had grown significantly since the day Alfie met him. The young medium opened the front door to see Koda staring angrily at the road. Nothing about their situation felt good, and Alfie had a horrible feeling that it would only get worse.

"Hey," he said, approaching the person he had crushed on for so many years. "What has the floor ever done to you?"

Koda turned his head away like he was trying to conceal his softening features. "You're not going to the college."

"Can we not consider the fact that it might work?" Alfie asked and Koda looked back at him. His hazel eyes were like gold coins against the rising sun.

"Might work," Koda added with a shake of his head. "There's more chance of us losing you if you do this. We haven't even given it much thought or summoned the ghosts that should stay with you. We haven't even tried to get in touch with the Grim Reaper or thought about what we're going to do if the Grim Reaper doesn't turn up. It's a plan that's destined to fail."

Alfie agreed with him. Nobody had thought about the plan in depth, and because it was the only plan they had, it seemed like the only option they had. "What else do you think we should do? Wait it out until Ronnie comes to my house?"

Koda stepped closer when Alfie shivered and wrapped arms around himself. "I don't think he'll come to your house."

"Well, I do. He won't give up just because we don't turn up to college, Koda. These are dangerous people who are capable of... of murder probably."

Koda's body stiffened and the muscles in his arms fused. "Then that's another reason why you're not doing this plan. I've only just gotten to know you. I can't sit back and watch another person walk out of my life."

Koda talked like Alfie might never return if he gave himself up to Ronnie Birch. Maybe he was right. "And I've waited far too long for you to be in mine." Alfie watched Koda step closer and fill the gap between them. Alfie's head rested softly against Koda's chest as he felt arms wrapping around him. "Whatever we decide to do, we have to do it soon." Alfie closed his eyes and hoped that Koda thought he was trembling because he was cold, and not because he was scared of what the future had in store for them.

Soon, the boys went inside and Koda returned to the kitchen to tell Connor that his plan was awful, and they needed another one. Alfie said he was going to get a shower and hurried off to his room. The medium shut the door to the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror.

"Pull yourself together," he muttered and focused on summoning Mister Dorinto. As he stared at himself, he saw a lot of his father in his features, and a lot of his mother too. He wondered if he had a mixture of his parent's personalities, and decided that he had his mother's stubborn attitude, and his father's ability to shove his feelings to a place he couldn't reach.

"Alfie, how's your love life?" Dorinto asked, grinning and leaning against the back wall.

"I'm not sure after what I'm about to do." Alfie turned, pressing his lower back against the sink. His stare was so intense, Dorinto found himself standing up straighter. "I need your help."

The ghost's eyes searched Alfie's face, spotting signs of vulnerability. "Of course. What do you need?" The afterlife had so far been a rather confusing place for Dorinto. He wouldn't have been able to deal with his death if Alfie hadn't helped him through it all.

"I need you to stay with me because if I need to summon you, I'll need to do it fast. I'm about to do the most stupid thing I have ever done, and I need to know that information can easily get to Connor."

Dorinto had started to frown, a feature that looked unnatural on his head. "I'll stay with you, of course, I will, but-"

"Thank you." Alfie fiddled with his rings, ignoring the churning in his stomach and hoped with all his heart that Koda wouldn't be too angry with him.

* * * * *

"Right well, we'll have to think of something else," Connor said after hearing the stress in Koda's voice when he expressed his concerns. "It is best then, to stay in this house until we do think of something. Molly, maybe it's best to ask Tom if he will stay too. They could target him if they can't get to us."

"I'll message him." Molly could breathe again, knowing the ridiculous plan was on hold.

Koda turned his attention to the breakfast that Morlen was making and five minutes went by, then ten, then fifteen, and Alfie still wasn't down from his shower. Koda slipped away from the stressed parents and returned to the bedroom.

"Alfie?" he asked, looking around the room and seeing the bathroom door ajar. "Alfie?" he said louder in case he was indecent and hadn't heard him. Koda got no response, so he popped his head into the small bathroom, and it was empty.

The next place Koda looked was Alfie's office. It was empty too. He checked the kitchen again in case they had simply missed each other because the house wasn't exactly small, but he wasn't there.

"Have you seen Alfie?" Koda asked anyone who heard him.

"He went for a shower, didn't he?" Molly asked.

"He wasn't there. I checked his office too, and he wasn't there either."

Morlen turned from the window. Koda didn't like the look of realisation on his face. "He's gone, hasn't he?"

The room fell silent as everyone shared nervous glances. Connor rubbed his chin with a darkening frown. He suggested the plan, but Koda's concerns had swayed his idea and he no longer thought of it as a good option.

"He wouldn't," Koda said as if to convince himself.

"Oh, he would," Molly sighed with her head in her hands. "You're yet to learn that if Alfie gets an idea into his head, he'll stick to it no matter who tells him that he can't."

Koda admired that about Alfie, but now he felt hurt that his voice wasn't heard.

"Can we beat him to the college?" Morlen asked.

"No. He's a smart kid, he would've taken a route where we can't see him." Connor ran a hand through his hair, tapping his foot as he tried to think fast.

"I'll check the house properly, just in case." Molly hurried down the corridor as Koda tried to phone him. Of course, Alfie didn't pick up.

"Dad," Koda said in a tone that had lost all hope. "Take me to college. I'm going with him."

Morlen and his son shared a stare that would crack the earth with its tension. "No, we're going to college to get him back. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Connor's head turned in their direction. His lips curled towards a smile before he banged a palm on the table. "What are you waiting for? Go, I'll wait here for the ghost Alfie summoned to give me information."

Koda and Morlen set off as quickly as they could. The front door stalled Koda after he struggled to put his shoes on. A small pink post-it note stuck to the gloss with the words 'I'm sorry' on it.

"Come on," Morlen said, softly shoving his son through the door before he had enough time to get upset or blame himself.

* * * * *

Alfie's heart pulsed wildly, especially when the college came into view. The building felt like more than just a space for education. It was full of secrets and danger and Alfie would never look at it in the same way.

He could feel Mister Dorinto with him but saved his energy and didn't summon him completely. The future was uncertain in more negative ways than good, and Alfie might depend on his ghosts to keep him somewhat safe. He needed to store the energy for when the time was right.

Eventually, Alfie moved through the car park and into the college. He didn't have much time. Those at home would have noticed his absence. Alfie's chest ached at the disappointed look Koda would have on his face when he realises what Alfie had done. Alfie could see it clearer than his mothers.

With a deep breath to calm himself, Alfie marched through the corridors with his head held high. He ignored the receptionist outside the principal's office telling him that he had to have an appointment. He ignored the stares from those who were sitting in the waiting room. Alfie rolled up his sleeves and barged into the office, intending to frighten whoever sat on the other side.

The pupil on the visitor's side of the desk jumped almost a foot in the air, but Ronnie Birch didn't move an inch.

"Alfie," the principal blurted, and Alfie had a moment of satisfaction from his surprise.

"Get out," Alfie demanded to the student sitting at the desk. The principal waved her out and she left with a perplexed frown. Alfie hoped she would spread the odd encounter around college.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise, considering how you left yesterday," Ronnie said, hovering by the trophy cabinet that Alfie knew was a secret door. Ronnie looked a little less at ease because there was nobody in the room to stop Alfie from leaving.

"I changed my mind. I want you to help me find out what I can do as the Grim Reaper's sidekick." Alfie wasn't sure if he sounded honest, but if he gave Ronnie what he wanted, surely it didn't matter.

The principal perked up immediately like a child who had gotten their own way. "Of course. We will absolutely help."

The danger Alfie was putting himself in started to sink through his skin like a needle injecting emotion directly into his bloodstream. Before he took further action, he had to test the waters. He was always clever with his words, and now was the time to use his talent. "If I give myself up to you, can I ask that you don't kill any of my family members if they figure out what's going on, like how you killed Koda's mother?"

Ronnie's lip twitched and Alfie's heart hit the bottom of his stomach. He knows. Alfie's skin tingled from his neck all the way to his toes. Ronnie Birch knew he wasn't the Grim Reaper's sidekick. His different blink rate, the sudden movement of his hands towards the shelf, and the bending of his posture to seem smaller were re-directing Alfie's focus; the signs of a liar.

"Koda's mother's death was an overdose I believe?" Ronnie said with a more enthusiastic tone, looking towards the ceiling and tapping the shelf. "I can assure you that we are in no way involved with a murder. And why Koda's parent? Is Koda like you too?"

Alfie wanted to laugh. Ronnie Birch was trying to make him stumble on his words, but he said what he said and there was no going back. "Who told you that I was the Grim Reaper's sidekick?"

"Let's just say," Ronnie said and stepped back when the trophy cabinet started to move, "that family isn't as loyal as you think, sometimes." The cabinet opened to reveal the long suffocating corridor. Like last time, a man in a mask waited on the other side.

When the man in the mask stepped aside, expecting Alfie to enter, Alfie summoned Mister Dorinto, who had been listening. With one discrete nod of the head, Dorinto knew he had to report to Connor that Koda wasn't safe. Ronnie Birch knew what Alfie and Koda could and couldn't do, and Alfie had fallen victim to a bigger plan.