"Holly shit." Fae's jaw drops alongside the can of orange soda out of her hand onto the ground.

"What the fuckkk," Charlie's eyes widen as he shares a look with Fae. Fae just stares at the girl and boy in front of them watching Simon nod to every question Maddie asks him.

"What's going on? What's he doing?" Maddie frantically turns to Charlie and Fae the two sharing a look.

"Um forgetting to breathe." "I would think he's the one who's dead and not you."

"Who are you talking to?" Simon questions Maddie scared and confused.

"This has never happened before." Charlie stutters. "I don't think it's supposed to happen." Fae mumbles.

"Someone you can't see." Maddie turns back to Simon.

"I'm not sure what I'm seeing right now." Simon slowly says.

"It's me!" Maddie reassures. "You're seeing me, and I'm really happy you can."

"Wait," Charlie cuts in. "Me too. I have a million questions."

"Me too." Simon nods. "I have a million questions." Simon unknowingly quotes one of the three dead people in the room. "I don't think I have answers." Maddie shakes her head swallowing. "Not yet."

"What happened?"

"I don't know," Maddie whispers.

"Am I the only one who's freaking out!" Fae whisper yells at Charlie causing the boy to turn towards her.

"You look perfectly calm to me!"

"Uhm! No, I'm not! I'm just hiding it because neither of you are freaking out! I don't do emotions well Charlie!" Fae starts to freak out wide-eyed. "I mean is it not strange that the most recent dead girl who can't remember a single thing about her death can be seen by a living person? A living heart beating breathing person!"

"Fae!" Charlie grabs the girls waving arms. "You need to calm down! It-" Before the boy could get in another word a girl walked right through the pair causing them to shiver.

The duo both stopped talking still holding onto each other's arms watching the girl converse with Simon. "Who were you talking to?"

"Myself." Simon try's to make himself look guilty of being caught failing which causes the girl in the checkered shirt to give him a strange look.

"Oh my god, he's an idiot," Fae mutters before she pulls her arms out of Charlie's hands and starts to pray. "Please god! You cannot let this boy be the chosen one! I do not want him to see me or anyone else for that matter! So um, make him unsee Maddie! It would be for the best! In the name of Jesus Christ Amen." Fae then makes the four points of the cross on her body. Maddie ignores the girl while Charlie tries to stick up for the living boy she was insulting.

Fae moves out of the way before Simon and the checkered girl can walk through them. Fae watches as the boy shines a flashlight in the room and moves it around. "Come on." The unnamed girl pulls Simon away.

"Why'd he stop seeing me!" Maddie turns to Charlie and Fae.

"Why do you think I have all the answers, huh? I'm still trying to figure out why "Dances with Wolves" won seven Oscars" "God is playing tricks on us!" Fae's eye twitches.

"Guys!"

"Ok, this unofficial tour guide gig doesn't come with, like a handbook!" Charlie shakes his head now starting to freak out.

"He could see me!" Maddie tries to get her point across. "And hear me!"

"We know!" "It was- it was amazing! I me-" Charlie starts to stammer.

"Like I said." Fae starts slowly trying to calm herself down. "God could be playing tricks!" Now Fae wasn't a very religious person she and her parents went a lot up until she started middle school and she started developing interests other than the boys from the primary group, and at the moment she was doing about anything that could explain what the hell is happening. "It could've been a one-time thing!"

"Or a hiccup!" Charlie adds going to say more only for Maddie to walk right past him and Fae.

"Where are you doing?" Charlie calls after her.

"To join my search party."

"This girl is gonna be a handful." Fae sighs going to pick up her dropped brownies and pop looking up when she notices Charlie following after Maddie.

── ❀*̥˚ ── ❀*̥˚──

Fae sits with Dawn in their stop looking outside the window. "Dawn?" Fae hesitantly calls for the girl who was laying in her lap.

"Yessss?" The girl giggles.

"The new girl. Maddie." Fae starts before she stops clearing her throat. "If I tell you this you promise not to tell anyone?" Fae holds out her pinkie. "Pinkie promise."

Dawn just stares at the girl confused before she smiles locking fingers with Fae. "Pinkie promise."

"Maddie was seen by someone." Fae sucks in a breath. "A living someone."

Dawn's eyes widen as she whispers out. "What?"

"Yeah." Fae's brows furrow thinking about the events of just a little bit ago. "She was just standing there with a friend and then she was all like "thank you Simon" and then he slowly turns towards and is all like "Maddie"

"Woah." Dawn breaths out.

"I don't think we should tell anyone." Fae sighs. "It's just all too weird and I still don't trust Martin after all these years."

"I agree." Dawn nods her head before she snuggles closer into Fae.

── ❀*̥˚ ── ❀*̥˚──

Fae sits next to Rhonda watching Maddie wake up. "What's going on?"

"This," Rhodna gestures around the room. "Is where we watch all the underpaid sad sacks let their guards down, and we find out who's boning who." Rhonda stands up.

"Why would I wanna know that." Maddie sits up. "These people are like 40."

"Charlie thinks I'm insane," Rhonda stands behind a male teacher. "That there's no way these aren't plugs. His forehead was three inches higher last year." Rhonda insults the man.

"You measured his forehead." Maddie looks at Rhonda with a funny look on her face.

Fae laughs a little as Rhonda seems insulted. "Please. I've followed him to the lavatory. I've measured more than that."

Maddie glances at Fae in disgust and questioning if what Rhonda was saying was true. Fae starts to listen in on a teacher's conversation when she hears Maddie mentioned.

"You know I haven't had a name since 1974!" Rhonda exclaims only to get shushed by Maddie.

"Wonder who pissed in her cheerios." Fae rolls her eyes.

"Are you shushing me?"

"I need to hear this." Maddie stands up.

Fae stands up going over to the fridge in the lounge still listening to the conversations going on around her.

"Hate to say it, Maddie." Fae joins in on the one-sided conversation Maddie and Rhonda were having. "But Rhonda's right, they don't actually care. They'll pin pictures of you everywhere, say they were your closest friend and how much they love you. Then the next week they're talking about the upcoming party and who they're going to prom with blah blah blah blah blah." Fae rolls her eyes.

"No one's turning me into a footnote okay! Simon wouldn't let them." Fae and Rhonda share a glance watching Maddie storm out of the room.

"Rooms Simon?" Rhonda pulls a face causing Fae to laugh.

── ❀*̥˚ ── ❀*̥˚──

"I hate that cunt." Fae frowns angrily looking at the girl named Claire who she knows is the cheer captain. "Ruining cheer by adding those stupid little tiktok dance moves in." Fae angrily kicks the water as she watches Claire blow the whistle for the swim team.

"Easy with the glares Fae." Rhonda then looks at the girl who was unknowingly receiving Fae's glare before she looks back at Charlie. "Easy with the Coppertone, hun."

"Yeah, that bottle has to last her another sixty years." Wally insults taking a sip of his drink, Fae kicks water at the boy.

"Ah, I love this smell." Charlie sighs fondly while smelling the sunscreen. "Coconut, Verbena. I mean, you could close your eyes, you could be anywhere. Miami, Aruba."

"Yeah, and then you open them and there's a band-aid floating in the surf."

"I miss a good sunburn." "I miss Debbie Gibson." "I miss pina colada," Fae whines falling onto her back legs to fly out of the water causing water to fling on Rhonda and Charlie.

"Jesus!" Before Charlie had the chance to complain he was quickly distracted when Maddie showed up. "Hey, you!" Charlie sits up. "Where have you been?"

Maddie says nothing while she stares at Claire. "Don't tell me you hate that chick too?" Charlie still got no response.

"Is she your friend or something?" Fae narrows her eyes at Maddie.

"Hardly." Maddie scoffs Charlie then realizes. "The side piece! Almost didn't recognize her without her pom poms."

"Okay, so you think that she helped your ex take you out?" Wally speaks up from the pool.

"I'm guessing she came up with the whole plan herself. Lady Macbeth used your plus one as a tool." Rhonda theorized waving around her sucker.

"Of course, she would! She couldn't stick with just ruining cheer she had to ruin someone's life." Fae rolls her eyes.

If Fae was telling the truth, she didn't really hate Claire but the girl made cheerleading look stupid and if there was one thing to know about Fae before she died was she really truly loved cheerleading. That and Fae just missed gossip and shit-talking people and for some reason, Claire made it really easy for the ghost to shit-talk her. Though Fae has to admit it the girl was gorgeous.

Fae was pulled out of her thoughts when a teacher (who so happened to be Charlie's ex-crush) literally stepped on her walking past the group. Fae quickly sat up shuddering while watching Charlie look after the man longingly.

"Dial it down." Rhonda laughs. "Just because you smell like an Almond Joy doesn't mean he knows you're here." Fae slightly hits the girl giving her a look.

"That's Mr. Figueroa. Emilio. He was Charlie's crush when they were still students here." Wally explains. "He sponsors the LG...T-"

"B." Fae corrects.

"BTQ club and Charlie never misses a meeting." Wally grins taking a sip of his drink.

"I only go for the refreshments." Charlie laughs nervously. "And you know what? You're one to talk."

"Not again." "Here we go." Fae and Wally groan. Fae quickly channels the boys arguing out starting at the ceiling. Her attention caught when she heard Claire scream. "Ava!"

Fae quickly sits up while the rest do the ghost's attention also goes to Claire. Watching Claire jump in the pool to save the now floating girl.

Fae hold her breath waiting to see if the girl would make it or not standing up along with the rest of the ghost.

Fae sighs in relief when the girl coughs up the water feeling a hand grab her arm the girl felt herself being pulled away. Fae looked up to see her cousin pulling her away from the scene.

── ❀*̥˚ ── ❀*̥˚──

FLASHBACK

Fae was being dragged across the football field by her cousin Wally. "Wally I swear if you don't let me go!" The girl screamed trying to pull herself out of the boy's hold.

"Yeah no." Wally smiles turning more towards the girl so he could pick her up only for her to start kicking her legs around. Fae knew exactly what Wally was doing he was going to try and through her into one of the ice bath's that the football players do. One moment she was practicing her cheer routine the next she was being kidnapped by her own flesh and blood "Wally! Stop!"

Fae gave up by the time she started to see some of the other football players. "Sorry cuz!" Wally laughs before plunging Fae into the cold water causing the girl to let out a shriek.

Fae gasps pulling herself out from the water glaring at Wally. "You're such a cock sucker!" Fae grabs a piece of ice throwing it at Wally to moves out of the way before it could hit him.

"Yeah?" Wally mocks.

"Yeah!" Fae yells back before she burst into laughter stumbling out of the bath of ice cold water. Wally quickly reaches out for the girl only to get tackled down by her. "Ow!"

"Payback bitch!"