Home Is Where The Heart Is

"Until February," he replied simply before offering a side-glance. "Ok, that's unfortunate. Who is living there now? Maybe I should go see them, say hello. I know that one guy ended up, ah... you know, I'm sure you've heard. I don't want the same to happen to them, just like my ma didn't want that to happen to you and it worked!" He noted before letting out another yawn.

"So what made you come here? You're from Philadelphia, right? This is pretty far from Philadelphia. Plus you're, like, the only young person in this town anymore outside of me. I imagine it got lonely, which isn't nice."
 
Nyle wanted to like Colin, if only because he was Gigi's son. Hell, Nyle thought he was a social person who got along with everyone, so it was slightly baffling to him that he found himself disliking him. The references to Leo didn't help, but the general vibe he got from him wasn't a good one. He was willing to admit that he was being paranoid; that the efforts to conceal what he was was playing a part and preventing him from fully relaxing beside Colin, but he also could admit that he wasn't going to like everyone. Perhaps Colin was just someone he naturally couldn't get on with.

It didn't mean he wasn't going to try, even if the reference to Leo (and the feeling of guilt he had from their dwindling relationship) was hardly going to make him happy.

"...Yeah, well, I like it here. Always have. It's a neat little place. I got a good job and have some good friends, so... it's fine. I get on with a lot of people, even if they ain't young. It doesn't matter to me," he mumbled in reply, biting his lip hard. "Why would you need to talk to the neighbours next door? There's no need, they're... a nice enough couple. They're ghost-hunters, you know? I know that... guy killed himself there, so I reckon they want to pick up on his spirit or something."
 
"Isn't that weird? Ghost and stuff. Those shows are all fake, ghost don't exist," Collin coolly replies with a shrug before thanking his mother once handed the coffee and offered the woman a peck on the cheek. Taking a nice sip, he smiled in approval.

"Let me tell 'ya, all I've beeb drinking is Dunkin' Donuts coffee for the last few months, nothing compares to my mother. I dunno why but she just brews the perfect cup," he explained quietly. "So you're sleeping in the guest room?"
 
"...You can't say for certain that ghosts don't exist. What fun is that, anyway? Life's more interesting if you keep an open mind, Colin. You might be surprised if you do," he smirked to himself, propping his feet up on the coffee table. He wanted nothing more than to drag the man across to the neighbouring home and force him to engage with Leo and Oliver, but, as amusing as it would be to witness Colin's colour drain from his face, it was also highly unwise, so he reluctantly forced the urge back.

"Yeah, I'm in the guest room - it's so cute. I'm a sucker for pastel colours. The pinks and purples in there are so fucking me, you know? I look tough, but I'm a teddy bear," he winked playfully, stopping himself the moment Gigi came nearer. He wasn't flirting -at least, he didn't think he was- but he still didn't want any of his playfulness being misconstrued by Gigi. "Uh... I can take the couch downstairs if you wanted to sleep in there, Colin."
 
"Oh, no! Stay as long as you'd like," he casually replied, sipping his coffee in content. "Again, my ma likes you so why would I stop you from making her happy? In fact, I would like to get to know just why she seems to connect with you so much."

With a groan, the man offered a small smile before getting to his feet to stare out the window in their living room, his eyes taking in the woods. It was pleasant to see nature again, having been locked in a lab more often than not. "I miss this, to be honest. I wouldn't live here but it does feel nice to be back. I think I'll celebrate by going to that bar of yours."
 
"You're gonna celebrate at that dump? Look, I love working there. I love the people, I like the job... but it's not exactly the place to celebrate anything, is it? It's dark and dreary and the people are all... well, y'know," he laughed quietly, stretching his arms out and resting them behind his head. He had planned on asking his boss for the night out to surprise Leo at the house with a cute indoor-picnic, having picked food out that had interesting textures just to make the experience somewhat enjoyable for him.

However, he was suddenly turned against the idea. Some part of him felt like being at the pub for his shift and spending the night with Colin was a more worthwhile use of his time.

"I'll be there tonight, obviously. I can probably get you some discounts too, maybe sneak you a few freebies," he grinned playfully, snapping his knuckles with a sigh. "It'll be neat."
 
"hey i miss u" just so happened to show up on Nyle's phone from said ghost, who was hit with a growingly consistent bought of depression. At the house, Leo had buried himself underneath plenty of blankets he had demanded of the humans from below. He would never hurt an innocent person but that didn't mean he couldn't threaten them, which is what he did when a floating knife was aimed straight towards the husband's chest. After his booming voice demanded blankets, he was immediately given him only for him to throw the knife in the wall and disappear back to the attic.

The sudden waves of guilt came every now and then and when they did, it was a crashing feeling. He felt awkward going to Oliver to be consoled, knowing that the man might see it as him using him and he didn't have anyone else to grieve to, not to mention he felt even more guilty for feeling so upset. All of the shitty things he had done just hit him at once and all he wanted to do was to talk to Nyle at the very least and just... sob. Sniffling from underneath his blankets, he was at least glad to have a phone now. "Am I stupid, Oliver?"
 
Quietly glancing out of the window at Gigi's house next door, just in case he caught sight of Nyle heading over, Oliver quietly cringed at the other's words. When he realised it wasn't going to happen anytime soon, he turned away with a forced smile to the other ghost, eventually heading across to take a seat beside him.

"No, not stupid. I... Nyle's busy. He works. He'll be over when he gets some spare time. He has a life outside, I... I mean, it's what he wanted, isn't it? A normal life, so he's... doing normal things," he attempted to explain, fiddling with the sleeves of his flannel shirt. "Gigi can talk for days; you told me that. Nyle probably can't escape that... right?"
 
"It's not fair," he whispered, shaky his head from under the blankets. "This... isn't f-fucking fair. Why does he get to start over again? Why does he get to go and enjoy freedom again? Do... we not deserve this, too? At least you do. I know I'm meant to suffer for what I did but you did nothing wrong, Oliver. Then he comes over just for me to fix his stitches and doesn't come back? That's... fuckedup, right?" He babbled, his voice muffled as he curled into a tight ball on the floor.

"I'm... sorry I'm like this," Leo eventually murmured after s long pause. "I'm sorry I'm... so... sad, I guess. I don't know, I'm... going to probably text my therapist about it."
 
"Maybe he's had problems getting away from Gigi? From what you've told me, the woman likes to chat," he laughed lightly, the sound eventually dying down when he took into account how upset the other spirit was, and while he wanted to cheer him up, he didn't want to force it from him. Instead, he held his knees to his chest and let the silence drift by - until he couldn't take it any longer, anyway.

"Fuck him, Leo. I mean, if he's being a dickhead, just forget about him for now. He's probably having a great time, so don't waste your time crying over him. I'm saying that as a mate, so... hey, wanna scare the ghost hunters some more? That always cheers you up, yeah?"
 
"You're right, yeah." He blurted in response as he quickly wiped away his tears, sniffling. Closing his laptop carefully, he physically shook his arms to try and get himself out of the gunk. Leo was a good, classic representation of a ghost as one of the hunters mentioned. He was a pretty emotional person, mostly out of grief.He had been described as "a Departed with leftover Echoes" or some bullshit like that. If it weren't for the fact that he had Oliver, it was probable that the energy of the house would be even heavier, though having company helped dispell that.

As they spoke, Leo paused and cringed when he heard the Spirit Box. He had watched plenty of ghost shows before in his times of boredom and he often laughed at them, but the Spirit Box always made him uncomfortable. It was loud and obnoxious but it could often hold incredibly interesting results for ghost hunters. Rubbing his tired face, Leo decided to phase through the attic with a frown.

"What should we ask them?" Asked Bruce, his eyes locked on the Spirit Box as he set up the cameras. Chugging back his cup of coffee, he looked over at his wife with a wary smile. "Do what you gotta do, yeah? The cameras are rolling, I'll edit it all later. Just... do your best, honey."
 
When Tina first moved in, the activity in the home obviously excited her. There was plenty of footage documenting the early experiences and he knew that she could get her TV show up and running with just one call to her agent with it all. As the weeks passed, despite the continuing activity, she had grown less enthusiastic and more... unnerved. The ghosts present didn't seem malevolent, but Oliver's anger translated through and it scared her. What scared her most was seeing Nyle. She hadn't clicked at first, welcoming him into the home without really knowing who he was, but after a week or two of contemplation, the truth hit her and she wasn't quite sure how to understand it. She assumed that her mind was to blame; that she had somehow envisioned Nyle before even meeting him, and if that was the case, then she could only assume she was going mad.

Which made her doubt her career entirely. If she was unstable and imagining things, how could she be sure that what she was witnessing now was real?

"...You do hear them, don't you? The ghosts-- I mean, are there even ghosts here, Bruce? I... I don't know anymore. Maybe this is madness on both our parts, a folie à deux, hm? I... I'm just doubting this all, it sounds insane," she whispered as she stared at the spirit box, grimacing to herself at her words. "I don't know what to believe-- that boy. Nyle. We saw him didn't we? He was a spirit, and then he-- he turned up at our door, alive. You saw that too, didn't you?"
 
"You're not crazy and neither am I, relax. Maybe we... nah. Let's not think about that right now, yeah? I can hear them, of course I can. We're not crazy. Just... please relax, honey," he begged before offering a small smile and a kiss to his wife's cheek.

"Let's jusr hope that they're willing to cooperate," whispered the man before gripping the camera. Meanwhile, Leo was anxiously covering his ears at the obnoxious sounds. He was a sensitive person and the noises weren't helping as was evident when 'turn it off' could be heard through the Spirit Box.
 
"How are we supposed to communicate with you if I turn this off? Do you not want us to communicate? I want to know your story, you haven't told us that yet. I'm interested. I'd really like to know," the woman began as she seemed to switch into work mode relatively easily, despite her doubts and concerns that any of this was real. She trusted her husband not to lie to her, and if he was supporting and encouraging her to see her job through -the job that paid the bills, of course- then she would do just that, growing determined as she glanced around the room. "...Is this Leo I'm talking to right now? The former owner of this home--"

"He's the current owner. This is his fucking house," spat Oliver in disgust, rolling his eyes at the crackling of the spirit box which seemed to cut out and chop up his sentence so little else other than the curse word could be heard. "I said we should mess with 'em, Leo, not talk to them. They're assholes, you know? Obnoxious assholes."
 
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"It's too loud, Oliver," he whispered in response, his hands still covering his ears as he warily took a seat. Shooting Tina a glare, he dared to kick the Spirit Box over with reddened cheeks. Cringing, he curled up a tad once Bruce gasped in fear.

"Listen, I don't know which one of you is the more angry one but we promise that we won't bother you much, yeah? Just work with us and we'll leave you alone," he urged before running over to set the machine back up on the table... only for it to be stopped by Leo grabbing it and tossing it across the wall.

It was proof of just how much the noise bothered the spirit. It was sensory overload and if he had to ruin the expensive Spirit Box, he would.
 
"Angry? We're both fucking angry. You intruded; you forced out someone we cared about-- you act as though you're in charge and we ought to do you favours. We don't owe you shit," snapped Oliver, his fists clenched at his side. He never showed himself to the couple and never once had, in contrast to Nyle and Leo. He probably would have confronted the couple, face to face, if he could stand them looking at him, but he couldn't. He knew that his scars couldn't be covered up like Nyle's could. He had to live his life with the bullet wounds that, unfortunately, were pretty visible. He could adjust his hair all he wanted, but the fact remained that, very noticeably, the bullet wound in his forehead (and the blood) was always going to be there.

He really didn't want to show himself to the couple and have them stare at him in horror - if he could avoid that confidence knock, he would.

"This was a bad idea, I... I fucking hate them, Leo," he winced, pacing back and for as he attempted to get control of himself, though the sight of the married couple attempting to fix the box and capture the sounds of them talking only infuriated him further. Thus, the knock on the door was a welcome distraction, giving him time to cool off whilst Tina rushed to see who was there.

"I mean, I don't wanna intrude, I just-- you know why I'm here, we've gone over this before. I want to speak to Leo, so..." Nyle mumbled, getting invited in by the woman who wasn't against the idea of Nyle being in her home - not that she knew for certain it was Nyle. As confused as she was over his physical being, if it was Nyle as she had been contemplating, she also knew that the spirits seemed to like him, whoever he was. It gave her and Bruce time to fix what was broken and to calm down from the event, and that couldn't come quick enough.

"...You guys there or what? Tina looks shaken up-- you guys haven't been fucking around with her, have 'ya? She's real nice," sighed Nyle once left alone by the couple, taking a seat on the couch. "I have to go to work soon, I'm taking Gigi's son to see the place, so... that's cool, I guess. Look, I couldn't come any sooner, I've been... real fucking busy, actually. My Dad's sick, so I've been phoning him for hours a day to make sure he's alright, so..."
 
"What's the point of you coming here, Nyle?" Leo asked quietly, appearing in the couch only once he was sure the couple were gone. "It's clear you... you don't want to be here. Why would you? You have a job now, are making friends and living life, right? You don't have to be forced here anymore. I just... w-want to know that you're avoiding me - you haven't even texted me in a week," he reminded, trying his hardest to try and stay calm though it was becoming more and more difficult not to cry what with the stress of the Spirit Box and his general loneliness.

"I get that you're busy, just... why have you been avoiding me? Don't you understand how much I miss you? I get you, then you're taken away from me. Then you're whisked away again and now that you can choose to come over or interact with me, you don't? Do you know how stressed I've been? I've been crying every night hoping you'll see me or answer my texts but you never do," he tried to explained, doing his best to express himself without having a panic attack and just disappearing completely. He had always been bad at expressing himself, ever since he was young both from his own disabilities and the trauma he had dealt with by his family. Leo shot a nervous look to Oliver for some form of comfort, even if it was just some eye contact.
 
"My phone's been real dodgy," he explained, cringing the instant he realised how lame the excuse sounded. He hadn't realised just how awful a boyfriend he had been until he was confronted with it. Hell, if he was honest, he didn't realise just how much time had passed and how infrequent his visits were becoming. In his head, he was often popping around to the home, and it was only now that he acknowledged that it had been a while since his last physical contact with Leo.

"...I don't know if you realise this but life's not as fucking fantastic as I make it out to be, Leo. It's tough. I forget sometimes that... I dunno, I'm sorry. This isn't your fault, it's mine, I get that. I just-- got caught up in being normal and doing normal shit. I got a fucking spray tan for god's sake. Dyed my hair too; I think I look pretty normal again. Gigi helped a lot. I got caught up in that and I-- look, as bad as I feel about this, I'm not totally to blame. You made it clear you didn't approve of any of this-- hell, didn't you tell me to just off myself? I was hardly gonna pop around when my boyfriend was being that fucking selfish, Leo."
 
"Don't you k-know how rude it is to rub this all in my face?" Leo quickly countered, his voice cracking. "You got a third chance at all of this, don't you understand how s-shitty that makes me feel? When you first moved here, it was different, right? You were willing to spend time with me and give me company and I understood that you needed it because you were alive and human. You came back to life twice a-and I've been stuck in this shitty house for six years now. K-Knowing I can't go out and see you and go on proper dates a-and get to meet your family while I'm left here, hoping you decide to come and see me while I twiddle my thumbs? I-I feel like I'm forgotten and I'm not trying to stop you from living your life, I just... want to at least have some alone time with you alike how boyfriends are suppose to do," he countered carefully, his pale cheeks turning pink in growing upset.

"I know what I said, Nyle, and I know it's selfish. I know it's selfish to want to have my boyfriend by my side a-and at the very least snuggle up to watch a good movie but you don't even make the effort to give me a hug or a cuddle. I... I feel pathetic. You've been making me feel pathetic, Nyle."
 
"...Fuck you, I'm done. This is ridiculous-- How am I rubbing any of this in your face? I'm not boasting about how great my life is because it isn't fucking great; it's not fun at all. It's just better than the alternative of, you know, being dead and putting my family through that grief. But I'm apparently boasting and showing off because of what exactly? Because I'm here? If you hate me so much, I won't come over again and you don't have to be so embittered about it, how about that? How about I walk out that door and we don't have to communicate again, because fuck, I don't ever want to speak to someone this selfish and... and ignorant, actually. You're selfish and ignorant and I don't dig that," he replied sternly, putting up the wall to stop himself getting to emotional about it. Of course he was emotional on the inside, the fact he was more or less breaking up with Leo not being something he really wanted, but he saw no other option. How could things go back to normal when Leo clearly didn't approve of him being like this - and there was no chance he was going to just kill himself to please him, not now he had had a taste of real life again.

"I'm going, alright? I-I'm gonna go to work, then I'll leave this shitty little town and head back to Philadelphia and... and maybe I'll go to college again, I don't know. You have Oliver, anyway, it's not like you're alone. You both are clearly fucking closer than you're gonna admit to being."
 
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