Home Is Where The Heart Is

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Rather loud tapping could be heard from the second floor, the clicks rapid and quick, not skipping a beat. It had been this way the entire night as Leo caught up with the latest trends in pop culture, checked up on his old friends, even going as far as to make a new profile just to try and speak to them - granted, to no avail. In fact, he learned that suddenly messaging people in their 30's out of the blue was a bit strange. While it might seem weird to have literally spent the entire night restlessly tapping away but it wasn't like he could sleep. Besides, it was pretty much how he acted when he was alive anyway.

The tapping only stopped when the door opened and closed. From the closing of the laptop, the thing seemed to float down on its own down the stairs, Leo only appearing after setting the thing down carefully.

"I fixed all the malware you had on there, all the apps you weren't using... looks like you had a fun night, huh?" He commented quietly, having adjusted to the silence of the house outside of YouTube videos and the Netflix account he hacked into. "Found that hot gentleman, yeah? Good for you, nice to know that there aren't strictly hillbillies here, for your case."
 
"I didn't sleep with anyone from this town. God, it's empty. It's a fucking ghost town-- hey, that was funny! I'm even funny when I'm hungover, that's kinda awesome," he slurred, pressing his hand to his head in an attempt to ignore the severe banging he seemed to hear inside it. Along with the constant, crushing throbbing in his temples, he felt like he was in agony.

"I need a drink, my mouth's like a desert," he groaned, pushing himself to his feet with a great deal of effort. "And yeah, the guy was... nice. Totally still in the closet, hasn't even told his folks, but we had fun. He was so, like, shy-- but he's this totally scary looking guy, with the tattoos and all sorts. It's adorable-- oh, and he has, like, three cats. You'd love him."
 
"Lovely, I'd love to go and meet him," he replied sarcastically, his black eyes rolling as he wandered to the kitchen to open the back door, the sounds of Bitters meowing happily being heard not long after. Once inside, he immediately scooped up the cat into his arms, and affectionately offered a kiss. Eyeing up Nyle more closely, he picked out the nips and bruises with a scrunch of his nose.

"Fun. Well, I'll have you know I met someone," he explained rather proudly, a smile on his face showing his genuine excitement. "He seems nice, really. Lives in Arizona apparently, which is cute. I used an old picture I took from my Facebook and he said I looked cute, ain't that great? I'm cute."
 
"I called you cute a bunch of times, it shouldn't be news to you-- but hey, congrats, buddy! You can have my laptop, like, later on. I gotta catch up with my friends, see how many messages I've gotten from them. My phone's playing up, so I'm really reliant on my laptop right now," he grinned, not appearing to care all that much about this 'guy from Arizona'. It wasn't going to play on his mind too much. If anything, he was glad the ghost had someone to talk to to get the hours pass by quicker.

Though his cheery mood dampened a tad when he logged on and saw nothing. His friends were clearly online, having just posted some boring Instagram posts of their breakfasts, so the lack of... anything from them was definitely a little confusing.

"I'm sure they're just busy, you know? They're at college, it's... a lot to handle."
 
"Did you reach out to them or are you just going to sit back and expect them to talk to you?" He questioned critically, a brow raised. While he wouldn't say a word to someone else when he was alive, he was far from afraid to introduce himself online. To anyone who solely knew him online, they saw him as the most outgoing person in the world. "I mean, they're going to spend time with people they can interact with - I know I should practice what I preach."

Despite the sadder conversation, he couldn't help but slowly grin wider the more he thought of the man. In his mind, the interaction was true love. In fact most of the things he knew of the new Arizona man was from snooping for countless hours through every social media account the man had, his cheeks rosy as he buried his face in the cat's fur bashfully.

"You'll make new friends," he declared eventually, "I mean, you've got me and this mystery guy of yours, right? Gigi too."
 
"Yeah, about Gigi. I'm 95% certain she drove past in her car while I was snogging that nice guy up against a tree. She told me to, you know, keep my sexuality hidden for awhile. It's been a day and I'm making out with someone pretty brazenly. I'm pretty sure she's not gonna appreciate me not taking her advice. So scratch her off my tiny list of buddies. I have you though. Why do I need a group of friends when I have a ghost as a mate? I mean, that's... awesome," he complimented quietly, forcing a smile onto his face regardless of how hard it was when the friends he'd known since he was 8 were all abandoning him. At least, that's how it felt.

"Whatever. I'm fine! I'm... I'll pop over and apologise to Gigi if she saw anything she didn't wanna see. I'm pretty sure I was half-naked... You'll be alright here, yeah? You can have my laptop, I... don't really need it right now."
 
"Why would you do that in public, period?" He snorted in disbelief. He was just as sexual as the next guy and he definitely had his kinks, but fucking in public? That was a bit too extreme, even for him. "I don't blame Gigi, I'd be upset too. Just... I dunno, figure it out with her. She'll be mad, definitely, but you can't get upset at her for it."

Setting Bitters down, he watched the cat do as he always did and climbed onto the couch, kneading the fabric casually with a loud purr. Saying nothing as the fabric tore, he did move to sit by the cat.

"It's funny that you can't tell anyone about me. The people who know I exist fear me and like hell would Your new boyfriend be okay with it. Did you even tell him you live with someone else?"
 
"Oi, I was drunk and I wanted to have sex with a cute guy. So we didn't make it back to his place, oh well. I'm that irresistible that he wanted to have me right there and then-- besides, this place is dead and it was dark. I didn't think Gigi would come driving past, did I?" He countered, beginning to cringe more and more at the realisation that he'd been seen, possibly naked. In fact, the more he thought, the mess blurry the memories became, and he distinctly remembered being naked. He had to apologise for it, he knew that. He just... wasn't sure how to even go about starting it off.

"I dunno. No, I... didn't think it was necessary. We didn't sit down and talk that much. Besides, he's so scared of coming out that I don't think I'll be inviting him here. Not now Gigi's seen his face and... I don't know. She seems lovely, but she also seems like one of those women who can't help but gossip."
 
"People do leave their houses here, Nyle. People have jobs and need to buy food - hell, even I had to leave to get groceries sometimes," he reminded, clearly still a bit shocked at just how ridiculous the situation was. "I mean, fuck. You didn't think this through whatsoever and now you're going to have to deal with the consequences - not like I can help you anyway. If Gigi decides to go spread rumors, it's no one's fault but yours. Knowing what little I know from this town, though, no one is going to say anything to your face. Everyone is just going to whisper to themselves about it."

With a casual shrug, he glanced over at the other, curious for a reaction. There was no way to sugarcoat the fact that Nyle was royally fucked when it came to the town, the chance of Gigi keeping quiet being incredibly slim. Unless it came to him, Leo had no problem being brutally honest - despite the fact that he would cry the minute he was critiqued on something like this clothing.

"Look, you'll be fine. It's not like you were going to have any friends in this town, anyway. They'll pretend to want to be friends with you but they're only going to do it because they feel bad for you - for me. If you want real friends, you need to go out of your way - like you did."
 
"...You know, you're not a good person to go to when I'm feeling down. You make me feel worse," he grunted as he flopped back and begun rubbing his temples again. The fact he'd arrived at the little town assuming he'd make some close friends in an already small community was laughable now. It had literally taken a day for him to regret the decision. He was essentially stuck, knowing that, in just a short time, everyone in the place would know he'd been having sex with some man. Given Gigi's warnings about being overt with his sexuality, he was pretty sure he'd have the whole place hating him, which was, admittedly, quite a feat to achieve in just over 24 hours.

"Look, I'll be fine. I'm not going to fucking cower behind the curtains, afraid. I did something dumb when I was drunk. People do dumb shit. Mark, my ex, used to go steal chickens from his uncle's farm. It's dumb and something he wouldn't do when sober. They shouldn't judge me for doing something stupid whilst drunk," he continued, nodding for emphasis as he forced his heavy eyes open again. "Besides, we're mates, so I don't need to venture out-- oh. Oh, can you, like, haunt some of them if they get really bad? Like, I could invite them for a party and if they're acting like shits to me, you could freak 'em out. You're a ghost. You gotta do some ghostly shit eventually."
 
"In a town full of puritan fucks like this one, do you honestly think they'll forget it?" He murmured, laughing flatly as he stared at the television, the screen turning on to the typical Judge Judy reruns he often watched. After six years he practically memorized the schedules of the basic cable channels.

"Look, I want you to have a normal life just like anyone. I don't want you thinking I want you to go and do something stupid because I'm being negative but you need to be realistic. This town was founded by old people and will die with old people - old people with old morals. Hell, I got a dirty look for not saying 'bless you' to this one lady when she sneezed at the store. They're crazy."
 
"Oh, like that makes me feel better. A town of crazy people know I had sex outside with a man. Cheers, Leo. That'll help me sleep at night. I'll get bricks through my window, won't I? Or they'll set the place on fire. Or maybe I've just seen too many movies and everything will be fine. The worst that will happen is that I'll just get ignored, which is fine. Like you said, I'd have to travel out of the town to make friends anyway," he shrugged, forcing his eyes onto the television-- even if the colours and the noises only seemed to perpetuate his headache and stinging eyes even more.

"I just wanted to get along with everyone. It's already ruined, huh? My sister said this would happen. She said these small towns were fucking crazy."
 
"They won't hurt you. The only people who are that shitty are bound to scooters," he reassured calmly, his eyes peering out the window only to gaze upon the extensive woods that blocked the cabin from other homes. It was the perfect place for seclusion, hence Leo's love for it - the only thing that made itself home is the wildlife with neighbors having to make an active effort to bother him.

"Don't worry about it," he insisted as his eyes drifted to the laptop, a rather corny sight of longing for the person he had just started talking to less than a day ago. It would just be a matter of time before he'd be rejected and scolded again, though having something to look forward to was the first positive thing in the ghost's 'life' in the past six years
 
Despite his proclamations, the two weren't yet friends. They'd only known one another for a day. Yet, Nyle couldn't help but feel disappointed by the real lack of caring words from the other, especially when he eyed the laptop in eagerness to talk to the Arizonan again. Stubbornly (and childishly, perhaps), he refused to hand it over, even glaring a little at the spirit.

"Get your own laptop. I have people to talk to. You know, people who care enough about me to not be selfish pigs and ignore my feelings? You can have my laptop when I'm done with it."
 
"Did you just call me a selfish pig?" He whispered, staring at Nyle quietly. "I'm selfish? I'm telling you the truth, Nyle. What do you want me to do, coddle you and bullshit about how everyone is going to forget about this? No. They won't forget and they won't do anything about it at the same time. In reference to the computer, don't you think I want my own laptop? I could talk to my boyfriend all I want while you get to go and have fun with your buddy. I get to sit here alone for hours while you can go and talk to your friends online and stuff. Do you know how fucking boring it gets here when you're out or online?"
 
"Boyfriend? He's not your fucking boyfriend, you talked to him for a few hours. That's ridiculous. I'm not gonna say I have a boyfriend, and I had sex with the guy last night. It's not-- you aren't dating him. It's crazy if you think that a few hours chat equates to some loving relationship," he grunted, though was too surprised by the remark to hide his jealousy. All he wanted was a boyfriend; someone to share his life with. The fact he'd craved a relationship for weeks, yet Leo managed to somehow bag himself one in a few hours, was a source of anger for him.

"I'm not sticking around in a town that I know hates me, it's not something I want to do. Perhaps I'll just fuck off back to Philadelphia, huh?"
 
"He is my boyfriend," he defended quickly as he glanced down at his hands, his pale cheeks a light pink as he fiddled with his fingers. "He... I mean, he said he liked me so that means we're dating, that's just basic knowledge. I told him where I lived and he said he would love to meet me some day, can you believe that?"

Amongst his babbling it was clear just how delusional Leo really was when it came to his love life, though the nervous glances and fiddling hands were evidence that even he didn't believe it all. Letting out an awkward laugh, the ghost seemed to lose his solid form the more he grew flustered.

"Leave, then. I can't make you stay here, but... I'd be leaving my friend in the dark if you do," he countered himself, biting the inside of his cheek warily,
 
"And why should I give a shit about your 'relationship' when my problems don't mean anything to you? Like--no. Fuck off. I'm just going to go pack a bag and head home because this is a dump and I'm not living in a place where I can't even kiss a guy without the town freaking out. I went too far, sure, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't hate me so much if I was with a woman," he countered angrily, though remained sat where he was. Heading back home was probably the best thing he could do, but it wasn't the option he would be proud of. He hated proving people right-- and his family had all bet that he'd return in a month or two. Returning this son would make them hysterical and he wasn't prepared to deal with that.

"...I mean, that guy is clearly a creep, by the way. Nobody agrees to dating someone they met online for a few hours, it's weird."
 
"Well, he didn't exactly say we were dating but... I know he wants to," he countered defensively, his nervous smile fading to a frown the more his excitement was bashed. Glancing over at Nyle, his lip poured a tad.

"Sure, he didn't say he wanted to date me but he probably does. He called me cute and said he liked me, right? Look, I... I mean, I guess I'm desperate, yeah? That's what my friends said when I fell for my girlfriend. Please just let me have this, Nyle. It's not like anyone else would even notice me," Leo pleaded quietly, his eyes teary .
 
"I called you cute and I notice you. What's the big deal with this Arizonan guy? Have you even seen what he looks like? I... I bet he's nothing compared to me. Not to sound arrogant, but I'm cute. I'm half-Brazilian for crying out loud. I can speak Portuguese, it's a real romantic language," he murmured, a faint smirk growing at his lips the moment he was starting to adopt the husky tone to his voice he used during flirtation. He never envisioned himself flirting with a ghost, but he also didn't... hate it. Leo was cute, after all.

"Hey, you've never kissed anyone before, I'm guessing? We could totally give it a shot. Fuck your guy from Arizona. I'm cuter than he is and I'm sorta right here, you know?"
 
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