Casper, The Very Friendly Ghost

[Cowgurlhat]

BUZZ!!! BUZZ!!! BUZZ!!!

Callie groaned, rolling sleepily over in her bed as she reached over to turn off the annoying alarm. Why did she set it, anyways? It was usually her parents that woke her up... Her eyes opened wide as she remembered the previous night, her parents going away on vacation and entrusting their darling-- and only-- daughter with the keys to the house. With feverent promises of no parties, and repeating all safety precautions back nearly word for word did they leave.

Not five minutes had passed before Callie put out the call to her best friends: "Parentals just left; weekend party at my place? Bring swimsuits!! "

Today was Thursday, a half day at their school before some sort of holiday weekend, and they were invited to stay the entire time afterwards. Since the weather was going to be pleasantly warm as well, swimsuits were a must.

She rose out of bed, checking over the replied messages in her computer. Smiling in excitement, she quickly grabbed a towel and raced off for the shower. She emerged after her usual amount of time, dressing in one of her favorite outfits: a sheer yellow tank over a black cami top, paired with a black handkerchief style skirt, light purple ribbons tied in randomly. Her favorite wedges were put onto her feet, and she quickly combed out the tangles in her wavy blond hair.

Once all that was finished, she grabbed her backpack and went into the furnished kitchen, grabbing an apple for breakfast. After biting into it, she held it in place to retrieve the keys to her Jeep, but paused as her eyes fell on... the urn.

The reason behind her parents' impromptu vacation, some well loved grandparent she never met was now in a clay jar, set up in an honorable place on a mantle in the TV room. Callie personally thought it was creepy, having the remains of a dead person nearly on display in your own house. But, since it wasn't her house to own, complaining about it would be rude, on top of hurting their feelings. Oh well... if she just treated it like an odd looking vase, surely she'd forget it was ever there in time. Keys in hand, she exited, locking the front door behind her as she went.

******************

Her parents did well for themselves, everyone would say. A pair of lawyers that worked well together, and with their clients, it was no surprise that some good would come from opening their own practice. They were able to purchase a villa out on the outskirts of town, and lavish it with every comfort imaginable. The three-car garage kept the classic looking BMW (the "work car"), the parents' Corvette (the "play car") and their daughter's Jeep out of the elements. The kitchen was updated with new appliances, and well stocked for an army should a dinner party suddenly arise. There was a TV room, a game room, an extra supply of bedrooms for the occasional relative dropping by to visit, and-- Callie's favorite feature-- the swimming pool. She spent countless hours in her watery playground, relaxing in the hot tub in the colder months or during the long nights when just wanted to relax and count the stars.

Now, all of this was going to be hers for an entire weekend. Well, hers and her friends, when they would show up! She had "suffered" anxiously through the school day, just waiting for the final bell to ring. Once that did, she had to stop herself from flat out running to her locker, in case someone needed a ride at the last minute. But who could blame her for being excited??

(OOC: So, as the thread suggests, we're going to need more writers! There's already one in place for our "Casper", so females need only apply. I would say... two or three, four at the most, to keep things diverse but not make it too crowded. If interested, or if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM!)

[TheNiteSiren]

AC/DC’s Highway to Hell woke up Nikita from a very interesting dream involving that cute English dude from the Avengers movie from last night and the one who was in the new Jason Bourne movie. Needless to say she was a little irritated to be awakened from a sex dream when she rarely had them anymore. When she saw it was Callie though, her temper cooled. The girl had picked up a young army brat and made her a part of the group when most people were intimidated by her. Callie was like a little cousin or something to her, someone to have fun with but there was never any strings attached to it.

Parties usually weren’t her thing but maybe she could get laid while over there. It had been a month since she broke up with Bruce and it was about damn time that she got some action. She lit a cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke while she held the phone to her ear. “I’m there, girl. Give me an hour at the most and I will be there.” Nikita had moved out of her parents’ home as soon as she turned 18 years old to an apartment that was above the garage where she worked as a mechanic. Her Uncle Ozzie rented it out to her while she helps him with some of the repairs on it and gave her a break on the rent.

Throwing a few things into a bag, including a bikini, Nikita secured the bag to her purple Harley that was waiting for her in the driveway. In black jeans, a tank top with accented skulls and a leather jacket with ‘Sweet Thing’ on the back, she climbed on. The engine revved for her like an angry cat which always made her smile and she slipped on her helmet before taking off down the road. There was an element of power when you rode a bike like this. It gave you an appreciation for the damage that the high speeds could do. Nikita had been riding since she was 16 and had known two people who crashed with their helmets off. One died and the other suffered some damage to the brain.

Nikita was very logical person. One plus one always equaled two in her mind. She smiled to herself when the house came into view, her bike rolling in by the side of house where it was out of sight. She pulled off the riding gloves and unzipped her jacket, lowering the kick stand for the bike. Before leaving she hit the button on the alarm for it. Nikita was no fool. That was a Harley Davidson motorcycle that she and her uncle had restored from scratch. Any fucker tries to take it and she would take his balls off.

The house was so friggin huge that she almost felt intimidated. Nikita had come from very modest parents, who moved her from place to place for years before they finally settled here. Her dad had gotten hurt while in the Gulf War and had an honorable discharge, taking a job as an engineer later on. Like most ex-army guys, her dad had trouble existing outside of the military and had started drinking. The screaming matches her folks had almost every night still echoes in her ears. Nikita herself a wakeup call. This was time for fun and she went in search of the little blonde she considered like family. Oh what the hell? “CALLIE! WHERE YA AT?!” That usually got a laugh out of the girl. For some reason Callie thought Nikita was funny.

[Cowgurlhat]

Okay, so there's the pizza, got enough chips and popcorn to snack on, a lot of fruit, enough soda to drink... Callie paused her mental checklist, her mind falling on the alcohol stash in the game room. She wasn't going to suggest it right away, not being the kind of partier that almost always ended in a train wreck; however, no one was going to be driving anywhere, and if the shoe fit... a hand settled on her cocked hip, thinking sounds filling the silence as she pinched her lower lip.

Settling on an in-between solution came just in time to hear a motorcycle coming up the drive. She closed all the cupboards she had opened in her search, before she heard her friend's shout. As always, it made her laugh. Nikita may have looked way outside of the norm as far as her parents were concerned, but over time they had come to love her as well as their own. Callie, on the other hand, enjoyed Nikita's company right away, her grounded sense of realism and humor being a breath of fresh air in Callie's everyday life.

"I'M RIGHT HERE, WHERE THE HELL ELSE!" she shouted back, heading towards the entry hall. The door was unlocked, as it always was when she got home from school. Today wasn't going to be different, since she was expecting friends over.

[TheNiteSiren]

Nikita let out a loud laugh and made her way to the door. She was already in the door when Callie got to the main entry hall. “Hey, Cal.” She gave the girl a one-armed hug and a kiss on the top of her head. There was a small age gap between them, just a few months but Nikita still felt like the older sister in their friendship in many ways. Despite their obvious economic difference, she had been all over the world with her father and that had exposed Nikita to a lot of different cultures. They had talked about it plenty of times.

“What you got planned? I am in sore need of fun.” The whole Bruce situation was still bugging her and she needed to forget about that idiot for a while. “Tell me you got the good beer and not that European shit that Mark recommended for your next ‘get together’.”

Nikita placed her helmet next to where the coats were hung and took off her leather jacket, placing her overnight next to the helmet. Once that was done, she put an arm around her best friend. “You need any help with anything before the brood descends upon us?” Her dry wit was a trademark that made Nikita stand out even when she didn’t want to.

[Cowgurlhat]

"Hey, Niki!" Callie greeted, returning the hug. An extra squeeze was added, knowing the kind of past her friend had and fully respecting her for it. "I don't have too much set in stone, but I think we can entertain ourselves here, don't you?" She had obviously heard about the kind of relationshit she had with Bruce, so hoped a nice long weekend with the girls would help break her out of her funk.

Nikita was released with a laugh, as Callie remembered the horrible experience Mark, her very fabulous (in every sense of the word) friend met through her parents' friends from the country club, shared with their first taste of his favorite beer. "Okay, A.) Ew, and 2.) That's not even a suggestion. I love you guys too much to put you through that kind of torture. That being said, the good alcohol's in the game room." With a conspiratorial look, she added, "'Under lock and key'," drawing air quotes around the statement.

"The brood?" Callie repeated, starting to laugh again. "Way to make us sound like a bazillion people!" Wrapping an arm around Nikita again, she started to walk them back into the kitchen while she replied. "Nah, there should be enough here to sustain us. Even if we do decide to not even think about our vehicles for the entire weekend, we should be good. Just need everyone else to show!"

"What can I get you to drink in the meantime?" Callie asked, adding a silly bow in mock servitude.

[Gabe619]

The air felt cool, but not cold. The sun shone, but it wasn't to bright or to warm. In fact everything was just exactly right Greg considered as he stood there and looked out at .... well, he wasn't sure what or where he was or for that matter how long he had been here. Had he just arrived, or had he been standing on this exact spot for years?

What he did know was that he felt completely and totally content. As if every wish he had ever had had been fulfilled, every promise he had ever made to someone he had lived up to. He had no doubts, no regrets. He remembered his life in every single detail as if he was watching a movie in his head about it. He could stop and zoom in and enjoy a moment, or move on if he wished and watch his past life unwind before his eyes. His family, friends, even his enemies he watched with no real emotion other than blissful happiness. He could even see his wife again without the pain of loss eating at his heart. She had died years ago, and every day since then had been a weight he had been forced to bear, but no longer. Now he remembered their joy together, how happy they had made each other and he smiled.

He looked up at the deep blue sky and knew he was dead, but even that didn't concern him now. After all, what could he do about it? Where ever he was he doubted it was hell, and so he must have done something right in his life. He glanced down at himself with a wry smile. He could see his 52 year old body dressed in his favourite relaxation clothes of lose sweat pants, socks and tshirt. His body, which he had looked after while alive, solid to the touch, and yet if he was in heaven did he really need to have a body? Wasn't it supposed to be all about spirit?

Metaphysics wasn't his thing. A life as a mechanic, husband and father didn't really prepare a guy to talk to God, or discuss out of body experiences. Out of body? Hmm, where was his body he wondered. He remembered he had left instructions to be cremated upon death so he figured his mortal remains would probably be in a jar somewhere in a cemetary. He shrugged and closed his eyes, simply enjoying the peace.

No mortal concerns touched him here, no needs, no wants, he was beyond those now and would remain so as long as he stayed here. And why would he ever want to leave he wondered.

[TheNiteSiren]

“I think there are plenty of ways for us to have fun here. You’re an angel. I needed this.” Nikita gave her a wry grin. “I’m sure they are on their way now. “ She grabbed an apple from the fruit ball and bit in. As usual the food Callie had for them was first rate. There was an evil look in her eye. “Maybe we could try some new pranks like when we had my 18th birthday party by the lake camp.

That had been a great time and one of the few where Nikita had really let her hair down and enjoyed herself. She didn’t find out until later that it was that same night that Bruce had cheated on her for the first time but she wouldn’t let that bastard taint the memory. She and Callie had had a ball with some the drunker guests.

Nikita had sent the former captain of the basketball team home to the wrong house, giving the cab driver the wrong address. He ended up at the local pastor’s place, passed out on the front lawn and barely coherent. Callie some fruit in the tail pipe of Betsey Connor’s car. The bleach blond had someone start the car and the fruit went flying out the tail pipe and all over Miss Conner’s blue dress.

They were considered the ‘Dynamic Duo’ and no one had been able to top their insane pranks just yet. Nikita was expecting some form of payback at some point but she didn’t care. “Too bad your cousin, Paul, isn’t here.” She sat up on the countertop and waggled her brows. Paul was 22 years old and could make Ian Somerholder look like a dog. “God, I must sound so dorkie. It’s my hormones. I haven’t had any in a long while. Maybe it’s making me sick. Do I feel hot to you?” She took Callie’s hand and put it on her forehead.

[Cowgurlhat]

"Ohhhh!" Callie replied through her laughter, remembering Nikita's wild birthday party. She nearly lost it when Trent, the former basketball star who led her affections on before using them to humiliate her, was sent to the pastor's house in his drunken state. Her friendship with the rebellious girl had strengthened that much more after that prank was pulled, which prompted the further pranks that night. "Betsey was so furious that night; I heard it took her a couple of months to get the smell of burnt banana out of her clothes."

That wasn't their personal best, in Callie's mind, thinking back on the time they newspapered Stephanie Thompson's locker, after hearing the kiss-up of a student got a peek at the final world history exam's answers. Each book was wrapped, along with every folder, anything else they could find that wasn't attached to the locker itself... before lining the inside walls and covering the door... leading to them wrapping the books and folders together into one large bundle and wrapping a nice layer of duct tape around it, before crumpling up the rest into small balls and stuffing her locker full. It may have taken a few hours to scrub the black from under their nails, but it was well worth it when they heard Stephanie had failed the exam anyways, spending nearly the entire period clearing all the newspaper out.

The mentioning of Paul brought a snort of amusement. "Ooo, you've got it baaaad," Callie couldn't help but tease, lightly poking Nikita's sides. She supposed she could see the appeal that Nikita could, but try as she might, she couldn't get past the memory of catching his 12-year-old self having his own "Stand By Me" moment of searching valiantly in his swim trunks for leeches. There were just some things that 8-year-old's shouldn't see; that was one of them.

She giggled as her hand was brought up to Niki's forehead. "Oh, one month, you poor thing," she commented. "I think it's been... nine and a half? Yeah, that long for me. I was going *nuts* by month four, and was surprised my parents didn't ask about me wanting to buy batteries so often." Hopping up on the counter next to Nikita, Callie suggested, "Tell you what: if you survive this weekend without bursting into flames, we'll go 'sperm hunting' together. Deal?"

(OOC: Newspaper story? Entirely true, save for the final exam and the duct tape. Poor girl was 20 minutes late to class. And sperm = boys of dating potential. XD )

[Cowgurlhat]

Brushing her short brown hair from her forehead, Ellen looked around her bedroom, talking aloud to herself. "Okay, there's this, and that, I did that, put that up there... I think I'm good..." The call had come in from Callie earlier, and was met with a rather slow 'maybe' reply. It wasn't that she didn't want to go, but more like she may not have been able to.

Living with a single mother and two younger brothers was a different way of life than being a single child, but it was one she had adjusted to easily enough. Moving back to her home town after ten years was made that much more seamless when her mother's previous position was given back to her. As for her relationship with Callie, it didn't pick up exactly where it left off, but it did pick up. Nikita's friendship seemed odd to Ellen at first; if there were two more people at extremes with each other, she had yet to see it. And yet, it worked. With time, Ellen got over her shyness enough to like and respect Nikita as well.

Now, she was going to pitch spending an entire weekend at Callie's place, to a woman who raised three children nearly single-handedly. Being under said household, she knew how difficult it could be. But, it was with a firm step that she strode into the kitchen, perching daintily on a stool.

"You were making a lot of noise up there," her mother commented, not looking up from the stir fry she was cooking. "What did you lose?"

"Nothing," Ellen replied. "I was just cleaning my room."

This time, her mother did look up. "Alright, what do you want?"

"What do you mean?"

"You clean your room when you want something. What is it?"

Damn, I should change my tactics next time... "Okay," she started explaining. "Callie would like me to spend the weekend at her place. If it's not too much."

"Do her parents know?"

Shit! "Yes..."

Ellen was given another considering look, before her mother replied. "Take your laundry into the washroom, and then I'll drive you over."

Breathing a small sigh of relief, Ellen went back into her room and performing that chore, finally finding the swimsuit she was looking for and setting it on top of her camera in her overnight bag. Once that was done, she did a last look-over of both her bag and her room before collecting the former and joining her mother by the car.

The ride over was spent in a comfortable silence, until Ellen found a prime spot to take some landscape photos. That led to them running slightly late, pulling up into the drive with a few taps on the horn, letting the current occupants know of their arrival.

[TheNiteSiren]

The memories had been some of the best of her life, something that she could laugh about now. Betsey eventually did get over the prank. “I thought it was an improvement on that perfume she would always drown herself in. Their prank career was an ongoing thing that could be resurrected anytime someone needed to be taught a lesson. The two of them together had been dubbed a ‘Dynamic Duo’ that could probably sneak up on Batman given the right incentive.

That was something Nikita needed, a night out hunting for a piece of ass to satisfy that urge. Trolling the clubs had been a fine time for her. Nikita could be intimidating to some of the guys around here so it was a little harder for her to attract someone. It didn’t help that she was choosey about who she went to bed with. It was almost second nature for her to nitpick things to death. “Sounds like we both need it then. It’s a deal.”

When she heard the honking of a very familiar horn, Nikita smiled. “Sounds like our third has arrived.” Bouncing outside, Nikita yelled. “About damn time! We were about to call out a posse to bring you in.” Her humor, not always appreciated, was a constant. She liked the shy little thing and, like she did with Callie, felt a need to watch over her when they were together.

Once the girl was out of the car, Nikita gave her a welcoming hug. “Glad you made it, Ellie.” The girl had an eye for the camera that she almost envied. During the whole tirade of her birthday party, she had been in a quiet spot catching these candid pictures that ended up in a scrapbook that she gave to Nikita as a gift. It had been one of the more touching items she had ever received from someone and cemented the girl’s place in her heart.

(Sorry that its short)

[Cowgurlhat]

Callie nearly bounced out the door with Nikita, hearing her friend's car drive up. She not-so-patiently waited her turn to hug Ellen, adding a tight squeeze. Ellen accepted both hugs, faking a couple of wheezes after breaking from Callie's. When Callie was motioned over by Ellen's mom, she walked over to the passenger door and leaned in. "Hi, Ellen's mom, what's up?"

Chuckling lightly at the young girl's antics, she asked, "Your parents are home now, yes?"

"No, they're still at work yet," Callie smoothly replied. If one were to look in the garage, they would see an empty space where the BMW would have been. That was in a car lot at the airport, at the moment; however, a poker face was key right now.

Ellen's mother seemed to accept this with a nod as her daughter closed the trunk, her overnight bag in hand. "Alright. You ladies have fun, and have your mother call me when she gets the chance."

"Will do," Callie replied, and with a last wave and honk from the small group, the teens were alone again.

"Wow... I turn around for a decade and you turn into a deviant," Ellen joked.

Slinging an arm around Ellen's shoulders, Callie replied, "It's the Italian in me."

"... you're German and English..."

"Okay, it's the Italian that *was* in me. He left quite the impact..."

Blushing profusely, Ellen said, "Okay, can we go inside before my virgin ears start bleeding? Ah, no, the mental images!"

[TheNiteSiren]

Nikita snorted at the ‘deviant’ comment. She laughed and made her way back into the house. “We just need to get you laid, Ellie. That boy at the last party asked about you.” She looked to Callie. “You remember the guy with the ponytail? I can’t remember the name and you invited him.” She ducked down by the cabinets, looking for the good booze. She nearly lost her footing and her skull ring knocked up against the side of the wall inside the cabinet.

That was odd. It almost sounded like the cabinet had a false side. She knocked again and confirmed her suspicions. Her fingers picked at the paneling until the wood started to slide to the side. Inside was some kind of old box with a strange symbol on the top, a piece of black cloth, some white candles and a thing of sage. She didn’t know what to make of all this but began pulling the stuff out the small compartment. “Guy! I found something!”

Nikita dusted off the box and placed the sage, candles and black cloth to the side. “Not exactly sure what I found but it looks interesting.” She opened the box slowly, careful in case any bugs came flying out. Inside she found an old Ouija board with a piece of what looked like scroll paper. Nikita unrolled the paper and read to herself:

“Clear the home of bad energy before performing a summoning. The candle must be a part of a perfect circle around the participants. The black cloth must lay on the surface underneath the board itself. Be careful what you may call to you for you will have to live with the results.”

[Cowgurlhat]

Ellen shook her head, laughing aloud as she set her bag next to Nikita's. "I don't know..."

"But he was totally into you!" Callie added. "Eric couldn't take his eyes off of you the whole evening!"

"I know, but... it just didn't feel right... you know?"

Callie arched a brow, but didn't reply. Getting over her own nerves was something she felt Ellen had to do herself, no matter how good their intentions were. But she was sure that Eric would wait for Ellen, thankfully, hearing his seemingly endless amount of questioning about her friend for a few days afterwards. In the meantime, Callie was sure she and Nikita could start wearing down the nervous girl's habits a little.

Nikki's voice cut through Callie's thoughts, drawing her attention to the open cabinets where she was kneeling. An old box, a black cloth, a thick white candle, and some sage was placed on the countertop. Callie's jaw nearly dropped to the floor in shock. "What the hell... where did you find this?"

"Wherever it was, it probably smells really good," Ellen commented, picking up the leafy bundle before sniffing it lightly.

As Nikita read the scroll, Callie examined the Ouija board. For a thing that seemed old, it was remarkably preserved. The paint had faded on the outer edges of the board, being the only damage she could spot. "We gotta do it," she said before she realized it.

Silence fell over the trio, before Ellen asked, "The Ouija? Are you sure?"

"Why not?" Callie replied.

[TheNiteSiren]

Nikita typically did not participate in this kind of stuff. She had been raised by two hardcore nonbelievers that had passed their ways on to her. Deciding not to ruin the girl’s fun, she decided to go along. “Alright. Let’s do it.” The other two laughed, all excited at the thought of communicating with the dead. While they sat in the middle, Nikita set up the candles. Once done she handed over her skull lighter to Callie since she loved playing with it which should really disturb someone but she couldn’t think about that now.

Ellen laid the black cloth down for them. Nikita sat near her, not exactly sure what may happen next. Once Callie was done, she took the lighter back and read the final portion on the scroll. She laid it down and gestured for their hands. “We’re supposed to say this bit together.” As stupid as Nikita felt doing it, she still was going to so that the girl enjoyed themselves. They always liked a good scared. She might even sneak up on them tonight just to have some fun with it.

Together they recited the chant: “Souls of the past; hear this spell I cast; I summon thee to me; Come to us, those we cannot see.”

In her opinion the whole thing was a bit corny. “We’re supposed to talk to it now, I guess.” Some of the candles began to flicker and she felt a cool breeze but none of the windows had been left open. The central air had to be doing it. “Is there anyone here?” She was about to laugh this whole thing off until she saw the pointer on the Ouija board start to move on its own.

[Cowgurlhat]

With a gasp and a squealed "Yay!", Callie led the trio into the large TV room, where there was an ample amount of room to hold a seance. Ellen, more subdued in reaction, followed. It could only be a gimmick from whoever left the Ouija board there (since she strongly doubted it was either one of Callie's parents), and whoever that person was would currently be laughing their asses off at the gullible teenagers. She watched, smoothing the black fabric over the coffee table as Nikita set up candles around them. One was placed next to an odd looking vase as Ellen finally spoke up. "This is all pretty elaborate. Isn't the normal way just each of us putting two fingers on the pointer?"

"It could still be that," Callie suggested. "Just with a more authentic atmosphere tied in." Little more was said from Callie as she was given Nikita's skull lighter. The top of the skull would flip back to reveal the thumbwheel and flint, and could easily flip back shut with the flick of a wrist. But, ever since watching that one scene near the end of Practical Magic, Callie had been fascinated with lit candles. She couldn't explain it, and would never be bothered to.

The candles were lit, the lighter returned, and they each took a seat around the low coffee table, holding hands when prompted. The spell was spoken evenly by Callie and Ellen, and while the former shivered with the sudden cool breeze (which was simply shrugged off as the air conditioning), it was quiet.

“We’re supposed to talk to it now, I guess.”

Callie giggled. "Well sure; since we just invited Paranormal Activity into the house, the least we can do is say 'Wassup'."

Ellen shushed Callie, fighting her own grin all the while. That is, until the pointer started moving... and no one was touching it...

[Gabe619]

It had started as a light pulling sensation, as if someone was gently tugging on the sleeve of his top. Greg looked around, the sun was fading as if dusk was falling on the world ... or wherever he currently was. He still felt at peace, but he now felt a weight settle over him, the pulling becoming stronger. It wasn't uncomfortable or painful, he still felt calm, but his surrounding slowly faded out while another faded in.

He was floating in a room, close to the ceiling. He didn't recognise the place at all but it looked a lot more upmarket than his and his families old house. A flickering candle got his attention and then he noticed the three girls holding hands around a coffee table. He floated closer, curious, then saw the undeniable object they were concerntrating on, a ouji board. He had always thought they were urban myth type things, only meant to scare people in films and books, but he felt an attraction to it, as if, the board, was calling him closer, or was it the girls.

He suddenly realised he felt weak, like a physical weakness, as if he had been awake for days or been doing something very physical for hours. He was worried he might scare the three teenage girls by his appearance, but none of them seemed to notice him. Well, of course not, a small corner of his mind said sarcastically, you're a ghost numbskull. A ghost? A real life ghost? Well, a real dead ghost he thought chuckling to himself as he heard one of them ask if anyone was there. So, they had summoned him. Probably just mucking around, having a little fun, trying to scare each other. Thats what teens did now a days right?

He looked down at the board, seeing the pointer, the letters and numbers. Without even having to reach out and touch the pointer he managed to move it slowly just by thinking about it. He made it move to spell out 'YES' on the board as he floated above them. If they wanted to reach the other side then the least he could do was reply, right? They had, after all, summoned him here. He felt no malice or anger at them for pulling him away from the serene setting he had recently been inhabiting. If anything he was as curious as the girls about where this was going to end up.

[Cowgurlhat]

Callie's face looked almost comical as the pointer started to move on it's own. Her first thought was that it was Nikita, having slipped some kind of magnet or rigging mechanism underneath the table while she was lighting candles. That was what it almost always was in the movies, and Nikita was more hands on out of the three... but still...

"Y... E... S..." she spoke aloud, starting to lean a bit over the board. "Shut! Up!"

"Something... can't really be here," Ellen stammered, eyes glued to the board. Being a photographer taught her the importance of seeing what was in front of her for what it was, so the pointer moving by itself was exactly that to her. "Can it?"

"One way to find out," Callie insisted, readjusting herself on the floor. "What is your name?" she asked aloud to the room. "Why are you here?"

[Gabe619]

That had obviously got the girls attention, Greg chuckled to himself again. Maybe they hadn't thought it would work, maybe they just thought it would be fun. Now though, now that he had made contact with them would that stop, would they be to frightened to continue, in which case what happened to him? Or, would they continue?

As he watched their reactions to his response to their question he considered that they were three very different, but equally three very beautiful young ladies. He remembered his daughter and supposed she would be about their age now, maybe a little older. He remembered how he had always thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world. He smiled, well, she still was to him even if he was dead and probably would never see her again. But he was still a man who had been without female company for a long time before his death, oddly, even now he was a ghost he still felt the physical needs, or at least ... he was foggy on that. He remembered earlier, when he was in the other place, he hadn't had any earthly wants or needs, but now, now he was here, looking at the girls below him, his normal feelings and desires were slowly seeping back. He listened to the girl called Callie's new questions and once again reached out to the pointer on the board.

He spelled out 'GREG', wishing he could move the pointer a little faster, but realising it was actually tiring him a little to move it at all. Well, that was answer one, now he considered his answer to her other question. With a mental shrug and small smile he slowly spelt out 'YOU SUMMONED ME'.

[TheNiteSiren]

Nikita was seeing but there was no way in hell that she was believing. This had to be a prank or something. There was no such things as ghosts. “I have no idea who you got to pull this off, Callie but they’re good.” That look of natural fear on her friend’s face made her doubt what she was assuming. Could someone else be messing with them? They had pulled a lot of crap with a lot of people since they first met. Any number of people could be doing this to get back at them.

“This can’t be for real. You guys have to know there is no such things as ghosts.” She felt a cool breeze go up her body like a hand going up her back. That unnerved Nikita but she be damned if she would let whatever sick fuck planned this see it. She poured herself a glass of something strong and knocked it back. Nikita was determined to play it cool. “Well, I guess if Casper wants to play, we could finally all get some action.” A sarcastic smirk on his lips and her beautiful eyes scanning the room. “You hear that, Cas. You lucked out. All three of us have been hard up on it.”

One window burst open suddenly and even she jumped along with the two others. “Whoever is doing this, you will get nowhere by scaring my friends half to death or do you even realize what you’re doing?” The pointer moved again and spelled out ‘SORRY’. That seemed almost strange to her. “At he’s polite. Not sure about you two but I did have that invisible man fantasy. It’s almost a shame that this is all bull shit. Would almost be fun to play with your own ghost man.” She walked over to the window and closed it, looking for wires or some kind of rigging but there was nothing.

There was a worried look on her face. Just what the hell was going on? Nikita hated feeling so out of control.

[Cowgurlhat]

"Me?!" Callie instantly protested. "I thought it was you!"

"And this is doing nothing for my nerves," Ellen added.

Rubbing the back of her friend's hand, Callie started thinking aloud. "Okay, so if it's neither of us... and I'm not going to start saying that ghosts exist... maybe it's the board? I mean, there were other people that lived in the house before us. Maybe that's what they did, messed with people on the weekends and made a living off of it..."

As Callie reached for an identical drink, Ellen slapped her palm to her forehead. "Get some... do I wanna know? Wait, scratch that, no I don't."

The windows suddenly opening made Ellen jump with a squeak, putting her hands to her mouth. Callie jumped as well, knowing how secure those windows shut; her parents paid good money to do so. "Okay," Ellen finally said. "We're done, we had some fun, let's put it away now--"

"No, wait," Callie interrupted.

"Wait? Are you crazy?"

"Sometimes, but this kind of crazy you'll want to hear me out on." Catching Nikita's eye, she continued. "Whoever is pranking us wants something, right? That's generally how it goes. If they want to scare us, and that's it, then we don't give them that. They'll get bored, and then leave us alone. If they want something else, then we challenge them. They'll know we know they're there, most likely freak out and leave, and all this will stop by itself."

Ellen looked around the room, then slowly nodded. "I can get on board with that."

Callie wrapped an arm around Ellen's shoulders, giving her a squeeze before standing up. "Okay," she announced to the room. "You had your fun with us, but now it's enough. Give us proof. No flashing lights, or opening windows, or rattling chains, none of that. Hell, don't even think about touching the Ouija board. Give us solid, concrete proof that you are a ghost, and you are here with us." Looking over to Nikita, she shrugged and said, "Was that okay?"

[Gabe619]

As Greg had been watching and listening to the girls, understanding their trepidation and doubts about what was happening, a sudden flash of energy had seemed to rip through him and he gasped as his arms flew out to the sides. At the same time the windows crashed open letting in the breeze from outside. He had done that he realised. He didn't know how, but he did know it had been his doing. Seeing the girl called Nikita go to fasten the window, complaining about his 'prank', Greg spelt out 'SORRY' on the board to apologise, that seemed to molify the girl a little, but some of her comments, about him getting lucky, made him curious. Did she mean what he thought she meant, if so did her friends get what she was implying?

As Callie comforted her friend Ellen, then challenged him to prove his existence, Greg wondered what else he could do. They didn't trust the board, they weren't impressed by the window blowing open, Callie had stated no chains (which had made Greg smile) and no flashing lights which he thought he might have been able to do, so what else. Floating in the middle of the three girls the ghost looked around the room trying to find inspiration. They wanted proof that couldn't possibly be faked. Finally his eyes rested back on Nikita as she looked around waiting for him to do something. A small grin appeared on Gregs face. Fine, if Nikita wanted solid proof, and if she was right and he had got lucky, he could deliver on both fronts and show the other two girls he was really here.

He floated closer to Nikita, then moved behind her. She was facing her two friends so they had a perfectly clear view of the girl. He was experimenting with his powers as he had never tried any of this before, but he pictured in his mind what he wanted to happen and raised one hand. Nikita was suddenly fixed in place, unable to move, but then he made her arms rise so they were straight up above her head. Concerntrating hard he pictured her tank top sliding up her body and off, and as he thought it he saw it happening. her top slowly rose as if hands had grasped the bottom and were pulling it over the girls head. With a wicked gleam in his eye Greg made it fly off her arms and across the room.

"Ok, girls, try to say THAT was faked!" He said to himself.