Post by sayersong on Aug 21, 2006 12:18:55 GMT -4
Ghost Lover
By SayerSong (aka Ormandria)
Chapter 2: Getting to know you
_______________________________________________
Before anyone could react Slimer came racing back through the stairs with the blue blur on his tale. Immediately the blur stopped and looked at Victoria while Slimer slammed himself into Peter for protection.
For the first time Egon got a good look at the blue ghost as it streaked into Victoria’s arms, crying. It was not too unlike Slimer, save that it was blue, had a red claw-like appendage on its tail, smaller red claws on its hands and was slightly thinner. Egon stood as he watched his cousin comfort the frightened ghost.
“That thing belongs to you?” Janine asked.
“Surprised?” Victoria returned with a smile.
“Well I am,” Peter remarked. “Egon you didn’t tell me she was gorgeous.”
Egon ignored Peter as he walked up to greet his cousin. As soon as he got within arms reach though, Jasper buried himself even further into Victoria’s chest.
“Sorry about this,” she said to Egon before turning her attention back to her ghost. “Come on Jasp. It’s okay. This is my cousin Egon. You remember I told you about Egon. He’s nice.” Jasper looked up at Egon, tears seeping from his wide eyes. It took only a moment for Egon’s heart to melt.
“Hi,” Egon said in a soft voice as the others slowly walked up to the trio. Even Slimer came out of hiding to wave at Jasper from the back. Now that he knew he wasn’t going to get attacked, he could afford to be brave.
Jasper glanced up at Victoria, who smiled and nodded. He then pushed away slightly and glided to Egon, who patted him gently on the head. The ghost visibly relaxed and smiled.
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“So where did you pick him up?” Ray asked a bit later as everyone sat around the table, save Slimer and Jasper. Slimer was busy showing Jasper around the firehouse.
“From my mom’s shop,” Victoria replied.
“You mean he’s the ghost that kept wrecking the flower shop?” Egon asked.
“Yup. Turned out that he was just a frightened little thing. All the damage was from nerves. Or lack thereof. Anyway, he apparently took a liking to me and followed me to college. After a few months of problems there, I finally had it and started yelling at him,” Victoria explained. “Mind, I had never actually seen him at that point. I just knew it was a ghost and I was tired of it. Apparently I hit a nerve. I found him crying in the closet a few minutes later. It took a lot of coaxing to get him out. Once I did though, we became friends pretty quick. And once he relaxed, he stopped wrecking everything.”
“Must have made your mom happy to get him out of the store,” Egon took a sip of soda.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Victoria laughed. “I think she was ready to throw a party in my honor.”
“So does the mini-spud talk?” Peter asked. He had noticed that Jasper had not spoken a single word to anyone.
“No,” Victoria shook her head. “I can’t be sure, but I don’t think he’s able.”
“How do you communicate with him then?” questioned Ray.
“Empathy,” Egon stated before Victoria could answer. “Right?”
Victoria smiled and nodded.
“Empathy?” Janine looked over at Egon.
“Victoria’s mother is an Empath. She has the ability to sense other people’s emotions, including ghosts. That’s why, even when the ghost was wrecking the flower shop, she was always loathe to get rid of it. She once told me, years ago, that she knew it wasn’t a bad ghost, but it was still annoying.” Egon looked back at his cousin. “I’m guessing you inherited her talent?”
“Yes,” Victoria nodded. “And it isn’t an easy one to live with.”
“How bad does it get?” Egon asked.
“Sometimes I actually feel the emotions of the people around me. If I’m not careful I can lose myself and not know where I end and they begin. Nasty business that. Enough to drive me bonkers if I’m not careful,” she laughed lightly. “That’s why I prefer the company of machines.”
“So how do you stop it?” Ray interjected.
“I just had to learn to close myself off when it gets too bad. It’s hard at first, but it gets easier over time.”
“Can you tell what I’m thinking?” asked Peter in a suggestive way.
“It’s empathy Peter, not mind-reading,” Ray retorted.
“He’s right,” added Victoria with a bright smile directed at Peter. “Besides, I don’t need either mind-reading or empathy to know you’re a womanizing letch.”
“I am deeply hurt by that,” Peter pouted.
“Well, don’t tell me that,” Victoria said as she nodded toward Egon. “Tell him. He told me all about you.”
Peter glared at Egon as the latter cleared his throat and stood up.
“Egon …” Peter started.
“It’s getting late,” Egon remarked in a forced casual voice. “We’d better get to bed now.” With that he hurried out of the room with Peter hot on his tail.
“But it’s only seven o’clock,” whined Ray.
Winston came out of the bedroom, a wet towel draped over his shoulder and wearing clean clothes. He looked back behind him at the disappearing figures of Egon and Peter.
“Did I miss something?” he asked as he regarded those still seated at the table.
“Just Peter being Peter,” Janine informed him. “By the way, Winston Zedmore, this is Victoria, Egon’s cousin.”
“Hi,” Victoria reached her hand out.
“Hey,” Winston took her hand and shook it. “So you’re the super genius we keep hearing about.” He took the seat Egon had just vacated.
“I suppose so,” Victoria smirked. “Though I wouldn’t exactly call it genius.”
“Hey, if Egon thinks you’re smart, you must be,” Ray commented. “So when is your interview?”
“Four days,” she answered. “I decided to come early because I figured that it would help my bid if I could show the dean and the head of the sciences department my skills. I figured the best way to do that would be to build something from scratch. And where else better to do that then here?”
“Well I could think of a few,” Janine scoffed. Victoria laughed.
“Yeah well, you might be right. But Egon does have some of the equipment and parts I’m gonna need for my little experiment and those I can’t get elsewhere.”
“So you already know what you’re going to make?” Winston asked, reaching across to Ray's bag of pretzels and grabbing a handful.
“Yup.”
“Well don’t keep us in suspense,” prodded Ray. “What is it?”
“A secret,” Victoria smiled. “But let’s just say that Egon’s many stories of you guys helped inspire it.”
Winston stopped with a pretzel halfway to his mouth, to look at Ray and Janine. “Somehow that doesn’t comfort me,” he said.
“And this is the most important room, the kitchen!” Slimer exclaimed as he and Jasper bounded back up the stairs.
“Woo!” Winston leaped back from the table at the sight of Jasper. “What’s that?”
Jasper looked over, saw Winston and immediately rocketed back to Victoria for safety. Slimer followed and patted Jasper’s back.
“That’s okay,” he told his fellow ghost. “It’s only Winston. He’s good too.”
“Oh,” Ray lamented. “You scared the little fella.”
Victoria proceeded to speak quietly to Jasper, trying to calm him down.
“Sorry,” Winston replied guiltily, though he was not quite sure why he should feel so guilty.
“Winston, this is Jasper,” Janine explained in a whisper. “He came with Victoria. He’s a bit shy and over sensitive.”
“A bit?” Winston looked at the ghost skeptically. “Would never have guess.” He leaned in a bit closer. “Sorry little guy. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Jasper looked up, his round gold eyes landing on Winston’s now smiling face. He smiled a touch and satisfied that Winston was not going to attack him, turned back to Slimer expectantly.
“Come on, let’s go play video games,” Slimer said as he took Jasper by the hand and led him away to the TV.
“Is he always like that?” Ray asked.
Victoria shook her head. “No. Just in new places with new people. Although once he gets comfortable he does have a tendency to get a little mischievous.”
“Mischievous? How?”
“Well, for instance, I’d pay close attention to doors if I were you. He has a fondness for closing and opening things when you least expect it. Especially doors, whether it’s a normal door or a cabinet door. If he pops out at you to scare you, then you’ll know he really likes you. He also likes to play hide and seek with stuff that he knows you like. But if you tell him you need it right away he’ll pull it out of its hiding place for you. Just general stuff like that.” Victoria looked at her watch. “Well, I know it’s not that late, but it’s been a long day for me and I’ve been up since four this morning, central time. I am beat.”
“Here, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.” Janine stood up. “You’ll be sleeping in Peter’s Office. Don’t worry though. We walled it off temporarily and put a nice bed in there for you.”
“Thanks,” Victoria yawned as she followed Janine back downstairs.
Winston looked over at the two ghosts, immersed in their video games. “Just what we need,” he sighed. “Another prankster.”
By SayerSong (aka Ormandria)
Chapter 2: Getting to know you
_______________________________________________
Before anyone could react Slimer came racing back through the stairs with the blue blur on his tale. Immediately the blur stopped and looked at Victoria while Slimer slammed himself into Peter for protection.
For the first time Egon got a good look at the blue ghost as it streaked into Victoria’s arms, crying. It was not too unlike Slimer, save that it was blue, had a red claw-like appendage on its tail, smaller red claws on its hands and was slightly thinner. Egon stood as he watched his cousin comfort the frightened ghost.
“That thing belongs to you?” Janine asked.
“Surprised?” Victoria returned with a smile.
“Well I am,” Peter remarked. “Egon you didn’t tell me she was gorgeous.”
Egon ignored Peter as he walked up to greet his cousin. As soon as he got within arms reach though, Jasper buried himself even further into Victoria’s chest.
“Sorry about this,” she said to Egon before turning her attention back to her ghost. “Come on Jasp. It’s okay. This is my cousin Egon. You remember I told you about Egon. He’s nice.” Jasper looked up at Egon, tears seeping from his wide eyes. It took only a moment for Egon’s heart to melt.
“Hi,” Egon said in a soft voice as the others slowly walked up to the trio. Even Slimer came out of hiding to wave at Jasper from the back. Now that he knew he wasn’t going to get attacked, he could afford to be brave.
Jasper glanced up at Victoria, who smiled and nodded. He then pushed away slightly and glided to Egon, who patted him gently on the head. The ghost visibly relaxed and smiled.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“So where did you pick him up?” Ray asked a bit later as everyone sat around the table, save Slimer and Jasper. Slimer was busy showing Jasper around the firehouse.
“From my mom’s shop,” Victoria replied.
“You mean he’s the ghost that kept wrecking the flower shop?” Egon asked.
“Yup. Turned out that he was just a frightened little thing. All the damage was from nerves. Or lack thereof. Anyway, he apparently took a liking to me and followed me to college. After a few months of problems there, I finally had it and started yelling at him,” Victoria explained. “Mind, I had never actually seen him at that point. I just knew it was a ghost and I was tired of it. Apparently I hit a nerve. I found him crying in the closet a few minutes later. It took a lot of coaxing to get him out. Once I did though, we became friends pretty quick. And once he relaxed, he stopped wrecking everything.”
“Must have made your mom happy to get him out of the store,” Egon took a sip of soda.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Victoria laughed. “I think she was ready to throw a party in my honor.”
“So does the mini-spud talk?” Peter asked. He had noticed that Jasper had not spoken a single word to anyone.
“No,” Victoria shook her head. “I can’t be sure, but I don’t think he’s able.”
“How do you communicate with him then?” questioned Ray.
“Empathy,” Egon stated before Victoria could answer. “Right?”
Victoria smiled and nodded.
“Empathy?” Janine looked over at Egon.
“Victoria’s mother is an Empath. She has the ability to sense other people’s emotions, including ghosts. That’s why, even when the ghost was wrecking the flower shop, she was always loathe to get rid of it. She once told me, years ago, that she knew it wasn’t a bad ghost, but it was still annoying.” Egon looked back at his cousin. “I’m guessing you inherited her talent?”
“Yes,” Victoria nodded. “And it isn’t an easy one to live with.”
“How bad does it get?” Egon asked.
“Sometimes I actually feel the emotions of the people around me. If I’m not careful I can lose myself and not know where I end and they begin. Nasty business that. Enough to drive me bonkers if I’m not careful,” she laughed lightly. “That’s why I prefer the company of machines.”
“So how do you stop it?” Ray interjected.
“I just had to learn to close myself off when it gets too bad. It’s hard at first, but it gets easier over time.”
“Can you tell what I’m thinking?” asked Peter in a suggestive way.
“It’s empathy Peter, not mind-reading,” Ray retorted.
“He’s right,” added Victoria with a bright smile directed at Peter. “Besides, I don’t need either mind-reading or empathy to know you’re a womanizing letch.”
“I am deeply hurt by that,” Peter pouted.
“Well, don’t tell me that,” Victoria said as she nodded toward Egon. “Tell him. He told me all about you.”
Peter glared at Egon as the latter cleared his throat and stood up.
“Egon …” Peter started.
“It’s getting late,” Egon remarked in a forced casual voice. “We’d better get to bed now.” With that he hurried out of the room with Peter hot on his tail.
“But it’s only seven o’clock,” whined Ray.
Winston came out of the bedroom, a wet towel draped over his shoulder and wearing clean clothes. He looked back behind him at the disappearing figures of Egon and Peter.
“Did I miss something?” he asked as he regarded those still seated at the table.
“Just Peter being Peter,” Janine informed him. “By the way, Winston Zedmore, this is Victoria, Egon’s cousin.”
“Hi,” Victoria reached her hand out.
“Hey,” Winston took her hand and shook it. “So you’re the super genius we keep hearing about.” He took the seat Egon had just vacated.
“I suppose so,” Victoria smirked. “Though I wouldn’t exactly call it genius.”
“Hey, if Egon thinks you’re smart, you must be,” Ray commented. “So when is your interview?”
“Four days,” she answered. “I decided to come early because I figured that it would help my bid if I could show the dean and the head of the sciences department my skills. I figured the best way to do that would be to build something from scratch. And where else better to do that then here?”
“Well I could think of a few,” Janine scoffed. Victoria laughed.
“Yeah well, you might be right. But Egon does have some of the equipment and parts I’m gonna need for my little experiment and those I can’t get elsewhere.”
“So you already know what you’re going to make?” Winston asked, reaching across to Ray's bag of pretzels and grabbing a handful.
“Yup.”
“Well don’t keep us in suspense,” prodded Ray. “What is it?”
“A secret,” Victoria smiled. “But let’s just say that Egon’s many stories of you guys helped inspire it.”
Winston stopped with a pretzel halfway to his mouth, to look at Ray and Janine. “Somehow that doesn’t comfort me,” he said.
“And this is the most important room, the kitchen!” Slimer exclaimed as he and Jasper bounded back up the stairs.
“Woo!” Winston leaped back from the table at the sight of Jasper. “What’s that?”
Jasper looked over, saw Winston and immediately rocketed back to Victoria for safety. Slimer followed and patted Jasper’s back.
“That’s okay,” he told his fellow ghost. “It’s only Winston. He’s good too.”
“Oh,” Ray lamented. “You scared the little fella.”
Victoria proceeded to speak quietly to Jasper, trying to calm him down.
“Sorry,” Winston replied guiltily, though he was not quite sure why he should feel so guilty.
“Winston, this is Jasper,” Janine explained in a whisper. “He came with Victoria. He’s a bit shy and over sensitive.”
“A bit?” Winston looked at the ghost skeptically. “Would never have guess.” He leaned in a bit closer. “Sorry little guy. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Jasper looked up, his round gold eyes landing on Winston’s now smiling face. He smiled a touch and satisfied that Winston was not going to attack him, turned back to Slimer expectantly.
“Come on, let’s go play video games,” Slimer said as he took Jasper by the hand and led him away to the TV.
“Is he always like that?” Ray asked.
Victoria shook her head. “No. Just in new places with new people. Although once he gets comfortable he does have a tendency to get a little mischievous.”
“Mischievous? How?”
“Well, for instance, I’d pay close attention to doors if I were you. He has a fondness for closing and opening things when you least expect it. Especially doors, whether it’s a normal door or a cabinet door. If he pops out at you to scare you, then you’ll know he really likes you. He also likes to play hide and seek with stuff that he knows you like. But if you tell him you need it right away he’ll pull it out of its hiding place for you. Just general stuff like that.” Victoria looked at her watch. “Well, I know it’s not that late, but it’s been a long day for me and I’ve been up since four this morning, central time. I am beat.”
“Here, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.” Janine stood up. “You’ll be sleeping in Peter’s Office. Don’t worry though. We walled it off temporarily and put a nice bed in there for you.”
“Thanks,” Victoria yawned as she followed Janine back downstairs.
Winston looked over at the two ghosts, immersed in their video games. “Just what we need,” he sighed. “Another prankster.”