A Ghostly Romance

"Dani, are you okay?" My dad asked, watching me stir my spoon in my hot chocolate.

"Mmm," I replied, still stirring.

"You've been sitting there for half an hour," he said, watching me.

"Are you sure you didn't hear anything last night?" I asked, taking a sip of my hot chocolate.

"I'm positive, honey," he said, putting away some dishes. "I told you already. It was just a dream."

My mind went back to Michael and his dad. Their argument had to be real. I wouldn't think stuff up like this and the dark circles under my eyes proved I didn't sleep enough to even have a nightmare. I gulped down my hot chocolate and quickly washed it in the sink, remembering that I had to check the attic.

"Where are you off to?" My dad asked.

"Um...finish unpacking," I answered, running upstairs.

I opened the closet door and looked up at the attic opening.

You shouldn't go up there. You know how it is in the horror movies. You're going to find some scary chinese kid up there making that weird throaty sound and he's going to eat you. Don't be the stupid person in the movie.

I reached for the small handle and pulled down the wooden stairs.

Go check it out. Don't you want to find out what's going on? I bet something's up there.

My heart started beating faster. Maybe I should just take a peek and come back down. I took a deep breath and climbed into the attic with my mini flashlight. I stood up in the attic, ducking my head slightly.

I flashed my light around. It was completely empty. I headed down the stairs again, feeling cold. There was something strange about that attic that I didn't get, but I would find out soon.

I sat on my bed and put the flashlight back under my pillow. Who knows. Maybe I'm going crazy, I thought to myself. Maybe that's why I've always been different. Maybe I have some undiagnosed illness and I'll eventually go crazy. I laughed softly to myself. Yeah, and maybe I'll start having hallucinations.

There was a soft knock at my door.

"Come in," I said, watching the door from my bed.

"Um...your dad let me in," Michael said, closing the door behind him.

I sat up. He was wearing the same clothes I saw him wearing yesterday.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay," he said stepping closer.

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" I asked.

He shrugged, running his pale hand through his hair. "I don't know. I just thought you might've...I don't know. Gotten creeped out here or something. This is a pretty weird house."

"Why would I get creeped out?"

"It's nothing, really. I don't want to scare you out of your own house," he said standing up.

I pulled him back down. "Are you saying this place is haunted?"

"That all depends," he said mysteriously, looking me in the eyes for the first time. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

"I guess. I have no reason not to believe in them."

"Okay, well, it's kind of a long story," he said standing up, watching me closely.

"I don't mind," I said excited to find out what was really going on in this house.

"Well-"

"Dani?" My mom asked opening my bedroom door. "Ready to go shopping?"

"Mom, this is Michael," I said motioning to him. He didn't wave or smile. He just started pacing.

My mom looked around the room. "Aren't you a bit too old for imaginary friends?"

"Ha ha. Very funny. Say hi to Michael." I said motioning to him again. "Michael, stop pacing. It's kind of freaking me out."

He stopped sat back on my bed.

My mom looked at the edge of my bed with her eyes wide. "Honey, how is-"

Michael stood up quickly and smoothed out the bed, then stood by the window.

"How's what?"

"Nothing," she said, eyeing the edge of my bed where Michael sat. "Let's go."

"But you haven't even said hi to Michael," I said, getting a little annoyed.

"Who's Michael?" My dad asked, stepping into my room.

"You let him in earlier. You know. Black hair, pale."

My dad shook his head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"Stop joking you two! He's right there!" I shouted, pointing at the window. "He-" I looked around my empty room. No one was there.

"Are you feeling sick?" My mom asked, her hand at my forehead again. "You did this the other day too."

I swatted her hand again. I ran to the closet and swung the door open. It was empty. "He was-But...um..."

"Let's get you out of this house," my mom said, leading me out of the room. "I want you to meet the Shaeffers' grandson."

"The who?" I asked, looking over my shoulder into my bedroom.

"Our neighbors? The old couple?" She said, rushing me downstairs.

"Um...I need to go back to my room to check-to see-"

"He's already here. He's a handsome young boy. You would love him."

"But-"

"Kevin, this is my daughter, Dani," my mom said introducing me. I kept looking upstairs straining to hear any sounds.

Did he jump out the window? I tried glanced at all the windows around me and didn't see anyone.

"Dani? I didn't know you moved here?"

My eyes shot up at the familiar face of my crush: Kevin.

"You-I-What are you-"

He gave a smile that made my heart skip a beat. "My grandparents said you guys needed some help moving in."

"Um..." I struggled to find the perfect words that would make up for my last encounter with him.

"Hi." I said lamely, feeling totally defeated.

He smiled again. "Hi to you too."