i'm only dead on the outside

“You’re not allowed to disappear, Nathaniel–even it would make the best birthday present later. It would scare me too much. Probably to death.”

“Apple and coffee ice cream together though sounds gross. What would you suggest?”

"Aw! Thanks for caring, buddy. Yeah, and that would be bad, but then we could be friends for eternity. So it'd be kind of a win. But, you know, live as long as you need to.”

Growing up around tough street types had made Maya resent the idea of being seen as weak. If not being about to handle her alcohol was seen as a girly thing, she wasn’t going to play into it. “Lower? Trust me, I can handle more than you’d think.” She wasn’t just talking about the shots. 

Nathaniel was certain that the night was going to take a turn for the worse if she tried to out drink him (it was basic science really) but he wasn't going to put up a fight."Alright," he shrugged, finally getting the bartender's attention. He ordered their drinks and slapped a sloppy mess of bills down on the counter. Once their drinks were in front of them he turned to her, “Are you ready for this?”

“Oh, okay,”  He nodded.  It was nice to have someone to talk to instead of sitting alone, Todd decided.  “Ah, yeah, that makes sense.  And there’s none taken.  My dad, actually, used to work on his car too, but his was more of a hobby.  I can understand that auto shops can be expensive – I don’t make the prices, I just do the work.  Did you ever help your dad work on his car?”

Nathaniel couldn't help but laugh at his question, amused by how opposite the truth was, "No, not really. I didn't really get along with my parents, honestly." He shrugged as he spoke, acting as if it didn’t bother him. In some ways it really didn’t. He had nothing bad to say about his parents and though he sometimes felt guilty about dying on them, it was all in the past now.  They were probably better off without him.  "What about you? Did you get into mechanics because of your dad?"

“Honestly, I was just asking out of pure curiosity.” The girl admitted easily, “But who am I to say no to that?” She was quick to add because while she wasn’t sold on his claim there was still the part of her that wanted to believe. To have some solid proof that she wasn’t just crazy to believe that there was more to this world than what meets the eye. “Although I think it’s important to point out that if I can still see you while you knock over a glass you’re just going to look like someone who enjoys breaking things.”

“You’re not going to turn me into a science experiment are you?” He asked with fake caution, “I’d have to haunt you for that.“ Nathaniel smirked, "A fool probably?” He spotted a glass between them and moved closer to it, his hand wrapping itself around it, "I see your point, but let’s see if I can grab it at all in the first place."

“Maybe we can go for my ninetieth birthday? I should be ready by then, you think? You should try something like green apple with coffee this time. I will stick with my vanilla.”

“You’ll be all shriveled up by then. Maybe I’ll disappear when you’re about seventy-seven and you’ll think your best friend went on to the other side, but I’ll pop back up when it’s your ninetieth birthday. Apples and coffee? That sounds like an old lady church date. Of course you will.”

“Yeah?”  Todd raised his brow slightly.  In his experience, most people weren’t all that interested in hearing about the mundane life of an auto mechanic, but it was nice to ramble on about work for a change.  “Did he?  It’s a nice hobby to have if you like keeping busy and don’t mind the grime that comes with it.”  Todd glanced at the boy for a moment, his guts telling him that there was something off about the stranger, but Todd couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.  “But, it can be a kind of expensive hobby, too.  The parts don’t come by cheap.”

It can be easy for a ghost to become bored. He doesn't sleep, he doesn't really eat, and yeah he could get a job but where do you go after that? He shrugged, "I don't really mind talking, or listening." Having someone there to communicate with helped with that boredom. "It wasn't really much of a hobby as much as a way to get work done without having to offer an arm and a leg. Parts are kind of expensive, yeah, but so is the service. No offense, but auto shops can be a rip off sometimes. I don't really know jack shit about cars, though. That's just what my dad always used to say."

She wasn’t expecting that response but it widened the smile on her face and she brought her shoulders forward, leaning into the table. “Well, maybe you should order us some them?” She got the feeling that this might be fun and realised that she could be here all night, too.

"Oh, you're going to regret ever meeting me." Nathan snapped his fingers, a task more difficult for a ghost to achieve than a living person, and tried to get a bartender’s attention. "Four for each of us? Or do you want to start out lower? I don't want you to die, it's not fun... trust me.”

Ray: Hey! I’m not dead yet!