#ghostsandabsinthe

           you stand before her, eyes searching for something in her face. you’re not even sure what it is. you’re still awkward in your limbs despite the time you have to grow used to them. there is no easy way to be fake. you take a wobbling step forwards, eyes flashing with something soft.

            ❝   i’m zip. i don’t know your name yet. but i’m zip frankenstein.  ❞

@ghostsandabsinthe​ cont. from here

     She smiled warmly at Zoe and leaned in. “You’re not already in love with me?” Then she batted her eyelashes, grinned widely, and drew back. “When I said I’d fix a snack, I didn’t mean I’d work for it.” Neoma was too comfy here, too comfy to go to the kitchen despite her desire for food. 

     She reached over for her cell phone, then settled back. “Mm, minimal effort but maximum snacking. My treat. What do you want? I’m thinking pizza. It’s classic, can’t go wrong with it. And maybe one of those cookie pizzas for dessert.”

   “Now, I’m sure- I’m sure- there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.”

 He stood bemused at the sight of her windows flung open and the bed sheets hastily tied together, only to come up far too short for their purpose. Which he now realised was to help her escape before he got to her room.

 Camniel glanced from the window to the young woman who had been caught red-handed, his amusement clear on his face. He finished stepping into the room and gently closed the door behind him, keeping his distance in case she felt like throwing something at him. He had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn’t be beyond her.

          Marley was...restless. Something he hadn’t exactly been expecting since helping his ol’ skinflint partner, Scrooge, should have allowed his soul some peace and quiet. And yet, he found his soul tossing and turning, itching to be free of the grave. Perhaps, a little earthly wandering didn’t seem nearly so awful, and as he opened his eyes he found himself once more sitting about the earth, his back leaned up against his cold tombstone. He could still feel some of the weight of his chains tugging him back down into the ground, but as he glanced down at himself he found himself to appear unfettered.

          He supposed he never was truly going to be free of that weight, and he sighed, more for affect since breathing in his current state was hardly a necessity.

          Standing up, he felt a twinge of loneliness as he gazed at the empty spot where Scrooge’s headstone had been. He hadn’t realized it until now, but he had half hoped to find the other man here, but Marley supposed he was busy with the whole “trying to be a better man” thing. While he knew this was good for him, he still couldn’t quite shake the sharp pang in his chest. He missed his friend...

          Looking around the cemetery, the weight grew heavier, and Marley felt the strong urge to lay back down in the dirt and accept eternity, but the restlessness still gnawed at him. Perhaps, he just needed a change of scenery. He was just a spirit after all, so how hard could it be? He’d seen enough of England, and what was even left for him here anyway? It wouldn’t be fair to drag himself back to Scrooge. He was an unfortunate reminder of his past, and Scrooge no longer seemed terribly fond on lingering on that part of his life.

          Marley closed his eyes, trying to think of somewhere else, somewhere far and new, and when he opened them back up that was just where he was. Disoriented, he only figured out that he must have been standing in the middle of a street as a large truck barreled through him, giving him such a fright that he nearly felt his heartbeat return to his chest. Even though he knew that technically the cars couldn’t do him any harm, the man quickly jogged over to the sidewalk, sure he could only just faintly hear the sound of chains.

          It certainly made him pick up his pace.

“I’m so sick and fucking tired of people pretending that sirens are these beautiful creatures like Ariel or one of those Peter Pan ones. They’re not.” Fawn muttered. “Not even close. If you go back to old tales, especially Hans’s fairytales, they’re far from these beautiful creatures.” She tilted her head and looked over at Zoe. “Why are you asking me about sirens and mermaids anyway?”