So for the promptĀ āHaunted Houseā I paired it with Patton and well, I might not be good with ghosts or scary stories given that I literally got taken out of that task in school and allowed to write a mystery instead, but well, lets see how I manage with the next few I sketched out.
TW: house fires, ghost Patton
@spookylissawho @sanderssidesspook
After the fire, Patton had watched his father and sisters as they packed and moved away. Heād wondered for years what had happened to his mother while an estate agent showed families around the home heād known.
It was only about a month before the house was sold that he saw her again, with burns over her neck and face, crying as she entered the kitchen that had taken her sons life.Ā āWe miss you Patton.ā She whispered, touching the side, now long since replaced from where it had been burnt the day she was injured and her son died.
None of them had known he remained as a ghost, or that heād watched carefully all the people who came to view the house. Some of them he accidentally put off, walking through the boy in sunglasses who was part of that first family coming to look at the house. Others heād deliberately put off, knocking things over around the guy who had constantly been telling lies to the friends that were looking around with him, manipulating them enough that Patton wanted to do everything he could to make them fall out.
The only ones heād really liked were the three boys which came around, especially the one that kept on singing and referencing Disney films, some of which Patton hadnāt even heard of before. Heād followed them carefully and hoped as his mum spoke about the house being sold now and cleaned it along side his sisters, that they were the ones moving in across the road.
āThe house seems to be haunted.ā Logan stated a week after heād moved in with Roman and Virgil.Ā āEither that or we really need to check the buttons on the cooker.ā
āHe just doesnāt like fire, dude, stop worrying about it.ā Virgil shrugged, glancing up from his laptop.Ā āWe can still use the oven regardless.ā
Roman however was scowling too.Ā āBut what about fried eggs, bacon, and sausages?ā He insisted.Ā āThe grill and hobs just turn straight off as soon as I look away from them each and every time I try to make them.ā
āLike I said, he doesnāt like fire, especially if itās exposed. Didnāt you look into why the family was trying to sell this house?ā Virgil rolled his eyes, ignoring the continued complaints as he tried to put the music together for another track.
Theyād been in the house for a month by this point and while they knew there had been a fire which killed someone only Virgil had been in the kitchen each afternoon. Logan would be at the office, trying to get a promotion so he might actually be able to take some cases at the law firm. Roman was always at rehearsals, starting early in the afternoon staying into the evening with the performances of the show.
The afternoons were when heād seen the figure, baking and dancing around before he started backing from the stove, trying to put out flames that Virgil couldnāt see at all. Virgil had watched through carefully the first time it happened, somehow fascinated by the morbid scene and taken out of his spiralling thoughts that his music was worthless, no matter how well people enjoyed it and brought it.
Now the others just accepted that the kitchen was his office, even with the stove turning off if they tried to use anything other than the oven. Virgil was trying to learn more constantly though, about the fire years ago and the families son theyād never mentioned the name of.
āSo what does the great Virgil know about the ghost then?ā Romanās taunting voice finally broke through his attention again.
Virgil looked up with a sigh.Ā āHeās called Patton, and died because his mother was making fried eggs while he was baking some biscuits to give out for Halloween. From how the echoes of the past appear Iād guess he was taking the biscuits out when the frying pan caught fire.ā
Logan let out a grunt.Ā āJust cause he died because of the oil fire does not mean we shouldnāt be allowed to have things grilled or fried.ā
āIām happy having someone else making sure weāre safe, ask Pat yourself if you want to but considering itās only the fire that you two have noticed Iām not asking him to stop.ā Virgil shrugged again, glancing at where the knife Logan had dropped earlier now further back on the counter.
āHow?!ā Roman demanded now, flinging his arms up.
Virgil just threw a handful of flour on the table, packing up his things since it was obvious the others wouldnāt give him any peace until they were heading to work.
Patton however had been carefully watching for all the possible dangers the three might face in the kitchen, snickering a little at the bantering arguments between them since their frustration was actually directed more at him. The flour on the table caught his attention though since his musician had never actually tried communicating at all, except saying the odd thanks if he forgot to put a knife away.
hello, he had a go at writing in it, before adding a smiley face and hoping that he wasnāt about to get yelled at.
āShould we write in the flour too, or just speak?ā Roman whispered, warily moving to stand opposite the writing.
Logan however had his phone out.Ā āYou do whatever you want, but ghosts have not been recorded before at all. I want to keep all of this on camera if indeed there is a ghost writing to us and not some prank from Virgil.ā
āYou were the one who wondered if the place was haunted because itās been for sale for so long.ā Roman hissed, before focusing as more words appeared on the table.
you two are bad at kitchen safety.Ā
āIāve had that lecture from Virgil too many times. How about I take care of Disney, while you look after the knives?ā Roman tried, only to step back from the table with a shiver.
āWe have a haunted house too concerned with safety. This goes against basically every report of haunting ever, that I can find. Usually ghosts ignore the people, in the case of the buildings having memories that Virgil mentioned earlier, or they are malicious.ā Logan frowned, still scanning through articles on his phone.
disney marathon is good, but stop playing with fire Princey. Patton had frowned at each attempt the actor had made over the month, wanting eggs and bacon. It was quickly becoming vital to observe him at all times when in the kitchen.
āSure, Dad. We have a fire extinguisher because Logan already doesnāt trust me. I donāt think you need to lecture me on that too.ā Roman was pouting before blinking as he realised the nickname heād been given.Ā āVIRGIL! Stop telling the ghost my nicknames!ā He yelled in the direction of the stairs only hearing laughter in return.
After that first conversation the boys learnt how to be safe enough that Patton wouldnāt constantly turn off everything on fire, as well as how to know he was there.
Their house might be haunted, and Logan might still be trying out the ways to confirm it, but their haunting was friendly and only wanted to keep them safe so nobody really minded once precautions had been put in place.
