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2. Master of Sight (Lightning Clan Trilogy) by HermitKnut

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The next evening, Casper spotted Marathon and Kay with a bunch of their friends, and went over to join them. When Seth walked in he didn’t notice - or, at least, that’s what he would tell himself later. He certainly didn’t realise that Seth would have seen him put his unbroken arm around Marathon flirtatiously.

When he checked later, Seth wasn’t there.

Casper left with Marathon a couple of hours later, and came back after an hour and a half expecting everything to be quiet and dark, as usual. Instead, Liz was sitting in the kitchen with a coffee, brow furrowing as she read the newspaper.

–Hey,” he said, going over to the sink for a glass of water to take back to his room.

–Oh, hello Casper,” she said. She watched him as he filled a glass at the tap with his unbroken arm, and drank from it.

–What are you doing up so late?” he asked Liz curiously. She shrugged.

–Oh, not much.”

Casper was about to leave when she spoke again.

–I was just wondering when you would be back; obviously you didn’t go off with Seth tonight, I suppose he’s last week’s news already?” Casper almost flinched at the last few words, and hoped she hadn’t noticed. He shrugged.

–Why do you ask?” he asked.

–Just wondered,” she replied. This meant nothing to her, Casper realised; she genuinely didn’t mind either way. –After all, it seemed like he didn’t know that, the way he looked when he saw you with Marathon and Kay last night.”

Casper, to his surprise, had to swallow his anger at this.

–I didn’t notice anything,” he said instead. –Sure you weren’t imagining it?”

There was a clunk as she put her coffee cup down on the table. Casper swallowed.

–Maybe. Anyway, he didn’t seem really your type - a bit too clean-cut for you!” She flashed him a teasing smile and left to go to bed.

Casper stood alone in the kitchen for a long while afterwards.

~

Seth stayed in the next night. He was just trying to convince himself that he should go to bed instead of watching a film, when he heard a knock on the door. He put down the remote control and walked over to the door, unlatching it easily. He swung it open.

Casper was standing on the doorstep.

Seth very nearly swung the door closed again, but something about Casper’s expression made him hesitate. He sighed, and, trying to maintain at least a semblance of carelessness, lent against the doorframe.

–What do you want, Casper?” he asked coolly, not quite meeting his eyes. Casper took a deep breath in and let it out slowly before speaking.

–I came to apologise,” he said.

–Oh?” Seth replied, raising his eyebrows. Casper gave a half-nod, his eyes on Seth’s who reluctantly met them.

–I’m sorry, Seth,” Casper said calmly, honestly. Seth wanted to find some retort, but Casper seemed to be genuine.

–Well, I’m sorry too,” he said, the words coming out slightly harsher than he had intended them to, –so I suppose that makes us even.”

Casper frowned slightly.

–What are you sorry for?” he asked.

–Me?” Seth replied as coolly as he could, hoping that the fact that he was fighting not to just slam the door, go into his room and cry like a six-year-old wouldn’t show on his face. –I’m sorry for what happened that night - it was as much my responsibility as it was yours.” Casper didn’t reply, watching Seth a little curiously.

–What about you, then?” Seth asked. He knew he was being cruel now, but he couldn’t quite stop himself. –What did you come to apologise for if it wasn’t for that?”

–I came to apologise for leaving you,” Casper said quietly, –and for flirting with Marathon when I knew you were watching.”

The simple, honest way that he said it made Seth want to give in, but he rallied himself.

–Not for sleeping with me?” he asked, arching an eyebrow. Casper looked at him for a moment or two, that tiny crease on his forehead as he thought before he answered.

–No,” he said. –That was… you were… are… a great guy, and I don’t regret that. But I… shouldn’t have let it end that way.”

–Oh?” Seth said again, his anger fading slightly. –And how should you have ‘let’ it end?” The inverted commas were clearly audible.

–I shouldn’t have,” Casper said softly. –And for that, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t stay.”

There was a pause.

–Why didn’t you?” Seth asked, his curiosity getting the better of him despite his anger. Casper seemed to genuinely think about this for a minute, and then he gave a small shrug. Seth noticed that there was a small bruise on the left side of his chin that had not been there the other day.

–I suppose I was… in denial?” Casper gave a faint, self-deprecating smile that took away Seth’s automatic irritation at the cliché.

This wasn’t the answer Seth had been expecting.

–Why?” he asked. Casper tipped his head to one side slightly, as if trying to judge how Seth would react.

–I knew you… well, I knew you liked me,” he said, wincing slightly as though he had said something less than courteous. Seth tried not to blush. It’s not past tense yet, he thought. Casper continued.

–I knew that you would be expecting more than just, well,” here Casper shrugged again, and his expression managed to make Seth crack a faint smile of his own, –but I pretended I didn’t. I’m… I suppose you could say that I’m used to… less than long-term arrangements. Considerably less. I should have taken your feelings into account.” There was another pause. Seth stopped leaning on the doorframe and opened the door more.

–Do you want to come in?” he asked. Casper looked up at him, surprised but grateful, before he entered. The flat had hardly changed - Casper didn’t quite know why he had expected it to have, he’d been there only the day before yesterday - and as Casper came in Seth closed the door behind him.

They were sitting on the sofa an hour later, not really watching some sitcom rerun on the television. After a while, just like it had two days before, Seth’s hand found its way into Casper’s. Casper looked at him, warily.

–What do you want?” Seth asked, quietly. –From this, from us, if there is an ‘us’…”
Casper was quiet for a minute. Then, cautiously, he met Seth’s eyes and spoke.

–I like the sound of an ‘us’,” he said carefully, waiting, –if you do.”

There was a moment’s stillness, and then Seth leant forward and kissed him, gently, hesitantly.

~

–So, how did you end up working at this place?” Seth asked as they stood leaning against the bar in The Friendly Ghost the following night.

–Running,” Casper corrected him gently, smiling in a way that was not in the least boastful.

–Running it?” Seth asked, surprised, –Wow. Okay, so how did you end up running this place?”

Casper pushed himself away from the bar.

–Come and see,” he said. Seth followed him to the main entrance of the club, where there was a large display board with ‘The Friendly Ghost’ written along the top in large letters. Beneath it was some text and a photograph. Seth began to read.

This warehouse (as it previously was) belonged to Ms Jane Winterfields, a successful business woman who owned a great deal of property. One November afternoon, having shown a prospective buyer around the warehouse that morning, Ms Winterfields realised she had left her bag here. She returned, only to discover that because of the faulty lock on the back door, three teenagers were living rough under the stairwell, having clearly hidden during her previous visit. Instead of asking them to leave, she only asked that they break no laws under her roof - otherwise, they could stay.

Over the next few days, Ms Winterfields visited them several times. She asked them about their lives, about how they had reached this point, but she did not report them to the police because she feared they would disappear.

She bought them crisps and sweets in large quantities, very cheaply, and taught them how to sell them for slightly more money. They returned to her what she had paid, but the profits they kept. Slowly, this built up to a substantial amount. Ms Winterfields wanted to do more for the three of them and people like them, but she had little time to do so.

Therefore, after a long conversation with the three of them, she arranged to have one half of the building made into a place for people to stay - a hostel - and the other half into a place for people to socialise and come out of the cold.

Originally this half of The Friendly Ghost was a youth club. But as funds began to come in from various supportive sources, this area was remade as a night club, the profits from which fund the hostel behind it.

The entire building began in the name of the eldest of the three, David Feller, but came under the ownership of Casper Livingston on his eighteenth birthday. The third and youngest member of their group was Elizabeth Becker. Dave, Liz and Casper still live and work in this hostel and club - you might see them around!

Thanks for reading our story - and feel free to donate in any of the orange buckets around the rooms. Thank you!


Underneath this story, Seth saw a bright photograph of three people in their late teens - Casper, Liz and Dave - standing outside the main doors, grinning at the camera, their arms around each other’s necks.

–Wow,” he said again to Casper, who was leaning against the wall beside the board. –That’s a pretty powerful story.”

Casper laughed.

–It’s true,” he said, shrugging, –can’t do much better than that.” Seth laughed as well.

–Fair point.”

They wandered back into the main area, heading vaguely towards the comfy chairs in one corner.

–So,” Seth said, –I bet you get fed up of explaining that story to everyone who asks, right? Hence the big board.”

Casper nodded.

–It’s not like I mind talking about it,” he said, –more that when you’ve told the same story over a hundred times you start getting the urge to play around with it and see how much people believe you.” He grinned mischievously and Seth laughed again.

–If you don’t mind me asking,” Seth said after a few minutes, –how… how did you, um…” He frowned, not sure how to phrase his question without being rude. Casper seemed to know what he had intended to ask, though.

–How did I end up living rough?” he suggested. Seth nodded.

–Sorry, it’s not really any of my business, I was just curious,” Seth said apologetically. Casper shook his head.

–It’s fine, I don’t mind,” he replied, thinking. –Well, in a nutshell,” he shrugged, –my mum kicked me out of the house.”

–Why?” Seth asked, curious, and surprised at Casper’s light-hearted tone.

–Oh, I told her I was gay,” he said. –I guess she didn’t approve.” He shrugged again and gave a wry smile, and Seth got the impression that this too was something that Casper had had to explain many, many times.

–How old were you?” Seth asked.

–I was thirteen and a bit,” Casper said. –I’d had my birthday a few of months before.”

Seth was glad that he had spent years learning how to remain professional in an emergency, because it helped him to keep the shock from his expression now.

–Do you see any of your family at all?” Seth asked a minute or so later when the two of them finally found an empty set of chairs and sat down at them. Casper shook his head.

–Not my immediate family,” he said. –I’ve got a cousin, Joe - younger cousin - who got back in touch a few years ago, and we see each other pretty often, especially now he lives in London with his boyfriend, Henry.” Seth nodded. This new picture of Casper was startling - but it made a surprising amount of sense. Casper was very good as host at the club, because he was sociable; he made people feel at home. But although Seth had never seen him in the hostel, the one or two people he’d spoken to when he’d been waiting to meet Casper earlier had said how successful the hostel was, and that it was mainly down to Casper, who dedicated hours of his time to making it a welcoming place.

He looks after people like him, Seth thought. No wonder he’s good at it, he knows exactly what they’ve been through.

They spent the rest of the evening talking. Seth felt like he was learning a lot. This Casper was different from the one who had gone home with him several days ago - but still, somehow, the same person. There had been a lightness there the first time, a lack of weight that Seth had previously attributed to just Casper’s personality, but now realised had been because Casper had not attached any emotional weight to their conversation. Now he seemed slightly more serious and sincere, and Seth appreciated it. Seth told Casper about his parents, his upbringing, his school, university, and life as a paramedic. Casper described running the hostel and the club, working side by side with social services and the police on occasion, how The Friendly Ghost had got its name…

–I suppose you can guess why it’s called that,” Casper said dryly. Seth frowned for a second, confused, before something clicked.

–Casper the Friendly Ghost?” he asked, fighting back laughter. His amusement must have shown clearly on his face, because Casper gave a short laugh in response, rolling his eyes.

–Yeah, like I’ve never heard that joke before,” he said. –Liz and Dave decided we should name it that, because I was the one in charge. They used to call me ghost when we were younger anyway, so it wasn’t exactly a great leap.”

Seth laughed.

~

Phoenix really was going up in the world, Zak decided, straightening the collar of his shirt in the mirror. Admittedly tonight was not a huge event, but several notable names in the music industry would be there. It was set to be an evening of socialising and making valuable connections.

Of course, Eddie wasn’t looking forward to it. Zak knew that the younger man would much prefer to be holed up in his flat writing music, but after much cajoling and the promise that Zak would be there too he had finally agreed to go.

An hour and a half later, and everything was going as expected. Eddie had found a fellow semi-recluse, and the two of them were deep in a discussion presumably about the many better things to do than attend parties. Zak had managed brief conversations with almost everyone, and had been delighted to discover that many of them held Phoenix in good regard. He was currently standing with several others listening to some reasonably well-known television composer discuss his job, and glancing over to Eddie from time to time. Eddie’s companion had moved on now, but Eddie seemed quite content leaning against the wall with his glance of orange juice, observing the rest of the room. Zak caught his eye and waggled his eyebrows at him comically. Eddie grinned. Then a passing waiter offered Eddie a refill, and Zak’s attention was once again drawn away by the verbose composer.

–And of course, there’s just deadline after deadline -”

Zak glanced over towards Eddie again, who was sipping his orange juice and frowning. Frowning?

–But don’t get me wrong, I love a challenge. Why, back in my day -”

A small-time radio presenter that Zak had encountered earlier approached Eddie and introduced himself. Eddie didn’t reply, his expression worried, uncertain. Zak moved to excuse himself from his current group and left more or less unnoticed, walking swiftly across the room. Not swiftly enough, however, to catch Eddie as he swayed and then fell to the floor, his face paper-white, orange juice spilling all over the green carpet.

Zak heard the shocked murmurs and whispers around him as he dropped to Eddie’s side.

–Oh my god!”

–What happened, what happened?”

–I’m calling an ambulance!”

Eddie’s eyes were still open, but they were unfocused and his breathing was shallow. Zak ignored the panicky woman who was now on the phone to the emergency services, turned so that what he was about to do was not visible, and then reached for Eddie’s Weasley Family necklace. He pressed his thumb to the back of it, concentrating. Then he let go, checked Eddie’s pulse and faked sending a text.

Katie was there three minutes before the paramedics, and then it was a blur of questions, excuses, and transport to St Mungo’s.

Two things stood out to Zak afterwards, though he could not pin down exactly why. Firstly, the confused and almost frightened reaction of the paramedics when Katie had overruled them; and secondly, the way that the short man in a brown suit stood at the back of the room for the duration of the event, staring not at Eddie, but at Zak.