Brainstorming
The radio was low and almost deafened by the engines whirring. Billy gripped the steering wheel tightly as he drove and tried to ignore the spirit in his passenger seat.
She was silent where she sat with her feet kicked up. Even though she could disappear at any point Billy appreciated that she’d chosen to stay with him at least for right now.
With the thought in his mind he broke the silence, curiosity overpowering his inner turmoil. “Where do you go?”
“Elaborate.” She sounded out of it and he suspected she was just as deep in contemplation as he had been.
“When you aren’t here, when you disappear I mean, where do you go?”
That seems to bring her back to reality- as much as a ghost could at least. “How should I put this… you ever watch the Good Place?”
“Uhm obviously.” He scoffed with a smile.
“Think of it as Janets void.”
“Oh cool, so does that mean you can manifest things?”
“I wish.” She snorts.
Billy frowned. “That sounds boring.”
“It kinda is.” She shrugs. “But hey, when time doesn’t mean anything you don’t tend to mind.”
They make mild conversation on the topic the whole drive back to his house, spiraling from ghost realities to Good Place characters to smash or passes.
“Not every girl can be a smash!”
“Hypocrite, you’ve only smashed men.”
“Touché”
His grip loosened on the wheel, as long as he didn’t look in her direction it was as if everything was normal. He was a normal teenager with just one life that he’d lived for all sixteen years. This was his moms friend who he was close too and who he could talk to like a friend when nobody else would understand. Everybody he cared for was accounted for and safe, nothing bad had happened to any of them. This was a normal drive home.
His house came into view and as they pulled in to the driveway Billy turned to look at her. The illusion of sanity shattered when he faced truth and spoke “Do not let them see you.”
She gave an overly enthusiastic thumbs up before dissipating before his eyes. One would assume ghosts would have a dramatic exit, especially when that ghost was Agatha Harkness, but no. One moment she was there and the next she wasn’t. It made one wonder if she was ever there at all or if they’d really lost their mind.
The doorknob was cold on his fingertips which still felt tingly after so much magic usage. It opened with a familiar creak and he braced for impact.
Silently he slipped off his black boots and placed them neatly beside his parents next to the door.
“William, is that you?” His mother.
Sure enough, only a few feet through the door and Billy was being dragged to the couch. What proceeded was a lengthy lecture about how they understood that he was in a phase of self discovery that every sixteen year old experienced, but after disappearing for 24 hours he couldn’t be leaving like that whenever he pleased.
He understood their concern of course. It didn’t take an empath to know that your kid with brain damage disappearing and returning with face injuries would cause some cause for alarm.
Naturally, he was declared grounded for the time being. Billy didn’t fight the ruling, he couldn’t give them a good reason not to do such a thing anyway. Accepting his fate, he retired to his bedroom. Once inside he tiredly flopped onto his bed.
“Have fun with mommy and daddy?” Billy jumped at the sudden appearance of Agatha on his desk.
“No. I’m grounded.”
“Grounded?” Agatha stood up. “Not sure if you forgot, but we have a scheduled rescue mission coming up.”
“What do you want me to do about it?!” He shoots back, now sitting upright. “I didn’t ask to be under house arrest!”
“Damnit, why do you have to be a kid with caring parental figures?” She groans, voice intertwined with annoyance.
“You’re telling me..”
She waved a hand, billowing sleeve adding an extra flair. “Get some sleep, I’m gonna brainstorm.”
“Brainstorm?” Billy laughed. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
“Har har.” She deadpanned.
He pulled his socks off and tossed them across his room to his hamper before pausing and looking at her expectantly. “Hello? Get out of my room?”
It seemed for a moment that she’d forgotten this wasn’t her domain as she stared blankly at him. When it hit her she nodded dismissively and then she was gone.
Billy rolled his eyes as he removed his shirt and slipped on a clean and cozy pajama top. His pants followed and soon he was curled in his bed beneath a stack of warm blankets. The exhaustion finally hit him and all his limbs simultaneously cried out with relief at the break.
Magic had such a rush when it was flowing through him. It had a way of puppeting him like an adrenaline junky, searching for anything to do with all the built up energy. Now that he wasn’t using it he felt the toll it had taken. He was bone tired as well as sore, hunger gnawed his guts and pins and needles coated each spot of flesh that his blue had touched. It was uncomfortable and miserable, he was tempted to float something just so it’d go away.
His last thoughts before sleep claimed him was that this was probably how Agatha felt every day.
He was woken up by a soft humming. It was beautiful, drifting as a spring stream might and with the same elegance as a swan that would be found upon such a display. The calm it brought over him might’ve put him back to sleep if not for the confusion at its source.
Groggily, he shifted upright. “Hello?”
The music cut off abruptly. For a second he was disappointed. Blinking the sleep away revealed Agathas upside down, face inches from his.
“Rise and shine, Billy. Turns out with no blood I can hang upside down as long as I want. Check it, I’m like a bat.”
Billy damn near frog blinked, mind struggling to catch up with consciousness. “Good morning, Agatha.”
“Nice room by the way. Glad to see fangirls are still a thing.”
Billy ignored her comment, flicking the bedside lamp on even if the sunlight from his window was bright enough to fill the room. “Are you finished brainstorming.”
Agatha cringed “Is that what I was doing?”
“Why did I know you would say that” Billy sighed, sitting up and stretching his sore limbs.
“Whatever, who needs plans anyway. Lets just stage a kidnapping and sneak out”
“Absolutely not.” Billy throws aside the blanket and shivers as his bare feet hit hardwood floor. Why is everything so cold all the time?
“Why not? It works every time.”
He makes his way down the hall to the bathroom where he grabs his toothbrush. “The stress will literally kill mom and dad.”
“Death isn’t all it’s cracked up to be anyways.” Agatha waves a dismissive hand. “I beat it, you beat it,”
Billy spits in the sink and points his toothbrush at Agatha. “Correction; I beat death.”
Agatha puts a hand to her chest in mock offense. “Give me some credit! It isn’t easy to run from death, yknow.”
Billy walks back to his room and into his drawers where he sorts through a variety of graphic tees and sweaters. “Whatever you say.”
“Fine, tell them you have a field trip.”
Billy gestures for her to turn around and when she does he changes into a black turtleneck. “They’d ask too many questions.”
“This is impossible! At this point take them with you!”
Billy pauses his rummaging to shoot her an unimpressed look before returning to his box of jewelry.
“I’m not hearing any ideas on your end.” Agatha crosses her arms.
“I need time to think.” He settles for a silver necklace with a small metal tarot card on its end. Pleased with his fashion, he shuts the decorative box.
“So what, we’re just gonna wait around?”
“I don’t like it either” he sighs, settling into his office chair by his cluttered desk. “But we don’t have much of a choice right now.”
Agatha mutters his words in a high pitched voice back to him under her breath. Her seat of choice is on his bed across from him.
“In the meantime, we can be productive.” Billy clicks a pen on and grabs a small leather notebook off his shelf. It’s not the same one Agathas seen him pull out for spells, this one is bound with purple thread and has an indented skull on its cover. “Teach me.”