by Sean Michael
Will snorted. “Because you’re micro-fucking-managing. Of course the equipment is all here, in good working order, and charged up. I know how to do my goddamned job.” There wasn’t a ton of heat in the words, but Will shot Jason a look that said he wasn’t going to put up with much more of Jason’s crap.
Flynn came out of the hotel he was staying at, a backpack on and carrying two bags. Darnell opened the door for him. “Hey, guys, thanks for the lift.”
“Sure. Anytime.” They were all still staring at Jason, wide-eyed.
Flynn looked around as he set his bags on the far back seat. “Everything okay?”
Will shrugged. “Fine and fucking dandy.”
“Seems like everyone’s edgy today. I’m going to burn sage in the van again if everyone isn’t careful.” Blaine knew that threat would work like a charm.
“I said I’m fine!” Jason all but shouted.
Flynn’s eyes went wide, and he very carefully, quietly, put his seat belt on.
Blaine moved to the seat next to Jason and reached out, touching Jase’s arm. “Sorry, man. I was just messing with Sasquatch.”
“You know what happens to people who do that.”
“Messing with the Sasquatch?” Flynn asked. “I thought we were hunting ghosts.”
“God. Tell me you’re not an anti-TV guy. I love those beef jerky commercials.”
“I’m not anti-TV. I just don’t have a lot of time for it. I tend to binge-watch shows on Netflix or Hulu if I’ve got the downtime. Like right after exams. I’m not sure yet when my downtime is going to be….”
“Ah. Well, it’s a stupid commercial, but I love them.” And Blaine was a dipshit who hadn’t finished college.
“Yeah, they’re pretty funny,” Darnell put in. “And it’s kind of like poking the bear—you just shouldn’t do it.”
“So in this scenario, Jason’s the Sasquatch, and you were poking him? Which sounds way dirtier than I meant it.” Flynn laughed.
Jason blinked, and there was a second where it was either going to go good or bad, and then Jase cracked up, the tension easing with a pop Blaine could feel.
Flynn had to have felt it too, because he relaxed visibly. “So guys, my gaydar isn’t the greatest, so pardon the question, but do we all play for the same team here?”
“Assuming you mean are we queer, then yes. Totally. All of us. If not, then I have no idea.” Blaine winked at Flynn. His gaydar was great.
“No, that’s exactly what I meant. I was pretty sure, but I knew if I assumed, I could say something at some point that offended someone. I try not to, but damn, I can put my foot in my mouth sometimes.”
“I hear that’s a kink,” Darnell drawled.
“That’s just gross, man.” Will punched Darnell in the shoulder. “Thanks for the image.”
Flynn just laughed. “Hobbit feet are gross, but most guys have decent feet. Not that I’m advocating sucking toes or anything. Of course I’m not disadvocating for it, either.”
“I don’t want to think about toe sucking before we ghost hunt,” Blaine said.
“Have you seen ghosts doing it before?” Flynn asked, like the question had only just occurred to him.
“No. No, you know, I haven’t.” Blaine blinked. “I mean, I guess you’re not horny as a ghost.”
“I don’t know, man. I’ve never been one.” Flynn winked at him. “But have you seen lover ghosts? I mean, two together who were together when they were still alive?” Flynn’s eyes were alight, bright with curiosity.
“I don’t know. Maybe. You know, it’s really intense and fast.” And Blaine had worried that he was crazy.
“Do you usually debrief after? Tell the guys what you saw and document it?” Flynn certainly didn’t seem to think Blaine was crazy.
“God, no,” Jason said. “We go to bed, and Blaine goes right to work on Saturday mornings.”
Yeah. That was the deal. Blaine stocked and opened the farm stand Saturday morning and didn’t bitch. By the time Sunday rolled around, he was sound asleep in the van.
“You don’t document anything?” Flynn sounded shocked. “Are you gonna fight me on changing that? I mean how do you…? What…? I just…. You need to document everything, you absolutely do. Or at least I do.”
“Document away.”
“Listen to his exhausted ramblings, huh?” Jason chuckled and shook his head. “If Blaine lets you, go for it.”
“Good, good. It’s an important part of the process. I mean, don’t you guys analyze what you find and stuff? Surely you do.”
“We all have other jobs right now. Lives. We keep all our recordings, but Jill took care of that for the most part,” Blaine explained. “That was part of her job.”
“So I basically get carte blanche for setting this end of stuff up how I want, eh?” Flynn rubbed his hands together and gave a maniacal little laugh. “Just kidding. I swear I’m not power hungry.”
“That reminds me. You’ll have to stop over and get all the film and audio from the barn. I have the most storage space, you know?” He lived in a restored barn on his folks’ farm, and it was huge and drafty and amazing.
“Oh cool! But it’s going to have to wait until I find a place to live.” Flynn sounded so disappointed.
“You looking to rent a place or buy?” He could totally use the bonus cash that a roommate could bring, not to mention the company.
“Probably rent to start with. I need to save up if I’m going to be buying. You’ll have to tell me where the quiet neighborhoods are.”
“Shit, man,” Darnell said. “Rent that cool-assed room in Blaine’s barn.”
Flynn shot him a look. “Yeah? You’ve got space going? You don’t have to rent to me just because I’m ghost hunting with you, but I’d be interested if you are. Is this the same barn where all your footage is stored? Because that would be handy.”
“Yeah. I renovated one of the barns—two thousand square feet of drafty wonder.” And he loved it.
“Oh, very cool. Are there any residents aside from you?”
Flynn didn’t have to spell out that he meant ghosts.
“Not that I’ve ever seen, thank goodness.”
“No? You wouldn’t want a benevolent otherworldly neighbor?” Flynn asked. “Because I totally would.”
“Benevolent would be great if you knew for sure.”
“You can’t tell, eh? There isn’t like… an aura around them?” Flynn seemed fascinated by it all.
Blaine wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say.
Flynn waited patiently but clearly expected an answer. He was so damn good-looking, a handsome face, a great body…. Quite a distraction.
Blaine shook himself. “It’s not like I always see these full-bodied apparitions. I sense them more than anything.”
“But like you said before, it’s freakier not seeing them.”
“Exactly.” It felt kind of good to have someone get it.
“You guys ever picked up apparitions on any of the equipment?” Flynn was just a ball of curiosity, but it was probably good, having someone look at how they did things, maybe bring in some new ideas.
“Couple of spirit balls and some kickass EMF readings,” Blaine replied.
“That’s great! I’m really hoping to get some stuff on camera. Being able to actually see things is about the only thing some people will believe. Of course, nowadays it’s easy enough to fake that kind of thing if you know what you’re doing, so I’m not sure even that’ll do anymore.” Flynn laughed a little dryly. “Some people will always find ways to shake other people down.”
“It’s easier not to believe, isn’t it? Isn’t that easier?”
“I guess. If you haven’t had any experience with it. I mean, given what you feel, would it be easier to ignore it and not believe?”
“No. Then you just think you’re insane.” And that was always Blaine’s worry. Always.
“Dude, you’re not insane.” Flynn sounded pretty sure of that. “And we’re going
to prove it.”
“There’s a fast-food joint up ahead,” Will told them from the driver’s seat. “This is our last chance to stop before we get to the hospital, and I do believe we are SOL there when it comes to the amenities.”
Blaine leaned toward the speaker. “Double bacon cheeseburger, large fries, Coke, and some chicken nuggets for me.”
Flynn put in his order. “I’ll have two extra-large fries and a vanilla milkshake, please.”
Darnell and Jason both wanted cheeseburgers and fries with Cokes, and they all passed money over to Will as he pulled into the drive-through.
Flynn grinned at Blaine as they waited. “So, you really want a roommate?”
“Sure, if you’re willing. I can always use the extra cash.”
“How much are we looking at? I’ve got a budget, so I know how much I can spend on living expenses and I figure rooming with someone will be cheaper than forging out on my own.”
“You want to say two fifty a month? You can share the kitchen, and you’ll have your own bathroom,” Blaine noted.
“That sounds more than reasonable—are you sure that’ll cover utilities and everything? I’ll be running my computer pretty much full-time.”
“We’ll see, huh? If it’s more, it’ll just be twenty bucks or so, right?”
“I have no clue, but revisiting it after you start getting bills sounds good. Are you much of a cook? I do okay in the kitchen. I mean, I know how long it takes to cook most meats and I can roast potatoes and vegetables with the best of them.”
Blaine shrugged. “I can make basic stuff—farm food, you know? When Mom’s healthy, she cooks a ton.”
“You say farm food like it’s subpar or something. I’m a meat and potatoes guy—so I’m down with that. Maybe we can trade off cooking? You know, rather than both trying to get our own stuff done. When I had roommates at school, I hated the whole compartmentalized food thing. If I’m cooking a pot of pasta, doesn’t it make sense to make it for everyone? It doesn’t exactly take extra time or effort to make two portions instead of one.”
“Sure. Sure, why not? I mean, we’ll see if our schedules mesh.”
“Sounds great.” Flynn grabbed his shake and fries as they were passed back, opened a bunch of the little ketchup packages, and poured them into the bags of fries.
Blaine scarfed down his burger, making yummy noises that were damn near perverse, even if he did say so himself.
Flynn kept shooting him looks, and he fought to shut up. “Sorry, it’s so good.”
“No, no, you’re good. I mean, go for it. Those are great sounds, that’s all.” Flynn gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry for staring.”
“Eh. I’m just starving. It was too busy to eat today, somehow.” He’d been running his ass off, getting ready for Saturday morning.
“Ah, that’s how you stay so thin.” Flynn munched on a ketchup-covered fry, then licked the salt and tomato off his fingers.
It was Blaine’s turn to find himself staring.
Okay, pretty. He did like eye candy.
“You do make great noises when you eat, though,” Flynn told him between mouthfuls and more licking. “I noticed that the other night at the pub.”
“Yeah?” Okay, he needed to watch that, because how embarrassing.
“Yeah.” Flynn didn’t say anything else, but the expression on his face said it was a good thing, and Flynn’s eyes danced with an expression of…. Blaine didn’t know—it didn’t feel like he was being laughed at, though.
Whatever it was, it was. He just focused on his chicken and on not making any noise.
“We’ve got another half hour or so,” Will told them as they turned off the highway and onto a smaller road. The sun was nearly down now, the atmosphere becoming more mysterious, spooky.
Blaine knew that Jason had chosen this venue to test Flynn. It was creepy as fuck but familiar to them, and they’d had better than average luck in the building.
It didn’t hurt that they knew the owners.
Flynn rubbed his hands together. “I gotta admit, I’m looking forward to it. I want to get started.”
“I hope you have fun. Hell, I hope we get some good readings, something.” Last time they’d had a few EMF spikes that were pretty damn cool.
“God yes.” Flynn was almost bouncing, throwing him a grin. “You’re going to have to tell me everything you see and feel. Everything.”
“You got it. I promise, man. I’ll give it up.”
“Huh?” Jason looked up, his eyes going wide. “You’re giving it up? To Flynn? Did I hear right?”
Will snorted, and Darnell cackled. Jason was notorious for being in his own head and only catching a small part of any conversation.
Flynn didn’t miss a beat, though, nodding vigorously. “You heard right—he totally said exactly that.”
“Huh?” Jason looked at him, then pursed his lips. “Yeah, no.”
“I expect you all to,” Flynn said, making Will sputter from the front seat.
Darnell clapped his hands. “You heard it here first, folks!”
Jason’s mouth dropped open as he stared.
Flynn laughed, eyes twinkling. “Seriously, though. I’m going to want updates from all of you on what you’re seeing, how you’re feeling. What kinds of readings you’re getting. I need all the data I can collect and then some in order to draw any conclusions about our findings.”
“I thought you joining us was supposed to make it less work for the rest of us, not more,” complained Darnell.
“None of our conclusions will be worth a damn if we don’t have data to back it up,” Flynn insisted.
“He’s joining us because he’s got cred.”
“No experience, though,” Jason noted with a grin that said he knew he was being a bitch and was doing it on purpose.
Flynn stuck his tongue out at Jason. “Told you I’m a fast learner. Hopefully I’ll be able to limit my questions to what you’re all experiencing rather than how things work.”
“That’s why we’re doing this run, man. Training.” Blaine offered Flynn a grin that he hoped was friendly and warm.
“Cool. Cool.” Flynn finished his milkshake, and Blaine told himself to stop perving on the guy’s suction.
He needed to get laid. Maybe Darnell would be willing to do joint hand jobs. Darnell was between guys. That might be awkward at his place with Flynn there, though. But Darnell had his own place, and there was always the van. It wouldn’t be the first time it had been used for something other than hauling people and equipment from point A to point ghost.
They turned onto a bumpy dirt road, and Blaine knew they were almost there.
“Hold on to your butts, guys.”
Flynn cackled, but he grabbed hold of the handle above the door with one hand and Blaine’s leg with the other as they flew over their first bump. “Fuck!” Flynn’s fingers dug into Blaine’s thigh.
“Not quite, but it’s a rush, huh?”
“Unexpected.” Flynn laughed. “Good thing I like roller coasters.”
“Me too!” Oh, they’d have to go. The others guys all hated them.
“Bonus! We’ll have to hit the amusement park soon. I haven’t been in a couple years.”
They went over another bump, and Flynn cried out happily.
Blaine cracked up and grabbed his Coke as it tried to go over. Flynn hooted with him, and Jason shook his head.
“You guys are crazy.”
“Probably goes with the territory,” Flynn shot back, and this time it was Darnell who cracked up.
“No shit. Five gay ghost hunters in a shitty van!”
“Hey,” growled Will. “The van is not shitty.” He patted the dashboard. “He didn’t mean it, darling. We think you’re an amazing van, and we hope you last forever.”
Blaine could see Flynn biting his lower lip, eyes twinkling like crazy.
“She is a stunning little van, Will, dear. Your soul mate.”
Will raised his hand over the top o
f his seat, one finger up. “She’s treated me better than any of my relationships has.”
“Well, that’s pretty sad,” Flynn noted.
“That’s fucking pitiful,” Blaine added.
“Don’t make me stop this van,” Will said, sounding so much like Blaine’s father when Blaine was young that he had to laugh.
Flynn sniggered as well, biting his lip, clearly trying not to laugh out loud.
“You guys are living dangerously,” Darnell chided. “Seriously. It’s not right to get between a man and his van.”
They all burst out laughing at that, the van ringing with it. It was good, surrounding them with positive energy.
Jason leaned over and knocked shoulders with Blaine. “Sorry about earlier. Me and Darren…. He’s cheating on me.”
“Oh man.”
“Yeah. Not common knowledge, but it’s not you.”
“Right.” God, that sucked. Jase hadn’t been with Darren for eons, but longer than a couple of months. Long enough that it had to hurt.
“I’m sorry,” Flynn murmured. “I don’t get cheating. If you want to be with someone else, man up and let the person you’re with know it’s over. It’s still going to hurt, but it won’t be a betrayal like cheating is. People suck.”
“Right on.” Blaine grabbed Jason’s hand and squeezed. “So, we are totally finding spirits tonight. Or tomorrow. Totally.”
“As a reward for being cheated on?” Jason asked, voice dry. Then he smiled. “That would work for me. Darren’s an asshole for cheating, and I’d rather have ghosts than him.”
“Yes. He’s a fuckmonster.”
“A fuckmonster?” Jason’s lips twitched, and they all started laughing again. “I’m going to remember that for the next time I run into him.”
They bounced across a couple of large dips in the road, and Flynn threw his hands up again and shouted out “Whoo!” This time Darnell and Jason joined him. Will, happily, did not.
Blaine leaned back, bouncing against the side of the van. He thought Flynn was going to fit in fine. Just fine.
They rounded a corner, and suddenly the decrepit hospital was in front of them, looming in the near darkness. It was spooky enough during the day, but at night the creep factor was pretty high.
Flynn bounced, without the aid of the van this time, and rubbed his hands together. “Oh man, I can hardly believe we’re here and this is it. I’ve been waiting to do this forever.”