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Gavin sat in his bed, watching the rain pound against the window. It had been one of those days where he missed his home in England and everything that had gone along with it, and one of the only ways he could feel better was rain. It was stupid, really, but he always felt calmer after, but it always worried his mother and it was late. If he went out now, she would hear him and pull him back inside and want to talk about what was wrong. Gavin didn’t want to talk about England or his dad or Dan or anything, he just wanted to be surrounded by the rain, that’s all he needed.
So he waited. He sat and listened to the television his mother had on and waited for her to walk by his room and into her own. She went into her room after awhile and Gavin waited awhile longer to make sure she was asleep, before pulling his old, creaky window open and hopped outside of it.
He zipped up his hoodie and walked off the grass and onto the sidewalk, heading in the direction he always went when he needed the rain, but then he stopped. He looked behind him at the wet sidewalk that led down to more houses. Why hadn’t he ever walked that way before?
Gavin shrugged and spun around to walk down the other path, leaving his hood down and letting the rain pelt him as he continued. After he’d walked a few blocks, he spotted an abandoned park and decided it was a good spot to take a break. The park was actually pretty big with a field off to the side and a playground set up with swings, a jungle gym, and random little toys scattered around, but you could tell it was unkept and worn by the yellow and brown patches in the field and the slide that had fallen apart.
Gavin didn’t really mind it though and sat on a swing. The rain wasn’t pelting him now and was gently dropping on his face, he hoped it would to stay raining for at least a little while. It felt weird here, not like uncomfortable or creepy, but just odd. He closed his eyes and set his head on the chain of the swing, ignoring the feeling and letting the rain wash away his thoughts.
“Hey, you alright?”
Gavin nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice that spoke near him, looking over at the guy who was attached to voice, “Wh-? I, uh, I’m alright, just- bullocks, what happened to your face?”
This guy must have gotten some sort of fight, because his nose looked broken, he had a busted lip, black eye and a few other bruises scattering his face.
He blinked in surprise, but quickly shook his head and reached up to touch his face, “Oh, yeah. I recently got into a fight and got my face a little jacked up, but it doesn’t hurt or anything.”
“A-Are you sure you’re okay? That looks pretty gnarly.”
He shrugged and laughed, “Gnarly? You sound British to me, isn’t that something surfers say?”
Gavin looked confused, “Is that a weird word over here in Jersey?”
Michael smiled, “A little bit, dude.”
It went quiet for a moment and then Gavin moved around in the swing and questions this guy’s bruises again, “You look like you broke your nose, mate. You sure you’re alright?” he reached over to touch his nose and the guy flinched back, “Don’t!”
Gavin had already touched him though and wow, he was really cold, he immediately pulled away, but they both knew he already touched him. This guy was staring at him, looking surprised and confused, he looked away and murmured, “What the fuck…?”
“Is something wrong?”
“What’s your name, man?”
Gavin rose an eyebrow at him, “Uh, Gavin…?”
“Gavin. Gavin what?”
“…Free?”
His eyebrows drew together and he looked like he was trying to remember something and then he smiled, “I’m Michael Jones.”
“My name of great importance to you? You seem pretty excited about my name.”
Michael shrugged, “It’s a nice name. It just sounds familiar, that’s all.”
“You realize you’re acting really weird… right?”
Michael put his head in his hands and then looked up at Gavin, “Wow, first person I’ve talked to in four years and I am already fucking it up.”
“Four years? Surely, you must have spoken to someone in all that time. Your parents?”
Michael sighed, “God, not ev- look, they don’t count, alright?”
Gavin laughed, “Yeah, I get it. What are you doing out here so late? I mean, it’s pretty dangerous hanging out in some abandoned park in the rain, no?”
“I could ask you the same thing, man.”
“I’m homesick, I miss my wonderful little town in England and now, I’m here in the states. What’s your excuse?”
“I wanted to play a new game, but when I went down to GameStop, it wasn’t in stock, so I thought I’d stop on my way home to make sure that cute little British boy wasn’t feeling too horrible,” Michael smirked as he finished the last of his sentence.
Gavin scratched at his neck in embarrassment, “Oh, well, t-thanks, I guess?”
Michael laughed and ran his hand down Gavin’s arm, “Yes, you’re welcome for letting you know you are attractive. Anyway, why’d you move here if you dislike it so much?”
“My, um, dad, he had a stroke. My mum couldn’t stand it, everywhere she went all it did was remind her of my dad, so we left.”
“To another fucking country?”
“I guess.”
It was quiet again until Gavin asked, “What high school do you go to? You’re in high school, aren’t you?”
Michael seemed hesitant to answer the question, but after a moment he nodded, “Yeah, I go to Princeton.”
“Oh! I go there too! How come I’ve never seen you there before?”
Michael shrugged, “Uh, I guess we just don’t cross paths? What grade are you in?”
“Sophomore.”
“Ah, I’m a senior. You’re in a different area than I am.”
“Oh, well that makes sense, I guess.”
The rain had stopped and Gavin was tired, so he looked to Michael and sighed, “I’m getting pretty tired and the rain’s stopped, so I’m gonna head home. You have a phone?”
Michael shook his head, “Broke it a few days ago and my parents aren’t gonna buy me a new one, until I,” he made air quotes with his hands, “‘learn to take better care of my things’, sorry. I’ll be here tomorrow after school though, meet me?”
Gavin nodded, “Sure,” he leant over and kissed Michael’s cheek, “Thanks for checking on me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Gavin spent his day at school jittery and spent a majority of the time, just wanting to leave and go to the park and see Michael again. Ray, Gavin’s friend, had been annoyed at Gavin’s whining through the whole day.
“What is so fucking important, man?” Ray had asked after Gavin had groaned and whined about how he needed to leave.
“I-well, met this senior at a park yesterday…”
“What? Why were you at a park? Were you being all angsty again and walking in the rain?”
“I wasn’t being angsty, X-Ray. I just like the rain. Anyway I took a break and stopped at this sad looking park and this bloke was walking home from GameStop or something and he stopped, because he saw me, I guess? He was nice though, he looked kinda beat up, but he said it didn’t hurt? I don’t know, but anyway he was nice and I'm gonna see him again today.”
“So you’re saying, you’re acting all annoying, because you want to go see your boyfriend?"
“He’s not my boyfriend, X-Ray.”
“Whatever man, have fun with your butt buddy.”
Ray had gone off to his next class and Gavin went to his own. The rest of the day passed quickly and Gavin immediately ran out the back of the school, finding his way back to the park. Gavin quietly stepped onto the woodchips that lay around the playground area and looked around for Michael, hoping he hadn’t ditched him. He spotted him walking through the field and Gavin waved, Michael waving back.
Michael reached Gavin after a few moments and he smiled, “Hey, Gav.”
Gavin smiled back at him, “Hi, Michael!” he looked over Michael, noting his face still looked pretty banged up and he still had that beanie shoved onto his head, little reddish-brown curls poking out of it, now that he thought about it Michael was wearing the same clothes too. That was odd.
“Uh, Gav, you alright?” Michael waved his fingers in front of Gavin’s face.
“Did something bad happen to you, Michael?”
Michael blinked at him, looking unsure of how to answer the question, “W-What?”
“Did something- are you okay? Is something wrong?”
“No, um, no, man, I’m alright. Everything’s okay. I got the shit beat out of me, but,” Michael sighed and looked away from him, “It was a long time ago. It doesn’t really bother me, doesn’t even hurt. Does it look something bad happened to me?”
“You’re wearing the same clothes you wore yesterday and you just look… tired, like you need to just lie down for awhile.”
“Well, I’m fine, man. Don’t worry about me, I don’t like when people do that. Anyway, let’s talk about something else. You like video games?”
Gavin looked concerned, but nodded, “Yeah, what games do you play?”
They moved to the swings and sat and talked for a few hours about games until Gavin’s mother called in a panic, “Gavin, where are you?”
“At the park.”
“Wha-Why are you at the park?”
“I’m talking to a friend.”
“At a park? Why?”
“It’s where we met and we continue to meet here. Sorry about not letting you know I’d be out.”
“Just- love, please let me know or I’m going to have a heart attack trying to find you. Be home in an hour.”
“Okay, sorry, mum. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Gavin pocketed his phone and looked over at Michael, “We have about 45 minutes and then I gotta go home.”
Michael nodded, “That’s fine. So do you remember what your dad was like?”
Gavin shrugged, “Yeah, he was an okay guy. Him and my mom were really close, you know? His-His death, it just devastated her. I know, it’s horrible to say, but I don’t miss him that much.”
Michael sighed, “Oh that sucks, man. He just wasn’t really part of your life, huh?”
Gavin blinked at him, “No one has ever understood that. It’s not like he was a bad parent or I hated him or something, it’s just…”
“Complicated.”
Gavin smiled, “Yeah, thank you, Michael, for understanding. I really like talking with you.”
Michael let go of the chain of the swing and took Gavin’s hand, “It’s never a problem, man. I miss talking to people.”
Gavin laced their fingers, “About that, why haven’t you spoken to anyone in four years?”
Michael leant his head against the chain of the swing and sighed, “It’s just been rough. I’ve had to stay inside my house a lot.”
“Why?”
“I don’t really know. It’s just been how things have been for awhile. It’s the first time in awhile that I’m allowed to go outside and just enjoy it. I saw you here yesterday and I thought maybe I could have a friend. That sounds weird now that I say it aloud.”
“Well, we can do this like every day or you know, as often as you like. Just talk, that sound alright?”
“Yeah.”
Gavin’s phone rang again and he pulled it out of his pocket, it was Ray this time, “Hey, Vav, you busy?”
“Sort of, why?”
“I picked up the new GTA and I wanted to know if you wanted to come play some of it with me.”
“Uh, yeah give me like 20 minutes?”
“Sure, see you, say hi to your boyfriend for me.”
“X-Ray, I told you-”
Ray hung up and Gavin sighed, shoving his phone back in his pocket. He looked over at Michael and sighed, “I gotta go, but I’ll see you tomorrow, around noon?”
Michael nodded, “Sounds good, but did you just say X-Ray?”
“It’s my friend, Ray. That’s just what I call him.”
“Oh, alright.”
Gavin stood from the swing and leant over to kiss Michael’s cheek again. “See you later.”
Over the next few weeks, Michael and Gavin visited each other at the park almost every day and Gavin never tried to make Michael come over or ask to visit his home, the park was their place. Gavin asked about Michael’s face every once in awhile, it still looked like his nose was broken and the bruises still looked prominent, but he always brushed it off, saying it didn’t hurt. Ray was getting really curious about this random senior Gavin was spending all his time with and decided he was gonna find out who this dude is.
“Hey, Vav, can I meet your boyfriend now?”
“His name is Michael, X-Ray.”
“Oh so you’re not denying that you’re totally boyfriends?”
“Whatever.”
“So can I?”
“I guess, you want to today? I’m going to visit him after school.”
“Sure, see you then, man.”
After school, Ray and Gavin walked down to the park and Michael was sitting on the same swing, smiling at Gavin. When Gavin and Ray started to get closer to Michael, Gavin noticed he looked scared.
Ray glanced around, “So, we’re waiting on him then, is he usually late?”
Gavin rose an eyebrow at him, “What are you on about? He’s right there,” he points to the swing where Michael was slowly standing and stepping back.
“Vav, what are you talking about? There’s no one there.”
Michael shook his head, “Gavin, he won’t be able to see me.”
“What? Why not?”
Ray looked at Gavin with concern, “Gavin, who are you talking to?”
Gavin looked at Ray, “Look, just give me one minute.”
Gavin walked over to Michael, “Why can’t Ray see or hear you?”
Michael looked away from Gavin, “I’m sorry, I didn’t want it to be like this.”
“What to be like this? What’s going on?”
“I’m dead, Gavin. I’m a spirit, a ghost. Somehow you can see and touch me, but I’m dead. That’s why I haven’t spoken to anyone in four years, why my face still looks beat up, I was killed and left here to rot.”
“What? Michael, have you gone mental? Th-”
“How else would that explain it? Ray can’t see me, look at him, he doesn’t know what’s happening.”
Gavin glanced back at Ray who was looking at him, concern written over his face.
Gavin turned away before Ray could say something and shook his head, “I can’t believe this. You’re dead? Why are you still here?”
Michael shrugged, “I don’t know, I woke up and my body was laying a few feet from me and I couldn’t leave the park, I’m stuck here.”
“How’d you die?”
“We can talk about it later, bring Ray over here.”
Gavin looked from Ray to Michael then back to Ray and walked back over to him, “Ray come here.”
“What the hell is happening, Gavin? Who are you talking to?”
“Michael, look, I need to come over here so I can explain.”
“I really hope you haven’t gone insane.”
Ray and Gavin walked back over to where Michael stood and Michael looked at Gavin, “Okay, I’ve had four years to practice this and I’m still not very sure I can do it, but I’m gonna try, okay?”
“Do what?”
“Let normal humans see me.”
Michael closed his eyes and Gavin waited for something, looking at Ray and then back at Michael. There was a flash of light from Michael and Ray gasped, “Shit, what is that?”
Gavin looked back at Ray and smiled, “Can you see him?”
Ray nodded, “Yeah, I think so. What’s up with him, he’s like twitching in and out of view?”
Michael responded, making Ray jump, “It’s hard for me to show myself to humans.”
Ray looked confused, “Isn’t Vav human? Are you not human?”
Michael shrugged, “No, Gav can just see me for some reason. I’m not human anymore, no, I’m a ghost.”
Ray looked at Gavin, “Your boyfriend is a ghost?”
Gavin gave him an annoyed look, “I didn’t know! He looked normal to me. Don’t call him my boyfriend when he’s standing right there, that’s weird.”
Michael smiled at Gavin, “Why not?”
Gavin looked at Michael, “What?”
“I mean, we spend like everyday together and you’ve kissed me a million times.”
Gavin looked embarrassed, “Michael, don’t say that in front of X-Ray.”
Ray grinned, “You guys really are boyfriends! Can you guys even like- with the ghost thing- would he be able to-”
Michael grimaced, “Ray, don’t.”
Ray laughed, “Right, sorry. Look, I’m gonna head home, let you guys do your thing.”
Michael left Ray’s view and leant over, breathing heavy, “God, that’s exhausting.”
Ray waved as he left the park and Gavin waved back before turning to Michael, “You alright?”
Michael nodded, “Yeah, I’m alright. Let’s just sit down for a minute,” he sat down on a swing and Gavin sat in the one next to him.
After Michael calmed, he turned to Gavin, “So you still want to hear how I died?”
“If you’re okay to tell it.”
“Yeah, I’m- I’m alright. So, I was walking to GameStop for the new Legend of Zelda game…”
Michael walked down the familiar street, an annoyed expression on his face and he turned onto the next street passing by a park when he heard something move from behind him. He turned around and when no one fell into view, shrugged and turned away again. He began to walk away from the unlit park, when a hand clamped over his and another gripped his forearm, pulling him into the park.
Michael twisted and writhed against the man’s hands to no avail as he was slammed onto the woodchips of the playground and punched in the face. The fist slammed into Michael’s face several times and he felt his nose snap and blood pour down his face. Michael scooted up, trying to get away from him by kicking whatever was in reach and he scooted into the slide. The man grabbed Michael’s shoulders and slammed his head into the slide multiple times, until Michael’s world went dark.
Michael was sure he was dead and this was it, life was over. It was dark and cold and there was nothing, he couldn’t move or think, he was just there. Then there was a jolt of energy and he sat up, looking around at his surroundings. He was still in the park and the guy was gone and he was alone. He stood and looked around again, then he saw it, it was his dead body, beaten and bloody. Michael walks over and just stares at it, fright pulses through him and he doesn’t know what to do. He was dead.
The next day, there was police and his mom, his dad, his brothers all standing around his body. All of his family was crying and Michael tried to tell them he was okay, screaming that he was sorry. They couldn’t hear him, they probably never could. Michael went into a swirling depression after that, angrily trying to leave this stupid park and feeling sorry for himself. He sat for long periods of time wondering why he was still here, if he had to die the least he could was stop existing. He never found his answer and never stopped existing.
After awhile, he learned to accept that he was going to be on Earth for a good long time, so he watched people and just hoped one day he’d figure out what was going on.
Michael was crying by the end of the story and Gavin had gotten off his swing to crouch in front of Michael, “I’m sorry, Michael, I’m so sorry. Here, look at me, love.”
Michael looked at Gavin and Gavin took his face in his hands and pressed their foreheads together, “I couldn’t begin to understand what you’ve been through, but I’m sorry and I will try my best to make your existence not lonely and frightening, okay?”
Michael nodded silently and gently pressed his lips against Gavin’s for a moment, before pulling away a little, their foreheads still touching, “I know this is dumb to say, but I love you, Gav.”
Gavin smiled softly at him, “I love you too, Michael, so I guess we can dumb together, yeah?”
Michael laughed and kissed him again, it lasted much longer this time and when they pulled away, they stayed close to each other. Gavin traced the bruises that still covered Michael’s face and sighed, “I’m still so sorry, Michael. I never want to have to leave you.”
“It’s alright, Gav. You can’t live in a park and I’m a big boy, I’ll be alright. I’ll miss you, though.”
“I’ll miss you too, Michael,” he gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled, “I’ll see you tomorrow, love.”
The next day, Gavin arrived at the park alone and Michael appeared in front of him, a sad expression sitting on his face, “Gav, I-I need to talk to you.”
“Okay, what’s wrong, Michael?”
“I know this is probably not something you want, but I need to find out why I’m still on Earth, Gav. I can’t wander this park forever.”
“Michael…”
“Gavin, please, listen to me. I love you, but I can’t stay here. I’ll turn into one of those decomposed spirits that just want revenge for their death and kill everything in their path, Please help me.”
“What can I even do?”
“Talk to my family. Find out what you can about my murder. I can’t do much from this park. I lived on Lakewood Road, little green house. Please, Gavin, I need you to do this for me.”
“What do I tell your parents? That you hung out with an 11 year old four years ago?”
“Lie, Gavin. Tell them- tell them you were friends with Kerry Shawcross and make some bullshit up about Kerry being very upset about my death or something.”
Gavin was quiet for awhile before he nodded, “Alright, I’ll do it Michael.”
Michael wrapped his arms around Gavin and kissed his cheeks, grinning, “Thank you so much, Gav.”
A few days later, Gavin walked down to the house Michael used to live in and talked to Michael’s parents. They had told him that Michael’s murder became a cold case and the police never found his killer, so Gavin thought that seemed like a good reason for him to be stuck here. He thanked Michael’s parents and walked back down to the park to let Michael know.
Gavin entered the park and as usual, Michael quickly appeared in front of him, “So?”
“They never found your murderer, so maybe you have to stop the psychopath that is going around killing people?”
“How could I possibly do that?”
Gavin sighed, “Yeah, you probably couldn’t. Well, that was kind of a waste of time. I think, I’m gonna go home and look up some stuff on the internet, maybe there’s stuff about ghosts on there?”
Michael nodded, “Thanks, Gav. I really appreciate it.”
Gavin has to wade through a bunch of bullshit abut ghosts day in and out for a few weeks, before he finds what he needs and he doesn’t like what he found. He goes back to the park after being away from it for awhile and Michael doesn’t automatically appear in front of him, so Gavin gets worried. He calls out Michael’s name a few times, but there’s no response until he feels a hand wrap around his neck and he’s pinned against a tree.
“So you finally return, hm?” Michael’s voice is distorted and Gavin tightened his grip on the bag he holds in his hand.
“I’m sorry, Michael. I never meant for this to happen, I never wanted you to become this. I shouldn’t have left you alone for so lo-”
Michael’s grip tightened and he began to look angry, “Do you not like what I’ve become? Is this not good enough for your special living, beating heart?” he loosened his grip, so Gavin could respond.
“Michael, please don’t do this.”
Michael slammed Gavin’s head into the tree and Gavin stumbled, falling to his knees. Michael knelt in front of him and grinned, “I think you should stay with me forever, Gavin. Don’t you want that?”
Gavin reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small lighter, “I’m sorry, Michael,” he set down the bag and lit the bag and the bones of one Michael Jones on fire.
Michael’s spirit erupted into flames and Gavin was left alone in the empty park. He didn’t do anything for a moment and then he began to sob uncontrollably, screaming out Michael’s name and how sorry he was over and over until his throat had gone dry and his voice was just a weak murmur.
“Gavin.”
Gavin looked around at the sound of Michael’s voice, “Michael?”
“Yeah, don’t go looking for me. I’m- wow, never thought I’d be saying this, I’m in heaven, man. I’m alright. Please don’t cry, Gav. I love you, but live your life, okay? Get a great job, meet amazing people, do what you want with your life and when it’s time, we’ll see each other again. Sound like a plan, Gav?”
All this was doing was making Gavin cry more, “Y-Yeah, love, I’ll do it, I promise. I love you so much, Michael. I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too, Gav. I’ll see you in a good fifty years, okay?”
“Fifty years, yeah. Bye, Michael.”
“Bye, Gavin.”