"if you travel too far from one body, then the others resets it's position instead of going back where we were previously."

Ashlyn was silent for a few moments, giving his theory some thoughts. "That would make sense... so the question is 'how far' is the distance limit? And if we traveled too far in the phantom dimension, would our bodies here also change locations?"

"That's a possibility ... but there's also the fact that things don't move the same in the phantom dimension as they do in human. I'm not sure how we would test it though-"

While Ashlyn and Logan were discussing the possibility, Aiden's mind was blank. He couldn't process all the complicated information. The more they talked about it, the more his brain shut down. Y/N was in a similar situation, but she was willing to listen even though she didn't want to. She knew she had to hear their thoughts and ideas to have a chance at getting her life back.

Logan and Ashlyn were considered the smart ones in the group, coming up with most of the ideas and possibilities. As they continued discussing various theories, Aiden's brain just stopped. Out of boredom, he intentionally slammed his head hard on the table, causing the group to jump in surprise.

"I get that learning about the dimension is important and stuff, but can we talk about something exciting?" Aiden said, resting his head against the table, clearly showing his boredom to the group.

The group fell silent, staring at him with blank expressions, feeling confused. However, the annoyance towards his attitude almost made it difficult to resist the urge to slap some sense into him. Tyler was the first to almost take action, standing up with his hand raised, ready to intervene.



"Don't," he was stopped by his sister, who placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to prevent him from doing anything rash.

Ashlyn was about to do the same thing as she had the look and was slowly raising her hand. Logan, the brunette boy, noticed what she was about to do and called out to her.

"Ashlyn-" Though, Ashlyn was able to clear her head and focus on the task at hand.

"What do you think about asking my parents to teach us self-defense?"

"REALLY?!" Aiden jumped up excitedly from his seat, glancing briefly at Y/N. His mind was still thinking about something from the previous night.

'That's right,' Y/N remembered Ashlyn mentioning this before she left the group, which had slipped her mind. 'This could be a good start. It is important to learn how to train ourselves better in case of danger, as it will help us defend ourselves from phantoms independently, at least within the group. Thanks to my dad's training, my body stamina has improved, but a little more training wouldn't hurt since it's been a while.'

The blond boy suddenly had an idea and turned towards Ashlyn, exclaiming, "YOUR HAIR!" He gripped her arms with an excited smile and said,



"If we show your parents our shadows, wouldn't that be proof of what's happening to us?"

She looked at his hands on her and coldly said, "Let me go of-" but then she realized he was right.

"Wow- so he does have a brain. Who knew?" Tyler said sarcastically.

"I'm surprised myself," Y/N mumbled as she watched Ashlyn trying to get Aiden to let go of her.

"OOOHHH~!" Taylor watched on with amusement.

"I SAID LET ME GO." Ashlyn then pinched him.

"Ack!"



It was noon, and school had finally ended, but the day was not over for the three neighbors who lived close to Ashlyn. They gathered on her front porch, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. Ashlyn sat on the staircase, gazing into the distance, while Ben leaned against the yellow wall, engrossed in his phone. Aiden stood next to him, his blonde hair dancing in the wind, and Y/N leaned against the porch railing behind him, looking up at the sky. They were there for a specific purpose: to convince Ashlyn's parents that self-defense training would help Logan stand up for himself.

They had two plans in place: the first was to explain the strange phenomenon with Ashlyn's hair; the second was a backup in case the first one failed. Y/N had informed her grandparents and dad of her whereabouts to avoid any worries. She sighed and looked down, catching sight of Aiden's hair. She admired its softness, reminiscent of Ashlyn's.

"Gosh, what am I doing..." Y/Nmuttered, retracting her outstretched hand.

Silence enveloped the group, the gentle wind swirling around them. Aiden, oblivious, felt his phone vibrate. Surprised, he pulled it out to see a message from Y/N.

---

YOU: Don’t turn around.

AIDEN: Why?

YOU: I’m not sure…

AIDEN: But what if I do it anyways??

YOU: Can you just comply with a simple request?

Aiden chuckled at her insistence. He found it odd but was curious about her reasoning.

---

AIDEN: Alright 😄. Now what?

YOU: Your timing was pretty slow.

I’d rather type it than say it—better to get it out of my head.

AIDEN: But why text?

YOU: I don’t know, quit asking me!

JUST LISTEN!

Aiden laughed at her use of capital letters. He couldn’t see her face, but he could picture her annoyance.

---

AIDEN: Okay, okay! 🤭

YOU: I want to talk privately without them staring at us.

AIDEN: But it’s just Ben and Ash?

YOU: I know, but still...

AIDEN: Is that why you don’t want me turning around?

YOU: Probably...

AIDEN: Wanna talk later then?

YOU: No, it needs to be now.

AIDEN: 🤔❓

YOU: During lunch, was that really necessary?

It's about choosing to come out alive or staying here forever, and I'd prefer the first.

Please hold off on jokes.

..this is serious.

I say this nicely, but let’s take this situation seriously.

After a moment of silence, Aiden began typing again.

---

AIDEN: You’re right, but what’s the point of being afraid at midnight?

Fear just brings us down, ya know?

I mean… we’re in a creepy dimension

might as well enjoy the thrill! 😜

But I’ll tone it down since you asked so nicely.

Y/N sighed, folding her arms on the wooden rail, still holding her phone. She didn’t take the last part of his message seriously but appreciated his perspective. Looking down at him, she noticed Aiden’s hair again.

---

AIDEN: So... can I turn around now?

YOU: Ummm... sure.

---

Caught off guard, Y/N blinked as Aiden turned to face her. Their eyes met, and a moment of understanding passed silently between them. Aiden leaned on the railing, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Do you remember that night in Savannah when we almost died?" he asked, his tone low and conspiratorial. "You pulled that trick on the phantom—think you could teach me?"

Y/N blinked, processing the question. It was the third time he had asked, and she felt a mix of uncertainty and intrigue. "Well, I can’t give you a definite answer, but it depends on what Ashlyn's parents think. I’ll consider it."

There was a brief silence as Y/N looked down at him, her hand resting on the rail. She wanted to understand why he seemed so carefree, even in danger. It frustrated her how nonchalant he was about everything, but she reminded herself that time would reveal the truth.

Aiden looked around, appearing hesitant about his question. He looked at Y/N and began to speak. "About what happened in the h-" However, at that moment, he stopped when he noticed Y/N looking off into the distance.

Curious, he looked over his shoulder and saw the twins and Logan. Tyler was pushing a blue bicycle while walking next to his sister, Taylor, who waved to the others. Not far behind them, Logan was wearing a helmet and pushing his scooter, nervously trying to catch up. Y/N quickly adjusted her position and stood up straight. Seeing the others, he decided to stay silent and let it pass. Aiden also stayed quiet and put on a smiling and playful expression. Logan and Tyler placed their bikes against the wall with Logan's scooter leaning on one of the bikes as the group walked together.

Aiden playfully remarked, "Tsk, tsk. You guys should really wear helmets," as he turned his body slightly, with his hands in his pockets.

"Oh like you would." Tyler added to his comment while staring at him with annoyance on his face, holding his hand.

The group entered Ashlyn's home and felt the warmth enveloping them, while the cool air dissipated. Ashlyn went inside but didn't see her parents, causing her to call out to them. "Mom, Dad?"

"Kitchen!"

While walking into the kitchen, Ashlyn suddenly saw her parents. She stopped in her tracks and asked, "Um... what are you guys doing?" Confused, she raised her brow as she saw her dad holding a tray of snacks while her mom added more snacks to it.

"...Making a snack platter." Said Emma.



"I see that... but why so much? You too can't possibly eat all of that yourself."

"W-well you and your friends usually go to the graveyard to the hang out-"

Emma adds, "-but when you called, you said that all of you needed to speak with us this time so..." She glanced nervously at Mike while trying to finish her sentence. "...We made uh- snacks... to eat...while we talk."

A moment of silence occurred. Everyone remained motionless, gazing at each other. Eventually, one of the parents broke the silence by speaking.

"I told you it was too much!"

"but this is what the blog said to do-"

Ashlyn was surprised as she watched her parents. '...Were they excited about this?' She looked into the living room and thought to herself, 'But those guys...aren't my friends.'

She noticed that some of the others were chatting in the living room on the two sofas. Aiden and Y/N were sitting on the small sofa, each doing their own thing. Aiden was talking to Ben, who was standing nearby, while Y/N was focused on her phone. On the other sofa, the twins and Logan were sitting on Tyler's right. Y/N suddenly felt something and looked up, making eye contact with someone. Ashlyn quickly looked away, feeling nervous and unsure.

Are they?

After a while, Ashlyn and her parents entered the living room. Since the sofa was already taken, Ashlyn chose to stand next to it despite Y/N's insistence. The Banners had brought out a tray of snacks and placed it on the small wooden table in front of them. Within minutes of Ashlyn and her parents arriving, Aiden was already devouring the snacks eagerly. Some people watched him chew loudly with looks of disgust or annoyance, like Ashlyn.

"Dude." Tyler felt disgusted.



Y/N had a look of disgust on her face, with her eyebrows furrowed slightly and her head tilted back. Has he no manners?

While finishing his meal, Aiden let out a loud burp, causing a brief moment of silence as everyone stared at him.

"So..." Mike began to speak, "... What'd kids want to talk about?"

—

FINALLY FINISHED 😭😭

FACTS OF TODAY

I'm betting RN that you simp in this chapter 🤣

Also, the pain in my back continues to grow👍

I saw some of the comments from my previous chapters, and don't worry I can assure you that the moment you want with certain characters are already planned out, so it wouldn't be long.

Edit: I'm adding pictures in some of my previous chapters… [4/18/2024]