SPN FIC ... ;_;
I really tried not to write this fic, and succeeded for three days, but ultimately couldn't get it out of my head. This was actually my favorite episode of the whole show (lol), so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I eventually wrote fic for it ...
Title: Just Want You Back For Good
Fandom: Supernatural/Ghostfacers
Pairing: Ed Zeddmore/Alan J. Corbett
Rating: R
Word Count: ~24,000
Summary: AU -- Corbett didn't really die, Daggett's ghost just wanted the team to think that he had. Now Ed has to deal with his obsession with Corbett's safety, post-Morton house.
What happens at the Morton house changes everything. They all had to watch Corbett die over and over again, and even Corbett, who missed out on the illusion Daggett created, comes away from the experience more quiet and serious than he was before. He begs Ed and Harry to show him the footage they shot, and though it wounds Ed's pride to admit it he's glad to be able to tell Corbett that everything they shot got erased by the electromagnet.
“I can't believe I missed the whole thing,” Corbett says, but Ed can tell he's kind of glad. Corbett was unconscious in the bomb shelter along with Sam Winchester during the ordeal. Apparently, Daggett got off on appropriating already-dead people so much that he didn't want to kill them himself, so he made it seem as if Corbett was dead in the hopes that Sam and Dean would hurriedly salt and burn his unconscious body to save him from his echo. Not the smartest move, really, and none of them were able to figure out how Ed telling Corbett's fake ghost that he loved him turned the illusion around on Daggett and destroyed him.
Ed is really glad that they don't have that part on tape, actually. Though the footage could have made his whole career, he wants to forget it. Every night since the Morton house he dreams it all over again: the look on Corbett's face as he died slowly, painfully. The illusion came so close to driving him over the edge that he might have tossed the match to Corbett's body himself just to save him from that agony.
Maggie and Harry are changed, too, mostly in the sense that they are suddenly inseparable, walking around Ed's house with post-coital hair and gooey smiles that make him sick. He's happy for them, kind of, but he doesn't like the idea of Harry putting his hands on his sister, and it's put kind of a strain on their friendship, because all Harry wants to do is talk about Maggie, and Ed doesn't want to hear it.
“Have you ever noticed that, like, when she thinks something is really funny, she does this kind of pause thing where she has this little embarrassed smile before she'll really let herself laugh? Ed? You know what I mean?”
Ed tries to ignore Harry, bent over his computer in the basement of his parents' house and researching sites for their next Ghostfacers job. Nothing is catching his interest, and the ones that seem full of real potential make him pause now, because what if Corbett, or one of the other members of the team, really had died? He would have been responsible, and it's been bothering him every day since the Morton house, even though they all managed to escape with their lives. He can't quite accept the fact that Corbett isn't really gone, and during their meetings he has to force himself not to stare at Corbett, or grab his wrist to take his pulse.
“It's like the other night, when we were watching this movie on her laptop, you know, in bed together -”
“Harry, shut up!” Ed shouts, whirling around to glare at him. “I don't want to hear about anything you do in bed with my sister.”
“Jesus, it's not like I'm talking about boning her!”
“Fuck, Harry!” Ed picks up an empty CD case that was sitting beside his keyboard and pitches it at Harry, who ducks.
“God!” Harry shouts. “Will you fucking relax? You're so testy since the whole Morton house thing.”
“The 'whole Morton house thing?' You say it like it was some mildly annoying evening - Jesus, Harry, we all could have died! Corbett - that thing, what he made us see - don't you think about it?”
Harry raises his eyebrows slowly, and Ed regrets saying anything. The whole team is constantly teasing him about his “love” for Corbett now, fortunately not when Corbett is present, but it still infuriates him. And maybe he is a little testy lately, but it's mostly because he can't sleep, he's too haunted by the way Corbett's eyes bugged out when he was murdered in the illusion. Ed had never seen anyone look scared like that, like he knew he was dying, that no one would help him, and even though it was fake, a trick designed by a real ghost to make Ed and the others crazy enough to kill for him, it's dimmed his interest in hunting down scary things.
“Maybe you should talk to a therapist, dude,” Harry says. “I could give you Dr. Bederman's number.”
“I'm not going to see your fucking therapist, Harry.” Ed turns back to the computer.
“Man, don't knock it until you try it! Dr. B has really helped me, you know that. Just the other day he was telling me that my dreams about having sex in public mean that -”
“Stop! What did I just tell you about your fucking sex life and how I don't want to hear about it?”
“Yeah, but this is not about Maggie!”
“Oh, so you're cheating on my sister in your dreams?”
The doorbell sounds upstairs and Ed groans, though he's glad to get out of this conversation. He jogs upstairs to see who it is, leaving Harry in the basement. Maggie is in class and Ed's parents are both at work, which is where he should be, too, but he lost his job at Kinko's last week when he messed up a rush order, so sleep-deprived that he didn't even realize he was printing conference schedules on pastel pink paper.
He opens the door, and the same uncanny, tingling feeling that moves through him whenever he sees Corbett makes him stammer for a moment. It's disturbing, seeing someone whose murder he witnessed over and over perfectly healthy and standing before him, and particularly disturbing today, because Corbett's face is splotchy and wet with tears.
“What's wrong?” Ed asks, grabbing for Corbett's arm without thinking. He keeps catching himself touching the poor guy now, for proof that he's solid, and he's noticed that Maggie and even Harry do it, too.
“Nothing.” Corbett tries to laugh at himself, sniffling. “Just, um. Can I come in?”
“Yeah, of course.” Ed steps aside and guides Corbett into the house, still holding onto his arm. He makes himself let go as they stand in the foyer, Corbett wiping fresh tears from his eyes. Ed spent so many hours in the Morton house feeling responsible for Corbett's death, so guilt-wrecked that he wanted to die himself, and it still weighs on him. He finds himself wanting to apologize to Corbett all the time, and he keeps telling Corbett that he doesn't need to cater to the Ghostfacers' snack and drink whims during meetings anymore, but Corbett just smiles and tells him he doesn't mind.
“What happened?” Ed asks. “Are you - are you having flashbacks or something? Did you see how you died? I mean - fake died - I've been worried about this, like maybe he left some remnant of it in you -”
“No, nothing like that.” Corbett sniffles and wipes his face with his sleeve. He's such a big, jock-ish guy, and Ed is surprised almost every time Corbett opens his mouth, because he doesn't look like the type of guy who would have turned out so soft and thoughtful and, well. In love with Ed, if that's still true.
“I came out to my parents,” Corbett says. He winces and sobs once, then bites down hard on his shaking lip. “I - I've been going through a lot s-stuff since the whole - since you guys thought I was dead, and I thought, I should live my life like I could die at any moment, you know, because I could. And so I told them.” He hiccups another sob. “They, um. Threw me out. Told me not to come back.”
“Oh, Jesus,” Ed says, the guilt crushing his chest. He might not have gotten Corbett killed but apparently he's had a hand in ruining his life. Corbett breaks down and sits on the stairs that lead up to the second floor of the house, his hands over his face as his shoulders jerk with sobs.
“Oh, man, hey, it's okay,” Ed says, though he can't even imagine what Corbett is feeling right now, that level of rejection. He sits down beside him and slips an arm around his shoulders, hugging Corbett's big, solid body against his own. It's still a comfort, being able to have visceral proof that his hand won't just slide through Corbett, and he doesn't even mind that much when Corbett leans onto him and presses his wet face to Ed's neck.
“They hate me,” Corbett cries. He's flushed with emotion and embarrassment, trembling. Ed tries to stop reveling in how alive Corbett feels and sighs, patting his knee.
“They don't hate you,” Ed says, though for all he knows, they do. He really knows nothing about Corbett's family life, and not much at all about Corbett himself, something that's made him feel extremely guilty since the Morton house.
“They said I was - a, a disappointment and -”
“Hey, Corbett, they're just in shock. They didn't mean that, I'm sure they already feel bad -”
Corbett shakes his head. “My dad, the way he looked at me,” he says, and then he breaks into sobs again, clutching at Ed in a way that should make him extremely uncomfortable, given Corbett's feelings for him, but some part of him must have been craving this since they first discovered Corbett and Sam alive in the bomb shelter, because being able to comfort him feels really good, like something Ed's been needing. He rubs Corbett's back and tries not to get too much satisfaction out of the feeling of Corbett's hot tears on his skin. The poor guy is really suffering, but this will pass, and he's alive. Ed still can't believe it after what he saw: Corbett is alive, right here in his arms.
“Whoa,” Harry says, appearing suddenly in the doorway that leads down to the basement. Ed's face gets hot, and he sits up a little straighter. Great. Like Harry and the others don't already give him a hard enough time for what he said to Corbett's fake ghost, the thing that sent Daggett to hell somehow. Corbett sits up and wipes at his face, and Ed lets his arm slide off of his back, leaving their shoulders pressed together. As nice as it is to see evidence that Corbett is still flesh and blood, seeing him in distress like this is bringing back a lot of bad memories.
“Hey, Harry,” Corbett says, sniffling. “I just - I'm sorry, you guys. I don't really have anywhere else to go. Most of my friends aren't as, like, cool and accepting of - different kinds of people as you guys are. I couldn't explain this to them.”
“What happened?” Harry asks. His eyes bug out. “Oh, shit, have you started hallucinating your death?”
“No,” Corbett says. He tugs at his sleeve as if he doesn't really want to tell Harry what's going on, and Ed feels weirdly honored to be the one who Corbett trusts, though he shouldn't be surprised, since apparently Corbett is in love with him.
“I - my parents threw me out,” Corbett says. His crying jag seems to have passed, and he's wiping at his face, which is red and puffy, like he's been crying for awhile.
“Threw you out!” Harry says, practically shouting, tactless as usual. “What for?”
“What do you think, Harry?” Ed snaps. He gives him a look that tells him to let it lie, and Harry scratches at his head.
“Geez, that sucks, man,” Harry says. “So, you're, like - homeless?”
“Harry!” Ed shouts.
“What?”
“You can't just - call people homeless!” Ed puts his arm around Corbett's shoulders again. Poor guy. He doesn't deserve any of this, and would have been better off if he'd never seen that flyer at the mall. Corbett was one of five people Ed and Harry interviewed for the intern position, and they picked him because he wasn't a goth dweeb or spastic weirdo like so many of the losers they'd hung out with in high school. Corbett was good-looking and smiley and they both agreed after his initial interview that he was basically a golden retriever in human form. Just the kind of person they'd been hoping to get: someone who would let them boss him around and who could carry the heavy equipment.
“I was actually kind of hoping, um, that maybe I could stay on the couch in the Ghostfacers headquarters for a little while?” Corbett says. The Ghostfacers headquarters is basically just Ed and Maggie's basement, and there's a beat-up old couch along the wall, across from Ed's computer. He's crashed there at night plenty of times himself, too tired after hours of research to make it up the stairs.
“Yeah, of course,” Ed says. “My parents are totally cool with gay people. They'll love you.”
Corbett smiles, and Ed blanches a little when he realizes he just said the l-word to Corbett again. But it wasn't the real Corbett he said it to, and the real Corbett will never know. Even Spruce wouldn't be so low as to tell Corbett what Ed did to dispel Daggett. It would be unfair to toy with the guy's emotions like that. As far as Corbett knows, Dean was the one responsible for getting rid of Daggett, with salt-filled, ghost-repelling bullets.
“Thanks, Ed,” Corbett says softly. He sniffles and looks over at Harry, who is staring at Ed and Corbett in a way that makes Ed take his arm away from Corbett.
“Uh, Ed, can I talk to you for a minute?” Harry says, and Ed glares at him.
“Not now, Harry.”
“It's okay,” Corbett says. He stands up and sighs heavily. “I - I think I'm gonna go out and buy some clothes and toiletries and stuff before my dad cancels my credit card. I didn't get a chance to take any of my stuff before I - left.”
“Do you want us to come with you?” Ed asks. He doesn't like the idea of Corbett being alone while he's vulnerable like this. He's afraid, all the time now, that the universe is going to course correct and take Corbett away for real, even though Daggett's trick was just an illusion, not an actual death that Corbett came back from.
“That's okay,” Corbett says. “I think I could use some time by myself, actually, to collect my thoughts.” He smiles sadly and heads for the door. Ed follows him, dreading the feeling he always gets when Corbett leaves. Ever since the Morton house, it's like having a rib ripped out at first, losing the opportunity to just look over and see proof that Corbett didn't die because of him.
When Corbett is gone, Ed turns to Harry, already steeling himself for what he knows is coming.
“Um,” Harry says, his eyes going wide.
“Don't,” Ed says. He walks past Harry and into the kitchen. “I don't want to hear it. The poor guy just went through something traumatic, and he feels like he's all alone. I'm just trying to be a good friend.”
“Since when are you and Corbett even really friends, though?” Harry asks. He follows Ed into the kitchen and watches him slam through the cabinets, looking for something to snack on, though suddenly nothing sounds appetizing. His stomach hurts, a little.
“I mean, he was just our intern, before the Morton house,” Harry says. “I'm glad he's not dead and everything, but since we got back it's like you're - you're -”
“What, Harry?” Ed asks, shouting. “And why are you so threatened by me becoming friends with him? Maybe the whole ordeal made me realize that we'd been treating him pretty shittily, okay?”
“He's our intern!” Harry says, throwing out his arms. “He's supposed to wait on us. He likes it!”
“Fine, but we can still treat him like a person, maybe get to know him a little better.”
“I don't know, Ed, I don't know. You're - hugging him, letting him move in to your house, talking about getting to know him a little better -”
“Go ahead and make the stupid gay joke, it's not like I haven't heard a million of them already.”
“I'm not really joking,” Harry says. He rolls his eyes. “And I know you're not really a homo. But, look, maybe you're kind of leading him on? If you're all worried about his super special feelings, you'd better be careful about the signals you're giving him.”
“Oh, God,” Ed mutters. His face is burning, and he hides it in the fridge. “Thanks for the professional advice, Dr. Bederman. You're right, I should have just turned him out on his ass and told him to get me a coffee while he's at it.”
“What are you guys fighting about?” Maggie asks, coming in to the kitchen behind them. Ed and Harry both jump and gasp, and Maggie does, too, when she sees their reactions. Everyone's been a little on edge since the Morton house.
“I didn't hear you come in,” Ed says as Harry zips across the kitchen to glue himself to Maggie.
“Guess what?” Harry says. He leans down to kiss Maggie's neck, and she giggles. Ed groans and pulls a beer from the fridge.
“You're about to have a new roommate,” Harry says to Maggie. “Or housemate, I guess.”
“Oh yeah?” Maggie frowns. “Who's moving in?” She looks at Harry as if to tell him that if he thinks her parents will be okay with him sleeping in her room every night, he's wrong.
“Not me,” Harry says. “Ed's boyfriend.”
“What?” Maggie boggles at Ed. “Corbett?”
“I love that she hears 'Ed's boyfriend' and immediately knows I'm talking about Corbett,” Harry says, beaming.
“It's not funny, Harry,” Ed says. He groans and looks at Maggie. “Corbett came out to his parents and they reacted really badly. They threw him out of the house.”
“Oh!” Maggie gasps and puts her hand over her mouth. Harry is trying to work his tongue into her ear, and she shoves him away. “Poor Corbett! Where is he?”
“He just left to buy some clothes and stuff. He didn't even get to pack a bag or anything. He was in pretty bad shape.”
“Ed comforted him,” Harry says. “Physically.”
“Shut up, Harry.” Ed looks at Maggie; she's gaping at him. “I hugged him,” Ed says, holding up his hands. “That's all.”
“Aww, Ed.” Maggie smiles. “That's sweet. If I had been here, I would have hugged him, too.”
“Well, I was totally gonna hug him,” Harry says. “But Ed was over there clinging to him for dear life, so I didn't really get the chance.”
Maggie makes an irritable noise and smacks Harry's shoulder, but then she smiles at him and they swoon toward each other, which is Ed's cue to leave. He goes back down to the basement, finishes his beer at the computer and begins straightening the place up a little, making it livable for Corbett. It's already pretty tidy, since Corbett is good about whisking away their empty soda cans and mac and cheese bowls during meetings. Ed has really never met anyone like Corbett, and he thinks about this as he gathers pillows and blankets for the couch. Corbett is a pretty boy whose wealthy father bought him a Land Rover and gave him a credit card, and instead of cruising the gay social scene, or whatever young gay guys do, he's hanging out with the Ghostfacers, bringing them drinks and carrying their equipment. Harry would say that it's all because he has a crush on Ed, but Corbett has always been kind to the others, too, even when they antagonize him.
Corbett comes back a little over an hour later, when Ed is watching TV in the living room, trying not to think about what Harry and Maggie are doing upstairs. He's glad to see Corbett, for that first thrill of remembering that he's alive, and also because he's feeling kind of lonely himself. Spruce is working full time now and is almost never around unless they're shooting an actual episode, and Harry, his best friend in the world since he was seven years old, is now preoccupied with Maggie full time.
“I hope I didn't forget anything,” Corbett says as he follows Ed down to the basement with his shopping bags full of supplies. “I'm sure he'll cancel the card soon. And I wanted to tell you, Ed, I'll get a real job as soon as I can find one, and I'll pay your parents rent, and give them money toward food and utilities -”
“Corbett, buddy, don't worry about all that,” Ed says. “Just consider yourself our guest for now, okay? I'm sure after your parents get over the initial shock they'll be begging you to come home.”
“You don't know them,” Corbett says with a scoff. “Especially my dad - I, I'll just crash here until I've saved up enough to rent my own place. Don't worry. I'm not a freeloader.”
“Of course you're not. Look, here, I got you a pillow and stuff, it gets pretty cold down here at night so here's some blankets - see this one? My grandma knitted this for Maggie when my parents first brought her home. It's really warm. Oh, and I'll get you some towels, there's a shower in the bathroom down here - do you need shampoo and stuff?”
“I bought some,” Corbett says. He smiles. “Ed. You're being really great. I really appreciate it.”
“Yeah, no problem.” Ed laughs at himself and scratches at the back of his neck. “It's just, you know. I've told you. What we saw in the Morton house - it was pretty fucking horrible. And I felt - and I still kind of feel, I guess - responsible. For you.”
Corbett's face changes, his eyes lighting up with what might be hope, and Ed knows he should be heeding Harry's warning. It would only hurt Corbett to feed his crush, but for some reason that's all Ed has wanted to do since the Morton house, maybe because doing it there made magic happen, basically. Something that even Sam and Dean couldn't explain.
“You still won't tell me how I died?” Corbett says.
“No.” Ed shakes his head hard. “Just - please, Corbett, quit asking me about it. It's over, and it was never real anyway.”
“It must have been pretty bad if you're still this shaken up.” Corbett takes a step closer. To Ed, sometimes the weirdest part of the idea that Corbett has a crush on him is the fact Corbett is taller than him. It just seems not allowed, a guy like Corbett looking at a guy like him this way. Ed doesn't understand where Corbett's feelings for him even came from; he's not a bad looking guy, but girls have never exactly fallen at his feet. He's only ever had one real girlfriend in his entire life, and that was back in high school.
“It was bad,” Ed says. “Let's just leave it at that.”
Corbett nods and smiles; he's always willing to do whatever Ed says. Ed tries to maintain a purely anthropological interest in this phenomenon, casually investigating the reasons. Harry claims that some gay guys 'just like bears' and that if Corbett is a golden retriever Ed is a teddy bear. Ed doesn't like this explanation at all.
“Are you ready for the 'Facers meeting tonight?” Corbett asks. “I got some snacks for everybody, you know, as a thank you for you letting me stay here.”
“Corbett, you don't have to pay for the snacks yourself.” Ed stops himself before adding You're homeless. He sighs as Corbett pulls out a box of Rice Krispies and a can of marshmallow fluff.
“It's okay, it's my dad's money, anyway,” Corbett says. “I thought I could make Rice Krispie squares. If it's okay to use your kitchen?”
“Jesus, Corbett. Of course it's okay. Here, I'll help you.”
Corbett laughs. “You don't have to help,” he says. “You've got stuff to get ready for the meeting, right?”
“Ah - I guess.” Ed actually has no idea what they'll talk about at the meeting. His site-hunting inspiration is nil, and Harry and Maggie are too busy doing things Ed doesn't want to think about to help him come up with potential investigations. Frankly, he'd rather be upstairs making fucking Rice Krispie treats with Corbett than alone in the basement trying to muster up some interest in the thing he once loved more than anything else.
Still, he resists the temptation to follow Corbett upstairs, because Harry is right, he needs to put a little distance between himself and Corbett before things get out of hand. He clicks through all the familiar websites about hauntings in the area, looking for anything within a three or four hour radius of his hometown, but all he sees when he looks at the eerie pictures that others have taken of abandoned buildings and old graveyards is Corbett in pain, dying because of Ed's dreams of fame, because of Ed.
Finally, he can't take it anymore and goes upstairs. Corbett is talking with someone, and Ed assumes it's Maggie before turning the corner and seeing that it's his mother, who apparently has loaned Corbett one of her aprons.
“Hey, Ed,” Corbett says. He looks happy, which is something, considering how he was earlier. “The Rice Krispie treats are almost ready.”
“I was telling your friend: I haven't had those in years!” Ed's mother says. “Your grandma used to make them for me.”
“Oh.” Ed feels kind of stunned, and he's not sure why. He goes to the fridge for another beer, and his mother makes a disapproving sound.
“How'd the job search go today?” she asks. Ed grunts and pops the beer open.
“The economy's bad right now, Mom.”
“Did you even apply for anything?”
“Yes,” Ed says, lying. “Did Corbett tell you about - his situation?”
“He did.” Ed's mother makes a sympathetic face at Corbett. “And I told him he was welcome to stay here as long as he needs to. It'll be good to get to know some of Eddie's - other friends.”
As opposed to Harry, who his parents have never liked, which makes the fact that Maggie is suddenly in love with him kind of difficult, but they don't know about that yet, and Ed's mother definitely doesn't know that Harry is up there dozing post-coitally in Maggie's bed at this very moment.
“Thanks so much, Mrs. Zeddmore,” Corbett says. He's blushing; growing up rich must make it hard to take handouts.
“Please, call me Ann,” Ed's mother says, and Ed feels kind of dizzy. It's something about the sight of Corbett in his mother's apron, probably. He sits down at the kitchen table and takes a long drink of beer.
“Where's Dad?” Ed asks.
“Working late as usual. Does Maggie have a friend over?”
Ed feels sympathetic panic for Maggie and Harry: they must not know that Ed's mother is home. They're up there laughing like idiots, stomping around.
“It's just Harry,” Ed says. “They're working on some Ghostfacers stuff.”
“Oh, what do you have them working on?” Corbett asks brightly, and Ed would smack his forehead if he could. Corbett can be kind of slow on the uptake at times. He widens his eyes, and Corbett's mouth quirks as he realizes what's going on.
“Are they analyzing the Morton house data?” Corbett asks, winking. Ed barely holds in a snort of laughter.
“Yeah,” he says. “The Morton house.” He doesn't even like saying the name of that place, and saying the name of the ghost who tried to get them to murder Corbett for him is even harder.
“What's the Morton house?” Ed's mother asks. She already looks disapproving. “You haven't been trespassing again, have you?”
“No,” Ed says. “We - it was abandoned. Anyway, nothing much happened there.” He gives Corbett a sympathetic look, feeling bad for the lie. Corbett smiles.
“Yeah, it was totally boring,” he says.
“I wish you boys would do something more constructive with your time,” Ed's mother says.
“You don't believe in ghosts, Mrs. Zeddmore - I mean, Ann?” Corbett says, and Ed cringes. He's getting really tired of hashing this out with his parents, who have accused him of corrupting Maggie with his interest in the paranormal.
“Well, Corbett, it's impossible to disprove the existence of ghosts, but no, I generally do not subscribe to the theory that they exist.” She gives Ed a look. His mother is a high school biology teacher and she doesn't consider what Ed does to be even remotely scientific.
“So what would you say if Ed caught one on tape?” Corbett asks. He grins at Ed, and Ed feels a little sick to his stomach, thinking of those tapes that were erased, what life would be like if they hadn't been. People might have written it off as a prank, but not after meeting Corbett. He's the one they would have believed if the 'Facers got famous, the one people would want to listen to. One look at his face and it's obvious that it would never even occur to him to lie about anything.
“If Ed caught a ghost on tape.” His mother sighs. “Well, I suppose I would have to concede the argument then.”
“And listen to me tell you I told you so for the rest of your life,” Ed says.
“Well.” His mother gives him a long-suffering look. “Perhaps. But I'm not holding my breath.”
She leaves the kitchen and Ed gets another beer. Maybe if he's drunk for the Ghostfacers meeting he'll be able to conjure up some enthusiasm, or at least not be such a pussy about possibly investigating something again someday. He stands next to Corbett and watches him cut the tray of Rice Krispie treats into squares.
“That was a nice save about Harry and Maggie's - research,” Ed says. “Thanks.”
“No problem! I had no idea your mom didn't know about them.”
“Yeah, Harry is not her favorite. He's not my favorite right now, either, really. I don't know why I just didn't let her catch them.”
“Are you and Harry fighting?”
“No. I don't know. Not really. He's just kind of done with me, you know? It's like he's moved on to Maggie now.” Ed has been pretty lonely since the Morton house, when Maggie and Harry had what they claimed to be their first kiss.
“He's just excited to have a girlfriend,” Corbett says. “He'll calm down about the whole thing soon, I bet.”
“Right.” Ed grins when Corbett lifts a Rice Krispie square from the pan and offers it to him. “Thanks.” It's pretty tasty. Corbett has always been a good cook. He watches Ed for a reaction and Ed raises his eyebrows.
“It's good,” he says. “You're awesome, you know that?”
Corbett laughs and looks down at the pan, blushing. Ed shouldn't have said that, but he can't help it. He's pretty sure anybody would feel this way if they blamed themselves for someone's death and then got a second chance like this.
“What would your mom say if I told her a ghost kidnapped me and knocked me out?” Corbett asks.
“She'd probably just think you were nuts, so don't tell her that.” Ed's heart beats a little faster; he still hasn't interviewed Corbett about the experience properly. He tells himself that he doesn't want to make Corbett relive the trauma, but he's the one who was traumatized; Corbett was lying in a heap on the floor of the bomb shelter with Sam Winchester the whole time. He missed all the lowlights.
Ed helps Corbett carry down the refreshments for the meeting and goes back to his computer, wondering what he'll tell the others when they assemble. He doesn't want to disband the Ghostfacers, but he's not sure he wants to chase ghosts anymore, either, not with the fact that he could lose a member of his team at any time always in the back of his mind.
“Hey, Corbett,” he says as he's looking at ghost hunting message boards, scrolling through them too quickly to really read anything. “What do you want to do with your life?”
Corbett laughs. “I don't know,” he says. “I have a degree in political science. Maybe something with that?”
“Yeah, you'd be a good politician. Or a lawyer, you'd be a good lawyer, people would, like, believe that you're honest. I thought I'd figured out what I wanted to do with my life, you know, what I was really passionate about. Now, I don't know.”
“What's wrong?” Corbett asks. He drags one of the folding chairs over and sits beside Ed at the desk. “You don't want to be a professional paranormal investigator anymore? Is it because of me?”
“Because of -?”
“Because you - thought you saw something really bad happening to me? 'Cause it wasn't that bad, Ed, I mean, I was really scared, but then he knocked me out, and the next thing I knew I was waking up to everyone shouting and crying and hugging me like they couldn't believe I was alive.” He smirks. “That part was kind of - nice, actually.”
Ed remembers that part. He'd thrown his arms around Corbett's uninjured neck and hadn't let go until Dean and Sam were dragging them all out of the house.
“Forget it,” Ed says, turning back to the computer. “I'm just - I just have to be more careful about the situations I get my team into. It's just hard to know. I was so - sort of smug before, thinking we'd be okay.”
“Yeah, but we were okay,” Corbett says. “I'm okay, Ed, really. And if Dean saved us with salt bullets, why don't we just get some of those?”
Ed opens his mouth, not sure how he'll respond, and he's glad when he hears Maggie and Harry thundering down the stairs. Maggie has combed her post-sex hair back into place, but Harry is wearing his with pride.
“Ed!” Maggie hisses, slapping his shoulder. “You didn't tell me Mom was home already!”
“Well, what was I going to do, burst into your room to inform you? I didn't want to interrupt - anything. Anyway, don't worry. Corbett covered for you.”
“Oh, Corbett!” Maggie rushes over to hug him. “Ed told me what happened. I'm so sorry!”
“It's okay,” Corbett says. He's blushing again; he kind of does that a lot. “I'm just glad you guys are letting me stay here. I don't know what I'd do without you.” He pulls back and smiles, and Maggie gives him a sympathetic look. Harry looks a little annoyed by their proximity, and walks over to put his hands on Maggie's hips.
“What smells good?” Harry asks. “Ooh, Rice Krispie treats!” He dives toward the plate of them and stuffs one in his mouth.
“Corbett made them,” Ed says, and Harry nods, chewing. “Why don't you thank him?” Ed says, narrowing his eyes a little.
“Thanks, man,” Harry says, with his mouthful, slapping Corbett's back. “I really worked up an appetite this afternoon, gotta tell you.”
“Jesus!” Ed says, and Maggie giggles.
“We need to get Ed a girlfriend so he'll stop harshing our buzz,” Harry says. Ed groans and pretends to be busy on the computer.
“Don't say 'harshing our buzz." He wishes Harry would take his own advice and be more sensitive about Corbett's feelings. He shouldn't go around flaunting the idea of Ed having a girlfriend. Ed sneaks a look at Corbett. He's busying himself with arranging soda cans on the table beside the sofa.
“Speaking of that,” Maggie says. “Nicki was asking about you today in class, Ed.”
Maggie is getting a computer science degree from the local community college, and a couple of months ago Ed hooked up with one of her classmates. Nicki is a wiccan, and Ed was able to charm her with his extensive paranormal knowledge. He was pretty drunk by the time they had sex, but her porn-star vocalizing still annoyed him. He hasn't called her since, and in general it's not a good memory.
“Tell her I moved to Guatemala,” Ed says.
Spruce arrives late as usual, and he seems kind of stoned. Ed wishes he was as the room falls quiet and the four other Ghostfacers all turn to him, waiting to hear what he has planned. He drums his hands on his knees and takes a deep breath.
“Sam and Dean,” he says. They stare at him, waiting for more. Maggie is leaning against Harry on the couch, Corbett is sitting Indian-style on the floor, and Spruce is splayed in Ed's father's beat up old armchair, looking like he might drift off to sleep at any moment.
“What about them?” Harry says.
“I think we need to investigate them. Who are these guys, anyway? How do they know about stuff like - salt bullets? Also, we've run into them twice now when we were really on to something, so I think it would be - lucrative to track them somehow and find out more about them.”
“Road trip!” Spruce says, lifting his fist into the air.
“But, wait,” Maggie says. “Don't they, like - hate us?”
“They fear us!” Ed says. He's got no idea where any of this is coming from. “Because we're on to them. I bet they work for some kind of government shadow agency.”
“Like in the X-Files!” Corbett says. He's grinning and hugging his knees now, clearly excited about this idea. Ed can practically hear his golden retriever tail slapping against the basement floor.
“Mulder and Scully worked for the FBI,” Harry says with a scoff. “Not a shadow agency.”
“Whatever.” Ed gives Harry a look and Harry rolls his eyes. “The point is, that's my suggestion for our next move. Has anyone got anything better?”
“I still can't believe our footage got erased, man,” Spruce says. “From the Morton house? Shit, that stuff was going to make us rich.”
“Why don't you be more of an asshole, Spruce?” Ed snaps. “You're really upset that we don't have to watch Corbett die a billion more times during the editing process?”
“Jesus, Ed!” Spruce says. He glances at Corbett guiltily. “There was more to it than just that. We could have cut that part out.”
“I would have let you use it,” Corbett says, in a meek little voice that infuriates Ed further. He shakes his head and turns to his computer.
“What's the point in talking about it now, anyway?” he says. “The footage is gone. We've got to move past the Morton house.”
“No kidding,” Harry mutters, and Ed turns to glower at him.
“Do you have something to say to me?” he asks.
“No,” Harry says, and he actually looks pretty upset. Ed feels badly; maybe he has been a little short with Harry lately. He wishes he could explain that this thing with Maggie is making him feel abandoned, but it's too childish to say out loud.
“Look, guys,” Ed says, holding up his hands. “If you hate this Sam and Dean idea, fine. That's just - it's just one idea.”
“I don't think it's a bad one,” Maggie says. “We could start asking other ghost hunters if they've ever run across these guys.”
“Yeah,” Harry says, brightening. “And I could make a dossier on everything we do know about them. Like the kind of car they drive and stuff. Did anyone else notice that it had Ohio plates?”
“That's a good place to start,” Ed says, pointing at Harry. He actually has no interest at all in finding Sam and Dean, but it will be a good way to keep the team distracted while he figures out what to do about the future, and if he even wants to hunt ghosts anymore.
The rest of the meeting passes as usual: off topic chit-chat, vague plans for their someday television show, Corbett refilling drinks and passing around snacks. Ed starts to enjoy himself, feeling like he used to when he hung out with these guys, and he ends up convincing Harry to spend the night in the basement with him and Corbett, like old times, when it was just Harry and Ed down here in the basement, trying to scare each other with ghost stories.
“Thanks,” Ed says to Harry after Maggie has gone upstairs to go to bed and Spruce has gone home. They're in the basement's back closet, hunting around for their old sleeping bags. “I just figure, Corbett could use some company, you know, first night away from home, and it's not like I can sleep down here with him by myself. You were right before - I need to think about what I'm doing. I don't want to break the guy's heart after all he's already been through.”
Harry smirks. "Maybe now that he's got a new lease on life and everything, he'll try to date someone who's not straight," he says.
"That would be good," Ed says, though he doesn't like the idea of anybody falling out of love with him, even if he doesn't return those feelings. He's pretty sure that nobody's ever been in love with him before, not even his high school girlfriend, who seemed to enjoy dangling the prospect of sex in front of him more than ever actually doing anything, or having real conversations. She broke up with him senior year because she found porno mangas in his room. It was a pretty threadbare excuse, and she was dating a fellow marching band member by the following Monday.
Ed and Harry set up their sleeping bags on the floor, Harry in the middle, as if to provide a barrier between Ed and Corbett. Ed makes a run to the fridge for beers, and they drink them in the dark, with Ed's computer screensaver glowing over them.
"Hey, Corbett," Harry says at one point. "If you had died - would have you stuck around to hang out with us? You know, as a ghost?"
Corbett laughs. "I don't know. You don't think I would have gone to heaven?"
"Of course he would have gone to heaven," Ed says, scoffing. He's finally starting to feel a little bit drunk. "Corbett's the most heaven-bound guy I've ever met."
"You believe in heaven?" Harry says.
"For people like Corbett, sure."
Harry jabs Ed with his elbow when Corbett isn't looking, and Ed shrugs. He's staring at the ceiling, fighting sleep so that Harry and Corbett won't have to hear him shout through his nightmares. He wants another beer.
"Well, you know what would have been awesome?" Corbett says. "If I stuck around as a ghost and traveled the nation with you guys. You'd be, like, the foremost expert on ghosts because you'd have one for a friend, and we could do shows and stuff."
"Oh, shit, that'd be awesome!" Harry says, laughing. "We could call you Casper, you know, or - no, better: Corbett the Friendly Ghost!"
"That's ridiculous," Ed says. He hates the idea of the Ghostfacers getting rich off of Corbett being dead, and always having to see him with that wound in his neck, knowing that they'd not only cost him his life but that they were profiting off of it - Ed would go out of his mind.
"Corbett, the friendly ghost!" Harry sings. "The friendliest ghost you know!"
"Shut up, Harry," Ed says, but Corbett is laughing.
"I could have my own talk show or something," he says. "Like, I could offer to interview other ghosts and stuff, and they would, you know, come out of the closet because they trusted me, as a fellow supernatural entity."
"Come out of the closet?" Harry says, laughing. "What, so only gay ghosts on your show?"
"Harry, you're such a dick," Ed says, shoving him.
"Okay, bad choice of words," Corbett says, and he's laughing, but Ed thinks he looks a little wounded. He actually hates the way Corbett looks in this light, with the bluish glow of the computer screen on his face. It reminds him of that fake death echo, and the footage on the camera.
Corbett falls asleep first, probably worn out from all that crying, and Harry starts talking about Maggie's eyes, so Ed rolls over with a groan and pretends to be asleep himself. Harry is snoring just a few minutes later, and Ed falls asleep resisting the urge to roll over and check to make sure Corbett is still there.
Mixed in with his usual nightmares, there's an awful one about Corbett as their friend the ghost, blood all over his shirt, that awful puncture wound in his neck, and in the dream Ed can tell he's only pretending to be okay with what's happened to him for the sake of the others. In the dream, Ed catches him crying backstage before one of their events, and as he hurries toward him to tell him that he doesn't have to do this for him, that he can cross over and be at peace, Daggett's ghost reappears, growling with fury, heading toward Corbett, ready to kill him again. That's when Ed realizes that Corbett has been alive the whole time, only pretending to be a ghost so that Ed and Harry would be famous.
He wakes up just as Daggett is grunting and driving a crowbar through Corbett's neck. He bolts upright and sucks in a harsh breath, not screaming, though there's a high sharp whine in his ears, and he doesn't know where he is, only that he's terrified. He looks around, sees an empty sleeping bag beside him and someone asleep on the couch. The person on the couch is sighing softly; no, he's moaning. No, he's crying. Disoriented, still half in the dream, Ed moans with sympathy, crawls over to the couch, takes Corbett's shoulder and turns him onto his back.
"Oh, God," Ed says, reaching up to touch Corbett's neck, delirious with relief until he feels something hot and wet there. But it's not blood, just tears, and Ed climbs onto the couch, onto Corbett, needing to be as close as possible to every living, breathing inch of him. Corbett gasps and grabs Ed's elbows.
"What - what are you doing?" Corbett asks, sniffling.
"Oh, Corbett, Corbett, you're okay," Ed says, pressing his face to Corbett's neck, rubbing his nose and cheeks against it. Corbett's pulse is pounding against Ed's skin, and it's the best feeling he's ever known, waking up to this, though he knows he's not completely awake. He doesn't want to be, just wants to float here for awhile.
"I - I'm sorry if I woke you," Corbett says. "I just - I was thinking about today, I tried to be quiet -"
"Corbett, Corbett," Ed whispers, the name thrumming through his blood like a heartbeat. "You don't know - I'm so afraid that it won't be true, that you'll disappear again."
"Ed," Corbett says after a pause, so softly that Ed gets goosebumps, but he only squirms closer, needing more contact. Corbett's body is so warm and real, it's a miracle, and Ed feels like he could weep with gratitude.
"God, you're okay," Ed says. He slips his arms under Corbett's and hooks his hands around his shoulders. "Please keep being okay, please, I need you to be okay."
"I'm - I'm fine, Ed," Corbett says. He puts his hand on the back of Ed's head as if he's the one who needs comforting. "I promise."
Ed sighs deeply, content and smiling against Corbett's neck. He wants to stay right here forever, where he'll never have to push away those jerks of worry about where Corbett is, wondering if he's safe.
"God, Corbett," he says. "Your heartbeat."
"Ed, you have to tell me what happened - what you thought happened to me in that house. It must have been - horrific. If, if you're acting like this."
"Corbett," Ed murmurs, starting to go under again. He can sleep now, really sleep, and it's going to feel so good, pressed against Corbett like this, knowing that he's alive with every thump of Corbett's heart against Ed's chest. He takes a deep breath full of the smell of Corbett's skin, which is like clean laundry and marshmallow fluff, and when he drops into sleep it's like sinking into jacuzzi, like the way it was before the Morton house.
*
Part II
Title: Just Want You Back For Good
Fandom: Supernatural/Ghostfacers
Pairing: Ed Zeddmore/Alan J. Corbett
Rating: R
Word Count: ~24,000
Summary: AU -- Corbett didn't really die, Daggett's ghost just wanted the team to think that he had. Now Ed has to deal with his obsession with Corbett's safety, post-Morton house.
What happens at the Morton house changes everything. They all had to watch Corbett die over and over again, and even Corbett, who missed out on the illusion Daggett created, comes away from the experience more quiet and serious than he was before. He begs Ed and Harry to show him the footage they shot, and though it wounds Ed's pride to admit it he's glad to be able to tell Corbett that everything they shot got erased by the electromagnet.
“I can't believe I missed the whole thing,” Corbett says, but Ed can tell he's kind of glad. Corbett was unconscious in the bomb shelter along with Sam Winchester during the ordeal. Apparently, Daggett got off on appropriating already-dead people so much that he didn't want to kill them himself, so he made it seem as if Corbett was dead in the hopes that Sam and Dean would hurriedly salt and burn his unconscious body to save him from his echo. Not the smartest move, really, and none of them were able to figure out how Ed telling Corbett's fake ghost that he loved him turned the illusion around on Daggett and destroyed him.
Ed is really glad that they don't have that part on tape, actually. Though the footage could have made his whole career, he wants to forget it. Every night since the Morton house he dreams it all over again: the look on Corbett's face as he died slowly, painfully. The illusion came so close to driving him over the edge that he might have tossed the match to Corbett's body himself just to save him from that agony.
Maggie and Harry are changed, too, mostly in the sense that they are suddenly inseparable, walking around Ed's house with post-coital hair and gooey smiles that make him sick. He's happy for them, kind of, but he doesn't like the idea of Harry putting his hands on his sister, and it's put kind of a strain on their friendship, because all Harry wants to do is talk about Maggie, and Ed doesn't want to hear it.
“Have you ever noticed that, like, when she thinks something is really funny, she does this kind of pause thing where she has this little embarrassed smile before she'll really let herself laugh? Ed? You know what I mean?”
Ed tries to ignore Harry, bent over his computer in the basement of his parents' house and researching sites for their next Ghostfacers job. Nothing is catching his interest, and the ones that seem full of real potential make him pause now, because what if Corbett, or one of the other members of the team, really had died? He would have been responsible, and it's been bothering him every day since the Morton house, even though they all managed to escape with their lives. He can't quite accept the fact that Corbett isn't really gone, and during their meetings he has to force himself not to stare at Corbett, or grab his wrist to take his pulse.
“It's like the other night, when we were watching this movie on her laptop, you know, in bed together -”
“Harry, shut up!” Ed shouts, whirling around to glare at him. “I don't want to hear about anything you do in bed with my sister.”
“Jesus, it's not like I'm talking about boning her!”
“Fuck, Harry!” Ed picks up an empty CD case that was sitting beside his keyboard and pitches it at Harry, who ducks.
“God!” Harry shouts. “Will you fucking relax? You're so testy since the whole Morton house thing.”
“The 'whole Morton house thing?' You say it like it was some mildly annoying evening - Jesus, Harry, we all could have died! Corbett - that thing, what he made us see - don't you think about it?”
Harry raises his eyebrows slowly, and Ed regrets saying anything. The whole team is constantly teasing him about his “love” for Corbett now, fortunately not when Corbett is present, but it still infuriates him. And maybe he is a little testy lately, but it's mostly because he can't sleep, he's too haunted by the way Corbett's eyes bugged out when he was murdered in the illusion. Ed had never seen anyone look scared like that, like he knew he was dying, that no one would help him, and even though it was fake, a trick designed by a real ghost to make Ed and the others crazy enough to kill for him, it's dimmed his interest in hunting down scary things.
“Maybe you should talk to a therapist, dude,” Harry says. “I could give you Dr. Bederman's number.”
“I'm not going to see your fucking therapist, Harry.” Ed turns back to the computer.
“Man, don't knock it until you try it! Dr. B has really helped me, you know that. Just the other day he was telling me that my dreams about having sex in public mean that -”
“Stop! What did I just tell you about your fucking sex life and how I don't want to hear about it?”
“Yeah, but this is not about Maggie!”
“Oh, so you're cheating on my sister in your dreams?”
The doorbell sounds upstairs and Ed groans, though he's glad to get out of this conversation. He jogs upstairs to see who it is, leaving Harry in the basement. Maggie is in class and Ed's parents are both at work, which is where he should be, too, but he lost his job at Kinko's last week when he messed up a rush order, so sleep-deprived that he didn't even realize he was printing conference schedules on pastel pink paper.
He opens the door, and the same uncanny, tingling feeling that moves through him whenever he sees Corbett makes him stammer for a moment. It's disturbing, seeing someone whose murder he witnessed over and over perfectly healthy and standing before him, and particularly disturbing today, because Corbett's face is splotchy and wet with tears.
“What's wrong?” Ed asks, grabbing for Corbett's arm without thinking. He keeps catching himself touching the poor guy now, for proof that he's solid, and he's noticed that Maggie and even Harry do it, too.
“Nothing.” Corbett tries to laugh at himself, sniffling. “Just, um. Can I come in?”
“Yeah, of course.” Ed steps aside and guides Corbett into the house, still holding onto his arm. He makes himself let go as they stand in the foyer, Corbett wiping fresh tears from his eyes. Ed spent so many hours in the Morton house feeling responsible for Corbett's death, so guilt-wrecked that he wanted to die himself, and it still weighs on him. He finds himself wanting to apologize to Corbett all the time, and he keeps telling Corbett that he doesn't need to cater to the Ghostfacers' snack and drink whims during meetings anymore, but Corbett just smiles and tells him he doesn't mind.
“What happened?” Ed asks. “Are you - are you having flashbacks or something? Did you see how you died? I mean - fake died - I've been worried about this, like maybe he left some remnant of it in you -”
“No, nothing like that.” Corbett sniffles and wipes his face with his sleeve. He's such a big, jock-ish guy, and Ed is surprised almost every time Corbett opens his mouth, because he doesn't look like the type of guy who would have turned out so soft and thoughtful and, well. In love with Ed, if that's still true.
“I came out to my parents,” Corbett says. He winces and sobs once, then bites down hard on his shaking lip. “I - I've been going through a lot s-stuff since the whole - since you guys thought I was dead, and I thought, I should live my life like I could die at any moment, you know, because I could. And so I told them.” He hiccups another sob. “They, um. Threw me out. Told me not to come back.”
“Oh, Jesus,” Ed says, the guilt crushing his chest. He might not have gotten Corbett killed but apparently he's had a hand in ruining his life. Corbett breaks down and sits on the stairs that lead up to the second floor of the house, his hands over his face as his shoulders jerk with sobs.
“Oh, man, hey, it's okay,” Ed says, though he can't even imagine what Corbett is feeling right now, that level of rejection. He sits down beside him and slips an arm around his shoulders, hugging Corbett's big, solid body against his own. It's still a comfort, being able to have visceral proof that his hand won't just slide through Corbett, and he doesn't even mind that much when Corbett leans onto him and presses his wet face to Ed's neck.
“They hate me,” Corbett cries. He's flushed with emotion and embarrassment, trembling. Ed tries to stop reveling in how alive Corbett feels and sighs, patting his knee.
“They don't hate you,” Ed says, though for all he knows, they do. He really knows nothing about Corbett's family life, and not much at all about Corbett himself, something that's made him feel extremely guilty since the Morton house.
“They said I was - a, a disappointment and -”
“Hey, Corbett, they're just in shock. They didn't mean that, I'm sure they already feel bad -”
Corbett shakes his head. “My dad, the way he looked at me,” he says, and then he breaks into sobs again, clutching at Ed in a way that should make him extremely uncomfortable, given Corbett's feelings for him, but some part of him must have been craving this since they first discovered Corbett and Sam alive in the bomb shelter, because being able to comfort him feels really good, like something Ed's been needing. He rubs Corbett's back and tries not to get too much satisfaction out of the feeling of Corbett's hot tears on his skin. The poor guy is really suffering, but this will pass, and he's alive. Ed still can't believe it after what he saw: Corbett is alive, right here in his arms.
“Whoa,” Harry says, appearing suddenly in the doorway that leads down to the basement. Ed's face gets hot, and he sits up a little straighter. Great. Like Harry and the others don't already give him a hard enough time for what he said to Corbett's fake ghost, the thing that sent Daggett to hell somehow. Corbett sits up and wipes at his face, and Ed lets his arm slide off of his back, leaving their shoulders pressed together. As nice as it is to see evidence that Corbett is still flesh and blood, seeing him in distress like this is bringing back a lot of bad memories.
“Hey, Harry,” Corbett says, sniffling. “I just - I'm sorry, you guys. I don't really have anywhere else to go. Most of my friends aren't as, like, cool and accepting of - different kinds of people as you guys are. I couldn't explain this to them.”
“What happened?” Harry asks. His eyes bug out. “Oh, shit, have you started hallucinating your death?”
“No,” Corbett says. He tugs at his sleeve as if he doesn't really want to tell Harry what's going on, and Ed feels weirdly honored to be the one who Corbett trusts, though he shouldn't be surprised, since apparently Corbett is in love with him.
“I - my parents threw me out,” Corbett says. His crying jag seems to have passed, and he's wiping at his face, which is red and puffy, like he's been crying for awhile.
“Threw you out!” Harry says, practically shouting, tactless as usual. “What for?”
“What do you think, Harry?” Ed snaps. He gives him a look that tells him to let it lie, and Harry scratches at his head.
“Geez, that sucks, man,” Harry says. “So, you're, like - homeless?”
“Harry!” Ed shouts.
“What?”
“You can't just - call people homeless!” Ed puts his arm around Corbett's shoulders again. Poor guy. He doesn't deserve any of this, and would have been better off if he'd never seen that flyer at the mall. Corbett was one of five people Ed and Harry interviewed for the intern position, and they picked him because he wasn't a goth dweeb or spastic weirdo like so many of the losers they'd hung out with in high school. Corbett was good-looking and smiley and they both agreed after his initial interview that he was basically a golden retriever in human form. Just the kind of person they'd been hoping to get: someone who would let them boss him around and who could carry the heavy equipment.
“I was actually kind of hoping, um, that maybe I could stay on the couch in the Ghostfacers headquarters for a little while?” Corbett says. The Ghostfacers headquarters is basically just Ed and Maggie's basement, and there's a beat-up old couch along the wall, across from Ed's computer. He's crashed there at night plenty of times himself, too tired after hours of research to make it up the stairs.
“Yeah, of course,” Ed says. “My parents are totally cool with gay people. They'll love you.”
Corbett smiles, and Ed blanches a little when he realizes he just said the l-word to Corbett again. But it wasn't the real Corbett he said it to, and the real Corbett will never know. Even Spruce wouldn't be so low as to tell Corbett what Ed did to dispel Daggett. It would be unfair to toy with the guy's emotions like that. As far as Corbett knows, Dean was the one responsible for getting rid of Daggett, with salt-filled, ghost-repelling bullets.
“Thanks, Ed,” Corbett says softly. He sniffles and looks over at Harry, who is staring at Ed and Corbett in a way that makes Ed take his arm away from Corbett.
“Uh, Ed, can I talk to you for a minute?” Harry says, and Ed glares at him.
“Not now, Harry.”
“It's okay,” Corbett says. He stands up and sighs heavily. “I - I think I'm gonna go out and buy some clothes and toiletries and stuff before my dad cancels my credit card. I didn't get a chance to take any of my stuff before I - left.”
“Do you want us to come with you?” Ed asks. He doesn't like the idea of Corbett being alone while he's vulnerable like this. He's afraid, all the time now, that the universe is going to course correct and take Corbett away for real, even though Daggett's trick was just an illusion, not an actual death that Corbett came back from.
“That's okay,” Corbett says. “I think I could use some time by myself, actually, to collect my thoughts.” He smiles sadly and heads for the door. Ed follows him, dreading the feeling he always gets when Corbett leaves. Ever since the Morton house, it's like having a rib ripped out at first, losing the opportunity to just look over and see proof that Corbett didn't die because of him.
When Corbett is gone, Ed turns to Harry, already steeling himself for what he knows is coming.
“Um,” Harry says, his eyes going wide.
“Don't,” Ed says. He walks past Harry and into the kitchen. “I don't want to hear it. The poor guy just went through something traumatic, and he feels like he's all alone. I'm just trying to be a good friend.”
“Since when are you and Corbett even really friends, though?” Harry asks. He follows Ed into the kitchen and watches him slam through the cabinets, looking for something to snack on, though suddenly nothing sounds appetizing. His stomach hurts, a little.
“I mean, he was just our intern, before the Morton house,” Harry says. “I'm glad he's not dead and everything, but since we got back it's like you're - you're -”
“What, Harry?” Ed asks, shouting. “And why are you so threatened by me becoming friends with him? Maybe the whole ordeal made me realize that we'd been treating him pretty shittily, okay?”
“He's our intern!” Harry says, throwing out his arms. “He's supposed to wait on us. He likes it!”
“Fine, but we can still treat him like a person, maybe get to know him a little better.”
“I don't know, Ed, I don't know. You're - hugging him, letting him move in to your house, talking about getting to know him a little better -”
“Go ahead and make the stupid gay joke, it's not like I haven't heard a million of them already.”
“I'm not really joking,” Harry says. He rolls his eyes. “And I know you're not really a homo. But, look, maybe you're kind of leading him on? If you're all worried about his super special feelings, you'd better be careful about the signals you're giving him.”
“Oh, God,” Ed mutters. His face is burning, and he hides it in the fridge. “Thanks for the professional advice, Dr. Bederman. You're right, I should have just turned him out on his ass and told him to get me a coffee while he's at it.”
“What are you guys fighting about?” Maggie asks, coming in to the kitchen behind them. Ed and Harry both jump and gasp, and Maggie does, too, when she sees their reactions. Everyone's been a little on edge since the Morton house.
“I didn't hear you come in,” Ed says as Harry zips across the kitchen to glue himself to Maggie.
“Guess what?” Harry says. He leans down to kiss Maggie's neck, and she giggles. Ed groans and pulls a beer from the fridge.
“You're about to have a new roommate,” Harry says to Maggie. “Or housemate, I guess.”
“Oh yeah?” Maggie frowns. “Who's moving in?” She looks at Harry as if to tell him that if he thinks her parents will be okay with him sleeping in her room every night, he's wrong.
“Not me,” Harry says. “Ed's boyfriend.”
“What?” Maggie boggles at Ed. “Corbett?”
“I love that she hears 'Ed's boyfriend' and immediately knows I'm talking about Corbett,” Harry says, beaming.
“It's not funny, Harry,” Ed says. He groans and looks at Maggie. “Corbett came out to his parents and they reacted really badly. They threw him out of the house.”
“Oh!” Maggie gasps and puts her hand over her mouth. Harry is trying to work his tongue into her ear, and she shoves him away. “Poor Corbett! Where is he?”
“He just left to buy some clothes and stuff. He didn't even get to pack a bag or anything. He was in pretty bad shape.”
“Ed comforted him,” Harry says. “Physically.”
“Shut up, Harry.” Ed looks at Maggie; she's gaping at him. “I hugged him,” Ed says, holding up his hands. “That's all.”
“Aww, Ed.” Maggie smiles. “That's sweet. If I had been here, I would have hugged him, too.”
“Well, I was totally gonna hug him,” Harry says. “But Ed was over there clinging to him for dear life, so I didn't really get the chance.”
Maggie makes an irritable noise and smacks Harry's shoulder, but then she smiles at him and they swoon toward each other, which is Ed's cue to leave. He goes back down to the basement, finishes his beer at the computer and begins straightening the place up a little, making it livable for Corbett. It's already pretty tidy, since Corbett is good about whisking away their empty soda cans and mac and cheese bowls during meetings. Ed has really never met anyone like Corbett, and he thinks about this as he gathers pillows and blankets for the couch. Corbett is a pretty boy whose wealthy father bought him a Land Rover and gave him a credit card, and instead of cruising the gay social scene, or whatever young gay guys do, he's hanging out with the Ghostfacers, bringing them drinks and carrying their equipment. Harry would say that it's all because he has a crush on Ed, but Corbett has always been kind to the others, too, even when they antagonize him.
Corbett comes back a little over an hour later, when Ed is watching TV in the living room, trying not to think about what Harry and Maggie are doing upstairs. He's glad to see Corbett, for that first thrill of remembering that he's alive, and also because he's feeling kind of lonely himself. Spruce is working full time now and is almost never around unless they're shooting an actual episode, and Harry, his best friend in the world since he was seven years old, is now preoccupied with Maggie full time.
“I hope I didn't forget anything,” Corbett says as he follows Ed down to the basement with his shopping bags full of supplies. “I'm sure he'll cancel the card soon. And I wanted to tell you, Ed, I'll get a real job as soon as I can find one, and I'll pay your parents rent, and give them money toward food and utilities -”
“Corbett, buddy, don't worry about all that,” Ed says. “Just consider yourself our guest for now, okay? I'm sure after your parents get over the initial shock they'll be begging you to come home.”
“You don't know them,” Corbett says with a scoff. “Especially my dad - I, I'll just crash here until I've saved up enough to rent my own place. Don't worry. I'm not a freeloader.”
“Of course you're not. Look, here, I got you a pillow and stuff, it gets pretty cold down here at night so here's some blankets - see this one? My grandma knitted this for Maggie when my parents first brought her home. It's really warm. Oh, and I'll get you some towels, there's a shower in the bathroom down here - do you need shampoo and stuff?”
“I bought some,” Corbett says. He smiles. “Ed. You're being really great. I really appreciate it.”
“Yeah, no problem.” Ed laughs at himself and scratches at the back of his neck. “It's just, you know. I've told you. What we saw in the Morton house - it was pretty fucking horrible. And I felt - and I still kind of feel, I guess - responsible. For you.”
Corbett's face changes, his eyes lighting up with what might be hope, and Ed knows he should be heeding Harry's warning. It would only hurt Corbett to feed his crush, but for some reason that's all Ed has wanted to do since the Morton house, maybe because doing it there made magic happen, basically. Something that even Sam and Dean couldn't explain.
“You still won't tell me how I died?” Corbett says.
“No.” Ed shakes his head hard. “Just - please, Corbett, quit asking me about it. It's over, and it was never real anyway.”
“It must have been pretty bad if you're still this shaken up.” Corbett takes a step closer. To Ed, sometimes the weirdest part of the idea that Corbett has a crush on him is the fact Corbett is taller than him. It just seems not allowed, a guy like Corbett looking at a guy like him this way. Ed doesn't understand where Corbett's feelings for him even came from; he's not a bad looking guy, but girls have never exactly fallen at his feet. He's only ever had one real girlfriend in his entire life, and that was back in high school.
“It was bad,” Ed says. “Let's just leave it at that.”
Corbett nods and smiles; he's always willing to do whatever Ed says. Ed tries to maintain a purely anthropological interest in this phenomenon, casually investigating the reasons. Harry claims that some gay guys 'just like bears' and that if Corbett is a golden retriever Ed is a teddy bear. Ed doesn't like this explanation at all.
“Are you ready for the 'Facers meeting tonight?” Corbett asks. “I got some snacks for everybody, you know, as a thank you for you letting me stay here.”
“Corbett, you don't have to pay for the snacks yourself.” Ed stops himself before adding You're homeless. He sighs as Corbett pulls out a box of Rice Krispies and a can of marshmallow fluff.
“It's okay, it's my dad's money, anyway,” Corbett says. “I thought I could make Rice Krispie squares. If it's okay to use your kitchen?”
“Jesus, Corbett. Of course it's okay. Here, I'll help you.”
Corbett laughs. “You don't have to help,” he says. “You've got stuff to get ready for the meeting, right?”
“Ah - I guess.” Ed actually has no idea what they'll talk about at the meeting. His site-hunting inspiration is nil, and Harry and Maggie are too busy doing things Ed doesn't want to think about to help him come up with potential investigations. Frankly, he'd rather be upstairs making fucking Rice Krispie treats with Corbett than alone in the basement trying to muster up some interest in the thing he once loved more than anything else.
Still, he resists the temptation to follow Corbett upstairs, because Harry is right, he needs to put a little distance between himself and Corbett before things get out of hand. He clicks through all the familiar websites about hauntings in the area, looking for anything within a three or four hour radius of his hometown, but all he sees when he looks at the eerie pictures that others have taken of abandoned buildings and old graveyards is Corbett in pain, dying because of Ed's dreams of fame, because of Ed.
Finally, he can't take it anymore and goes upstairs. Corbett is talking with someone, and Ed assumes it's Maggie before turning the corner and seeing that it's his mother, who apparently has loaned Corbett one of her aprons.
“Hey, Ed,” Corbett says. He looks happy, which is something, considering how he was earlier. “The Rice Krispie treats are almost ready.”
“I was telling your friend: I haven't had those in years!” Ed's mother says. “Your grandma used to make them for me.”
“Oh.” Ed feels kind of stunned, and he's not sure why. He goes to the fridge for another beer, and his mother makes a disapproving sound.
“How'd the job search go today?” she asks. Ed grunts and pops the beer open.
“The economy's bad right now, Mom.”
“Did you even apply for anything?”
“Yes,” Ed says, lying. “Did Corbett tell you about - his situation?”
“He did.” Ed's mother makes a sympathetic face at Corbett. “And I told him he was welcome to stay here as long as he needs to. It'll be good to get to know some of Eddie's - other friends.”
As opposed to Harry, who his parents have never liked, which makes the fact that Maggie is suddenly in love with him kind of difficult, but they don't know about that yet, and Ed's mother definitely doesn't know that Harry is up there dozing post-coitally in Maggie's bed at this very moment.
“Thanks so much, Mrs. Zeddmore,” Corbett says. He's blushing; growing up rich must make it hard to take handouts.
“Please, call me Ann,” Ed's mother says, and Ed feels kind of dizzy. It's something about the sight of Corbett in his mother's apron, probably. He sits down at the kitchen table and takes a long drink of beer.
“Where's Dad?” Ed asks.
“Working late as usual. Does Maggie have a friend over?”
Ed feels sympathetic panic for Maggie and Harry: they must not know that Ed's mother is home. They're up there laughing like idiots, stomping around.
“It's just Harry,” Ed says. “They're working on some Ghostfacers stuff.”
“Oh, what do you have them working on?” Corbett asks brightly, and Ed would smack his forehead if he could. Corbett can be kind of slow on the uptake at times. He widens his eyes, and Corbett's mouth quirks as he realizes what's going on.
“Are they analyzing the Morton house data?” Corbett asks, winking. Ed barely holds in a snort of laughter.
“Yeah,” he says. “The Morton house.” He doesn't even like saying the name of that place, and saying the name of the ghost who tried to get them to murder Corbett for him is even harder.
“What's the Morton house?” Ed's mother asks. She already looks disapproving. “You haven't been trespassing again, have you?”
“No,” Ed says. “We - it was abandoned. Anyway, nothing much happened there.” He gives Corbett a sympathetic look, feeling bad for the lie. Corbett smiles.
“Yeah, it was totally boring,” he says.
“I wish you boys would do something more constructive with your time,” Ed's mother says.
“You don't believe in ghosts, Mrs. Zeddmore - I mean, Ann?” Corbett says, and Ed cringes. He's getting really tired of hashing this out with his parents, who have accused him of corrupting Maggie with his interest in the paranormal.
“Well, Corbett, it's impossible to disprove the existence of ghosts, but no, I generally do not subscribe to the theory that they exist.” She gives Ed a look. His mother is a high school biology teacher and she doesn't consider what Ed does to be even remotely scientific.
“So what would you say if Ed caught one on tape?” Corbett asks. He grins at Ed, and Ed feels a little sick to his stomach, thinking of those tapes that were erased, what life would be like if they hadn't been. People might have written it off as a prank, but not after meeting Corbett. He's the one they would have believed if the 'Facers got famous, the one people would want to listen to. One look at his face and it's obvious that it would never even occur to him to lie about anything.
“If Ed caught a ghost on tape.” His mother sighs. “Well, I suppose I would have to concede the argument then.”
“And listen to me tell you I told you so for the rest of your life,” Ed says.
“Well.” His mother gives him a long-suffering look. “Perhaps. But I'm not holding my breath.”
She leaves the kitchen and Ed gets another beer. Maybe if he's drunk for the Ghostfacers meeting he'll be able to conjure up some enthusiasm, or at least not be such a pussy about possibly investigating something again someday. He stands next to Corbett and watches him cut the tray of Rice Krispie treats into squares.
“That was a nice save about Harry and Maggie's - research,” Ed says. “Thanks.”
“No problem! I had no idea your mom didn't know about them.”
“Yeah, Harry is not her favorite. He's not my favorite right now, either, really. I don't know why I just didn't let her catch them.”
“Are you and Harry fighting?”
“No. I don't know. Not really. He's just kind of done with me, you know? It's like he's moved on to Maggie now.” Ed has been pretty lonely since the Morton house, when Maggie and Harry had what they claimed to be their first kiss.
“He's just excited to have a girlfriend,” Corbett says. “He'll calm down about the whole thing soon, I bet.”
“Right.” Ed grins when Corbett lifts a Rice Krispie square from the pan and offers it to him. “Thanks.” It's pretty tasty. Corbett has always been a good cook. He watches Ed for a reaction and Ed raises his eyebrows.
“It's good,” he says. “You're awesome, you know that?”
Corbett laughs and looks down at the pan, blushing. Ed shouldn't have said that, but he can't help it. He's pretty sure anybody would feel this way if they blamed themselves for someone's death and then got a second chance like this.
“What would your mom say if I told her a ghost kidnapped me and knocked me out?” Corbett asks.
“She'd probably just think you were nuts, so don't tell her that.” Ed's heart beats a little faster; he still hasn't interviewed Corbett about the experience properly. He tells himself that he doesn't want to make Corbett relive the trauma, but he's the one who was traumatized; Corbett was lying in a heap on the floor of the bomb shelter with Sam Winchester the whole time. He missed all the lowlights.
Ed helps Corbett carry down the refreshments for the meeting and goes back to his computer, wondering what he'll tell the others when they assemble. He doesn't want to disband the Ghostfacers, but he's not sure he wants to chase ghosts anymore, either, not with the fact that he could lose a member of his team at any time always in the back of his mind.
“Hey, Corbett,” he says as he's looking at ghost hunting message boards, scrolling through them too quickly to really read anything. “What do you want to do with your life?”
Corbett laughs. “I don't know,” he says. “I have a degree in political science. Maybe something with that?”
“Yeah, you'd be a good politician. Or a lawyer, you'd be a good lawyer, people would, like, believe that you're honest. I thought I'd figured out what I wanted to do with my life, you know, what I was really passionate about. Now, I don't know.”
“What's wrong?” Corbett asks. He drags one of the folding chairs over and sits beside Ed at the desk. “You don't want to be a professional paranormal investigator anymore? Is it because of me?”
“Because of -?”
“Because you - thought you saw something really bad happening to me? 'Cause it wasn't that bad, Ed, I mean, I was really scared, but then he knocked me out, and the next thing I knew I was waking up to everyone shouting and crying and hugging me like they couldn't believe I was alive.” He smirks. “That part was kind of - nice, actually.”
Ed remembers that part. He'd thrown his arms around Corbett's uninjured neck and hadn't let go until Dean and Sam were dragging them all out of the house.
“Forget it,” Ed says, turning back to the computer. “I'm just - I just have to be more careful about the situations I get my team into. It's just hard to know. I was so - sort of smug before, thinking we'd be okay.”
“Yeah, but we were okay,” Corbett says. “I'm okay, Ed, really. And if Dean saved us with salt bullets, why don't we just get some of those?”
Ed opens his mouth, not sure how he'll respond, and he's glad when he hears Maggie and Harry thundering down the stairs. Maggie has combed her post-sex hair back into place, but Harry is wearing his with pride.
“Ed!” Maggie hisses, slapping his shoulder. “You didn't tell me Mom was home already!”
“Well, what was I going to do, burst into your room to inform you? I didn't want to interrupt - anything. Anyway, don't worry. Corbett covered for you.”
“Oh, Corbett!” Maggie rushes over to hug him. “Ed told me what happened. I'm so sorry!”
“It's okay,” Corbett says. He's blushing again; he kind of does that a lot. “I'm just glad you guys are letting me stay here. I don't know what I'd do without you.” He pulls back and smiles, and Maggie gives him a sympathetic look. Harry looks a little annoyed by their proximity, and walks over to put his hands on Maggie's hips.
“What smells good?” Harry asks. “Ooh, Rice Krispie treats!” He dives toward the plate of them and stuffs one in his mouth.
“Corbett made them,” Ed says, and Harry nods, chewing. “Why don't you thank him?” Ed says, narrowing his eyes a little.
“Thanks, man,” Harry says, with his mouthful, slapping Corbett's back. “I really worked up an appetite this afternoon, gotta tell you.”
“Jesus!” Ed says, and Maggie giggles.
“We need to get Ed a girlfriend so he'll stop harshing our buzz,” Harry says. Ed groans and pretends to be busy on the computer.
“Don't say 'harshing our buzz." He wishes Harry would take his own advice and be more sensitive about Corbett's feelings. He shouldn't go around flaunting the idea of Ed having a girlfriend. Ed sneaks a look at Corbett. He's busying himself with arranging soda cans on the table beside the sofa.
“Speaking of that,” Maggie says. “Nicki was asking about you today in class, Ed.”
Maggie is getting a computer science degree from the local community college, and a couple of months ago Ed hooked up with one of her classmates. Nicki is a wiccan, and Ed was able to charm her with his extensive paranormal knowledge. He was pretty drunk by the time they had sex, but her porn-star vocalizing still annoyed him. He hasn't called her since, and in general it's not a good memory.
“Tell her I moved to Guatemala,” Ed says.
Spruce arrives late as usual, and he seems kind of stoned. Ed wishes he was as the room falls quiet and the four other Ghostfacers all turn to him, waiting to hear what he has planned. He drums his hands on his knees and takes a deep breath.
“Sam and Dean,” he says. They stare at him, waiting for more. Maggie is leaning against Harry on the couch, Corbett is sitting Indian-style on the floor, and Spruce is splayed in Ed's father's beat up old armchair, looking like he might drift off to sleep at any moment.
“What about them?” Harry says.
“I think we need to investigate them. Who are these guys, anyway? How do they know about stuff like - salt bullets? Also, we've run into them twice now when we were really on to something, so I think it would be - lucrative to track them somehow and find out more about them.”
“Road trip!” Spruce says, lifting his fist into the air.
“But, wait,” Maggie says. “Don't they, like - hate us?”
“They fear us!” Ed says. He's got no idea where any of this is coming from. “Because we're on to them. I bet they work for some kind of government shadow agency.”
“Like in the X-Files!” Corbett says. He's grinning and hugging his knees now, clearly excited about this idea. Ed can practically hear his golden retriever tail slapping against the basement floor.
“Mulder and Scully worked for the FBI,” Harry says with a scoff. “Not a shadow agency.”
“Whatever.” Ed gives Harry a look and Harry rolls his eyes. “The point is, that's my suggestion for our next move. Has anyone got anything better?”
“I still can't believe our footage got erased, man,” Spruce says. “From the Morton house? Shit, that stuff was going to make us rich.”
“Why don't you be more of an asshole, Spruce?” Ed snaps. “You're really upset that we don't have to watch Corbett die a billion more times during the editing process?”
“Jesus, Ed!” Spruce says. He glances at Corbett guiltily. “There was more to it than just that. We could have cut that part out.”
“I would have let you use it,” Corbett says, in a meek little voice that infuriates Ed further. He shakes his head and turns to his computer.
“What's the point in talking about it now, anyway?” he says. “The footage is gone. We've got to move past the Morton house.”
“No kidding,” Harry mutters, and Ed turns to glower at him.
“Do you have something to say to me?” he asks.
“No,” Harry says, and he actually looks pretty upset. Ed feels badly; maybe he has been a little short with Harry lately. He wishes he could explain that this thing with Maggie is making him feel abandoned, but it's too childish to say out loud.
“Look, guys,” Ed says, holding up his hands. “If you hate this Sam and Dean idea, fine. That's just - it's just one idea.”
“I don't think it's a bad one,” Maggie says. “We could start asking other ghost hunters if they've ever run across these guys.”
“Yeah,” Harry says, brightening. “And I could make a dossier on everything we do know about them. Like the kind of car they drive and stuff. Did anyone else notice that it had Ohio plates?”
“That's a good place to start,” Ed says, pointing at Harry. He actually has no interest at all in finding Sam and Dean, but it will be a good way to keep the team distracted while he figures out what to do about the future, and if he even wants to hunt ghosts anymore.
The rest of the meeting passes as usual: off topic chit-chat, vague plans for their someday television show, Corbett refilling drinks and passing around snacks. Ed starts to enjoy himself, feeling like he used to when he hung out with these guys, and he ends up convincing Harry to spend the night in the basement with him and Corbett, like old times, when it was just Harry and Ed down here in the basement, trying to scare each other with ghost stories.
“Thanks,” Ed says to Harry after Maggie has gone upstairs to go to bed and Spruce has gone home. They're in the basement's back closet, hunting around for their old sleeping bags. “I just figure, Corbett could use some company, you know, first night away from home, and it's not like I can sleep down here with him by myself. You were right before - I need to think about what I'm doing. I don't want to break the guy's heart after all he's already been through.”
Harry smirks. "Maybe now that he's got a new lease on life and everything, he'll try to date someone who's not straight," he says.
"That would be good," Ed says, though he doesn't like the idea of anybody falling out of love with him, even if he doesn't return those feelings. He's pretty sure that nobody's ever been in love with him before, not even his high school girlfriend, who seemed to enjoy dangling the prospect of sex in front of him more than ever actually doing anything, or having real conversations. She broke up with him senior year because she found porno mangas in his room. It was a pretty threadbare excuse, and she was dating a fellow marching band member by the following Monday.
Ed and Harry set up their sleeping bags on the floor, Harry in the middle, as if to provide a barrier between Ed and Corbett. Ed makes a run to the fridge for beers, and they drink them in the dark, with Ed's computer screensaver glowing over them.
"Hey, Corbett," Harry says at one point. "If you had died - would have you stuck around to hang out with us? You know, as a ghost?"
Corbett laughs. "I don't know. You don't think I would have gone to heaven?"
"Of course he would have gone to heaven," Ed says, scoffing. He's finally starting to feel a little bit drunk. "Corbett's the most heaven-bound guy I've ever met."
"You believe in heaven?" Harry says.
"For people like Corbett, sure."
Harry jabs Ed with his elbow when Corbett isn't looking, and Ed shrugs. He's staring at the ceiling, fighting sleep so that Harry and Corbett won't have to hear him shout through his nightmares. He wants another beer.
"Well, you know what would have been awesome?" Corbett says. "If I stuck around as a ghost and traveled the nation with you guys. You'd be, like, the foremost expert on ghosts because you'd have one for a friend, and we could do shows and stuff."
"Oh, shit, that'd be awesome!" Harry says, laughing. "We could call you Casper, you know, or - no, better: Corbett the Friendly Ghost!"
"That's ridiculous," Ed says. He hates the idea of the Ghostfacers getting rich off of Corbett being dead, and always having to see him with that wound in his neck, knowing that they'd not only cost him his life but that they were profiting off of it - Ed would go out of his mind.
"Corbett, the friendly ghost!" Harry sings. "The friendliest ghost you know!"
"Shut up, Harry," Ed says, but Corbett is laughing.
"I could have my own talk show or something," he says. "Like, I could offer to interview other ghosts and stuff, and they would, you know, come out of the closet because they trusted me, as a fellow supernatural entity."
"Come out of the closet?" Harry says, laughing. "What, so only gay ghosts on your show?"
"Harry, you're such a dick," Ed says, shoving him.
"Okay, bad choice of words," Corbett says, and he's laughing, but Ed thinks he looks a little wounded. He actually hates the way Corbett looks in this light, with the bluish glow of the computer screen on his face. It reminds him of that fake death echo, and the footage on the camera.
Corbett falls asleep first, probably worn out from all that crying, and Harry starts talking about Maggie's eyes, so Ed rolls over with a groan and pretends to be asleep himself. Harry is snoring just a few minutes later, and Ed falls asleep resisting the urge to roll over and check to make sure Corbett is still there.
Mixed in with his usual nightmares, there's an awful one about Corbett as their friend the ghost, blood all over his shirt, that awful puncture wound in his neck, and in the dream Ed can tell he's only pretending to be okay with what's happened to him for the sake of the others. In the dream, Ed catches him crying backstage before one of their events, and as he hurries toward him to tell him that he doesn't have to do this for him, that he can cross over and be at peace, Daggett's ghost reappears, growling with fury, heading toward Corbett, ready to kill him again. That's when Ed realizes that Corbett has been alive the whole time, only pretending to be a ghost so that Ed and Harry would be famous.
He wakes up just as Daggett is grunting and driving a crowbar through Corbett's neck. He bolts upright and sucks in a harsh breath, not screaming, though there's a high sharp whine in his ears, and he doesn't know where he is, only that he's terrified. He looks around, sees an empty sleeping bag beside him and someone asleep on the couch. The person on the couch is sighing softly; no, he's moaning. No, he's crying. Disoriented, still half in the dream, Ed moans with sympathy, crawls over to the couch, takes Corbett's shoulder and turns him onto his back.
"Oh, God," Ed says, reaching up to touch Corbett's neck, delirious with relief until he feels something hot and wet there. But it's not blood, just tears, and Ed climbs onto the couch, onto Corbett, needing to be as close as possible to every living, breathing inch of him. Corbett gasps and grabs Ed's elbows.
"What - what are you doing?" Corbett asks, sniffling.
"Oh, Corbett, Corbett, you're okay," Ed says, pressing his face to Corbett's neck, rubbing his nose and cheeks against it. Corbett's pulse is pounding against Ed's skin, and it's the best feeling he's ever known, waking up to this, though he knows he's not completely awake. He doesn't want to be, just wants to float here for awhile.
"I - I'm sorry if I woke you," Corbett says. "I just - I was thinking about today, I tried to be quiet -"
"Corbett, Corbett," Ed whispers, the name thrumming through his blood like a heartbeat. "You don't know - I'm so afraid that it won't be true, that you'll disappear again."
"Ed," Corbett says after a pause, so softly that Ed gets goosebumps, but he only squirms closer, needing more contact. Corbett's body is so warm and real, it's a miracle, and Ed feels like he could weep with gratitude.
"God, you're okay," Ed says. He slips his arms under Corbett's and hooks his hands around his shoulders. "Please keep being okay, please, I need you to be okay."
"I'm - I'm fine, Ed," Corbett says. He puts his hand on the back of Ed's head as if he's the one who needs comforting. "I promise."
Ed sighs deeply, content and smiling against Corbett's neck. He wants to stay right here forever, where he'll never have to push away those jerks of worry about where Corbett is, wondering if he's safe.
"God, Corbett," he says. "Your heartbeat."
"Ed, you have to tell me what happened - what you thought happened to me in that house. It must have been - horrific. If, if you're acting like this."
"Corbett," Ed murmurs, starting to go under again. He can sleep now, really sleep, and it's going to feel so good, pressed against Corbett like this, knowing that he's alive with every thump of Corbett's heart against Ed's chest. He takes a deep breath full of the smell of Corbett's skin, which is like clean laundry and marshmallow fluff, and when he drops into sleep it's like sinking into jacuzzi, like the way it was before the Morton house.
*
Part II