sortinghat_rp

[Arthur's reaction is anything but normal. Usually he'd entertain this kind of thing, or maybe flick Eriq on the forehead and tell him not to be such a twerp, but there's the unfortunate, undeniable fact that the cold corpse of one of his best friends is lying in front of him and if he just heard his voice that can only mean one thing.

He doesn't look at him, he just pulls in a shuddering breath, and his voice cracks when he finally speaks]

... what happened.

[Awwww. He was kind of hoping for a little scream. Marshall's shout of "holy shit!" before had been kind of gratifying. The few pleasures of being a ghost; scaring the willies out of the living.]

I'm not really sure. Heart attack, I suspect. I was just... [he gestures toward his journal, which was sprawled open on the floor] Well, I was fine one second, if not a little distraught, and then I was staring at my dead body, wondering what just happened.

A.. heart attack.

[There's another shuddering breath, and he scrubs at one of his eyes with the heel of his hand, not even able to give two fucks that he's crying over this]

Right.

[Arthur might feel a little chill where Eriq's hand tried to touch his shoulder, and then went right through]

It's fine, Arthur, really. I mean... there's not much you can do about it, right? So don't... don't make a fuss, okay?

[Arthur shivers, and twitches his shoulder away from that chill. He screws his eyes shut so he doesn't have to look at him and shakes his head]

I'm not making a fuss. I'm not. I..

[Then he does look, because he needs to confirm for his own sanity that this is actually happening, and he feels his heart lodge in his throat]

You're dead. What am I supposed to..

[He shrugs, looking at Arhtur helplessly]

I dunno? How do you think I feel? I'm dead! I can't really do anything. So just... calm down, okay? I'm still... [he waves his hand around] here. Ish. That's something, right?

Right, right...

[He slides away from Eriq's.. body.. and leans against the nearest wall, tucking his knees up close to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. For a few moments, he rests his forehead against his knees, and takes a couple of breaths to calm himself down. Can't be selfish, here.. Eriq is the dead one, not him.

Arthur lifts his head up and bumps the back of it against the wall, rubbing at his eyes again and muttering something that sounds like 'stupid..' under his breath]

I'm calm.

Good.

[he pauses, shifting around to sit in front of the other boy - about an inch above the floor]

I'm flattered that you're so upset by my untimely passing, by the way.

[He lets out a breathless-sounding little laugh that's utterly devoid of humour]

You thought I wouldn't be?

[he shrugs] I never thought I'd die so young. And now that I'm dead.... [He reaches back, rubbing the nape of his neck] Well, I kind of figured there would be a fuss, since a dead body is rather disturbing, but I didn't really think much beyond that. I feel very placid about the whole thing, if you must know.

That sounds like the right kind of reaction for you.

[He sighs, slowly]

You're one of my best friends you bloody tosser and I have precious few of them, of course I'm going to be upset.

Well, you know me. [He rolls his eyes, sticking a foot out to nudge-poke at Arthur] Mr. Empathy.

But... I'm still here. Nothing's going to really change! It's not like I was hugging you all the time, right? I can still watch you sleep, you know. That's how I spent the first half of my afterlife, after all.

... I'd ask you if you're serious, but I know you are.

[Using the wall as support, he gets up, still feeling a bit shaky about this but how calm Eriq is being is.. well, he can't very well continue panicking when the dead guy is the one being calm. It feels just a bit silly. He sits down on his bed instead, then flops down onto his back]

I suppose 'I'll miss you' is a rather pointless thing to say.

I didn't exactly no what else to do! [He protests, shrugging again] I mean, I kind of tried picking things up a bit, but that didn't go very well, So I just gave up and watched you sleep for a while.

Then Marshall was throwing up down the hall, so I checked on him. But I came right back afterwards.

[He shrugs again, then smirks, leaning forward, dropping his chin onto his hand as he bats his eyes at Arthur] Oh, darling, don't you know? I'll haunt you until the end of time~

[Arthur watches his friend for a little while, then sits up again, drawing his legs up onto the bed]

... You know, they say that ghosts imprint on people who meant something to them when they were alive, and haunt specific individuals for personal reasons. Should I be flattered?

I dunno. Do you want a ghostly teenager following you for the rest of your life? Seems like it'd cramp your style a bit.

I mean, just imagine what it'll be like when you finally get with Alfredo Sauce. I will be there. Watching you smooch. Watching you do the nasty. Always staring.

Hmm, I suppose you have a point.

[This shouldn't feel so normal.. but somehow it does. He should have known death wouldn't change Eriq all that much]

... Oh my god would you shut up about that!

[And then there's a chess piece flying at him.. straight through him. Creepy]

[Sniggering, Eriq holds up his arm to shield himself from the flying chess piece, mostly out of habit than out of any real fear of being hit]

Well? It's not like you've stopped muttering about him in your sleep! If anything, it's gotten worse! He must be doing something right, if you've got him on your mind so much.

I'm beginning to think you're just pulling my leg about that, you know.

[He narrows his eyes just a little. Arthur knows he talks in his sleep but it can't really be that bad, can it?]

I..

[Sigh]

I don't know. Maybe he is.

I may be exaggerating slightly. Just a smidge.

[He smiles innocently, as if there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. He likes this topic much better than his death, too. It's far more inconsequential.]

You know I just tease you about him because I care, right? I mean, I know he's always picked on you, but it's never been like your brothers. He's a prat, but I think he usually means well, is what I'm trying to say. So I'm not judging you for liking him.

Git.

[He manages to be good-humoured about it, at least. Somehow this is seeming less and less distressing. Well, no one can say Arthur doesn't bounce back quickly from a crisis, given no other option]

I don't think anyone's ever been quite like Will and Phineas.. and what the bloody hell do you mean by that? If looks could have killed when I told you I'd be as dead as you are.

No, I'm pretty sure that is not how it went. I'm pretty sure I only looked at you like you are crazy. Which you are, but I think that goes without saying.

[He smiles vaguely, dropping his chin into one hand]

Of course, it could just be... [he gestures to himself] All this. A lot of things that bothered me before seem kind of petty and meaningless right now. Like I'm floating in a miasma of general apathy. It's rather nice.

Is it? Hm. I can't say I'm not going to miss your entertaining melodrama but it might be nice to be able to have a conversation that doesn't end with you flouncing away.

[He smiles in return, then his expression turns thoughtful]

Though, since I have you in this mood, what do you think I ought to do?

Just wait until I'm trying to use the journals again. I'm sure I'll perform some dramatics energetic enough to entertain you.

[He hums a bit at the question] Well, don't kiss him until you're absolutely sure it's what you want. I kissed Herbert and Aranea before choosing one over the other, and now I can't have either.

[It's a good job he isn't drinking anything, because he would have done the most tremendous spit-take known to man at that piece of information]

You kissed Herbert?

[The fact he kissed Aranea doesn't even get a comment. Arthur saw that one coming from the other end of the country]

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