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[rule_britannia]

[His handwriting is barely legible, as if he's shaking so badly he can barely hold the quill]

I need some help

Hes dead hes

Eriqs dead I dont know what to do

fuck

Comments

[eighttimeshandy]

[Oh, it looks like people were finally starting to wake up! Great! But... he'd really been hoping to avoid a scene, especially like this one. Arthur all torn up and a mess over his death.]

[He kind of felt like a dick, but it wasn't as if he'd meant to die. Still, it made approaching the other Slytherin a bit awkward]

[So, he just did what he normally did and hovered behind Arthur's back, leaning down until their faces were parallel.]

Boo.

[rule_britannia]

[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.

[eighttimeshandy]

[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.

[thesmallesttrickster]

Arthur, you should contact a Professor. Are you unharmed?

[rule_britannia]

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.

[rule_britannia]

Im fine

Well Im not fine but Im not hurt

[eighttimeshandy]

[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?

[rule_britannia]

[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..

[eighttimeshandy]

[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?

[Filtered]

[thegluethatbinds]

Where are the both of you?

[Filtered]

[rule_britannia]

6th year slytherin dorms

[rule_britannia]

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.

[Filtered]

[thegluethatbinds]

Don't go anywhere.

[And within five minutes flat, there's one very serious teacher walking into the dorms.]

[eighttimeshandy]

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.

[rule_britannia]

[And Arthur is an utter wreck, as much as he's tried to calm himself down. His breath is hitching as he sits on the edge of the bed and looks over at the one beside it, where Eriq is]

[eighttimeshandy]

[Eriq looks up as Coulson comes in, waving at him. Just ignore the fact that he's a little see-though at the moment, and that there's another one of him face-down on the bed]

Hello, Professor.

[rule_britannia]

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

You thought I wouldn't be?

[thesmallesttrickster]

Are you certain it is not a boggart?

[rule_britannia]

I wouldnt call this my biggest fear

Also Eriqs ghost is talking to me

[eighttimeshandy]

[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.

[rule_britannia]

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.

[thesmallesttrickster]

Oh.

[rule_britannia]

Yes.

'Oh'

[eighttimeshandy]

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.

[thegluethatbinds]

[Well, this is a predicament. Coulson strides over to check Eriq's body for a pulse, but there was no mistaking that the teen was right over there as a ghost. Still, it would be prudent to check. As he does so, he quickly ask the boys a few questions.]

What exactly happened?