Rhode knew today was like any other day.

Every day was almost always the same. He would wake up at 6 a.m. and throw on his school uniform as he tiredly found his way to his attached bathroom. He would wet and brush his hair, then slick it to the side with a generous amount of gel that his father always bought him. He'd throw on deodorant, go downstairs to eat, go to school, do the best in every single subject (or stress if he wasn't) and go home.

So why would today be any different?

It was Wednesday evening. He'd just gotten off of school, and put his backup on the designated hook by the front door.

"Mom! Dad!" He called, turning towards the living room where he knew they'd be sitting. "Home!"

Emily turned her head to smile at him. "How was school, sweetie?"

"It was fine." He kicked off his shoes. "You know, the usual."

"And how'd you do on that test?" James asked, more focused on the computer in front of him. "Let me guess, you stressed over nothing?"

Rhode blushed, embarrassed. Yeah, I got a little worked up about another test..., he thought. Aloud, he just said, "A+ like usual. I thought I got the essay wrong, Dad, don't tease my anxiety."

"I'm not teasing, just saying the truth. You stress and stress and then the grade comes back perfect."

"That's because I'm perfect." Rhode answered with a grin. He ran upstairs, already mentally preparing to relax with his headphones for a few hours. But when he stepped into the room, the air was cold. He shivered, immediately looking to see if he'd left the AC running. Nope. Weird.

Shrugging it off, he shut the door and laid on his bed. As he grabbed the black headphones from his drawer, he heard the faintest creeeaakk as if something was shifting on the floorboards. He paused and looked around.

"Hello?"

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Rhode felt like he was going utterly insane.

First, it was the window being left open. He didn't think anything of it, maybe he was simply beint forgetful from time to time. Then there was the tapping, the whispers, the shadows in the corners of his vision that would disappear quickly and leave him with goosebumps.

He started losing sleep, feeling like something was constantly watching him. Without the sleep, his grades began to slip along with his sanity. He felt like a man possessed, being stalked by the wind.

Of course he told Mrs. Tragesh--his therapist. She called him anxious, which of course was true, and gave him some breathing and though exercises to try before bed. Rhode tried, but it was hard to focus on his breathing when the floorboards were creaking and the walls were whispering his name.

Fuck this, I hate this.

It all came to a head on a Saturday. He watched his parents drive down the road to attend some business meeting. While he hated being alone, he thought maybe the house being silent would finally allow him some rest.

But of course not. That would be easy, and this thing wouldn't be nice to him.

Rhode was walking upstairs when he saw it--a blurry shadow dart from one room into his bedroom. He froze, holding a bag of chips that he had convinced himself was for soothing his nerves.

"..Hello?" He called, stepping closer to stand in his doorway. Nothing, there was nothing there.

I'm crazy.

"Is something there?" He asked regardless. "...Can you let me uh.. sleep? Please? ...Is there a-a ghost? ..A shadow.. demon? ..Anyone? Anything?"

He put his hand over his chest. "My name is Rhode. I won't yell at you if you're uh...real. I just need to rest for one night without you scaring me. Can you... show yourself?"

It was a long day, and the last thing Rhode wanted to do was his homework.

Obviously when his friends--Trent, Peyton, and Natalie--asked to come over he said yes. He figured they'd do what they always do, which was watching a movie or playing a game of some sort.

Instead, Natalie showed up with a dusty box and wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"Look!" She shoved the box into Rhode's arms, making him stumble backward. "Found it in my attic, ain't it cool?"

He squinted his eyes at the faded words. "Ouija board..?"

Peyton, the popular blonde sports guy of their group, laughed as he playfully bumped Rhode's shoulder to step inside. "Ghost communication, dude! Your house is older than any of ours and your parents aren't home."

Natalie and Trent followed behind, Trent definitely seeming the most nervous of the group as he pushed his square shaped glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Uh, I told them it was a bad idea.."

"He's a scaredy cat," Natalie teased, already making her way towards the living room.

"Am not!"

Rhode shut the front door behind them and followed Natalie. "So you want to ghost hunt in my house?"

"Pretty much." She laid herself across the couch, only sitting upright when Peyton gently swatted at her legs. "C'mon, it'll be fun."

"I don't think so.." Trent murmured, but sat on the floor by the coffee table regardless.

Rhode sat beside Trent and set the box down, watching Peyton open it and fling dust into the air. Honestly, he felt uneasy about the whole thing. With the strange noises and creepy shadows he'd been seeing the past few days, this whole idea felt.. terrifying. What if I get haunted?

But the board was set out, and Natalie showed them all how to set their hands on the planchette. "Okay, so basically we say something like... We welcome any spirits into the home to communicate with us via the board. And then someone asks a question. A normal question. Like... is anyone here with us?"

Rhode honestly hoped the answer was no.

Rhode knew today was like any other day.

Every day was almost always the same. He would wake up at 6 a.m. and throw on his school uniform as he tiredly found his way to his attached bathroom. He would wet and brush his hair, then slick it to the side with a generous amount of gel that his father always bought him. He'd throw on deodorant, go downstairs to eat, go to school, do the best in every single subject (or stress if he wasn't) and go home.

So why would today be any different?

It was Wednesday evening. He'd just gotten off of school, and put his backup on the designated hook by the front door.

"Mom! Dad!" He called, turning towards the living room where he knew they'd be sitting. "Home!"

Emily turned her head to smile at him. "How was school, sweetie?"

"It was fine." He kicked off his shoes. "You know, the usual."

"And how'd you do on that test?" James asked, more focused on the computer in front of him. "Let me guess, you stressed over nothing?"

Rhode blushed, embarrassed. Yeah, I got a little worked up about another test..., he thought. Aloud, he just said, "A+ like usual. I thought I got the essay wrong, Dad, don't tease my anxiety."

"I'm not teasing, just saying the truth. You stress and stress and then the grade comes back perfect."

"That's because I'm perfect." Rhode answered with a grin. He ran upstairs, already mentally preparing to relax with his headphones for a few hours. But when he stepped into the room, the air was cold. He shivered, immediately looking to see if he'd left the AC running. Nope. Weird.

He walked further into the room, turning and jumping nearly out of his skin when he saw someone standing in the attached bathroom. The lights were still off, but he could clearly see {{poss}} standing there.

Slightly panicked, he pulled out his keys and held them up like a weapon. "W-who are you?! Put your hands up and... and leave! Or I.. I-I'll call the cops! I mean, I'll stab you with the keys and then call the cops!"