Spook

Chapter 8
Names and Possibilities

CHARLIE woke up feeling Danny's head on his shoulder. He still had both his arms around the sleeping boy. His arm was starting to get numb but he didn't care. He just liked the feeling of being so close to Danny. So close...

Charlie was feeling Danny's rhythmic breathing on his bare chest. Danny's arm was around his waist and their legs were intertwined. He felt so close to heaven. Almost there...

He remembered the way he gently brushed his lips against Danny's forehead last night. It sent shivers down his spine... through his groin... and to every nerve ending in his whole body. He wanted to try doing the same thing to Danny's lips... maybe even more than just a slight brush. He was sure he'd melt at the touch of those luscious lips.

He was aching to kiss the boy who was sleeping on his shoulder. But he knew he couldn't do it. He couldn't risk it.

He felt Danny pulling him closer with his arm. He almost lost all his restraints. He closed his eyes and contented himself in smelling Danny's thick, straight, black hair. It was glorious.

His own dick was screaming how gloriously pleasurable the whole thing was. He knew that if Danny happened to raise his leg up a bit again and brush it on his dick, it would send him right to the edge of this pleasure trip.

He felt Danny's hard morning wood on his hip and he painstakingly and very slowly tried to press his hip against it. He felt Danny's soft moan on his chest. Then he felt Danny stir.

Danny slowly lifted his head up to look at him. He opened his eyes and caught Danny's gaze.

Danny smiled sweetly and said, "Good morning." He smiled back.

"How're you doing?" he asked.

"A lot better. Thanks," answered Danny. "I, uh... I gotta go to the bathroom."

"Yeah," he said. "Me, too." But they both didn't move a muscle... still staring at each other's smiling faces. Charlie thought, "If he doesn't go now, I won't be able to contain this any longer." He wanted to kiss Danny so much that it was killing him.

He gave in.

He slowly lifted his head to get his lips closer and closer to Danny's, all the while looking deep into Danny's eyes. When his lips were just a few inches away from Danny's, his eyes automatically closed.

Then, he felt Danny got up and said, "I, uh... I really need to go."

He opened his eyes and felt himself blush. "Yeah... uh... me, too," he said trying not to look at Danny.

Danny stopped before he got to the door and turned around. He looked at Charlie as if wanting to say something. But he turned away after a couple of seconds and proceeded to walk out the door.

"Fuck!" Charlie cursed under his breath. He sat up and decided to beat up his pillow in frustration. After he calmed down a bit, he got up, went to his closet, grabbed his towel and went for a shower.

He stood in the cold showers as it slowly washed away the body heat that he had produced by being so close to Danny earlier. His rigid dick was slowly losing its power. But when thoughts of Danny invaded his mind again, his dick went back to full attention. Thoughts of Danny's naked body rubbing against his skin... those big, powerful hands exploring every part of his body... those full lips locked with his in a tender, passionate kiss...

"I almost kissed Danny," he thought. "What the hell was I thinking? What's he thinking of me now?"

Danny's reaction was every bit what he'd expected. "I bet he's disgusted with me now," he thought. "Maybe he's packing up his bags right now. Then he'll leave me. He'll never talk to me again."

Warm tears began to trickle down his face. He couldn't begin to explain the pain he was feeling within his chest.

"Fuck!" he cursed under his breath as he tried to control his sobs.

"Are you okay?" asked the guy from the cubicle next to his.

Charlie was startled. He didn't even know that there was someone in the next cubicle. He quickly sucked up his sorrows, finished up his shower and started to go back to his room.

He was near the door of the bathroom when the cubicle opened.

"Charlie? Was that you in there a while ago?" asked Oliver who just had a towel wrapped around his slim waist.

Charlie turned around and tried to smile. "Uh, yeah," he said. "Sorry about that."

"What's wrong?" asked Oliver. "Something I can help you with?"

"Uh, no, it's nothing," he replied. "I just realized that I did something I shouldn't have done... uh... with my math problem set... that's why I couldn't get the correct answer."

Oliver's eyes were all over his body, appraising him. Then, he slowly approached him, gently placed a hand on his shoulder and began massaging it.

"You know," Oliver said, "if you're having troubles with math, I can help you there." Oliver was smiling seductively at him. "Drop by my room some time and I'll teach you everything I know. And you don't have to worry about disturbing anybody 'cause RAs get to stay in one-man rooms."

"Uh, thanks," Charlie tried to be polite as he slowly backed off. "Math is really no trouble. At least, nothing I can't handle on my own. I, uh, I'll manage. But, uh, thanks for the offer," he said as he started to walk back to his room in a hurry.

He was about to reach for the door of his room when Spook suddenly appeared before him.

"I don't like him," said Spook.

"Who?"

"That guy in the bathroom," Spook was scowling.

Charlie chuckled softly. "Well, that really isn't saying much considering you don't like any guy in here anyways."

"That's not true," said Spook defensively. "I like your friend, Joseph. And his roommate, Tim, although that one's a little weird. And I like you," Spook said with a sweet smile.

"Thanks," said Charlie smiling. "But I'm still not going out with you."

"Aw, c'mon!" said Spook. "What do they have that I don't? Wait, don't answer that. Aside from the flesh and blood thing, give me one good reason why you won't go out with me."

"Well, how can you expect me to go out with you when you can't even get out of this building?" Charlie said playfully. He grabbed the doorknob, swung the door open and walked in the room.

"Mere technicality," said Spook as he began to fade.

OLIVER stared lustfully as Charlie walked away from him. He couldn't understand why, but he wanted that boy so much. His dick was straining in his towel while he was talking to Charlie. He hoped that Charlie noticed it, but he didn't. He doesn't seem to give me much attention, actually. Maybe he really is straight.

Oliver wasn't used to getting ignored. He wouldn't call himself gay or straight... just sexual. He just loved having sex with different kinds of beautiful people. And with his looks, his money and his stature in the university, not a lot of people could resist him. Nobody had ever said no to him whenever he started to put his moves on.

Lately though, his main obsession was this boy on his floor... Charlie. What made Charlie even more attractive to him was that he seemed to have totally no effect on Charlie. His flirtatious smiles didn't get him anywhere. His invitations would always be politely declined. Even his occasional touch didn't have the usual effect that it had on other people. His charm simply didn't work on Charlie.

He walked briskly back to his room. The tent in his towel was starting to become uncomfortable and he knew it had to be taken care of. He grabbed his phone and scanned for Marcus' number, and then dialed it.

Marcus was the RA on the third floor and his fuck buddy. He was always good for a quick suck and fuck.

He was getting frustrated as the phone kept on ringing. He was about to cut the line when he heard Marcus' voice. "Hello?" Marcus said with a yawn.

"Get your ass down here now," he almost yelled.

Marcus jumped from the bed, suddenly wide awake. He knew that tone. It meant that Oliver was very horny and it was never good to keep him waiting. His ass was still sore from the last time he made Oliver wait.

Marcus grabbed his mouthwash and made a quick dash to the bathroom before he ran downstairs to Oliver's room. Oliver was already lying on the bed fully naked and stroking his cock. "Something got him all horned up this morning," Marcus thought as he quickly approached the bed. "Lucky for me!" he grinned mischievously as he plunged Oliver's dick deep in his throat in one go.

It didn't take long before Oliver had him on all fours and was pounding his ass. A few minutes later, Oliver was pumping out his seed deep inside Marcus. Marcus just hoped that the condom didn't break. He knew Oliver slept around with almost everyone, and as fun as it was messing around with Oliver, he would prefer staying safe and healthy.

"I think we will be recruiting a new member for our group," Oliver said after a while. Oliver was still lying on top of him, never bothering to slide the dick out of his ass.

"Yeah?" asked Marcus.

"Yeah," said Oliver. "Charlie Gonzales on 208. He's a math wiz according to his professor. He's perfect."

"By perfect you mean he's incredibly sexy, right?" Marcus chuckled.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Oliver thought, but he didn't say it out loud.

"I think I saw him a couple of times in the lobby," said Marcus. "I definitely wouldn't mind having a piece of that ass."

"Don't worry, you'll get your chance," Oliver chuckled. "I'll invite him for our next meeting. But I think you should prepare some of your stuff in case he turns out hard to break, you know."

"No problem," said Marcus. "Our next meeting isn't set until next month. That would give me enough time to prepare. I think I might have something special just for him," he smiled evilly.

CHARLIE couldn't help but chuckle as he closed the door. He turned around and saw Danny sitting on his bed with a hint of annoyance. He proceeded to his closet and began to dress up.

"Talking to Spook again?" asked Danny.

"Uh, yeah," he said. "Although for Spook, flirting would probably be the more appropriate term. That ghost simply loves to flirt."

"With you maybe," said Danny.

"Yeah, well, I'm the only one he could talk to. So he really doesn't have much of a choice on the matter."

"And even if he had the choice, I'd bet he'd still choose to flirt with you," Danny muttered under his breath.

"What?" asked Charlie, not understanding the last thing Danny said.

"Nothing," said Danny.

Charlie decided not to push it and they fell silent for a while as Charlie finished up getting dressed. After that, he took a deep breath, closed the door to his closet and faced Danny.

"Listen," he said.

"I uh..." Danny said at the same time.

Their eyes met and they both began to laugh.

"Let me go first, okay?" said Danny. Charlie nodded.

"I, uh... I'd just like to thank you for being so nice to me last night," Danny began. "I mean, after the way I treated you and all... I was kinda expecting to get a cold treatment for a while. But you still took me in and made me feel safe. I can't begin to tell you how much that means to me."

Charlie was dumbfounded. He was expecting Danny to tell him that he was leaving, have a nice life, goodbye forever, or something like that. Instead, Danny was thanking him for being so nice. Even after he tried to kiss him this morning.

He smiled at Danny. "I don't suppose you'd tell me why you were in a foul mood last night."

Danny smiled back, a little uncertain. "When I'm ready, I'd tell you. I'm still trying to sort it out," Danny said sheepishly. They fell silent again... just looking at each other... holding each other's gaze.

Then, Danny broke the silence.

"Promise me something, though," he said.

"Anything," replied Charlie.

"I know I could get pretty weird," said Danny. "Sometimes, I even weird myself out. But promise me that no matter how weird I get, you'd still be my friend. No matter what."

Charlie looked at him intently and said, "Dude, you don't even have to ask."

Danny smiled gratefully and Charlie smiled back, relieved at what Danny told him.

"So, what were you gonna tell me?" asked Danny.

"Turns out, it's not that important," he replied with a smile.

Danny didn't push it. But he frowned and said, "Do you have somewhere you have to be? It's quite early for you to be up and showered on a Sunday morning."

"Uh, nowhere in particular," he said. "But I won't be able to go back to sleep anyways, so I thought I'd just work on the writings again and talk to Joseph and Tim if they'd found out anything."

"You know, I could help out a bit, too," offered Danny. Charlie just gave him a look. "Okay, fine," Danny gave in, "I won't. But just so you know, I'm never leaving this room as long as you're here. Even if there are a hundred ghosts in here." He smiled.

They fell silent for a while, just staring at each other. Both wanting to say more but couldn't find the right words. Then, Charlie looked away when he realized he'd been staring at Danny for too long.

"I have to get downstairs to Joseph's. Would you be fine here on your own?" asked Charlie.

Danny smiled. "I'll be fine. I'm gonna have to take a shower and get ready, too. I have to meet Tyler and Angela in the mall in an hour or so.

"Okay," said Charlie as he began to walk towards the door. Before he got to the door, he turned around and said, "I'll see you later then."

"Later," replied Danny.

Charlie sighed after he closed the door. "This is stupid," he thought. "Why do I keep on hoping that there could be something more between us? Why do I keep on hoping even when there really isn't any hope?"

He began to walk and he felt Spook walking beside him.

"I'm just right here, you know," said Spook.

"Huh?" he said, looking at Spook.

Spook looked at him, too, and said, "I know I'm not exactly what you're hoping for, but I really think we can be good together."

"Spook, not now. Please," he said. He continued to walk down the stairs to Joseph's room, not noticing Spook's pained expression as he left him behind.

Tim opened the door before he could even knock.

"Wow," Charlie said. "Your psychic powers are getting even better. How did you know I'd be here?"

"I didn't," Tim replied. "I was on my way to have an early lunch at the dining hall. Well, brunch would probably be the correct term."

"Oh..." Charlie smiled sheepishly.

"You could come with me, if you want," continued Tim. "Joseph's not here right now. He said he'll be working on the task that you gave him, but he'll be joining me in a few minutes."

"Okay," said Charlie. "Let's eat. I'm getting hungry anyway."

Tim was eating really fast. Charlie was only about halfway through his meal when Tim swallowed his last spoonful.

"You seem to be in a hurry," commented Charlie.

"I'm meeting with a few fellow Spirit Questors down at Kamuning¹," Tim said. "I'm bringing a printed copy of the writings you found in your closet. I thought maybe at least one of us could get a reading on it."

Joseph came with his tray right before Tim stood up.

"You really hate me, don't you?" Joseph said to Tim.

"Don't flatter yourself," Tim countered. Then he looked at Charlie and said, "He says he's helping you, but, actually, he just wants to spend more time with that RA from the Records Section. He thinks he's being so sly about it, but he can't be any more obvious." Then, Tim walked out of the dining hall.

Charlie couldn't help but burst out laughing as Joseph blushed profusely.

"So that's why you're so eager to help out," teased Charlie.

Joseph got even redder.

"She's cute," Charlie said smiling. "Her name's Lea, right? And she seems nice, too. Well, she's got my vote."

"She's not even interested in me," said Joseph. "She's a junior. Why would she wanna have anything to do with a freshman?"

"Did you ask her out?"

"I couldn't..." Joseph's voice faltered. "I just... I dunno. Around her, I feel like a 6th grader, you know? She's just so smart... and funny... and beautiful..."

Charlie chuckled. "Sounds like you're in loooove," he teased some more.

"Shut up!" said Joseph, but Charlie could see his lips curling into a smile.

"Did you at least find out anything?" Charlie said.

"Well, yeah," Joseph said rather defensively. "You said that Spook looked like he might be from the 50s or early 60s judging from his clothes and hair style, right?"

Charlie nodded.

"I got the list of occupants of your room from that era²," Joseph said. "It's just that they have no record of who died there, so all I got is a list of around 30 names. Then, I went to the library and searched through the list of graduates from around that time as well and I crossed out all the names that I found in that list. It left us with 12 names. Then I tried searching the Internet to see if any of the other names are still alive or have lived beyond their teens. So that leaves us with 7 names."

"The challenge now is to find out which one of those seven names belonged to Spook," continued Joseph. "And then we could find out what happened to him."

"Well, at least something good came out of your flirting," Charlie said with a naughty grin. "Do you have the list?"

Joseph reached into his pocket and took out a small piece of paper that was folded twice. He opened it up and showed Charlie the names.

Sergio J. Abad (1953-54)
Ramon C. To (1956-57)
Mateo A. Reyes (1957)
Carlos B. Alva (1963)
James Michael D. Pratts (1963)
Eduardo A. Santos (1964-65)
Marco Emmanuel N. Marquez (1964)

Charlie looked at the names and tried to study them.

"You think one of those is Spook?" Joseph asked.

"I dunno," Charlie said truthfully. "I think I should show this to him and see if he recognizes one of the names." He folded the paper again and put it in his pocket.

"Thanks," he said to Joseph. "This is really a big help."

Joseph smiled and said, "Hey, if you say this ghost needs our help to move on, then we'd have to help him, right?"

"Right," Charlie grinned. "But right now, I wanna talk about Lea."

"There really is nothing to talk about," said Joseph. "What do you want me to say? That I like her? Sure I do. A lot, actually."

"So why don't you ask her out?" asked Charlie.

Joseph looked down to his food and fell silent. After a few seconds, he looked up at Charlie.

"I dunno, man," he said. "I guess I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"That she'll probably say no," said Joseph. "Or worse... what if she says yes?"

"Huh?"

"I know that sounded weird, but the truth is I really won't know what to do if she says yes," Joseph said. "You know, I've never really had someone I could call a serious girlfriend. But Lea is different. I really feel that she could be someone very special. And it scares the shit out of me."

"Hmm... Sounds like you're in love, dude," Charlie grinned.

Joseph grinned back. "Yeah well, I'm not the only one."

"Huh?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," said Joseph grinning from ear to ear. "I'm not dumb, you know. I can see the way you look at Danny... the way you talk to him or talk about him if he's not around... the way your eyes look so dreamy when you see him smiling at you. Don't tell me you're not totally head-over-heels with him."

"I uh..." Charlie avoided Joseph's gaze.

"It's true, isn't it?"

Charlie didn't answer.

"It's alright," said Joseph. "I think he's really a good guy. He's got my vote," he said smiling.

Charlie looked at him and smiled sadly. "Thanks. And yes, I have very strong feelings for him." Then his voice faltered. "But he's got a girlfriend and he would never look at me the same way."

"And it's breaking your heart, isn't it?" Joseph asked.

Charlie nodded, trying to hold back the tears.

"Well," said Joseph, "you'd never really know what would happen. I mean, if Tim's guess is right, then you and Danny would have a deeper connection in the near future. Much deeper than friendship."

"Tim?" Charlie said. "So, he's a fortune teller now? That roommate of yours never ceases to amaze me," he laughed.

"I dunno," said Joseph. "He just gets these vibes and words just come out of his mouth sometimes. I wouldn't trust half of what he says. But in this case, I hope he's right."

Charlie took a deep breath and then said, "So it's alright with you even if I'm... you know..."

"Gay?" confirmed Joseph. "I guess I'd known that for a while now," he smiled. "I mean, you never did have much interest in girls," he chuckled.

Charlie laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Charlie," Joseph said sincerely, "you're my brother. You will always be my brother. No matter which team you decide to be on." He grinned.

"Thanks a lot, man," Charlie said sincerely. "You have no idea how much this means to me. Aside from Spook, you're the only one who knows about this. Well, probably Tim, too." He chuckled.

"But," Charlie continued, "let's not talk about that. Tell me about Lea." He grinned mischievously. Joseph laughed out loud.

¹ A district in Quezon City right beside Diliman. Diliman is where UP is located. back

² This is a bit inaccurate, historically speaking. Kalayaan Residence Hall actually opened in 1975, but I had to stretch out reality a bit because I need it for the story. So, cut me some artistic slack, okay? After all, this is fiction... Hahaha! back