Light roused him. Nico shifted for a moment, then jerked awake with a start. He blinked gritty eyes as the dimmed lights got brighter. A theater attendant stood awkwardly a few steps into his row, as if trying to decide whether to say something.

Nico stared at the screen as the pre-pre-credits for the next movie started and couldn't even remember what the second film of the double feature had been listed as. The attendant hesitantly cleared her throat.

So Nico stretched his cramped legs, kicking the overstuffed knapsack by his feet. He gathered it up and his jacket that had slipped from his shoulders during his sleep. He mumbled something about a boring show as he passed the poor girl.

He stumbled out into the early afternoon, passing eager movie goers lining up for the feature films. Nico checked his phone, realizing he got about four hours of sleep in between the back to back movies.

He also had two voice mails.

"Nico! Nico! Pick up the phone. Its your sister so pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up. Wait this isn't an out loud answering machine." Nico snorted as he walked and listened. "Okay so. My contract expires in two months. I cannot wait to get out of here - whoever thought all female-dorms was a good idea was obviously male. Frank and I found this awesome little two bed two bath place that opens around that time so if you wanna go see it later this week we can. Call me. Me is your sister. Whom you never call. Okay bye."

Nico shook his head and played the next message as he turned for the bus station. "Hello, this message is for Mr. Di Angelo from Stay Time Suites. We processed your payment, and your room is ready for you today. Thank you for choosing Stay Time Suites as your long-ter-"

A boy ran through Nico, and Nico became paralyzed with heart-pounding fear that wasn't his. Someone slammed hard into his shoulder, snapping about taking up the sidewalk, but he couldn't move.

He could only watch as the boy, glowing bright blue in the afternoon sun, was pursued by other, vaguer features that flickered in and out. The boy ran from them, turning into the street as his glow grew brighter -

Then he was doubled over, a car flickered blue in and out of existence, and the glowing boy was suddenly ten feet down the road.

"Dude you dropped your phone," someone called to Nico. The glow died out in a crumpled pile on the pavement. There was nothing he could do.

"Thanks," Nico wheezed, fumbling for a moment to grasp it with shaking fingers. He turned away from where there was nothing now, where nothing was a few seconds ago.

Only Nico saw it. Only Nico ever saw it.

He preferred the happy ones.

He regained himself except for shaking fingers as he double-checked the address on his phone against the bus station route on the wall. He found the right bus port, and had calmed his hands by the time the bus arrived. The bad emotions always lingered far longer than the good ones.

He opened the personal map app on his phone and marked the location in red. Another place to avoid. The map was littered with notes, moments frozen in time.

When he got on the bus he sunk low in his seat and put in headphones. He shut his eyes so he wouldn't see the flickers of blue as the bus drove right through them.

Nico figured he would never be able to drive. He remembered Bianca gripping his wrist tightly as the social worker drove through people only they could see. "Ignore them," she had plead desperately. "Please ignore them Nico. They can't do anything to us." And he couldn't do anything to them. The ghosts never acknowledged the living.

Nico burrowed deeper into the collar of his jacket, and filled his mind by mentally repeating the music lyrics.

He tried to straighten his lanky black hair a bit before picking up his room key. The advertisements attempted to make the long-stay hotel seem legit, but the clerk didn't even ask for an ID. She pointed at a vague map and mentioned they had wi-fi and a pool, which Nico had to walk around to find his room. He ignored the glowing couple in the water, so entangled in their embrace that Nico couldn't tell exactly where one began and the other ended. They were outside. He could deal with that, and never go swimming.

He wasn't expecting much, and the double bed room met it. The only marked difference between this extended stay suite and a cheap hotel room was the presence of a fridge and microwave.

He unpacked into the drawers of a battered standing wardrobe and hid his laptop and an old GameBoy under the mattress of the spare bed. He didn't trust the once a week cleaning staff.

One old blanket, a single picture frame, a pack of cards, and a few small figures later, he threw his empty knapsack in the bottom of the wardrobe and flopped backwards onto the bed. He took in the entire room, in all its yellow light glory. It was crap, but it was his for two months until he moved in with Hazel and her boyfriend.

Someone stepped through the closed bathroom door.

Nico groaned. "No. No!" He sat up and angrily pointed a finger at the figure glowing in front of the mirror, a young man with short cropped blonde hair looking at himself. "Is it so bad to ask for just one piece of my life to be free of you?"

Nico could see through him to the mirror so he was looking at the ghost looking at himself. "Why would this place be your strong memory? Who would be a ghost in thisshithole?!"

The figure blinked, and suddenly he wasn't look at his reflection but the reflection of Nico through it, bright blue eyes widening. "Can you-"

Nico froze.

The ghost turned and looked directly at Nico. "Can you see me?"