"....I crashed my car into the bridge. I watched, I let it burn. I threw your shit into a bag and pushed it down the stairs. I crashed my car into the bridge. I don't care, I love it. I don't care....."

All three occupants of the 1997 Monte Carlo sang along in various pitches, doing small jigs while sitting in the speeding vehicle. The work day had been long, but none of that matter, as it was the long-awaited day of Friday. Alcohol hung in the stagnant air of the car, a clear sign that all three of them were intoxicated. As bad as a decision this was, none of that matter to the driver; a man named Lewis Lander.

It was barely 9 o'clock, and Lewis was already well into being 'smashed', a way he coped with the indescribable and nearly unbearable pain of his day-to-day existence at this point. With the pains of sobriety well beyond the grasp of his inebriated perception, he sang all to the song along with his two co-workers. It wasn't long before the trio's debauchery was interrupted by tragedy.

Lewis never saw the stop sign, but he did see the car. Alas, it was well too late, though. Lewis was going nearly 80mph as he slammed on the brakes, the headlights of another car catching his peripheral vision. Time seemed to slow down for the young man, as he grasped the steering wheel with both palms. In a matter of seconds, Lewis' life changed forever. The joy that was transpiring only moments before, now seemed years in the past, as terror and horror possessed the intoxicated man. The last thing Lewis remembered was seeing the face of the driver before he hit, his headlights illuminating the face of the all too young girl; not ready for the speeding machine of death that was careening towards her. Then, everything was black.

Time passed, Lewis felt no pain, but he knew he was 'alive', in a sense. He could not see, but he could definitely hear. He could hear the booming words, rebounding across his entire being, issuing a set of instructions. He was to be a 'guide' of sorts. It took an immense amount of time, at least to Lewis, to understand what had happened. Eventually, the shell of the what once was the young man managed to piece it together. He had died in that wreck, near instantly, and was now in limbo. The instructions that were repeated over and over was that he was going to return to the world of the living, and become the 'guide' of a girl, the one whom he had stricken with tragedy. As time passed, Lewis gleamed more information on what had happened. He had killed a girl's sister, and now he was going to be sent to watch over the girl, in order to redeem himself.

More time passed, and Lewis received more details about his mission. This would be his only chance to be able to escape the hell that was limbo. Eventually, through the booming voice, he learned the girl's name, where she lived, even how she was fairing in life without her sister. Just as it seemed that Lewis was about to go insane after the considerable amount had passed, he felt his entire being shake with an ungodly shock of pain.

Vision, smell, hearing. It was all back. He stood in the middle of a semi-dark street. The sun had just set, it seemed. Lewis glanced around, taking his new surroundings where trying to get used to be 'alive' again. He stood in front of the yard of a relatively nice house with an empty driveway. As Lewis went to take a step, trying to remember if the instructions he had received were a joke, and if it had all been a dream, when he realized he wasn't necessarily 'standing'. Lewis floated roughly two feet in the air, and it started to dawn on the young man that this was all very real.

~ Well, I guess I really am going to be some sort of spirit guide. ~ Even in his thoughts, the skepticism broke through. Looking up from the ground and towards the house, Lewis wondered how exactly he would go about explaining the situation to the girl, ~ Hey! Remember the drunk driver who totally merced your sister? Well, here I am! I'm going to be your personal spirit guide! ~ Lewis wondered how insane the sentence would sound when said aloud.

Instead of answering the door, like a normal person, Lewis decided to take advantage of his floating ability. Without much more hesitation, figuring the more he pondered on the situation the more likely he'd go insane himself, he floated up to a second story window, that appeared to have a light on. Peering inside, Lewis tried to make head or tails of the contents of the room, unaware how he might look committing such a action.

Lily had just gotten out of the shower after her late night workout. Pulling on the t-shirt she slept in, she opened the bathroom door to find King, her beloved German Shepard, waiting for her. Glancing at the clock on the opposite wall, she noticed it was a little after midnight."happy birthday to me" she said sarcastically to King because he was the only one there to hear it.

She headed to her bedroom and as she walked through her door she saw a man at her window, not holding on to anything. Just there. She quickly scanned the room to make sure it wasn't a reflection. There was no one there. When she looked back she made eye contact with the young man. Panicking, Lily ran back to the bathroom and locked the door. She reached for her phone to call 911 but it wasn't there. ~It was on my night stand.~ she remembered. On the verge of a panic attack, her breaths became short and erratic. She could hear king whining on the other side of the door but that was it. Nothing else. She tried to calm herself so she could figure out what to do next.

Lewis watched as the predictable outcome came about from him peering into the window, ~ Okay, that has to be her. Only she can see me.... At least, that's how I think it works. ~ In honesty, Lewis almost had to hold back a laugh as she startled girl darted instantly for the bathroom. Lewis began to grasp at the bottom of the window, searching for a grip in order to pry the window open. As soon as he found purchase on the lip of the window, Lewis' hand pushed through the window, reminding the young man he could phase through physical material. Almost chuckling to himself, Lewis passed through the rest of the window, into the girl's room. Touching his feet to the floor of the room, Lewis glanced about the room, examining it's contents, before finally resting his eyes on the dog that was desperate to get to it's owner on the other side of the bathroom door. It didn't seem like the dog knew Lewis was there, something he was thankful for. As he continued to examine the room, he noticed the phone laying on the night stand, idle. Doubting the girl had another phone accessible from the bathroom, Lewis let out an audible chuckle, placing his hands into his jean pockets, "You didn't honestly hide in the bathroom before grabbing your phone, did you?" Lewis spoke, adding a hint of friendly teasing to his tone, hoping to ease the panicking girl, "What if I was some kind of murderer?" He added, laughing slightly, before picking up her phone. It relieved that the physical phone did not pass through his fingers, giving him some kind of hope that he could still interact with the living world.

Lily waited for any kind of sound and suddenly his voice filled the room. ~He's mocking me!?~ She couldn't believe her own ears. She quickly did a mental check of all the horror movies she'd seen. ~he's playing a game. This is fun for him. He's going to kill me and it's all for sport!~ She thought as she paced the bathroom. King was silent now, which worried her. Why wasn't he barking? or growling? "So you're claiming not to be a murderer?" She called out the stranger in her bedroom. "I don't know any other kind of people that break into innocent girls' rooms." She pressed her ear to the door to gain some insight on what was happening on the other side. She could hear her dog's even breaths as though maybe he was...sleeping? ~King would never sleep with a stranger so near, would he?~

Lewis frowned as the girl continued to keep herself in a panic. Not that Lewis found it unreasonable, just annoying. He would draw it out, though, instead of coming clean and explaining everything. At least things could be a little funny that way, "Don't flatter yourself, babe. I'd much rather be breaking into someone else's room, than your's." Lewis smiled to himself, sitting back on to the bed and looking down at the phone, "Hey, what's your pass code? I wanna take some pictures." Lewis began entering random combinations, while hoping his light-heartedness would calm the girl down, but he doubt it would, "My name is Lewis, by the way. I already know your name, though. It's like Daisy or something, right? Something to do with flowers, I dunno." Lewis spoke, almost rambling to himself as he messed around on the phone. Lewis wasn't too worried about the current situation, because he knew, if it came down to it, he could simply phase through the bathroom door. Although, Lewis wondered how bad of a heart attack it would cause. Chuckling to himself, Lewis continued to enter random pass code combinations.

"Babe!? Who are you!? My name is not Daisy! That's hideous." Lily couldn't believe this was happening. She was more angry now then panicked though. Who did he think he was calling her babe and trying to get on her phone? "What do you want?" Lily's yelling had awakened King and she could hear him pacing. He seemed so confused. She almost opened the door just to comfort him. [/b]~What is going on!?~[/b] Her mind shouted at her. Surely he wouldn't stay here forever waiting for her to come out. No windows in the bathroom. she could make a run for it. Surely she could out run the guy. ~is that my best option though?~ "If I give you my pass code will you leave? She called to the stranger. or Lewis...

"Oh my god, you are a mess, aren't you?" Lewis commented, tossing the phone onto the bed, "I'm here to help you. Now come out of the bathroom and stop being weird." Lewis had to hold back laughter, knowing his inflammatory pokes would do nothing but anger the girl further. Lewis stood up from the comfortable bed, and walked over to the other end of the room, placing his hands up on the wall, "Look, I'll even do you a solid. I'm on the other side of the room. Just open your door and take a peek at how nonthreatening I look." Lewis sighed as he awaited the girl to respond, less out of annoyance, but more out of disbelief that this is where his life, or unlife, had led him.

"I'm the weird one!? You're the one in MY room" Lily huffed a sigh of frustration. But seeing no other option she opened the door. There was King, waiting for her. And on the other side of the room stood Lewis. King didn't even acknowledge him. Lily was so confused "so you're here to help me huh? With what exactly?" Lily began to inch toward her only escape route, just in case things turned ugly. As she moved she became very aware of the fact she was in a t-shirt that barely cover her underwear. And her dresser was next to Lewis. ~so no chance of getting pants~ She thought to herself while rolling her eyes.

"Okay, a reasonable question. I'm basically...." Lewis begun speaking, turning back around and taking his hands off the wall, before finally seeing the barely dressed girl in front of him, trailing off. After a moment of silence, Lewis sighed and rubbed his eyes, breaking himself from his moment of appreciation of the view, "Alright, this will be hard to explain. Basically, I'm a spirit, who has been entrusted to keep you safe and yada yada yada, because you're having a rough life." Lewis responded, finally stopping rubbing his eyes and now keeping eye contact with the girl, "Now, before you think I'm crazy...." Lewis placed his hand on the wall, where it was before, and slowly allowed his hand to phase through the physical material. The next demonstration Lewis performed was hopping up, into a cross-legged position, where he remained; floating in mid-air in the cross legged position, "Before you go into denial; No you aren't on Candid Camera or Punked. This is real" Lewis smirked, almost laughing at his own topical joke, forgetting how earth-shaking what he just did could affect a normal person.

Lily had made it to the wall next to her bedroom door. She stood there staring, not being able to believe what this guy was saying. But then his hand went through the wall. And then he started floating!? She slid down the wall in shock, her eyes never leaving Lewis as he floated in the air. "I...This can't be...real" She stammered. "My life is fine. So you must have the wrong house" Her defense mechanisms kicked in at what could only be her going crazy. a bad dream maybe? She sat there in her t-shirt in denial. ~This isn't for real. It can't be~ Her mind tried to rationalize it, come up with an explanation. But she was drawing a blank.

Lewis placed his feet back where they belong, and placed his hand back into his jean pocket, carefully watching the unhinged girl. Bearing a look of slight empathy, Lewis took a couple of ginger steps towards the girl, one hand outstretched slowly in order to help her back up, if she decided to take his hand, "Actually, I'm sure your life is a wreck. It has been for like, two years now, yeah?" Lewis spoke with a tone of slight annoyance as he looked down at the helpless girl, "From what I understand, only you can see me, or hear me. So, let's just pretend I'm like a guardian angel or something." Lewis added, not even possessing the decency to add sincerity to his voice.

"Yeah well, be that as it may, I don't need or want a guardian angel." Lily swatted at his outstretched hand as she stood. She pulled her shirt down as she walked passed him, knowing it would probably show her butt. She made it to her dresser and started digging for shorts, which was quicker with both hands. She sighed in frustration. "So you can go now, but thanks for stopping by. Finally finding a pair of shorts she slipped them on as she turned to face Lewis. She put her hands on her hips and waited expectantly for him to vanish...or something.

Lewis sighed, once more, watching the girl as she got herself dressed. Holding back a smile as she stood still, staring him down as if he'd just get up and leave, "Well, see, here's the thing about that. For me to get to...'heaven', or whatever, I have to prove myself or something like that. You're my ticket." Lewis said, using air quotes and laying on the sarcasm whenever he spoke the word 'heaven'. "So, I'm gonna stick around for a while." Lewis plopped himself down on her bed, causing the pillows to bounce off the mattress, "I think the first thing we should work on is your manners. You've been a very unwelcoming host." Lewis almost wanted to see how far he could push the girl, before she finally blew up. He was almost enjoying himself, driving the girl crazy with annoyance, and it showed on his face. Beaming a clearly devious smile, Lewis relaxed back onto the bed, "So, what do you have to eat? I want to see if I can actually enjoy the feeling of gorging myself, or not."

"You know what Lewis, You have a ghost pop in on you in the middle of the night and feeding you all of this mumbo jumbo about 'guides and tickets and heaven' And Let's just see how welcoming you are" Lily picked up the pillows and tossed them back onto the bed, right where Lewis was. "Besides you can't honestly think you're just going to 'stick around' while I sleep and live my daily life" Lily was just mad at this point ghost or not who did he think he was? "So if you'll excuse me," she said as she began to shoo him with her hands "King and I would like to go to bed." At his name the dog hopped up from his place on the floor and jumped on the bed. Laying down he waited for his owner to join him. "And you're in my spot" she added.

Lewis sighed, standing up from the bed, looking as if he was actually giving up, "Alrighty, then. You sure beat me." Lewis walked over to the other side of the room, his back towards Lily, "Looks like I have no choice, but to leave and never, ever come back." Lewis added, his voice thick with sarcasm. Turning back towards Lily, Lewis once more took his cross-legged floating position, making eye contact with the girl, "You must have a ton of friends, you know that? What with how charming you've been. Most people would give their left arm to be able to talk to a ghost." Lewis propped his head up on his left hand, showing an expression that was a mix between boredom and annoyance, "You realize if you go to bed, I'm gonna eat all your food, right?" Lewis allowed himself a small smile, obviously not yet done teasing the poor girl.

"yes and you're so charming yourself." Lily huffed as she crawled into bed. "I'm pretty sure ghosts can't eat but the kitchen is down stairs. I won't be able to sleep if you keep staring at me like that" She shooed at him again. But she fully expected not to sleep whether he was in the room or not. She rolled over and faced away from Lewis to make her point more final. ~There's only one ghost I'd give anything to talk to~ She thought to herself as she stared at wall.

Despite being shooed away once more, Lewis stayed in his current position, stubborn to not move, "You know, sooner or later, you're gonna have to accept that I'm here to stay." Lewis stated, now using both of his hands to prop of his head. He had no intention of leaving the room. This was a lot harder than what Lewis had anticipated, but Lewis had gone and made the situation bad for himself in the pursuit of playing around. After a few moments of silence, Lewis once again spoke up, "So, what are our plans for tomorrow?" He asked, the darkness of the room concealing his humorous smile.

Grunting in annoyance Lily rolled back over to face Lewis, though the darkness made it hard to see. She flipped on the lamp beside her bed and sat up. "you are legitimately not going anywhere? What are you going to do while I sleep and stuff?" Lily couldn't believe she was actually going along with this. Maybe if she just played along this would end a lot sooner. "I don't have plans. School is out and I took the summer off of work. For splurging and such before college" Lily had saved up enough money over the last couple of years to afford a summer off and on top of that her parents had been sure to leave her money for the 3 months they were going to be away.

"Holy shit, let's have a party then." Lewis slightly perked up, as Lily revealed her free schedule, "And, I dunno? Listen, this is my first day of this crap, too." Lewis said, replying to her question, "I mean, I could just watch you sleep, and you would never know I did it." Lewis smirked, knowing that'd upset Lily, slightly, "But, no, seriously, party yeah?" Lewis didn't fully understand that he wouldn't be able to enjoy parties, blinded by the excitement of simply doing something fun, Lewis planted his feet back on the ground, walking over to the bedroom door, "I guess if you're that stubborn to get rid of me for the night, I'll just go through your whole house." While Lewis kept up his constant onslaught of teasing, it seemed that the girl was actually becoming calmer as the night went on.

"Firstly, I don't party. Secondly, You're right, I wouldn't know if you watched me sleep but at least let me GO to sleep first and thirdly, if you're going through the house don't break anything." Lily was growing more exhausted of this by the second. it was what...2? 3? she couldn't see the clock with just the lamp for light. ~I'm definitely sleeping in~ She thought as she threw herself back on the bed. Her long hair fanned out over her pillow, some of it landing on King's nose who was sleeping away, completely oblivious to the ghost now haunting Lily's room. She was sure if she could just go to sleep and wake up this...whatever it was, would be over.