Private Finished A Disturbance in the Mind and Spirit

Adeloise would have wanted to say life goes on and nothing really changed since moving to the island. She spent the first term with nothing new in her life except learning of all other creatures she'd never imagined existed, she met a relative that had been teaching her the right way to approach her spiritual abilities, and more to that, she met more ghosts that weren't drawn to her for some reason she couldn't think of.

And yet, the girl knew something changed. Something wasn't the same anymore. Adeloise stared into the bowl in front of her, the cereal barely eaten despite the fact it had been sitting there for a good portion of the hour.

"Adeloise, you're going to be late for class," a boy's spoke voice behind her. Almost like her mind was lagging behind her, it took more than a second for her to realize Adrien was speaking to her, reminding her of the time. "I've finished grooming your hair 3 minutes ago and you've barely eaten; something on your mind, squirt?" he pried, fluffing up the girls hair with his telekinesis, making sure the strands don't get through his etheral body.

This was a normal morning for Adeloise's dorm but somehow, all the residents of the room felt that there was something off about their youngest tenant.

Adeloise seemed to snap back into the present, appearing lost for a couple of seconds before stuttering in her words.. "Oh, it's nothing!. I was just thinking of school and stuff. Don't you think Olive's been really quiet? She's normally brighter. I think something's bothering her," she replied. Adrien would only stare for a moment before humming thoughtfully himself.

"That does seem like it," he responded briefly, revealing nothing more of his own musings, "I hope things go well for her. It seems like something serious. Best not to force her to open up; she may not want to talk about it," he added as he ushered the girl to finish getting ready for school.

It had been well a week after the VR game. It hadn't seemed like an issue when Adeloise returned home, excitement in her step as she danced into the room with new stories. She seemed more satisfied when she spoke of the game to her companions, saying things like she "got to be a cool theif girl in-game" doing undercover quests with the rest of the group. She was so giddy that the two ghosts were complacent of what had gone over that afternoon, completely ignoring the thoughtful quips from the girl about their virtual life of crime.

The days went on slowly. At first no one seemed to notice the moments Adeloise started looking behind her every so often for no apparent reason. Whenever asked by either of her spirits, she would only give a smile, saying 'It's nothing' like there was nothing the matter.

The longer the days went on, the more apparent that there was actually something the matter. Adeloise was distracted, by what, the spirits could never know as the girl never spoke of it. Stella and Adrien had whispered among each other whenever out of the child's earshot, wondering if it was related to the game. Stella would be more dismissive of the thought, accusing Adrien of being too backwards to think a game could possibly damage their friendship. Adrien would continue to think otherwise.

Both spirits accompanied her to school, at Adrien's urging. Stella would have accused him of paranoia again but Adrien had a feeling so strong, he knew they needed to be around Adeloise that day. Stella could have been so smug at the end of the day knowing that it would end for the three of them with not a single sign of Adrien's worries being realized.

"Adrien, did you ever wonder about how you died?" Adeloise stopped at the foot of the stairs of the dormitory, daring not to face the addressed spirit who only looked onto her with a curious gaze.

"I have," he replied curtly, "But I've wondered for so long and still can't remember a darn thing. I probably won't ever know." It was a lie, of course. He remembered a few things; important enough to clue him in on what he'd done before his passing and enough to want Adeloise to never know any of it.

After a short moment, Adeloise finally turned around to meet both the spirits. "I've been thinking, you know," she started, staring inquisitively. "I mean... I don't know; it probably doesn't have anything to do with our real lives but... I was wondering why we ended up as bad guys in the game."

Stella seemed to stare for a moment, looking at Adrien as if they were about to share a gaze but the latter didn't look back at her. He instead met with Adeloise gaze as if trying to measure her thoughts. "Didn't you say it was cool?" he asked the girl.

"Well, it was!" the girl responded. "But.. there were people like that mean snake boy who got to be one of the good guys but... I'm not mean, right? I always try to do good things. And you both are nice too. So I don't know why we ended up like that in game."

"Well, it's just a game, right?" Stella blurted out, earning a raised brow from the other ghost. She only shrugged.

"But if it's just a game," Adeloise immediately replied, pointing a finger towards Adrien. "Why does it fit him so naturally?"

There was silence for a moment. Easy to dismiss if it was anything else, but the silence was thick, as if a thought that shouldn't have been brought up was spoken. All eyes fell on the male ghost -- his expression showing no sign of a reaction towards the notion. "I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, Adeloise," he told her.

"I don't know." Adeloise's voice was quiet, and yet it spoke much of what was in her mind. "I feel like. That's how you really were. Whenever I let any of you in, it's like I can feel your past lives... like Elias, or like Stella. I couldn't compare yours because you said you didn't know but it's like after the game, everything feels..." Her voice trailed off, speaking volumes of what she had in mind.

"Adeloise, you do realize we were never there, right?" Adrien pointed out. "The game could have used your thoughts and referenced that and maybe you didn't think of it, but at the back of your mind you had theories, right?"

The brunette scowled. "But why that?"

Adrien's response was simple: "Because unconsciously you were betting on that."

Silence fell on them again, Stella looking between the pair with anxious eyes. Adrien's gaze gave nothing away, but Adeloise was determined to find the source of her logic in his eyes.

"But you're not against it?" she shot back, "You're completely okay that you were a bandit and that you hurt people for your own good?"

"Adeloise, why are you thinking too hard about this?" asked the blonde.

"Because I know you're hiding something!" she insisted. "You-- you're always quiet, you don't say anything, you're so-- so-- cryptic. You never made any sense! I'm trying to help you!"

Adrien's voice was firm when he'd replied. "I never asked for help," he said, cold like frost in the air. "I wasn't here for help. I'm sure you know that. Even if I could remember everything, do you really think you could help me, Addie?"

"You don't get to call me that!" Adeloise snapped, "What do you want!? All this time you're just there and I still don't know anything but your name! I don't even know if that's your real name!"

"Can't we just leave it at that?" The ghost challenged. "Aren't you satisfied that you have 'ghost friends' that stay by your side and look after you? Isn't that what you wanted? You always walk into dangerous places looking for ghosts to befriend, right? That's why you snuck into the abandoned penetentiary where I found you wandering by yourself."

Adeloise's cheeks painted red at the accusation. "Because I want to help spirits move on! Is that too much to ask?" came her response. "So fine then! If you don't even want my help then maybe you can just leave! I don't need a lying criminal following me around pretending like my parents! I don't wanna see your face anymore! Why don't you just go away and haunt someone else!" The brunette huffed, letting her frustration out in one breath. It seemed to silent the ghost duo for a moment until Adrien decided to speak again.

"I honestly don't get why you're this angry," he said, a sarcastic chuckle in his voice that only seemed to anger the 12-year-old. His expression showed no anger nor sorrow. Just. Completely unreadable both to the child and the teen who'd fallen quiet in the middle of the argument. "But alright; I'll respect that. If you want me gone, you could have just said so. No need to point fingers," he added, nodding thoughtfully. "And don't worry about running into me. I'll make sure to stay out of your sight," he added, the slight change in his tone infuriating the girl even more.

The ghost's image flickered in her gaze, afterwards appearing farther into the path. "Take care, you two. I'll be around."

Both girls started towards the spot where the blonde once was, before his form dissipated into the air, leaving nothing but the wind and dust where he stood. The silence was awkward as Adeloise's anger subsided.

"That was kind of unfair, Addie," a voice spoke, finally bringing attention to the other ghost present. "You didn't give him a chance to defend himself..." she added. Another silence occurred, though compared to earlier, it seemed somber. Empty.

"He wasn't going to," Adeloise stated, utterly sure of herself. Stella didn't speak but the child heard what she wanted to say though her eyes: Would you have listened if he did?. Silence.

It didn't take long for Stella to move away. Three days. Not any longer. After Adrien left, she said she thought about it and figured she might do better about finding more about herself if she tried going places on her own. After three days, she never came back. She said she found leads, thanked Adeloise for her help and disappeared soon after.

Adeloise found herself waking up day after day, after day with no one but herself. She felt the silence in her dorm in the mornings, and even in the evenings. No one tucked her into bed anymore, or helped her get ready for school. She had to ask classmates to help her with homework, if not her Uncle Hal. For once in her life, she felt lonely.

In spite of all that, she refused to recognize how big the part Adrien and Stella had been in her day to day life since she found them. She got sick after about a week or so, remembered how Adrien was the one to helped her with her medicine and eating. She had to bother Hal about it. The older psychic had asked what happened but all she told him was that they decided to move on. He didn't seem to ask any further.

Adeloise wouldn't have admitted it to herself, or probably realized it at all, but all of a sudden, she didn't know what to do anymore.