"Hey, man. You look pretty light on work lately, huh?" Tyler had checked around and asked about different colleagues schedules and most had indicated that since the 'dogs do blank for the first time' series had wound down, Gabriel was pretty free. And that was what he was banking on. He needed a replacement, Jack refused to do any more episodes with him on the true crime and found the idea of ghost hunting repellent so he really needed a partner.
Besides, he liked Gabriel. They had worked together before, they hung out a few times - all in work time but even so. They could have good chemistry and if the vibe was right, this could be perfect.
"I guess you have some free time. So, uh, I had an idea. It's a bit crazy and out there so hear me out. Are you free Friday evening?" Tyler grinned at Gabriel, trying to slowly test the waters before he sprung the whole thing on him. "I won't be offended if you say no."
Looking at Tyler, Gabriel was wondering whether to be offended. Was he calling him lazy? But no, probably not. Tyler didn't seem like the type to be passive aggressive that way. He knew Tyler, of course, he liked him. Cute boy, as far as he was concerned. Not that he knew what he was doing, he had vague memories of him trying to get a series started lately, but he didn't even remember what that was about. He didn't have time to stay on top of all his colleagues' projects, in addition to his own. And in addition to dealing with the family gathering he had coming up and was trying to weasel his way out of.
"Yeah, I guess. I'm free this Friday." Did that make him seem like a date-less loser? Oh, well. "Why?"
"Cool. So, here's the question. Do you want to go out with me?" Tyler paused because he wanted to pause for drama, not realising how that came across. "And go to three different haunted locations. All paid for by the company. And together, we will ghost hunt."
It seemed like the perfect pitch to him. "See, I do true crime and now I want to go into the supernatural but I need a partner. Someone to bounce off of. And Jack, the guy I was doing it with, he wasn't into it. I don't know why. Either way - I'm kind of bummed out. If I can't find someone, I'm screwed."
And he really wanted to make this project happen, he was desperate. "I really want to find proof of ghosts."
His mistake had been nodding, with a smile, when Tyler asked him out so sincerely. Or maybe the mistake was that he hadn't been out with anyone in so long that he agreed so quickly, without any hesitation, because a cute boy asked him out. And then he explained the rest of his proposal and Gabriel wished he could undo his nod somehow. "Haunted, huh?"
Had his grandmother somehow put Tyler up to this? He would not put it past her. "You know ghosts aren't real, don't you? I mean, I don't believe in them." He didn't, overly. Sure, he saw them all the time, but that didn't warrant believe. They were a bit too inconsequential to believe in much, honestly. Usually just shadows lingering around, not actual souls. Imprints.
And nothing a normal person should concern themsevles with. "What places are you thinking?"
Tyler grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it over so he could sit down next to Gabriel, taking that nod as a win because hell, he'd take it. He pulled out his phone and started getting up the locations. "One is in San Jose and one is in Kansas, so pretty easy to get to. The other one is in Mexico, it's the island of the dolls, so we're going to need a flight and a couple of days there but hey, free holiday! We can party."
Tyler slapped Gabriel playfully on the arm and then finished googling the itinerary he had made, emailing it to Gabriel asap so he knew the facts better.
"A sceptic is good, it adds drama. I believe, you don't - we can fight over it or whatever. But that shit is real, just fyi. We're going to see ghosts and demons and... I'm definitely seeing a priest beforehand." Tyler paused and then frowned, looking at Gabriel. "Maybe we should hit up a priest who did exorcists, get it filmed."
"Catholic priest?" He assumed so, if he was discussing exorcisms. Gabriel wondered how dicey that could get, but probably not very. If they were looking up other practitioners, there was more of a chance of being recognised than some priest, no matter how often he'd been to the Vatican. They were a bit behind the times there. Also woefully ill-informed in the first place. He had seen the real deal, priests and other holy people that could banish a demon, but he doubted they'd run into that here. "Sure, we can do that. What, you want to stock up on holy water?"
It was cute. Gabriel snorted, shaking his head a little. "If they are so real, than why is there no scientific proof?" Didn't seem to matter much, he would say that much. Even knowing what was real.
"Hell yeah, I want like a litre bottle of it. I'm going to get one from walmart and get the priest to bless it. Then no one can get me. I don't want to be possessed." He felt like the smartest move was holy water, respect and not inviting the spirits and demons into him. Then he'd be fine. Hopefully. Maybe. It was exciting but damn, it was scary too.
"There is proof. Just a quick google, man. I even have some on tape from when I was a teenager. I used to ghost hunt all the time, you see some weird shit. It's just that sceptics even believe the proof." It didn't matter what he showed people, they always dismissed it so why bother trying to prove it to them. He wanted to appeal to his own people, the believers and those on the fence.
"Amityville, Hampton court, Tower of London. All those places have legit ghost pictures, they have proof, but they're pictures. I want video evidence."
"Did you hear something?" Gabriel hadn't heard anything, but since Tyler had gone off on a long explanation of how whatever weird new gadget he had brought along was working, he thought he might as well freak him out some. Always good for views. Looking around the room they were in, he eyed the graffiti, finally gesturing to one. "This person couldn't count right."
Definitely overshot it a bit when it came to drawing a pentagram. Gabriel would know, he used to wear one around his neck, just a few years ago. "If Satan worshippers are using this place, they are not the most educated bunch. Lucifer would be pissed."
"I definitely heard something but I don't know what." He would listen when editing but it seriously sounded like a whisper or a groan. He wasn't sure. He looked around the graffiti too, unsettled by the satanic imagery and -- oh. "Look. 420." Well. Apparently weedheads were everywhere, who thought have thought it. "Time to blaze, I guess. Satan says smoke weed."
Moving forward, Tyler shined his light around the room. "If there are any spirits that want to reach out, please do. Touch us, speak to us - can you say our names? I'm Tyler, that's Gabriel. He's a dick, maybe push him? It's up to you."
"Oh yeah, I'm a giant dick. Maybe hug Tyler? He could use a hug. He's the little spoon." As far as Gabriel could tell, there was nothing here. Which made sense, the place was abandoned. Why would anything hang around here? Demons, most entities, they were after a lot more entertainment. But whatever, Tyler would be thrilled based on all the 'evidence' they were sure to find. Moving behind him, Gabriel wrapped an arm around him himself. Hey, fodder for the shippers. Besides, it might scare Tyler. Besides, he liked holding him. "Should we have brought weed? Smoke out the demons?"
"Ah! Fuck! Shit, dude, don't-- don't hug me. Especially not in the dark when a ghost touched me before!" Tyler nearly had a heart attack. "You son of a bitch." He laughed despite himself, always finding spooky shit like that more entertaining that terrifying these days. When he was with Gabriel. When he was alone, he would straight up piss himself with fear. It was terrifying.
"I don't know if they smoke weed but they say the ghost of this house is appeased and gives you good luck if you leave whiskey here."
"I'm not gonna leave whiskey anywhere. My ancestors would turn in their graves. Both sides." There, how was that for believing in ghosts? Gabriel kept his chin propped up on Tyler's shoulder for a few moments more, then he let go to look around instead, appearing to suddenly be a lot more interested in this ghost-hunting endeavour. Of course, there was a reason for that. "I wonder what the odds are of finding some abandoned whiskey here... Greater than the odds of you stumbling upon a ghost, I reckon."
And a lot more exciting, as far as he was concerned.
"You can't take the whiskey. It was left as a tribute. You'll piss off the ghosts and the people who left it." Rolling his eyes, he reached out and snagged the sleeve of his jacket, hauling Gabriel away from the area that the whiskey was kept and shoving him ahead. "We have to go to the basement. Now keep your eyes on the prize and the prize is not whiskey. It's that soon, we can go home and shower and then maybe I'll crack open the mini bar and you can have some Johnny Walker."
As expensive as it was, he expected nowhere else was going to be open at 4am for them to purchase anything else. Oh well, the company could handle that.
"You really want to keep the camera on all night, huh?" Already sprawled on the bed, Gabriel sat up enough to look over at the red light from the camera, tilting his head a little. "I really don't like sleeping with a shirt on." He was just saying. "Who knows, might be good for views."
Hey, he knew he was pretty toned. A lot bulkier than he had been a few years back, but still in shape. "We could just conclude that this place is not haunted, turn off the camera and sleep in peace." Without a shirt, preferably.
He was not sure what Tyler's feelings on that would be, but given how aggressively straight he appeared to be, he assumed he shouldn't care too much.
"Yeah, you can keep that shirt on, buddy. I don't want to see any of that or have any pictures of that shit online." He rolled his eyes as he sat on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the microphone to make sure it was all set for a long night. "We are here to capture ghosts so yes, we have the camera all night and the mics going. I'm not missing anything. If I'm sleeping here, I'm getting proof."
With a yawn, he set the microphone on the bedside table and looked at Gabriel, sprawled out on the bed, raising an eyebrow at him. "Move over, you're on my side."
He wanted his own space. Hopefully. Maybe. "Are you going to sleep with your shoes on oooor...?"
"What, the shirt has to stay on, but the shoes bother you?" With a grunt, Gabriel moved over to his side, then bent down to untie his shoes, so he could pull them off. Another long night ahead, he feared, if Tyler stayed at his current anxiety levels. "You know, you really have to open your mind more. Has the possibility of horny ghosts never occurred to you? Or demons, for that matter. They are famously horny. All sorts of ghouls that might lick their metaphysical ghost-fingers if they got to see me without a shirt."
He ran his fingers through his hair to untangle it somewhat, then patted the bed next to him. "Come to bed already. I promise I'm not a demon."
"I've never heard of a horny ghost or demon. None of the classics are like 'and then the ghost wanted a blow job'." Rolling his eyes, he came over and flopped on the bed next to Gabriel, adjusting the pillow with an annoyed sigh. "If you want to seduce them, fine, go for it. I don't want to invite the ghouls into my body, one way or another, you know? Seemed like the one place a demon shouldn't be is inside of you."
And he stood by it. He pulled out his phone, double checked his messages and then put it on the bedside table. With his arms behind his head, he stared straight ahead at the creepy chair in the corner. Why was it creepy? He didn't know. Just felt it. "Are you on this mission just to fuck ghouls?"
"You were the one who brought up the sexy barmaid ghost." Felt worth pointing that out. No horny demons, really? Damn, normal humans were even more out of touch than Gabriel would have thought. He watched Tyler, rather than any creepy chair, thinking about how cute he was, even while freaking himself out the way he always did. "I don't intend to fuck any ghoul, but hey. At least you'd have your proof if that happened, wouldn't you? Maybe you should try, might be more convincing than another breathy whisper."
"I'm hoping for something more normal and less ridiculous. I want to be know as Tyler, a man who proved ghosts are real and not just Tyler, the man who fucked a ghost. Not hat I couldn't make an amazing youtube career out of fucking ghosts." That would be wildly unhelp but probably useful but hey, he'd get brand deals... until he got kicked off the site. So no, probably just a bad idea.
Turning off his lamp, Tyler closed his eyes. "I am not gonna get any sleep, this place freaks me out so much."
"Spooky." Gabriel was down with going to New Orleans for Halloween. It would make for good content, they'd filmed enough for at least three episodes by now, and it also made for very good partying. What he hadn't considered what Tyler wanting to 'investigate' when they were off the clock, off camera as well. But here they were now, supposedly to have their fortune told.
It was a cool set-up, Gabriel had to give it that. All the symbols, the flickering lights, the old house, great for rattling Tyler's nerves. Of course, Gabriel could tell most of the symbols were not quite right, there was very little, if any, magic around, and that at least eased him of the small worry that they might risk running into an actually gifted person. Obviously not. "Nifty little waiting room." What else could he say here? "It's quaint. As if a dentist was forced to exclusively decorate from thrift stores and Hot Topic during Halloween."
"Last time I went to a fortune teller, she predicted when my granddad would die..." Tyler said with a far off look in his eyes, clearly freaked out by the idea. He didn't know how much he wanted to go here and talk to a fortune teller but he couldn't ever resist the pull of one. In his family, fortune telling was a really big deal, his grandma always used to encourage him to see one when times were rough.
"You know, my parents only had me because they were told by a fortune teller that their second child would be lucky." Tyler frowned and then shrugged at Gabriel. "I mean, I'm grateful but I think they got screwed." They wanted a doctor, they got a youtuber - that was rough.
"Oh yeah. You're a total loss." Gabriel said it in a jovial manner, wrapping an arm around Tyler to ensure he knew he meant no harm. "Eh, I doubt you're as big a disappointment to them as I am to my family." Seemed incredibly unlikely, all things considered. "Anyway, you've not been eaten by a demon yet, right? That's gotta count as lucky."
Not that he had come close to any demon, other than that time in the hotel, but Tyler certainly seemed to believe as if they narrowly escaped a gruesome death on the regular.
"My dad calls me an influencer and my mom just asks when I'm having grandkids. They've given up on professional dreams for me. Luckily my older brother got his act together and is pretty successful, he can take care of them. And my little sister is getting into dentistry." So his father was thrilled. Tyler remained the middle child who made middling money in a middling career than had few options for growth but a lot of creative expansion. "I don't know which of us is a bigger loser but you should have seen my parents faces when I said I wanted to go to film school."
It was quite the moment, one that would live on forever in his heart. What a time to be alive. "My life will be worth it when I find enough proof of ghosts that idiotic sceptics like you will finally relent and admit I'm right. Then I'll -- I don't know, sell my ghost pics. Make an OnlyFans."
"My grandmother has refused to look at me ever since I told her I'm studying Biology." That was fun. Matriarchal family structure, she certainly knew how to freeze someone out. "I don't actually know what she'd make of the YouTube thing." Hey, Tyler felt it was going all right. "I don't think you need to make an OnlyGhosts account. We're climbing, aren't we? I know the last video trended for a while, front page and everything. If the algorithm keeps loving us, maybe you'll be less disappointing after all."
Gabriel grinned, holding his hands up. "See? There's your fortune told. And for free from this handsome face. Lucky indeed."
"The trouble is that the company takes all of it. My wage is peanuts for the work I do, you know? I shoot, I act, I edit and I don't even get ad revenue." He was very annoyed about the company but he knew that was just the way it was. If he went it alone, he would never have made it. First of all, he'd never have done youtube.
The people ahead of them came back out, giggling and talking excitedly as they left. Looked like their turn was up. He laughed and turned to Gabriel, grinning at him. "I'm hoping I get a better fortune than 'not sucking forever' from my work colleague. I'm hoping for gold or bitcoin, baby!"
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Besides, he liked Gabriel. They had worked together before, they hung out a few times - all in work time but even so. They could have good chemistry and if the vibe was right, this could be perfect.
"I guess you have some free time. So, uh, I had an idea. It's a bit crazy and out there so hear me out. Are you free Friday evening?" Tyler grinned at Gabriel, trying to slowly test the waters before he sprung the whole thing on him. "I won't be offended if you say no."
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"Yeah, I guess. I'm free this Friday." Did that make him seem like a date-less loser? Oh, well. "Why?"
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It seemed like the perfect pitch to him. "See, I do true crime and now I want to go into the supernatural but I need a partner. Someone to bounce off of. And Jack, the guy I was doing it with, he wasn't into it. I don't know why. Either way - I'm kind of bummed out. If I can't find someone, I'm screwed."
And he really wanted to make this project happen, he was desperate. "I really want to find proof of ghosts."
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Had his grandmother somehow put Tyler up to this? He would not put it past her. "You know ghosts aren't real, don't you? I mean, I don't believe in them." He didn't, overly. Sure, he saw them all the time, but that didn't warrant believe. They were a bit too inconsequential to believe in much, honestly. Usually just shadows lingering around, not actual souls. Imprints.
And nothing a normal person should concern themsevles with. "What places are you thinking?"
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Tyler slapped Gabriel playfully on the arm and then finished googling the itinerary he had made, emailing it to Gabriel asap so he knew the facts better.
"A sceptic is good, it adds drama. I believe, you don't - we can fight over it or whatever. But that shit is real, just fyi. We're going to see ghosts and demons and... I'm definitely seeing a priest beforehand." Tyler paused and then frowned, looking at Gabriel. "Maybe we should hit up a priest who did exorcists, get it filmed."
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It was cute. Gabriel snorted, shaking his head a little. "If they are so real, than why is there no scientific proof?" Didn't seem to matter much, he would say that much. Even knowing what was real.
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"There is proof. Just a quick google, man. I even have some on tape from when I was a teenager. I used to ghost hunt all the time, you see some weird shit. It's just that sceptics even believe the proof." It didn't matter what he showed people, they always dismissed it so why bother trying to prove it to them. He wanted to appeal to his own people, the believers and those on the fence.
"Amityville, Hampton court, Tower of London. All those places have legit ghost pictures, they have proof, but they're pictures. I want video evidence."
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Definitely overshot it a bit when it came to drawing a pentagram. Gabriel would know, he used to wear one around his neck, just a few years ago. "If Satan worshippers are using this place, they are not the most educated bunch. Lucifer would be pissed."
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Moving forward, Tyler shined his light around the room. "If there are any spirits that want to reach out, please do. Touch us, speak to us - can you say our names? I'm Tyler, that's Gabriel. He's a dick, maybe push him? It's up to you."
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"I don't know if they smoke weed but they say the ghost of this house is appeased and gives you good luck if you leave whiskey here."
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And a lot more exciting, as far as he was concerned.
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As expensive as it was, he expected nowhere else was going to be open at 4am for them to purchase anything else. Oh well, the company could handle that.
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Hey, he knew he was pretty toned. A lot bulkier than he had been a few years back, but still in shape. "We could just conclude that this place is not haunted, turn off the camera and sleep in peace." Without a shirt, preferably.
He was not sure what Tyler's feelings on that would be, but given how aggressively straight he appeared to be, he assumed he shouldn't care too much.
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With a yawn, he set the microphone on the bedside table and looked at Gabriel, sprawled out on the bed, raising an eyebrow at him. "Move over, you're on my side."
He wanted his own space. Hopefully. Maybe. "Are you going to sleep with your shoes on oooor...?"
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He ran his fingers through his hair to untangle it somewhat, then patted the bed next to him. "Come to bed already. I promise I'm not a demon."
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And he stood by it. He pulled out his phone, double checked his messages and then put it on the bedside table. With his arms behind his head, he stared straight ahead at the creepy chair in the corner. Why was it creepy? He didn't know. Just felt it. "Are you on this mission just to fuck ghouls?"
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Turning off his lamp, Tyler closed his eyes. "I am not gonna get any sleep, this place freaks me out so much."
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It was a cool set-up, Gabriel had to give it that. All the symbols, the flickering lights, the old house, great for rattling Tyler's nerves. Of course, Gabriel could tell most of the symbols were not quite right, there was very little, if any, magic around, and that at least eased him of the small worry that they might risk running into an actually gifted person. Obviously not. "Nifty little waiting room." What else could he say here? "It's quaint. As if a dentist was forced to exclusively decorate from thrift stores and Hot Topic during Halloween."
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"You know, my parents only had me because they were told by a fortune teller that their second child would be lucky." Tyler frowned and then shrugged at Gabriel. "I mean, I'm grateful but I think they got screwed." They wanted a doctor, they got a youtuber - that was rough.
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Not that he had come close to any demon, other than that time in the hotel, but Tyler certainly seemed to believe as if they narrowly escaped a gruesome death on the regular.
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It was quite the moment, one that would live on forever in his heart. What a time to be alive. "My life will be worth it when I find enough proof of ghosts that idiotic sceptics like you will finally relent and admit I'm right. Then I'll -- I don't know, sell my ghost pics. Make an OnlyFans."
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Gabriel grinned, holding his hands up. "See? There's your fortune told. And for free from this handsome face. Lucky indeed."
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The people ahead of them came back out, giggling and talking excitedly as they left. Looked like their turn was up. He laughed and turned to Gabriel, grinning at him. "I'm hoping I get a better fortune than 'not sucking forever' from my work colleague. I'm hoping for gold or bitcoin, baby!"