A/N: I've created a new challenge (which you can check out on my forum) called the 31-Day Halloween Writing Challenge. You can use it for anything, really, not just your OTP (which I'll be doing because I'm unoriginal). This is the first day, and the theme is "Ghost". If any of you guys want to participate in the challenge, just go to my forum, and all the days are laid out there. Anyway, let's get started with day 1! ^-^

Day One: Ghost

"I'm not so sure about this anymore, Gray," Natsu whispered, his voice wavering. He swung his flashlight in a wide arc, the pale fluorescent beam cutting through the dark air and lighting up the dust motes as it illuminated the shadowy forms of old, dusty blue lockers.

"I told you a million times already that we wouldn't get caught," Gray replied, his flashlight beam crossing Natsu's as he walked in front of him to peer down the long, black hallway. "Stop being a scaredy-cat, would you?"

"I'm not scared!" Natsu protested weakly, glad the other boy couldn't see his shaking hand in the dark. "This is just stupid. Wouldn't you rather go to my house and watch a movie?"

"Tempting," Gray said, casting a glance back at him with a smile. "But no. C'mon, don't be so stiff! Let's explore a little."

"What's there to explore?" Natsu mumbled as Gray moved further down the hallway. "We've been going to this school for three years now. I think we've seen enough of it." Gray shot an exasperated look back at him before grabbing him by the hand and towing him along.

"Everything looks different at night, don't you think? It's cooler this way."

Natsu shrugged. He didn't particularly care how cool it looked: It was creepy and cold and he wanted to go home and watch Netflix instead. In fact, there were a million other things he could be doing on a Saturday night, but of course he'd let Gray drag him along to their school, of all places. He could never say no to the other boy when he looked at him with those serious, slate-blue eyes.

"Your hand's really cold," Gray noted, slowing his pace to match Natsu's and looking over at him. "I knew you were scared!" he teased, grinning, his teeth stark white against the black around them. That was another thing; the darkness. Ever since he was a kid, Natsu had hated the dark. It left too much to the imagination, with all it's shadows buried inside deeper, darker shadows, all of it so black and seeming to shift in front of his eyes, even though he knew it wasn't really moving.

"I'm not scared," he repeated adamantly, giving Gray's hand a squeeze in retaliation for the jibe. "It's just cold in here. I want to go home."

But Gray wouldn't have it, the stubborn prick. "No way. We've come this far; we've at least got to see the gym before we go. After all, they've got all those huge windows in there." When Natsu said nothing, he squeezed his hand gently. "Come on. It'll be lighter in there, and after we see it, I promise we can go."

Natsu sighed loudly, knowing already what he was going to say. "Okay, fine."

Gray grinned at him and picked up his pace, tugging slightly on Natsu's arm to get him to speed up. "Thank you. Now let's go!" Natsu allowed himself to be dragged, glancing around warily at their pitch-black surroundings. The only light offered was from the small windows at the very end of the hallway, allowing a dim square of moonlight through, which shone a full gray on the worn linoleum floor.

The gym doors made an eerie creaking sound as Gray pushed them open, the bristles along the bottom making a scritching sound as they brushed against the polished wooden floor. The smell of lemon-scented floor cleaner and the rubber of old basketballs filled Natsu's nose, and memories of past gym-classes, shoes squeaking against the floor, balls swishing into nets, and the shouts of energized peers, filling his mind.

It was lighter there, as Gray had promised, and moonlight shone down from the wide glass panes set into the ceiling, along with the expansive windows built in the three outside walls. The pale light created distorted shapes in the wood, and the remaining shadows cowered and danced in the corners of the gym.

"Okay, it's creepier in here," Natsu decided, spinning on his heel and making a grab for the door-handle. Gray grabbed him by the collar and towed him back, rolling his eyes. "C'mon, Natsu, just a few minutes and then we can—" He paused, tilting his head to the side with a slight frown. "Did you hear that?"

A shiver raced up Natsu's spine even as he replied, "I swear to God, if you're messing with me, I'll kill you."

"I'm serious," Gray said, his voice lowering suddenly. "Listen."

Natsu rolled his eyes, but obliged Gray's whims, tilting his head to the side and brushing the hair away from his ears to listen. For the longest time, all he heard were sounds that clearly belonged there: The whir of some ancient machinery from somewhere deep in the bowels of the school; the creak of the floorboards as Gray shifted; and their two sets of breath, slightly rigid from excitement. But nothing else.

He was about to dismiss Gray's paranoia as just that, but suddenly he caught the whisperings of sound at the edges of his hearing. He paused, his brows furrowing as he concentrated on the snippets of noise. There was a faint scratching sound, almost like a fingernail against wood. And, of course, that immediately scared Natsu out of his wits.

"Okay, we're leaving," he announced, spinning on his heel and dragging him towards the door, ignoring his protests. He reached for the push-bar and gave it a shove, expecting the door to come swinging out easily, like always, but it didn't budge.

"Oh godddd," Natsu moaned, covering his eyes. "We're gonna die in here!"

"Shut up," Gray said, although Natsu could detect a note of encroaching panic in his voice. "I bet that was just a night guard or something. And they're probably the one that locked the door, not knowing we were in here. C-come on, we can try the windows."

Natsu nodded begrudgingly, knowing it was their best bet, and turned. They walked over to the windows and Gray started fiddling with the latch. Finally, it popped open with a click and Gray gave a small laugh of victory, hoisting himself over the hill and easing himself out. He was more than halfway through when Natsu saw the figure.

It was a girl, her skin as sickly white as the pale silk gown flowing around her, and a curtain of thick black hair concealed her face. Natsu was shocked into stillness for several moments, staring with a slightly open mouth at what could only be a ghost. Of course, he was startled out of his trance by Gray calling his name, and his head snapped over to the boy for a split second. When he looked back, the ghost was only feet away from him, looking at him with wide, gaping holes in the place of eyes, and a wide, bloody-toothed smile.

Natsu screeched and made a wild scramble for the window, launching out head-first and tackling Gray. He pulled him up and started sprinting across the school lawn, his pulse like a dragonfly's wings, resounding in his ears with every frantic breath he took, his arms and legs pumping front to back in a mad dash for the parking lot, where Gray's blue pickup was parked, waiting for them.

"THIS IS YOUR FUCKING FAULT!" he yelled at Gray, not daring to glance back at the still open window. "I TOLD YOU THAT PLACE IS HAUNTED!"

"WELL, SORRY!" Gray shouted back. "I DIDN'T, Y'KNOW, THINK GHOSTS WERE REAL!"

They reached the car, and Natsu finally dared to look back as Gray fumbled with his keys. He made a terrified sound as he saw a pale shape streaking across the lawn towards them, and tugged frantically at the still-locked door. "UNLOCK THE FUCKING DOOR, GRAY!"

"I'M TRYING!" Gray screamed back hysterically, finally unlocking the car with a satisfying beep. They flew into the seats, and Gray fumbled a few times before managing to successfully push the keys into the ignition, starting the car, which gave a series of mechanic protests as the old engine fired up.

"DRIVE!" Natsu screamed immediately, pounding on the dash with a fist. "FUCKING DRIVE!"

They sped out of the parking lot, and Gray drove at least twenty over the speed limit the whole way back to Natsu's house, both of them still breathless from the adrenaline rush. After what felt like hours speeding through the dark, silent night, Gray pulled into Natsu's driveway and jerked to a stop, turning the car off and panting as he tried to get his breath back.

They looked at each other, and for a while silence filled the car, broken only by the occasional car driving past and the buzz of the cicadas outside. Then they both broke into hysterical laughter, the panic and fear finally reaching them as they let it all out in short, loud bursts of sound.

Natsu wiped tears from his eyes and clutched his stomach, attempting a serious expression as he looked at Gray. "We're never doing that again. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Gray said quickly, letting out one last, breathless laugh before he slapped a palm against the steering wheel and shook his head. "Okay. Okay. And," he added, shooting a sharp glance at Natsu, "ghosts do not exist. Got it?"

"Got it," Natsu replied with a small smile. "Now, let's go watch Netflix."