Can You See Me Now? (Pt. 3 of 5)

Story by MixedUpPup on SoFurry

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#3 of Can you see me now?


~Stupid disclaimer thingy~ Ya adult content blah blah blah. Although there's no adult content in this story, There is definately M/M contact here. Just warning you, k? Enjoy Everyone!

***

"Adam," Whitney said, walking into their new living room with tea cups of tea in his

paws. "It's been a couple weeks and we haven't heard a word from Coda..." She sat down

on the couch beside the wolf who was tapping furiously on his laptop.

"I have," Adam said, accepting the tea, which sloshed around in their newly purchased

fine china. "He's been acting strange ever since his moved in to that place on Fangelo,

though..."

"Really?" Whitney asked, sipping the hot liquid. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Adam sighed, shutting the screen. "I went over there a couple days ago while

you were out, and it appeared as if he's just been keeping to himself." He then perked

his ears in thought. "Although there were sets of two for everywhere... like he's been

hiding someone from us."

"Maybe he's gotten a new boyfriend?" Whitney suggested, giggling a little, moving

closer. "Maybe he's just ashamed of it, that's all?"

"That's so unlike him, though," Adam replied, finally sipping his own cup. "He's never

hidden anything from me..."

"He's also lived a million miles from you for a couple years," Whitney countered,

raising a newly trimmed eyebrow. "Maybe he's forgotten how to be open with you."

"I hope not..." Adam sighed again, looking over to Whitney, noticing the look on her

face. "But how about you and I head up to bed now? We'll pop by tomorrow and see this

guy he's been hiding for ourselves."

The female wolf giggled and nodded, holding out her paw, waiting to be swept off her

feet. Adam grabbed, pulled, and took his prize upstairs for the night, laughing all the

way.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Coda sat at his new table in his dimmed down

kitchen reading a book. A wispy someone floated close beside him, still stunned at how

changed his surroundings had become.

"I still can't believe you haven't been up here in..." Coda paused, looking up from the

pages he had been flipping. "...26 years?"

"There was really no point," The phantom, Jack, said as he gracefully rolled about in

midair. "The guy I stayed behind to haunt had moved out long since then, so the

basement was the only place worth going."

"That's kind of a dim way to look at life..." Coda spoke, then thought about it. "Well...

afterlife, I guess. Couldn't you just go somewhere else?"

"I wish..." Jack sighed, wafting a trail of illuminated red that smoked off of his thick

bushy tail. He stayed there, seeming preoccupied as Coda waited.

"You're not much of a talker..." Coda said, putting his book down on the table.

"It does that to you," Jack looked him in the eye, frowning. "Ya know...when nobody

listens to you."

As much as Coda appreciated company, Jack was bringing the whole mood down, and

although Coda couldn't blame him for it, he was at least gonna try to make him feel

better.

"I'm here to listen," Coda spoke softly, extending his paw for the red wolfs arm.

Rather then feeling the sense of another body connecting with his paw, he felt that

same refreshingly cool feeling rushing over his pads.

"You don't have to," Jack started to say before the wolf's paw touched. His eyes

opened wide as he looked to Coda, who was smiling. "...I don't understand..."

"Can you feel that, or something?" Coda asked him, finding it funny how fascinated

the ghost was with his paw. The sense of touch must have more power when you don't

feel it for almost 3 decades.

"...yes," Jack gasped. "I can feel that. I can feel you! I..."

"What's it feel like?" He asked him, moving his paw to his shoulder.

"It's warm..." Jack actually began to smile. "It's... like I'm alive again..."

"Like..." Coda's smile dimmed. "...you're alive again?" He took a second to think about

this reality check that spawned in the form of a sentence. He was touching a ghost, not

actual fur. Or was he? So many questions filled up his head, blurring his vision, but Jack

didn't seem to notice.

"I've faded through so many furs that have walked these floors," His rouge gaze kept

to the floor as he recollected. "And, not once, have I ever felt the warmth you've given

me just now..."

"That must be pretty lonely," Coda sighed, getting up, pushing his chair in. "But then

again, I'm here to keep you company now."

"Are you going to bed now?" The reddish wolf asked him as he floated along beside

him.

"Yeah, I'm tired," He yawned and stretched before heading towards the staircase. "You

wanna come up and talk a bit more?"

"There's nothing to talk about..." Jack sighed, starting to fall through the floor. "I'll see

you tomorrow or something..." He sank till he was up to his neck. Then he gave Coda a

quick glance before falling all the way, ripping the dull red glow from the kitchen.

Coda shook his head and smiled a little, remembering when Jack almost scared him to

death in his basement. "I wonder if there's a way to cheer up a ghost..." He thought as

he climbed the stairs, feeling the carpet underneath him. If there was anyone to answer

this question, it was him. That's when his head started concocting ways to make his new

friend feel better.

He smiled a little when he got into his bedroom. He remembered when it was just

boxes on the floor with a mattress in the corner. Now it was a full bedroom, complete

with a king-size bed, huge dresser with mirrors, and... boxes he hadn't dealt with yet.

"I'll get to them eventually..." He thought as he slipped under his cool sheets. He was

reminded of how it felt to be touched by Jack, which seemed to calm him as he slipped

of into slumber.

***

The next morning, the doorbell rang for the first time since he had moved there. The

loud, fourteen-ring-bell tolled, nearly sending Coda flying into the wall. He gasped as he

landed on all paws on the floor, hearing snickers behind him.

"Is that how you always get out of bed?" He turned to see Jack floating in front of his

balcony window. The breathtaking sight nearly fainted him as he watched the sunlight

pour through him as if he were made of ruby. Shining like a god, he gave him a puzzled

look. "You do realize... you're naked?"

"Heee..." Coda smiled, blushing as hard as he could under his fur, feeling like an insect

in a king's company. He grabbed his blanket and wrapped it around his body, now

standing on his hind legs. "Umm... I didn't see you there..."

"There's someone at the door, for you?" Jack pointed in the general direction of the

stairs. "It's that wolf that was here about two days ago. He's got a fem with him."

"Why are Adam and Whitney here...?" Coda asked himself out loud, feeling annoyingly

invaded. "This better not be a routine checkup in the making..."

"We can only hope..." Jack snickered, almost offensively. "Better go answer it."

"Yeah..." Coda replied, pulling his pajama bottoms out of his dresser. He wrestled

them on as he walked, noticing a new vibe he was getting from Jack all of the sudden,

and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

"Coda!" Whitney greeted him as he opened the door. She let herself and Adam in. "It's

been so long! Where the hell have you been?"

Coda, dumbstruck, looked upstairs, where he saw Jack floating up and down with a

grin on his face, waving almost in a taunt. "I ugh... Guess I've just been settling down

here."

"Well," Adam said, hugging his brother as Whitney let go of him. "We brought lunch

with us if you don't mind us staying."

"Sounds fine," Coda stammered. "But I have to go check something upstairs... So I'll be

right down okay?"

"Alrighty," Whitney gave a look that basically said "I'm on to you, boy." as he tripped

back up the stairs.

Coda fumbled his way into his bedroom, opening the door and passing right through

the unsuspecting specter. The room was lost in nightfall as the air around him grew cold.

His eyes grew as he suddenly sensed someone there. Someone real, and when he turned

and looked, all he could catch were two emerald disks wielding a knife that glimmered

its perfect smile just before it bit into his chest, dripping crimson everywhere.

"Hey!" Jack shouted, shooting out of Coda's torso, floating right in front of him. "What

the hell..." He tried to scorn, only to notice the terror that chiseled itself into his face,

which reflexively forced him try and shake him out of it, but his paws just sunk through

like nothing. "God damnit, Coda!" He started to shout, trying not to shed his tears that

mimicked the color of blood, and as they ran down his fur they vanished "I can't touch

you Coda! Please! Snap out of it!"

It was no good. All Coda could see was the blurry silhouette of someone stabbing him.

Over and over again it played, slowing down each time, until he finally rolled his eyes

and hit the floor.

"What the hell?!" Jack shrieked. His hysterical fit caused the room to shake as his

tears faded before they hit the ground. "All I want to do is help you! Useless! I'm

useless!" He flew downstairs into the kitchen, where Adam and Whitney started

preparing the food they brought. "Hey! Just so you know guys! Coda's passed out on the

floor upstairs!"

They just chatted amongst themselves, not seeing even a clue of the wolf that flew

about ranting.

"Didn't you even hear him fall?!" Jack tried his final time, but still nothing. He sighed

and passed through the ceiling, catching the slowly opening eyes of the wolf that lay on

the floor.

"...Jack?" Coda groaned, picking himself up, rubbing his head. "What... the hell... just

happened?"

"You barged in, ran through me, and fainted." Jack said angrily. "And your friends

didn't even hear you hit the floor... I tried to help... but..." He paused and looked away.

"I'm so... useless..."

"You're not useless, Jack..." Coda said as he moved over to him. "You're just... dead, ya

know?

"Thanks..." Jack replied with sarcasm. "I'll remember that the next time I try hanging

myself from your shower curtain."

"Calm down," Coda giggled a little. "It was a joke, okay? Now, I have some people I

need to see, so I'll catch up with you later okay?"

Jack just nodded, almost as if he was hurt. He started to sink into the floor, and

before Coda could tell him to keep his ghostly chin up, he was gone.

"Can ghosts really have this much emotion in them?" Coda thought as he stood,

feeling woozy. He moved his paw up to his forehead again, feeling for bumps as he

caught the tiny voice coming from the kitchen.

"Coda, hurry up! Lunch's gonna be ready soon!"

"Clam down woman..." Coda said under his breath before he walked downstairs. He

walked into a room filled with the smell of freshly cooked chicken and pasta, which

steamed and begged to be eaten on the counter. They both turned their heads as the

wolf walked in, paw glued to his forehead. He expected them to ask what was wrong, or

at least take notice to the strange express on his face, but what Whitney asked almost

frustrated him.

"You sleep in pajamas now?" She small talked as she pulled up a chair for him. There

was a plate already set at the counter, which he graciously plopped down in front of and

stuck his tongue out.

"No," He replied to her, scratching his furry belly. "I just didn't feel like answering the

door naked, ya know?"

Both she and Adam gave a small laugh as they sat next to him; filling their plate with

the food that was placed in front as Coda already began stuffing his muzzle.

A couple wordless minutes went by before Adam swallowed, cleared his throat, and

asked the question. "So, Coda. What have you been up to since you've moved in?"

"Ya know," The wolf replied between bites, avoiding eye contact. "Setting up furniture,

settling in... That sort of stuff."

"Have you made any new friends?" Whitney barged, trying to wipe Coda's mouth with

a napkin, which he angrily dodged before shoving more food into his mouth. "Maybe

around the neighborhood?"

"Am I supposed to?" Coda asked, purposefully dirtying the fur around his muzzle in

spite of the female's attempt at cleanliness. "Cause I've just been hanging around here."

"Well," Adam pushed his plate aside, taking out a toothpick from somewhere under his

coat. "It's not healthy for a 20 year old pup to sit at home all day, bored to tears and

friendless." He paused for a second and added. "What about a boyfriend?"

"Ha..." Coda said after he finished liking ever last crumb from his plate. Something that

surprised even Adam, who thought he'd seen it all. "Boys are bad for me... Especially the

ones that like getting into my pants." He stood and took his plate to the sink, which

surprised his brother further.

"So there HAS been someone!" Whitney raised her arm in triumph, although the two

others each gave her the same look of "...what?" before she realized she spoke out loud.

"...oops."

"What's this about...?" Coda eyed the two of them like they were strangers now. "You

guys think I've just been whoring myself out or something?"

"Heh..." Adam stammered, looking over to Whitney. "You wanna cover this one,

honey?"

"You're the detective, dear," Whitney crossed her arms, assuming the female

defensive position. "I think you're perfectly capable of telling him the truth."

"What truth!?" Adam shouted. "It was both of us who decided to come here!?"

"...You're a detective?" Coda asked his brother, taking his attention away from his

close-minded wife. "When did this happen?"

"I've always been a detective, Coda," Adam reasoned. "But that has nothing to do with

this..."

"Although that's a really cool piece of information," He shot back. "I don't need my

brother going around, snooping through my life. Kay?"

"I'm not snooping!"

"Then why are you here?"

"To see how your life is coming together..."

"That's snooping..."

"Boys are pointless..." Whitney sighed to herself as she stood, embracing Coda into a

hug. "It's been fun, dear, but we really must be going. Please excuse everything my

dumb ass husband has said."

Adam just put his paws to his temples and started to rub before being yanked out of

his chair.

"Bye?" Coda said, not really understanding the situation anymore. "Come again?"

"Oh we will," Whitney shouted from the front door before he heard a loud slam.

All Coda could do was sigh and slump back into his chair, paw back on his forehead.

"And that's why... I can't stand woman..."

***

Almost a week later, Coda found himself huddled on his sofa in the living room. A

laptop was sitting warmly in his lap as he typed in sentence after sentence, only to

rigorously tap the backspace button to erase one after the other.

"UGH!" He shouted in his head. All he wanted to do was start his next story, but as

usual, nothing came to him. After all, he knew his small fortune wouldn't last him the

rest of his life, so he had to at least have a small trickle to buy the bread.

Hour after hour coasted by until the blank screen started to give him a headache. He

closed the top with a snap and leaned forward, resting his face into his paws. "I... can't

think of anything with my head clouded like this..."

These words made him sick with realization, partly because recently the thought that

haunted him was floating around downstairs, probably aimlessly. What was even worse

was the confusion that followed it.

"This can't possibly be happening..." He thought as he looked around to see if he was

being spied on. "Only psychos have crushes on dead furs..." He then thought about Jack

again. His glowing body, his rouge-tinted fur. His face, so haunting.

Coda took this as the first sign that maybe he should see a therapist, which made him

open his laptop, only to close it shortly after.

"Whatcha doin'?" Came a voice from the doorway of the living room, making Coda

jump and slam the computer shut by reflex.

"Trying to write..." Coda sighed, laying wandering eyes on the thing he didn't feel like

seeing at that moment. The hopeless array of feeling that had been growing inside of

him reared, causing him to shove it back into hiding, where it would eventually end up

growing again.

"You're a writer?" Jack asked, floating in, landing on the couch. "Can I read something

by you?"

"No..." Coda said shortly. He could barely look at him, without blushing, which changed

the situation from friendly to awkward in about 3 seconds.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, moving even closer. "You aren't your usual, upbeat self."

"It's nothing..." Coda lied, getting up to go upstairs. "I'm tired..." He said before he felt

a cool rush slip through his paw. He turned and saw the ghost holding out his arm,

looking down.

"Damn this inability to touch..." He whispered, looking like he was holding back tears.

"It rips me to shreds... not being able to help you, ya know..."

"What do you mean?" Coda asked, placing his laptop on the floor and sitting back

down. "Why do you feel the need to help me?"

"When you fainted a couple days ago..." Jack started to say as red started dripping

from his eyes. "It reminded me... Of..."

"Of what?" Coda asked, feeling his heartbeat swell. "What are you talking about?"

"The night... I died..."

Coda felt a chill as the reality of everything wrapped around his head and squeezed.

He stared as the red wolf's glow dulled a little, leaving only a slight illumination as the

sun started to set.

"You were stabbed..." Coda murmured, remembering, keeping his wide eyes fixed on

the face of the phantom.

"How..." Jack's eyes grew as well, staring back. "How did you know that..."

"I saw it," Coda said, a bit of fear wrapped in his voice. "When I walked through you...

I saw it..."

"So that's why you fainted..."

"Well it scared the shit out of me..."

"I don't blame you," Jack said, lowering his ears, remembering. "It scared the shit out

of me too..."

"Who was it?" Coda couldn't help but ask, although he could see that Jack was in

enough pain already.

"You really want to know?" Jack asked, taking away eye contact. He glued his eyes to

the floor and sighed. "He was a fox named Jamie... Jamie Centre... He was my mate at

the time..."

"Your...what?!" Coda whispered. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't say anything.

His tongue went dry, partly because he realized that the wolf is... was gay, and because

he was killed by his mate. What exactly can you say to that?

"Yeah," Jack said, almost seeming to blush. "I was killed by my mate... God knows

why..."

"I..." Coda stammered, racking his brain for something to say. "I really don't know what

to say... I mean... that's horrid..."

"Yeah well," Jack replied, sighing a little. His ears stayed glued to his head. "It's not a

big deal anymore... He's gone, I'm dead... There's not much more you can do about it."

"He's gone?" Coda asked, suddenly interested. "What do you mean he's gone?"

"He's run off..." Jack told him. "Again, God knows where." He had a bit of an annoyed

aura around him now, as if Coda was prodding him.

"Well," The wolf said after several minutes of awkward silence, feeling the need to

give the specter some space, and the need to sit in his room and think. "I think I'm

going to head up stairs."

"Okay," Jack said quietly, floating down through the couch, back into the basement.

"I'll see you tomorrow or something..."

"Hey, Jack," Coda shot out before the ghost had descended fully. He rose again and

brought himself in front of the wolf addressing him.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for... ya know... telling me those things."

Jack gave him a confused expression. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Well," Coda said, moving closer. "It's the little things that make people happy." He

opened his arms and embraced the floating fur, which felt like he was wrapping his arms

around a waterfall. Nothing came in contact except that feeling of rushing cool that ran

over his chest and arms.

"Thanks, Coda," Jack said sincerely. "I like how you make me feel warm..." And with

that, the ghost floated down, leaving the wolf to embrace the darkness that the night

had left in his living room.

***

By the light of the moon, a lonely car pulled into its new driveway with a hooded old

fox stepping out, briefcase in one paw and file folder in the other. On the other side, a

lynx, also hooded, pulled a lifeless body from the backseat.

"Hey Jamie," The lynx grunted. "Where did you take us, again?" He hoisted the body

over his shoulder as the fox stood at his new front door.

"This is our new place, Trim," Jamie replied in his deep, smooth voice as he opened

the door, taking in the scent of wolf musk. "Smells like crud though..."

"Why this place?" Trim asked, walking and throwing the body down on the den floor. It

fell with a smack as blood leaked from a small bullet hole in his abdomen "It seems kind

of... not our style."

"That's cause it's clean," The fox sighed, turning on a lantern he pulled from his

briefcase. "And there are two reasons why I chose to put us here."

The lynx sat down beside him, eyes wide with curiosity. He waited from Jamie to

respond, but he was too preoccupied with his work at paw. "Well?

"One," Jamie said, flashing him a sleek glare from his emerald eyes, which were acting

like reflectors to the lamplight. "The detective that's been on our tail for a couple years

got a little bit two close to us on our last hit."

"So?" Trim laid back in glory, reminiscing the night he and Jamie did their biggest job

in a while. "That wolf, Mugsly, couldn't catch us if we fled from him tired to chairs."

"Be that as it may," Jamie shot back, finishing his little briefcase project. A laptop

with a small satellite lay before him, booting up as they spoke. "This is his place, which

is probably the last place he would look."

"I didn't hear that he moved?" Trim looked at him, moving closer to the computer

screen. "I don't blame him, though." He looked around the room they were in. Its

wooden walls and floors were glimmering against the screen light. "This place is really

bland, ya know?"

"That's not the point, retard," Jamie replied, pulling up a list from the computers

memory. On it were the names of several furs, typed in red and black. Down the list they

went, stopping at the first name in black, Agnus Reginald. He highlighted the name and

changed the color while Trim looked over Jamie's shoulder at the next name on the list,

gasping slightly.

"The boss wants us to hit..."

"Exactly," Jamie said, highlighting the next name. "The very man we were just talking

about."

Adam Mugsly.

"Jamie, your nuts," Trim argued. "He's a cop. They'll get C.S.I after us or something.

You've seen the show! We'd be done for within hours of doing it. Then we'd be in prison

for the rest of our lives!"

"Do you know how much this one's paying?" Jamie shut the computer. "Wrap your mind

around this one. He's pissed off our group for years now. It's about time we pay him a

little visit."

"This isn't going to be worth it, Jamie," Trim said, getting up and pulling a cigarette

out of his coat. "But I trust you. I'm in."

"It's settled then," Jamie said as he reached out a pistol from his coat, taking it apart

to polish it. "We'll hit him in three days. By that time, we need to pick up the plans from

the boss, and a different kind of arsenal."

"Snipers?" Trim said, getting excited, puffing occasionally on his cigarette. Jamie

shook his head. "Rifles?" Jamie shook his head again. "Rockets? Turrets? What?"

The fox snickered, piecing his pistol back together within seconds. He threw Trim a

glare before he shot up and aimed the pistol inches away from his throat. His catlike

reflexes not kicking in until it was too late. "I'm going to knife him..."

Trim, unphased by the sudden act of aggression, gasped at the thought. "Jamie, you

haven't knifed anyone since..."

"Since Fangelo, I know." The fox chucked, lowering his pistol. "I will make this wolf

suffer. I want him to see my eyes before he sees the blood I spill on him." He moved to

the lamp and lowered the light, lying down on the cold wooden floor. "Now go to bed,

Trim. We've got a whole bunch of planning to do."

"Night, Jamie."

"Shut up..."

***

Later that night, a wolf laid in his bed as the moonlight soaked his sheets. He couldn't

sleep, for thoughts fired in his head like world war 3 and he couldn't figure out what to

do.

"It's like I'm finding out I'm gay again..." He whined in his head, rolling over as he tried

to get comfortable. "Can I be happy with a ghost as a mate...? Can I survive with

someone there, only in spirit...?"

Questions like these turned off an on, again and again as he sighed every once in a

while. He waited for the answer to come to him, but the only thing there was the moon,

staring in at him, frowning at his struggle.

He got up, rolling the sheets over, and walked his way to the balcony, were he stood

in view of his backyard. His naked body felt the warm breeze of the night as he looked

at the stars, counting each one for what it was worth.

"I haven't felt like this for a while..." He thought as he stood. The wind ruffled his fur

as the fireflies from below sprinkled in the bushes. The crickets played their song and

the sound of snoozing filled the air. He took in the scent of everything, feeling each

presence and body around him, finally aware.

He felt peace now as everything soothed his senses, and that's when he saw him. The

one he was starting to adore. The one who haunted him, dancing in the moonlight. He

rolled and twisted, smoke following his every move as the moonlight pierced and made

him glow.

Entranced, Coda couldn't look away as this ruby wolf floated so carelessly. The sad

look that had been plastered on his face was gone, and instead there was a grin. A grin

that showed serenity and a face that showed content.

"Hey," He heard him say as he spotted him, making him float near, leaving a trail that

shown so brilliantly you could almost bet it was real. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" Jack

asked, now floating in front of Coda, hanging as his godly glow was flowing.

"I couldn't sleep," Coda smiled. "So I thought I'd come see the view."

"You know you're naked, right?" Jack asked uneasily, remembering the last naked

incident.

"It happens," Coda giggled. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"The moonlight," Jack replied. "It makes me feel alive again."

This time, the word "alive" didn't bother him. All he could do was smile as he felt

himself blush. Jack then turned and waved, floating back down to the ground.

"I'm sure," He thought as Jack descended, once again dancing the night away. "This is

weird and all..." He smiled again, going back inside and snuggling back into his bed. "But

I think I'm starting to fall for you... Jack Folley..."

***

And that's part threeeeeeeeee for ya. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I'll have part 4 out soon. I gots it all planned out so this story might be out faster then my others have been. Stay tuned, friendly furs!

=Pup