Can You See Me Now? (Pt. 2 of 5)
#2 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 definatly M/M contact here. Just warning you, k? Enjoy Everyone!
***
"Coda..." Came the voice. Then a paw tapped on his shoulder. "Damnit Coda, wake up!"
"UGH!" Coda groaned, retreating to his haven of blankets. "Sleep now!" He shouted,
trying to keep his eyes closed.
"Come on Coda," It was Adam, pleading for him to get out of bed. "We're about to go
for breakfast, now get out of bed!" He yanked the blanket off, regretting it after seeing
Coda's naked body laying there shivering.
"Adam..." Coda sighed, finally getting up, rubbing his head. "I've always slept naked...
Why would you do something like that..."
Just then, Whitney walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head
and robe around her body. "You guys simply must try the shower..." She yawned, before
letting out an enormous sigh. "Ummm... why is Coda naked... right in front of me...?"
"I always sleep naked, Whitney," He tried to laugh, covering himself with a pillow from
the head of the bed. "But your husband here decided to pull the blankets off me..."
He got up, still covering himself, and walked into the bathroom. "I think I'll try this
fancy shower you're all of the sudden raving about."
Whitney just gave Adam an awkward look that said something along the lines of
"Were you coming on to your brother?", which made him reply with a look that said
something like "It's not what it looks like! I was just trying to get him out of bed! It's
not my fault!".
After having, what Coda could only explain as the best shower he would have for the
rest of his life, he shook off, sending water everywhere, then, grabbing a towel, he dried
until he was comfortable enough to slip into the clothes he laid out.
"Well doesn't someone look snazzy," Whitney said as he walked out of the bathroom.
"What?" Coda replied, bashful. "They're just blue jeans and a plain white t?"
"Yeah," Adam replied, once again tapping on his laptop. "But it makes all the
difference when there are no wrinkles, ya know?"
"Oh you just wait," Coda stretched, getting used to the feeling of cloth on his fur.
"They'll look hideous by tonight." He then perked his ears and started wagging. "So
what's this I heard about breakfast?"
"Well," Whitney said, pulling out a list. "Today's plan is..." She trailed off, squinting
her eyes, probably because of very small writing. "First, we're going to a 4 star
restaurant for breakfast, followed by going to 662 Fangelo to check out our first house,
then..." And she continued naming streets that sounded to bizarre and fancy to ever be
considered real.
"That's all well and good," Coda interrupted, looking at his brother. "I think we get it,
yeah?"
"Yes," She agreed. "Shall we go, then?"
"Yes!" Adam sprung to life, almost tossing his laptop to the ground. "I... am starved.
Now let's get going."
"Wait..." Coda stopped them. "Two things..." He looked at them good and hard. "One,
is there truly a four star restaurant that serves breakfast?"
"Apparently," The replied together, Adam with a sense of sarcasm in his voice,
Whitney with a hint of hopefulness.
"Well then," Coda laughed. "On to two..." He focused on Adam. "About this house you
promised to buy me?"
"...what?" Adam stuttered. "When the hell did I promise this?!"
"I'll take us out to dinner tonight, ok? Or buy you a house or something... Just do this
for me..." Coda mimicked Adam's voice, and then gave him a look that said "Yeah. You
said that. Now give me my house."
"Yeah..." Adam fumbled. "So... how about that breakfast?" He quickly put on his coat,
then felt Whitney's paw at his collar.
"Did you tell him you're buying him a house...?" She asked in a stern voice.
"Well..." Adam whimpered, not making eye contact. "I... guess so..."
"Then," She smiled, winking at Coda. "I guess you get your house on us, Coda-bear."
"You haven't called me that since we met," Coda giggled, heading to the door. He then
looked at Adam, who was feeling his neck for any abrasions his collar might have given
him. "Man... I wish I had control over him like that..."
"Hey," Adam snapped. "You're my younger brother... She's my wife. That would never
happen." He then gave a smile. "But this house... it better not be the most expensive
one we see."
"Deal," Coda agreed, then opened the door, feeling the warm air bring his skin back to
life. "Now then, I'm starved, so can we get going?"
***
"Table for three?" Adam asked, eyeing the french-ish tabby that stood at the seating
podium.
"I'm sorry, sir," His accent was as thick as margarine, and his tail flicked with
snootiness. "But we won't have a table until 4..."
"How about..." Adam said, slipping him a 50$ bill. "Now...?"
"I said I'm sorry, sir..." The tabby snickered, looking around, then eyed an empty table.
"Now, if you come this way, I'll show you to the manager so you may take your anger
out on him."
"That's more like it..." Coda thought as he stepped in rhythm to the swing music that
was playing in the background. That's when he noticed the wispy trail of cream and dark
blue colored smoke that floated above the ceiling.
"Coda?" Adam said, breaking his focus. "Are you coming to sit down?"
"Uhh..." Coda stammered, looking back, realizing there was nothing. "Yeah... sure..." He
sat down and cleared his dry throat awkwardly.
"What's the matter, Coda?" Whitney giggled, pointing out the most expensive wine to
the waiter. "You look like you've seen a ghost?"
"Did you see it to?!" Coda spoke quickly and quietly. "I mean... I thought I saw...
something up there..." He pointed upwards, which peeled the gazes of the other two and
glued them to the ceiling.
The waiter cleared his throat and looked towards Coda. "And what would... you... like to
drink..." His voice was even more annoyingly snobbish then the first and he eyed with
such criticism it almost made Coda uncomfortable.
"I'll have..." Coda stammered, looking back up at the ceiling. "I'll have a coke."
"A coke...?" The waiter seemed to not know what he was talking about. "Like... the soft
drink...?"
"Yeah?" Coda tried swallowing again. "Is there a problem with that?"
"Certainly not... sir..." The waiter sighed. "I'll be back in a few minutes with your wine
and... coke..." He flicked his tail and walked away, leaving an air of awkwardness about
the table.
"I... ugh..." Coda stammered, getting up from the table. "I have to go to the bathroom
for a second... I'll be right back..." And with that, he fled down the red carpeted hallway
to the door that showed a silhouetted fur dressed in a tux. He opened it, un-zipping his
trousers and targeted the closest urinal to him.
"Hey Scubble," He heard a voice behind him, snickering. "Look it's the wolf that
ordered something without alcohol in a high-class restaurant. What's a matter wolf-boy?
Did the soda go right through ya?"
"Oh hush Reggie," Coda heard a second voice, this one less harsh. "He seems like one
who'd rather be eating at a burger place anyways, leave him alone."
"It's not like he can hear us anyways," The first voice chuckled devilishly. "See, look!"
He said before floating right beside him and resting his phantom head on his shoulder.
Coda just stared at the wall, unsure what to do as the dark blue smoke from the, what
seemed to be, raccoon stared flowing over him, making him feel shivers left and right.
He then finished, zipped back up, and proceeded to wash his paws.
"You still shouldn't tease someone like that," The one called Scubble said, who
appeared to be a husky. Hey lay in his cream colored smoke as if it were a bed, which
looked incredibly comfortable.
"I'm with him on that one," Coda spoke, still running his paws under the warming
water. "Just because the living can't usually see the dead, doesn't mean you should
tease them."
Reggie and Scubble had the same look of "what the fuck" as they looked back and
forth between each other and the wolf that was staring at them in the mirror.
"You mean..." Scubble stared to say, floating over as Coda dried his paws with paper
towel. "How... can..."
"I see you?" Coda asked like it was nothing. "It was apparently a near death
experience, leaving me sort of trapped between the living world and the dead world...
Kind of like how Neo was trapped between the Matrix and the real world that one time."
"That's fucked up..." Reggie said, putting his paws through Coda, making him feel like
he had just been drinking ice.
"Don't do that!" Coda giggled, jumping back. "But... You guys are like... Actual ghosts...
My old man..."
"Was Sent?" Scubble interrupted with interest.
"...sure?" Coda agreed, feeling another supernatural lecture coming on.
"Then he had nothing to stay behind for." Scubble started. "When people die... they
either have a choice to go to the... ghost world, I guess... or they can stay behind to
haunt."
"So you're haunting this restaurant?" Coda asked, taking a seat on the sink, which was
made with rich marble.
"You're damn right we are," Reggie cut in. "After all, that's what killed us... This
goddamn place..."
"...how can a restaurant kill someone?"
"Bloody food poison, that's how."
"Oh... That's make's sense,"
"No shit..."
"But," Scubble interrupted, bringing back focus to the topic beforehand. "That's why
we're here and we look like this. If you look at it from a living fur's point of view, we're
the bad guys."
"So..." Coda said. "You two are evil ghosts?"
"Well..." Scubble paused. "More or less, but that's because we have a reason to stay
behind. We have to get back at this place for killing us, ya know?"
"So you're here forever?" The wolf asked.
"Until the place gets knocked down," Reggie stepped in. "But until then, we fuck
everything up."
"Like what? The wolf giggled.
"Ya know," Scubble said. "Messing up orders, tripping waiters... it's all fun really."
"And you said it wasn't nice teasing living furs."
"Well I think we have a reason, seeing as this place killed us."
"Yeah," Coda agreed. "But how could you guys do anything? I mean, you guys are
ghosts..."
"You know the one's that get Sent?" Scubble explained. "How they get a certain
amount of time each year to come back and hang out?" Coda nodded his head. "Well,
haunters get a certain amount of things to do, within reason, to get back at their cause...
get it?"
"Sure?" Coda just got out before the door to the bathroom opened.
"What the hell are you doing in here, Coda?" Adam asked. "We've been waiting for you
to order for like... fifteen minutes now?"
"Sorry..." Coda said, looking over to the raccoon and the husky, who were floating there
looking slightly annoyed. "I was just... ugh... gathering my thoughts?"
"Well come on!" Adam snapped, grabbing Coda by the wrist. "I'm starving and I can
bet you're just about the same."
"Okay," Coda said, looking back. "Ummm... Goodbye Bathroom! It was nice meeting
you!" Just as the door was closing, he could see the two silhouettes waving back to him.
Adam stopped and gave Coda a look that mimicked the one Scubble and Reggie gave
him when they found out he could see them. "...are you on drugs? Let me see your arm..."
"I'm fine, Adam!" Coda said, turning his arm over, showing him his cream-colored
underarm. "It was a joke, alright? Let's go now; I can hear your stomach growling..."
Making it back to the table, Coda caught the sweet smell of steak, which was,
thankfully, right under his nose. "How did you guys know I wanted steak...?" He looked
up, feeling his mouth water.
"You've never ordered anything but steak," Adam said, digging into his very own
t-bone. "Believe me, if I there's someone who's seen you pig out like an animal at a
restaurant, that would be me."
"True enough," Coda said, shoving half of his steak straight from the plate into his
muzzle.
"Are you okay, Coda?" Whitney asked, forking her salad and tastefully nibbling it with
utmost politeness. "You were in the bathroom for a really long time."
"Ummm..." Coda said as he tried to chew the mouthful of meat he had in his mouth.
"I'm fine. Just organizing myself, ya know?" He giggled awkwardly, shooting bits of food
all over the table."
The other two were silent as Coda devoured his meal in a second, and as he waited,
he looked around the room. Red velvet carpets, candle lit tables, chandeliers, people in
formal wear. "Man..." Coda thought, trying to spot the two he had just met a couple
minute before. "If this is breakfast, I wonder what it's like for dinner..."
"Coda," Adam said, wiping his muzzle with the napkin that sat on his lap. "Are you
ready to go?"
Coda nodded as he watched Whitney walk over to the cashier to pay the bill. He
stood, following his brother and walked out, hearing Whitney scuttle behind them. She
smiled when he looked back at her when they got into Adam's car and she pulled out the
list of house from, what Coda could only presume as, her bra.
"Okay, honey," She said, turning to Adam, who was craning his neck to pull out to the
main road. "On to Fangelo!"
"That name sounds retarded," Adam scoffed, keeping in tune with his driving. "I don't
really think I want to live on a road that sounds like this seasons "all the rage STD"."
"I'll take it," Coda said, peeking his head into the front seat. "I mean, you ARE buying
it for me anyways."
"You want to live on STD lane?" Adam laughed, turning on to the street marked
"Gallian Road", which hooked directly to Fangelo.
Coda just nodded stupidly, making Whitney giggle. If she wasn't there, he was sure
that Adam would go back on his word, but something about her kept him in line, which is
something Coda never appreciated until it earned him a free house.
"Fine," He snapped, feeling the hurt in his wallet. Sure, 2.5 mil is a lot of cake, but
when you have to buy someone a house, you still feel it. "Help me find it then," He said,
turning on to Fangelo, which was what Coda could only explain as the best strip of
houses he would ever see for the rest of his life.
"There!" Coda shouted, pointing out the window. Or at least he would of if it weren't
for the actual window being there. He, more or less, punched in the direction of the
place which left him crumpled in the back seat, moaning over his paw.
"That's 660," Adam said, peeking at the list, which Whitney still had in her paws.
"We're looking for 662."
"Not there," Coda groaned, taking his other paw and pointing. "There!"
When they pulled up, Coda could feel something. Something that made him forget
about his paw. He could feel it from the house, and when he looked upon it he felt
shivers.
"It's beautiful!" Whitney said, looking back on him. "What are you going to do with all
that space...?"
"Two whole floors of..." Coda said, opening his door, looking for the right word to
describe what he was looking for. "Two floors of... inspiration!"
"Good morning!" Shouted a fur from the front door. A hare with a monocle on one eye
and an eye patch on the other who walked with a cane was waving. "You must be the
Mugslys! Please, do come in!"
"Coming!" Coda shouted, pulling out a reluctant Adam from his car seat. "Come on
Adam," Coda smiled. "You at least want to see the house your buying me, don't you?"
"What makes you so sure this is the one?"
"I got shivers when I saw it. It was like cold mist pouring over me, ya know?"
"Fine, but if I get you this one, you can't take it back and ask for a new one..."
"These aren't Nerf guns from Walmart, Adam. I want this house..."
***
After they toured the place, Coda was convinced. He wanted this place. It looked to be
the smallest house on the block, but once you were inside it, it didn't feel that way.
Each room was spaced perfectly with a kitchen on the second floor and in the basement,
plus three bathrooms.
"Do I need to give you guys some time," The hare, who introduced himself as Mr.
Brimstub, asked them as they sat in the living room, whose ceilings were high enough to
back flip on a jumbo trampoline.
"For what?" Coda asked, debating on if the trampoline would look better where Mr.
Brimstub's 52 in. plasma TV was or where the wrap around sofa that sat in the middle of
the room was.
"To decide if you would like to purchase this place, of course," He said smoothly,
sipping some tea that he had before the three had arrived.
"We've already decided," Coda said, looking back at the other two with a smile. "We
definatly want it! What would be the best way to pay you?"
"Well I was thinking of an even monthly sum, paid throughout a couple years," Mr.
Brimstub said, taking out a calculator and tapping away.
Adam cleared his throat and leaned forward. "How much exactly is this house?"
"$500,000." The hare said sternly over his monocle. "How did you three think of
paying?"
"I could just write you a check?" Whitney said, searching through her purse, then,
finally finding her checkbook, clicked a pen and made eye contact. "Who do I make it out
to?"
"Jonathan Brimstub, ma'am," The hare bowed, waiting for the wolf to scribble out a
check for him worth half a million dollars. "Thank you very much ma'am," He said as he
accepted the payment.
"When can I move in?" Coda couldn't help but ask. His tail was going crazy as he
bounced on the sofa.
"You three can move in by the end of the week," The hare said, slipping the check into
the back pocket of his robe. "It has been a pleasure doing business with you."
"Oh no," Coda said, raising his paws. "It's just me who's moving in."
"...really?" The hare asked with extreme curiosity. It was almost as if he thought the
idea of the wolf moving in alone was absurd.
"I need you to sign this for me," Whitney said, pulling out, yet another sheet of paper.
This time from her pocket. "It's just a document saying that we've paid you and you
have given us the deed and such."
The hare graciously signed it and raised his floppy ears. "That reminds me! The deed!
Please excuse me while I get it!" He scurried off, and Coda once again felt the cold
shiver of his new house, which was to be his in a week.
***
As time passed, Coda got more anxious then ever to move in. He had begun to buy
everything he wanted: Game systems, furniture, clothes... Everything he could picture in
his home, he bought without taking a second thought.
"Now Coda," Adam said, groaning under the weight of Coda's new "bed in a box" that
he'd put on layaway a couple days before. "You're gonna be living on your own, now.
That means your gonna have to take care of yourself."
Coda stopped and let the full weight of the box force down upon Adam, who groaned
and held his breath. "Adam, if you don't remember, I DID survive a couple years in
London without you there. I did just fine, ya know?"
Adam could only nod as his face started to turn red under his grey fur, which shone out
as more of a pinky color. He could only moan, which made Coda retake his end of the
box.
"I COULD HAVE DIED?!" Adam shouted, after letting the air he held in escape from his
lungs. "Let's see how YOU like it!" He cackled as he let go of his end. Coda could only
watch as the box fell to the marble floor of the enormous greeting room. He just gave
his brother a look of "Ugh... What the fuck..." as he looked at the fallen box on the floor.
"Yeah... you're definatly buying me a new bed..."
"Come on, boys!" Whitney shouted from the second floor. "Adam, we have to get back
to our new place, ya know? Let's finish up already!"
"This is the last thing, honey!" Adam groaned back to her. "We just have to move it
upstairs, and then we're out of here!"
The two wolves climbed the stairs, unloaded the box, and descended back to the main
room, where Whitney already had her new coat on.
"If you need anything," Adam said, putting his paw on his brother's shoulder. "I'm just
a phone call away." He smiled and embraced his brother close.
"Dude," Coda snickered, pushing the wolf off of him. "Quit being so gay..." He then
winked, noticing his brother's "shattered moment" face.
"Heh," He scoffed as he got his things and walked out of the double front door. "See if
I ever care about you again! Go ahead!"
"Bye Whitney," Coda smiled, closing the door behind them. He saw her wave back and
the swift "I'm not KIDDING!" from Adam was the only thing that echoed as he shut the
door. He turned around, watching the sunsets shadow creep along the extended ceilings
and walls like growing storm clouds.
It then occurred to him that he hadn't even stepped foot in most of the rooms here.
Sure, he toured the place, but the whole excitement of "what's around the corner" was
still there.
"Time for some exploring..." He grinned as he tiptoed like a burglar, prowling as if he
was in someone else's house, waiting for the sound of snoring from the master's
bedroom.
First stop was the kitchen, which was slightly illuminated by the night-light that
turned on automatically when the lights were out. Coda crept well within the shadows,
pretending that if the light touched him, laser beams would shoot out from some
unforeseen place and fry him where he stood.
"THERE!" He shouted inside his mind, leaping for his target on the counter, landing
with a roll, then braced for the burn of lasers to char his back. Opening his eyes, he
opened his paws and looked, and there laid his target. A banana. He then got up and
threw it in the garbage, laughing at the stunt he just pulled. "I freaking hate bananas,
Adam... You know this..."
He then snuck into the living room, avoiding the boxes that held his new TV,
entertainment system, and other things he had. Not even the hardwood floor creaked
under his paws as he crawled on all fours.
Next, was the second floor, with its carpeted stairs and its extra eeriness. He snuck
into his own bedroom, which had a dresser, a mattress, and a couple boxes littered
everywhere. He hid behind a stack, probably filled with his old comics or something,
picturing himself curled up on his bed. He held his breathe as he counted down in his
head. 3...2...1...
"HAAAAA!" He shouted as he leapt up over the mattress, landing with a thud, almost
sending his blanket flying. He giggled to himself and curled up, closing his eyes and
letting out a sigh. "This place is alright..." he thought as he felt himself start to sink. He
hugged his body pillow and kissed his world goodnight as the stars shined brightly
through his balcony window.
He had no idea if he'd fallen asleep or not, but he was sure that he had heard
something. He jolted up from his mattress and perked his ears, sure of a crash that
sounded off downstairs. There, he watched his bedroom door, afraid to breath, feeling
the blood rushing through his cheeks. The darkness pounded in his ears as he waited to
see his doorknob turn slowly, like in every horror movie worth watching.
Nothing happened, which filled his courage bar just enough to stand and peek outside
his door. Again, all the met him was darkness. No monsters, no nothing. Just dead
silence
"Odd..." he thought, feeling like an idiot for being so nervous on his first night inside
his new home. "Must have been..." and before he could finish his thought, he heard it
again. The same crash that had stirred him sounded off again, almost sending Coda into
the fetal position. He started shaking as the nightlight from the kitchen, illuminating the
front room slightly, flickered.
Coda swallowed and crawled to the edge of the stairs and peered over, seeing the
hallway into the kitchen, which had nothing in it. He tiptoed, cautiously, down, straining
his ears as hard as he could for something as small as a footstep, which would send him
whirling around to his cell phone to call his brother.
Reaching the cold marble, he slipped into the kitchen, not only keeping to the
shadows because of the laser beams, but just incase someone walked by, not noticing.
He figured his camouflage index was probably at 95% anyway, only because he wasn't
wearing the correct face paint, which was okay because the A.I in this game only began
spotted him at around 80% or so.
"Hey..." He told himself as he paused, listening for another thud or something. "Quit
thinking about video games and focus..."
That's when he pinpointed it. A crash, unmistakable, coming straight from the
basement, rang through the hallway and vibrated into the wolf's ears.
"Why does it ALWAYS have to be the basement..." He sighed, releasing some of the
tension he'd wound up in his body as he walked towards the staircase. He peered over,
smelling the darkness from below, wishing he didn't have a case of "cat's curiosity".
"Don't do it..." He told himself as he felt his body take another step towards the stairs.
Finally, he gave in. Taking tiptoed creeps, he tried his best to stay focused on not
repeating the same mistake the intruder had done, which was obviously not to make
noise. The sweat was running through his fur now as he felt his blood boil. His brain
pulsed with every sense of awareness that it could muster, and his ears were so hot
they felt like they were bleeding.
"I can't keep this up..." He thought as the cool tile startled him when he touched it. "I
just have to..." and before he could finish thinking, something caught his eye. To the
left. Something moved behind a couple boxes that Whitney must have relieved down
here. He stopped, staring in the corner as he whined inside his head. "Oh my god... why
me... what if it's a killer... or something else... like... someone who needs place to stay...
then I'd have a guilty conscience about kicking out a killer who needed a place to
stay...damnit..."
That's when he saw a flash, coming from the storage room to his extreme right. A dull
light was coming from inside, along with, what seemed to me, some sort fog. Then
another crash came, directly from the room he was staring at.
"K... screw it..." Coda thought, taking in a deep breathe. "You've had a good run, Coda.
If you die, you can just haunt the place and kill the next bastard who lives here..." And
this was the exact confidence boost he needed, which propelled him inside, scaring the
shit out of what was behind the door.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Screamed the dull red cloud that flew into the corner of the room.
"WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM YOU SACK OF FLESH!"
"Are you serious..." Coda sighed, laying curious eyes on the phantom of a wolf. But this
one looked different. Of course the whole being slightly see through and having a red
tinge to him was obvious, but he was just... "...he's indescribable..."
"Stupid livers..." The wolf sighed as he floated back, right side up. "Honestly, just
because we're dead doesn't mean you can just come bursting in at any second..."
"Livers?" Coda giggled, stepping in a bit more, taking in the smell of the room, which
smelling refreshingly like roses. "That's a dumb term. It could be confused with the
organ..."
The wolf took a float backwards, raising his paw to his muzzle. "How can..."
"At least make it something swell... Meat sack was a good one..." Coda giggled, taking
a seat on the cold floor. "You gave me a startle, ya know?"
The wolf couldn't believe his eyes. "Can you... see me?" He said as he waved a little to
him.
"Well it would be awkward if I was just talking to myself..." Coda said, waving back.
"I'm Coda. I just bought this house and it's good to know it's haunted a little."
The wolf just kept the same look, which pretty much said "is this really happening?",
as he moved up to Coda, who was still smiling. He reached out a paw and placed it on
the wolf's arm, just barely going through. It felt like a cool washcloth had been placed
there, soothing rather then chilling.
"Do you have a name...?" Coda asked him, breaking the silence that hung about for a
couple minutes.
"Yeah..." He replied. His voice was calm, collected, and deep. It almost seemed
relieved.
"Well...?"
"It's... uh... Jack... Jack Folley."
***
And that's it for part 2. It all seems quit boring now, but that concludes the "plot development" section. Ya know? The part that builds it up, giving almost to much information to remember.
Don't worry, three will have some spice, k?
Catch ya guys later!
=Pup